Saturday Night Range Report

Last night the girls stayed over at my parents' house, allowing Judith and I to get to the range with my dad.

Judith shot the Ruger 22/45 Mark III that I bought her last summer. This was the fourth time she's been to the range and the first time she shot this Ruger. She kept most of her shots on a pie plate at 7 yards, which was pretty good shooting for someone who's still a rank beginner. The Ruger functioned perfectly with CCI Mini Mag solids.

We had only 100 rounds of the Mini Mags, so after they were gone we tried some CCI Subsonics. It worked OK for about a mag then locked up when a round failed to fire. It took me pulling on the bolt while my dad inserted a flat tip screwdriver between the bolt and the breech face to get it open. After getting the round out, I ran a BoreSnake through the gun a couple of times to clean the chamber. I was then able to fire the offending round and 5 more shots. However, when Judith tried to put another magazine-full through the gun, it started failing to eject, with one empty caught between the bolt and the breech. At that point we gave up on the Subsonics. I'll be ordering a good supply of Mini Mags today from Natchez Shooters Supply.

Incidentally, that .22 LR Subsonic that misfired was the first time I've ever had a round of CCI ammunition fail to function correctly, and I've seen thousands of CCI ammo shot.

Dad shot an M-1895 Nagant revolver and his Colt 1911. He had some new production Hotshot ammo for the Nagant, made in Serbia. We figure it was probably made by Prvi Partizan. Anyway, it shoots well, is pretty accurate, and the empty cases fell right out of the cylinder. None of the case mouths split, something he's seen with other 7.62 Nagant ammo. He's shot Fiocchi 7.62 Nagant before and prefers this stuff.

Dad shot some of his handloads in the Colt, 230 grain full power Ball. It shot well.

Finally, I brought my Browning High Power Practical along with CCI Blazer Brass 9x19 115 grain FMJ ammo. This was my first time out with the BHP since I removed the magazine disconnector. The improvement was very noticeable. It is much easier to shoot accurately without the creepy trigger induced by the mag disconnector. I was using two Mec Gar 15 round magazines. I need to get a few more of them. As expected, the Browning worked perfectly.

Pennsylvanians: Say NO To More Gun Control

Article I, Section 21 of the Pennsylvania State Constitution reads:

The right of the people to keep and bear arms in defense of themselves and the state shall not be questioned.

Unlike the Second Amendment to the US Consitution, there is no debate that this protects an individual right. In Ortiz v. Commonwealth (1996), the Pennsylvania Supreme Court recognized that it protects an individual right of all Pennsylvanians, including those in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, from where most PA gun control proposals emanate.

Lately, unable to control spiraling crime and aided by their fellow travelers in the press, several liberal members of the Pennsylvania state legislature have introduced gun control proposals. E.g., House Bill 760 would require mandatory gun registration and payment of a $10 per gun annual fee.

State Representative Samuel Rohrer (R-Berks) has created a petition -- Say NO to More Gun Control -- which may be signed at his office or online, HERE. I urge all Pennsylvanians to sign Representative Rohrer's petition, which, coming from a member of the legislature, should carry more weight than most online petitions.

Google Desktop for Mac Eval OVER

I ended my evaluation of Google Desktop for Mac after reading this. So much for "do no evil."

Google Desktop for Mac

Google just released their Desktop for Mac, and I'm giving it a spin to see what advantage if any it gives over Spotlight. The one big thing I can think of offhand is that it indexes your Gmail, if you have an account. I tried the version for Windows and it was neat. Also, if you run a Google search in your browser, matching items on your Mac are displayed in the results window.

Google Desktop for Mac requires OS 10.4 or higher, and doesn't incorporate widgets, since they'd be redundant.

I installed it last night shortly before turning in and let it index my hard disk overnight, so I'm not sure how long it took. Of course, the speed of your machine and how much data you have on it will determine how long it takes.

Addition to The Shooters' Bar(SM)

This morning I added C. Scott Shields of Delaware County, PA to The Shooters' Bar(SM). Aside from being an attorney in private practice, he is the mayor of Rutledge, PA, and is running for judge.

I became aware of Mr. Shields via his editorial on the Parker decision on today's delcotimes.com.

Range Report

Yesterday I hit the range at Langhorne Rod & Gun Club with a few of the staff members from The Rally Point. I shot my Colt AR15-A3 Tactical Carbine and my Rock Ola M1 Carbine.

I shot the M1 first, zeroing the Bushnell Trophy red dot sight at 50 yards. Ammo was GI surplus RA 52 Ball (110 grain FMJ made by Remington in 1952). I bought a sealed can of this ammo several years ago and have a few bandoleers left. Anyway, the Carbine functioned perfectly, as expected. Once zeroed at 50 yards, I was able to blow out the 10 ring on an SR-1 target, shooting pretty quickly.

The red dot is mounted on an Ultimak rail which replaces the original handguard. I also have a Surefire G2 flashlight attached to the rail with a Viking Tactics mount. It's as slick a setup as I'd hoped for. IMHO it's the best way to mount optics on an M1 Carbine.

Later, I shot the M1 at 100 yards. The group opened up a good bit and point of impact was a few inches lower. However, my plan is to make it a home defense gun so a 50 yard zero is appropriate.

Next up was the Colt. As with the M1, I shot it first at 50 yards because I had to zero its scope, a Hakko 4x21mm illuminated reticle AR-15 carry handle mount scope. I'd previously tried that setup but it places the scope too high for comfort. So, awhile ago I bought a flat top adapter which allows you to attach an AR-15 carry handle mount scope right to the Picatinny rail on an AR-15A3 or -A4 upper.

The rifle wasn't too far off at 50, so I moved to 100 yards and fine tuned the zero. I was able to keep most shots in the 10 ring. At a cease fire, I walked down to the 200 yard target frames, past the "BEWARE OF COPPERHEADS" sign, and hung another SR-1 target. The scope's reticle is an approximately 4 MOA dot in the center, with tapered cross hairs at 3, 6, and 9 o'clock. At 100 yards it's slightly smaller than the SR-1's bull. At 200, it's slightly larger than the bull.

Because the dot occluded the bull at 200 yards and I was using a center hold, I was happy to keep most of them in the black. There were a few flyers out into the 7 ring, but I'm not complaining. I would probably be able to get a tighter group at that range with a 6 o'clock hold.

After zeroing the rifle at 200 yards I checked point of impact at 100. The trajectory of the .223 Remington is so flat out to 200 that I'll leave it there as the difference in POI wasn't significant.

I put around 160 rounds or so through the Colt, all of it Federal American Eagle 55 grain FMJ-BT. The rifle functioned 100%, using a couple of black Teflon coated D&H 30 round mags from DSG Arms, along with a couple of late-'60s/early-'70s GI surplus 20s.

I'm quite pleased with yesterday's results. My home defense M1 Carbine is now ready to go, as-is my primary SHTF rifle, the AR-15.

Although I did a quicky cleaning on each rifle before leaving the range, I field stripped both of them and thoroughly cleaned them this morning.

After I finished cleaning the two rifles, I tackled a gunsmithing task I've watned to do for a long time: removing the magazine disconnect from my Browning High Power.

The magazine disconnect or "safety" on the BHP functions to prevent the gun from firing if there's not magazine in the gun, even if a round is chambered. I prefer not to have that "feature" on a defensive gun. But my main reason for removing it is that it makes the trigger pull heavier with lots of creep, making it harder to shoot accurately.

I followed instructions that I found on the 1911 Forum. Tools required were a couple of punches, a nail used as a punch, forceps, and a hammer. The trigger pin came out pretty easily but the pin fastening the disconnector to the trigger was much more stubborn. I eventually got it out by wailing on it with the aforementioned nail, held in the forceps, until it finally budged.

Before reassembling the BHP, I cleaned and lubricated it. I dry fired it after it was back together. What a difference! The trigger is still a bit heavier than I'd like but much better than before. More importantly, virtually all of the creep is gone.

ChronoSync

I've been looking for a file and folder synchronization tool for my Macs. OS X includes rsync but I wanted something with a nice GUI. There's RsyncX, but the couple of times I tried it I ran into difficulties. An open source program is always preferable, but I was prepared to buy a proprietary app as long as it had the functionality I need.

One advantage that a file sync tool has over something like Apple's Backup.app, is that a sync tool just mirrors the contents of a folder to a backup device (in my case an external hard disk). You don't need the backup application to access your data on the backup, since your data is not stored in a proprietary format.

After some Googling this morning I decided to try our ChronoSync from Econ Technologies. I downloaded and installed the limited demo of v3.3. The GUI is well designed and intuitive. It appeared to work as advertised. I checked a couple of reviews online, noting that it got 5 stars at VersionTracker. MacWorld has a review of v3.0. Their only complaint was that some of the icons were ugly compared to what Mac users have come to expect. BFD.

I like it and wound up buying it. ChronoSync costs $30, and it's worth it in my opinion. One feature I like is the ability to create a "container," which contains other backup jobs. ChronoSync also includes an easy to use scheduler. I now have the program setup so that every Friday at 10:30 AM it runs a container which in turn calls backup jobs for my Documents, Library, Pictures, and downloads folders. If I want to, I can run each backup job individually, e.g., if I make some major changes and don't want to wait for the master weekly job to run.

Update to The Shooters' Bar

I added Duke Droulliard of Nebraska to TSB today.

Simpletech Bonzai Xpress Pininfarina Thumb Drive

Last month I bought a pair of Simpletech Bonzai Xpress Pininfarina USB thumb drives from Buy.com. After the mail-in rebate gets here, they'll be free. When I ordered them I figured that at that cost I couldn't go wrong. My plan included giving one to SWMBO for her to backup docs she creates related to her work, and have the other one as a backup for me. I finally got around to putzing with one today and I have to say I am not impressed at all.

Read/write speeds under Windows -- whether XP Pro running in Parallels on Rohan, my MacBook Pro, or on a Dell D600 -- are horrible. Copying files of only a few megs in size takes minutes. I attempted to install parts of the PortableApps Suite. Installing OpenOffice.org took two or more hours. I tried installing GaimPortable and the installer crashed.

Interestingly, the performance is much better under Mac OS X. On Rohan, the device is quite usable. I checked customer reviews on NewEgg.com and Amazon.com and found similar complaints. Some of the Simpletech units seem to be afflicted with poor performance under Windows, but not all. One reviewer who tried it under both Windows and Linux reported poor performance under the former but not the latter. I plan to try my second Simpletech to see if it performs better. I'd be happy to just point at XP as the problem but Simpletech has to know that the vast majority of their thumb drives get used on Windows boxen, not Macs or Linux machines.

I have two other 1 GB thumb drives. One is a SanDisk Cruzer Mini, the other a Microcenter house brand bulk drive. Both have given good performance. I plan to try installing the PortableApps Suite on at least one to see how they compare with the Simpletech. Stay tuned for a follow up.

A NEW JERSEY Court Recognizes the Second Amendment

The case is In the Matter of Firearms Appeal by Dennis W. Peterson, Superior Court of NJ, Warren County. LINK to PDF download of the court's opinion. Peterson was represented by Evan Nappen.

Pertinent part of the decision:

Quote:

Fundamental fairness is a doctrine to be sparingly applied. It is appropriately applied in those rare cases where not to do so will subject the defendant to oppression, harassment, or egregious deprivation.” Doe v. Poritz, 142 N.J. 1 (1995), citing State v. Yoskowitz, 116 N.J. 679, 712, 563 A.2d 1 (1989) (Garibaldi, J., concurring and dissenting). Egregious deprivation would surely be the result if this applicant were precluded from obtaining a firearms purchaser identification card by virtue of the fact that he consensually surrendered his weapons at a time when it was impossible for him to have known that such action would later subject him to lifelong deprivation of his second amendment right. Additionally, it is clear that in consenting to the disposition of the weapons seized as a result of the temporary restraining order, the applicant did not intend to waive his right to bear arms as provided by the second amendment of the U.S. Constitution. He therefore could not have knowingly, intelligently, or voluntarily waived that right.”

While this is surprising and encouraging coming from a court in NJ, of all places, keep in mind that this case does is not binding on the entire state. Also note that the court assumes that requiring Peterson to obtain permission from the state in the form of firearms owner's card is permissible under the Second Amendment. But the mere fact that the court implicitly assumed that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms is noteworthy.

The county prosecutor in the case has filed a notice of appeal, so this one ain't over.

Motorola RAZR V3m and iSync

When Apple released the OS 10.4.9 update last week, they expanded the list of phones supported by iSync. My Motorola RAZR V3m is now officially supported, for both Bluetooh and USB connections.

Since I'd previously setup iSync on Rohan (my MacBook Pro) to work with my V3m using a third party plugin, to get it to work with the updated iSync I had to (1) delete the plugin, (2) delete Rohan from the phone's Bluetooth prefs, and (3) reset it back up from scratch. I also rebooted Rohan to clear any cached settings.

ISync allows you to specify which group of contacts you want to sync, either "All" or a subset thereof. I don't want all of my contacts on my cell phone so I created a new "Cell Phone" group in Address Book and configured iSync to sync only it. It now works like a charm, at least for phone numbers and email addresses. I'm not syncing fax numbers and Verizon has the V3m locked down so you can't sync calendars. I find the latter very annoying and may look into hacks which unlock that function.

Aborted DSL Install

Yesterday morning I went over to a friend of my parents to help her setup a new DSL connection. Verizon shipped her a Westell DSL modem/router along with a CD containing Flash-based instructions on how to connect her PC to the gateway and install the DSL filters on her phones. It was rather well done, IMO.

Unfortunately, the modem would not lock. To isolate the problem we took the Westell gateway down into her basement and plugged it into her NID. Lo and behold, it locked. This is the second time I've seen this happen when trying to install a DSL modem in an older house. The old internal wiring simply won't support the DSL signal.

She's going to call Verizon to get a home run from the NID to her home office. The Westell gateway does have wireless, but aside from the fact that her PC does not, she's not computer savvy at all, and there's no way she'll be able to troubleshoot the inevitable wireless LAN problem. So, the best bet for the long term is to get a home run into which she can plugin the gateway. (I don't have the tools to do the home run myself, or I would've.)

The key thing to take away from this is that if you have an older home, it's likely that your internal wiring won't support a DSL connection on a lot of the jacks. You can either install a home run, or install the modem near the NID and extend the LAN internally using wireless or HomePlug (Ethernet over electrical wiring).

Oh, in case you're wondering, the reason that I didn't suggest she get a cable modem is that she doesn't have cable TV (nor satellite, for that matter) and has no coax in her house.

Ice Storm

Friday we had an ice storm like I haven't seen since the winter of '93 - '94. During the day we got a mix of freezing rain and sleet, and people starting leaving the office early to get home before it got too bad. I left at 4:00 to catch a 4:18 train, which should've gotten me in around 5:00. No such luck.

The train was a few minutes late to start, then was further delayed due to a problem with a switch. We finally got into Chestnut Hill (the end of the line where I get off) at about ten to six. There was already at least an inch of sleet on the ground.

Upon reaching my truck I found it frozen shut. I was able to get the driver's side rear door open then climb into the driver's seat and push the front door open from the inside. It took me about ten minutes to clear off glass enough so that it was safe to drive home. I have been using a generic knock-off of Rain-X wiper fluid, which makes it easier to clean snow and ice off the windshield. I took it slow on the drive home and made it home without problems.

Saturday when I went out to clean off the sidewalks and driveway, the now-compacted 3" layer of ice and sleet laughed at my snowblower. I had to break it up with a metal shovel first, then go over it with the blower. The next time we have a storm like this I'll go outside with the snowblower while it's still falling and clean off the loose stuff while I can.

Yesterday I bought a can of Dupont Silicone spray lube and applied it to the weather stripping on the doors of my truck, along with the metal surfaces they contact. Hopefully, that will take care of the freezing shut issue.

Three feet of snow would be preferable to this kind of storm.

Updates to The Shooters' Bar

I completed a cleanup of the HTML code for The Shooters' Bar and added a few more attorneys to the list. The updated page is now up.

Monday already?

Time sure flies.

Last Wednesday I finally got home at about 22:45. We didn't land in Philly until about 21:00, so by the time I got my bag, back to my truck, and drove home from the airport it was late.

Thursday I had a couple of meetings, and also built up a CentOS 4.4 Linux box to use as a secure file server for another department on an occasional basis. It's made from scrounged hardware and in fact, the first hard disk I had in it died just as I was about to say it's ready.

This past weekend there was a gun show in Valley Forge. It was absolutely mobbed. I suspect that a lot of people were there to buy stuff that the Dems want to ban, e.g., magazines and black rifles. I picked up a couple of USGI 30 round M1 Carbine mags, a t-shirt, a pair of Nomex pilot's gloves (good for shooting in) and a Czech surplus bread bag. The latter is a nice little canvas shoulder bag which is a good size for a day hike, a modern day possibles bag if you will. It had that "sat for a few decades in an Eastern Eurporean warehouse" smell, so I washed it in warm water with Oxyclean then set it out to dry. That didn't kill the smell entirely so last night I hit it with Febreeze. If it's stinky tonight I'll soak it overnight in water and Murphy's Oil Soap, then hang it outside for a day or two.

Unlike the last show I went to a few months ago, there was a good supply of 7.62x39 and 5.56mm ammo. The milsurps were mostly Mosin-Nagants with a few Mausers and Lee-Enfields thrown in. I don't recall seeing any Swiss rifles, though at least one vendor had 7.5mm GP-11 ammo.

Several dealers had Colt AR-15s, more than I can recall at most shows. In particular, several had the AR-15A2 Government Model carbines (A2 upper, telestock lightweight "pencil" barrel), one of which I want to get at some point.

Homeward bound

I'm killing time in Denver International Airport (DEN). I got here well ahead of time so I could check my bag and clear security. A little while ago I learned my flight is delayed at least an hour and 45 minutes. It's probably due to the weather in Philadelphia. I'd much rather wait in the terminal than onboard the plane.

DEN has WiFi provided by AT&T for $7.95 per day, which is reasonable. Even if I don't get reimbursed by my employer I can deduct it from my taxes, so while I'd rather have free WiFi, I'm not complaining. It's reasonably fast and I've been able to check both my work and personal email without any problems, along with a bit of web surfing. I even managed to snag an electrical outlet so I can recharge my laptop.

Edit: My flight is now delayed until 15:05 Denver time. Yay.

CableLabs Conference

I've been in Denver, CO since Sunday attending the CableLabs Winter '07 conference. It's been interesting seeing what's coming down the pike for the cable industry. Things like mobile video, higher Internet access speeds, and VOIP. A lot of the time has been devoted to the back end stuff that customers never see but is critical for providing services. I've also spent time talking with several vendors about their products to see whether they'd be of interest to my employer.

Tomorrow I fly home. The weather forecast for Philly is calling for snow, so I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that we won't be delayed.

Heading to Denver Tomorrow

I am flying to Denver tomorrow to attend the CableLabs Winter 2007 Conference this week. I'll be flying home Wednesday.

While packing tonight I had to sanitize my laptop bag, which I carry on, to avoid getting flagged as a terrorists. The items I normally carry which I had to remove include my Gerber Multiplier, Victorinox CyberTool 41 SAK, and a lighter. All but the lighter got put in the duffle which I'll be checking; you can no longer take lighters or matches on airplanes in the US. But for the fact that you can no longer take pocket knives on airplanes, I wouldn't have check any luggage.

I also carry things like Afrin, a tube of Neutrogena hand lotion, Visine, and Purell in my laptop bag. Those have to go into a one quart Ziploc bag.

Stupid fracking TSA regulations.

A Couple of Upgrades

Today I performed a couple of upgrades on Rohan, my MacBook Pro.

The first was to download and install the latest production build of Parallels Desktop. Coherence is now out of beta. I'd wanted to try it but not while it was still a release candidate. Anyway, this makes Parallels even more impressive than before. Running Windows in Coherence mode makes it look like the Taskbar and the rest of your apps are just overlaid on top of your OS X desktop. In a sense, it's similar to having the video output of remotely-running X11 applications display on your local desktop, although the icons of running Windows apps will appear in the OS X Dock.

The second upgrade was to add another 1 GB of RAM, bringing system memory to 2 gigs. OS X runs fine in 1 GB but when running Parallels, I wanted to be able to allocate at least 512 MB of RAM to XP. XP in Parallels runs much better with 512 MB than 256 MB, as I'd had it before. Much, much snappier.

I'd ordered a 2 GB upgrade kit from Crucial. Thinking that I'd have to yank 1 GB in a pair of 512 MB SODIMMs, I was surprised to find that Rohan actually shipped with a single 1 GB SODIMM of Samsung RAM from the factory, with one slot free. Doh! I will try it for a couple of days with the OEM RAM and one of the two Crucial SODIMMs, to ensure there aren't any incompatibilities. Assuming there aren't I'll return the extra SODIMM.

Gerber and the NRA Respond to Zumbo

Gerber's (the knife maker, not the baby food company) first response to Zumbo was rather wishy-washy. Now, via Arfcom, we get a better reply:

For Immediate Release Contact: Jason Kintzler
Phone: 307.857.4700
JKintzler@GerberGear.com
Gerber Cuts Ties with Jim Zumbo

Portland, OR, February 21, 2007: Gerber Legendary Blades reacted to Jim Zumbo's recent public statements moving to sever all sponsorship ties with the long-time outdoor writer and hunter, effective immediately. "After careful evaluation and consideration, we have made the decision to discontinue our relationship with Jim Zumbo," said Brendon Weaver, Director of Brand Management at Gerber. "At Gerber, we value the hunting heritage and cherish our Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms."

While we respect the opinions of sponsored professionals, customers and end users of our products, Mr. Zumbo's recent statements are not consistent with Gerber's culture and ideals as advocates of the hunting industry.

For more information please email Jason Kintzler at
JKintzler@GerberGear.com

And this morning I received this email from the NRA, in response to my message to them on Sunday:

Dear Mr. Markowitz:

Everyone at NRA Publications is angered and confused by the thoughts expressed by Jim Zumbo. We all know him well; he has been a periodic contributor to our magazines and a staunch supporter of the NRA for many years. But we cannot understand what led him to believe or write such things. Of course he's entitled to his opinion, but his opinion is certainly not one shared by the NRA staff. All semi-automatic firearms are just that: semi-automatic. There can be no differentiation between them simply based on external appearance. Mr. Zumbo has never been an employee of the NRA, and we have no plans to publish any articles by him in the future. Contributions by him to NRA media are hereby suspended, effective immediately.

Please know that your support and interest in our publications are deeply appreciated.

Sincerely,
John Zent
Editorial Director
NRA Publications

Good.

Cabela's Reaction to Jim Zumbo's Rant

The following email was posted on Arfcom by member "USPcompact":

Dear Mr. XXXXXXX,

Thanks for your comments. While Cabela’s believes everyone has the right to express their own opinions, we strongly disagree with Jim Zumbo’s February 16 posting on his Hunting with Jim Zumbo blog on Outdoor Life’s Web site.

Throughout our 46-year history, Cabela’s has firmly supported all aspects of shooting sports. We strongly support the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States and the right of every U.S. citizen to purchase, own and enjoy any legal firearm of their choosing.

While we fully support Mr. Zumbo’s First Amendment right of free speech, we believe his opinions on this matter are counter to those shared by Cabela’s and many of our customers. Cabela’s Legal Department is currently reviewing contractual obligations and commitments regarding our sponsorship of the Jim Zumbo Outdoors television show.

Have a great day.
Sincerely,
Brent

While Cabela's is probably best known as a hunting and fishing store, they sell a lot of guns, including many black rifles. I imagine they are pretty POed right now.

It's Official, Zumbo Canned by Remington

From Remington's website:

Remington to Sever Sponsorship Ties with Jim Zumbo

Madison, North Carolina – As a result of comments made by Mr. Jim Zumbo in recent postings on his blog site, Remington Arms Company, Inc., has severed all sponsorship ties with Mr. Zumbo effective immediately. While Mr. Zumbo is entitled to his opinions and has the constitutional right to freely express those options, these comments are solely his, and do not reflect the views of Remington.

“Remington has spent tens of millions of dollars defending our Second Amendment rights to privately own and possess firearms and we will continue to vigorously fight to protect these rights,” commented Tommy Millner, Remington’s CEO and President. “As hunters and shooters of all interest levels, we should strive to utilize this unfortunate occurrence to unite as a whole in support of our Second Amendment rights.”

We regret having to terminate our long-standing relationship with Mr. Zumbo, who is a well-respected writer and life-long hunter.

Link.

Remington Cans Zumbo

David Codrea got confirmation from Tommy Milner that Remington has severed ties with Jim Zumbo. Remington is to be commended for their quick action, especially on a Sunday of a three-day weekend.

Go buy a box of Remington ammo, or something. :)

Remington Reply to Zumbo

Via Arfcom:

ALL - Jim Zumbo in NO WAY speaks for Remington! His opinions are his own. We at Remington take our 2nd Ammendment Rights extremely seriously and ourselves market and manufacturer a AR based 308 rifle. Remington Arms supports the lawful use of all firearms by thier owners in whatever legal manner they choose. We at Remington feel that it is the diversity of our tastes and uses of fireaems that should also be the binding element that assists us all in defending the rights granted to us by our fore fathers.

Rest assured that remington not only does not support jim's view, we totally disagree! I have no explaination for his perspective.

I proudly own AR's and support everyones right to do so!

What makes me sick is how quickly people on the internet have called to boycott Remington. All Jim said was he was hunting with our people! This is normal course in our industry. How else do people think we field test? with writers.

Remington has spent tens of millions of dollars to defend your rights and how quickly the thanks is threat and boycott! Please feel Free to post that remington does not agree with Zumbo in any way shape or form and we will assess our relationship with him accordingly.

Tommy Millner
CEO and President

I'm hoping that "assess our relationship with him accordingly" means "terminate our sponsorship."

Zumbo Apologizes

Having started an unexpected shitstorm with his anti-semiauto rifle post, Jim Zumbo has now apologized. Too bad it's one of the lamest apologies I've ever seen.

Let's see, he completely avoids the issue of having called AR-15 owners terrorists, fails to retract his statement calling for banning AR-15s in the hunting field, and then wraps himself in the flag.

The cat is out of the bag. We now know what Jim Zumbo really thinks. Screw him.

Email to the NRA

I sent this to publications@nrahq.com:

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing to express my outrage at Jim Zumbo's vitriolic antigun comments on his blog at . In his blog he equates owners of semiautomaitc military-style rifles -- singling out AR-15 owners -- as terrorists. After reading Zumbo's blog entry anyone can tell that this was no offhand remark. It's what he really thinks. It is my understanding that Zumbo also writes for the NRA magazine Shooting Illustrated.

Mr. Zumbo has the right to his opinion. But in a time when our Right to Keep and Bear Arms is under assault, when the Congress and the Senate are dominated by antigun Democrats like Nancy Pelosi and Charles Schumer, antigun rhetoric from someone supposedly on our side, on a hunting website, is especially damaging to our cause.

I am an NRA Life Member and Second Amendment activist. Whenever I make an online purchase from vendors like MidwayUSA or Natchez Shooter's Supply, I always participate in the NRA Round-Up program. (This occurs once a month or more, by the way.) If the NRA doesn't show Mr. Zumbo the door then I'll give my hard-earned dollars to other gun rights organizations.

I look forward to your reply.

Sincerely,

David S. Markowitz

Letter to Remington

Feel free to copy as you see fit:

February 18, 2007

Mr. Tommy Millner
President & CEO
Remington Arms Company, Inc.
870 Remington Drive, P.O. Box 700
Madison, NC 27025-0700

Re: Jim Zumbo's Antigun Comments on the Internet

Dear Mr. Millner:

I am writing to you to express my outrage at comments made by Jim Zumbo on his blog. As I'm sure you're aware, Remington is a sponsor of Mr. Zumbo's blog.

In his entry entitled “Assault Rifles for Hunters” dated 2/16/07 , Mr. Zumbo equates owners of semiautomatic military-styled rifles with terrorists, and expresses his displeasure at seeing them in the hunting fields.

Mr. Zumbo has the right to his opinion. However, as you noted in your CEO's Message on Remington's website , we are in a hostile political climate with the new Democrat-controlled Congress. Zumbo's corrosive, elitist, arrogant, and ignorant comments read like a press release from the Violence Policy Center.

Benjamin Franklin said, "We must hang together, gentlemen...else, we shall most assuredly hang separately." His advice is especially true for gun owners and sportsmen today. Antigunners have beaten their drum so loudly for so long that there is no such thing as a politically correct firearm. Mr. Zumbo may not be aware, but the wood-stocked bolt actions that he feels should be used for hunting are going to be vilified as “high power sniper rifles” next if the antis get their way. There isn't too much difference between a Remington Model 700 Varmint model and a 700 PSS, after all.

In the past two months I have purchased 200 rounds of Remington .30-30 170 grain ammunition, as well as 500 rounds of Remington-UMC .30 Carbine. If Remington continues to sponsor Zumbo, I will make sure to spend my money with your competitors who do not provide the antigun agenda with financial support.

I would appreciate it if you would post a reply on Remington's website so that the pro-Second Amendment community knows where your company stands on this issue.

Sincerely,



David S. Markowitz

Fuming

Long-time gun writer Jim Zumbo has an entry on his blog that should make any concerned Second Amendment activist fume. He basically equates owners of AR-15s and other black rifles with terrorists. The response I posted in comments is as follows:

Are you really that stupid or just trolling? I find it appalling that in 2007 with a newly-elected Democratic Congress in power that a well-known gun writer would post what amounts to a press release for the Brady Bunch.

Now more than ever, "We must hang together, gentlemen...else, we shall most assuredly hang separately."

Benjamin Franklin said that, by the way, in case your knowledge of history is as deficient as it is of the current political climate.

You are entitled to your opinion. I hope that in the future before you shoot your mouth off you'll consider the potential damage you do to our side by expressing it, however. Next time you circle the wagons, point your guns out, not in.

I intend to express my displeasure to Remington, a sponsor of Zumbo's blog. I just bought 500 rounds of Remington-UMC .30 Carbine but if they don't drop their sponsorship that'll be the last money they'll see from me.

MS Office 2004 11.3.4 Update

I just installed the 11.3.4 Update for Microsoft Office 2004 on my MacBook Pro running OS 10.4.8 and took it for a quick test drive. I opened Entourage, which seems the same, plus Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Word 2004 is definitely faster for long docs and when multiple files are accessed on my iDisk. Previously, Word has been very slow and not all that stable on this machine.

Ditto for Excel, which was having major problems with one particular spreadsheet with macros in it. It now seems to be faster with multiple files open.

I only opened two small presentations simultaneously in PowerPoint, but it seemed to work OK.

I'll need to work with it more to see if there are any "gotchas," however.

Keystone State Lawyer Blog

Over on my new Keystone State Lawyer Blog, I have a post "Hold Off on Windows Vista."

I will be using the KSL Blog for posts related to legal topics, concentrating on Internet law and law practice management issues. I hope you'll check it out.

Psychiatric Study Results

A study conducted by UCLA's Department of Psychiatry has revealed that the kind of man a woman finds attractive can differ depending on where she is in her menstrual cycle.

For example: If she is ovulating, she is attracted to men with rugged and masculine features. However, if she is menstruating or menopausal, she tends to be more attracted to a man with a spear lodged in his chest and tape over his mouth while he is on fire.

No further studies are planned.





;-)

New Look

I'm taking advantage of some Blogger features, which required me to adopt a new template. A lot of the sidebar stuff will need to be rebuilt, so as I do that things will (seemingly) appear, vanish, or move around.

Please pardon things while I'm redoing this place and watch your head. :-D

Motorola RAZR V3m with iSync

My Verizon cell phone plan includes a "free" new phone every two years, so I got a Motorola RAZR V3m over the weekend. It's a nice phone but isn't officially supported by iSync (the V3c is supported by iSync, but not the V3m). I found a free downloadable plugin which allows iSync to synchronize your contacts with the V3m over Bluetooth. It's available here. Very handy.

As far as I can tell, if you want to sync contacts, calendars, and files with a V3m on a Mac you'll need to purchase the Datapilot sync software and use a USB cable, not Bluetooth. That's available for sale here.

I'm annoyed that Verizon locks down the RAZR because I'd like to be able to sync my calendar without shelling out for the Datapilot software, since I already have iSync. Aside from that I like the phone. It's slim, light, and is hardly noticeable in my front pocket. Sound quality seems good.

I just wish I hadn't left it in my truck at the train station this morning. :-/

Geektool

Today I've been playing around with Geektool, an open source addition to the Mac OS X Preference Pane which allows you to display files, the output of UNIX commands, or graphics fectched from the Internet on your Mac's desktop. Here's a screenshot, click for a larger view:




In the upper left we see the console log, in the middle the output of netstat, and down below on the left is a weather radar map that I've set to update every two minutes. (I found my wallpaper via Dan Seto's post on Monday 2/5/07.)

Pretty neat.

OmniOutliner 3

For the past couple of days I have been using OmniOutliner 3. It's part of the software bundle that came with my MacBook Pro. I haven't been this impressed with an application in a long time. Description from the Omni Group's website:

You can use OmniOutliner's document structure to create hierarchies of main headings and subpoints that can be expanded and collapsed, which are immensely useful when it comes to brainstorming new ideas, drilling out specifics, and lining up steps needed to get everything done. But you aren't limited to outlines - you've got multiple columns, smart checkboxes, customizable popup lists, and an über-innovative styles system at your disposal.

I currently have three outlines that I crafted in OmniOutliner:

1. IT goals for my main client.
2. A white paper about Metro Ethernet.
3. Outline of Wendell Odom's book CCNA Intro Exam Certification Guide.
   

I've done outlining before using Word and OpenOffice and compared to OmniOutliner, both of them are clunky. OmniOutliner makes it very easy to insert new columns, attach files (e.g., PDFs) to particular items in the outline list, and to add notes to outline items.

Outlines can be exported to a variety of formats including HTML, RTF, and RTFD, so sharing them with others is easy.

OmniOutliner 3 also runs a lot better on my Intel Mac than Word 2004, which is proving to be a bit sluggish running in Rosetta. (Strangely enough, Entourage seems to run fine. I haven't worked with Excel under Rosetta yet.)

OmniOutliner Pro offers some increased functionality over OmniOutliner Standard, and I'm giving serious thought to upgrading. I'll work with the standard version for a little while before doing so, however.

OmniOutliner is a Universal Binary, so you can run it if you have either a PowerPC or an Intel Mac. Trial licenses are available, and the Omni Group has some sample documents available for download so you can get a better idea of what can be done with it.

USB-to-Serial Adapter in Parallels

As I've mentioned previously, one reason I need to run Windows is to program my Yaesu VX-5RS and FT-7800R ham radios. I don't have the patience to do it through the radios' built-in menu system, and the programming software is Windows-only. It connects via a serial port and special cables to the radios. Since my MacBook Pro does not have a serial port (it has 1 FW-800, 1 FW-400, and 2 USB 2.0 ports), I needed to use a USB-to-RS232 adapter.

I have just such an adapter in the form of a Keyspan USA-19HS. I got it for use with my iBook so I could console into routers and switches. For that I use ZTerm.

With the instructions I found over on MacOSXHints here, I was able to use the Keyspan adapter in XP running under Parallels. After following the instructions I was able to read from and write to the memory of the VX-5. I have to disconnect the FT-7800R cable from Bagend, which entails moving it out from under a pile of stuff, so I didn't get to it yet.

As a side note, the ADMS software that I have for the radios has some of the most obnoxious copy protection I've ever seen. It must be installed from the original CD. It can't be copied to, say, a network share, and then installed. Doing so gets you an error whereby it rejects the serial number. However, the the software comes on 3.5" CDs which won't work in my MBP's slot-load drive. Thankfully, I was able to install it after putting it in Bagend's DVD-RW drive, which I then shared over the network. What a massive pain in the ass. If I didn't have a network-accessible machine with a tray loading optical drive, I would've been SOL.

After getting the USB-RS232 issue squared away, I installed my Brother HL-2070N printer in XP. It works just like a normal PC. I continue to be very impressed with Parallels Desktop.

Parallels Desktop for Mac

While I would love to be completely Windows-free, there are a few Windows-only applications that I need to run on occasion. At work, diagrams are frequently sent around in MS Visio format. At home, the programming software for my Yaesu ham radios rquires Windows. So, yesterday I downloaded the demo for Parallels Desktop for Mac and loaded XP Pro onto my MacBook Pro this morning.

Dayum, this works! Really well so far, AAMOF.

Parallels even simplifies the XP installation process. Run the wizard and it configures a virtual machine with 256 MB of RAM for you. The only entries you need to make are for your name, organization (optional), and the product key. A couple of mouse clicks later the install runs and doesn't need any more user intervention.

I was able to let the XP install run inside Parallels while I did other stuff on the MBP. While XP was installing I had Firefox, Mail.app and iChat open. After the installation completed the impact on OS X's performance seemed minimal.

To get online I had to switch from the default bridged networking to shared networking. The network I'm plugged into at work does not have a DHCP server. The default DNS server that the VM is pointed to is the same as the default gateway in shared networking, but this resulted in slow browsing. From within XP I opened the network properties and manual specified a real DNS server and web browsing sped up immensely.

I installed a few programs in XP: Firefox, Google Toolbar for IE, AVG Antivirus, Crap Cleaner, Spybot Search & Destroy, and MS Visio 2003. I also installed the anti-spyware hosts file from MVPS.org.

On my Core2 Duo machine XP runs smoothly. Firefox, IE, and Visio open quickly, although I haven't yet opened any complex diagrams. I'll have to wait until later to install the Yaesu apps and configure a USB-to-RS232 adapter. I don't intend to install many Windows applications, only what I need to fill a gap for stuff that doesn't exist in OS X.

Switching between OS X and the virtual machine is as simple as moving the mouse and clicking on the appropriate window. It's much more transparent than Virtual PC was.

To access folders on my MBP's hard disk from the XP VM, I added them to the "Parallels Shared Folders" which were enabled by the install wizard.

I've used VMWare on Windows and Linux, and IMO at least for workstation use, Parallels beats it hands-down for ease of use.

If you get an Intel Mac but need the use of Windows programs, you owe it to yourself to take Parallels Desktop for a spin.

MacBook Pro

Given the amount of time I spend using a computer I couldn't wait any longer. I was at Microcenter today and they had a sale on a number of Apple products, so I came home with a new 15.4" MacBook Pro. It's the entry level MBP, with a 2.16 GHz Core 2 Duo, 1 GB of RAM, 120 GB hard disk, SuperDrive (DVD burner) and 128 MB video card. At some point I'll double the RAM but for now it's OK.

The factory software load included demos of MS Office 2004 and Apple's iWork, full versions of iLife 06, OmniOutliner, and Comic Life. OmniOutliner looks like a pretty interesting app, one which I need to check out.

After unpacking it I used the OS X Migration Assistant to copy over my data and preferences, but decided to not copy over my apps, preferring to install them fresh. The Migration Assistant uses a Firewire connection between the new and old machines. The old machine is booted in Firewire Target mode, and the new box copies everything over. I had 23.6 GB of stuff to copy from my iBook, which took a bit less than an hour.

The hardest part of the setup was getting Rohan -- the new machine -- onto my wireless LAN. I had a brain fart and could not remember the security settings for the wireless LAN and so I had to factory default my Netgear WAP, then reconfigure it.

The other glitch I ran into was when I installed MS Office 2004 and couldn't open Entourage. It gave me an error message along the lines of "The version of Entourage cannot open this profile." After some Googling, it occurred to me to download and install the latest update for Office, which fixed the problem.

By default Apple does not install X11, so that needed to be loaded from the OS X CD 1. Other apps I installed included Firefox 2.0.0.1, ZTerm, UniTTy, TextWrangler and NeoOffice. The latter is still a bit pokey but it runs a hell of a lot faster on Rohan than my iBook.

I definitely plan to take Parallels Desktop for a spin. I'm hoping that I can setup XP under Parallels and run the programming software for my Yaesu radios. Visio is not made for Mac, unfortunately, and it's something else I'd like to be able to run.

The keyboard feels nicer than my iBook's and the increased screen resolution (1440x900 vs. 1024x768) really makes a big difference. The speakers sound pretty good, much better than the quiet, tinny speakers on the iBook. Naturally, it runs quite a bit faster than the iBook.

More as I use it.

A Quick Way to Speed Up Firefox

Ever since Firefox reached the v1.5 mark I noticed that it wasn't as snappy as it had been. Pages took longer to render and the launch time increased. After playing around with FF 2.0 a bit this week on a couple of machines, I believe the DOM Inspector extension that is installed by default is the culprit. After removing the DOM Inspector, FF is running much better. Complex pages render much faster and the browser launches in less time.

So, if you're running Firefox and it is slow, try uninstalling the DOM Inspector extension.

And now, some political ranting

I watched part of the State of the Union Speech last night. (I didn't bother with the Dem response because I don't need to raise by blood pressure even more.) Bush's comments on securing the border made me want to reach through the TV and smack him. WTF has he been doing for the last six years? Frankly, I think nothing will be done to remedy the border situation. Despite his protests, "reform" = "amnesty."

Bush's plan to extend health insurance it more big federal government involvement in matters over which it has no constitutional authority.

The field of contenders for the 2008 presidential election continues to grow. I need to learn more about Sam Brownback of Kansas. Bill Richardson of New Mexico is the first Dem in a long time which doesn't automatically induce nausea. But I am not optimistic about the country's choices for 2008. Both major parties seem to have implemented candidate selection systems which guarantee that we'll be faced in November 2008 with making the choice of the lesser of two evils.

I may just write in Chthulu.

Training this week

This week I'm fortunate to be in training. Interconnecting Cisco Network Devices, to be precise. Regular readers may recall that I took the prerequisite Introduction to CCNA course last summer. So, hopefully I'll be taking the CCNA exam sometime in the next month and a half or so.

So far the class is pretty good. We're using the CCNA Self-Study ICND book from Cisco Press, along with the Boson Netsim software, rather than having a lab setup with real equipment. This would be too expensive, as this course is being run in-house. The Netsim app has its quirks but it seems good. All the students are getting a Boson license, as well as a Transcender test prep software license, so they can install both programs on their home PC. So it's a good thing I haven't blown away XP on Bagend yet. {grin}

Ruger Mark III 22/45 Range Report

Last night I went to the range with my wife's Ruger Mark III 22/45. It has the 4.5" heavy barrel and fixed sights. I bought this for her awhile ago but hadn't shot it. She wanted to go last night but was a bit under the weather. Since the gun was already packed I decided to break it in. I'd previously cleaned out all the factory preservative gunk and lubed the piece with Ballistol.

Between Dad, my brother, and myself we put 200 rounds through it. Ammo was CCI Mini Mag solids. Not one malfunction. Accuracy was pretty good, though limited by the heavy factory trigger pull. I did notice the trigger improving after 50 rounds or so.

IMO, the Mark III may not be as nice as the Mark I or Mark II, but it isn't bad. I would prefer not having the loaded chamber indicator and the lock, but as locks go, Ruger seems to do them well. They are unobtrusive and I can't see how they'd be activated accidentally. This is one of two Rugers with internal locks that I have, the other being my 50th Anniversary Blackhawk. In the latter, you need to either remove a grip panel or drill a hole in one panel to even use the lock.

When we met my wife was completely anti-gun. She came around and this Ruger will be her house gun once she gets out and shoots it. Once she gets more comfortable we'll look at moving her up to something a bit better suited to defense, e.g., a Ruger P95 in 9mm. But for now a .22 is better than nothing. It'll be loaded with Mini Mag solids since .22 LR is a marginal defensive round and needs all the penetration it can get.

Update to The Shooters' Bar(SM)

This afternoon, I added Jake Whitmire of Orgeon to The Shooters' Bar(SM), the web's oldest list of pro-RKBA attorneys.

New Apple Airport Extreme

Lost amid all the hoo-hah about the iPhone at yesterday's Apple Keynote was the introduction of a new AirPort Extreme wireless access point. It supports 802.11a/b/g/pre-n. What I find especially interesting is that you can now connect a USB hard disk driectly to the AirPort and access it over your LAN.

Previous Airport Extremes have had the ability to act as a print server for USB printes, but serving up disk space is something new. Although there's only one USB port, you can connect a USB hub so that both a printer and a disk can be attached.

This should simplify setting up centralized storage on a home network.

UniTTY Multi-Protocol Client

This morning I ran across UniTTY, a free-as-in-beer client for SSH, SCP, SFTP, Telnet, and VNC (including built-in VNC-over-SSH tunnelling). Mutliple terminal sessions can be run inside one window, using tabs. While the support for all those protocols is itself impressive, even more so is that it's cross-platform, being written in Java. Downloads for Windows, OS X, and Linux are available.

I installed the OS X version on my iBook G4, fired it up, and SSHed to a client's mail server. My first impression is favorable. Connection preferences can be saved in bookmarks in XML files, so if those prefs files are stored on a network share or copied between machines, one should be able to access them from more than one computer. Handy.

I plan to work with it a bit more before pronouncing it as a Good Thing, but I'm already leaning in that direction.

Rough Week

It's been a rough week.

Tuesday afternoon I was sitting at my desk at work when I felt a headache coming on. After a few minutes I took some Ibuprofen, which kept it down to a dull roar. By the time I got home around 18:30 it was really bothering me, so I took something stronger. Unfortunately, it didn't do anything so I got almost no sleep Tuesday night. By 06:00 Wednesday morning I was a wreck. It was by far the worst pain I've ever had. My mom came over to take the girls to daycare while Judith took me to the ER.

The nurse and ER doctor questioned me about the symptoms and how the headache came on, and to be safe I had a CT scan done of my sinuses. It turned out to be a bad sinus infection. While there they gave me a shot of Tordol (a painkiller), plus pseudophedrine (decongestant) and Levaquin (antibiotic) pills. When we were finally done, I left with prescriptions for Levaquin, Amitex (prescription decongestant), and Tylenol 3 (i.e., Tylenol with Codeine). {stoner}Dude, I'm on drugs.{/stoner}

Thursday I had a follow up visit with my regular doctor, who gave me a referral to go see an ENT, who can check my sinuses for proper drainage. I suspect they don't drain well but I'm not sure what can be done about that without surgery. I'm going to try to get an appointment for late next week.

The really bad headache hasn't returned, no doubt due to the Tylenol 3. Unfortunately, being on it has made me sluggish and drowsy, on top of the fatigure from not being able to sleep well. Today seems noticeably better but my head is still a bit foggy.

About the only upside of this has been that I caught some interesting TV on Thursday and Friday. Thursday, The History Channel aired a couple of interesting programs on WW2 history, including one on secret Soviet aircraft of the war. Yesterday, the Discovery Channel ran a couple of episodes of "Survivorman." I've heard of the show but never watched it. It's very good, IMO. Les Stroud seems to know his stuff and explains what he's doing and risks he's encountering in a very engaging way.

Hopefully I'll be able to get out of the house on Monday. I'm feeling cooped-in already.

Saturday Range Trip

On Saturday I hit the range along with GeekWithA45 and his friend B. We went to his gun club in southern Chester County, which turned out to have a very nice range.

I shot my Marlin 336 and Mini-14GB for the first time. The Marlin shoots really well. It grouped into about 2" at 50 yards with Remington 170 grain JSPs. This is about as good as I can do at that range with an open rear sight and a bead front. I'm very happy with it and looking forward to mounting the Williams peep rear and fiber optic front sight which I ordered from Midway. UPS's site says they should be here tomorrow. {Happy dance}

The Mini-14 functions fine but something was wrong with the rear sight. I couldn't adjust it for windage more than one or two clicks. Yesterday while putzing with it I made the problem worse. {sigh} So, I'm going to order some replacement parts, rebuild the rear sight, then get it sighted it. Assuming no further difficulties I'm strongly considering using it for my primary SHTF rifle.

Aside from the Ruger and Marlin I also lugged along my Underwood M1 Carbine and Arsenal, Inc. SA-M5 AK. This was the first time shooting them since I put the M1 into a replica paratrooper stock and added a flash hider to the Arsenal. The M1 shoots much as it did before, though I did need to make some windage adjustments. Firing the AK with the flash hider is an improvement vs. the OEM muzzle brake. A 5.56 semiauto that weighs about 7 lbs. needs a brake like a boar needs tits. The flash hider does a better job of eliminating flash (duh), doesn't direct blast at the shooter, and besides, it looks cool.

Geek let me put a mag though Mjolnir, his Springfield M1A Scout Squad Rifle. (He's since removed the scope shown in the linked post.) All I can say is, "SWEEEEET!" Mjolnir is an appropriate name indeed. With the Springfield muzzle brake, recoil is almost nonexistent, yet it hits with the authority of 7.62 NATO.. It is rather loud, though. From a rather shaky rest at 50 yards, I kept almost the whole mag inside the 10 ring of an SR-1 target. IMHO, for anything other than formal target shooting, the 18" barrel of the Scout Squad is perfect. If I ever get an M1A (a distinct possibility after shooting Geek's), the Scout Squad is the one I'll buy.

Thoughts on Selecting .22 Rimfire Ammunition

Happy new year! Here's hoping that 2007 will bring you health and wealth.

My first missive of the new year is over on my Survival and Emergency Preparedness Blog. Check it out.

Picked up another Mini-14

It was cold and windy today so I didn't feel like hitting the range. I did however, go up to Surplus City with a couple of guns which I haven't shot in quite awhile, and did some trading. In exchange for my EMF/Rossi Hartford Model 1892 and my Ruger GP-100, plus some boot, I picked up a used stainless steel Ruger Mini-14 GB. It's a 186-series piece. It came with one Ruger factory mag (stainless, no less) and I bought two more Ruger factory mags, both used. (I figure I should get as many evil high capacity magazines as I can while the getting is still good.)

The GB or Government Model differs from the standard Mini-14 with the addition of a flash suppressor screwed onto the muzzle, and a winged front sight several inches back. The front sight block also has a bayonet lug, and the gun will accept standard M-16 bayonets. (Raspberries to Senator Feinstein and her partners in crime.) The GBs were never intended to be sold directly to the public by Ruger, but a fair number of them have become available as police or prison guard trade-ins, as many departments "upgrade" by replacing their Mini-14s with AR-15s.

I really like Mini-14s. They are not as accurate at AR-15s (at least without serious tuning) but they are very simple, ergonomic, and reliable little rifles. Mini-14s are accurate enough for their intended purposes -- potting varmints around a farm or as a social carbine out to a couple of hundred yards.

Getting back to the reliability aspect -- Mini-14s are much less finicky when it comes to maintenance or quality ammo than AR-15s. For example, Wolf .223 doesn't run well in my Colt AR-15A3, but runs just fine in my 182-series Mini-14. I expect it to work fine in the GB. A couple of features which help the Mini-14's reliability are (a) the fact that it taps more than enough gas from the barrel to work the action, and (b) fouling stays out of the action. IOW, it doesn't have the "shits where it eats" problem of the AR-15. Note that the AR-15's direct-impingement (DI) gas system can be reliable, but it demands more cleaning, and that more recent military rifle designs all use pistons, not DI.

One of my online friends used a stainless Mini-14 in Alaska for many years, taking a large number of deer and other game with it. It stood up to harsh conditions well and he still has the rifle, now that he's retired to WV. .223 isn't really a deer caliber but it will do if you take your time and place the bullets right. Perhaps surprisingly to guys in the lower 48, but the Mini-14 is one of the most popular bush guns in AK. It and it's ammo are light. It's reliable and easy to maintain, and has minimal recoil, so a lot of Alaskan natives like it. A stainless Mini-14 in a plastic stock would be a heck of a good choice as a defensive carbine, especially if you need one to keep on a boat.

Vacation

I hope that you all had a Merry Christmas. I'm on vacation this week.

Being Jewish, I went shooting yesterday along with my dad. I brought along my Ruger Police Service Six and my two inch S&W Model 15 (I also have a four inch Model 15, that was the first good handgun I ever bought). Ammo was a box of Ultramax .38 Special 158 LSWC commercial reloads. It's very dirty but goes bang every time, and shoots well in my experience.

As it turned out, we met a fellow MOT* at the range and joked around a bit about how the only people you'll see at a shooting range on Christmas day are Jews.

Later, we had the traditional Jewish Christmas dinner of Chinese takeout.

Today after making everyone breakfast I went out and ran a few errands. One of them was to ship the Lyman receiver sight I got last week back to Brownell's. In its place, this afternoon I ordered a Williams FP-336 FireSight set from MidwayUSA for my Marlin 336. The set consists of a Williams FoolProof receiver sight which uses the Marlin's scope mounting holes, plus a fiber optic front sight (they actually include two). One of my friends has a Marlin 1894 in .357 so equipped, and the front bead really stands out under field conditions. I should've just gone this route to begin with.

Aside from the sights, I also ordered a tube of Flitz metal polish, a surplus .30 caliber ammo can, and a Pro Mag 20 round steel Mini-14 magazine. Flitz is great for polishing stainless guns or removing rust spots on blued steel. At only $2.99 I couldn't turn down the .30 caliber can. They're just too good for storing things. And I've read good reports about the post-AWB sunset Pro Mag Mini-14 magazines, so decided it was time check them out. If it works as I've been lead to believe, the Pro Mags will be a cheap alternative to the Ruger factory mags, at about half the cost.




* MOT = Member of the Tribe

Marlin 336 Update

My Brownell's order with things for my Marlin 336 arrived yesterday. I got the sling mounted, the scope mounting holes filled, and the replacement rear sight elevator installed. I also used the Birchwood-Casey cold blue to cover up the scratched areas on the metal -- a spot on the receiver and a fairly large scrape on the magazine tube. It looks like the scrape was caused by the front sling swivel base (which clamps to the tube) got knocked.

I couldn't mount the Lyman Model 66 receiver sight, however. According to the box it's the right unit but the mounting holes in the base do not match the holes drilled and tapped on the left side of the Marlin's action. Grrrr.

I'm debating whether to return it and just get a Williams sight which attaches to the scope mounting holes, or take a drill to the base of the Lyman. No matter which, as long as the weather cooperates I'm taking the 336 to the range next week while I'm on vacation.

MS Vista First Look

Earlier this week I installed Windows Vista Ultimate Edition on one of the Dell Latitude D600s in my lab. I need to test Vista for interoperability with our commercial gateways. I'm not anticipating any major surprises but don't want to be complacent.

The minimum requirements to run Vista are an 800 MHz CPU, 512 MB of RAM, and 15 GB hard disk space. The Dell has a 1.8 GHz Pentium M and a gig of RAM. Unfortunately, the shared video prevents it from running the much-touted Aero interface. Rather, I'm limited to the "basic" interface. I do like the look of the basic interface. It reminds me of recent versions of KDE. The basic UI is sufficiently similar to XP's that most users shouldn't have too much difficulty in adapting. I can't speak to Aero yet, however.

But, it's bloated. Seriously bloated. Aside from the fact that to install the OS you need 15 gigs of space, my first impression is that you don't want to run Vista on a machine with less than a 2 GHz CPU and you better have 2 GB of RAM if you want to get any work done. Just sitting there with no apps running, Vista sucks down anywhere from 1/3 to 1/2 of the gig of memory. Opening windows in Explorer is not as snappy as it was under XP Pro. IOW, there's a noticeable degradation of performance in the system's file manager.

Internet Explorer 7 seems to run a bit slower than it did under XP. Ditto for Firefox 1.5.

When opening things that access system files, you get prompted for your approval, but the way it's done is more intrusive and less elegant than the way OS X prompts you for your password when modifying system files. E.g., you get an "ARE YOU REALLY SURE" box when you try to run Defrag or Scandisk.

So far, my impression is that unless you're running a powerful machine capable of running Aero, there's no reason to upgrade to Vista. Aside from that, as a new MS operating system, it makes more sense for you to let other people be the guinea pigs and find the nasties lurking underneath the shiny new paint job.

Better yet, get a Mac or run something like Kubuntu Linux on a PC. Either is a far superior OS from the standpoint of security and the features are either comparable to or superior to Windows.

New-to-me Marlin 336

I made my first post-election rifle purchase today at the Valley Forge gun show, but it wasn't a black rifle. I picked up a used, pre-safety Marlin 336 in .30-30. Sometime recentaly I developed a hankering for one of these, specifically one made before Marlin added the cross bolt safety.

It's in basically good shape with a few dings on the wood and some blueing wear. (So I also bought a bottle of Birchwood Casey cold gun blue.) I may strip and refinish the stock to make it a bit darker. We'll see.

It came with sling swivel studs but no swivels or sling. It also had a Weaver scope rail mounted on the receiver, and a hammer extension for use when a scope is mounted.

After getting it home I field stripped and cleaned it. It's pretty clean inside and the bore looks new.

I got two boxes of Wolf Gold (Prvi Partsan) .30-30 150 grain JSPs since there wasn't a wide variety of .30-30 at the show.

I placed an order with Brownell's for a few things:

* Plug screws for the scope mounting holes in the receiver, since I removed the Weaver rail.
* Replacement elevator for the rear sight. I didn't notice until after I got home that it was MIA.
* Lyman Model 66 receiver sight. I like aperature sights and up until 2000 or so Marlin drilled and tapped their leverguns' receivers for them.
* Uncle Mike's QD swivels with 1-1/4" loops. My plan is to use a Lee-Enfield sling so I need the wider loops.

Hopefully I'll get to shoot a deer with it next year.

Happy Chanukah

Chanukah starts tonight. Here's my relevant post from last year.

Update to The Shooter's Bar(SM)

I added Paul Young of Alabama to The Shooter's Bar(SM) this morning.

Redundant Entries in Finder "Open with" menu

I had the problem where when right clicking on an file in the Finder and then selecting "Open with" gave me a menu with multiple, redundant entries of suitable applications. E.g., if I right clicked on a Word doc, Word and OpenOffice.org appeared multiple times. This was rather annoying.

I couldn't find the fix but I consulted with a coworker who's a Linux and Mac guru and he found the solution here, along with a number of other good Mac tips. Just in case that page disappears I'm reproducing the fix here. You need to open a Terminal and run the following command:

System/Library/Frameworks/ApplicationServices.framework/\
Frameworks/LaunchServices.framework/Support/lsregister \
-kill -r -domain local -domain system -domain user

This forces LaunchServices to rebuild its database.

Meanwhile, check out the link provided for many other good tips.

Mac Word Processors and Text Editors

My main word processor is Word 2004 for Mac. I also have OpenOffice 2.0 installed on my Mac as well. I use OO.o occasionally, but on my G4 iBook, it's pretty pokey.

Other word processors I've tried on the Mac include NeoOffice, Abiword, and Nisus Writer Express.

NeOffice is dog slow. Even though OO.o requires X, it's faster on my hardware than NeoOffice. One of my coworkers runs it on his Macbook and tells me its reasonably fast, so once I get myself an Intel Mac I'll give it another shot.

I've run into significant formatting problems with documents imported from other apps, or exported to other apps with both NeoOffice and OO.o.

Abiword has a decent UI and runs quickly but has constant formatting issues with RTF files generated in other apps, in my experience.

Nisus Writer Express (on which I've previously posted) is quite nice. It's fast with a good UI and the formatting problems seem less significant than with the other WPs. However, it's $69 and I'm cheap.

The only word processor that doesn't give me formatting problems is Word 2004. Word on theMac is nicer than Word for Windows, in my opinion. Since at work I'm in a Microsoft shop, the ability to seemlessly interchange documents, whether word processing, spreadsheets, or presentations is critical. I have neither the time nor the inclination to troubleshoot and fix formatting. So for the most part I just stick with Word.

However, a lot of times there are docs that I know I won't need to forward to others. They'll either be for my own use, or just jotting down notes, or drafting a blog post. So I'll use a text editor. I've been using TextWrangler for some time now but today I installed Vim. Yes, THAT Vim. I'm writing this post in it, AAMOF.

Oh, OS X comes with VIM already installed, but it doesn't include the GVIM graphical mode. But if you go to macvim.org/OSX/index.php, you can download the latest and greatest Vim forMac, including the graphical mode. After you download it, use unzip the archive and copy the vim70 folder into /Applications. To launch it from the Finder, doubleclick the Vim (not the Gvim) icon.

If you've used Gvim on another platform, it's pretty much the same on OS X. I may be using it more instead of TextWrangler. It's light, responsive, and because I can do a lot of stuff without the mouse, can be really fast to use. In fact, what I may start doing is writing long documents it in, then once the content is finished, open them in Word to do the formatting and insert stuff like screenshots.

I feel so geeky. :-)

Power Outage

We had some electrical power fun Friday night. Details over on my Survival & Emergency Preparedness blog.

GUI tar for OS X

I just ran across GUI tar on Versiontracker. It's a GUI front end to tar, gzip, bzip, etc. for Mac OS X. I don't have a problem using the CLI versions of these tools, but sometimes a GUI is handy.

Apple Keyboards and Mice

Apple desktop keyboards suck. When I came back into the office yesterday I plugged an G4 keyboard that we had laying around into my iBook. I'd been using the Dell keyboard which I was issued a couple of years ago with my Latitude D600, but wanted an Apple keyboard with the Apple and Option keys in the right place.

I finally gave up on the Apple keyboard after a day and a half of use. The feel is horrible – mushy with poor tactile feedback. The keyboard on my iBook feels better, as does the one on my brother's 12” PowerBook. I found that with the G4 keyboard I was making a lot more typos than normal. The Dell keyboard is back in place.

The keyboards which came with the G5 towers were very similar to the one I just disconnected. I don't know how the board which come with current Macs are, but I suspect they're basically the same.

Mice and keyboards are Apple's biggest weak points. Everything else about their hardware is very well designed. Luckily, Macs Just Work with regular USB keyboards and mice intended for Windows boxen. On a PC keyboard, the Windows key subs for the Apple key, and the ALT key subs for they Option key. Two-button mice work without any special configuration; I've used a Logitech and currently have a Dell mouse plugged into my iBook.

MS Entourage Project Center

Microsoft Entourage for the Mac has a mini-project management module called -- strangely enough -- “Project Center.” It's allows you to keep together various items related to a project , e.g., emails, calendar appointments, tasks, clippings, and notes. The “Overview” screen gives you a place where you can get a quick snapshot of the current status of a project. I've mostly ignored Project Center heretofore, but I'm going to give it a try with a couple of the things I'm currently working on.

If Project Center works well for me, it might be a good fit for a case or practice management solution for my law practice. I use Entourage for my day job only, where I need to connect to an Exchange {spit} server. My personal stuff is handled with Mail.app, iCal, and OS X's Addressbook. Whether it'd be worthwhile to switch to Entourage remains to be seen.

Edit: OK, this is pretty cool. When you set "Watch Folders" for a project, Entourage does two things. First, in the "Files" tab it gives you a file manager with direct access to the contents of the watched folder, without having to go through Finder.




Second, in the lower right corner of Overview tab for the project, you can click on the Entourage icon to bring you to the project's mail folder in Entorage, or the Finder icon to take you to the watched folder in the Finder. Pretty neat.

Back from Thanksgiving, New Ruger Blackhawk

Back from Thanksgiving break. Our holiday went well, hope yours did, too. (As for my non-American readers, hope you at least had a good week.)

Aside from large quantities of turkey, stuffing, potatoes, etc., I picked up a Ruger 50th Anniversary Blackhawk last Wednesday from Surplus City. I traded in my Century G3 (nothing wrong with it but I wasn't shooting it often) and $20. The Ruger is "used" but there was no sign that it had been fired. It looked factory-fresh.

The Ruger is built on a smaller frame than most New Model Blackhawks, which means it's a bit lighter and generally handles better. Much better than NM Blackhawk .357 I had a couple of years ago. The frame is the old "flat top" style which I find aesthetically pleasing. It has a 4-5/8" barrel and is chambered for .357 Magnum. The grip frame is Ruger's original XR-3 type, which is closer to the grip on a Colt SAA than the later grip types. As a special, limited-production model, Ruger paid more attention to fit and finish than regular production guns. The polish and blueing are better and the action smoother. The trigger is light, unlike most Ruger factory triggers.

It shoots really well. Saturday afternoon Dad and I went to the range. I was a bit shakey but it groups well with the Ultramax .38 Special 158 grain LSWCs I was shooting. It'll be interesting to see how it does with better ammo and/or .357s.

Along with the Blackhawk, I took along my Old Model Single Six. It likes the CCI .22 LR Subsonic HPs a lot. Just for kicks I ran a few cylinders full of CCI CB Longs through it, just to see how quiet they were. Without hearing protection they're a bit louder than a pneumatic air rifle, when fired from the Single Six's 5.5" barrel. They should be very quiet when shot from a rifle. They'd be the ticket for short range pest control where you need to keep the noise down.

Online File Storage

I am glad this is going to be a short week. The past couple of weeks have been a bit rough, due to a sinus infection which degenerated into a cold, of which I'm on the very tail end {knock wood}. Awhile ago I tried a saline nasal rinse similar to what Jerry Pournelle has written about, and found that it really helped my allergies by flushing irritants out of my sinuses. I used it after getting the sinus infection and I'm pretty sure that it shortened the duration and helped me avoid the need to take antibiotics. Flushing out the bacteria-laden snot instead of letting it fester up there in my head worked.

At work I've been evaluating a few different online storage services. I have a dot mac account and I've been using it as a yardstick for comparison purposes. I've found that as long as I have a good fat pipe, accessing files remotely over the Internet using WebDAV can be made similar to accessing them via a LAN or a VPN. For example, dot mac includes iDisk, which I primarily access as just another disk in the Finder. (It's also accessible via a Win32 client from Apple or through a browser, but with limited functionality) Some of the services I'm looking at offer similar functionality for Windows, Mac, and Linux boxen.

Dot mac and one of the other services allow me to create a locally cached copy of the online "drive," which allows me to access those files offline. Then, when I'm reconnected, the cached and online copies automatically sync.

Windows XP includes a similar feature called Offline Folders but in my experience, it sucks. On every machine that I've used it I always get errors and sync failures. And that's on a 100BaseT LAN. Forget about using it over a VPN.

The online storage services also allow you to share files, e.g., by allowing other users to open your online folder or you can email someone a link to a specific file.

I'd like to see this sort of thing become more popular because it could take a major load off of mail servers, which are probably the primary way people transfer files across the Internet nowadays. Email was never intended for this and while it works -- mostly -- it still results in inefficiencies. Shared online folders, if impelemented securely, will be a better solution with the ever increasing adoption of broadband Internet access.

If I don't post again before Thursday, have a happy Thanksgiving.

Cross-platform encryption

I want to save digital copies of important documents on a USB stick, but want to secure them against unauthorized access if the drive gets into the wrong hands, because it would be an identity thief's wet dream. The stick will be part of my household emergency kit.

Today I discovered jFileCrypt, a cross-platform encryption/decryption tool written in Java, and which can run on any platform with Java 5. Aside from the fact that it's free (GPL) software, being platform-independent is what I really find attactive. JFileCrypt supports Blowfish so the resulting encrypted file should be secure.

Alternatives include Mac OS X's built-in ability to create encrypted disk images and GPG. Unfortunately, an ecrypted Mac disk image isn't cross platform, and GPG can be confusing, although I've been playing around with it and I'm getting a better understanding of it. For Windows and Linux users, TrueCrypt looks like a good alternative.

Ideally, I'd like to have an ~500 MB encrypted file or folder on a 1 GB USB drive. On the unencrypted portion I'll keep a copy of the encryption utility so that if necessary, I can decrypt the information even if I don't have access to one of my computers. The password I'll be using is long, non-obvious, and has zero significance to anyone other than me.

If any of my readers have suggestions for cross-platform encryption software that would be suitable for this application, please post them as a comment.

(This will be crossposted to my Survial & Emergency Preparedness blog, but this blog gets more traffic so I'm posting it here first.)

Thoughts on the Aftermath

I am not surprised with how the election turned out. With regard to some local races ...

Ed Rendell beat Lynn Swan for the PA governorship. Maybe next time the Republican Party can pick someone other than a football player as their candidate. Rendell is very popular in Pennsylvania’s metropolitan areas, so the Reps needed somebody with real experience or at least a better-communicated platform to have a shot at winning.

Bob Casey, Jr. beat Rick Santorum for his Senate seat. The intense dislike for Santorum in the blue areas of PA made this no surprise. Casey’s campaign was basically, “I’m not Santorum.” The fact that this was all he needed to unseat Santorum should be a wake up call to the GOP.

Turning to my little part of the state, House District 6 is at Jim Gerlach with 51% of the vote to challenger Lois Murphy’s 49%. This reflects in large measure the increasing Democrat demography of Montgomery County. Formerly solid “R,” as more Dems have moved out of Philadelphia and settled in MontCo the balance is shifting blue. I can see the Dems slowly turning MontCo into a reflection of Philly, in which case it may be time to bail the hell out of Dodge.

In the Connecticut Senate race the message to the Kostards seems to be, “PWNED!”

As of the time I write this, the Montana and Virginia contested Senate seats still hadn’t been decided. If the Dems pick up both they’ll gain a bare majority, while if they pick up one the Reps will keep theirs, since with VP Dick Cheney as President Pro Tempre of the Senate, they’ll still have enough votes to break any deadlocks.

So, on the national level the balance of power has shifted a bit. It looks like we’re going to see two years of gridlock.

Postfix message and mailbox size limits

I learned some more about Postfix today.

This morning I got a call from my client with the new mail server. They were getting an error message when trying to send a file with a 7 MB attachment. Since they send and receive a lot of attachments (of which a 7 meg file would be on the small side) this needed to be fixed. The message they were getting indicated and inability to access a mailbox. I skimmed through /var/log/maillog and found this:


Nov 7 10:48:47 postoffice postfix/local[14046]: 0671D344040: to=, relay=local, delay=33, status=bounced (cannot access mailbox /var/spool/mail/foo for user foo. error writing message: File too large)

I was a bit surprised, since I made sure that /etc/postfix/main.cf did not include any limits on email sizes. After some time searching on Google, it looked like the default value for a mailbox size according to Postfix is 51200000 bytes. I wanted it to be unlimited, so I used postconf to explicitly set the value to 0, for no limit, like so...

% postconf –e mailbox_size_limit=0

... then restarted Postfix.

I then tried to send a 12 MB file from my Gmail account to my test account on the box. I got an SMTP 552 error, “Message too large” back from the box. Again, I skimmed the maillog file and this time came across:

Nov 7 15:51:33 postoffice postfix/postdrop[14200]: warning: uid=48: File too large

Back to Google, whereupon I learnt that the default max message size for Postfix is 10240000 bytes. To fix it I ran:

% postconf –e message_size_limit=0

Again, I restarted Postfix and then resent my test email. This time it went through.

If you want to view the default settings for all the parameters you can configure in main.cf, use postconf –d. The output of postconf –d | grep size looks like:

[root@foo]# postconf -d | grep size
berkeley_db_create_buffer_size = 16777216
berkeley_db_read_buffer_size = 131072
body_checks_size_limit = 51200
bounce_size_limit = 50000
header_size_limit = 102400
mailbox_size_limit = 51200000
message_size_limit = 10240000

As an aside, since Postfix on this box is started by MailScanner, I restarted the MailScanner daemon to restart Postfix, like this:

% /etc/init.d/MailScanner restart

... which stops the inbound and outbound Postfix queus then starts them again.

Election Day 2006

Election day. And a sorry one it is. None of the choices that the political machines have offered up to us are especially appealing. So, do I vote Republican, Democrat, third party, or sit this one out?

As tempting as it might be, I do not regard abstaining as a viable choice. It’s a cop out, and the more people that do sit on their duffs in front of the TV the more my vote is worth.

The third parties don’t appeal to me either. The Libertarian Party may as well be on Mars with their platform on border security and the threat posed by Islamists. The Constitutional Party includes some religious dogma in its platform that I dislike. The Greens are a bunch of socialist Euro-wannabes.

That leaves voting for a Democrat or a Republican. I can’t bring myself to vote for any Democrat and therefore strengthen them one iota. The steering wheel of the Democratic Party has been co-opted by left wing extremists who, should they have their way, would take us down the socio-political road that has lead Europe to socialism and which will eventually let it be accurately known as “Eurabia.”

Expanding on that last point, the Dems show no signs of taking the Islamist threat to Western Civilization seriously. Their calls for immediate withdrawal from Iraq show that. While Iraq may not have been the best choice for taking the fight to the Islamists, it’s the fight we have. The Dems would have us show weakness in the face of a ruthless, implacable enemy with zero respect for any way of life save their own. Furthermore, they would have us abandon those allies we do have in the Muslim world, leaving them to the mercy (hah!) of the Islamists much as anticommunists in South Vietnam were abandoned in Southeast Asia three decades ago.

To me this is the most important issue facing us. Do we cut and run or stand and fight? Do we ensure that our children and grandchildren have the chance to grow up enjoying freedom or grow up under religious despotism?

Sadly, while the Republicans have shown themselves willing to fight, they haven’t proven themselves all that fit to rule, either. On the Federal level they’ve had control over the executive and legislature for six years, and their failures include:

• Ballooning deficits resulting from a spending spree that any drunken sailor would envy.
• Utter failure to do anything significant about our reliance on foreign fossil fuels.
• Failure to address the Social Security time bomb.
• Failure to secure the Mexican border.
• Willingness to let port facilities be run by foreigners.
• The DHS and TSA. Treating our own people as the enemy do not make us more secure.
• The PATRIOT Act. Bypartisan stupidity.
• Iraq – Not the right place and mismanaged since Sadaam Hussein was deposed.
• Saudi Arabia – The Saudi wahabbiasts need to be held accountable for their moral and financial support of Islamist terrorists.
• Harriet Miers. WTF?
  

The Republicans have done some things right:

• Letting the vile, unconstitutional Assault Weapons Ban expire.
• Passage of the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Firearms Act.
• The recent law prohibiting law enforcement from confiscating firearms from lawful citizens in the aftermath of a disaster, when they’d be needed most.
• Justices Alito and Roberts.
• Taking the fight to the Islamists instead of waiting around to get hit again. While the wisdom of attacking specific targets is up for debate the fact is that rather than a passive response or crawling to the UN in response to Islamist aggression, the Republicans struck back, and pretty effectively.
• On the state level, more states now have CCW and more prohibit junk lawsuits against gun manufacturers.
  

So, when I go into the voting booth later today I’ll hold my nose and pull the Republican lever, because the only other party with a shot of gaining control wants to (a) stick its head in the sand and pretend the wolf isn’t at the door, and (b) take our society down the European socialist road.

Coleman Outdoor Fireplace

Yesterday I found this Coleman Patio Fireplace on closeout at Dick's Sporting Goods and picked one up. I've been wanting something similar for a little while and at $80, this was a good deal. I then went over to Lowe's and bought a bundle of kindling and two bundles of firewood for about $4 each.

It took about an hour to put together using a screwdriver and pliers to hold nuts, and seems pretty well made. It's a good size, about two feet in diameter. I especially like that you can use it as a BBQ grill by taking off the screen and putting the enclosed grill in the base. We have a propane grill but food does taste better when cooked over charcoal. If the weather is good next weekend maybe I'll cook something on it.

After dinner last night we introduced Alexandra and Amanda to the joy of marshmellows roasted on a stick over an open fire. They loved it.

Mail server migration complete

On Saturday I was able to get my client moved over the new mail server that I'd installed a couple of weeks ago. It went pretty smoothly, although I did have to modify Postfix's main.cf to allow it to accept email to their domain, rather than just to their host.domain.com.

It's amazing how many attempts there are to relay mail through the box. If I login to it and run tail -f /var/log/maillog, and I can sit there and watch relay attempts scroll off the top of my screen. I've done this several times and it just doesn't end.

Theire old box used CommuniGate Pro for mail services. One advantage CGP has is that mail users are different from system users. I.e., you don't need to setup an account on the system for a user to send and receive mail through it (although you can configure it to use system accounts). When using Postfix and Dovecot, and not using virtual domains, mail accounts are system accounts. I wanted to make it more difficult for someone to crack the box. Since my client is using this only for email and system logins aren't needed, I used chsh to change the login shell of each mail user to /sbin/nologin. Now, when someone tries to SSH into the server they get bounced right off.

Frustration

Arrrgggghhhhh!!!

I'm having a frustrating day at work. I have new firmware for two separate cable modem/gateways and our test environment is all fouled up. For some reason RIP isn't working, so if I configure one of the modems to route a RIP subnet I can't get anywhere. The more pressing problem, however, is that our Cisco Broadband Access Controller, which handles provisioning and modem registrator, keeps crashing. Without a reliable BAC the lab is basically non-functional.

The guy who's filling in as our network admin is working on it but for now I'm spinning my wheels.

Side note: This is my 650th post to Blog O'Stuff since I switched over to Blogger in 2004. Wow.