Sunday, Gunnie Fun Day

I went shooting today with a couple of my coworkers. While my shoulder’s still sore (some seven hours later) from firing two rounds from a 10-gauge shotgun, it’s a good kind of sore. We fired my new .500 S&W Magnum NEF Handi-Rifle, which surprised us all with a light recoil. As usual, Belladonna was the belle of the ball, as several folks danced with her for their first time. Meanwhile, I had a chance to test-fire HTP’s 124-grain 9mm JHP ammo from both Belladonna and my Ruger SR9c, both of which had no problems with this ammo.

To sum up, it was a Sunday morning well spent.

A Quote for Today

From TRADOC Pamphlet 525-8-2, The U.S. Army Learning Concept for 2015:

“Given the assumption that existing U.S. education models will continue to degrade, and physical and values preparation will continue to decline, IMT [Initial Military Training] must overcome negative learning models and a lack of physical and emotional preparation that should be found in the pre-entry civilian environment.”

A Quote (from memory) for Today

This quote for today is pretty much word-for-word. However, since I’m quoting, by memory, from an article I read in an issue of analog SCIENCE FICTION/SCIENCE FACT sometime around 1976*, I can’t vouch for complete accuracy. The principle remains intact, so here’s my Quote for Today:

“Terrorists who only succeed in blowing themselves up are not terrifying, but merely amusing.”

* I’m pretty certain that I read the article during either my 7th-grade or 8th-grade years, so I split the difference. The article in question discussed some problems that terrorists would need to overcome in any attempt to build a working fission device. IIRC, it took as a baseline assumption that said terrorists had access to all required materials for such a device, up to and including weapons-grade fissile materials in critical-mass quantities. The design concept from the article, though not transportable, did have a certain elegance….

22 April in History

As an historically-significant date, 22 April is framed by two events: Vladimir Lenin’s birth in 1870, and the first Federally-recognized Earth Day in 1970 (the date was chosen by Senator Gaylord Nelson [D-Wisconsin], who claimed not to know about the Lenin connection) .

There is, between these two socialist holidays, another significant 22 April anniversary, one that went rather badly for the socialists.

On 22 April 1951, the Communist Chinese forces (CCF) in Korea launched the Chinese Fifth Phase Campaign, with the intent of destroying the 1st and 6th ROK Divisions, the 3d US Infantry Division, the Turkish Brigade and the 27th and 29th British Brigades. In order to clear the way to retaking Seoul, the CCF needed to wipe out these units.

The CCF hadn’t reckoned with the Glosters.

From the evening of 22 April 1951 until the morning of 25 April 1951, at ruinous cost, the Glosters held Hill 235. In so doing, they disrupted the CCF offensive to such a degree that UN forces were able to block any CCF advance on Seoul.

Another Roll on the Random Thoughts Table

If the opposite of “pro” is “con,” does that mean that overly-cheerful people should be prescribed Conzac?

Random Thought for Today

In the song “The Ballad of John and Yoko,” try replacing the line “They look just like two gurus in drag” with “She looks just like Cthulhu in drag.” It makes even more sense after the replacement, doesn’t it?

Thanks, Craigslist, for the Post Fodder!

I’ve been thinking about buying a used RV for cash. That way, even if my current job is downsized, I’ll own my residence (even if I won’t necessarily own the place where it rests at night). One logical place for me to look for a used RV for sale is my local Craigslist.org RV page.

While I would prefer to buy an affordable motor home (for its mobility), I’m also quite willing to look at affordable trailers. Imagine, though, how my brain begged for bleach to scrub the following post forever from my memory:

i am saling this trailer cuz i am trying to go to school [emphasis added] i am saling it because i don’t need it anymore and if u have any questions please feel free to call me at 702 717 5535 and we have the title to it and it has a new fridge and microwave and new blinds and we currently got the unit in Eloy AZ but we can make an appointment to show you the trailer and tell you more about it and we are asking 1200 our best offer and it has a working hot water heater and two propane tanks if i don’t answer please leave a voice mail and ill get back to you as soon as i can thanks for your interest or you can make me an offer i dont take checks or cashiers check thanks [punctuated exactly as originally posted]

Dear DEITY$, what post-elementary school would even consider accepting someone who displays this level of command of English writing?