Unofficial Open Carry Non-event 2011

The Husband and I were planning on participating in the non-event a day early while at the Palouse car show. But, we all know that no plan survives first contact with the enemy.  Grocery shopping was going to follow the car show, but it was delayed by a day.  I went out by myself to Wal-Mart and Winco and open carried the entire time.  Though I did not get actual action shots since I was going about my business as usual and therefore had no camera.  However, I did get a shot before I left.

June 5 2011 oc

Wal-mart was a complete non-event with maybe a look, but then again I always smile and act pleasant whether I am openly carrying or not.  Win-co for the most part was a non-event.  I was going about my business choosing bacon when a gentleman rounded the corner and almost immediately said something along the lines of “ now that’s cute” in reference to my .357 snubbie safely secured to my hip.  A very long conversation ensued and sadly the man has a lot of misguided knowledge.  To be nice, I listen to what he had to say.

This man felt that concealed carry on the person was much better than open carrying or even purse carrying, which is what I normally do as I don’t have any other option for the time being.  He wanted to make sure I knew the dangers of open carry with respect to someone approaching me and removing my side arm and using it against me.  As I open carry with a Bianchi AccuMold® Belt Slide holster, I would know if someone were to try to take it and act accordingly.  As for purse carry, the man mentioned razor blades being used to slice the purse straps and stealing the purse before you even knew what happened.  My purse happens to be a backpack style and I think that would be rather difficult to remove when actually worn as a backpack as the straps would be harder to slice without slicing the person carrying it.  There were many more things he mentioned, but I don’t really feel like going into all that detail.

I think he was a little disappointed when he learned that I was married because he is looking for a girlfriend who shares his interest in guns.  He asked me if I knew any single ladies around who are interested in guns.  I don’t and as he had a mullet, I’m not sure many woman would go for him, even if he is super nice.

I ended up getting home much later than planned and the husband was actually worried that he was going to have to bail me out of jail.  Usually my grocery shopping trips last about an hour and a half including drive time.  This one, however, lasted almost twice as long because of the man at Win-co being excited to see a woman out carrying a firearm.

Not so much an Engineering problem…

8. ENGINEERING
The disassembled parts of a high-powered rifle have been placed on your desk. You will also find and instruction manual, printed in Swahili. In ten minutes a hungry Bengal tiger will be admitted to the room. Take whatever action you feel appropriate. Be prepared to justify your decision.

My Answer:

Assemble the gun to the best of my knowledge, disregarding the Swahili manual since all firearms operate on the same basic principle and can usually be easily and intuitively assembled.  If the hungry tiger is admitted into the room before I am finished, pull my side arm and kill said tiger.  Then continue with the task at hand.  Also, there is no mention of ammunition being provided with the rifle, so, to err on the side of caution it is assumed that there is none. Therefore,  my side arm would be used, PERIOD.

Justification:

Self defense.

There are no words…

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=ec0_1303444048

They fucking told the attackers to flee before the cops arrived and didn’t really help to alleviate the situation and then stepped back and continued to film while the poor girl had a seizure.  I can’t put into words how pissed off the video makes me.

Update (4.25.11)

Apparently the assault victim from the video is a transgender woman.  If this isn’t a hate crime, then nothing is.

Sexist Pig

After reading the article by Eric Heyl I have come to the conclusion that he has never been in the company of a real woman.  His only exposure to women are from magazines with models airbrushed to perfection.

I am the proud owner of a snubbie revolver for my own personal protection.

The industry is unlikely to successfully tap that market until it conquers the pesky preconceived notions that likely turn off many females to the idea of gun ownership. Women likely won’t consider packing pistols if they are concerned that:

Note: my revolver was a wedding gift, given to me by my husband.

— Spending several hundred dollars on a serviceable handgun might leave them without enough money to get the full treatment at that next visit to the day spa.

I have no problem buying a pistol and I actually have my eye on a Sig P226.  Why would I go to a spa and pay a ridiculous amount of money for something I can do in the comfort of my own home for much less and I could host a “spa” party and just have a grand ol’ time with friends?

— Carrying a gun in a small purse would leave less room for more important items, such as lipstick or compact.

I have a very cute backpack style purse that is specially designed to carry a pistol and allow room for anything else I need.  I find self defense much more important than items of vanity.

— The baggy clothing required to successfully conceal most holsters would make them appear frumpy.

There are actually concealable holsters on the market for women so baggy clothing isn’t necessary.  That is also one of the points of carrying a conceal carry purse.

— Gunpowder residue might stain the new Karen Scott blouse they just bought at Macy’s.

When it comes to self defense, if I have to shoot my gun, I could care less what happens to the clothes I am wearing.  Besides, fabric is washable and replaceable, I cannot replace myself or wash away the after effects of an attack on myself if I am completely defenseless.

— The gunpowder smell when the weapon is fired could totally overwhelm the Chanel they’re wearing.

In my profession, wearing perfume is not recommended as you never know if a client/patient/resident is sensitive to fragrances.  I would rather be unscathed than to care a flying f*** about whether my perfume is being overwhelmed by gunpowder.  Besides, I like to go to CD’s Smokepit and I always have the smell of yummy BBQ lingering on my person by the time I leave.

Not only that but some men find the smell of burnt gun powder arousing and attractive. Certainly not a man of such “high caliber” as Mr. Heyl, only sad lonely depraved men like my husband. Sad lonely men who get to partake in Dr. Joe’s cure all which I’m sure Mr. Heyl has never experienced.

— Most firearm accessories come only in one boring color: black.

Who cares?  As long as its functional.  I prefer black to the pink that is currently on the market for women anyway. But there’s also blue, red, green, and you can have it painted however you like.  It’s nail polish but for your gun.

— Target practice earplugs simply aren’t sexy.

Sexy is a relative term.  There are men that find women very sexy when seen in shooting gear.  Besides, some earplugs are not noticeable and as long as I still have hearing capabilities at the end of the day, I don’t care.

That’s also why god created suppressors.

safety_instruction_6393

Besides, if women can’t be sexy while carrying a firearm or holding one, explain this:

She so hawt, even I’d do her.

H/T Breda, Bitter and Joe

Big action, Little town

This morning, around 0845, the hubby texted me about a rolled semi just as you enter our little town.  I found out some more information from him and then around 1000 ventured out with the camera to check and see if the truck was still there.  Sure enough, there it was.

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Shortly after my arrival, a wrecker came to the scene and parked.  I decided to stay and see the proceedings of removing the truck.  I snapped some more pictures and waited.

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And waited some more, periodically snapping pictures as a couple men walked around the truck examining it and deciding what to do while they waited for more help.

Eventually some additional crews arrived, this time with a fork lift.  They were unloading the rest of the rig’s payload.

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While waiting for something more interesting to happen, a fellow ham operator and town local came by to see the progress.  We got to talking and he informed me that the accident occurred around 0600 and luckily there were no injuries.  The cause of the wreck, however is unknown.  Also, there was a semi parked alongside the highway over night and the accident occurred just behind it.  Good thing the wrecked semi didn’t collide with the parked one.

At around 1245 a WSP arrived on scene and I noticed down the road a bit, and slightly obscured by a hill, was another wrecker of sorts waiting for instructions.

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As 1315 approached more crews started to arrive, such as flaggers and a third, smaller wrecker.  the larger wreckers were getting turned around so they could soon get into position to pull the rig up and out.

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Finally the moment arrived, about 1330, and traffic was stopped.  Some vehicles decided to turn around and head down the road paralleling the highway to get around the wreck, while others just patiently waited.

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The wreckers moved into place and then out came the cables to be attached to the truck.  The first order of business was getting the truck up on its wheels.  While the big red wrecker helped stabilize the rig, the other two repositioned to start the process of pulling the rig onto the highway.DSC_5932DSC_6059DSC_6100

After slowly moving the truck, the cables needed to be repositioned as the truck came up the small embankment it rolled down.  Inch by inch, foot by foot the truck was position on the highway and the cables, save one, was removed.  the original wrecker stayed attached and slowly pulled the semi down the highway into town.  At this point, I decided to head home

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On the way, I noticed the wrecker and semi were parked on the side of the road in front of the high school.  I took that as an opportunity to head over to take pictures of the damaged side of the truck since I didn’t risk crossing the highway earlier to take pictures of the top side of the truck where it laid.  I arrived back home at about 1430 quite hungry and thirsty as I stupidly hadn’t eaten anything before hand. 

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