It’s the Illudium Q-38 Explosive Space Modulator!
Space Junk
Posted by daddybear71 on December 23, 2011
https://daddybearsden.com/2011/12/23/space-junk/
30 Days of Heinlein – Day 20
War is not violence and killing, pure and simple; war is controlled violence, for a purpose. The purpose of war is to support your government’s decisions by force. The purpose is never to kill the enemy just to be killing him…but to make him do what you want to do. Not killing…but controlled and purposeful violence. – Starship Troopers
Posted by daddybear71 on December 23, 2011
https://daddybearsden.com/2011/12/23/30-days-of-heinlein-day-20/
News Roundup
- From the “Cornered Cat” – An 81 year old woman in Florida showed that the maternal instinct never ends. When the ladies 61 year old daughter was getting into her truck to take them both to a TV show taping, sumdood decided to rob and beat the daughter. The 81 year old woman, knowing that the thug had a gun and she had nothing but her attitude, started beating on the miscreant and drove him off. How many times do I have to tell these people? Don’t mess with Grandma!
- From the “Then You Do It!” Department – A federal judge has stuck down parts of South Carolina’s anti-illegal immigration statutes. I suppose now that police officers are prohibited from inquiring into the immigration status of someone they suspect, all that’s left for them to do is to ask nicely that illegal immigrants consider camping out on the front yard of the federal courthouse. Hey, if the feds aren’t going to enforce immigration laws, then maybe they ought to be inconvenienced by their refusal.
- From the “14 minutes, 55 seconds” Department – The Occupy Something movement has announced that they plan to bring their own floats to the Tournament of Roses Parade in California next weekend. They are apparently going to have floats that include ‘alternate’ wordings for the Constitution, and of course, Cindy Sheehan will be there to speak. I guess now that the Iraq war is over, she needs something new to make sure she gets her Vitamin D from the limelight. I look forward to footage of soccer moms who have been camped out on the sidewalk in Pasadena for three days laying a beating on some hippies for screwing up their morning.
- From the “My Heart Bleeds” Department – Witnesses for Bradley Manning, the young twit who is accused of leaking classified documents to Wikileaks, have asserted that their unit did not have appropriate levels of supervision. In earlier testimony, Manning’s defense team has asserted that he was under an unusual amount of stress because he was a closeted gay soldier before the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and that prompted his crimes. Here’s my take – This whining little punk obviously shouldn’t be issued non-blunted eating utensils because he can’t be trusted to eat without injuring himself without proper supervision. Same thing goes for using the men’s room and getting himself dressed. Not enough supervision? What a crock. Military Intelligence teams are loosely lead at best. A soldier, especially an analyst like Manning, has to be expected to be able to work on his own within very broad guidelines, so long as his work is supporting the goals of the team. It’s called being an adult. Thousands of soldiers do the same job with the same amount of supervision, and they don’t betray their country. And as for his assertion that being a gay soldier in the military is so stressful that he had to act like a twit, well, let’s just say I don’t buy it. I knew intelligence soldiers who were in the closet before Clinton came out with DADT, which means that they were under continual threat of being investigated, losing their access and/or clearance, and being booted out of the military. To my knowledge, none of them printed off a bunch of classified material and sent it to the Soviets. Here’s an alternate theory: This piece of crap decided the Army was mean to him, and he wanted to get in good with someone who disliked the Army as much as he did, and he paid for his way into the in-crowd with classified material. Now, he doesn’t have the ability to sack up and accept the consequences for his actions, and is instead blaming everyone for his crimes. Yes, his leadership failed, especially when they realized just what a little putz they had on their hands and didn’t take him out of the SCIF by the seat of his pants and put him on human waste removal detail. And yeah, having to be secretive and discreet about your sexuality sucks. But that’s no reason to betray your oath.
- From the “Qel Surpris” Department – Jimmy Carter has sent a letter to the new leader of North Korea, expressing his condolences for the death of Kim Jong Il and wishing him luck as he takes the reigns of the country. You know, there have been those who express the opinion that Jimmy Carter is finally being surpassed as the worst president our republic has ever had now that Obama is being used as a proof of the Peter Principle. But things like this turn the competition to be worst president ever into a horse race. I think Obama is really going to have to up his game both now and after he leaves office in order to overtake Carter.
Posted by daddybear71 on December 23, 2011
https://daddybearsden.com/2011/12/23/news-roundup-49/
Home Alone
A Louisville teenager had a scare today. While he was home alone today, a couple of thugs broke into his home, held him at knife point, and ransacked the house. One of the fine upstanding proactive property redistributors held a knife to his throat and asked if he wanted to die. How charming.
This one hits close to home. Girlie Bear spends about an hour or so every afternoon at the house alone when she gets home from school. Also, sometimes we can’t get a whole day off work to be home with her if she’s home for a day off of school, so she may spend half a day alone. We don’t worry about her doing anything she shouldn’t. She’s a responsible young lady, and we haven’t had any issues with her being by herself so far.
But what should she do if she’s surprised by someone in the house when she gets home or if someone breaks in when she’s home alone?
My advice to her has been to run. She has to fight as hard as she can to get away, but she has to get away. I’m under no illusions that even my hellcat of a daughter can physically subdue or drive off robbers. Because Boo is so young, all of our guns are religiously locked up, and Girlie Bear doesn’t have the combination to any of the safes. To be honest, I would consider myself a fool to think that a 13 year old, either boy or girl, would have the wherewithal to unlock a safe under stress when I have to practice it regularly myself.
So what do y’all think? Do you tell your kids to defend themselves and the home, cooperate with the thugs, or run like their ass was on fire and get help?
Posted by daddybear71 on December 23, 2011
https://daddybearsden.com/2011/12/23/home-alone/
30 Days of Heinlein – Day 19
There are no dangerous weapons; there are only dangerous men. – Starship Troopers
My Take –
The bomb, the gun, the rocket, the sword, the club, the rock – all are tools. They are not in and of themselves dangerous, no matter what the bed-wetting set wants to think. The weapon is between your ears.
Posted by daddybear71 on December 22, 2011
https://daddybearsden.com/2011/12/22/30-days-of-heinlein-day-19/
Geek Christmas Carols
Yeah, I’m finally in the mood. Not the Christmas mood, just a mood.
Jingle bells, UNIX smells
Windows laid an egg
The mainframe it just vapor locked
But the VAX is A-OK!
I’m dreaming of a white laptop
Just like Jobs used to sell
With a one button mouse
It costs as much as a house
But it goes with black turtlenecks so well!
The users called me
The network is down
They can’t surf their pr0n
The network is down
The tech is on his way
The network is down
Email jokes can’t be sent!
The network is down
Network is down
Network is down
Silent NOC
Happy NOC
No alerts
No drama
Reading a novel
And eating take-out
Hoping my shift
is quiet no doubt
Keep my board clea–ar
Ke-ep my board so clear
Just see those servers crashing
And hard drives thrashing
Oh joy!
This is a great profession
for someone with a pain obsession
Oh boy!
Posted by daddybear71 on December 22, 2011
https://daddybearsden.com/2011/12/22/geek-christmas-carols/
Quote of the Day
I carry a gun so my last thought won’t be, “If only I was armed….”
— Roberta X, “Gun Myths/Gun Realities”
Read.The.Whole.Thing.
Posted by daddybear71 on December 22, 2011
https://daddybearsden.com/2011/12/22/quote-of-the-day-30/
Not sure about this one
Authorities in Ohio are reporting that a young Amish girl was killed when she was shot by a man who fired his muzzleloading rifle into the air to clear it before cleaning at the same time as the girl being shot. I’d like to go on a diatribe about a Rule 4 violation, which this situation very much deserves, but one thing catches with me: the distance from where the man says he fired the shot and the place where authorities believe the girl was hit.
The distance is being reported as 1 1/2 miles. I just can’t see a muzzleloader firing a round that far, but I could be wrong. Investigators are bringing in an expert to examine the bullet from the girl’s body in order to see if it was indeed fired from the muzzleloader.
Now, to go back to Rule 4, this guy needs retraining in safety, whether or not his bullet was the one that killed this young girl. When you squeeze the trigger, you’re responsible for where that bullet goes and everything it hits. If you have to shoot your gun to clear it, then use a backstop, or invest in and use a bullet puller .
When the forensics are done on this, I’d be very interested in hearing whether or not this man’s muzzleloader fired that bullet. If so, I want to know what gun he uses, what powder he used, how much of it, and what bullet he was firing. Something just feels fishy about this. 1 1/2 miles just sounds way too far for a muzzleloader.
Posted by daddybear71 on December 22, 2011
https://daddybearsden.com/2011/12/22/not-sure-about-this-one/
News Roundup
- From the “Run Run Rudolph” Department – An Ohio man was able to re-capture a reindeer that had gotten loose from a cattle truck. Luckily, the animal only got minor injuries from it’s escape attempt. Apparently, reindeer truly cannot fly, at least from the back of a truck going 55.
- From the “Road Hazard” Department – A volunteer fire fighter in Texas pulled a man from a burning car while dressed as Santa. He then started directing traffic around the accident. My guess is no-one gave the Jolly Old Elf any lip when he told them to take a left turn when they wanted to go straight. When they make a movie of this, I see Bruce Willis as the main character, a gruff veteran firefighter who has lost his holiday spirit, but gets it back when the car explodes.
- From the “Beer is Food” Department – A new report asserts that eating certain foods, such as turkey, grains, and vegetables, can reduce stress due to their nutrition. Personally, I’ve found a steak, a cold beer, and homemade macaroni and cheese does wonders for my attitude.
- From the “Cold and Dark” Department – New EPA regulations will require operators of coal fired power plants to install new equipment that cleans mercury and other pollutants out of their emissions. The new rules will go into force in 2015, and will probably mean the closure of some power plants that cannot be retrofitted in a cost-effective manner. No word yet on whether or not new nuclear power plants will be started in time to make up the difference, or if those of us who actually pay for energy will just have to pay more for keeping the lights on and the house warm.
- From the “Walking While Blotto” Department – A doctor in Illinois is asserting that walking home from the bar is just as dangerous as driving home. I guess friends don’t let friends stumble. Remember, no matter what it takes, take away their sneakers. Walking home drunk can lead to getting hit by a car, passing out on the front lawn, and having to make the walk of shame the next morning.
Posted by daddybear71 on December 22, 2011
https://daddybearsden.com/2011/12/22/news-roundup-50/
Thought for the Day
Tonight is the winter solstice, the longest night of the year. For those of us who are solar challenged, it’s the most wonderful time of the year. No need for sunblock, big hats, or long sleeves. The weather and light conditions match my personality, cold and gray.
For those of you who worship the sun, take hope from the knowledge that you’ll start gaining back sunlight tomorrow morning. Just do me a favor and let me enjoy my mid-winter’s bad mood in peace, OK?
Posted by daddybear71 on December 21, 2011
https://daddybearsden.com/2011/12/21/thought-for-the-day-29/
DaddyBear
