Garret Foster was a BLM marcher who was shot in Austin while open carrying an AK clone. The man who shot him has come forward and released a statement through his attorney.
The man is Daniel Perry, an active duty US Army sergeant who was driving for Uber on the night of the shooting, when he turned a corner toward a protest he did not know was taking place. At that point, the protesters began beating on Perry's car. Foster then allegedly approached the car window holding an assault rifle and gestured with the gun for the driver to roll down the window. Perry did so because he believed the person was associated with law enforcement.
Soon after rolling down the window, Perry realized Foster was not an officer when Foster raised his rifle at Perry. The attorney said Perry perceived that as a threat to his life and fired at Foster using a handgun he kept in his car.
Friday, July 31, 2020
Don't go without a gun
It's just a car that is likely insured. There is no need to open your door and allow a criminal access to your house. Call the cops. However, if you DO feel the need to confront someone:
Don't ever answer the door or confront a trespasser unless you are armed with a quality firearm. This guy didn't do that, and paid for it with not only his own life, but the life of his son and the health of his wife, while his grandson hid for his life.
A man who had earlier fled from police, who terminated the pursuit due to high speeds, was confronted by the homeowner as he was trying to steal a car in the driveway. The criminal then used a baseball bat to kill the homeowner, his adult son, and seriously injure the homeowner's wife, all while their 10 year old grandson hid in the closet while calling 911.
Officers from four different law enforcement agencies responded and were eventually able to take the man into custody.
Don't ever answer the door or confront a trespasser unless you are armed with a quality firearm. This guy didn't do that, and paid for it with not only his own life, but the life of his son and the health of his wife, while his grandson hid for his life.
A man who had earlier fled from police, who terminated the pursuit due to high speeds, was confronted by the homeowner as he was trying to steal a car in the driveway. The criminal then used a baseball bat to kill the homeowner, his adult son, and seriously injure the homeowner's wife, all while their 10 year old grandson hid in the closet while calling 911.
Officers from four different law enforcement agencies responded and were eventually able to take the man into custody.
Thursday, July 30, 2020
UN opposes the use of force in Portland
The United Nations has urged the U.S. to stop using what critics say is excessive force on protesters and journalists during ongoing demonstrations in cities, including Portland, Ore.
Fifty-three countries at the U.N. Human Rights Council came out in support of China’s crackdown on Hong Kong just three weeks ago. So the UN can kiss our ass.
Fifty-three countries at the U.N. Human Rights Council came out in support of China’s crackdown on Hong Kong just three weeks ago. So the UN can kiss our ass.
Security scare
I was sitting at home at 10:30 this morning when the doorbell rang. I was in my underwear and not expecting anyone, so I didn't answer it. A few minutes later, I see that he is walking around the outside my house.
I threw on some body armor, grabbed a PDW, and watched him as I called the cops. He left before they arrived. I got a picture of him, his car, and the back of his shirt, which had the name of a local business on it.
It turns out that he was a construction worker who had the wrong address. I am on XXX road, and he was looking for the next street over, which is XXX avenue. He was supposed to install rain gutters. The funny thing is that the numerical parts of the address on my road are not the same numerical addresses as the houses on the avenue.
I threw on some body armor, grabbed a PDW, and watched him as I called the cops. He left before they arrived. I got a picture of him, his car, and the back of his shirt, which had the name of a local business on it.
It turns out that he was a construction worker who had the wrong address. I am on XXX road, and he was looking for the next street over, which is XXX avenue. He was supposed to install rain gutters. The funny thing is that the numerical parts of the address on my road are not the same numerical addresses as the houses on the avenue.
Officers
During my six years in the US Navy, I was assigned to an aircraft carrier. During that time, we had 4 different commanding officers. The problem with being on an aircraft carrier is that the CO is a former aviator, and he is so close to making admiral, he can taste it. The officers that make it that far are pure politicians who are looking to trade that eagle on their collar for a star.
The first one didn't want to be bothered with having to actually DO his job. He would hold NJP on an aircraft carrier as follows:
He would be on the flight deck, standing behind a lectern.
The accused sailors would be lined up in ranks on the aircraft elevator at the hanger deck level.
The elevator would be raised to the flight deck.
The CO would say: "You all must be guilty, or you would be here. I find you guilty as charged. Reduction in rank, you will forfeit a half month's pay times two months, restriction to the ship for 45 days, with extra duty for 45 days. Dismissed." and then the elevator with the accused on it would be lowered back down to the hanger.
Our second CO was a decent guy. His career was destroyed when our ship collided with another, 30 minutes after he had left the bridge with the ship's Navigator in charge.
The third CO we had was probably the best. We had just received a new radar repeater for the Captain's chair on the bridge. I installed and tested it. It was cool. It attached to the arm of the chair and allowed the CO to see any radar display that was available to the ship.
It also turns out that the power supply for it was faulty. Not may fault, it came from the factory like that. That power supply caught fire while the CO was sitting in the chair. The power supply was mounted to the chair, just under the CO's ass. It burned his left cheek and melted a hole in his pants.
A couple of months later, I was standing in formation so the CO could pin my Surface Warfare pin on me. This was back in the day when warfare pins were difficult to get and most people didn't have them. (Not like today when nearly everyone does) As he was pinning it on me, he said, "Congratulations, Petty Officer Divemedic. You aren't going to set me on fire in celebration, are you?" We both laughed. As I said, nice guy.
We went to war with that CO. I respected him a lot.
Then we got the fourth one. He was, to put it mildly, a warmonger. We were a nuclear capable command, and it scared all of us that this man was in charge of nuclear weapons. He used to begin every announcement with "When we arrive, there will be blood on the water," then would talk about how he was eager to go to war. I think that this was because he was the only person in the ship that had not been to the Gulf.
Even the junior officers would complain about him. In front of NCOs. If you have ever been in the military, you know things are bad when the JO's are complaining about the CO in front of enlisted personnel.
It seems, from talking to people I know, that the officer problem has gotten worse.
The first one didn't want to be bothered with having to actually DO his job. He would hold NJP on an aircraft carrier as follows:
He would be on the flight deck, standing behind a lectern.
The accused sailors would be lined up in ranks on the aircraft elevator at the hanger deck level.
The elevator would be raised to the flight deck.
The CO would say: "You all must be guilty, or you would be here. I find you guilty as charged. Reduction in rank, you will forfeit a half month's pay times two months, restriction to the ship for 45 days, with extra duty for 45 days. Dismissed." and then the elevator with the accused on it would be lowered back down to the hanger.
Our second CO was a decent guy. His career was destroyed when our ship collided with another, 30 minutes after he had left the bridge with the ship's Navigator in charge.
The third CO we had was probably the best. We had just received a new radar repeater for the Captain's chair on the bridge. I installed and tested it. It was cool. It attached to the arm of the chair and allowed the CO to see any radar display that was available to the ship.
It also turns out that the power supply for it was faulty. Not may fault, it came from the factory like that. That power supply caught fire while the CO was sitting in the chair. The power supply was mounted to the chair, just under the CO's ass. It burned his left cheek and melted a hole in his pants.
A couple of months later, I was standing in formation so the CO could pin my Surface Warfare pin on me. This was back in the day when warfare pins were difficult to get and most people didn't have them. (Not like today when nearly everyone does) As he was pinning it on me, he said, "Congratulations, Petty Officer Divemedic. You aren't going to set me on fire in celebration, are you?" We both laughed. As I said, nice guy.
We went to war with that CO. I respected him a lot.
Then we got the fourth one. He was, to put it mildly, a warmonger. We were a nuclear capable command, and it scared all of us that this man was in charge of nuclear weapons. He used to begin every announcement with "When we arrive, there will be blood on the water," then would talk about how he was eager to go to war. I think that this was because he was the only person in the ship that had not been to the Gulf.
Even the junior officers would complain about him. In front of NCOs. If you have ever been in the military, you know things are bad when the JO's are complaining about the CO in front of enlisted personnel.
It seems, from talking to people I know, that the officer problem has gotten worse.
Men are evil, says Federal judge
Long article about how men are evil, hate women, and guns should therefore be outlawed. What the Federal judge has to say is the issue:
Here is the test: How would people feel about what you say, if it were said about black people (the current popular victim class)?
See what I mean? It doesn't matter who the target is, for a judge to make a statement like this should result in every man who has appeared in her courtroom since the 2005 incident should receive a new trial, and the judge herself should be removed from the bench.
“It seems to me it’s almost always men, with these obsessions. They act on on them in violent ways. And it ends up in (these) tragedies,” Lefkow, 76, told The Associated Press.If I were ever to appear in that judge's courtroom, I would immediately demand that she be recused in any case involving a male defendant. She has publicly stated that she is prejudicial towards men. How a judge can make a public statement like that is beyond me.
Here is the test: How would people feel about what you say, if it were said about black people (the current popular victim class)?
“It seems to me it’s almost always blacks, with these obsessions. They act on on them in violent ways. And it ends up in (these) tragedies,” Lefkow, 76, told The Associated Press.
See what I mean? It doesn't matter who the target is, for a judge to make a statement like this should result in every man who has appeared in her courtroom since the 2005 incident should receive a new trial, and the judge herself should be removed from the bench.
Is deadly force authorized?
We are seeing that Antifa has stepped up their game. They are now using lasers to intentionally blind people with whom they disagree. It isn't just cops.
I also need to see about getting some laser goggles for green lasers.
776.012 Use or threatened use of force in defense of person.—Now I am not a lawyer, but the law seems to be clear here- the person across the street is shining a laser in your face, with the deliberate goal of causing you to be blinded. It seems to me that being blinded for life is great bodily harm.
(2) A person is justified in using or threatening to use deadly force if he or she reasonably believes that using or threatening to use such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony. A person who uses or threatens to use deadly force in accordance with this subsection does not have a duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground if the person using or threatening to use the deadly force is not engaged in a criminal activity and is in a place where he or she has a right to be.
I also need to see about getting some laser goggles for green lasers.
All liberals are crazy
Remember the video from a few days ago, where what appears to be a woman is yelling about being arrested in Portland?
It turns out that this "woman" is actually a man who claims to be a woman. According to his bio, Dr. Juniper L. Simonis is a Data Analyst in the Weecology Labat the University of Florida. He has a PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and makes a living using mathematics to study living things. How in the world can a person who doesn't even understand boys versus girls be a so-called "expert" on biology? This is why people don't believe "experts" any more.
On a side note, he is also a two time world champion athlete who became a world champion by being a man who beats up girls.
This is insanity.
For years, I have used the following to illustrate the insanity of the transgender position:
It turns out that this "woman" is actually a man who claims to be a woman. According to his bio, Dr. Juniper L. Simonis is a Data Analyst in the Weecology Labat the University of Florida. He has a PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and makes a living using mathematics to study living things. How in the world can a person who doesn't even understand boys versus girls be a so-called "expert" on biology? This is why people don't believe "experts" any more.
On a side note, he is also a two time world champion athlete who became a world champion by being a man who beats up girls.
This is insanity.
For years, I have used the following to illustrate the insanity of the transgender position:
Let's say that I believe myself to be a gorilla. No matter how strongly I believe it, I am still not a gorilla.
Let's say that I take pills to make myself grow more hair to look more like a gorilla. I am still not a gorilla.
If I hire a surgeon to perform an operation to make myself look more like a gorilla, I am still not a gorilla.
If I get a million people to say that I can be whatever I identify myself as, and declare than I am a gorilla, I am still not a gorilla.
If I were to believe myself to be a gorilla and took the steps above, people would say I am crazy.
Wednesday, July 29, 2020
Trump surrenders
President Trump has surrendered to the Antifa mobs in Portland. Federal police will be pulling out of Portland beginning on Thursday.
The Portland Federal Courthouse will be looted and/or burned down this weekend.
The Portland Federal Courthouse will be looted and/or burned down this weekend.
Statistics and COVID
Statistics is actually a branch of mathematics. In order to enter any sort of a graduate level medical course, one of the prerequisites is that the applicant have taken Statistical analysis as a math course during undergraduate studies.
There are a number of things that you can use this for. One of the things statistics is used for is epidemiology. The larger of a sample taken from a population of individuals, the more that sample resembles the makeup of that population. This is a fairly large sample size. Now one of the rules is that the samples must be a random sampling of the population. The smaller the sample, the more important it is that the sample be free from bias and be truly random. There are always biases built into a sample, which is why asking 1,000 people out of the 330 million in the USA about their political opinion is so often wrong.
The reason for this error is that even one person lying in a sample that small can result in a large error. The more of the population that is a part of your sample, the more accurate that statistic will be. For example, a survey of all people in a population would be the most accurate. A survey of one person would be the least accurate.
With that being said, there is a way to calculate just how accurate your statistic is. Let's try that with Florida's COVID testing. Florida to date has tested 3.5 million people for COVID, or about 18% of the population. This is a fairly large sample size, with nearly one out of every five people being tested. Just how accurate is our result? Let's use the Margin of Error calculator to see:
Of Florida's 20 million people, we have tested 3.5 million of them, and 450,000 have tested positive. This means that 12% of tests were positive.
Using my margin of error calculator, I can say with 95% confidence that 11.1 to 13.9% of people in Florida have COVID. That means that there is a 95% probability that there are currently somewhere between 2.2 million and 2.8 million people in Florida who have been infected with COVID. (Assuming that the errors in testing are randomly distributed between false positive and false negative. That is an entirely different problem.)
Since people don't generally die without notice, our sample size for deaths is 100%. (This assumes that all COVID death reports are accurate. Again, another problem) Since there have been 6,300 fatalities, this gives us a IFR of between 0.2% and 0.3%.
In short, a person who is infected by COVID has a 99.7% chance of survival.
That is a good thing, because with a 12% infection rate, there is absolutely no way to stop this virus from eventually infecting us all. Put that infection rate in perspective: One out of every eight people in Florida has already caught COVID in less than six months. In another six months, it will likely be somewhere close to half the population.
Use the same calculator on your own state's numbers, and see if you get the same numbers.
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I did the same calculation with New York's numbers. New York has tested 5.6 million people with about 413,000 positives, for a positivity rate of 7.4% out of a total population of 19.5 million.
Using these numbers, there is a 95% probability that there are currently somewhere between 1.43 million and 1.47 million people in New York who have been infected with COVID.
Use the same calculator on your own state's numbers, and see if you get the same numbers.
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I did the same calculation with New York's numbers. New York has tested 5.6 million people with about 413,000 positives, for a positivity rate of 7.4% out of a total population of 19.5 million.
Using these numbers, there is a 95% probability that there are currently somewhere between 1.43 million and 1.47 million people in New York who have been infected with COVID.
Stupidity
Quote of the day from Chloe Eudaly, city commissioner of Portland, Oregon:
By this same logic:
Each and every American has the right to keep and bear arms. The actions of a few gun owners should not negate those rights, and the response of law enforcement should be proportional to the infractions. Banning the ownership of commonly owned firearms like the AR-15 is not a proportionate response.
The commissioner who made this claim is a Democrat high school dropout. Her first act upon being elected was to pass the Mandatory Renter Relocation Assistance—commonly known as the relocation ordinance—into law. The ordinance requires landlords to pay for their tenants moving fees when they serve their tenants a no-cause eviction, a notice of non-renewal of a fixed term lease, a qualified landlord reason for termination, a rent increase of 10% or more over a 12-month period, or make substantial changes to lease terms.
The fees are based on the size of the residential unit. For a studio or single room occupancy, a tenant is entitled to $2,900; for a one-bedroom: $3,300; for a two-bedroom: $4,200; and for a three-bedroom or larger: $4,500.
Since the government of Portland is evicting the Federal government from the courthouse, I think that negotiations should start there. If a 3 bedroom house is worth a $4500 relocation payment, then something can be worked out here.
The city of Portland can pay the government an equivalent amount per square foot, adjusted for the fact that the courthouse is more expensive commercial real estate. How about $1 million?
In exchange, all federal operations of the Portland Federal government will move to Tacoma, Washington. Any person from Oregon who needs to conduct business with the Federal Government will have to do so at the Tacoma location. That includes bankruptcies, welfare applications, and all other matters that were once handled at the courthouse.
"Each and every one of you has a constitutional right to exercise your freedom of speech and to peacefully assemble. The actions of a few should not negate these rights, and the response of law enforcement should be proportional to the infractions. Indiscriminately tear-gassing and firing impact munitions at thousands of peaceful protesters is not a proportionate response."
By this same logic:
Each and every American has the right to keep and bear arms. The actions of a few gun owners should not negate those rights, and the response of law enforcement should be proportional to the infractions. Banning the ownership of commonly owned firearms like the AR-15 is not a proportionate response.
The commissioner who made this claim is a Democrat high school dropout. Her first act upon being elected was to pass the Mandatory Renter Relocation Assistance—commonly known as the relocation ordinance—into law. The ordinance requires landlords to pay for their tenants moving fees when they serve their tenants a no-cause eviction, a notice of non-renewal of a fixed term lease, a qualified landlord reason for termination, a rent increase of 10% or more over a 12-month period, or make substantial changes to lease terms.
The fees are based on the size of the residential unit. For a studio or single room occupancy, a tenant is entitled to $2,900; for a one-bedroom: $3,300; for a two-bedroom: $4,200; and for a three-bedroom or larger: $4,500.
Since the government of Portland is evicting the Federal government from the courthouse, I think that negotiations should start there. If a 3 bedroom house is worth a $4500 relocation payment, then something can be worked out here.
The city of Portland can pay the government an equivalent amount per square foot, adjusted for the fact that the courthouse is more expensive commercial real estate. How about $1 million?
In exchange, all federal operations of the Portland Federal government will move to Tacoma, Washington. Any person from Oregon who needs to conduct business with the Federal Government will have to do so at the Tacoma location. That includes bankruptcies, welfare applications, and all other matters that were once handled at the courthouse.
Tuesday, July 28, 2020
Blogger
I was involuntarily moved to a new version of Blogger. This is causing technical difficulties, including broken links and inability to comment. I have changed back to the old version by opting out, but that is only a temporary solution. They have informed me that everyone will be forced to the new version again in the next few months.
For now, I will spend the day trying to fix stuff.
For now, I will spend the day trying to fix stuff.
Censored.
So I saw this article where Florida firefighters (who also run EMS) are being denied Workers' Comp if they are infected with COVID, and if they do not have enough PTO on the books, they simply go without pay for the two week isolation period. Why? Their boss says that there is no evidence that they got COVID while at work.
So, I commented:
So the answer to this, is if you test positive, keep your mouth shut, keep going to work, and don't tell anyone. Hang out in the chief's office. Cough on his coffee cup and computer keyboard. When he gets COVID, see how quickly workers' comp is approved.
My comment was deleted.
I honestly believe that the COVID thing is being overblown. What isn't being overblown is the financial and economic impact of the response. I would also point out that Reedy Creek is the Walt Disney World fire department. How is ABC (owned by Disney) reporting on all of this? You tell me. I don't watch MSM any longer.
This also reinforces my opinion: do not take a COVID test. They are being used to discriminate against people.
TSA lets weapons fly . Again.
I have posted quite a few times about the incompetence of TSA screening. We just flew to Las Vegas from Fort Lauderdale. I made sure all of our luggage was sterile, and then my wife packed for the trip. Since the airlines charge for checked bags, I carried two backpacks as carryons, and my wife was to use one.
What she didn't tell me was that she decided to pack her purse inside of a backpack that I had not checked. She wanted to have something to walk around with that was easier to carry than a purse. After we arrived in Las Vegas and were unpacking, my wife discovered a Pepper Gel canister inside of the second backpack. TSA had missed it and allowed us to carry a weapon onto an aircraft.
I asked her what she wanted to do for the flight home, and she said she would chance it on the way back, so back into the backpack it went. As we were going through security, we handed over our TSA precheck cards, the TSA agent told us that the precheck lines were closed due to low passenger volume, but gave us pamphlets that explained that we were precheck passengers and didn't have to remove our shoes or take laptop computers out of our carry on bags. As soon as we passed through the metal detector, the agent on the X-ray machine called us over and asked whose bag it was.
They were pointing at my bag. They told my wife to step away. The problem? I had not removed my computer from the bag. I told them that I was TSA precheck, and didn't have to remove laptops. The agents replied that this was no longer the case. I showed them the cards that I had been handed 10 seconds before, and their reply was that the precheck policy had changed, made me take my laptop out of the bag, and then ran it through the X-ray machine again.
They were so worried about my laptop that they missed the pepper spray AGAIN.
TSA is a bunch of completely clueless, uneducated morons who are a waste of money. TSA- if you read this and ask, this never happened. Nope. Just having some fun at your expense. No weapons were ever on a passenger aircraft, as far as you know. Nope. Didn't happen.
Monday, July 27, 2020
Gambling
Because I can't be blogging about bad news all the time
I have been doing this for about 15 years. I have always had some rules for playing, and I have found that following these rules means that I am about even in the casino. What are the rules? Easy:
1 Don't gamble with money that you can't afford to lose. If you find yourself gambling away your rent money, the kids' college fund, or any other needed funds, you are out of control.
2 If you ever find yourself in a situation that you are trying to win back what you already lost, stop. You are not in a position where you are making wise bets.
3 Set an amount that you can afford to lose each day that you will be in the casino. When you hit that amount, walk away.
4 Understand that the casino will win more often than you. If this weren't the case, the casinos would all go out of business. You need to remember this and not plan on making yourself rich. Anyone who tells you that they "win most of the time" is lying. Yes, there are people who occasionally win a big jackpot. Casinos love this, because people who win big attract other gamblers to try their luck.
5 If you are having a good day, as soon as you have doubled the money you started with that day, put that starting amount in your pocket. Now you are gambling with the casino's money and are guaranteed to at least break even for the day.
Number 5 is very important. Let's say that I set my limit at $300 a day and head out for a three day gambling trip.
Day one, I lose $300. I walk away.
Day two, I again enter the casino with $300. After two hours of play, I am on a lucky streak and find myself with $600. I put $300 in my pocket and continue playing with the other $300. An hour later, I have $700 in front of me. Then I have a bad couple of plays and leave the table with $250, plus the $300 I put in my pocket.
Day three, I again lose my $300 and walk out.
My total for three days? I have only lost $50.
Sometimes I win big, sometimes I lose. I never lose big, because I follow my limits. My current limit is $500 a day. I usually win or lose less than $1,000 a week when I go to the casinos. The most I have won in a week is $4,000. I have done that three times. The most I have lost in a week? $2000. Unfortunately, that worst week ever was last week. I have only done that once. The runner up was $1,500 in a week, but that was in a two week trip, and the week before I had won $1,200.
We just stayed in Las Vegas at the New York, New York casino. We were in a luxury suite at a highly discounted rate. The soft drinks in the mini bar were complimentary, and they gave us $100 food credit and $75 in free gambling credit. The total cost for the room, round trip airfare on nonstop flights from Fort Lauderdale, along with all food and drinks for the entire trip was $1200.
My week went like this:
Day one: Lost $500.
Day two: Won $200.
Day three: Lost $500
Day four: Lost $500
Day five: Lost $500
Like I said, this was the worst week I have ever had, but I think that was because we usually do other things while in Vegas. We usually go to shows, go hiking, or tour other attractions. This time, everything was closed except for the casinos. Still, even losing that much at the tables, the comps that I get for being a high level player made a 5 day 4 night vacation cost only $3,200.
So how do you get comps like that? Remember that it isn't on how much you win or lose, but how much you gamble. You can gamble quite a bit, and as long as you understand math and don't vote like a complete moron, you can just about break even most of the time while betting thousands of dollars a night. More on that some other time.
New York
The government of East Fishkill, New York has issued a travel advisory, advising all residents to avoid New York City.
More attacks on vehicles
At this point, there is a reasonable expectation that any group that is blocking traffic is actively hostile. Anyone who stops for such a protest is likely to either become a victim or a combatant.
We have seen insurgents use clubs, chemical weapons, energy weapons (LASERs), explosives, incendiaries, and other lethal weapons. We have seen them threaten the use of firearms.
The police and other government officials are OK with ceding territory, abandoning buildings, and being the target of attacks by thrown objects, melee weapons, explosives, lasers, and incendiary devices.
If you are taking fire from multiple people who are a part of a group of co-conspirators (combatants), at what point does this move from the standard civilian rules of engagement (only fire upon those who are an active threat) to rules more suited to combat. In other words, when is it appropriate to consider the entire group to be enemy combatants, and employ suppressive fire?
We have seen a few people respond to the violence by returning fire. Now we are seeing multiple people in the insurgent crowds fire at others. It's only a matter of time before we move from there to a mag dump, or even to force on force engagements.
Sunday, July 26, 2020
Charges dropped in NM shooting
Remember Steven Baca? He was the guy who shot demonstrators who attacked him in New Mexico? Turns out that when the police confiscated the weapons from other people in the crowd, they never documented who had which weapons.
Since Baca was claiming that the man he shot was armed with a knife, the police have no way of proving that this was not the case, so the DA had to drop the charges.
Explosives breaching walls
The Seattle Police Department says that an explosive device was employed by the crowd and blew an 8 inch hole in the wall.
The outside wall:
Interior wall:
Why do people continue to call this "protesting" and not "combat?"
Shooting at BLM march in Austin.
At the BLM march in Austin, there was a man by the name of Garrett Foster that was at the march carrying an AK clone. He was interviewed earlier in the evening by Ian Miles Cheong. You can click here to see the interview. During that interview, he made the following statement:
I think all the people who hate us and, you know, wanna say shit to us are too big of pussies to wanna stop and do anything about it.Later that night, as the march was stopping traffic, there was a gunfight that resulted Foster's death. The sounds of the incident were caught on a livestream of the march that can be found here (sorry, it's Facebook), just fast forward to 1:35:43. On the video, a horn can be heard honking, there is a pause of 8 seconds, and then five shots ring out. There is another pause of about 7 seconds, then three more shots from an obviously smaller firearm.
Now that you have seen the video, here is what is being said about Foster in the press:
Mr. Foster, who had served in the military, was armed, but he was not seeking out trouble at the march, relatives and witnesses told reporters. At the time of the shooting, Mr. Foster was pushing his fiancée through an intersection in her wheelchair.
Considering the quote about counter protesters being too big of pussies to do anything, I doubt this last statement. Sounds like Foster was looking for trouble and found it. Now that doesn't mean that the person who shot him was any less of an asshole, but we just don't know at this point.
Police say that at least one other person besides the man who killed Foster fired shots, but are saying that Foster did not. That is all that is known at this point. I guess we will wait for more details before forming an opinion.
However, this doesn't do anything to disprove my theory that we are in the midst of an insurgency that is in the violent stage.
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EDITED TO ADD:
Here is a picture of Foster just before shots were fired. If you were the driver and saw this, would YOU shoot in self defense? I probably would.
Saturday, July 25, 2020
Attacking a military sentry
When I first joined the Navy, I went to boot camp in Orlando. The recruits there are assigned to various security watches at night and on the weekend. Each company had its own fire watch from Taps to Reveille, and each of the nine recruit divisions had a roving patrol and a quarterdeck watch.
Recruit companies also provide security watches for various areas of the RTC. One of those watches, the one that was responsible for the damage control training center, had a bit of a run in with a local criminal. I will relate the story the way that it was told to me by the sentry, as accurately as I can remember after more than thirty years.
__________________________________________________________________________________
The recruit reported for sentry duty. The sentry he was relieving handed over the helmet, flashlight, nightstick, and radio. The time was 2345, and the sentry would not be relived until his replacement came out at 0345.
Now the layout of the RTC becomes important. The DC training area was right against the wall that surrounded the base. The wall in this area was 8 feet tall, made of concrete, and ran alongside of Corrine Drive.
A local criminal had committed a robbery and was being chased by the Orlando Police Department and was attempting to flee on foot. He attempted to get away by hopping over the wall to the Navy Base, where he landed right in front of the recruit sentry. The sentry immediately challenged the intruder, who tried to attack the sentry.
That sentry spent the next five minutes applying his nightstick to the criminal, until base security arrived to take him in custody.
The intruder was arrested by NIS and charged with a list of crimes, the most serious of which was "attacking a military sentry" and subjected him to prosecution.
________________________________________________________________________
I tried to search for the case, but since it happened in the early 80's, I just couldn't find it. The point is that the Federal Government follows a different set of rules and doesn't need the permission of local government to protect its property and personnel.
Friday, July 24, 2020
Risk and probabilty
Put things in perspective. Your odds of:
- being dealt a royal flush: 1 in 649,739
- dying in a car accident are 1 in 106
- dying from the flu: 1 in 6,500
- dying from COVID-19: 1 in 2,321
- dying from a heart attack: 1 in 4
- dying from a lightning strike: 1 in 1,200,000
- dying after being attacked by a dog: 1 in 118,776
- dying from a shark attack: 1 in 3,750,000
- a heterosexual man dying from HIV: 1 in 2,500
- a heterosexual woman dying from HIV: 1 in 1,250
People are very poor estimators of risk and probability. Watch people try to estimate probability. Ask them what the odds of this are:
Suppose you flip a coin 99 times in a row and each time it comes up heads. Now what are the chances that the 100th time you flip it, it will be heads again?
If they try to tell you that tails is "due" then they don't understand math or probability well enough to discuss the subject.
That is why, nearly 50 years after the start of the HIV epidemic, many people still do not practice safe sex. Many still get in a car, or even eat unhealthy food. Yet they freak out when they see someone without a mask on, even though there is not one single study that shows masks worn by the public prevent the community transmission of COVID-19.
Wednesday, July 22, 2020
System failed
I seriously think that a judge who lets a convicted felon walk out with little to no jail time after he is convicted for the 15th time in the past 10 years should face criminal charges when that felon murders someone.
About this blog
I occasionally hear from people who don't understand why I named this blog "Confessions of a Street Pharmacist." After all, a "street pharmacist" is slang for a drug dealer.
The roots of this name go back to my military days. Some friends and I were doing our taxes, and we got to the line where you have to list your occupation. We all put down "paid professional killer" on the line, and mailed it in. The group of us got a big laugh, picturing the data entry clerk down at the IRS trying to figure out why there were so many people making a living as killers.
Flash forward to years later, and I was sitting in the station house while listening to my partner complain that so many of the people who call 911 are just trying to figure out how to get EMS crews to inject them with their drug of choice- we called them "drug seekers," and some of them have gotten pretty good at it.
That same year, when I did my taxes, I listed my occupation as "street pharmacist." It wasn't a big leap to name my blog after that bit of humor.
Tuesday, July 21, 2020
Range day with an insurgent
Remember Grandmaster J of the NFAC (Not Fucking Around Coalition), the guy who said he was going to take over Texas? He claimed that he and the other senior members of his group of insurgents had all received military training and were experts on the rifle range? He decided to put his latest range day up on Youtube.
A bench rested shot on a pistol target from 10 and then 25 yards with an AR-15, and THAT is the best he can do? He is certainly no expert. His gun handling skills would get him thrown out of my range. He has no muzzle control and is certainly not in any position to be teaching this to others.
A bench rested shot on a pistol target from 10 and then 25 yards with an AR-15, and THAT is the best he can do? He is certainly no expert. His gun handling skills would get him thrown out of my range. He has no muzzle control and is certainly not in any position to be teaching this to others.
Vacation
My one real vice is that I am a gambler. This made my wife nervous when we were first together, because she didn't like to see me betting several hundred dollars at a time. She has since come around and realized that you can gamble without losing your house or life savings. She even plays with me, but won't play when the table minimums go over $20.
At any rate, I gamble enough that I get the occasional free stay. Back in March, we had a free stay (complete with hotel, airfare, hotel transfer, and a $100 credit for food) at the Beau Rivage in Biloxi. Two days before we were supposed to leave, the trip was cancelled.
With the school year starting back up next week, we had completed our required summer training sessions, so I decided to go on vacation while we could. Last Monday, we drove from our home to Biloxi and stayed in a hotel for three nights. The stay wound up costing us $500 for everything including food. Where they got me was the casino. I wound up losing about $1200 at the craps table.
We got home and were immediately offered 4 free nights in Las Vegas. The airfare was $100 each round trip, so we went. Las Vegas is my very favorite city. I know New York claims to be the city that doesn't sleep, but Las Vegas really doesn't. and they have fun doing it.
Now we usually come to Vegas twice a year. Last year, we were here for Christmas and in March. (We LOVED coming for Christmas) This week's visit is our first this year. The differences are jarring.
The place is a virtual ghost town. Many shops and restaurants are closed. Quite a few of the large casino resorts are closed, and the ones that are open are virtually empty. I have been here during the busy and slow seasons, and this looks like an unusually slow season.
We are at the NY NY casino. It is so empty here, that they offered us an upgrade into their largest suite for $80 a night. We were originally booked in a King room for free (all you pay is the resort fee) for 4 nights. We moved to this GIANT suite of 1100 square feet. It has a whirlpool for 2, with complementary drinks in the mini fridge. The cost for 4 nights? $600, and they threw in $100 for food and $75 for some free gambling money. Here is the view* from one of our windows (the suite is on a corner and 2 walls are windows):
(green because the windows are tinted)
If you are familiar with Vegas, you will see that traffic is almost nonexistent compared to normal. The road running from lower left to middle right is the Las Vegas Strip. It is normally packed this time of day.
The hotel seems nearly empty. That is probably why we got the suite so cheap. There is a restaurant near the casino floor that is normally open 24 hours a day. I normally love eating there for breakfast because they have strip steak and eggs for $16. Now they are only open 7am-3pm.
The bars are closed, but not restaurants. Last night, we got several large Margueritas and some outstanding Mexican food. There is a bar on the casino floor where we like to sit and watch people/sporting events/etc. It is closed.
The tables are just as deserted. Here is a Blackjack table:
Note that there are only three players to a table, and they are all in a plexiglass booth. Masks required.
Here is the Craps table. Note there are dividers between players, only three players to a side (normally it's 8), and most importantly- the tables are closed during the day. Usually, there is at least one table open 24 hours a day. The table minimum when it is slow (especially during the day) is $10, increasing depending on how busy things are. Now, even with as slow as it is, the minimums are $25.
Vegas is hurting. All of America is hurting. This COVID stuff needs to end, before we kill the economy. I personally think it's deliberate. Hopefully it will be over by November.
The news here is different. It leans even more to the left than I am used to. Every story seems to relate to "Orange Man Bad"- even more so than at home.
* an interesting aside: On the upper right of the picture, you can see some aircraft parked in front of a hanger. That is the CIA's so-called "secret airline" The parking lot in front of it is for employees of the CIA and of the Groom Lake facility, I am told.)
Sunday, July 19, 2020
DeSantis, the South, and Superiority
A person recently told me that Florida is messed up because our governor has a 4th grade education. The funny part of that is Governor DeSantis has a BA in history from Yale, a JD with honors from Harvard, and served in the US Navy as a Lieutenant Commander (O-4). He spent 2006 as a part of the JAG team that was assigned to Guantanamo Bay's terrorist detention facility, then in 2007 was sent to Iraq as a part of the command group for SEAL team One, which was in Fallujah.
Compare that resume to the one for Governor Party Tits of New York, who graduated from the Albany School of Law.
The left assumes that anyone who disagrees with them must be uneducated and stupid. I get that all the time, despite the fact that I have 3 college degrees, and scored in the 90th percentile or higher on the ACT, the SAT, and the GRE. Because I am from the south and not a liberal, they assume that I am stupid. Just today, I had a guy with a Liberal Arts Degree call me stupid for no knowing who Immanuel Kant was. He got to feel smarter because his Arts Degree enabled him to know that. Did I mention that he is the Assistant Manager of a Taco Bell?
Compare that resume to the one for Governor Party Tits of New York, who graduated from the Albany School of Law.
The left assumes that anyone who disagrees with them must be uneducated and stupid. I get that all the time, despite the fact that I have 3 college degrees, and scored in the 90th percentile or higher on the ACT, the SAT, and the GRE. Because I am from the south and not a liberal, they assume that I am stupid. Just today, I had a guy with a Liberal Arts Degree call me stupid for no knowing who Immanuel Kant was. He got to feel smarter because his Arts Degree enabled him to know that. Did I mention that he is the Assistant Manager of a Taco Bell?
Saturday, July 18, 2020
Difference of opinion
My son came to see me today. We had lunch before he had to be at work. I have to give you a bit of background:
On July 6, he returned from working in New York . His fiance and her family are hard core liberals. As far as guns go, they are classic Fudds, in that they only support gun rights as they pertain to hunting, not self defense or any other reasons. Sometimes those opinions bleed through to my son's outlook.
Just before my son got home (June 26), his fiance tested COVID positive after being exposed while out at a bar for drinks with some of her friends. Her two week isolation period would have ended on July 10. Since he arrived home on July 6, he was actively in the house with a person who was COVID positive.
His contract with the NY staffing company required him to isolate for a week (until July 13) after returning. They even paid him for that week as if he were working. Instead of isolating, he returned to work on July 11 by picking up a shift for a nurse who had called out sick. In fact, he has picked up 4 different shifts during his "quarantine period." This means that, even though his fiance was through with HER isolation period, he would have had to isolate until July 20 because he was exposed to her.
He came over and almost immediately began to criticize me because I am not wearing a mask when I go out. That then began a heated discussion about how businesses and the public need to listen to the experts. I pointed out that the experts have been changing their advice every few weeks, have been falsifying COVID test results, and listing motorcycle accidents as COVID related.
He responded by pointing out a few things that I thought were ridiculous. A few of the high points:
The people at the CDC are not experts, they are politicians. When I asked him who the experts are, he replied that HE and the doctors he had been working with in NYC were the experts, and actually said that he was now good enough that he could tell if someone were COVID positive by simply looking at them, and didn't NEED a test.
He also said that the tests were inaccurate, and 40% of negatives were actually false negatives, therefore he was more accurate than the COVID tests.
He said that everyone should be required by law to wear a mask as soon as they step out their front door. In fact, he went so far as to say that there should be a law that the public is required to obey the orders of physicians.
Also, businesses should all be closed so we can flatten out the curve and stop hospital overcrowding. He declared that all of the hospitals in Florida are currently at least at 115% of capacity. I asked him why, if they were all so full, were they still accepting elective surgeries, and why he and his fiance were still laid off. He replied "Because the people running the hospital are all cheap and greedy."
I then asked him, if the rest of us have to stay home, why he was permitted to go to work after having a person living in his house testing positive. He replied "My boss knows. He doesn't care." I told him that this was hard to believe. How can a hospital not care that one of their staff is in a household were one of their other staff members is supposed to be isolated because they are COVID positive? And if that hospital in fact doesn't care, then why should I be prohibited from going where I please, when neither my wife nor I have been positive?
This went on for over 20 minutes. My wife managed to eventually change the subject, which was good, because things were getting overheated. My son went to NYC for 3 months and came back as an arrogant, hypocritical ass.
I hope that effect will wear off soon.
On July 6, he returned from working in New York . His fiance and her family are hard core liberals. As far as guns go, they are classic Fudds, in that they only support gun rights as they pertain to hunting, not self defense or any other reasons. Sometimes those opinions bleed through to my son's outlook.
Just before my son got home (June 26), his fiance tested COVID positive after being exposed while out at a bar for drinks with some of her friends. Her two week isolation period would have ended on July 10. Since he arrived home on July 6, he was actively in the house with a person who was COVID positive.
His contract with the NY staffing company required him to isolate for a week (until July 13) after returning. They even paid him for that week as if he were working. Instead of isolating, he returned to work on July 11 by picking up a shift for a nurse who had called out sick. In fact, he has picked up 4 different shifts during his "quarantine period." This means that, even though his fiance was through with HER isolation period, he would have had to isolate until July 20 because he was exposed to her.
He came over and almost immediately began to criticize me because I am not wearing a mask when I go out. That then began a heated discussion about how businesses and the public need to listen to the experts. I pointed out that the experts have been changing their advice every few weeks, have been falsifying COVID test results, and listing motorcycle accidents as COVID related.
He responded by pointing out a few things that I thought were ridiculous. A few of the high points:
The people at the CDC are not experts, they are politicians. When I asked him who the experts are, he replied that HE and the doctors he had been working with in NYC were the experts, and actually said that he was now good enough that he could tell if someone were COVID positive by simply looking at them, and didn't NEED a test.
He also said that the tests were inaccurate, and 40% of negatives were actually false negatives, therefore he was more accurate than the COVID tests.
He said that everyone should be required by law to wear a mask as soon as they step out their front door. In fact, he went so far as to say that there should be a law that the public is required to obey the orders of physicians.
Also, businesses should all be closed so we can flatten out the curve and stop hospital overcrowding. He declared that all of the hospitals in Florida are currently at least at 115% of capacity. I asked him why, if they were all so full, were they still accepting elective surgeries, and why he and his fiance were still laid off. He replied "Because the people running the hospital are all cheap and greedy."
I then asked him, if the rest of us have to stay home, why he was permitted to go to work after having a person living in his house testing positive. He replied "My boss knows. He doesn't care." I told him that this was hard to believe. How can a hospital not care that one of their staff is in a household were one of their other staff members is supposed to be isolated because they are COVID positive? And if that hospital in fact doesn't care, then why should I be prohibited from going where I please, when neither my wife nor I have been positive?
This went on for over 20 minutes. My wife managed to eventually change the subject, which was good, because things were getting overheated. My son went to NYC for 3 months and came back as an arrogant, hypocritical ass.
I hope that effect will wear off soon.
Back home
I haven't posted all week because I took a well deserved vacation to Biloxi, MS where we stayed at the Beau Rivage casino.
Here were the changes we noted:
Masks were required to be worn by everyone in the resort.
The table games only allowed half as many players. (Three per blackjack table.)
Every other slot machine was out of service, the chairs for the out of service machines removed.
The buffet has been shut down.
It was still a relaxing week and well worth the drive.
Here were the changes we noted:
Masks were required to be worn by everyone in the resort.
The table games only allowed half as many players. (Three per blackjack table.)
Every other slot machine was out of service, the chairs for the out of service machines removed.
The buffet has been shut down.
It was still a relaxing week and well worth the drive.
Tuesday, July 14, 2020
Shit storm
Isn't it odd that Florida's number of COVID cases was low until right after it was announced that the 2020 Republican National Convention would be in Jacksonville. Nope. Coincidence.
This entire shitstorm of COVID, the riots, and everything else is being orchestrated and used to influence the election. This is the big play. Expect voter fraud, dead people voting, and more irregularities than you have ever seen before, on top of a backdrop of escalating violence.
This entire shitstorm of COVID, the riots, and everything else is being orchestrated and used to influence the election. This is the big play. Expect voter fraud, dead people voting, and more irregularities than you have ever seen before, on top of a backdrop of escalating violence.
Monday, July 13, 2020
Legitimate Questions
Teachers all over are being told that we have to teach the kids face to face when school restarts in two weeks. OK. I'm cool with that. However, I do have some questions:
1 What happens if I test positive? Am I required to stay home for two weeks? If so, is it without pay? Or is it considered an on the job injury, and would I be eligible for workers' comp?
2 Same with medical expenses. Who pays? Me? My health insurance, or workers' comp?
3 Since masks are not required of students, what happens if a kid comes in sick? Can I refuse to allow him in my classroom until he tests negative?
4 Considering the answers to 1,2, and 3: Then does that mean I can continue to come in as well, rather than have to burn my own sick leave?
5 If I test positive, a contact tracer will ask me a bunch of invasive questions about where I go, who I talk to, and other personal details. Am I required to answer? What happens if I don't?
I am sure there are many more, and these are questions that no one yet seems to have answers for.
1 What happens if I test positive? Am I required to stay home for two weeks? If so, is it without pay? Or is it considered an on the job injury, and would I be eligible for workers' comp?
2 Same with medical expenses. Who pays? Me? My health insurance, or workers' comp?
3 Since masks are not required of students, what happens if a kid comes in sick? Can I refuse to allow him in my classroom until he tests negative?
4 Considering the answers to 1,2, and 3: Then does that mean I can continue to come in as well, rather than have to burn my own sick leave?
5 If I test positive, a contact tracer will ask me a bunch of invasive questions about where I go, who I talk to, and other personal details. Am I required to answer? What happens if I don't?
I am sure there are many more, and these are questions that no one yet seems to have answers for.
Quiet Sun
The number of sunspots is a great indicator of solar output. That is, the more sunspots there are, the higher the sun's energy output. This has effects on cosmic rays reaching Earth, the Earth's climate, and even how well radio communications work. Let's take a look (courtesy of Spaceweather.com) at the number of sunspot free days over the last few years:
2020 total: 145 days (74%)
2019 total: 281 days (77%)
2018 total: 221 days (61%)
2017 total: 104 days (28%)
2016 total: 32 days (9%)
2015 total: 0 days (0%)
2014 total: 1 day (<1 p="">2013 total: 0 days (0%)
2012 total: 0 days (0%)
2011 total: 2 days (<1 p="">2010 total: 51 days (14%)
2009 total: 260 days (71%)
2008 total: 268 days (73%)
2007 total: 152 days (42%)
2006 total: 70 days (19%)
You can see that solar activity is cyclical, and you can see that we have been sunspot free for the majority of the time for the past three years. The last solar minimum (2008-2009) only lasted for two, with a seven year gap to the current one.
Solar cycles are normally 11 years long, but can last as long as 14 years. The current cycle began on January 4, 2008. The maximum sunspot number for this cycle was the lowest since cycles 12-15 (1878-1923, also known as the Dalton Minimum). So far this year, the Sun has been blank 76% of the time, a rate surpassed only once before in the Space Age. Last year, 2019, the Sun was blank 77% of the time. Two consecutive years of record-setting spotlessness adds up to a very deep solar minimum.
Long periods of low solar output are followed by colder weather on Earth.
2020 total: 145 days (74%)
2019 total: 281 days (77%)
2018 total: 221 days (61%)
2017 total: 104 days (28%)
2016 total: 32 days (9%)
2015 total: 0 days (0%)
2014 total: 1 day (<1 p="">2013 total: 0 days (0%)
2012 total: 0 days (0%)
2011 total: 2 days (<1 p="">2010 total: 51 days (14%)
2009 total: 260 days (71%)
2008 total: 268 days (73%)
2007 total: 152 days (42%)
2006 total: 70 days (19%)
You can see that solar activity is cyclical, and you can see that we have been sunspot free for the majority of the time for the past three years. The last solar minimum (2008-2009) only lasted for two, with a seven year gap to the current one.
Solar cycles are normally 11 years long, but can last as long as 14 years. The current cycle began on January 4, 2008. The maximum sunspot number for this cycle was the lowest since cycles 12-15 (1878-1923, also known as the Dalton Minimum). So far this year, the Sun has been blank 76% of the time, a rate surpassed only once before in the Space Age. Last year, 2019, the Sun was blank 77% of the time. Two consecutive years of record-setting spotlessness adds up to a very deep solar minimum.
Long periods of low solar output are followed by colder weather on Earth.
Crazy
For years, I have used the following to illustrate the insanity of the transgender position:
Let's say that I believe myself to be a gorilla. No matter how strongly I believe it, I am still not a gorilla.This is going to sound like a parody, but sadly, it isn't. The social media platform Twitch now has a man who identifies as both a woman and a deer, and this nutcase is now a moderator: in charge of censoring the users of the platform for not having a diverse enough opinion.
Let's say that I take pills to make myself grow more hair to look more like a gorilla. I am still not a gorilla.
If I hire a surgeon to perform an operation to make myself look more like a gorilla, I am still not a gorilla.
If I get a million people to say that I can be whatever I identify myself as, and declare than I am a gorilla, I am still not a gorilla.
If I were to believe myself to be a gorilla and took the steps above, people would say I am crazy.
Sunday, July 12, 2020
Gun range and LGS report
Two days ago, I posted about shortages. To be honest, thanks to ammo shortages, I had not set foot in my LGS for about three weeks. I got called by some new shooters who wanted to take me up on my offer of a free shooting session, so we went. In return, they took us to dinner.
We started off with some .22 through a S&W M&P22. Then we moved to a suppressed 9mm, then unsuppressed. In all, I used up 100 rounds of 9mm, 50 rounds of .380, and 100 rounds of .22. I need to get some decent priced 9mm soon, or range trips in the near future will be made with .22.
Before we went shooting, they had to fill out the waivers, so I used that time to look over the gun shop.
The place was packed. Far busier than normal. There are 40 lanes, and most of them were full. Members went right in, there was a wait for non-members. We saw a large number of customers in the store who were looking for their first gun. A Florida CCW class had just let out, and there were a few students still hanging out, looking at various handguns. In all, if you include the range, there were about 200 customers in the store. The place was packed.
The training schedule for July and August was up. There were 18 courses on the schedule for the rest of the month of July, and every one of them was booked. The schedule looks like this:
4 classes of "Intro to Handguns" and 2 classes of "Ladies Only Intro to Handguns" all full
6 classes of "First Shots" all full
5 classes of Florida CCW all full
1 "Youth Intro to Firearms" also full
It seems that the new shooters aren't just buying- they are buying and getting educated. Awesome. I welcome all new shooters into the culture. I mean ALL. The more popular shooting is, the harder it is to ban guns.
Guns are back in stock. The gun cabinets were well stocked, and to the credit of the LGS, the prices were pretty close to normal. Ammo is a bit hit or miss. Limits on most ammo were still one box per person, with a few exceptions:
5.56mm is back in stock in a big way. They were selling it by the box or by the case. Same with shotgun, except slugs, which are still limited.
The hunting calibers seemed to be well stocked, as was revolver ammo. There was plenty of .38, .44, and .357 magnum. For handguns, it was hit or miss. Oddly enough, there was plenty of .45ACP. There was some .40 S&W, but there were only 5 or 6 boxes of expensive 9mm.
The ammo situation is improving, but I don't see us getting back to normal levels for months.
We started off with some .22 through a S&W M&P22. Then we moved to a suppressed 9mm, then unsuppressed. In all, I used up 100 rounds of 9mm, 50 rounds of .380, and 100 rounds of .22. I need to get some decent priced 9mm soon, or range trips in the near future will be made with .22.
Before we went shooting, they had to fill out the waivers, so I used that time to look over the gun shop.
The place was packed. Far busier than normal. There are 40 lanes, and most of them were full. Members went right in, there was a wait for non-members. We saw a large number of customers in the store who were looking for their first gun. A Florida CCW class had just let out, and there were a few students still hanging out, looking at various handguns. In all, if you include the range, there were about 200 customers in the store. The place was packed.
The training schedule for July and August was up. There were 18 courses on the schedule for the rest of the month of July, and every one of them was booked. The schedule looks like this:
4 classes of "Intro to Handguns" and 2 classes of "Ladies Only Intro to Handguns" all full
6 classes of "First Shots" all full
5 classes of Florida CCW all full
1 "Youth Intro to Firearms" also full
It seems that the new shooters aren't just buying- they are buying and getting educated. Awesome. I welcome all new shooters into the culture. I mean ALL. The more popular shooting is, the harder it is to ban guns.
Guns are back in stock. The gun cabinets were well stocked, and to the credit of the LGS, the prices were pretty close to normal. Ammo is a bit hit or miss. Limits on most ammo were still one box per person, with a few exceptions:
5.56mm is back in stock in a big way. They were selling it by the box or by the case. Same with shotgun, except slugs, which are still limited.
The hunting calibers seemed to be well stocked, as was revolver ammo. There was plenty of .38, .44, and .357 magnum. For handguns, it was hit or miss. Oddly enough, there was plenty of .45ACP. There was some .40 S&W, but there were only 5 or 6 boxes of expensive 9mm.
The ammo situation is improving, but I don't see us getting back to normal levels for months.
Science!!!
I recently got into a discussion about mask usage with someone I know. She insists that I am a science denier because I have pointed out that there is no evidence that cloth masks do anything to prevent COVID transmission.
This person is a screaming lefty who believes in gun ownership. But only for hunting. If it isn't useful for hunting, it should be illegal, as far as she is concerned.
Today, my wife showed me this person's FB post from this morning. Let's just say that I am not taking advice about science from anyone who believes in this nonsense.
This person is a screaming lefty who believes in gun ownership. But only for hunting. If it isn't useful for hunting, it should be illegal, as far as she is concerned.
Today, my wife showed me this person's FB post from this morning. Let's just say that I am not taking advice about science from anyone who believes in this nonsense.
Blue Wall of Silence
In comments to my post on the protesters having a point about good cops who stay silent are not good cops, it was pointed out that the numbers aren't valid. Perhaps not, but the point is that the "blue wall of silence" makes the good cops into bad ones. Let me offer an example to you:
A female highway Patrol Trooper pulled over a Miami PD officer who was speeding to his off duty job in his cruiser. He was travelling more than 120 miles per hour while weaving through traffic.This incident caused the Sun-Sentinel to do an entire series of articles, where it was revealed that dozens of South Florida cops were routinely speeding off duty, reaching speeds of over 100 miles an hour. Other cops simply looked the other way. I guess they are all "good cops."
She arrested him and was harassed for months because of it. 88 law enforcement officers from 25 jurisdictions illegally accessed her personal information more than 200 times, violating her privacy, and then used that information to leave notes on her car, and once they even left human feces on the hood of her car. She was harassed in a nationwide attempt by "good cops" to make an example of her, so other cops would know what happens when you cross the "blue wall of silence." (Seriously, read the comments from the cops at that last link. That is the attitude of supposed "good cops.")
She wound up leaving law enforcement and had to move more than 600 miles away, and still they are stalking her. There were still police officers doing it in 2017, six years later.
As a paramedic, I got to see first hand what "professional courtesy" means. You didn't think that cops put those "blue line" stickers on their cars just for the hell of it, did you? These protests have gotten out of hand, but that is what happens when you don't police your own. Cops need to fix this, or it will get worse.
A female highway Patrol Trooper pulled over a Miami PD officer who was speeding to his off duty job in his cruiser. He was travelling more than 120 miles per hour while weaving through traffic.This incident caused the Sun-Sentinel to do an entire series of articles, where it was revealed that dozens of South Florida cops were routinely speeding off duty, reaching speeds of over 100 miles an hour. Other cops simply looked the other way. I guess they are all "good cops."
She arrested him and was harassed for months because of it. 88 law enforcement officers from 25 jurisdictions illegally accessed her personal information more than 200 times, violating her privacy, and then used that information to leave notes on her car, and once they even left human feces on the hood of her car. She was harassed in a nationwide attempt by "good cops" to make an example of her, so other cops would know what happens when you cross the "blue wall of silence." (Seriously, read the comments from the cops at that last link. That is the attitude of supposed "good cops.")
She wound up leaving law enforcement and had to move more than 600 miles away, and still they are stalking her. There were still police officers doing it in 2017, six years later.
As a paramedic, I got to see first hand what "professional courtesy" means. You didn't think that cops put those "blue line" stickers on their cars just for the hell of it, did you? These protests have gotten out of hand, but that is what happens when you don't police your own. Cops need to fix this, or it will get worse.
Cops hard to come by in St Petersburg
St Petersburg police have just announced that they will no longer respond to "non violent" calls, but will instead send social workers. Calls that police will no longer respond to:
Overdose? As a medic, I am not going to an overdose call without police to secure the scene.
This is a shit sandwich that is going to get people killed at much higher rates than the handful of police misconduct that happens in a year.
- Disorderly intoxication
- Drug overdose
- Intoxicated person
- Mental health crisis
- Suicide crisis
- Mental Health Transport
- Disorderly juvenile/truancy
- Disorderly Juvenile at Elementary Schools
- Panhandling
- Homeless complaints
- Neighborhood dispute
As a paramedic, I have seen every one of those go south. I would hazard to guess that these go bad far more often than cops do.
By definition, a suicide crisis is a violent call. They are threatening, or at least contemplating, violence against themselves. Since a suicidal person is willing to harm themselves, they frequently have no qualms about taking others with them. Sure, there are suicidal people who are looking for attention, and ones who are only going to take pills. Before you get there, how do you know which one you are getting?
Anything involving intoxication will be handled by social workers? Have you ever tried to reason with a drunk? With a person who is on meth? They can't be reasoned with.Overdose? As a medic, I am not going to an overdose call without police to secure the scene.
This is a shit sandwich that is going to get people killed at much higher rates than the handful of police misconduct that happens in a year.
Saturday, July 11, 2020
They aren't completely wrong
The crowds demanding that the police be defunded are not COMPLETELY wrong. That is what makes these protests so effective and why they resonate with so many people. This sign actually makes a good point:
Most cops are good and do their best. With that being said, if a cop knows that other cops are doing stuff like threatening to frame people for crimes that they didn't commit, taking cover behind women and children during a gunfight, or other illegal or immoral acts, yet doesn't speak up (or worse actively covers for them) then they are not good cops either. A cop is found DUI, and police deliberately screw up the arrest so that the drunk cop gets away with it. The cops who did that are bad cops.
Then there is Officer Harless and the city that supported him when he threatened to kill two people who were legally carrying concealed weapons.
Or how about the cops who provide their own probable cause to conduct a search by calling the police tip line from their own cell phone?
Police: You need to clean up your ranks. Speak up. Stop defending the bad cops. Clean your own house. The nation depends on it.
Most cops are good and do their best. With that being said, if a cop knows that other cops are doing stuff like threatening to frame people for crimes that they didn't commit, taking cover behind women and children during a gunfight, or other illegal or immoral acts, yet doesn't speak up (or worse actively covers for them) then they are not good cops either. A cop is found DUI, and police deliberately screw up the arrest so that the drunk cop gets away with it. The cops who did that are bad cops.
Then there is Officer Harless and the city that supported him when he threatened to kill two people who were legally carrying concealed weapons.
Or how about the cops who provide their own probable cause to conduct a search by calling the police tip line from their own cell phone?
Police: You need to clean up your ranks. Speak up. Stop defending the bad cops. Clean your own house. The nation depends on it.
Blogiversary
Today is the anniversary of the first post of this blog, July 11, 2007. In the 4,749 days since then, I have posted 2,561 times. So much has happened since that first post. The entire Obama administration came and went. This blog has seen me through three Presidents, 3 careers, four address changes, two wives, a bankruptcy, the birth of two grandchildren, and more changes than I care to think about.
Personally, my life has seen a lot of changes. Married and then divorced, and then married again. Employed, retired, then employed again. I declared bankruptcy and then became a millionaire.
In 2008 I got married.
In 2009 the bottom dropped out of the housing market, my pay was cut by 30% and, faced with a depreciating asset, I declared bankruptcy with the intent of giving the house back to the bank.
In 2010 My bankruptcy was discharged. The mortgage bank was caught lying to the court with regard to my bankruptcy. They were forced to pay me nearly $10,000. Then they were caught forging mortgage paperwork in my case and several dozen others. Their lawyer was disbarred and they had to pay me more than $25,000 in damages.
In 2011 My wife announced to me (during the week of my birthday, no less) that she wanted a divorce. That divorce became final in June. I retired from my career as a firemedic and began school to be a physician assistant.
In 2012 I decided to leave school, moved back to Florida, and began teaching adult education while remaining mostly retired.
In 2014, I met my current wife. I also applied for my teacher's license and became a high school science teacher.
In 2018, I finally got paid for a job I did for the Feds six years before and I was able to pay off my house, all of my bills, and put a sizable amount in savings.
When this blog began, if you had told me that 13 years later I would no longer be a firefighter and would instead be teaching high school science, I would have called you crazy. Thirteen years is ancient for a blog, and while mine is not as widely read as some, I write mostly to keep me happy and give me a place to get out the things that I would like to say. The fact that some people care to read them is a humbling bonus.
Thank you to each and every one of you who read my ramblings.
Personally, my life has seen a lot of changes. Married and then divorced, and then married again. Employed, retired, then employed again. I declared bankruptcy and then became a millionaire.
In 2008 I got married.
In 2009 the bottom dropped out of the housing market, my pay was cut by 30% and, faced with a depreciating asset, I declared bankruptcy with the intent of giving the house back to the bank.
In 2010 My bankruptcy was discharged. The mortgage bank was caught lying to the court with regard to my bankruptcy. They were forced to pay me nearly $10,000. Then they were caught forging mortgage paperwork in my case and several dozen others. Their lawyer was disbarred and they had to pay me more than $25,000 in damages.
In 2011 My wife announced to me (during the week of my birthday, no less) that she wanted a divorce. That divorce became final in June. I retired from my career as a firemedic and began school to be a physician assistant.
In 2012 I decided to leave school, moved back to Florida, and began teaching adult education while remaining mostly retired.
In 2014, I met my current wife. I also applied for my teacher's license and became a high school science teacher.
In 2018, I finally got paid for a job I did for the Feds six years before and I was able to pay off my house, all of my bills, and put a sizable amount in savings.
When this blog began, if you had told me that 13 years later I would no longer be a firefighter and would instead be teaching high school science, I would have called you crazy. Thirteen years is ancient for a blog, and while mine is not as widely read as some, I write mostly to keep me happy and give me a place to get out the things that I would like to say. The fact that some people care to read them is a humbling bonus.
Thank you to each and every one of you who read my ramblings.
Friday, July 10, 2020
COVID hospitalizations
According to the State of Florida, there are 6,942 hospitalized for COVID in Florida. Of those, 3,128 of them are in Broward, Dade, and Palm Beach. So 45% of the total COVID hospitalizations are in the Metro Miami area. Those three counties contain a population of 6.3 million people, meaning that 30% of Florida's population lives there.
So 30% of Florida's population is responsible for 45% of the state's COVID hospitalizations. I think it is more accurate to say that Miami has a COVID problem than it is to say Florida has a COVID problem.
So 30% of Florida's population is responsible for 45% of the state's COVID hospitalizations. I think it is more accurate to say that Miami has a COVID problem than it is to say Florida has a COVID problem.
Shortages
Commander Zero reports that he is having trouble finding guns and ammo. I am with him.
Last September, I bought some AR lowers and built them into some cheap ARs. In fact, I built four ARs with red dot sights on them for what it would cost to buy one now. Sure, they aren't high quality pipe hitters, but they are for people who may be helping me but don't have weapons of their own.
The only pistols at my LGS are high end revolvers and black powder stuff.
Nine millimeter is in almost nonexistent supply. In January I was buying Winchester 9mm for 15 cents a round. Now one of my normal suppliers, Georgia Arms, has no pistol ammunition at any price. Same with Brownell's. Not much better over at Palmetto State Armory, which only has Sig Elite at $2 a round, and Sellier and Bellot at 50 cents a round. Same story at SGammo. Pickings at LuckyGunner are slim as well, with prices there running between 50 cents to over a dollar a round. My LGS has ammo, but it is even more expensive and purchasers are limited to one box of ammo each. You can buy a second box if you are buying a gun at the same time.
All of this is caused because Americans are arming themselves like never before. There are the current troubles.
For that reason, I have decided to limit ammo expenditures. 50 rounds per month each of 380 and 9mm, and 20 rounds per AR to get them zeroed in. 22 is currently unlimited because I have so much of it. The rest of my ammo, I will hold on to. If the situation doesn't improve by November, then I will switch to 22 ammo and dry fire only. I have a MantisX for that.
I have been a gun owner and shooter for over 30 years. I remember buying UMC yellow box .45ACP at $8 for a 50 round box back when I bought my first .45 caliber handgun (a Smith and Wesson 4506). I have never seen such a shortage. Not during the Clinton years, not after Sandy Hook, not even during the HRC preelection scare.
Each year, Americans normally buy 27 million firearms and 10-12 BILLION rounds of ammunition. To put that in perspective, that is more ammunition than was used by the entire US military during each year of World War 2, when the average was just over 10 billion rounds a year and the US armed forces had more than 15 million personnel.
We are only 7 months into the year, and Americans have bought 20 million firearms and every bit of ammo in the supply chain. There is currently more ammo out there in circulation than the entire US military used during any two years of World War 2. I don't know what production is, but demand is up. Way up.
I hope each and every one of you was smart enough to get and stock guns, ammo, and magazines.
Last September, I bought some AR lowers and built them into some cheap ARs. In fact, I built four ARs with red dot sights on them for what it would cost to buy one now. Sure, they aren't high quality pipe hitters, but they are for people who may be helping me but don't have weapons of their own.
The only pistols at my LGS are high end revolvers and black powder stuff.
Nine millimeter is in almost nonexistent supply. In January I was buying Winchester 9mm for 15 cents a round. Now one of my normal suppliers, Georgia Arms, has no pistol ammunition at any price. Same with Brownell's. Not much better over at Palmetto State Armory, which only has Sig Elite at $2 a round, and Sellier and Bellot at 50 cents a round. Same story at SGammo. Pickings at LuckyGunner are slim as well, with prices there running between 50 cents to over a dollar a round. My LGS has ammo, but it is even more expensive and purchasers are limited to one box of ammo each. You can buy a second box if you are buying a gun at the same time.
All of this is caused because Americans are arming themselves like never before. There are the current troubles.
For that reason, I have decided to limit ammo expenditures. 50 rounds per month each of 380 and 9mm, and 20 rounds per AR to get them zeroed in. 22 is currently unlimited because I have so much of it. The rest of my ammo, I will hold on to. If the situation doesn't improve by November, then I will switch to 22 ammo and dry fire only. I have a MantisX for that.
I have been a gun owner and shooter for over 30 years. I remember buying UMC yellow box .45ACP at $8 for a 50 round box back when I bought my first .45 caliber handgun (a Smith and Wesson 4506). I have never seen such a shortage. Not during the Clinton years, not after Sandy Hook, not even during the HRC preelection scare.
Each year, Americans normally buy 27 million firearms and 10-12 BILLION rounds of ammunition. To put that in perspective, that is more ammunition than was used by the entire US military during each year of World War 2, when the average was just over 10 billion rounds a year and the US armed forces had more than 15 million personnel.
We are only 7 months into the year, and Americans have bought 20 million firearms and every bit of ammo in the supply chain. There is currently more ammo out there in circulation than the entire US military used during any two years of World War 2. I don't know what production is, but demand is up. Way up.
I hope each and every one of you was smart enough to get and stock guns, ammo, and magazines.
ICU occupancy
One of the alarming stories that you will see in the coming days are reports that many hospitals' ICU are at 90% capacity. This seems like the ICU is crowded, but that isn't the case. Hospitals normally try to keep the ICU at 75% to 85% capacity. As support, here are two studies on that:
Optimal occupancy in the ICU: A literature review
What Is The Ideal Hospital Occupancy Rate?
So seeing a 90% occupancy rate is not a whole lot higher than normal. In fact, hospitals can't be profitable with a census below 70%.
Optimal occupancy in the ICU: A literature review
reporting of ICU occupancy measures were identified and there were indications that optimal ICU occupancy rates were around 70–75%.
What Is The Ideal Hospital Occupancy Rate?
I like having a midnight census of about 85% on Monday through Wednesday. That 15% buffer allows us to overlap that day’s admissions with that day’s discharges in the afternoons and also give us rooms to put the new admission in while we are cleaning the recently vacated rooms. Thursdays and Fridays, I like a midnight census of 80%. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 75% is acceptable because our surgical floors are starting to empty out and we reduce scheduled nursing staff accordingly.
So seeing a 90% occupancy rate is not a whole lot higher than normal. In fact, hospitals can't be profitable with a census below 70%.
If the occupancy is too low, then you have too many staff sitting around without work to do and you will lose money. If the occupancy is too high, then a couple of nurse call-offs means excessive work for the other nurses and can hurt morale. Furthermore, if you are completely full, you have to turn away patients and in the long-run that can harm both reputation and future referrals.
We want compliance
The Orange County Mayor is mad that people in gyms aren't following his orders. Note that the Mayor is Jerry Demings, the husband of Congresswoman Val Demings. They were both once police officers. Val is famous for leaving her department weapon in her unlocked vehicle in her driveway where it got stolen. Anyway, Jerry had this to say:
I once had a boss who was afraid of an OSHA inspection. His orders to the security guard at the gate was to refuse to allow OSHA inspectors into the gate. They would then have to leave to get a warrant, and during the interim, he would send everyone home for the day. When the inspector returned with a warrant, they would be allowed in and shown that the plant was being refurbished, and OSHA would not be able to fine him for a shut down factory.
I can imagine something like this working here.
My appeal, always, is to gain voluntary compliance before we start looking at penalizing people, invoking criminal sanctions, but we want compliance thereThat is what the issue is with COVID restrictions: they want compliance.
I once had a boss who was afraid of an OSHA inspection. His orders to the security guard at the gate was to refuse to allow OSHA inspectors into the gate. They would then have to leave to get a warrant, and during the interim, he would send everyone home for the day. When the inspector returned with a warrant, they would be allowed in and shown that the plant was being refurbished, and OSHA would not be able to fine him for a shut down factory.
I can imagine something like this working here.
Thursday, July 9, 2020
You need to suffer so I can live my best life.
So I got in a discussion with someone who is a friend of a friend of mine. We were discussing the state maintaining social distancing, mask orders, and other government mandates. This is how the important part went:
Divemedic:
The virus is out there. Wearing a mask, lockdowns, all of it are not a long term solution. We are killing the economy and costing lives in an attempt to do what? People are still going to get this virus. Remember all of the "flatten the curve" stuff? All of the things we are doing is NOT going to prevent people from catching the virus. All it will do is prolong the amount of time it takes to infect the people who are going to get it.
This virus is widespread enough that it is going to be with us for years, perhaps forever.
Panicked Lady:
And if we all get it and 67% have lasting, long term complications? What is that going to do to the workforce and the economy?
DM:
Those same people will get it eventually, no matter what you do. Only then, they will all be jobless and poor.
PL:
So, just to clarify, where does that leave people like me who are high risk? Are we just supposed to live inside, not shop, not work, and just wait for the possibility of "herd immunity" to work? What do our senior parents do? Do they just live inside for months/years, waiting for the possible immunity? Or are we just expendable?
DM:
So are we all supposed to remain cloistered because you are sick and want to go out?
PL:
I want to work. I want to live my life just as much as everyone who isn't wearing masks. I haven't hugged my mother or my boyfriend in months to try to maintain my own safety. I'm not asking anyone to stay cloistered. I'm asking you to wear a mask, just like you wear pants, and shirts for the good and decency of everyone.
DM:
That IS my answer. You are sick. That sucks. I feel bad for you. However, it isn't my responsibility to take care of you. Instead of facing the fact that there are things you can no longer do, you demand that the rest of us change our behaviors, businesses go bankrupt and lay off employees, all so you can avoid being inconvenienced by YOUR illness. You demand that the rest of us change our behavior to suit you.
If your neighbor told you he had severe asthma and demanded that no one in your neighborhood mow their lawns, bar b que, smoke, or paint their homes so he could sit outside at the pool without worrying about his asthma, would that be reasonable? Of course not.
Do I think you are expendable? No. However, that in no way requires that I change my life to suit you. Not only that, there is not one single study that shows masks are effective in preventing the spread of COVID 19. Not one.
PL:
And if you would like a study- here's one- http://files.fast.ai/papers/masks_lit_review.pdf
Don't ask a grad student to provide proof. We are good at that.
DM:
You didn't provide proof. That "study" is not a study, it is a review of literature. From your own study:
4. Mask Efficacy Studies
Although no randomized controlled trials (RCT) on the use of masks as source control for SARS-CoV-2 has been published, a number of studies have attempted to indirectly estimate the efficacy of masks. Overall, an evidence review finds "moderate certainty evidence shows that the use of handwashing plus masks probably reduces the spread of respiratory viruses."
I don't think that literature using words like "estimate", "moderate certainty" or "probably reduces" is good enough to order businesses to operate at reduced capacity, close, or other disruptive activities.
PL: You are selfish and just want people to die.
Blocked.
Communications
The saying is "Shoot, move, and communicate." I won't give away the entirety of my communications plan, but here is a partial list of equipment that I have. (The majority of it is Yaesu, for the simple reason that I only want to have and learn one version of the programming software):
Regional Comms:
Yaesu FT897 mobile radio mounted in the house. I also have batteries and antennas capable of taking this radio into the field.
Area comms:
Yaesu FTM-400XDR. This is my only digital radio. It is loaded with features, and I got it for about $400. You are fortunate to find one for less than $550 nowadays. I have it mounted in a vehicle.
Yaesu FT-7900R This is a vehicle mounted radio that operates in the 2 meter and 70cm band.
Uniden CMX760 This is a vehicle mounted CB radio.
Handheld:
Yaesu FT60R- This is a dual band handheld radio that has all sorts of advanced features.
Yaesu FT270R: This is a 2 meter handheld that has the advantage of being water resistant.
Because it does you no good without someone to talk to, I have some radios to share. For sharing, I have about half a dozen Baofeng UV-5r radios with spare batteries. They operate in 2 bands (2 meter and 70cm), are not as nice as the Yaesu radios I have, but do have the advantage of only costing $25 each. At that price, I can afford to give some away if needed.
Regional Comms:
Yaesu FT897 mobile radio mounted in the house. I also have batteries and antennas capable of taking this radio into the field.
Area comms:
Yaesu FTM-400XDR. This is my only digital radio. It is loaded with features, and I got it for about $400. You are fortunate to find one for less than $550 nowadays. I have it mounted in a vehicle.
Yaesu FT-7900R This is a vehicle mounted radio that operates in the 2 meter and 70cm band.
Uniden CMX760 This is a vehicle mounted CB radio.
Handheld:
Yaesu FT60R- This is a dual band handheld radio that has all sorts of advanced features.
Yaesu FT270R: This is a 2 meter handheld that has the advantage of being water resistant.
Because it does you no good without someone to talk to, I have some radios to share. For sharing, I have about half a dozen Baofeng UV-5r radios with spare batteries. They operate in 2 bands (2 meter and 70cm), are not as nice as the Yaesu radios I have, but do have the advantage of only costing $25 each. At that price, I can afford to give some away if needed.