Month: November 2017

Best Tech of the 24th Century

I think I have discovered the most advanced and yet under appreciated technology in the universe of Star Trek.

Brassieres. 

Or more accurately, the lack of them.

In several episodes, I have noticed that most of the women in the Federation to not wear bras when out of uniform or in civilian clothes if they are not Federation officers.  This applies even to some of the older women on the show, such as Jenice Manheim (Jean Luc’s old flame) in the episode We’ll Always Have Paris.

Now I can’t imagine that after hundred of years (thousands really) women would give up support undergarments in regular wear.  Especially given the variations in gravity that different planets would naturally have.

I have come to only one conclusion.  

By the 24th century, brasserie technology has advanced well beyond underwire and breathable fabrics.

I suspect some sort of modulated force field emanating from a small wearable device.  A gravitational force reducing, mammary anti-vibration/anti-oscillation device.  Capable of providing adequate support and comfort regardless of the local planet’s gravitational pull or rate of starship/shuttlecraft acceleration.

A truly masterful piece of technology, but nobody talks about it.

At least that’s my theory.  Further study is warranted.

Apparently I should be afraid or something.

Dear old @SFDB. I kinda feel bad for the guy.

I almost feel guilty of living in his head rent-free.

PS: You were supposed to tag the FBI or Homeland Security in the tweet. Hell, even Miami Dade PD!  Then again they will tell you they already know me from the many times we have gone shooting together, plus all the snowflakes that have already tagged me to them.

Hat tip to The One Who Does Not Want Me To Tag Him.

Restrictions on the Possession of Firearms by Individuals Convicted of a Misdemeanor Crime of Domestic Violence

Restrictions on the Possession of Firearms by Individuals Convicted of a Misdemeanor Crime of Domestic Violence

GUN BAN FOR INDIVIDUALS CONVICTED OF A MISDEMEANOR CRIME OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE — 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9)

The 1968 Gun Control Act and subsequent amendments codified at 18 U.S.C. § 921 et seq. prohibit anyone convicted of a felony and anyone subject to a domestic violence protective order from possessing a firearm. The intended effect of this new legislation is to extend the firearms ban to anyone convicted of a “misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.”

There is no law enforcement exception: One of the provisions of this new statute removed the exemption that 18 U.S.C. § 925(a)(1) provided to police and military. Thus, as of the effective date, any member of the military or any police officer who has a qualifying misdemeanor conviction is no longer able to possess a firearm, even while on duty. ”


You are welcome.

First thoughts on Texas

I spent the better part of today doing home repairs in preparation for Thanksgiving.  I had a running toilet in the guest bathroom and several small holes in walls that needed patching.

Trust than when a previous homeowner screws something into drywall without anchors, your three-year-old will find it.  There is a reason I use nothing less than 50 lbs drywall anchors.

I was out of the loop for most of the day and was late to news of the church shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas.

In the last couple of hours this is what I have learned.

  1. The shooter is Devin Patrick Kelley.
  2. He was dishonorably discharged from the United States Air Force for beating his wife.
  3. As of yet, there is no motive.
  4. He is now dead, but police are not yet sure if it was self inflicted or if he was shot by a good Samaritan.
  5. On October 29, he posted a picture of a Ruger AR-556 rifle on his Facebook page (it is the gas block that gives it away).  
  6. According to the ATF, a dishonorable discharge is a disqualifying offense making Devin Patrick Kelley a prohibited person.
  7. His Facebook post is evidence of a felony, specifically felon in possession.
  8. The usual characters are tripping over each other to be the biggest pieces of shit they can be.

Shaun King had to Shaun King and make this all about race.

This is one argument that really pisses me off.  The race baiters love to claim that white shooters are never identified as terrorists and that is evidence of white privilege or racism or something.

Here is the definition of terrorism according to the FBI.

There is no single, universally accepted, definition of terrorism. Terrorism is defined in the Code of Federal Regulations as “the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives” (28 C.F.R. Section 0.85). 

Terrorism isn’t just random violence.  It has a purpose.  Terrorism is attacking people to satisfy a, usually political or religious, objective.

As of right now, I wouldn’t classify the Las Vegas shooter as a terrorist because right now we have no motive.  Throwing the word terrorism around for every act of violence dilutes the word making it meaningless.

Shannon Watts also had to get into the race baiting.

She also tried to make some point about background checks in Texas while acknowledging that the shooter was a prohibited person.

I lived in Illinois and it is a universal background check state.  That’s not doing anything for the murder rate in Chicago.  Any felon who is willing to post a picture of his felon in possession on Facebook is not going to obey a universal background check law.

When she was called out for her erroneous statement on Texas gun laws, she doubled down on her stupidity.

I think Watts confirmed what Erick Erickson said, it had to be a private sale.  But somehow that made Mr. Erickson wrong?  Self righteous rage doesn’t bolster reading comprehension.

Update: It turns out he lied on his 4473 at an Academy Sports.

MSNBC tool, Chris Hayes had to imply the response to this attack was an indication of Islamophobia.

Well, lets break this down.  We still have no motive, so what we have at face value is a random act of violence.  Terrible, but random.

What happened in NYC a couple of days ago was part of a pattern of attacks inspired by ISIS, which is an enemy that has vowed our destruction.  Those are fundamentally different things.

It is difficult if not impossible to predict a random act of violence.  After a long list of ISIS inspired attacks in the US, and an even loner list of general Islamic terrorist attacks in the West, when another one happens, the American people want to know why it was failed to be prevented.  How did law enforcement miss the signs?  How did our enemies out smart us once again?  How did we miss the pattern?

By simplifying it as, Muslim attacker = outrage, non-Muslim attackers = thoughts and prayers because Islamophobia means that no additional effort should be put on defending ourselves against a sworn enemy.  That is negligent to the point of suicidal.

Chris Hayes can afford to signal his virtue this way, because his corporate security detail will protect him from the harm that less privileged citizens can’t afford.

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren HAD to jump on the NRA for this, because you know if there is anybody the NRA doesn’t car about or get support from, it’s rural Texans.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo took to Twitter with two bad Tweets.

Of course he’s out of the gate with an implied gun ban.  What else is the interpretation of this?

Then there is this gem.

That’s really un-fucking-helpful.  What the fuck are we supposed to do?  Bikeway barriers don’t encroach on people’s Constitutionally protected civil liberties.  Besides, Cuomo pretty much banned every gun and knife in the state of New York himself, what else is there for him to do?  He could take BuzzFeed’s advice and just ban all cars in NYC, because Liberal scolds have become living parodies.

Social Justice Warrior, ruiner many a TNG episode, and all around intellectual dumpster fire, Wil Wheaton had to project his feelings about being a worthless piece of shit onto others.

Insulting the thoughts and prayers of people was a common theme.

Verified Washington Post writer Karen Tumulty mocked prayers for churchgoers.

Other less famous idiots did the same.

And

Actor and Obama Hack Kal Penn had to deflect on this act by criticizing a Trump anti-terror policy.

Despite his hollow posturing, it’s a good question.  He just doesn’t realize it.

Kelly is from New Braunfels, TX which is 35 miles from Sutherland Springs, a rural town of about 650 people.  Kelly was dressed in, what witnesses described as, full tactical gear.

Why did he choose that church in that town?  That is information critical to understanding this.

But virtue signaling is more important in Hollywood.

I could do this all day.  It was an absurd rush to social media to prove how much of a soulless pile of garbage these people were.  They lanced themselves and poured their innermost purulence out onto the internet.

In the age of Trump, coming together as a nation to mourn something like this has evaporated.  What is left is half the nation shitting on the other half because nothing proves how good a person you are than making miserable people more miserable if they are on the opposite side of your issues.

 

Securing The Sanctuary | Down Range TV

If you worship in a church, mosque, temple or synagogue you should be aware these places are seen as soft targets by psychopathic murderers. Whether politically, religiously or insanely motivated, these people are drawn to what they believe are the easiest of targets, those being places with no effective security and a large, helpless population from which they intend to pile up their terrible score…

…The first element of any defensive plan is acceptance. You have to believe, and accept as reality, that there are bad people in the world – purely evil people – who may wish to do you and yours harm.

Source: Securing The Sanctuary | Down Range TV

Great writing by Ed Head on what to do to prepare for this scenario.

Or you can keep your head buried in the sand and wait for your ass to be shot.