Warning!

WARNING!: Riverdancing Over Water Can Cause Excessive Excitement!

Broad Ripple Camouflage...

A Subaru Forester wagon in its natural habitat.

Did you know that when you buy a ratty old used Subaru, the radio comes pre-tuned to NPR? True fact.

After lunch at Yat's with Turk, who had graciously driven me on my errand this morning, we stopped at the local indie hipster record shop to get a sticker for the rear window, which appears to be de rigueur for a SoBro Subie, and I'm sure I have an Apple logo sticker around here to match it someplace. Perhaps even the older rainbow Apple logo.

It'll be like having a cross between a cloaking device and a Somebody Else's Problem field. Where do hippies buy those other stickers? The one about the Air Force and bake sales? I need one of those, too...

Random car shopping thoughts...

• Shopping for Subarus in the snowy heart of December is like trying to get a good deal on a convertible on the first of June.


• Ditto 4WD SUVs.


• Did you know that you can get an AWD Ford Mondeo for pretty reasonable cash if you don't mind a bunch of Jaguar frippery hung off it?


• I'll bet that short-bed RWD Dakota with a V-8 and sport tires would have tuck & roll upholstery after I drove rode in it down an icy road, clutching desperately at the wheel while the rear tires made like an uncoordinated puppy on a slick tile floor.


• Whereas Ford did their British acquisitions a world of good in the reliability department, it would appear that GM broke Saab, at least to judge by owner's reports. That's a shame; pre-GM Saabs were decent cars and made awesome winter drivers, what with being from Sweden and all.

Stranded.

So, noticing that the 8" of snow on the lawn had subsided a bit from melting and sublimation, Ma Nature dropped another three inches of global warming on us to freshen our drink, so to speak, with another three-to-five called for on Monday/Tuesday. Which also happen to be New Year's Eve/New Year's Day.

Could there be a worse time to need to get a roadster on summer sport tires (and which won't idle well) to a small independent garage?

It's looking like a tow truck on Wednesday is how this is going to work.

Bleh.

I'm seriously thinking about just buying something cheap, practical, and FWD and letting the Roadster Era draw to a close, and I don't like thinking like that, because that's when you start getting old.

An oasis of calm & an assault weapon off the street.

With roomie at work yesterday, I volunteered my services as native guide, traveling to a couple of local gun stores with Turk.

The first, 500 Guns, was something of an oasis in the current frenzied hurricane. It's not really an AR15 kind of place, although they usually have some Glock/HK/XD/SIG-type pistols in stock, but if you're looking for a cased double rifle in a caliber that begins in "5", this is the only place in town where you'll be able to comparison shop them.

There was nothing in the shop I couldn't live without, but the Enfield No.2 Mk.IV .22 trainer was mighty tempting. I have often thought it would be fun to go to a smallbore-only indoor range and watch the RSO's expression as I blithely un-cased a SMLE.

From there we proceeded to Premier Arms, which was packed like they were giving dollar bills away. They hadn't jacked prices on anything, but had signs up stating that they had a 1 box per caliber per customer policy in place.

All the ARs and AKs were gone, as well as the AUGs and FS2000 and several other EBRs that were usually in stock. The self-loading shelf was denuded save for a stainless Ruger Mini-something-or-other and what looked like a collector-vintage Colt SP1. Didn't see any AR or AK mags, either, but I didn't look real hard; I got mine.

I did see a deadly high-capacity assault weapon that tickled my fancy, however. And we can't just let these things run loose, right? We're supposed to get them off the street, no?

Thirteen rounds of .32 caliber fury. If you can find a less practical pistol, buy it.

For some reason, the proprietor didn't realize that high-capacity assault-y type weapons were selling like sno-cones in Hades, and made me an offer I couldn't refuse on this pristine-in-the-box Beretta 81, so old that the instruction manual was only printed in Italian and it still had the old "Berben Corporation, N.Y., N.Y." importer's marks.

It is safely off the streets now. (And for only two-and-a-half used GI 30rd magazines at current Cheaper Than Dirt pricing!)

To the camps with the opposition!

Interesting discussion going on in comments here on the topic of reasoned discourse. (And by "reasoned discourse", I mean actual reasoned discourse and not Reasoned Discourse™.)

Which reminded me of a post that Erik made over at P-F.com in response to somebody describing people in favor of gun control as "fear-driven", "low-information", and "childlike":

That seems entirely too reductionist and dismissive to me. I know a number of people who understand that the world is an inherently unsafe place and support the individual right to keep and bear arms conceptually who still look at recent events and think that banning "assault weapons" might just be a reasonable step. Those people don't understand why anybody who isn't in a position of authority would need a weapon "that can shoot so many bullets so fast" and can't help but think that reducing the number of those weapons that are available would make a difference. Those people are not part of a control-driven elite and they're not child-like in nature. They are responsible, adult, well-intentioned people whose hearts are broken by events such as Newtown and they want to make a difference. They think that banning "assault weapons" is taking responsibility and that clinging to them is irrational. Those are the people you need to reach, and you can't do it if you don't start from a place of mutual respect. 

We mock the scornful tone put forth in editorials from the other side as "Why won't you stupid cousin-humping rednecks vote for us?" and then expect the flip side of the same coin to work: "Why won't you childish emotional communist hippies listen to my logical arguments?"

I manage to discuss politics with the Democrat Next Door just fine. I think she's wronger than a monkey riding a poodle, but I'll grant that she's smart and well-meaning and came by her wrongness honestly, and I'm not going to change her mind on a single issue by shouting or belittling her.

Of the "four boxes", I'd greatly prefer to win using the soapbox. 

Oh, IMPD! You're just the gift that keeps on giving!

Another IMPD officer arrested, and it's not for drunk driving this time!

Detectives from the IMPD Special Investigations Unit arrested 40-year-old John Haggard of Indianapolis. He was arrested for burglary, criminal recklessness, criminal confinement, pointing a firearm, domestic battery and battery.

*facepalm*

In the wake of the Bisard scandal, any new chief that came in was going to be facing a mucking-out chore of Augean Stable proportions. It would take a leader of Herculean abilities to carry it off, and unfortunately the new guy is just not giving off that kind of vibe.
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Stuff...

Walked to the grocery store again yesterday. Butter and eggs.

Had lunch at Twenty Tap (a spicy Cuban sandwich again because we fear change) with a pint of beer that I ordered because its name made me think about the Farm Fam: Farmageddon! That was darn yummy; too bad it's seasonal.

Lots of folks still hadn't shoveled their walks, the bastiges. I did much of my walking in the street, which was at least well-packed down. It was my maiden voyage on Yaktrax, without which things would have been a lot more harrowing, I can tell you. Recommend!

Met the ambassador from Turonistan in the afternoon, and spent the evening in Azeroth with my posse.

So, yesterday was a good day; I didn't have to use my AK. (Which is a good thing, I suppose, considering I don't even have one.)

The small rectangular arena.

Last weekend the publisher of S.W.A.T. Magazine*,  Rich Lucibella, appeared on the MSNBC morning show Up with Chris Hayes, in a panel discussion which wound up featuring no brandishing of illegal props and 72% less flung spittle than other gun control debates on weekend political shows.


I've known Rich for many years now, as have a few of my fellow bloggers, all dating back to when we were on staff at TheFiringLine.com, and I can say that he's on the short list of people I'm not at all worried about parking in front of a hostile camera to represent my team.


*FTC DISCLAIMER: For which I do assorted web scutwork in exchange for money.

No Blog For You.

Maybe later.

Euclidean Meteorology.

Winter Storm Euclid has come and gone.

Roseholme Cottage's primary piece of snow-clearing equipment is a smallish plastic shovel. (There's also a small snowthrower, but due to the fact that it is powered by a remotely-located coal-fired generator and there is a paucity of external outlets at Roseholme, it is mostly used for major emergency operations, like clearing the alley with a drop cord running into the garage.)

The snow was wet and heavy, and as I cleared the walks around Roseholme and the neighbor's house, each shovelful had to be turned upside down and given a vigorous jerk to get the snow to turn loose.

I basked in the smug feeling one gets from being only the second or third house on the block to have their walks cleared, and then set off on a celebratory stroll to the Fresh Market for bacon.

Worst single-day snowfall we've had since... January '09? I think? Probably eight or ten inches.

The Heart of SoBro. Taken from the Fresh Market parking lot, left to right are Moe & Johnny's, Sam's Gyros, and Twenty Tap. Compare to this photo.

Businesses were closing early all over the city, including all "non-essential" city government offices (Mr. Mayor, I just had a budget-slashing idea!) Apparently if your boss tells you it's too dangerous to drive to work, you need to go get some antifreeze at Moe & Johnny's before attempting the run home.

Ugly out there...

The blizzard has pretty much ground the city to a halt. Heavy, wet snow and 40mph wind gusts have created whiteout conditions and filled roadside ditches all over central Indiana.

The timing couldn't have been worse, reaching its crescendo right about the same time as morning rush hour, so plenty of people set out for work with a heart full of optimism and wound up sitting backwards in the median, as even the snowplows were pulling off the road in places to wait until they could see.

Good thing Roseholme Cottage's larders are full.
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Whitman or Spambot?

It's time for today's round of  "Whitman or Spambot?"

Was the following written by the noted free verse poet or by a subroutine in a server in Shanghai?

Sit on overlooking
The noble grace of bearing
With different people
With different excuses to see
One can not help but ask

I sing the body electric, indeed...

Oh, it's just what I always wanted!

According to Breitbart.com, the D.C. Metro Police are giving me a great, big stuffed Schadenfreude for Christmas!

Washington D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier has confirmed that the department is looking into allegations that NBC's David Gregory violated D.C.'s gun banning laws during a recent taping of Meet the Press.

 Apparently, there's no "Sanctimonious Dickhead" loophole in the statute.
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Ugh.

Before too long I'm going to need to go clear Winter Storm Euclid off the sidewalks and my roommate's car.

They're calling for 6"-10" of snow between now and nightfall that, judging from the 40-mph winds, is mostly going to be stuck to the sides of trees and houses and slow-moving squirrels.

This is going to be a two-pot-of-coffee morning, I can tell you that.

Also, I don't think the Zed Drei is going to make it into the shop today, dammit.

Bears and Bulls and Bullets...

People are reporting sick things happening on the internet auction sites. I heard rumors of an AR bolt-carrier group selling for $265, a completed Rock River lower bid up over eight bills. Writes one guy at Pistol-Forum.com:

I put a hacked on Glock 19 on there for starting bid of $.01 with no reserve and it was already to $405 before I could edit the description with some HTML to pretty it up, like 90 seconds later.

Back around '04-'06, I made a very conscious decision to change my focus from gun accumulating to gun collecting, and began to divest myself of "flat-black people-poppers".

I kept the customized 1911s, since I carried them, but all the various Glocks and SIGs and HKs and Berettas got turned into more old S&W revolvers. Similarly, I kept a brace or so of AR carbines for practical reasons, but unloaded everything from the old Norinco AK underfolder and the custom .223 FAL to the full-pimp HK-91 and the Beretta AR70 in favor of old Mausers, Springfields, Mannlicher-Schoenauers, and the like.

Now I'm seeing the craziest price bubble I've seen since the Dutch went long on tulip bulbs.

I'm feeling a little sick.

I wonder what that AR70 would fetch on Gunbroker right now?

Jolly old elf in the wire! Blow your claymores!

A very very Merry Christmas to all of you out there in readerland!

Here's hoping that Santa was good to you and that you have a plate full of tasty vittles waiting for you today!
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A question...

I am honestly curious about this.

Neither mental illness nor magazine-fed firearms are new things in this nation (although gun control largely is.)

What kept disturbed kids in the '50s from wandering into the cafeteria with a mail-order M1 carbine and laying waste?

Discuss.

Made in Malaise-ia...

Talk about more than just the usual job worries to cloud the mood: Confidence among U.S. consumers dipped to its lowest point in December since July amid rising economic worries, according to a monthly index released Friday.

The Big Recovery remains as elusive as always. This year's holiday spending orgy turned out to be more of a "holiday spending chaperoned date"...

Keeping those cards and letters coming...

SayUncle noted a couple days ago that "[i]f everyone who bought an AR-15 magazine since 2004 wrote their congresscritter and told them to not support any restrictions on gun rights, no bill would see the light of day."

Perhaps coincidentally, this thread popped up the next day at P-F.com:

 I spent six years working on Capitol Hill. One as a staff aide for a particular Senate committee, two as a legislative correspondent for a Senator, and three as a legislative aide for the same Senator.

For those of you who don't know, a legislative corespondent (LC) is basically a fancy title for a young twenty-something just out of college who receives the letters and emails that you write, and is usually the person who writes you back. Generally, Congressmen have one or two LC's who do all of their letters for every issue, while Senators have a whole team of LC's that handle letters for certain issues that they're assigned (IE: a military LC, a healthcare LC, an education LC, etc.). Here's a few things that I picked up as an LC that might help you should you choose to write your Congressional delegation:

If you're going to write, you should go read the thread.