Home Theater

I'm stuck at home today with a cold, or maybe allergies. It's hard to tell. The unusually warm weather we've had so far this Fall have wrought havoc with my allergies.

Partial consolation for dealing with the congestion and snot is that I get to use my new home theater setup. We got an Olevia 227 LCD HDTV a couple of months ago. Picture quality is pretty good but the audio sucks. There's an omnipresent hum at low volumes. When this got to be really annoying I went online and did some research, and it's apparently a design defect. There's inadequate RF shielding between the LCD backlight and the built-in speakers. The only was to get rid of the hum is to use external speakers. (I did email Olevia customer support but they blew me off. This will be the last Olevia product we ever buy.)

Naturally, to use external speakers you need to use an amplifier. I've had a set of Polk Audio bookshelf speakers that I bought in 1990, but didn't have a modern amp. My old amp and tuner were 1979 vintage Onkyos (given to me by an uncle after he upgraded his stereo system). They still sound good but the speaker selector needed repair and of course, didn't have a remote control.

When it comes to home AV components naturally the sky's the limit on how much you can spend. But, I didn't want to spend a ton of money for a new receiver. After doing some research, on Saturday I ordered an Onkyo TX-8222 receiver from Crutchfield. (I bought a couple car stereos from them in the early 1990s and liked the customer experience. This time it was just as good.)

The new receiver came yesterday. Considering I ordered it on a Saturday that's basically overnight, even though it was shipped UPS Ground. YMMV if you live further away.

I set it up with my DVD/VCR player, and cable set top box pumping their audio directly into the receiver, so they don't first pass through the TV. (I did try it the latter way at first but volume was unacceptably low.) With the direct-to-receiver configuration, though, the system sounds great.

Onkyo sells an iPod dock as an accessory. I'm considering buying one since most of my music is on my iPod, and this would be a very convenient way of listening to it at home. OTH, I am toying around with eventually picking up a Mac Mini to add to the system. The Olevia has a VGA input which would handle the Mini's video, and I'd just need an audio cable to run from the computer to the receiver. This would allow me to listen to and view everything I have in iTunes on my TV, along with home movies I make in iDVD. And with a Bluetooth keyboard, I could surf the Internet on a 27" monitor.

But I digress.

Onkyo supplies an AM loop antenna and an FM wire antenna. Reception is OK but nothing great, depending on the station. I'll probably build up a better FM antenna.

So far I'm pretty pleased with the Onkyo TX-8222. It's a good, basic home stereo receiver. It has 6 audio inputs and built-in AM/FM stereo with 50W per channel, which is sufficient to provide clear audio at any volume I'll be using. It doesn't have fancy surround sound but the audio sure blows away any system I've ever owned. The warranty on parts and labor is two years. For under $200 delivered it's a great value.

Doan Magnesium Fire Starter Review

Here.

Vehicular Preps

I have a post today about some additional vehicular preps for winter. Check it out.

Updates to The Shooter's Bar

I updated The Shooter's Bar yesterday, including an addition for Indiana.

Off to Denver

Today I'm flying out to Denver, CO for a meeting tomorrow at CableLabs. I'll be flying home Wednesday.

Last night I went through my laptop bag to make sure I don't have any dangerous contraband, like my multitools. Grrrr. Since I can't stand being without at least a pocketknife for more than a day, my Victorinox SwissTool RS, Pioneer Farmer, and my Benchmade Griptilian were placed in a bag which I'll check.

I wonder how many checked bags can be attributed to the stupid ban on pocketknives? I can carry pointed scissors in my carry on bag, as long as the blades are less than 4 inches (~10 cm) in length. So why can't I carry a Swiss Army Knife?

In the aftermath of 9/11, who thinks that it would be possible to hijack an airliner with a knife? The would-be hijacker would get beaten to a pulp by the other passengers.

It's security theater plain and simple.

A Couple Posts at My Other Blog

I have a couple of new posts over on the Survival and Emergency Preparedness Blog. One's on my new Valiant Trading Company Large Survival Golok, and the other is on Mainstay Ration Bars.

Check 'em out.

PA School Massacre Plot ... Or Not?

By now you may have heard the news story about a disturbed teen being arrested for plotting a school massacre in Plymouth Meeting, PA. He's said to have an "arsenal." I have a particular interest in this, since I've lived in Plymouth Meeting since 1979 and graduated from PWHS in 1986.

Something stinks about this. Consider the following:

• The "arsenal" consisted of mostly airsoft, i.e., airguns that shoot plastic pellets.
• The DA has stated that while he believes the kid is disturbed, no attack was imminent or even truly in the works.
• The kid may have solicited another student to help him. I'd really like to know what he said to someone else, if anything.
• The mom owned a couple of real guns but didn't even keep them at her home.
  

This morning, we hear that the mom was charged with several felonies: endangering the welfare of a child, unlawful transfer of firearms, and aiding the possession of a firearm by a minor.

Heck, I had a much more impressive, real arsenal by the time I was 14. I am far from unusual even in this day and age. I wonder how many parents could be charged with the above counts because they allowed minors access to firearms. I bet it would be in the millions.

It's almost as if the kid got overheard talking smack like most 14 year olds do, someone overreacted, so he got arrested. The DA then decided there wasn't a real threat, but now the dog and pony show is started and to finish it, they have to charge somebody for something. Another interesting tidbit: DA Castor is currently running for Plymouth Township Commissioner, so there may be a political motivation.

I sure hope that the mom isn't getting Knifonged.

Fred Thompson Quote From the Debate

I didn't get a chance to watch yesterday's debate but someone posted the following FDT quote on Arfcom:

I don't buy the concept that any reduction in taxes is lost revenues to the government. The tax payers haven't lost it, it's in their pocket. They know exactly where to find it. We shouldn't confuse the wealth of government with the Wealth of Nations.

Hah!

A Couple New Knife Posts

I have a couple of new posts over on the Survival & Emergency Preparedness Blog about knives. Check 'em out.

Thoughts About Survival Knives

I have a new post, "Thoughts About Survival Knives," over on the Survival and Emergency Preparedness Blog. Check it out.

Arrrrr!!!

AAAaaaarrrrrrrrr!!!!!

Fire Starting Practice

Over on my Survival and Emergency Preparedness Blog I have a couple of recent posts about starting fires. You can check them out here and here.

Six Years

I feel the need to memorialize September 11, 2001. It was the Pearl Harbor of my generation.

Last year I wrote of our failure to address the real cause of 9/11 -- the Islamic atittude that it is acceptable to murder non-believers in the name of spreading the faith. Not much has changed on that front. In some ways, we're worse off. For example, November 2006 saw the Democrats take power in the House and Senate, based largely on an anti-war platform. While Bush et al. haven't fully taken the war to the enemy, the Democrats want to fall back on diplomacy, a tactic which time and again has been seen as a sign of weakness by the Islamics.

The biggest American political issue in the past year was illegal immigration. Unfortunately, the flow of illegals across the US-Mexican border is not limited to people looking for better economic prospects. Thousands of "Other Than Mexicans" or "OTMs" also sneak across. And many of them are from the Middle East, sneaking into the country with no doubt nefarious purposes. (Lest anyone accuse me of xenophobia, I am in favor of legal immigration of people who will make a positive contribution to America. But illegal immigrants are by definition, criminals. While many of them are seeking better lives through work, many are here to take advantage of the American welfare state. Witness the collapsing hospital systems in California.)

Meanwhile, the US government continues to treat its own citizens as more serious potential threats. E.g., in the form of the degrading harassment by TSA agents at airports. Jerry Pournelle calls this "anarcho-tyranny." It's as good a term as any, I suppose.

Before you know it we'll be memorializing the tenth anniversary of 9/11/01. I expect that not much will have changed, unless some Islamics carry off another successful attack on American soil. In that case, things will get worse.

Certificate Warning

I received the following note this morning from a reader:

Unable to verify the identity of wwww.Fred08.com as a trusted site.
Possible reasons for this error:
-Your browser does not recognize the Certificate Authority that
issued the site's certificate.
-The site's certificate is incomplete due to a server
misconfiguration.
-Your are connedted to a site pretending to be www.Fred08.com,
possibly to obtain your confidential information.
Please notify the site's webmaster about this problem.
Before accepting this certificate, you should examine this site's
certificate carefully. Are you willing to accept this certificate
for the purpose of identifying the Web site www.Fred08.com?

It's due to the link down there on the right for donating to Fred Thompson's campaign. If you don't accept the certificate, the only thing you'll be blocked from accessing is a way to donate to his campaign.

Savage Rimfires Revisited

After a couple of years worth of procrastinating, I finally installed the two Rifle Basix sears I bought for my Savage 93GL .22 Magnum and Mark IIGL .22LR. Both rifles are quite accurate, but came from the factory hampered with heavy trigger pulls. (They were made before Savage put the AccuTriggers on their rimfire rifles.)

I did the 93GL yesterday, and managed to lose an e-clip which retains one of the pins in the fire control group. {grumble, grumble} As a replacement, I took a paper-covered wire twisty tie, burned the paper off, and wrapped it around the pin, making sure the wire was seated in the groove for the e-clip. I then snipped the ends of the tie, and put a drop of Ballistol on it to prevent corrosion. It should work fine, since once the action is in the stock there's no room for the pin to back out.

This morning I did the Mark IIGL. The process was easier the second time around and this time I didn't lose any parts.

Both rifles now have markedly lighter trigger pulls. However, there is still some creep. I'm a bit dissappointed in that. However, they should be much easier to shoot now.

Having recently moved the scope that was on the .22 Magnum over to my RWS 34 air rifle, I needed new optics for the 93GL. So, on Friday I ordered another Nikon 4x32mm ProStaff rimfire scope for it from Natchez Shooters Supply. 4x is plenty, IMO. I have one of these Nikons on my Ruger 10/22 and it's the scope I recommend for any .22 rifle. It's a nice piece of glass, very clear, with excellent light transmission.

I will post a range report after I shoot the rifles.

Fred Thompson to Announce September 6

It's official, Fred Thompson will throw his hat into the ring on September 6th.

Counter Protest

Over at The War on Guns, David Codrea is coordinating a counter-protest to Jesse Jackson's 8/28 anti-gun protest. His suggestion: buy a gun or some ammunition tomorrow while the anti-gun extremists are protesting.

Do it for the children.

Marlin 336 .30-30

I put up a post about my Marlin 336 .30-30, over on the Survival and Emergency Preparedness Blog. Please check it out.

Another Use For Parallels

Earlier this week we got a potential issue with our gateways escalated to us. A customer running a Microsoft Windows server as a VPN terminator was experiencing problems with established tunnels getting disconnected.

Unfortunately, I was out of the office when it got sent to us, so I don't yet have sufficient information to properly troubleshoot it. I'm hoping to get further details soon, but in the interim I setup Windows 2003 in a Parallels virtual machine this morning. If the customer gets back to us I can use W2K3 running on my MacBook Pro as my test box.

It's a lot more cost effective creating virtual test boxes than having to keep real servers around for testing. Not to mention, no additional space is required.

Apple's Laptop Market Share at 17.6%

Wow! According to this article on Macworld, Apple's share the of the notebook computer market has climbed to 17.6%. When you consider how many users are moving to laptops as their primary machines, this shows how much the Mac's market share is increasing.