Gun Free Zone

I am till trying to pick my jaw of the ground.

Red Bull Air Race Recovery

After this incident, his Guardian Angel applied for early retirement.

Update: Link Fixed.

Saw this article on Al Qaeda’s Fantasy Ideology via Tam and it so also defines Internet Commandos and the “warriors” of the Low Fat Battalion.

And what it did for him was to provide him with a fantasy — a fantasy, namely, of taking part in the revolutionary struggle of the oppressed against their oppressors. By participating in a violent anti-war demonstration, he was in no sense aiming at coercing conformity with his view — for that would still have been a political objective. Instead, he took his part in order to confirm his ideological fantasy of marching on the right side of history, of feeling himself among the elect few who stood with the angels of historical inevitability. Thus, when he lay down in front of hapless commuters on the bridges over the Potomac, he had no interest in changing the minds of these commuters, no concern over whether they became angry at the protesters or not. They were there merely as props, as so many supernumeraries in his private psychodrama. The protest for him was not politics, but theater; and the significance of his role lay not in the political ends his actions might achieve, but rather in their symbolic value as ritual. In short, he was acting out a fantasy.

Ouch….

I saw a version of this at Home on the Range and I had to steal the idea….and correct the Spanish spelling.  Sorry!

Yes, The Princess Bride is one of my guilty pleasures. Sue me.

IDPA can be as bad (or as good) as the Catholic Church about changing and adapting. It did take us Catholics some 1,960 years to make peace with the Jews!

Catholic Joke aside, IDPA now has what call the New Rule Addendum with some changes that are interesting. I will cover some, not all, and share my thoughts about it. I recommend that you pull the rulebook and compare in order to make sens of some of the stuff.

Addition to C 15. page 10
A. Pistols may only be loaded to below division capacity if stipulated by the written stage description.

I am guessing somewhere this became an issue? I thought that having capacity (as long as it does not go above division) could always be determined by the Course of Fire narrative. My bet this is to quell Range Lawyers who love to argue that the direction of the wind was unfavorable when it was their turn. I would call this the “Shut the Heck Up and Shoot” rule.

Additional language to CoF 4. page 12
Only one (1) non-threat target may be used per every three (3) threat targets in any string of fire. Stage designers may use one non-threat for 1 to 5 threats, 2 non-threats for 6 to 8 threats and 3 non-threats for 9 threats or more.

This addendum is just a clarification of the standing rule. From my first day at IDPA I always considered this No-Shoot to Shoot ratio silly.  Real world will have more No-Shoots available than stipulated by IDPA. A gaming enhancement IMHO.

These next two modifications:

Change of language to CoF 9. page 12

When cover is available, it MUST be used when shooting unless the competitor starts in the open and must engage targets while on the way to cover. If cover is available anywhere in the COF it must be used for reloading. Competitors may NOT cross any opening (doorways, windows, open spaces, etc) without engaging targets.

And…

Additional language to PP 1. page 15
B. There are two exceptions to the “one PE per infraction rule”. One is for cover violations. A competitor may incur more than one cover PE per string of fire. The number of cover PE’s may not exceed the number of positions of fire. Regardless of the number of rounds fired or targets engaged from any position, only 1 cover procedural may be issued at each position. The second exception is for reload violations as detailed on page 41.

Right on spot. Some gamers would examine a poorly designed CoF and determine they can stretch that cover a bit or take a procedural and still come ahead. FTDRs would be issue and all hell would come loose. This way you can collect several procedurals and pretty much ruin those carefully crafted plans.

Addition to rule PP 1. page 15
C. A Match Director may allow a handicapped or mobility-challenged shooter to take one or multiple PEs (at the MD’s discretion) rather than perform an act required by the CoF

I am guessing this is just adding to the rule book a well established practice. There might be some Range Nazis out there that would not bend and accommodate a shooter with special needs, but I haven’t heard about them. I know many clubs that were gladly applying this concept for a long while. Kudos on this to HQ.

Change of language to PP 3. page 17 (Failure to Neutralize)
A. Will add five (5) seconds per infraction. This penalty applies to any target that does not have at least one (1) down zero or one (1) down one hit

Clearing the language a bit about FTNs. But I don’t think it will help with my Score Keepers, short of whipping them they still manage to screw this one up. [sigh]

4. Ammunition Carrier Notes:
Modification of rule page 39
1. A three (3) second procedural penalty will be assessed any time a loaded ammunition feeding device (magazine, speedloader or full moon clip) is dislodged and falls out of the carrier during a course of fire. Dropping a loaded ammunition feeding device during a reload is not a procedural as long as the competitor does not leave ammunition behind retrieves and properly stows the device before the last shot of the string is fired. The prior sentence does not include devices dislodged from a carrier which ALWAYS receives a PE.

Another Gamer Killing ruling. Loosey mag and speedloader pouches may give you a bit of a headache instead of an unfair advantage. If you belong to the crowd that competes in IDPA not for the game but for the practice, this procedural reminder will emphasize the fact that your gear is a life saving kit that must work at all times.

7. One additional ammunition carrier may be worn behind the center line of the body for the purposes of loading at the start of a stage. This carrier must be empty before the “stand by” command.

Good call. This also eliminates Range Nazi problems and gives the shooter (and the SO) a bit more safety while manipulating and loading the gun. Anybody who has SOed a 1911 shooter knows what I am talking about.

3. Concealment Garments.
Additional language to rule page 40
visible when standing normally, artificial stiffeners of any material (other than standard laundry starch) used in any location, use of chest pockets,

Can you hear the pennies being dropped from the shirts yet? I know I am going to have troubles with this one if I use my regular-everyday vest during matches as i have been doing mostly this year (shoot what you carry and how you carry). In my right vest pocket I usually carry my smokes & lighter so they might be considered stiffeners. We’ll see.

Appendix TWO – Approved IDPA Reloads

Additional language to rule page 41
At no time is it permissible to fire while holding a magazine or speed loader/moon clip.

Ambivalent on this one. It is good practice to be able to re-engage the target ASAP and one handed, but I see the ruling as a safety measure to avoid unnecessary fumbles, safety issues or extra penalties for dropping mags.

Additional language to rule page 43
At no time should a competitor stand directly in a “window” or port to engage targets. Competitors must “slice the pie” around the edge of the “window” or port.

Another good call on its spirit but it will be a bitch to SO.  I foresee lotsa problems with this one. Range Lawyers will have a field day.

Additional language to E. Threat / Non-Threat Designation page 47

Painted hands or cutouts for non-threats must be of normal adult size. At least one full had must be visible from the shooting position.

Our club will have troubles with this rule. Our painted hands look like ET’s cousins were strolling by and a gang attacked them. Here is an example:

Blessed with graphic artists we are not!

I am gonna leave the rule changes for now.  Overall the changes are not earth-shattering or really bad.

And I have a match Saturday…. this is gonna be fun!

Mr. Morton Kurzweil’s published rant in the Sun Sentinel’s Letters to the Editor this morning caught my attention. I could not find it online so I offer you a pic of the original version.  Mr. Kurzweil’s interpretation of the Second Amendment baffles the hell out of me. Probably somebody will come back to me quoting Blackstones but I doubt much that The Second Amendment was part of English Common Law. Maybe something related about weapons for the defense, but not a Second Amendment that recognizes that the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is innate to the Citizen (not the subjects of a King) and in this United States, not England and nothing to do with a religious tiff between Protestants and Catholics.

However I do find Mr. Kurzweil last sentence revealing:

“Why this right has become a cause to insure personal security of person and property against government is irrational, except among those who believe in the divine right of kings and the superiority of religious beliefs over the equality of law in a democracy.”

I am guessing Mr. Kurzweil has not read the Federalist Papers, nor the tons of constitutional research on the Second Amendment. But irrationality and anger seem to be the realm of Mr. Kurzweil anyway. On another letter to the editor on July 3, 2008 Mr. Kurzweil complains of the use of fireworks and has no qualms on claiming the Bill Of Rights as his prerogativ.

If you wish, you may shoot fireworks at my house. Be assured that I will respond to such an act as a criminal threat to my security and will respond with all necessary force to defend myself and my property.

Damn! How come Anti Gunners are so violent?

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the 2010 preliminary estimate of the total duck population from the traditional survey area of the Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey is 40.9 million birds. Half the bastards live on my street and breed worse than rats. They foul walkways, carports and specially anywhere on your property you used to deem safe to walk barefoot. For some reason they like my mother’s hot-less habanero pepper and parsley, lay eggs under my porch… and prey all eggs hatch or you will know how nasty a duck’s egg will smell after it goes bad.  And there is not a damn thing you can do about it because you will run “afowl” (rimshot) of the South Florida authorities.

So, that is why I feel all warm/fuzzy when i see an osprey or other birds of prey doing their own version of Census in the neighborhood. Or we can lobby for an urban hunting license for dealing with the feathery pests! Fat Chance in the era of Gaia Unchallenged and the Aflac commercials.