Always watch the hands.

This is the kernel of a future post, but as I was binge-watching episodes of Person of Interest and thinking how much better the general gun-handling was in Hollywood action dramas from about the mid-1990s onward, there's one thing that still stands out.

Actors are much better coached in stance and movement and the general gross body movements with a firearm in their hand, but they never seem to really know that to do with their support hand on the pistol. Sometimes it's a glaring teacup Weaver, but most of the time the support hand is just sort of along for the ride.

As y'all know, if you can get both hands on the gun, it's the support hand that does most of the grip work.

Meme Dump!

What a difference a day makes...

When I checked the forecast in the middle of the week, today was predicted to be cold, with maybe a chance of freezing rain or even snow flurries.

Yesterday afternoon I looked at the same forecast and now there's a winter storm warning in effect, calling for 4-8" of accumulating snow.

Since it hasn't been above freezing for about a day and a half, whatever falls is going to stick.

.

Black Memesday!

Happy Thanksgiving!

To all y'all who visit VFTP, I'm thankful for you. May you have the splendidest of all possible Turkey Days.

.

Thankful Meme Dump!

This blows.

Yesterday the Amazon spy robot made a blingling noise and lit up green, which is normally an indication that an anticipated package has materialized on the front porch.

"Alexa, tell me about my notifications."

The bot proceeded to inform me that the National Weather Service had issued a wind advisory for the area for the following day.

I scoffed internally. I didn't remember the NWS issuing advisories for rain, wind, fog and the like when I was a kid, after all.

This morning I awoke from a dream of being stuck in a test bay behind a General Electric turbofan that was being spun up to hear a sound outside the house that tells me I should probably step outside after I'm dressed to check that all shutters, shingles, and tree branches are where I last saw them yesterday.

Elsewhere...

• Pistol bullet design for self-defense


• 1987 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 Cabriolet


• Tougher, Smaller, Cheaper: Pentax K-7

.

Meme Dump!

Oh no. Anyway...

Walther, as you may have heard, has ceased production of the PPK line of self-loading pistols.

They say it's only temporary, but one can always hope, amirite? The last time I was in a discussion where someone looking for a pocket pistol got recommended the PPK, I retorted: "We're looking for a gun that A)Fits in a pocket and B)Works. Not a sexy-looking malfunction-prone brick that would have ceased production decades ago if not for Ian Fleming."

It's 2025. There's no reason to be charging over a kilobuck for a gun whose edges are so sharp you could use them to shave.

Besides, I am still nursing a not-entirely-rational grudge from twenty five years ago.

.

Memes for Monday!

Tab Clearing...

• How to Fix a Typewriter and Your Life


• A British Sports Car in India...by Way of America


• Elon Musk Could 'Drink Piss Better Than Any Human in History,' Grok Says

.

Meme Dump!

Weather Report

They say the sun may come out this afternoon.

I remain skeptical.

.

Everybody's Memeing for the Weekend!

Tab Clearing...

• The 1878 bridge over Loughery Creek in Ohio and Dearborn Counties in Indiana is the last one of its design in the world


• The Suicide Song of the 2nd Lanai


• Practically Tactical

.

Not just no, but hell no.

A company called 1X is trying to get into the domestic robot business with a droid they're calling the NEO Home Robot. Neo is an elfin-looking anthropomorphic robot that goes for $20,000 and arrives at your home in a disturbingly egg-sac-like pod.

Thing is, like so many robotic devices, Neo's a Mechanical Turk. That's right, the autonomous robot in your house is, for most tasks, being tele-operated by a human being in god-knows-where. Don't worry, I'm sure they screen the operators rigorously.

Make sure you turn Neo off before you go to bed. Those robot hands look strong enough to throttle a person.

.

Meme Dump!

Expansive.

Just finished the second book in The Expanse series, Caliban's War. (I started reading it a couple weeks ago, but had to put it aside to do some research for work and didn't want to pick it back up again until I could polish it off in one whack.)

Still cracking good.

The most impressive thing to me so far is how well the character of Amos works in print as well as on the screen. In fact, print Amos is even more complex and interesting than screen Amos, and that's saying something.

.

Hump Day Meme Dump!

Meme Dump!

Tab Clearing...

• Civil Defense: Still a thing in Sweden.


• How Russians treat Russians.


• Jade Helm 15, ten years later.

.

Automotif DCII...

The Land Rover 90 was introduced in '84, but Land Rovers weren't officially imported into the North American market until the mechanical and styling refresh that came with the "Defender" name in 1990. The arrangement of the turn signal lamps and left-hand drive say this one's a gray market import from the later '80s.

Photographed with a Pentax K7 and the DA 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 WR zoom lens earlier this month. 

.

Monday Memery!

The time I moved up to a six-shooter...

It was '02 or '03, back when I still wore an old Royal Robbins "shoot me first" vest in public, that I switched out the Sig Sauer P230 in the vest's BUG pocket for a Smith & Wesson 442, to which I soon added a pair of the old, long since discontinued, hard plastic Crimson Trace LaserGrips*.

The hours and hours I spent in nightly dry practice with that little double-action-only .38 Special J-frame probably did more for my handgun shooting than any other single thing.

Twenty years ago, in autumn of 2005, I was working at Coal Creek Armory and one of our wholesalers, Chattanooga Shooting Supply, had some S&W 432PD revolvers at closeout pricing. Intrigued by the thought of a 20% in capacity over the .38 Centennial, I bought one.

It didn't take long for me to swap the CTC grips over to the .32 Mag revolver and swap it into the BUG holster, replacing the 442. Two decades later, it's still there.

*I keep meaning to swap over to a set of the newer LG-105 J-frame grips, but have thus far failed to get around to it.

.

Holy Memes!

Meme Dump!

Tab Clearing...

• City raccoons are evolving to look like pets.


• Your own personal Jesus.


• Apparently DJT and MTG are all broke up now. Currently.

.

Planning ahead prevents disappointment.

Slipping out of the house for lunch yesterday, I hopped on my bicycle with my Pentax K7 slung around my neck, hoping to get some car photos on an unusually warm autumn afternoon.

Glancing at the LCD screen on the camera's top panel as I turned it on, I noticed the dreaded "----" in the space where the "Shots Remaining" readout would be. Oops, that's right... I had the SD card from the K7 in the card reader on my desktop. D'oh!

However, because I've had this happen before, I was ready this time.

In my peregrinations about the neighborhood, I carry a little canvas tote that holds my iPad, an umbrella, a wind shell stuffed in a little pouch, a pint glass koozie... and waterproof little memory card holder that looks like a teeny Pelican case. Inside it I keep a couple CF cards, a few SD cards, and even a MicroSD just in case.

Problem averted!

.

Reading the signs...

Excellent video from Craig Douglas of Shivworks here. Really worth the watch.

If you haven't trained with Craig, you really should.

.

Take Some Memes Home for the Weekend!

Meme Dump!