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Another Mini Meet…

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Last night I met A Girl and TSM.  We had organized a plan which almost appeared to fall apart, but alas luck won out.  My meeting ended on time and the TSM finally got out of work as well.

The drove up and we went out to dinner and since I was on the opposite coast I had some Atlantic Salmon.

A Girl and TSM had Trout.  I didn’t get any pics of that though.  We had a nice long dinner, as in we finally split up after about 3 hours of chatting about kids, life, adventures, and other general shenanigans.

Eventually I got dessert, took me trying 3 choices, but eventually that had something.  I also convinced A Girl to add another thing to her EDC tools, a Crème brûlée torch.

It was great fun and then as an added bonus I got back to the hotel just in time to catch Pale Rider in time for my favorite line, “Nothing like a good piece of hickory.”

Time to relax and get ready for another day of fun tomorrow.  Though the real fun will be Thursday with the TSA.

SSCC #7 – Officer Harless Update

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If you have to visit Canton Ohio, be advised that Officer Roid-Rage is heading back into the force.

Fired police officer Daniel Harless could get his job back if he gets medical clearance to return to work.

An arbitrator hearing Harless’ appeal ruled in the former patrolman’s favor. The 15-page ruling was dated Saturday and released by the city Wednesday.

So much for this post in the Accountabilibuddable tag.

And lets not forget that there have been other incidents within this same department.

Honestly, that town is becoming a serious 7 figure settlement waiting to happen.  Any department that willfully hires him is going to be looking at a lawsuit if he so much as sneezes on someone.

He had his opportunity at law enforcement and he blew it.  He can go work in fast food and flip burgers.

State Sponsored Criminal #7: Officer Daniel Harless

Because when an officer is caught blatantly abusing his power and the law he shouldn’t be held accountable because there’s always others who don’t get caught, how is it fair to them?

h/t JayG and OldNFO for the reminder

Blogging Might Be Irratic

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You see I had to hop on one of these yesterday morning.

Thankfully the travel time was only 3.5 hours to our wonderful destination.  Yes, we were hauling ass and here’s the proof.

It is nice to not have to waste a whole day traveling, too bad the return trip isn’t going to be as nice.  Here’s the gallery of pictures from the flight, including the sunset at our destination as we arrived.

Luckily there’s some fellow bloggers in the area, one of whom I got to share company with last night for dinner.  Tonight I’m going to try and get together with another, assuming the meeting doesn’t run long.

Annoyingly the hotel I’m at doesn’t provide free Wi-Fi and wants a chunk of change for a mere 2 Mbits.  I have a better idea, “Smart Phone activate!”  Oh, is that a Wi-Fi access point my computer now sees.  I don’t need the fastest stuff in the world, but I would like decent reliable internet if I’m occupying your establishment.

I’ll blog when I can and I’m trying to get stuff scheduled up, but at the same time I’m going to be busy.  Check the people over on the side bar if you need a fix and I’m not providing.

Can You Say Winning?

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In an effort to increase membership, a number of U.S. churches — including the Church of Christ congregation in this rural village 30 miles north of Columbus — are offering an unconventional public service: Concealed weapons training.

“Church has done a good job with coffee klatsches or whatever, but we haven’t really reached out to guys,” said Jeff Copley, a preacher at the church. “And guys in Morrow Country, they shoot and they hunt.”

That is all sorts of awesome.  And it isn’t just one church either, there are numerous churches from Texas to North Carolina.

It’s nice to see some not rely on blind faith and miracles to save them but instead see that good happens through the deeds of others.  Some may see religion in that, others may not.  In the end though people who have faith in miracles to save them while rejecting the tools they can use themselves drive me insane, which brings me to this joke:

A fellow was stuck on his rooftop in a flood. He was praying to God for help.

Soon a man in a rowboat came by and the fellow shouted to the man on the roof, “Jump in, I can save you.”

The stranded fellow shouted back, “No, it’s OK, I’m praying to God and he is going to save me.”

So the rowboat went on.

Then a motorboat came by. “The fellow in the motorboat shouted, “Jump in, I can save you.”

To this the stranded man said, “No thanks, I’m praying to God and he is going to save me. I have faith.”

So the motorboat went on.

Then a helicopter came by and the pilot shouted down, “Grab this rope and I will lift you to safety.”

To this the stranded man again replied, “No thanks, I’m praying to God and he is going to save me. I have faith.”

So the helicopter reluctantly flew away.

Soon the water rose above the rooftop and the man drowned. He went to Heaven. He finally got his chance to discuss this whole situation with God, at which point he exclaimed, “I had faith in you but you didn’t save me, you let me drown. I don’t understand why!”

To this God replied, “I sent you a rowboat and a motorboat and a helicopter, what more did you expect?”

Why should I expect god to lift a finger for me if I won’t lift one for myself?

And People Wonder Why I get Angry…

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So there are some ranges that evidently aren’t as anal as they should be regarding handling of firearms while the range is cold and people are down range.  As I’ve said before, this really ticks me off and today we have an example of the consequences.

Cromer said the boy was there with his father and another family member. They were checking on their targets when the shooting occurred.

He said several firearms were on a bench when a woman moved them and that’s when the revolver discharged, hitting the boy in the lower abdomen.

There are so many things wrong with that second sentence.

  • First, prior to anyone heading down range, all actions should be open and empty.  In the case of a revolver, the cylinder should be out and easily visible.
  • Second, While people are down range there should be absolutely no handling of firearms.  Odds are you will not be able to touch our move a firearm without muzzling someone so just leave it alone.
  • Third, usually there is a yellow safety line that now one is allowed in front of during a cease fire, why was someone in front of it, or why didn’t this range have one?
  • Fourth, How do you cause a revolver to discharge buy merely moving it unless it was loaded and cocked, them maybe, but even then, booger hook bang switch problem here.

There are no excuses for this incident. The bottom line is this issue can be traced back to at a minimum of impatience while wanting to pack up and leave.  At best it is gross negligence without using the most important tool to man kind, the grey matter between the ears.

h/t Uncle.

*Update* Evidently this is an unsupervised range.  I’ve seen my share of incidents at unsupervised ranges and am not the biggest fan.  Like Wizard, I won’t go to one by myself. Either I or my companion stay at the line and act as an RO.  The only reason cowboy rules like that go on is because no one steps up to the plate.  The results of no one stepping up can be seen above.

SSCC #462 – IMPD

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INDIANAPOLIS – An Indianapolis police officer has been arrested on a drunken driving charge.

Officer Allen Johnson, 25, was pulled over for speeding just after 3 a.m. Thursday in the 5700 block of North Keystone Avenue, police said.

While it was in his personal vehicle, the history of the IMPD with DUIs causes this one to go on the count.

State Sponsored Criminal #462: Allen Johnson

Because it’s only really driving under the influence when you aren’t a cop.

H/t RobertaX

The Futility of Gun Control…

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So lately there has been lots of talk of printed firearms.  What we forget is that working with metal overall isn’t the most difficult of tasks.

It appears that someone took the blade of a spade and made himself an AK Receiver.

Honestly I don’t understand how people can think that any particular item can be “banned” from possession.  Man kind is a tool maker and he can figure out how to make the tools for himself if he cannot purchase them.  Once the cat is out of the bag, it’s out of the bag.  No matter how hard you try, it isn’t going back.  Case in point, working firearms found in prison.  If that doesn’t indicate your efforts will be futile, you need mental help.  The bottom line is people will make weapons, period, end of discussion. 

Now the question is, why are people attempting to keep the honest and law abiding from obtaining them?

via Ry.

Quote of the Day–Joe Huffman(11/23/2012)

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The problem is one of information. You, a fully functional adult, know more than anyone else about your situation and what is best for you. You know a lot more about your family than people not in your family. You know more about how to do your job than people that don’t do you job. You know more about your community than people outside your community. And you know a lot more about your situation than does the mayor of your city, the governor of your state, and the president of the country. Central planning fails because the people with the most information about the situation are not making the decisions.

Joe Huffman – Quote of the day – tdiinva

November 21, 2012

[QFMFT.  Seriously, that sentence above is something that many people do not understand or realize.  Why they lack the comprehension to understand it I don’t know.  The only person that can make the best decisions for you and your family is yourself.  You are the only one with all the information to make an effective decision.

This is why I really don’t like other people making decisions for me, it’s never really done with my best interests at hand. –B]