Back now

Been traveling.  Oof.

Blogging to resume today. 

Vmroom!

Seen last night:

1964 GTO.  What caught me was the three carbs on the 389 V8.  The owner basically took it down to bare metal and built it back up again, and he did a nice job.

This is the car that started the Muscle craze.  Basically, John DeLorean took their second gen Tempest chassis and dropped a big block Bonneville engine into it.  Pontiac initially planned a production run of 5000; they actually sold 32000.

 

Dad Joke CXII

Why are people in the Czech Republic so sensible?

They are very Praguematic. 

On the Internet nobody can tell if you're a dog

Politeness is a sign of dignity, not of subservience.

- Theodore Roosevelt 

But everybody can tell if you're an asshole.

Divemedic posted his stance on the vaccine: get it if you think it's right for you, don't get it if you don't think it's right for you.  A more sensible position is hard to imagine.

And then The Internet appeared in his comments section, with SumD00d telling him he was wrong (well, I think that's what he said because the comment was fairly incomprehensible; hey, it's The Internet, amirite?).

And while the comment was moderately incoherent, the attitude of the commenter was anything but.  Commenter "Hedge" is an asshole.  He may (or may not) be a dog with a keyboard but he is unmistakably an asshole with one.

Sigh.

I am very grateful indeed that the commenters here are almost always respectful and intelligent - and the commenters on the Dad Jokes are funny as hell.  I almost never need to step in to tell folks to settle down and mind their manners - maybe only 2 or 3 times in the 13 years I've been here.

People think wrong when they think that the Internet gives them anonymity.  It doesn't.  It gives pseudonymity, which is not at all the same thing.  If you post under a pseudonym (like Hedge and I both do), you still develop a reputation.  Quite frankly, you can't comment anonymously here, so anything you say in the comments here will add to (or in rare cases detract from) your reputation.

Divemedic certainly doesn't need me to fight his fights, that's not the point of this post.  I love  comments and the two way (or multiple way) discussions we have here.  But I'm not going to tolerate Internet Assholes like Hedge here.  Cathedra mea, regula meae - my place, my rules..  If you don't like it, don't stop by.  This really isn't very hard.

It is a wise thing to be polite; consequently, it is a stupid thing to be rude. To make enemies by unnecessary and willful incivility, is just as insane a proceeding as to set your house on fire. For politeness is like a counter--an avowedly false coin, with which it is foolish to be stingy. 

- Arthur Schopenhauer, The Wisdom Of Life 

Dad Joke CXX

Why do Secret Agents get the best sleep? 

Because they're always under cover.

Security Smörgåsbord, vol. 13 no. 6

Google report: Government Geofence warrants up ten times in the last year:

POLICE AROUND THE country have drastically increased their use of geofence warrants, a widely criticized investigative technique that collects data from any user's device that was in a specified area within a certain time range, according to new figures shared by Google. Law enforcement has served geofence warrants to Google since 2016, but the company has detailed for the first time exactly how many it receives.

The report shows that requests have spiked dramatically in the past three years, rising as much as tenfold in some states. In California, law enforcement made 1,909 requests in 2020, compared to 209 in 2018. Similarly, geofence warrants in Florida leaped from 81 requests in 2018 to more than 800 last year. In Ohio, requests rose from seven to 400 in that same time.

Across all 50 states, geofence requests to Google increased from 941 in 2018 to 11,033 in 2020 and now make up more than 25 percent of all data requests the company receives from law enforcement.

This is bad juju from a privacy perspective.  Here's advice on how to avoid getting caught up in this.

New report on cyber security recommendations for K-12 systems.  This all seems pretty sensitive.  If you have kids in school, you might want to bring this to the School Board's attention.

IPv6 will give us better security!  IPv6 seems to be something - like fusion power - that's always "5 years away" ...

Google introduces auto-reset of permissions granted to unused apps.  This is an excellent idea, and one that Google seems to have implemented in a very user-friendly manner.  If you have apps that you never use, then it makes sense not to allow them to poke around on your device.  Well done, Google.  I'd like to see Apple do this for iOS as well.

Range Report: SIG Sauer P365

The Queen Of The World and I went shooting last weekend because we had this little beauty to break in:

The problem with Florida is that you don't often get a chance to wear a jacket, so a big 1911 isn't always the easiest to conceal handgun.  This pistol is tiny, and so can pretty much go anywhere with you.  Surprisingly (to me), it's chambered in 9mm (rather than .380 ACP) and can even handle +P loadings.  Even more surprising (to me) is that the recoil is very manageable.  It's actually fun to shoot despite its diminutive size.  SIG claims that the P354 has the lowest bore-axis ratio of any handgun currently manufactured.  I haven't checked this claim, but this pistol is not at all "snappy" in its recoil.

Maybe this was why it was the best selling handgun in America a couple years back.

So to the basics: Polymer?  Check.  Striker fired?  Check.  Double stack 10 round magazine?  Check.  Tritium sights?  Check.  All standard.

We did a couple of upgrades.  The grip is really short, and so I ordered some 15 round magazines which add about another inch to the length of the grip.  They didn't arrive in time for this review, so the shorter grip doesn't hurt shootability.

We also bought the SIG laser for this pistol.  You see that at the bottom of the picture here, right in front of the trigger guard.  It's pretty slick - it snapped right in and there's an activation button right where your hands go around the grip.  Grab the pistol and the laser comes on; put it down and it goes off.  Got to love SIG engineering.

The sights are superior.  Excellent sight picture, and the tritium dots are very visible in both bright and dim light.

This picture is a little off-center so you can see the laser dot.  The laser comes with an Allen Wrench that lets you adjust elevation and windage.  I got it mostly dialed in but need to take it back to the range to get it dead on at 7 yards.

Accuracy is fine - this is more accurate than I am.  There are some flyers from other targets on the page; all of the SIG's were on the color.  Heck, they'd better be with a laser and all.  The trigger is great, crisp break.

So what didn't I like?  Well, the magazines have really stiff springs - like I-could-only-load-5-rounds stiff.  This will work itself out over time.

The grip is really short.  The extended 15-round magazines should fix that.

And I'd like a manual safety.  That's personal preference,  SIG actually makes a variant with one to comply with Massachusetts regulations (spit) - the P365-MS.

Lastly, I do not look forward to the arguments with The Queen Of The World about whose gun this will be.  Alas, I think I know how that will play out ...

All in all, I can see why this is such a popular pistol.  The component systems are all mature: the striker system from P320, the recoil locking system dates to 1975 (!), and the Fire Control Unit is an updated version of the one from the P320.  These components have all been combined by engineers who kept an eye on the overall system, and blend together beautifully.

The standard disclaimer:

I'm not any kind of gun or shooting expert. I like shooting, and shoot a fair number of different guns, but I'm really a dilettante. Your mileage may vary, void where prohibited, do not remove tag under penalty of law.

I don't do scientific, repeatable tests. There's no checklist, although that's not a bad idea. I write about what I like and don't like, but it's pretty much stream of consciousness. Opinion, we got opinion here. Step right up.

I'm not a shooting teacher, although I do like to introduce people to shooting.Maybe some day I'll take the NRA teaching class, but until then, you get a dilettante's view. You'll get opinion here, but if you get serious about shooting, you'll want to get someone who knows what he's doing to give you some pointers. It can help.

And oh yeah, shooting things is fun.

Yay, me

I guess I really am a gun guy.  The Queen Of The World got a sweet Sig P365.  Alas, we had no 9mm ammo, and the case I ordered hadn't arrived yet.

But in getting things sorted out for tomorrow's range day involved reorganizing things.  Lo and behold, I had 3 (!) 50 round boxes of 9mm.  No idea where that came from - maybe Ammoman brought it to the Southwest Florida blogshoot.

But I guess that you're officially a "gun guy" when you have ammo in calibers that you think you don't have any of.  And while my ammo hoard isn't quite up to this, it's big enough that I probably should do an inventory.

Oh, and the SIG laser for the 365 is about the coolest thing ever.  Took all of 2 minutes to install, and the laser comes on when you grip the gun.  I'll do a range report on this one.

Ah, gardening

Having grown up in Maine, potted plants were never much trouble.  Things grew slowly up there, so while it wasn't "plant it and forget it" it wasn't far off it.  Of course, now we're in the Gunshine State, and plants outgrow their pots in about a week.  I'm convinced that if you watch my Bird Of Paradise closely, you can see it grow. 

Yeah, yeah - I hear you say that I should get The Queen Of The World to stop dosing them with Miracle Grow.  You try stopping her.  I'll be the guy watching.  And eating popcorn.

And so today will involve plants, and pots, and potting soil (and Miracle Grow).  I wasn't made for all that.  There's a Country song about that.

Pretty Good Drinking Beer (Songwriter: Troy Jones):

I wasn't born for digging deep holes
I'm not made for paving long roads
I ain't cut out to climb high line poles
But I'm pretty good at drinking beer

I'm not the type to work in a bank
I'm no good at slapping on paint
Don't have a knack for making motors crank, no
But I'm pretty good at drinking beer

So hand me one more
That's what I'm here for
I'm built for having a ball
I love the nightlife
I love my Bud Light
I like 'em cold and tall

I ain't much for mowing thick grass
I'm too slow for workin' too fast
I don't do windows so honey don't ask
But I'm pretty good at drinking beer

A go getter maybe I'm not
I'm not known for doin' a lot
But I do my best work when the weather's hot
I'm pretty good at drinking beer

So hand me one more
That's what I'm here for
I'm built for having a ball
I love the nightlife
I love my Bud Light
I like 'em cold and tall

I wasn't born for digging deep holes
I'm not made for paving long roads
I ain't cut out to climb high line poles
But I'm pretty good at drinking beer
I'm pretty good at drinking beer

I have to say, though - having grown up in Maine I do love me some Bird Of Paradise flower.

UPDATE 2 October 13:54:  Note to self: do not buy any more pots with lips that overhang on the inside.  Had to cut one apart to get the plant out.  And I'm not sure what I'll do in 6 months - I got the biggest pots I could find at Lowe's and while they're not too small, I expect they might be in 6 months.

The End Game of Covid is socialized health care

So what's driving all the insanity behind the Virus From Hell*?

I mean, "Two Weeks to Flatten The Curve and Save Our Health Care System" has turned into doctors and nurses being fired because they haven't been vaccinated.  This, when Covid deaths are down something like 75% from a year ago when NO health care workers were vaccinated (because there was no vaccine).

So what gives?  How can The Powers That Be be so, well, incompetent?

They're not.  None of this is by accident.  Let me expand on a comment I left over at OldNFO's place:

Doctors and nurses are being fired, leading to an unknown (more accurately: unreported) staffing shortage.  The New York National Guard is being called out to fill in.  Interestingly, you have two chances if a NatGuard doc kills your loved one: slim, and none.  You can't sue the NatGuard.  You might have a better lawsuit against a hospital who just fired 30% of their workers right before your Loved One died of neglect.  Call Morgan and Morgan**, who no doubt will be happy to take your case.

So you sue the hospital, and the hospital is run into bankruptcy.  After all, you are only one of many grieving families who lost loved ones to this reckless management decision, amirite?

So riddle me this, Healthcare Man: what happens when 40% of the hospitals in this Republic shut down?  I mean, it will be a crisis, amirite?  Someone with have to do something, amirite?  And who is ready to do something in a crisis?

Yup.  The Fed.Gov.

They'll take over all these "failed Hospitals", and the Fed.Gov will finally have the socialized healthcare that they've always wanted.  And all it will take is thousands (tens of thousands? hundreds of thousand?  millions?) of dead Americans.

The ancient Romans were said to make a land into a desert, and then call it peace.  I mean, there were no more folks opposing their rule after they had killed most of the folks, amirite?

The Fed.Gov will make a desert and then call it "health".  This is the end game.  Don't let a crisis go to waste.

* It's not The Virus From Hell.  You want to see a disease from Hell?  Here you go.

** They are an ambulance chasing Law Firm who carpet bomb the Florida airwaves with their commercials.

The coolest business card of all time

 It was Billy Gibbons':

What's weird is that I can't find a video of him playing with Clapton - and Clapton played with everybody.  To try to make it up to you, here he is playing with Joe Bonamassa, Dusty Hill, and Derek Trucks.

Dad Joke CXVIIII

I'm thinking about getting a new haircut but I need to mullet over first. 

Deal Alert: Remington 9mm $400/1000

Academy Sports has it in stock for the best price I've seen in a while.  Online only. 

SIG P365 Bleg

The Queen Of The World went out shopping and one of these followed her home:

 It's a classy gun but hey - she's a classy lady, amirite?

So here's the question: any thoughts on a magazine extender?  The pinky finger just barely fits, and the palm is half hanging loose on the other side.  Having something that would drop down a bit would make it easier to grep.

Dad Joke CXVIII

Why are skeletons so calm?

Nothing gets under their skin.

80 years

The 1941 baseball season ended on this day, with Boston's Ted Williams closing the season with a .406 batting average.  It's the last time that a player batted .400 over a complete season.

A perennial question is which record is more unbreakable: Williams' .406 average or DiMagio's 56 game hitting streak.  Both are subject to Umpires expanding or contracting the strike zone; a hitting streak can be kept alive pretty easily via this.  Not so much the batting average.

There's an old story about this.  A young pitcher was facing Williams.  His first pitch was called a ball, even though he thought he had found the strike zone.  The second pitch fared no better.  Frustrated, the pitcher complained to the Umpire.  The Umpire replied, "Son when it's a strike, Mr. Williams will let you know."

So you teach High School kids to build Battlebots. What do you do for an encore?

Teach 'em cryptography.  Coolest. Teacher. Ever. 

For an encore, get some CNC machines and build an Enigma machine.

Dad Joke CXVII

Where can you buy chicken broth in bulk?

The stock market. 

Sunday, Puppy Sunday

Long time friend Libertyman emailed this:

 Wolfgang gave a bark of laughter at this.

Dad Joke CXVI

Golf is the only sport where sub-par performance is ideal.