Gun Free Zone

According to AP, at least one of the bombs used in the Boston Marathon was made with a pressure cooker:

WASHINGTON (AP) — The explosives used in the deadly Boston Marathon bombing were contained in 6-liter pressure cookers and hidden in black duffel bags on the ground, a person briefed on the investigation told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

We have at least two of those things at El Castillo Gonzalez and I am well versed in their regular use. They are amazing items to use since they exponentially accelerate rate of cooking without compromising flavor. Whatever takes hours in a crock-pot, takes minutes in a pressure cooker.

However, keyword here is pressure. Accidental explosions with pressure cookers are very few and far between, but when they happen they are catastrophic. They usually happen because the user has disable the double security measures that come with the cooker by tampering with them or not checking them and maintaining them. When I was a kid, I remember seeing a report on the news about a small pressure cooker accident that left a 4 foot hole on an outside wall (made of cement blocks,) a destroyed stove, a kitchen that needed total remodeling and fortunately no casualties.

So if the report from AP is accurate, I can see how the horrendous damages inflicted on the victims happen. Beside any shrapnel added to the device itself, the flying pieces of metal coming out of the cooker itself made for very nasty cutting devices.

Here is a DHS Report on Pressure Cooker IEDs if you care for it. BTW, dear DHS, we use ours for cooking mostly beans, chick peas and making beef or pork stews. Mom would have a fit if they were used for any other purposes.

PS: If you feel like give pressure cooking a try, buy PRESTO and I particularly favor the steel ones. I am just not comfy with the ones made of aluminum.

If the Saudi guy in custody turns out to be the Boston Marathon bomber, DHS was watching other people who are much dangerous in their opinion.

But in Bizarro World, that makes sense.

From CNN, Students in other countries assessing where to study abroad are increasingly scared of coming to the United States because of gun violence, the nation’s top diplomat said Monday.

via Gun Save Lives John Kerry Says Foreigners are Afraid to Come to US Because of Guns.

I had to laugh hard at this one. I wonder how many F1 visa petitions are stuck somewhere in the processing department from students living in the 100+ countries that have a higher murder rate than the USA.
But I am guessing if you do politics at an international level, you must BS with extreme candor to help your boss who is taking a beating on the whole gun control issue.

…when lazy, coat-tail-ridding gun owners realize they can’t talk shit about the NRA.

I am getting a ton of pop-corn for this week.

As I type these words, there is an on-going and highly-distributed, global attack on WordPress installations across virtually every web host in existence. This attack is well organized and again very, very distributed; we have seen over 90,000 IP addresses involved in this attack.
HostGator Blog – Global WordPress Force Flood

Go and read the post above and then take action. I had installed Better WP Security about 3-4 weeks ago and forgotten about it. After reading that article, I decided to double-check my setting, improved on some stuff and checked the logs. To my surprise, I found out that I had 9222 404 errors! Apparently that is the way bad boys search for vulnerabilities and ways to break in.

If your blog is not secured or you suspect you may want to beef it up, do give Better WP Security a try. It install easy and the settings are explained. If you find it complicated or you are unsure, find something else, but get your blog secured.

Eddie Colosimo runs Holy Hill’s Bikers for First Amendments Rights restaurant and bar. It’s a non-profit that helps support military veterans.

Colosimo, a wounded Marine Corps vet, is passionate about United States Armed Forces. His granddaughter, grandson, and son-in-law are all serving in different branches of the military. So, Colosimo decided to fly military flags representing all our servicemen and women in front of his the restaurant.

“These flags represent our men and women all over the world for us today!” he said

via Vet defies city ordinance banning display of military flags – FOX 35 News Orlando.

Sometimes I think Mickey Town USA (A.K.A. DisneyWorld) has a nasty influence on Central Florida. They are so Stepford Wives is uncanny and one thinks local politicians are nothing more than PC Animatrons.