Gun ownership up, especially among women

A right not exercised soon becomes a privilege.
http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nbc-news-channel/45897106#45897106

But the anti-gunners tell me gun ownership is down
http://www.saysuncle.com/2012/01/05/but-the-anti-gunners-tell-me-gun-ownership-is-down/

Rear Ended - FORD POS does have a 5 Star crash rating

So there I am stopped at a light yesterday, behind another car, just patiently waiting for the light to turn green when WHAM, I get rear-ended by some texting fool who never hit the brakes b/c they werent paying attention. Luckily little ones 1 and 2 were with their grandmother for the day post-Christmas and not in the backseat of my Ford P.O.S.
But, turns out that all my grumbling about how much I dislike the car (its a 2005 Taurus and rides fine, but I've never really liked it) didnt show the car enough respect. The little Korean hatch back slid under my rear bumper and scratched up my paint job and lifted my back end up and dropped me back on the ground. The import was accordioned in the front back to the wheels, with the radiator set back and the hood crumpled all the way back to the windscreen. Somehow her headlights survived unscathed. Maybe the Koreans should have built the rest of the car the way they did the headlights.
But, my ugly Taurus will live to drive another day. I'm not saying I'm falling in love with her (She's named Sandy) but I have more respect for her today than I did yesterday morning when I woke up, thats for sure.
So, I guess I have to admit my wife was right when she convinced me the 5 star crash rating was more important than fuel economy. Does that mean I have to tell her that?
:)

My home town finally catches up, We are winning.

In 2006 the State of Ohio passed a law providing that no municipality in Ohio could make gun laws that were more restrictive than the State of Ohio Revised Code. Well, it took 5 years but Columbus finally voted last night to remove its draconian gun laws from the books to avoid being sued. No more limits on magazine size, owners of concealed carry permits can now carry legally in city parks, no obtuse restrictions on ammo and make and model of firearm and no more worries about Columbus re-instituting its Columbus Gun License that you formerly had to apply for and purchase before purchasing a gun (that was removed about 5 years ago).

I'm not saying they were happy to do it, but they finally did (only after the Ohio Supreme Court upheld the state law though).

Happiness is decommissioning old servers

While using a 10lb sledge.

Been a bit busy

Started a new IT contracting job, been busting my hump deploying VMWare servers left and right, plus soccer season has started back up and practices and games are taking up most of my free time. So I've been a little lax in spreading my intarwebz joy and mirth, I'll try and do a better job now that the new job is getting into a  groove.

In the meantime, watch this video  wait for it..you'll see it.

Later gator.

58 down, 42 to go

.Hat tip to Feral Irishman and others around the net
I'll have to get on my library's website and start reserving some books apparently.....some of these I have never even heard of, and I read a lot of sci fi. I dont read a ton of Fantasy though, so I imagine thats where the list diverges.

The NPR's Top 100 Science Fiction and Fantasy novels with the ones I have read in bold:

1. The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien
2. The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
3. Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card
4. The Dune Chronicles, by Frank Herbert
5. A Song Of Ice And Fire Series, by George R. R. Martin
6. 1984, by George Orwell
7. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
8. The Foundation Trilogy, by Isaac Asimov
9. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
10. American Gods, by Neil Gaiman
11. The Princess Bride, by William Goldman
12. The Wheel Of Time Series, by Robert Jordan
13. Animal Farm, by George Orwell
14. Neuromancer, by William Gibson
15. Watchmen, by Alan Moore
16. I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov
17. Stranger In A Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein
18. The Kingkiller Chronicles, by Patrick Rothfuss
19. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
20. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley
21. Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?, by Philip K. Dick
22. The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood
23. The Dark Tower Series, by Stephen King
24. 2001: A Space Odyssey, by Arthur C. Clarke
25. The Stand, by Stephen King
26. Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson
27. The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury
28. Cat’s Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut
29. The Sandman Series, by Neil Gaiman 30. A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess
31. Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein
32. Watership Down, by Richard Adams
33. Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey
34. The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, by Robert Heinlein
35. A Canticle For Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller
36. The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells
37. 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, by Jules Verne
38. Flowers For Algernon, by Daniel Keys
39. The War Of The Worlds, by H.G. Wells
40. The Chronicles Of Amber, by Roger Zelazny
41. The Belgariad, by David Eddings
42. The Mists Of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley
43. The Mistborn Series, by Brandon Sanderson
44. Ringworld, by Larry Niven
45. The Left Hand Of Darkness, by Ursula K. LeGuin
46. The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien
47. The Once And Future King, by T.H. White
48. Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman
49. Childhood’s End, by Arthur C. Clarke
50. Contact, by Carl Sagan
51. The Hyperion Cantos, by Dan Simmons
52. Stardust, by Neil Gaiman 53. Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson
54. World War Z, by Max Brooks
55. The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle
56. The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman
57. Small Gods, by Terry Pratchett 58. The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever, by Stephen R. Donaldson
59. The Vorkosigan Saga, by Lois McMaster Bujold
60. Going Postal, by Terry Pratchett 61. The Mote In God’s Eye, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
62. The Sword Of Truth, by Terry Goodkind
63. The Road, by Cormac McCarthy 64. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke
65. I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson 66. The Riftwar Saga, by Raymond E. Feist
67. The Shannara Trilogy, by Terry Brooks 68. The Conan The Barbarian Series, by R.E. Howard
69. The Farseer Trilogy, by Robin Hobb
70. The Time Traveler’s Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger
71. The Way Of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson
72. A Journey To The Center Of The Earth, by Jules Verne
73. The Legend Of Drizzt Series, by R.A. Salvatore 74. Old Man’s War, by John Scalzi
75. The Diamond Age, by Neil Stephenson
76. Rendezvous With Rama, by Arthur C. Clarke
77. The Kushiel’s Legacy Series, by Jacqueline Carey
78. The Dispossessed, by Ursula K. LeGuin
79. Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury
80. Wicked, by Gregory Maguire
81. The Malazan Book Of The Fallen Series, by Steven Erikson
82. The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde
83. The Culture Series, by Iain M. Banks
84. The Crystal Cave, by Mary Stewart
85. Anathem, by Neal Stephenson
86. The Codex Alera Series, by Jim Butcher
87. The Book Of The New Sun, by Gene Wolfe
88. The Thrawn Trilogy, by Timothy Zahn
89. The Outlander Series, by Diana Gabaldan
90. The Elric Saga, by Michael Moorcock
91. The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury
92. Sunshine, by Robin McKinley
93. A Fire Upon The Deep, by Vernor Vinge
94. The Caves Of Steel, by Isaac Asimov
95. The Mars Trilogy, by Kim Stanley Robinson
96. Lucifer’s Hammer, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle 97. Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis
98. Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville
99. The Xanth Series, by Piers Anthony
100. The Space Trilogy, by C.S. Lewis

Lemonade Stands ARE NOT A CRIME!

Well, in most places they are, but they shouldn't be. Today is National Lemonade Freedom Day, find a stand to support or set up your own, kids should be able to sell lemonade in their neighborhood without a business license or getting harassed by cops.
 WHAT IS THIS COUNTRY DOING TO ITSELF?

Is the world changing forever?

With China having double digit growth in its GDP and Europe and the US showing anemic rates, barely staying out of recession territory, are we looking at a fundamental shift in the socio-economic mapping of the globe?

And, whats going to happen to me and my family while the economic tsunamis change the landscape?

Pew Pew Pew

Takes a brave man to take on armed thugs with only a smirk and an imaginary gun.

Iran can send peace keepers to UK

Man wouldn't that be fun to watch on CNN?

Want to push for change? Watch out for the fentanyl darts

This story outlines some really cool hi tech ways that the .gov can keep you from protesting using less than lethal devices.
The final paragraph caught my eye:
"Perhaps these less-lethal tactics for crowd control do result in fewer injuries. But they also severely weaken our capacity to enact political change. Authorities have ever more creative ways to manage dissent, at a time when the need for change by popular demand is vital to the future of our society and the planet."

Our debt is more like 211 Trillion Dollars

"If you add up all the promises that have been made for spending obligations, including defense expenditures, and you subtract all the taxes that we expect to collect, the difference is $211 trillion. That's the fiscal gap," he says. "That's our true indebtedness."

See more here

Wow, all I can say is wow. We. Are. So. Screwed.

The Prez sure does like doing things his own way

Reason.com looks at the ways Obama is expanding executive power, something he railed against as he was running for office if you recall....more of the same here

The death of a Democratic Republic

If some of the more progressive states have their way, they will forgo the Electoral College in Presidential elections and award their states electoral votes to whomever wins the popular vote nationwide. This means that California, for example, could give its electoral votes to someone who DID NOT WIN THE POPULAR VOTE IN CALIFORNIA. How about them apples Cali voters?
You don't even need to vote in California apparently, and candidates now have no reason to campaign there either. You'll just auto-award your votes by proxy to the candidate that wins most of the rest of the country. Boy, there's an ideal situation.

Monday humor

Its so hot....

How hot is it?

Its so hot that the playgrounds are melting!

Debt reduction via hidden taxes

Joe Huffman, who I like even if he is a Microsoft guy, has some interesting thoughts on how the .gov is going to raise revenue.

Tam has a round up of other topics of note

and
Uncle has some news on the whole Fast and Furious debacle

So, to sum up, the EPA and OSHA are looking to start generating revenue instead of you know, doing their job watching out for us, 4 guns and a box of ammo is considered an arsenal in England, the US is allowing cocaine into the country in exchange for information and my head hurts.

Solar Water Heater Offer from DR Power

I like DR products, made like tanks and made in the USA.

They are partnering with built by a sister company firm that build solar water heaters, selling a DIY kit that includes solar collector, heat exchanger and a water storage tank that connects to your current hot water heater. Plus the solar collector has a small photovoltaic cell that powers the pump, which A: means you don't need to run any new electric for this system and B: the solar water heater only runs when their is sun enough to power the PV cell. So another one on the plus side is that it looks easy to install in that you don't have to re-plumb your house. 

This is all well and good and I have been considering one, especially with the federal and state tax credits knocking about $4K off the price, plus as a previous DR owner, I get a special $450 coupon.

I initially was confused by Sunward's pricing information, but thanks to their help I have seen that it is pretty straight forward and I hope to be able to place an order in 2010.
Heating water in your home and refrigerating food are about 80% of an average homes energy usage. If I can knock a dent in one of those, that's not a bad thing. Running a fridge on alternate power.....now that's for another blog post on anther day.

UPDATE, August 2011: Well, with my change of vocation at the end of 2009 and the ongoing economic troubles making me save every dime I could for a rainy day, I still haven't bought this system.....but I still want to. Anyone out there own one that wants to give a review? DR and Sunward, any chance you'd long term loan me one to try?  ;)

This country is going down fast, Linoge sums it up

Linoge has an interesting essay on the video I posted earlier, its a good read on how we can't expect things to get better b/c everyone wants what they feel is coming to them.
My generation and the generation coming after are all about "show me the money" and damn the consequences. When we hit a wall with the global economy eventually, its going to be sad seeing them all standing in soup lines saying "this isn't right, wheres my check?".
 None of them, including my own kids, comprehend whats going to happen due to the unstoppable deficits and debts being left them by the baby boomers. I stay up at night worrying sometimes, but I don't think I can do more than put away a few more cans of soup in the basement.

badass of the week

Honey Badgers, always good for a laugh.