2006/04/28

Misc. Friday Ramblings...

I'd hit it through the cell bars...

Friday FIREPOWER!

  • Military Combat Photographer of the Year.
    The Visual Information Awards Program is designed to recognize, reward, and promote excellence among military photographers, videographers, journalists and graphic artists for their achievements in furthering the objectives of military photography, videography, and graphic arts as a command information and documentation media within the military. This program operates under the aegis of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs and is administered by the Commandant of the Defense Information School, with cooperation from national and local professional organizations.
    120mm outgoing:


  • What is wrong with the following picture?

    hint: which end of the firearm is the photographer facing?

2006/04/27

Minuteman Project gains mainstream appeal

Laurie Lisonbee worried about illegal immigration but figured it was somebody else’s issue — until she saw hundreds of thousands of immigrants and their supporters marching across her TV screen.

Soon, Lisonbee had recruited several friends to attend a demonstration by the Minuteman Project, a volunteer group that patrols the border to keep out illegal immigrants. Now, the 51-year-old art professor checks the group’s Web site daily and plans a summer trip to the Mexican border to help build a fence.

Minuteman organizers say this spring’s marches have proved to be an unexpected recruitment tool for Americans who feel uneasy about the burgeoning immigration movement but may have considered the organization a pack of gun-toting vigilantes.

“We’re not trying to be more mainstream — mainstream has found us,” said Stephen Eichler, the group’s executive director. “They’re saying, ’These guys actually have teeth, they don’t all chew tobacco, they don’t all have a gun rack in the back of their truck.’ They’re saying, ‘They believe what I believe,’ and they’re joining us.”

Do you think it was simply a coincidence that the first day of the marches all of the flags were Mexican, but the next day there were more and more American flags? Some people who either didn't care or actually supported the illegals saw that the illegals didn't care about America, just the money that they could send back to Mexico. This just might lead to the race war that some folks predicted, much to the chagrin of the NAACP.

2006/04/26

Model Behavior

Former Sports Illustrated swimsuit model May Andersen was arrested after allegedly becoming unruly and striking a flight attendant on a plane from Amsterdam to Miami, police said.

Andersen, 23, of Denmark, continued being loud and violent after officers met Martinair Flight 643 on the ground Thursday, Miami-Dade Airport Police said.
She was examined for alcohol and substance abuse at Jackson Memorial Hospital and later transported to the Miami-Dade County Jail.

She has a hold for immigration, which means no bail has been set. She cannot be released until immigration lifts it, said Janelle Hall, a corrections spokeswoman

This is your model:

This is your model on drugs:

2006/04/25

Judge says worker can't be fired for surfing the web

Saying surfing the web is equivalent to reading a newspaper or talking on the phone, an administrative law judge has suggested that only a reprimand is appropriate as punishment for a city worker accused of failing to heed warnings to stay off the Internet.

Administrative Law Judge John Spooner reached his decision in the case of Toquir Choudhri, a 14-year veteran of the Department of Education who had been accused of ignoring supervisors who told him to stop browsing the Internet at work.

The ruling came after Mayor Michael Bloomberg fired a worker in the city's legislative office in Albany earlier this year after he saw the man playing a game of solitaire on his computer.

In his decision, Spooner wrote: "It should be observed that the Internet has become the modern equivalent of a telephone or a daily newspaper, providing a combination of communication and information that most employees use as frequently in their personal lives as for their work."

He added: "For this reason, city agencies permit workers to use a telephone for personal calls, so long as this does not interfere with their overall work performance. Many agencies apply the same standard to the use of the Internet for personal purposes."

Spooner dispensed the lightest possible punishment on Choudhri, a reprimand, after a search of Choudhri's computer files revealed he had visited several news and travel sites.

Martin Druyan, Choudhri's lawyer, called the ruling "very reasonable."

Too bad this can't apply to the private sector, where they expect results.

2006/04/24

Let the beatings begin.

About 3659 people packed Stadium Southland yesterday for the largest pillow fight the world had ever seen, unofficially beating the previous world record by 11.

The What Now-organised event, an official Guinness World Record attempt, was broadcast live.

The goal was to do better than the previous pillow-fighting record of 3648 people, set at the University of Albany, New York, on April 17, 2005.

At 9.59am the registrations, running hot since 6am, had come in short at 3429.

But it seemed obvious to a lot of people that there were enough people to get the record, so the hooter sounded on time at 10am.

Sixty seconds of bedlam followed.

St John primary care worker Faye Stewart said she was surprised there wasn't more carnage.

"I had everything ready but it turns out they fought decently."

Registrations continued after the hooter to add those people who had not had time to sign on beforehand.

What Now associate producer Jo Eade said the show was absolutely rapt with the support that secured the record.

The next step to officially secure the record was to send a video-taped copy of the show, as well as all the registrations and paperwork, to Guinness records for the official confirmation, which would take at least six weeks, she said.

Hope no one pulled a Bad Boy moment and stuff the pillow case with sodas.

2006/04/21

Misc. Friday Ramblings...



Friday FIREPOWER!
  • A CCW 5.56mm pistol - The Kel Tech PLR-16.
    At first, I thought of the PLR-16 as a really fun plinker; something that could be taken out for blasting away some cheap surplus ammo. The weapon fills this role very well, and I almost did not even attempt to test the gun for accuracy. However, I did attach a Trijicon Reflex dot sight atop the Kel-Tec. I prefer the Trijicon above all other dot sights, as it never needs batteries, and is always "on", being powered by tritium. After seeing how accurate the PLR-16 appeared to be, I sat down at the bench and fired a few groups with the Trijicon attached. I was impressed, so I then mounted a scope and tested the weapon for accuracy at one hundred yards, with very pleasing results. This gun is much more than just a fun plinker. It has the accuracy potential for long range hunting, much like a semi-auto Thompson Contender. It should prove a lot of fun on vermin, and would do very well for turkey hunting, where legal to use a pistol. Groups hovered around one inch with good ammo at one hundred yards, with some surplus stuff grouping about twice that big.

    Also, where a close-quarters weapon is required, the PLR-16 should serve quite well. It conceals reasonably well under a coat, and fits perfectly and discreetly into a gym bag or other similarly sized case. It offers a lot of firepower in a reasonably compact package. Recoil is light, and one can fire through a thirty round magazine in just a few seconds, if needed. The PLR-16 exhibited accuracy much better than I had anticipated. What I had assumed was just a fun plinker, turned out to be capable of filling other, more serious, roles as well.

    Check them out online at: http://www.kel-tec.com/

    It is based of the existing SU-16. A nice little gun, and the video there gives me an idea of what to do with my duster. heh.

  • Future Weapons on Discovery.
    FUTUREWEAPONS is an exciting new series that invites the viewer into the macabre and secret world of weapons development.

    Ex-Navy SEAL Richard "Mack" Machowicz takes us on a wild ride around the globe in his search to find the ultimate weapon. The series will explore the science and technology that goes into making the most lethal and most sinister weapons yet devised, and we'll meet bizarre characters who spend their lives inventing new ways to obliterate the enemy.

    Mack gets "hands on" with the weapons, firing anything from smart missiles to futuristic lasers. He also will break a series of world scoops, revealing test firings that have never before been tried or seen.

    The series presents six compelling themes: "Stealth," "Weapons That Think," "No Place to Hide," "Maximum Impact," "Future Shock" and "The Power of Fear." Each program will leave the viewer gripped, fascinated and perhaps even shocked!

    I only caught the first part of the show last night after Mythbusters. It featured the Javelin AT missile. Nice piece of hardware there.

  • The foam that ate Ellsworth AFB.
    A test of a Fire Fighting Foam system at Ellsworth AFB. This was only supposed to last a few seconds, but the system would not shut-off.


2006/04/20

Make sure you get your shots.

  • Rare bubonic plague case reported in Los Angeles.
    A case of bubonic plague has been reported in the second largest US city of Los Angeles for the first time in 22 years, health officials said.

    An unidentified woman came down last week with symptoms of the disease, known as the Black Death when it devastatingly swept across Europe in the 14th century.

    Health officials said they believed the infected woman, who remains hospitalised, was exposed to fleas in the area around her house and stressed that the likelihood of a spread of the rare disease was very unlikely.

  • Mumps Hits Midwest.
    In the worst outbreak in nearly 20 years, mumps cases are spilling out of Iowa, popping up in at least seven other Midwestern states and perhaps seven more — leading to promises of extra vaccine from the U.S. stockpile.

    There are no deaths and few hospitalizations being reported from the disease, which health officials say might have been helped by air travel.

    But the nation's federal health agency said Wednesday it's the largest outbreak in almost two decades with more than 1,000 cases and it's expected to keep growing.

    Mumps is a virus spread by coughing and sneezing. The most common symptoms are fever, headache and swollen salivary glands under the jaw. But it can lead to more severe problems, such as hearing loss, meningitis and fertility-diminishing swollen testicles.

Definitely a week of Gonads and Strife. Damn squirrels.

2006/04/19

Katie Holmes finally has Tom's love child

Word of the world's most famous silent birth has finally been heard. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, the public lovebirds dubbed TomKat by the media, "joyously welcomed the arrival" of a baby girl Tuesday, said Cruise spokesman Arnold Robinson.

The girl, named Suri, came into the world at 7 pounds, 7 ounces and 20 inches long. Her name has its origins in Hebrew, meaning "princess," or in Persian, meaning "red rose," Robinson said in a statement.

"Both mother and daughter are doing well," the publicist said.

Details about the birth weren't disclosed, but it had been planned to take place as a silent procedure under the tenants of the Church of Scientology, to which both Cruise and Holmes belong.

Finally, now the world can concentrate on something bigger and better.....Brad and Angelina's baby. :P

2006/04/18

Game pulled due to porn cutout on reused cardboard.

A Volusia County grandfather thought he was just buying a game of checkers for his grandson, but when he opened it up he found much more than just a game board. He found a very racy picture.

The game of checkers says it's meant for kids ages 6 and up. But when John Finn bought it at a DeLand Winn Dixie for his 6-year-old grandson Matthew, what he found inside wasn't meant for any child to see.

The vendor, Promotions Unlimited, explained in a letter to Finn's wife that the cardboard was recycled from a factory in China.

"According to the distributor, he believed it was just an oversight. But it's the kind of oversight that is really something that can't be tolerated," Finn said.

Channel 9 also contacted the vendor of the product who said, from now on, the factories in China are being ordered to use only clean cardboard as packing material. Winn Dixie has pulled the game from nine stores.

But is the cardboard advertisement as bad as the suggestive photography from the news agency?

2006/04/14

Misc. Friday Ramblings...

PURGAMENTUM INIT, EXIT PURGAMENTUM

Friday FIREPOWER!
  • Myths and Terminology:


  • Sniper vs armor.
    1. A SWAT Sniper needs to know a lot of facts, even before the shot might be taken. My friend said that he was very concerned about shooting against 3 vests and plates, but if the bad guy was running, he might have had to take such a shot.

    Good thing that he didn't have to take it. It doesn't look like it would have penetrated 3 vests and 3 plates. Who'd have thought it?

    They also stopped the .223 TAP round.

    2. What about 3 vests at close range without the plates? They stopped the .40 S&W with no problem.

    But the .223 went right through.

    I've said it before.....rifles are rifles and pistols are pistols.

  • 700 gr. of whoop ass.
    The 700 gr. Hardcast is now part of our permanent line-up, and the response has been TREMENDOUS! This will handle any Tyrannosaurus in your back yard. This is the LARGEST COMMERCIAL LOAD AVAILABLE, and the only place you can get it is right here. Our standard loading for best accuracy and all-around knockdown power is 1200 fps with 2240 ft. lbs. of energy and a Taylor KO Factor of 60. The Taylor Factor places this between a 375 H&H Magnum and a 458 Win Mag. Richard Gibson from Homer, AK has designed and manufactures this bullet and is one of the best hand casters around. If you plan on shooting more than one or two of these in one session, we recommend wearing a padded shooting glove. If you are into maximum recoil and self-abuse, this is the round for you. The bottom line is - You've bought the Biggest and the Baddest Revolver out there and this will demonstrate it's MAXIMUM CAPABILITY!!


2006/04/13

Student injured by caps in pocket

A kindergarten student was airlifted via Bayflight to Tampa General Hospital earlier today.

Manatee County Emergency Medical personnel responded to Prine Elementary midday after the student accidentally set off what were described as "caps" in his pocket, according to the Manatee County School District.

Officials were uncertain as to exactly what type of caps the child had in his pocket.

Blasting caps?
Officials emphasized that students should never bring any items to school which could cause injury.

In some school districts, this can mean the brain.
The district is reviewing its policies to determine if the activity constitutes a violation of school board rules.

We care for the children by expelling them.

2006/04/12

DEA Agent Who Shot Self In Foot Sues

A Drug Enforcement Administration agent who stars in a popular online video that shows him shooting himself in the foot during a weapons demonstration for Florida children is suing over the tape's release, claiming that his career has been crippled and he's become a laughingstock due to the embarrassing clip's distribution.

No, I think the improper handling of the firearm pretty much insured that his career was crippled. Glock Fo-tay indeed.

2006/04/11

When birthday presents go awry

A Harrisville woman is recovering this morning after she crashed her new motorcycle into her neighbor's home over the weekend.

The accident happened on Saturday after the woman's 57th birthday, where she received a Harley-Davidson motorcycle from her husband.

Officers say the woman was driving around when the motorcycle went out of control and hit a curb. The woman then accidentally accelerated and crashed through her neighbor's front porch railing and into a brick wall.

Authorities say the woman suffered a broken arm and some ribs, but is expected to recover.

The woman's husband was riding around in the neighborhood when the crash happened.

Perhaps she'll get riding lessons as the anniversary gift?

2006/04/10

Active protection for armor.

Fox News was showing a lot of the new Israeli anti-missile system, Trophy. The technology is not new, as the Russians have been using it for a while now. There are friendly fire issues to deal with, and other issues such as not being able to mount it on lightly armored vehicles. However, it is a set in the right direction as far as heavy armor protection is concerned.

Several of these so-called "active protection" systems are making progress, both here and in Israel. Generally speaking, they all work in the same way, Defense News' Barbara Opall-Rome notes:
• A radar detects and identifies an approaching threat.
• Target information is transferred to a kill mechanism.
• The kill mechanism destroys the target at a safe distance from the vehicle.

A few weeks back, Trophy, an Israeli active protection set-up, went through its first tests on an American Stryker vehicle. It's already being used to protect Israeli tanks against rocket-propelled grenades.
[In a] Feb. 28 test... two inert RPGs were fired simultaneously; one would hit the Stryker while the other was intentionally aimed for a near miss… Trophy was able to track the trajectory, discriminate among the two parallel targets, and determine which one would actually hit the Stryker before selectively unleashing its lethal countermeasures. The actual method used to destroy the targets is classified.

The Pentagon's Office of Force Transformation is planning on using Trophy on its Project Sheriff vehicles -- those experimental personnel carriers, armed with pain rays and sonic blasters.

Meanwhile, the Army is pursuing its own active protection plans. Its Tank-Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center has been test-firing a system which blasts incoming RPGs with foot-long fragmentation rounds. Raytheon has just been handed a $70 million contract to actively protect the Army's next-generation combat vehicles. Last month, the company successfully demonstrated its "Quick Kill" RPG-stopper, eDefense notes.
The precision-launched weapon employs a technique called "soft launch," whereby it launches vertically from the vehicle, pitches over, and is propelled by its rocket motor to the point of intercept with the RPG, at which point it fires its warhead. This method provides a combat vehicle with full hemispheric protection from a single system, rather than placing a number of them around the sides of the vehicle. It also avoids the concussion and stress that a more traditional launch method would put on the vehicle.

In addition, a vehicle equipped with the Quick Kill system would typically carry eight to 16 such rounds that could be launched in a salvo to counter multiple RPG attacks.

There are other, more exotic active protection approaches, too. Army-funded researchers recently filed a patent to stop attacks with parachutes. The Brits think they can stop RPGs with massive electrical charges. And a Navy-backed company, Aoptix Technologies, wants to "apply... high energy light based weapons" to keep RPGs from landing.

2006/04/07

Misc. Friday Ramblings...



Friday FIREPOWER!
  • The BATFE is after gunsmiths?
    When does customization of a firearm become manufacturing? That seemingly simple question is occupying the near undivided attention of the firearms industry. Observers say it is a question with the potential to become a firestorm that could put custom gunsmiths out of business; if not behind bars.

    The controversy began with a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms inspection of Competitive Edge Gunworks in Bogard, Missouri. BATF and tax agents appeared and began examining the company's records. When they finished, owner Larry Crow was told he potentially faced felony charges for manufacturing firearms without a license.


  • Penn and Teller on gun control.
    Check out where she stashes the Keltec P-32.

  • Hot chick with fully automatic weaponry.

  • Another hot chick with a fully automatic weapon.

  • Exploding ammo injures teacher.
    Part of a Ventura instructor's right hand was severed Monday afternoon after he struck an object on his classroom desk against an old 40 mm round of ammunition while teaching.

    Colla had found the 40 mm round while hunting years ago, Huston said. He used it as a paperweight and "obviously he didn't think the round was live," Huston said.

    What possesses people to pick up an unknown ordnance without assuming that it is live without getting it verified?

2006/04/06

Tired of male domination, 5 Saudi women change sex.

Tired of playing second fiddle to men in conservative Saudi Arabia, five women decided if you can't beat them, join them.

Al Watan newspaper said the five women underwent sex change surgery abroad over the past 12 months after they developed a "psychological complex" due to male domination.

Women in Saudi Arabia, which adopts an austere interpretation of Islam, are not allowed to drive or even go to public places unaccompanied by a male relative.

The newspaper quoted a senior cleric as saying the authorities have to fill what he described as a legal vacuum by issuing laws against sex change operations.

An interior ministry official told al Watan such cases are examined by religious authorities, and sometimes by psychologists, but those who undergo sex change are never arrested.

If you can't beat them, join them. However, I wonder why they would ever go back to the lifestyle the struggled against in the first place. Does anything really change when the oppressed becomes the oppressor? Ah well, at least they are thinking outside the box.

Thanks Rez.

2006/04/05

01-02-03-04-05-06

Call it a coincidental sign of our digital times or a reason to stay up late and stare at the clock. Either way, early Wednesday morning the time and date will be 01-02-03-04-05-06.

At 1:02 a.m. and three seconds on Wednesday, April 5, 2006, it will be the first hour of the day, the second minute of the hour, the third second of that precious minute in the fourth month of the fifth year of ... uh oh. It's not really the sixth year.

Chester recommends celebrating universal time, the standard scientific time, which is four hours ahead of eastern daylight time. So 01-02-03-04-05-06 can be celebrated at 9:02 p.m. EDT by calling up the U.S. Naval Observatory's "master clock" then and waiting for the universal time pronouncement, he said. That number is 202-762-1401.

The clock is also on the web at: http://tycho.usno.navy.mil/what1.html.

It's the end of the world as we know it...

2006/04/04

Reach out and ... go to jail.

A man is facing charges after he reached his hand out of a car and grabbed a female jogger -- who happens to be a Hillsborough County Sheriff's deputy.

Authorities said David Vanfossen, 19, of Tampa was driving his mother's car Saturday morning when he grabbed the woman's buttocks.

The car sped away, but the woman was able to see the license plate. Deputies went to Vanfossen's home, where they found the car.

Vanfossen is charged with lewd and lascivious behavior, reckless driving, culpable negligence and misdemeanor battery.

Well, let us just say that because he wanted a little piece, he now gets to go where he can have it tossed like a salad.

2006/04/03

Dr. sued for making them too big

Three angry women claim an Upper East Side plastic-surgeon-to-the-stars turned them into freaks by stuffing massive, Pamela Anderson-sized breast implants into their chests when they wanted only modest boob jobs.

The women say the mammary monstrosities installed by Dr. Brad Jacobs nearly caused their bosoms to explode and the surgery left their breasts deformed, ribs aching and nipples swollen.

"I wanted to leave with a 34B - but the day after my surgery, I was huge," said Felice Rosenbaum, of Manhattan, who claims her B-cup breasts were inflated to a whopping double-D.

< typical guy comment>
I honestly don't see what the problem is, as long as they look okay. Deformations should be corrected, but size? Wow, look at the good Dr's gallery of breasts. He does like them big!
< /typical guy comment >