Firefox 2.0's integral spellchecker knows "Baghdad", but not "Iwo Jima". It knows "KIA", but not "WIA".
Ironically, it does not know "spellchecker".
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Books: Tell it to the Marines.
As of this morning, I'm absolutely engrossed in American Spartans, by James A. Warren. It's a history of the United States Marine Corps that runs from the beaches of Iwo Jima in 1945 to the streets of Baghdad in 2003. Great stuff.
The battle for Iwo Jima is one of the most epic battles of all time. 30,000 Marines went ashore on D-Day, hitting the beaches of an island defended by over 21,000 Japanese troops. For those who are not students of military science or military history, it is accepted as a general maxim that at least 3:1 odds are preferred when attacking an enemy in prepared positions. When all was said and done, the Marines had suffered more than 25,000 KIA and WIA, seeing 75% casualties in many infantry units. Of the 21,000 Japanese defenders, 250 surrendered. The rest fell in combat. Again for the unfamiliar, the standard rule of thumb is that a unit is rendered hors d' combat when it has taken 30% casualties. Twenty-seven Medals of Honor were awarded to American fighting men on Iwo in slightly over one month. The island had a total area of eight square miles. This is out of a total of 464 for the entire US Armed Forces in WWII over the entire globe between 12/41 and 8/45.
I'm only about a third of the way into it, but this is definitely a great read.
The battle for Iwo Jima is one of the most epic battles of all time. 30,000 Marines went ashore on D-Day, hitting the beaches of an island defended by over 21,000 Japanese troops. For those who are not students of military science or military history, it is accepted as a general maxim that at least 3:1 odds are preferred when attacking an enemy in prepared positions. When all was said and done, the Marines had suffered more than 25,000 KIA and WIA, seeing 75% casualties in many infantry units. Of the 21,000 Japanese defenders, 250 surrendered. The rest fell in combat. Again for the unfamiliar, the standard rule of thumb is that a unit is rendered hors d' combat when it has taken 30% casualties. Twenty-seven Medals of Honor were awarded to American fighting men on Iwo in slightly over one month. The island had a total area of eight square miles. This is out of a total of 464 for the entire US Armed Forces in WWII over the entire globe between 12/41 and 8/45.
I'm only about a third of the way into it, but this is definitely a great read.
Beer: We fear change...
McScrooge's was still out of Ruination (Gunsmith Bob: "Why don't you keep telling everybody how good that stuff is on your blog? It might sell out even faster.") and I just wasn't feeling any Mendocino White Hawk or Dogfish Head 60 Minute, so I left empty handed and hopped back in the car to tool over to Leaf & Ale who, thanks to Tennessee's bizarro liquor laws, hadn't seen me since I discovered Ruination Imperial IPA after Mash House Hoppy Hour IPA got discontinued (the former is a big beer according to tn.gov, and can only be sold in liquor stores here).
A quick chat with the guy at the counter, and I was pointed to Lost Coast Brewery's Indica IPA.
Dang. This is pretty good stuff! Matt should try it, since he likes the Dogfish Head IPAs so much.
A quick chat with the guy at the counter, and I was pointed to Lost Coast Brewery's Indica IPA.
Dang. This is pretty good stuff! Matt should try it, since he likes the Dogfish Head IPAs so much.
Boomsticks: Paging Michael Crichton...
You know those heat-seeking guided bullets you made up for Runaway?
Well, New York Assemblywoman Eddington (Dolt-3rd District) knows where she can get some. Naturally, you have to launch them out of a .50 caliberassault Saturday Night Special terrorist sniper rifle, but they'll wipe out a whole airliner with one shot. Makes you wonder why the U.S. military wastes so much money on big, heavy surface-to-air missiles, doesn't it?
(Really, y'all, watch the video; the woman's shrill naivety, her malevolent ignorance, is simply breathtaking. It's a wonder she doesn't starve from forgetting which end of the spoon goes in her mouth. Also note that the rifle in question is the single shot AR-50, which the President of Armalite has stated has never even been sold to the military.)
Well, New York Assemblywoman Eddington (Dolt-3rd District) knows where she can get some. Naturally, you have to launch them out of a .50 caliber
(Really, y'all, watch the video; the woman's shrill naivety, her malevolent ignorance, is simply breathtaking. It's a wonder she doesn't starve from forgetting which end of the spoon goes in her mouth. Also note that the rifle in question is the single shot AR-50, which the President of Armalite has stated has never even been sold to the military.)
Boomsticks: Free State Project?
What we got going on in comments over here is the Free Stuff State Project.
Josh works at an institute of higher learning in California; we have those here in Tennessee, too. And while our Department of Differently-Abled Wymyn Of Color Studies may not be what he's used to at Patrice Lumumba U., we do have Glenn Reynolds.
Hm. "Move To Tennessee, Get An AR." I wonder who else we could go entice with this plan? I got yer Chamber of Commerce right here.
Josh works at an institute of higher learning in California; we have those here in Tennessee, too. And while our Department of Differently-Abled Wymyn Of Color Studies may not be what he's used to at Patrice Lumumba U., we do have Glenn Reynolds.
Hm. "Move To Tennessee, Get An AR." I wonder who else we could go entice with this plan? I got yer Chamber of Commerce right here.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Boomsticks: I love a happy ending.
My downstairs neighbors were leaving to run some errands a few minutes ago and were kind enough to bring me today's mail before they left. Atop the stack was this month's SWAT magazine. Like I do every month, I dropped the book I was reading and popped the magazine open to go look for the Pat Rogers article. Instead, the magazine fell right open to a beautiful sight...
A two-page color glossy photo of Jim Zumbo blazing away with a stubby M-16 variant on full auto, grinning like a kid on Christmas morning.
The accompanying nine-page article covered the whole back story of the Zumbo/Outdoor Life debacle from Mr. Zumbo's point of view; his current, much-changed feelings on the topic; and the results of him taking a tactical carbine course from none other than Pat Rogers. I started the article with, I admit, a bit of a smirk on my face, and finished it with a grin only slightly smaller than the one Mr. Zumbo was wearing while he let rip with the buzz gun. Thank you, Mr. Zumbo. And thank you Ted Nugent, Denny Hansen, Pat Rogers, and Rich Lucibella. This was one of the most happy-making things I've read in a while.
If y'all blog readers don't subscribe, you should, or at least pick up a trophy copy on the news stands when it shows up there soon. Behold the power of the intaw3bz, indeed... :)
A two-page color glossy photo of Jim Zumbo blazing away with a stubby M-16 variant on full auto, grinning like a kid on Christmas morning.
The accompanying nine-page article covered the whole back story of the Zumbo/Outdoor Life debacle from Mr. Zumbo's point of view; his current, much-changed feelings on the topic; and the results of him taking a tactical carbine course from none other than Pat Rogers. I started the article with, I admit, a bit of a smirk on my face, and finished it with a grin only slightly smaller than the one Mr. Zumbo was wearing while he let rip with the buzz gun. Thank you, Mr. Zumbo. And thank you Ted Nugent, Denny Hansen, Pat Rogers, and Rich Lucibella. This was one of the most happy-making things I've read in a while.
If y'all blog readers don't subscribe, you should, or at least pick up a trophy copy on the news stands when it shows up there soon. Behold the power of the intaw3bz, indeed... :)
Mac Geek Status Symbol on ebay.
Mint condition TAM, all original packaging: Six days left to go, 9 bids, up to $290 already...
...for what is, in essence, a Pentium I-class machine. Swoopy case design, though. And hand-stitched Italian glove leather palm rests. The Bose sound system kicks, too. Someone should go buy it.
The pièce de résistance? The trackpad is detachable, and its little cord spools into a recess on the underside of the keyboard. If you detach and deploy it, there's another little recess under the keyboard that contains a leather covered piece contoured to fill the gap left by the track pad. That's just ever so slick. Ten years later, and the machine still looks like a science fiction movie prop...
...for what is, in essence, a Pentium I-class machine. Swoopy case design, though. And hand-stitched Italian glove leather palm rests. The Bose sound system kicks, too. Someone should go buy it.
The pièce de résistance? The trackpad is detachable, and its little cord spools into a recess on the underside of the keyboard. If you detach and deploy it, there's another little recess under the keyboard that contains a leather covered piece contoured to fill the gap left by the track pad. That's just ever so slick. Ten years later, and the machine still looks like a science fiction movie prop...
Blog Stuff: Fear my geekitude.
On the excavated table to my left are a scattering of old PowerBooks, an iBook, and a beige Mac Performa desktop, the latter of which is up and running. In front of me is a big P4 tower covered in stickers and surrounded by speakers, card readers, a remote for the sound system, WiFi antennae, a docked Sony PDA, and et cetera.
If you didn't notice the dust on the PDA, and the fact that the P4 was doing nothing but web surfing while the Performa was idling away at a game of Civ II, you might think I was actually getting stuff accomplished. Wotan knows the setup sure looks productive.
If you didn't notice the dust on the PDA, and the fact that the P4 was doing nothing but web surfing while the Performa was idling away at a game of Civ II, you might think I was actually getting stuff accomplished. Wotan knows the setup sure looks productive.
News: Not with a bang, but a whimper.
Glasgow terrorist likely to die.
Gosh, I'm all tore up about that. Probably a pretty painful way to go, too.
Gosh, I'm all tore up about that. Probably a pretty painful way to go, too.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
From elsewhere on the 'net...
Here, in reference to this:
I'd rather everybody in this country got killed by meth-crazed biker hoodlums tomorrow than continue this inanity that goes on in the name of stopping the substance. The cure is much much much much worse than the disease.Thank god that oxygen isn't used in making meth, or the damn DEA would issue an administrative ruling making it a felony to breathe.
The liberties that have been taken by the government to fight meth make the darkest days of the "crack epidemic" look like the Libertarian Party platform...
Boomsticks: An idea...
.300 Whisper .300 Fireball .300 Whisper .300 Fireball
Now that I've got Google's attention, I wonder how low a package deal containing a .300 Fireball upper and a matching can could be priced and still remain profitable? I wonder how many people would be interested?
Discuss amongst yourselves; I'll see if I can't point certain people towards this post if it seems to arouse any interest...
Now that I've got Google's attention, I wonder how low a package deal containing a .300 Fireball upper and a matching can could be priced and still remain profitable? I wonder how many people would be interested?
Discuss amongst yourselves; I'll see if I can't point certain people towards this post if it seems to arouse any interest...
Politics: The world turned upside down.
When I was little, politics was understandable:
1) Republicans wanted to outlaw fun, but would leave your money alone.
2) Democrats would make fun legal, but would take all your money so you couldn't afford to have any.
3) Republicans got caught in other people's bank accounts.
4) Democrats got caught in other people's pants.
Now politicians can't even get their scandals right: Louisiana has a Democrat Congressman who got busted for a financial scandal, and now they have a GOP Senator caught up in an illicit nookie scandal.
What's this world coming to?
1) Republicans wanted to outlaw fun, but would leave your money alone.
2) Democrats would make fun legal, but would take all your money so you couldn't afford to have any.
3) Republicans got caught in other people's bank accounts.
4) Democrats got caught in other people's pants.
Now politicians can't even get their scandals right: Louisiana has a Democrat Congressman who got busted for a financial scandal, and now they have a GOP Senator caught up in an illicit nookie scandal.
What's this world coming to?
More obsolete Mac stuff, with even more yet to follow...
So, finally having the free time to do some serious archeology in my apartment, I excavated the table next to VFTP Command Central. It was originally intended to hold my three old Mac laptops, but some rearranging of the freshly cleared surface allowed me to lug an object that had been collecting dustbunnies in the corner for years over and plop it down on the table. I dug through a box full of old cables, found what I was looking for, and plugged it in to put my plan into action.
Flashback to a conversation earlier that day:
Me: "So do you remember if that Performa 636CD had any problems? I don't think I ever booted it up."
Marko: "No, it was working when I tried it out back then. I think the battery on the motherboard is dead, though."
Me: "Cool. I'm going to hook it up tonight."
So...
Lug. Sweat. Grunt. Heave. Whine. Poke. Bonggggg! Chime. Happy Mac. Cool!
The computer that had sat untouched in a corner for over five years ground to life. I poked around on the hard drive and, Hey! Presto! It has Civilization II loaded! I sat up 'til the wee hours last night playing one of the best computer games ever on a computer that required no shortcuts, workarounds, or kludges to run it. I think I'll leave the machine set up on the desk for that reason alone. Is any other reason really needed?
Flashback to a conversation earlier that day:
Me: "So do you remember if that Performa 636CD had any problems? I don't think I ever booted it up."
Marko: "No, it was working when I tried it out back then. I think the battery on the motherboard is dead, though."
Me: "Cool. I'm going to hook it up tonight."
So...
Lug. Sweat. Grunt. Heave. Whine. Poke. Bonggggg! Chime. Happy Mac. Cool!
The computer that had sat untouched in a corner for over five years ground to life. I poked around on the hard drive and, Hey! Presto! It has Civilization II loaded! I sat up 'til the wee hours last night playing one of the best computer games ever on a computer that required no shortcuts, workarounds, or kludges to run it. I think I'll leave the machine set up on the desk for that reason alone. Is any other reason really needed?
Today In History: *Glub.*
It's fashionable to natter on about "Cheese-Eating Surrender Monkeys" and so forth when discussing the French in the far right reaches of the blogosphere, but I've never joined in the chorus.
And the reason I've never joined in is because on this day in 1985, without waiting for UN permission or seeking any kind of world consensus or anything, the Frogs sank the hell out of that floating Greenpeace annoyance, the Rainbow Warrior. Anybody who sends a barge full of hippies to Davy Jones' locker can't be all bad.
I think I'll have some brie.
And the reason I've never joined in is because on this day in 1985, without waiting for UN permission or seeking any kind of world consensus or anything, the Frogs sank the hell out of that floating Greenpeace annoyance, the Rainbow Warrior. Anybody who sends a barge full of hippies to Davy Jones' locker can't be all bad.
I think I'll have some brie.
Monday, July 09, 2007
Blog Stuff: Thanks, SayUncle!
Regarding the tee shirt in this post, here's the video:
I've got the CD single in the drive right now. Incidentally, the opening lines should begin "Soon I discovered that this rock thing was true. Jerry Lee Lewis was the devil. Jesus was an architect, previous to his career as a prophet..." They're abbreviated in the video because the video is set to the mix on the CD called the [Short, Pusillanimous, So-They-Can-Fit-More-Commercials-On-The-Radio Edit]. Sixteen years later, it still makes me want to go drive. The back of the tee shirt says, in bold, black, sans-serif caps, "No Man With A Good Car Needs To Be Justified." I dread the day that shirt starts falling apart...
(For the gearhead geek, the engine on the t-shirt and CD cover is a late-'60s Mopar 440 Six-Pack.)
H/T to SayUncle.
I've got the CD single in the drive right now. Incidentally, the opening lines should begin "Soon I discovered that this rock thing was true. Jerry Lee Lewis was the devil. Jesus was an architect, previous to his career as a prophet..." They're abbreviated in the video because the video is set to the mix on the CD called the [Short, Pusillanimous, So-They-Can-Fit-More-Commercials-On-The-Radio Edit]. Sixteen years later, it still makes me want to go drive. The back of the tee shirt says, in bold, black, sans-serif caps, "No Man With A Good Car Needs To Be Justified." I dread the day that shirt starts falling apart...
(For the gearhead geek, the engine on the t-shirt and CD cover is a late-'60s Mopar 440 Six-Pack.)
H/T to SayUncle.
Boomsticks: Train, train, train.
pdb on a DCNC Defensive Pistol course.
Oleg Volk on a handgun course with Steve Fisher of Michigan Defensive Firearms Institute.
Oleg Volk on a handgun course with Steve Fisher of Michigan Defensive Firearms Institute.
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