So last night, I am enjoying a bit of fresh-somewhat-mosquito-free-air on my back porch, when suddenly I hear a big badaboom. And then another and so on.  The explosions are not that close, but loud enough to take notice that something is out of the normalcy of Miami-Dade County. I notice a police helicopter going round and round and high above over where the explosions seem to come from

Next, a flight of five Blackhawk helicopters go by hauling ass, a couple of minutes or less later, what appear to be four more also go by like the Hammers of Hell. By now there is a certain amount of nervous curiosity on my part, but there is nothing on the news and apparently most of the county had their asses stuck to the TV for the Heat game as there was one person asking in Twitter about the helicopters.

So around midnight, I finally figure out what was going on and it has a typical twist for this area:

A metallic box containing ammunition was dropped from a military helicopter Wednesday night during a training exercise in Northwest Miami-Dade, according to the Miami-Dade Police Department.

Police ask that anyone who sees the box to leave it alone and call 911 immediately.

Earlier this week, Miami-Dade police announced that there would be a joint military training exercise in Miami-Dade and Broward County, but did not specify times or locations of the training.

The routine training helps military personnel operate in urban environments, prepare forces for upcoming deployments and meet mandatory training certification requirements.

It was not clear exactly when or where the box fell.

via Military helicopter drops box of ammo in Miami area | The Miami Herald The Miami Herald.

As a friend commented in Facebook, “WTF are they doing with live ammo during a training exercise?” And to add insult to injury, the area where the box might have fallen is not know for its peace and quiet or organized groups of peaceful civilians using their hands in complicated gestures to quote the Bible.

That went well.

St. Petersburg, Florida — A backyard gun range is no more.

Joseph Carannante built a gun range on his house property in St. Petersburg and was up to city code and did not break any laws. However, his neighbors were angry and begged him to remove it.

They got their wish on Wednesday morning.

via Man agrees to tear down St. Pete backyard gun range.

I am sure that Deal team Delta Six Ranger is gonna be disappointed they could not train to operate like ninjas in his backyard. That was some super technical gun range.

“Nothing has changed. I think, in fact, the shooting demonstrated that we have a safe campus.

via FSU president remains firmly opposed to guns on campuses | February 3, 2015 | Lloyd Dunkelberger | HT Politics.

I need more coffee…..

Who said Gun People do not have a sense of humor?

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via EXILE MACHINE REVOLVING RIFLE CONV KIT FITS AR-15 [#EXMREV15] : Exile Machine, Firearms Parts & Accessories Delivered Fast.

Well done….

I want this sucker.

You won’t notice in the video, but the target is angled forward so any ricochet or spalling goes to ground instead of everywhere. Around $250 for the target alone. Other options appear available.

I saw it ad I went “meh.” Buddies in my circle also went “meh” and so did their extended circles, most of us are gunnies.

And I could give you a long-winded explanation why, but I think this sums it pretty nicely:

NORTH BRANCH TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Police say an 11-year-old girl has managed to scare off an intruder by wielding a shotgun.

via Police: Michigan Girl Scares Off Intruder with Shotgun.
Hat Tip to @UniverSpectator

Our culture raises confident girls capable of depending on themselves.  And they can be girly, and giggle and read Bride magazine, but woe upon you if you mess with them. Just let us know where you want the flowers to be sent.

In the year 2015, I’ve resolved not to read a single book written by a white, male author.
I’m doing this because white men are overrepresented in almost every aspect of the publishing industry, and I tend to read their books disproportionately by default.

via My 2015 Reading List Includes Nothing Written By White Men -Alexis Nedd.

I was lucky enough that my parents instilled in me a devotion for reading. Actually they kind of did the job so well, I am almost fanatical about reading: there are books in every room of my house, including the laundry room.  It gets to the point that my wife complains about it some since when I am done, I usually don’t put them back in the bookcases because I love to see books everywhere…yes I am weird like that.

I am a thematic reader. I get interested in a subject and I will research the best books on the matter, buy them (I can’t borrow books from the library unless is something very specific that I will not visit again, another quirk of mine) and submerge myself into the whatever called my attention till I am satisfied. I also follow authors that catch my fancy, usually established for a while so I can again gorge in reading.

What I have never done was select my reading material based on racial politics. Hell, I am a hard-core anti-communist and I have read Che, Marx, several Latin idiots and even Rosa Luxembourg. Are there subjects or Authors I don’t read? Economics & mathematics are two, Louis Lamour bores me to tears same as Scott Fitzgerald and won’t even consider Self-Help or Biographies of people who are still alive or recently died. But I never bothered to see the color of the skin of the author. Maybe the name gives something away, but being raised in South America where the last names oftentimes do not match the pigmentation, I learned long ago to enjoy the written word and not the melanin.

So what Ms. Nedd is doing has nothing to do with reading and learning but posing. However I would encourage her to buy as many books as possible if for anything to make the authors some money. Viva El Capitalismo!

PS: There is an old story about a Nouveau riche who built himself a mansion that included the obligatory library. The story goes that he bought books by both cost, shelf length and colors. He wanted to be sure all shelf space was occupied by the best leather-bound books and that they color coordinated.

PS2: Maybe I do have a recommendation after all for Ms. Nedd: Selected Speeches by Martin Luther King Jr. I am sure in there she will find the famous passage “I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” and hopefully this time she will get it.