First, a “turtle stampede” caused delays at New York’s JFK Airport.  My first image was Clint Eastwood and Michael Landon riding the worlds slowest ponies to round up the errant terrapins.  Apparently sucking a turtle into a jet engine is a bad thing.

Second, North Korea has been appointed to head up a U.N. conference on disarmament. That’s right, Kim Jong Il will be in charge of making sure the world is safe from nuclear armageddon.  What’s next?  Is Charlie Sheen going to be put in charge of the ONDCP?  Exactly what is the purpose of the U.N. anyway?

For those of you playing along at home, the circular error probability of a Minuteman III ICBM is 120m, and its range is 13,000km.  We would also have accepted 200m for those of you with older reference material.  Not bad for an upgraded 1960’s design.  To put it in gun-person terms, that’s sub-MOA at a stationary target located halfway across the world.

In related news, Iran has unveiled underground silos for their missile force.  I guess they hope that deep holes make for untouchable missiles or something.  My guess is that hitting within 120m of a missile silo with a 400-500 kiloton payload would do enough damage to make it inoperable.  You don’t have to destroy the bullets, you just have to disable the gun.

The image I have when I think of Iran is the little dog that keeps nipping at a bigger dog because he doesn’t believe the big dog will ever take the time to bite back.  Someday, that big dog chews the little dog in half, and I think that someday with Iran is not far off.

Someone needs to tell the Iranian government that any use of a Shahab-3 from one of these silos against any of the countries we care about will be considered an act of war against the United States.  Heaven help them if they mate an atomic weapon up to one and give it a whirl.  Nothing says “Regional Stabilization” like a set of mushroom clouds over Iranian launch sites.

I know, I know, the syllabus says nothing about quizzes.  Add/Drop forms are available from the TA.

Captain TightPants pointed me over to this civics quiz, and unlike a lot of other quizzes I’ve taken, this one is actually about civics, not the latest topics in the headlines.

I got a 96.97% when I missed one.  How did y’all do?

On Sunday, a beautiful little 8 year old girl walked up to a police car carrying a bag.  She had been asked to carry the bag to the policemen by someone she trusts.  When she approached the car, a remote receiver in the bag caused the explosives in it to detonate, killing her.

This is our enemy.  Whether they are in Kabul, or Riyadh, or London, or Detroit, the enemies of liberal Western democracy are prepared to kill anyone and use any means to hurt us.  They will use our freedoms, our openness, our trust, and even our children to kill us.

If you’re a parent, a grandparent, or an uncle or aunt, think about the small children you love.  What madness would it take for you to hand one of them a satchel charge?  We are not dealing with a rational foe.  Negotiation is nothing but a delaying tactic.  Mercy is seen as weakness.  While the president of Afghanistan rails against the accidental deaths of civilians in combat, nothing will be said about using children or other helpless members of society as weapon delivery systems.

I advocate leaving the Dar al-Islam to its own ends.  If they want democracy, theocracy, or anarchy, let them have it.  But we should never forget their stated goal of forcing us to believe and behave in the same way they do, and that they will use whatever means they can find to accomplish that goal.

While stopping at the local SuperMegaBigBoxMart for camping groceries, I ran into one of the personality types that just gets under my skin:  The Helpless Human Being.

Ladies and gentlemen, no-one has been responsible for you since your mama taught you to not make messes on the good carpet.  There are several things that an adult in our society must be emotionally and psychologically able to do, including:

• Shop for groceries
• Pay for groceries, either with cash, check, or plastic
• Pump gas
• Cross the street without being killed
• Not make messes on the carpet when not supervised

Doing the soft voiced “Fiddle dee dee, I’ve always relied on the kindness of strangers” Katie Scarlett O’Hara imitation is not useful, it’s annoying.

Coming to the check out with a basket of stuff, arguing with both the cashier and the manager over the price of your shampoo, toilet paper, tuna fish, peanut butter, potato chips, and personal lubricant, and then not knowing how to properly fill out a check or use your debit card is assenine.  Doing all this while talking in that sweet, soft, Southern accent in an attempt to elicit sympathy from said cashier and manager is manipulative.

It’s not the 1950’s anymore.  Computers and such are a part of living.  Learn to work with them, or hire someone to do your errands for you.  Either stop acting stupid and start taking care of yourself, or start going to someone else’s store.

Irish Woman: What did we bring to drink?
Me: We’ve got sodas, Bud Lite, Sam Adams, Woodford, and Southern Comfort.
Girlie Bear: What’s Southern Comfort? I’ve never heard of that.
Me: Sweetheart, if it weren’t for Southern Comfort, you might not exist.
Girlie Bear: …… Ewwwwwww!

Base camp established. A full 75% of what was packed was necessary.

Casa de Oso, the portable version

My new kitchen. Only cost 5 boxes of .22.

I have sent the older kids to get firewood. Irish Woman is trying to get BooBoo to take a nap. I am becoming acquainted with India Pale Ale.

Not going to be a lot of posting here for the next few days.  Irish Woman and I are taking the family up to Indiana for the annual Hoosier Hoedown.  All of her Indiana family is getting together for the weekend at one of the lakes.

This year, my goal is to enjoy myself and not come home a raving lunatic.  Toward that end I’ve simplified what we’re taking, told the kids that dad doesn’t have a filter if they get on his nerves, and am stopping at the liquor store before we cross the state line.

Y’all have a good weekend!

This Ain’t Hell points out another reason why I will never live in a subdivision or anywhere else that has a Home Owner’s Association.

No offense, but I don’t like my neighbors enough to let them tell me how my house will be designed or painted, where I will park my vehicles, or how often I mow my grass.  Politely point out something you object to and have a rational discussion with me, and the worst that will happen is we will agree to disagree.  The first time someone stands on my porch and demands I change how I keep up my property is the last time they walk on without a limp.  The good Lord made axe handles for a reason.

My goal is to live far enough out in the country that I can pee off of the porch and the only person who will object is Irish Woman.

Oh, and if you’re worried that a smaller house that’s accessible to someone with this disabled vet’s condition will exert downward pressure on your property values, then you know precisely diddly over squat about the current housing market.