Rocky Mountain Blogger Bash

And pretty good dinner, too. We're on for Saturday the 30th of April, 7 PM back at the Old Mill brewpub and restaurant in Historic downtown Littleton.
Thanks to Jed for the spiffy logo. We're in the birthday room, to the left as you walk in, so wear your birthday suit and fit right in. It's at 5798 S Rapp St, Littleton, CO 80120 for those of you wanting to Mapquest it, and it's 3 blocks west of the Littleton light rail station if you want to ride in. Come a bit early, and get a head start on the rest of us with the beer.

Update: Jiggered to make this sticky until the 30th. Of course I'll be in my birthday suit, but I usually go for a well-layered look.

Car Fun

What do you know about 50's cars?

In my case, probably way too much. I got 90% correct.

For an extra 10 points, name the U.S. auto makers that were producing cars in 1950, that were extinct in 1960.

The Birth Certificate

Performing the greatest, and possibly only act of transparency since coming to office, The President released his long-form birth certificate today, proving definitively that he is not a Kenyan Marxist.

He's a natural-born American Marxist.

People Ask Me Questions

Sometimes they expect an intelligent answer, although at my age this is becoming increasingly optional.

Q: "Why would you put butter on a cat's feet?"

A: "To insure it landed right side up when dropped, of course."

Yes, I actually got asked this.

Happy Easter

You did remember to stock up on those Holy Hand Grenades of Antioch at the last gun show, right?

Thanks to Paula for the pic. I have no idea where she found it.

Obamas First Campaign Poster

Found by our secret sneaky spies planted deep in the Obama campaign organization:
And remember, those numbers affect everything you buy, including groceries.

Pic and further good article found at Ace of Spades.

Quote Of The Week

Celebrating Earth Day / Arbor Day / Lenins Birthday or whatever, this from Mark Steyn:

My township in New Hampshire is 90 per cent forested, but you can never have too many trees, so on Earth Day I always like to plant a couple more, get the tree cover in my town up to 97, 98 per cent, whatever it takes to send climate change into reverse. Of course, it's always a big pain in the neck the morning after Earth Day, when the holiday’s over, and it’s time to take down the trees. So these days I generally just plant artificial trees with the nice silvery tinselly branches, and then you can just take them down and put 'em in the attic till next year's Earth Day.

I love the way he manifests as both reverential and practical at once. Of course there's nothing wrong with turning the lights off for an hour either as long as you've got someone to hand to share the moment with. And maybe some of that Viagra beer, too.

Beer

Is there anything it can't do?

Probably not, especially if you start mixing secret ingredients in to it. Viagra, for example.

Now the fat chick at the end of the bar not only looks 30 lb thinner, .........

Earth Day

Sorry I'm late with this but I was out shooting hippies in a high wind yeaterday:
Gosh, I feel so much better for participating.

Range Time

At least it was time at the range. When you park the truck 20 ft from the target board so you can stand on the leeward side at 25 ft, and the wind is still bad enough that you have trouble keeping an 8-1/2 x 11 target under the sights, after the first couple rounds you should take the hint and pack it up.

When you're dedicated enough to drive 45 miles to endure this kind of privation, you shoot 2 targets for each postal match, running up single-digit scores before throwing in the towel.

Maybe next weekend. Maybe tomorrow. There's no show forecast until tomorrow evening.

Investigating High Gas Prices

The Prez, unable to figure out what's causing the price of gas to go up, has asked the attorney general to investigate. The Just-us department will be looking for fraud and manipulation in the market.

What will you bet that the EPAs carbon dioxide / global warming fraud and the moratorium on permits for drilling or construction of new refineries will not be mentioned?

I further speculate that the guiltiest parties will be the ones who contributed the least to the administrations re-election campaign. If BP can be shaken down for 20 billion, the rest can pony up as well.

Frankly I liked it better in the previous administration when the Prez was a puppet of the Big Oil companies and gas was $1.50.

What Have You Done For Me Lately?

Via the Daily Caller, The latest rumor coming out of Washington is that the Prez, miffed that corporations and unions now have the ability to look after their own interests, will be issuing an executive order to reduce corruption in the issuance of government contracts.

Reduce corruption? I hear you say. What Chicago pol would knowingly cut his own throat like that?

Well, not this one. The way it works is that it would require all companies that sign contracts with the federal government to report on the personal political activities of their officers and directors, to include all political contributions to or expenditures on behalf of political candidates. Want to keep that contract? Make sure you've demonstrated your friendship and support of the administration, and in case of a tie, the friendliest company will win.

It's how they do it in Zimbabwe.

Illegals Get In State Tuition

The Colorado Senate has passed a bill giving in-state tuition at Colorado colleges to illegal aliens. The bill now goes to the House.

The House recently passed a bill setting Colorado up as a permit-less concealed carry state, and sent the bill to the Senate.

The Democratic senate killed the House's bill. One would expect the Republican House to do the same for the Senate's offering.

I had a link to the article on the tuition, but I noticed that the copyright is held by a pack of sleazy lawyers, so no links.

Real Rail Gun

This actually looks like the real thing, rather than something from a Mad Scientists basement. An aerodynamic projectile that passes through 1/8 in of steel plate at 100 yards, yeah, yeah big deal, but then carries another 7 kilometers downrange. This at zero degrees elevation. Muzzle velocity is 5250 fps.

Rail guns have been flogged in the past as being capable of much higher muzzle velocities, which is nice until you start looking at what happens to things traveling that fast in an atmosphere. Aerodynamic heating, for example, threatens to melt your projectile from a sleek dart to an unaerodynamic blob. Ceramic materials would help here although they lack the density of metals. Details, details.

It looks like the folks at General Atomics have backed off on the power a bit to gain some barrel life.

At the end of the day, a rail gun is a linear induction motor, and it's not hard to build one with an open end that runs on 120VAC and draws 15 Amps. Someone with time on their hands could figure out how fast a 1 ounce projectile would be traveling at the end of say 36 inches of acceleration. Any takers? Buller?

Internet Taxes

Sen Durban (D-Chicago Mob) is proposing taxes on all internet sales. As he asks:

“Why should out-of-state companies that sell their products online have an unfair advantage over Main Street bricks-and-mortar businesses here in Metro East?’’

Well, gee Dick, your cronies in the state government have burdened Illinois merchants with the second-highest tax rates in the country, and other states haven't done the same. Now somehow this is unfair? Businesses are moving out of the state and your neighbors are competing to bring them aboard.

What nest? A demand to make all state taxes equal to those of the highest taxer? They tried this in Europe, diplomatically demanding that Ireland "normalize" its 12% individual and 15% corporate tax rates, to something near the 35% rates imposed by Germany and France.

The Irish response was to normalize both the individual and corporate rates to 12%. The French had apoplexy. The Germans got the message and began reducing their tax rates.

Tax Day Humor

OK, so it isn't exactly Tax Day today on account of it being the Mayan Leap Year or something, but here's some nerd humor that might help.

Democrat Platform Suggestions Wanted

Someone put me on the mailing list of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, and Mr. Sergent has been regaling me with requests to write my congressmen and encourage them to vote the Dem party line, regardless of their affiliation.

There are a small number of Republicans willing to do this, but 1) They don't seem to need any encouragement to do so and 2) None of them represent me.

The latest missive asks that I complete a short survey expressing my position on the issues so that the candidates will know what lies to tell me in an effort to save their phony-baloney jobs. So I went to the site and filled out the survey from the drop-down answers provided.* Needless to say the selections reflecting my views were phrased in the most unappealing terms imaginable, but I dutifully informed them that I favored defunding the EPA and crushing baby ducks under earth-raping heavy machinery.

At the end, they let you clarify your positions in your own words, so I gave them several useful suggestions, like defunding the EPA and crushing baby ducks under earth-raping heavy machinery.

When you finish, and hit "submit" the next page asks for a bunch of personal information and of course a monetary contribution. Attempting to proceed from there without donating either is a no-go with implications that the value of your opinion is proportionate to your contribution, and that $0 = 0 opinion. Just close the page. You'll get a thank-you for your opinions.

Go here and tell them where you stand.

* In all fairness, groups I support do the same thing:
1: Do you support
a) Mom and Apple Pie.
b) the troops.
c) Driving your Prius across town over a plaintively peeping carpet of baby ducks to vote Democratic in 4 precincts, none of which you live in.

2: I'll donate
a) A lot of money.
b) Even more money.
c) More money yet, and I'll forgo the bribe you were offering me to fill this out.

Common Sense Gun Laws

The Bradys have a new hobby-horse to ride; "assault clips", these being detachable magazines for your boomstick that hold more than 10 rounds. By way of clarifying their position:
They want you to know that 10 of the holes in this target are acceptable, while 11 are not. You get to pick.

Also, either that's a very small target, or someone's using a very big gun. Maybe this one. Whatever, it's clear that the shooter needs more range time.

And looky here, I'm giving their campaign free coverage.

Medicinal Alcohol

Isn't it all? It says here that alcohol actually improves your ability to learn and remember things. I, for example, remember clearly when I learned that Tequila was in fact a dangerous hallucinogen that probably ought to be banned from the face of the earth.

O.K. there's a string of weasel-worded caveats attached to this, but further research seems to be indicated.

Oh and if you remember what it was we were studying, please remind me in the comments.

Cooking The Books

Remember the "misery index"? If you do you'll know it was made up from the sum of the unemployment rate and the inflation rate back during the Carter administration. It did a pretty good job of reminding the voters that things were not improving and suggesting the need for a new administration.

Ask a Dem today, and you'll be told that inflation is near zero, and unemployment is a paltry 8.8%, making the index about 9.

Use uncooked numbers, however, and the real misery index combines an inflation rate of around 9.8% with a real unemployment rate (U-6) of 15.7% and you get 25.5, eclipsing the top rate of 21.9 from the end of the Carter administration.

Proof that Obama has succeeded in making Jimmy Carter look good.

Cooking The Books

Here's an article suggesting that I've been right all along. Inflation is about an order of magnitude higher than the government tells us it is, or close to 10%, if you count the rising prices of things we buy regularly, like food and gasoline. Remember the caveat included in the news story that goes "discounting the volatile food and energy sectors" inflation is holding steady at .5%. That's .5%/month, folks. Multiply that number by 12 to get the annual rate.

Then try boycotting the food and energy sectors for a week and see how much money you save.

Since costs aren't high enough, Sen Durbin, of high-tax Illinois, is proposing to lift the unfair burden that internet sales pose upon businesses unlucky enough to be located in his state by requiring anyone who sells anything over the interned collect the state, county, municipal, and football stadium district taxes applicable to the customer, and be sure to remit these collections to the appropriate authorities.

"Why should out-of-state companies that sell their products online have an unfair advantage over Main Street bricks-and-mortar businesses?" Durbin said in a speech in Collinsville, Ill., in February. "Out-of-state companies that aren't paying their fair share of taxes are sticking Illinois residents and businesses with the tab."

Maybe he should be looking in to relieving the bricks-and-mortar folks back home of the burden the State government in imposing on them. Illinois just passed a huge increase in taxes that's driving businesses out of the state like people fleeing a freshly road-killed skunk.

Future Weapons

The Navy has mounted a small (15KW) laser on a decommissioned destroyer, and held the beam stable enough to cut into the fuel tank of an outboard motor about a mile away. Nice trick. They hope to eventually work their way up to a 100 KW device which should prove interesting.

About 10 years ago I wrote a purchase order for a 100KW laser, and had it delivered at a cost of about $250K. If the Navy is interested, I could probably order another one and have it delivered to their favorite shipyard. They are used for welding automotive airbag inflators together. The aiming technology seems to be worked out, and the cost, by DOD standards seems quite reasonable.

I'd be interested to see what one of these could do to the inflatable part of the inflatable speedboats the Iranians are using to harass shipping in the strait of Hormuz. Probably less than a short burst from a Phalanx gun, but with greater denyability.

Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms

Chris ex Machina comments:

Oh, and why is there a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms anyway? That makes as much sense as having a Bureau of Coal, Petroleum and Citrus Fruit.

Well, it has to do with the potential to bring in money, mostly. I probably shouldn't mention this, but they could probably bring in more money with a Bureau of Sex, Drugs, and Rock-N-Roll. The administration of these items is currently diffused between HHS, FDA, FBI, and the Trial Lawyers Assn.

H/T to Law Dog for the pointer.

Tactical Underwear

Everything's tactical nowadays. Tactical being defined as "black and expensive", so here's something tactical for you ladies: Tactical Underwear:
Note how well the lightweight carbon-fiber, and no doubt impact-resistant garments go with the uber-tactical AR-pattern rifle, chambered in distinctly non-tactical .22LR, but fitted with a matching carbon-fiber tactical suppressor.

Besides, I haven't put up any cheesecake here in a good long while.

Happy Birthday

To me. This blog is 3 years old today. Everybody go out and have a beer, and tell the bartender I sent you. I guarantee you'll get some really funny looks with your beer.

U.S. Troops Held Hostage

You'll never guess who's holding them either. Or maybe you will.

Unless he gets to continue spending money we don't have, he'll cut off the troops paychecks. Pentagon funding too, so when the troops run out of ammo, they can walk home.

What a peach!

Uncounted Votes Found! Underdog Wins!

In the (formerly) very close Supreme court election in Wisconsin, a county clerk discovered that due to a clerical error, some 14,300 votes, mostly for Prosser had not been entered into the database on election night.

What's unusual here is that 1) this looks like a legitimate clerical error and 2) it favors the Republican.

Now the Dems have to fish all those "spare" ballots they thought they wouldn't need out of the dumpsters and put them back in the trunks of abandoned cars to be "found" during the recount.

Let Them Eat Cake

The Prez, today, speaking from a foreign-owned windmill plant that had been the lucky recipient of stimulus money, assessed the concerns of a fellow in the audience who asked about skyrocketing gas prices by saying:

“If you’re complaining about the price of gas and you’re only getting 8 miles a gallon, you know,” Obama said laughingly. “You might want to think about a trade-in.”

In a word, "Let them drive Volts."

I doubt the fellows vehicle was getting 8 mpg, it's hard to find even gas guzzlers that do much worse than 15 anymore, but if he's having trouble filling the tank, he probably isn't planning to use his next fill-up allowance to finance a new Volt.

Re-Elect Obama?

So the anointed one has announced his candidacy for a second term, some 20 months in advance of the election. Like anyone doubted he wouldn't run again.

I suspect the early start is to allow him to vacuum up all the easily available donations well in advance of someone else announcing and forcing him into an expensive and possibly embarrassing primary fight.

Watch the donation amounts in the coming months and see if they seem a bit low, as donors hedge their bets and keep some or even most of it back until the landscape becomes a bit clearer.

The scriptwriter for Mad Magazine, lurking inside me sees Hillary announcing her resignation as Secretary of State later this year, and her plane crashing while carrying her on one last assignment, apparently due to a bomb on board which explodes over the middle of the Pacific, where the wreckage will never be recovered. The smile on Obamas face while he delivers the eulogy is a dead giveaway.

Rogue Websites

Has anyone noticed that the governments proposed legislation to curtail so-called "rogue websites" that deal in counterfeit goods and trademark and copyright violations would put the government in the Righthaven business in a gigantic way?

The government would not have to hold a copyright to close a website for copyright violation, simply establish that the site did not have written permission from the original author to use any part of the work.

Thus quoting a newspaper or TV bit that has said something ranging from egregiously stupid to outright false will get a site shut down and the owner charged with a federal felony. Sounds like a great way to restore the information monopoly the MSM used to have.

April Postal Matches

There are more than just these I'm sure, but here are two for a fun trip to the range.

First is in the Mr Completely series, and is sponsored by the Conservative UAW guy.
A left hand and right hand effort for this one.

Over at Cheaper Than Dirt, they have one just for fun:
No prizes for either one, but CTD will put your name in a hat for a drawing for a $50 gift certificate. Like you needed an excuse to go to the range. Detailed rules at the respective sites along with full-sized pdf versions of the targets.

The U.N. Does A Survey

Then cooks the books, lies about it, and demands that everyone make things worse.

Regarding small arms ownership, the survey clearly shows that more guns = more personal freedom, more economic freedom, and less government corruption. To steal a quote from the U.N. report:

The unchecked spread of [small arms] has…contributed to human rights violations, undermined political and economic development…

when exactly the opposite is true. It also depends on what, exactly you call "gun crime". Under Mao, China had a policy of strictly forbidding the peasants from owning guns. In this time, the government killed enough people to give an average murder rate of 317/100K. For comparison the rate in Chicago or D.C tops out at something in the 60's. Official killings, however, don't count.

Dictators, unlike the peasants, have a right to self-defense.

Science Marches Onward

Scientists claim they will soon be able to modify cows to produce breast milk.

Uh, isn't that what is is already? Oh wait, they mean Human breast milk.

Questions have been raised as to how exactly this might affect the cows.

(Visualizing a heard of cows who now resemble Dolly Parton in at least one location.)

(Visualizing some English scientists holding flasks of milk, laughing maniacally; Bwahahaha!)

The lonely lives of scientists, I guess.

Fun With Numbers

An AP story is proclaiming that Republicans plan a $4T budget cut. Sounds great, doesn't it? Since the 2011 budget, if it ever gets passed, runs about $3.5T, this would require that all the money we've just given to Washington be given back, and all government employees be required to do some large number of hours of free community service.

There's a catch, of course, all this cutting is to be spread out over a 10-year period. Well, O.K. but the current proposed budget wants to spent $1.5T that we don't have every year into the foreseeable future. The Republican cuts would reduce the annual deficit to $500B/year for the next 10 years, but that's the difference between bleeding to death slowly from cutting your wrists, and bleeding to death rapidly from cutting your throat.

Still, it's a major impovement over the piddling $30B - $60B cuts currently on offer.

And, after hearing the wailing from the left over the rounding error adjustments the Repubs have proposed so fat, I imagine the screams of anguish will have the corpse of Torquemada smiling in his grave.

Seething In The Middle East

In the news are stories about Afghans rioting and killing U.N. workers and one another as a reaction to some nobody in Florida publicly burning a Koran. At the same time, the administration is dropping real bombs on Muslims in Libya, and no one seems to be much concerned, outside of the U.S. Congress. Why is this?

Well, it's simple. Islam, you see is not so much a religion as it is a death cult. One advances to Heaven by offing ones fellow man. Or woman or child. But not just any unfortunate passer-by will do. Some are worth more than others in the game of Holy Bingo. Here's how you tell:
Print this out, fold it in the middle, laminate it in plastic, and you too can keep track of how close to all those virgins you actually are. Lest anybody become confused as to what exactly constitutes an apostate, it's anyone who attends a mosque other than yours.

In Libya, apostates are being killed on both sides of the battle lines, so that's good. In Florida however, no one was killed at all, an oversight the Afghans are dealing with with great enthusiasm.

Hope this clears things up.