Sebastian – Page 490 – Shall Not Be Questioned

Home Made Rifles

On a CNC machine. As Uncle says, “Gun control is no match for technology.” It’s amazing to me that people still think you can stop criminals from getting guns, and pooh pooh the idea that even if you instituted a comprehensive ban, they’ll just be made in garages. Uncle has proof that it’s not that hard, especially with modern technology.

My friend Jason has a CNC machine in addition to the 3D printer we made an almost working 30 round magazine with.Â He been bugging me to try to fix the program that’s used to calculate the tool path for his CNC machine so he can turn out an AR-15 receiver on it. He’s quite capable, but doesn’t have the time. Even now, though, I’m not sure I do either. Finding a job is turning out to be close to full time work, and then I’m developing a game of sorts, also in Python.

Interestingly, a Python programming contract job just fell in my lap today, for which I threw my resume into the ring. We’ll see how that goes. I’m more of an IT systems guy than a developer, but beggars can’t be choosers, and if I can pay the bills for six months while I find a more permanent gig, that’s fine by me. I had been eschewing contract work, but there’s a lot more of it out there than full time employment.

Is Gun Control Racist?

Professor Adam Winkler takes a look at the topic, in an article over at the Daily Beast:

Actually, the gun-rights websites are on to something. As I discovered in researching my new book Gunfight: The Battle Over the Right to Bear Arms in America, for much of our history, gun regulation has been tainted by the stains of racism and discrimination. Today, the story is more complex than the simplistic slogans of gun-rights advocates. But there is no denying that racial politics have profoundly shaped Americaâ€™s gun laws.

Professor Winkler is not someone I’d classify as being on our side, but he’s intellectually honest, which puts him in contrast with some of our opponents in the various gun control groups. I may not agree with him on everything, but I can respect his point of view, and his willingness to honestly engage people on both sides of the issue.

Fuel Planning Fail

If this guy’s fuel planning skills were as good as his water landing skills, the plane might have come through. A pilot was delivering a plane, a twin engine Cessna 310G, from Monterey, California to Hilo, Hawaii, when he ran out of gas:

Thanks to the wonders of these modern internets, you can see that a few days ago, he tried the same flight and had to turn around. Here is the track of the actual flight. He almost made it, crashing into the water just short of Hilo.

Specs suggest a Cessna 310G shouldn’t be able to fly to Hawaii. I’m guessing there must be some kind of spare fuel system you can rig up to essentially turn the thing into a flying gas tank. I guess it’s cheaper to fly the plane than to ship it, but I’m also guessing that particular fact wasn’t countered with the high probability of having to ditch the plane in the drink if, despite all your modifications, you’re still really tight on fuel and maybe had a bit more headwind than you accounted for starting out.

Jerry Brown Signs Open Carry Ban

It’s disappointing, but if Jerry Brown was going to veto one for us, I wouldn’t have expected it to be this one. It will also help deal with the issue of federal judges arguing “Well, you know, if some form of carry is allowed, then the constitutional requirement is satisfied, even if it’s unloaded open carry.” While I’ve been impressed to the degree that federal Judges have twisted intermediate scrutiny to uphold every restrictive gun law in creation, this is now,Â unambiguously, a complete ban on carrying a firearm, except with a permit that’s issued in California in an arbitrary and capricious manner in most juridictions.

Meet Some Real Gun Violence Prevention Activists

This is what groups like CSGV and Brady Campaign would look like if they were really about gun violence prevention, rather than being about collecting money from suburbanites who think guns are icky. I don’t think this group, “CeaseFire Philadelphia”, is affiliated with CeaseFire PA. CeaseFire Philadelphia seems to be about actuallyÂ interveningÂ with troubled young men, to get them to give up a life of violence, using older men from the same neighborhoods, who have since given that life up. According to the article, it seems to work. I think programs like this are a great thing if they work.

CeaseFire PA, on the other hand, have a number of members that live in rough and tumble neighborhoods like Rador and Ardmore, and I think perhaps have seen some of the individuals from CeaseFire Philadelphia, when they drive quickly through those neighborhoods with the doors locked after getting lost on the way back from dinner and a show.

Happy Columbus Day

I’ve always wanted to have off for Columbus Day, so I could know what it feels like to be a federal worker. Well, now I finally have a Columbus Day off for the first time since I was in college. I’d be more thrilled if the circumstances were different, but I’ll take what I can get these days.

UPDATE: Quick Columbus day trivia. Columbus Day is something celebrated more among Italian-Americans than many other ethic groups. Philadelphia, traditionally having a largish Italian population, renamed a road in the city to Columbus Boulevard. I still call it Delaware Avenue.

Working on a New Look

I finally made a development copy of Snowflakes in Hell to start working on our new look. Our new look will include ads, but I’m going to do my best to keep them tasteful. I’m not going to take huge flashing banner ads or anything like that. I’ll do my best to boot ads that I find annoying.

There’s just not really any way I can continue to justify the expense of keeping the blog running with all the hope and change that’s happening lately. This blog should, by my projections, make enough to cover costs, and that’s all I’m really looking for. No one is going to get rich running a gun blog.

But the biggest change you’ll probably notice, unless I can’t make my idea for it work (I’m a horrible graphic artist), is a name change for the blog. With the exception of the name, and a new look and feel, it’ll be the same blog. Same posts, same archives, and same comments as always. If links worked before, they’ll still work. I am looking at implementing a few requested enhancements people asked for.

I picked the name “Snowflakes in Hell” hastily, never thinking I’d keep this up. Ever since I passed the 1000 visitors a day mark, I’ve hated it. I’ve also hated it when I introduce myself as a blogger, and I get a weird look from the uninitiated when I tell them the name. Rather than talking about the blog, I get to spend the first 10 minutes explaining the name. I’ve also, rather humorously, heard people that did not know I was Sebastian mention they found something on this site “Snowflakes in Hell,” but they didn’t understand what kind of site it was. With my name and theme, who can blame them? I want a theme and a name that draws people in. I think a more relevant name and theme will be necessary to take this blog to the next level, and continue to grow my audience, and improve my brand.

There will be a new URL associated with the new blog name, but the old URL will still be 100% functional if you’re a creature of habit. RSS feeds should continue to work as normal. We will still be blogging here as Sebastian and Bitter. I hope you’ll all keep reading, and I hope you like the new look and feel.

UPDATE: I should say “working on a new look and feel” = “battling endlessly with poor WordPress themes and plugins.” Snowflakes in Hell makes use of about a dozen plugins. Many of them don’t work nicely with these newfangled highly configurable themes. I’m having all kinds of problems getting some of them to work.

For the Love of John Moses Browning

Caleb talks about why we love the 1911 so:

[W]e love 1911s because there are quintessentiallyÂ American. Like big fast muscle cars, the 1911 eschews European trends like big magazines full of tiny little bullets and seems to say that â€œif you canâ€™t get it done with 7 rounds, bullets arenâ€™t your problem, you just suck.â€

I am an unapologetic driver of one of the ugliest cars Honda ever made, and while my computers were “Designed in California,” they were definitely made by exploited workers in China.

But being a practical kind of guy, my 1911s are safe queens, and I have plenty of reasons to carry more rounds. If I’m going to bear that extra weight on my belt, I want it to be hot lead, and not cold steel.

The Eric Holder Defense

The BattleSwarm Blog notes Eric Holder’s latest defense, “â€œI didnâ€™t lie, I swear, I was just incompetent” It’s kind of sad when those are your choices.

Everybody’s a Freak

I don’t know how people on the other side of our issue can look at videos, and press accounts like this, and then come to the conclusion that gun rights advocates are weirdos and lunatics.

I don’t really bat an eye when I’m at a gun event and I see camo. It’s kind of like the tie-dye of our side. But the other side accuses us of all manner of freakiness and extremism. I’m trying to think of what most of our folks would think if someone showed up to a political event in a dress military uniform from the SS or, if they wanted to be more stylish, an Italian military dress uniform from the Fascist era? I’m pretty sure most of us would elbow each other, and mutter, “Who the hell is that weirdo?” He would be made to feel unwelcome.

Yeah, sorry folks, no one gets a free ticket out of the freak show. But if I had to choose between having Ted Nugent on my side, or this guy, I’ll take Nugent any day of the week.