My webhost has informed me of a security issue with their systems. Evidently a member was able to gain sufficient privileges to change their account balance (( Service with the host is pre-paid, so members must maintain a balance with the host. )), which is obviously bad. Fortunately, they have logs that detail the intrusion, understand how it occurred, and are working on a fix.
They report that the security problem appears to be limited to their administrative systems, not customer sites, but that they may need to do rolling reboots over the next day or so to push out the fix. Any downtime for the next day or two is likely related to that.
This reminds me (and should serve as a reminder to you) that one should keep regular, off-site backups that can be restored to a different host if the need arises. In addition to this blog, I also maintain several other sites with this one host, so extended downtime (which I’ve fortunately never experienced — the host is routinely excellent) would be problematic.
Whee.
Author: azrifleman
Beverage of Choice
It’s been recently reported that North Carolina may soon legalize (( I hate using that term, as the default state of rights is “on” — laws shouldn’t ever need to “allow” something, as all actions that don’t infringe on others rights are, by default, “on” unless a law exists that restricts them. )) beer tastings, bringing them to parity with existing laws on wine tasting.
My response: “Took you long enough!” The depths of stupidity that alcohol-related laws in various states plumb amaze me sometimes. What possible reasons could there be to prohibit the public sampling of various beers?
Of course, there’s always someone who has to be a downer:
Criticism of his proposal comes from social conservatives who say beer has more potential for abuse than wine.
Beer is ?disproportionately consumed in hazardous amounts,? said the Rev. Mark Creech, director of the Christian Action League of N.C., which says beer accounts for 81 percent of all alcohol drunk in such excessive amounts.
It’s also ?the beverage of choice for underage drinkers,? Creech told lawmakers.
This “[insert-item-here] of choice” logic (( It’s hardly logical. )) seems to be something that anti-rights people share, whether they’re opposed to upstanding people possessing guns, sampling beer, or other similar things.
Just as a criminal using a handgun to rob a convenience store should have no bearing whatsoever on my ability to acquire, own, and use handguns in a safe, responsible manner, underage drinkers drinking beer (( Most likely because it’s cheap and “gets the job done.” )) should have no bearing whatsoever on whether or not an adult should be able to go to a public beer tasting.
Do some people drink alcohol to excess? Absolutely. Does beer make up the majority of alcohol drunk to excess? I have no idea, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it were true. Is beer the “beverage of choice” for underage drinkers? I don’t doubt it. Even so, those claims do not matter, because we’re talking about beer tasting in licensed retail stores by adults. The law even limits someone to four (down from six) 2-ounce samples (which I find absurd) per event — that’s two-thirds of a single can of beer. What’s the problem here?
Remember, gun control isn’t about guns — it’s about control. The same thing goes for alcohol control laws.
Anyone find any other topics where “[something] of choice” was an argument used by someone trying to make or keep something illegal or restricted? What about citing the illegal actions and behaviors of minors or criminals in an attempt to restrict the actions of law-abiding adults?
On Bugs
Oh god! It can fly? That’s not fair!
-Louis
He uttered those words in reference to the giant, fearsome beetle-thing that was blocking entrance to my apartment. Or rather, he uttered them after I poked at it with his sword and it started to fly.
Intellectually, I’m not terribly afraid of bugs: they tend to be an annoyance rather than a source of fear. The few insects that bite, sting, or are venomous generally leave me alone and I leave them alone. I don’t have any known allergies to insects, so I have no compelling medical reason to be worried about bugs.
But there’s something about finger-length beetles that give me the heebie-jeebies. Upon seeing this insect, the? words of Admiral Ackbar sprang to mind: “[We] can’t repel firepower of that magnitude!” I’m not exactly cowardly, but this bug still creeped me the hell out. It reminded me of the hockey-puck sized ones I saw in Kenya.
My rock-throwing did nothing (( There’s no way I’m getting close to it. Screw that. )), so we were forced to use the sword, which is a rather effective bug-dislodging device.
While I enjoy and appreciate nature, I like to maintain the boundary between “me” and “fearsomely huge insects” when I’m outside, and particularly so when I’m inside (be it my apartment or a tent).
Damn you .270 Winchester!
Who was the wise guy at Winchester back in the day when they invented .270 Win? What could have possibly gone through their mind?
“Let’s make a new cartridge! Since everyone loves the .30-06 and it’s got a goodly amount of case capacity, let’s essentially neck it down from .30 caliber to .27 caliber and put a new bullet in it! Nobody would ever confuse the two. Ever. Nope. Never.”
Bastards, the lot of them.
I tumble brass based on caliber (e.g. all .30-06, all .308, all .223, etc.) or, if I lack enough of a particular cartridge to make a full tumbler load, neck size (all .30 caliber necks, all .22 caliber necks, etc.) — it keeps the cases from getting stuck together. Since tumbling is hardly a critical stage in the reloading process, I go fairly quickly when I remove brass from my “spent brass from the range” bucket and toss it into the tumbler.
Since I mainly shoot .30-06 and .223, it’s easy to tell them apart. Unfortunately, I’ll occasionally pick up a piece of .270 at the range, as it just happens to be in my .30-06 brass field. As I don’t expect them (( No one expects the Spanish Inquisition! )), I don’t usually keep an eye out for them. It seems that at least one or two always get into each tumbler load of .30-06 brass, and from there into my caliber-specific “clean brass” bins in the closet.
As it turns out, a .30-06 resizing die’s expander pin can blow out .270 to .30 caliber without too much effort. I’ve created not a small number of these “.30-.270s” over the years, but always catch them when it comes to priming them, as I look at the base in detail and read the headstamp. So far, none have made it through the whole process.
Even so, the similarities between the two rounds annoy me to no end. I’m sure it’s a fine round, but it still is far too similar to .30-06 for my taste.
Restaurant Carry Passes AZ Legislature
If my understanding of the email I received from Karen Winfield at the Arizona Legislature is correct, SB1113 (“Restaurant Carry”) passed both the House and Senate last night.
Due to Fun Happy Budget issues and the fact that the legislative “day” doesn’t end so long as the legislature is in session, both the House and Senate stayed in session throughout the night until 7:30am.
SB1113 was the last bill to be voted on (at 6:12am) in the House.
While I’m neither a lawyer nor play one on TV, my understanding is that the bills will now go to the governor for her signature.
Perhaps we can soon join many of the other states that don’t arbitrary prohibit law-abiding people from carrying arms into restaurants that happen to serve alcohol, even if the person carrying does not imbibe.
Update: Of course, the Arizona Daily Star demonstrates PSH while claiming that the bill would allow guns in bars! ZOMG! There’s a few people in the comments thread who freak out, but the majority of comments and “votes” on comments are pro-gun and actually provide some facts. Is it too much to ask for neutral, unbiased news reporting (( Note that I don’t claim to be an actual journalist, nor make any claims about being unbiased. At least I’m upfront about it, though. ))? The bill is, after all, available for anyone to review — couldn’t the Star (or some legal expert on their staff) review it and realize that it’s not a big deal at all?
Long Shot
Anyone have any good advice for a newly-minted graduate with a B.S. in Physics and a minor in math?
After getting out of the army a few years back, I thought it’d be a good idea to finish up my bachelors degree, so I’ve spent the last few years cloistered in the Physics & Atmospheric Sciences building at the University of Arizona. Now, I’m in the home stretch: if everything goes to plan, I will graduate next spring and be married shortly thereafter.
Unfortunately, this brings up the big question, “What next?” Do I go into industry? If so, where? Doing what? Maybe work as a lab technician? Teach? At what level? Do I go on to graduate school? Where? For what ((Physics? Engineering? I really enjoy science, particularly space science (as opposed to, say, quantum mechanics), rockets, etc. and would like to stay involved in related fields. )) Should I pursue a Masters or shoot for the Doctorate?
My soon-to-be-wife is a high school math teacher in the Phoenix region. While she makes a decent salary, it’s insufficient for her to be a sugar mama. Fortunately the grad schools I’ve been looking at will cover my tuition and pay of a stipend (not much, but it’s enough to live on), and the VA will give me ~$600 or so per month plus some money for tuition and books for three years, so we should be reasonably set for money, so long as we’re smart about it.
In addition to actually doing scientific research, I enjoy teaching, and would very much like to be a university professor at some point. In nearly all cases I’ve looked at, this requires a Ph.D. and from what I’ve been able to find out, it’s generally better to get started on this sort of thing early. Alas, I seem to have a bit more generalized love of science than a focus on a specific topic, so finding the necessary focus needed for a doctoral program would be challenging.
It’s a bit of a long shot, but do any of you, the gentle reader, have any advice for a person such as myself? While comments are welcome, I’d really appreciate email, as it allows for me to respond more personally.
Thanks!
Fisking the Daily Star
The Arizona Daily Star published an article in their Sunday Edition that stood out to me when I was grocery shopping today: it had a large, above-the-fold headline entitled, “US makes it easy for gun traffickers.”
While their article is long and makes a weak attempt at appearing balanced, it has some absurdities that I really must point out. I’ve made a few statements in my response that are likely to be common knowledge to gunny folks, though I’d appreciate it if readers could point out where I might find good sources for such statements so I can cite them properly.
Also, I wrote this post rather late at night, so I’m likely to have a few spelling or grammar mistakes. Mea cupla. Continue reading “Fisking the Daily Star”
On Odors
I’m almost afraid to ask what it is that foreign, mostly eastern European/Asian countries (e.g. Serbia, Russia, etc.) put in their powders, but one of the ingredients smells horrible.
I really like Prvi Partizan ammo, as it’s reliable, consistent, well-made, and easily reloadable. The fact that it’s loaded to NATO spec and is commonly available (unlike, say, Federal XM193/XM855) is a big plus. I’ve never had any practical problems with it at all…but it, like the Russian Wolf-brand ammo, smells awful when fired.
You’d think they’d figure out how to make non-stinky ammo…
Tumbling Brass for Fun and Profit
One of the nice things about being in the lab all day is that my apartment is unoccupied. That, combined with the good soundproofing between units means that I can run my tumbler all day without me or my neighbors going crazy from the droning sound.
Due to this fortuitous situation, I’ve been tumbling all my spent brass, both once-fired stuff I’ve shot but also stuff I’ve harvested from the range. I’ve still got a bunch left, but it’s going at a pretty good pace.
I’ll probably run out of brass to tumble in the next few weeks, and so I wanted to extend an offer to my readers: if you mail me your brass in bulk ((Preferably in the same caliber, or at least the same neck diameter — this prevents cases from “nesting.”)), I’ll tumble it to a high shine (( ~7 hours in crushed walnut shells treated with Flitz tumbler additive. )) and send it back. You need only pay for shipping both ways (( Whatever’s cheapest works fine. If you’re in the Tucson or Chandler areas, no shipping is needed.)) and make a small donation to the New Shooter Ammo Fund, say $20/1,000 pieces of brass with a 250 piece minimum.
For a slight additional donation (to be negotiated), I can deprime your boxer-primed cases.
You’ll get your own cases back — I don’t do “case exchange” processing.
Due to size and capacity limitations of my tumbler and press, I can’t accept very large cases like 20mm, .50 BMG, and so forth. Basically, I’ll take anything that can fit in the Lee Universal Depriming Die.
Tumbler time will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, and is dependent on the number and size of cases. Large numbers of big cases will take longer to process than smaller numbers of smaller cases, obviously.
Any money collected will go to the New Shooter Ammo Fund for the purpose of buying ammo for teaching of and use by new shooters, rather than for my own personal use. Donations to the fund are not tax-deductible.
If you’re interested, please send me an email.
Fun at Work
While the Epic Intercubicle Nerf Battle from two weeks ago was fun, my boss just informed us of an upcoming, interesting project: aerial photography.
We need to come up with effective ways to take photos from a long pole, a kite, and a balloon. These contraptions are to be constructed and provided to high school students to do various observations around campus.
I never thought that IT work (( Hey, it helps pay the bills while I finish up my degree. )) would be this much fun.