RIFLEMAN'S JOURNAL - FEBRUARY 2006

Finished Herman's Call to Duty, quite tasty, good characters, very good action, two interwoven storylines a half-century apart, vivid word-pictures of aerial combat with a DeHaviland Mosquito shedding chunks of maschinengewehr-molested plywood. Starting John Ringo's Princess of Wands, "starting a new series," paranormal detective stories I think.

1067 - Thursday, 2 February 2006: Ringo off to a running start as usual.

Reader sends another Bad Cop story. Found a few more Bads and Stupids via KABA.

1068 - Friday, 3 February 2006: Bleah.

Direct deposit exactly eight cents more than rent. At least I'm caught up on the phone and electric bills and have enough left over to reach the next paycheck and maybe take my sisters out for burgers, but not Mongolian grill. Online banking: ISP checks (one from November) have finally cleared and my checkbook is balanced. And it looks like I never got an ISP bill for January, hm. Cue ominous-dying-ISP music again.

Storm warning, high winds expected through tomorrow. Already hitting the coast.

State of the Union address being dissected. (Tony Snow seems to be getting less moderate. Michael Savage getting even more frustrated.) Maybe I'll puke over some bits of the address after all. 100,000 teachers? Clinton-esque. And they won't be conservative teachers, or even centrist or apolitical - they'll be members of the NEA, one of the most dangerous and destructive organizations in the country where the malleable minds of American children are concerned. Ethanol from grass clippings? Sounds downright collectivist. Hydrogen? Well maybe, despite Snow going "HindenburgHindenburgHindenburg", if market and industry are allowed to develop the technology without having to spend ten dollars for PC ADA Affirmative Action Eco-Freak crap for every dollar they spend on R&D. This is not a republican, conservative president or administration. My only consolation is that I am morally certain Kerry would be hiking my taxes to pay Danegeld to radical Islam, while sending thugs to kick down my door, steal the rest of my guns, and stomp on poor old Fuji.

I wouldn't mind having a hydrogen car. And a solar-powered electrolysis rig to separate out the fuel. (There is occasional sunshine in Oregon to go with the plentiful rain.) Actually I'd rather like such a setup, such a vehicle would be off the grid for fuel at least.

Surveillance, still. ...All right, I trust George W. Bush with the narrowly-focused powers NSA has been using to eavesdrop on terrorist communications to and from the US. I damn sure wouldn't trust Hillary or any other Democrat short of Zell Miller or maybe, on a good day, Joe Lieberman. (And probably not McCain either.) And let's not forget that Slick Willy had bin Laden in his hands and let him go. Democrats cannot be trusted with the security of this nation. Or anything else of consequence.

Actually Princess of Wands doesn't go tearing off quite as quickly as Ghost, which was an E-ticket ride from page one, but it's fine, just fine. Think, X-Files, with more action and more answers.

1069 - Saturday, 4 February 2006: Up earlier than wont, crash-clean hovel again, not too mortifying. (Also took opportunity to finally relocate one of the mangled Homak cabinets so I'm not tripping over it fifteen times a day - with new locks both will be fully functional again, and the Sentry still is.) Hit several arms shops (list provided by Cruffler) with sisters, fondled many things, too many to take notes. Focusing on revolvers for second sis' first piece, ideally a 4" .357 with adjustable sights (as in the stolen GP100), a multirole piece suitable for defense, recreation, and competition (like my GP100, which I sorely miss). Nothing exactly suitable found; grip size is an issue, but that's why we're starting with revolvers as there's more room to work. S&W M65LS, the new M60 5" adjustable, a Taurus M65, some of the old M10s, fit her hand well, but the only one with adjustable sights was the M60 and that's a five-shot when (for example) plate match rules, or at least the realities of competition, pretty much require six. (Taurus Trackers are handsome pieces but the muzzle porting has disadvantages, namely flash and blast, especially if firing from a retention position. Used S&W M66 or M686 over $400, gawd, you might as well buy a NIB Taurus!) Also I'm pushing her toward a full .357 for versatility as opposed to the .38-only M10s. She likes the same sight picture I do, a red ramp front and square white outline rear. Second sis, down here during the week on business, has to head back this afternoon; shooting with first sis tomorrow, unless all the R/Os are flaking out for the Superbowl.

Storm-that-(mostly-)wasn't. Some limited power outages (not here), some wind damage (ditto).

New neighbor moving in. White male, (badly-faded) North American Hunting Club decal in back window of pickup truck opposite (less-faded) Old Glory, hm. No further details at this time.

New club newsletter - February plate match listed but sis may not have the funds to drive 200 miles down and back to participate. Both sisters planning on March plate match but second sis doesn't yet have a suitable piece of her own (if I still had the GP100 I could loan that, would-having-had long-since whittled a smaller grip module from a spare, while I used the P35 and first sis used her Taurus, and we'd be all set).

FAL match listed (will have to borrow FAL from Cruffler - or not, according to the blurb an actual FAL is not required, maybe I'll have my M44 Mosin Mojoed by then; however last year only FAL shooters were eligible to win the sponsor's prize, an FAL parts kit - ah, all rifles welcome but only FAL shooters can win, first (and only mentioned) prize being a refund of the $15 match fee) (hm, a 300-point (10 rounds each slow-prone, rapid-prone, and slow-standing) match at 100 yards on the SR1 target (for which I still have plenty of practice centers), this might be a good introduction to highpower for both sisters, as opposed to the 400-point (plus rapid-sitting), 200- or even 300-yard PIG or AvA - first sis brought her Mosin, hope to practice; yeeesss, first sis' Mojo91/30, my MojoTimneyVZ and my soon-to-be-Mojo44, that's three decent rifles for three shooters, and mild(er) handloads all around), but on the same day (Sunday the 23rd) as the April plate match (calendar page says the same thing), emailing activities director about that ‘cause I want to shoot in both! My understanding is that the club avoids scheduling two matches on the same day, so that no more than one of the three lines is closed at any time. Last year the FAL match was on Saturday and the plate match the following Sunday.

Hm, neither sister, especially second, have yet developed a tolerance for highpower rifle recoil, even less so in match positions, even with my really-quite-mild 125gr Mosin load. Tha' is something we sha' have ta rrremadie.

1070 - Sunday, 5 February 2006: So sis comes over in the morning and we chat about various stuff and we get to the space program and how NASA sucks and space exploration should be taken away from the government and given to the private sector and we'd have hotels on Luna in two years. Sis suggests the project be given to a Vegas developer and there'd be a casino there in a few months and then she mentions Hooters and flash, I imagine: Hooters in one-sixth gravity.

And I just had to ‘blog that. :)

To the range! Some handgun practice - sis' Taurus is so much smoother in double action than the GP100 I'm accustomed to that my first shot was quite a flyer. Nice piece. Something over 200 rounds through the P35, nudged rear sight in its dovetail just a bit - I don't think it's going to be quite as accurate as the GP100 but I could be wrong. I am now highly confident of my ability to compete in the plate matches with it. Exactly one malfunction, with the last of the KRD 15-round magazines it came with - sis was shooting at the time and the details escaped as she cleared the malfunction but probably it slipped to half-cock, as I determined those magazines caused it to do. So with that magazine removed from service I still have two 13s, two 14s, and a 22 that came with the Marlin Camp Carbine and which I cut a new catch slot in, all of which appear to be reliable. Very slight peening on the barrel lugs but not very worried about it at this point.

200 rounds, heh. More for fun in a weekend than most cops shoot for qualification and training in a year. I will soon issue a personal challenge, on the cops page, once I get the details straight, for a contest of marksmanship between lowly "civilian" peasant me with my scruffy old FrankenPistole, against any uniform-wearing, cop-car-driving law enforcement officer with his department-issue Glock or SIG or Beretta. (Clark Rifles president Bob Kadow, a county sheriff deputy nearing retirement (or so I gather from sidetalk at club meetings), not included - he is not of the New Breed of blue/greenshirts and probably knows quite well which end the hot stuff comes out of - as for his ideological purity, in the last meeting he exhorted the membership to become and remain politically aware and active in defense of RKBA. I still twitch when I see him in uniform though.) I'll issue a more general challenge right now (though it might give match director Jim Irion a spot of indigestion): any blueshirt or greenshirt in the area, spend seven bucks and compete in the Steel Plate Match, fourth Sunday of every month, and get your authoritarian backside whupped by 12-year-old Tom Booker, and me. If you don't get thrown off the range for breaking the safety rules (hence Irion reaching for the antacid, heh). (Insert standard "these opinions are my own and do not reflect" disclaimer.)

Note that Clark Rifles' page for the plate match is out of date as of this writing. For one thing the fee is now $7. More detailed descriptions of the match itself can be found by clicking on the highlighted dates here, and another here.

Some days ago a reader suggests that being so openly critical of law enforcement might draw inappropriate levels of attention to me, as "cops read ‘blogs too." (Deputies Burton and Swail (hsssss) didn't even know what a weblog was.) But I've had it with being treated like a third- or fourth-class peasant by the King's Men. I hope the local blueshirts do read all this and get it through their heads that police are becoming the enemy of the people. And that they're mostly lousy shots.

Then to the lower range. Sis maintaining recoil tolerance on her Mojo91/30, getting decent accuracy from the bench (at the end of the session, four 5-round strings on SR1 centers at 100 yards from the bench - did not drop below 90%, best string 48/2X of possible 50, 96%), but after knee surgeries, difficulty getting into prone position. If we lived closer together I could drag her out of her house and browbeat her every other weekend ‘til the FAL match and get her trained up good ‘n' quick, but 200 miles, at these gas prices (Portland ARCO $2.03, Vancouver $2.07), precludes more frequent visits. At least she's mobile enough for plate matches. Anyway instructed her to review Cooper's Art and Fred's Guide.

Rarity sighting: Marlin (modern) 1894, pistol grip stock, .41 Magnum (with scope). Somewhere a member of the Cult of the Forty-One is drooling. Oh, saw a new-production S&W M57, blued, 6" I think (maybe 6.5", was that how they did it?), at Keith's Sporting Goods in Gresham, looks just like it's supposed to except for the zit. Did not note price, busy being native guide for sisters.

Sis did well with the P35 and liked it and might get one of her own before a 1911. Ammunition would be cheaper at least, and I've pretty much learned my way around inside a P35 by now so she'd get free gunsmithing if something went wrong with it. (I'm not at all familiar with 1911 guts... yet.) .22LR conversions available for either of course, another selling point.

Superbowl, eh. Lefty band The Rolling Stones at halftime? Even football is being taken away from the Red States. Not that I care about football, but lots of my comrades-in-culture do.

Club activities director responds, FAL match and April plate match are on the same day because that's the only day some participants can get off from work. Darn. I'll train for both and if sis can make it down here I'll do the rifle match as her coach, unless she'd rather do the plate match. If sis can't make it I'll... um... I really should try the M44, and I'm expecting to use the P35 in the February and March plate matches - um. Hm. Rifleman's Journal. Hmm. Or maybe borrow an FAL from Cruffler again, I dunno.

1071 - Monday, 6 February 2006: Bleah.

Islam sucks. Maybe I'll get some Danish cheese or something.

Springlike weather today. If the dumpster were gone I'd be fiddling with the car, priority to bypassing the engine fans with a switch on the dashboard. Well, I need another paycheck for parts anyway, and it is still February, it probably won't blow up right away. Never did get around to replacing the spark plug wires though, that's also high on the list. Maybe a new rotor, or whatever this car uses, while I'm at it. I did get the plugs a couple months ago.

New neighbors, looks like a young couple, neutral vibe so far.

Looks like I got all the files I cared about off the old computer, wiped it. Will transfer 8Gb drive to the new machine, set up the OS again, then I should be able to hook the drives together with the IDE cable and suck the files off like I normally would. And maybe this time I can get the USB printer working!

Cruffler sends me e-newsletters from web hosting service GoDaddy.com, sale on now, sometime this week will see if I can purchase an appropriate personal domain and get it running, giving me knowledge and experience for possible future work as a web designer. Need to get it done and learn from it within the week, so I'll know what information I need to get to set up the new ACSW site before the next show this Saturday.

Princess of Wands - Ringo good, knows his stuff. Cruffler would hate it - right now the heroine and sidekicks are hunting a necromancer at a science-fiction convention. :) Now me, I've only been to one con in my life and that was way back in the late ‘80s (hate crowds) (and amorality; it seems I'm getting more prudish as I age), but I'm getting most of the jokes. -Aaaaand I might have to go to another con someday if the Baen Brigade hangs out as described (several authors and other figures written into the story, not unlike Niven/Pournelle/Flynn's Fallen Angels).

1072 - Tuesday, 7 February 2006: Work bleah.

Looks like I'll be going with Dotster - if I read it right, .NAME domains, with half-Gb hosting and the usual stuff, is $27.95 for two years. But, gotta wait for the next direct deposit. Caught up on bills but just enough left over for gas and food (and, of course, lottery tickets) for this week. So Friday I hope to be setting up my own personal domain and what I learn from that will help me set up one for ACSW, not least by knowing which questions to ask of the club's officers.

Probably a plate match in February, almost certainly one in March, then seven more this year not counting April, so I'll be going to the FAL match. "A pistol is for fighting your way to a rifle."

More spring weather, clear and sunny and in the 50s F by day, but near freezing at night. Somewhere I read that in ancient Egypt, servants of the Pharoah would put water on wide, shallow trays, leave it out in the desert at night, and have ice in the morning. Of course it is (or should be) common knowledge that deserts get very cold at night; there's little to retain the heat of the day, like clouds or vegetation or moisture. (Reportedly our guys had some hard nights early in Gulf War One, as they were issued warm-climate clothing and only warm-climate clothing.)

1072 - Wednesday, 8 February 2006: Bleah.

Finished Ringo's Princess of Wands, rather lighter fare than... nearly anything else he's done, even with the... graphic bits. Got some Joss Whedon in it I think. In brutal honesty, not the most original work I've ever read; wasn't there a series of novels and/or an RPG with a similar premise (secret church/government agency secretly fighting demons), Section 13 or something? But, it was still plenty tasty and I await the next installment. Now on another paperback from the donated stack, Blackout by John Nance, an aviation/terrorism thriller - again part of a series, this one I haven't read any of. Eh, it seems structured well enough to stand alone. (Weber's 17-volume HonorVerse can't do that but I don't expect it to.)

(Speaking of Weber, At All Costs kinda struck me as leaning in a Bujold/Vorkosigan direction, a little, in some bits. Not that there's anything wrong with that.)

Reader donates OEM copies of Win98 full and WinXP Home upgrade! A couple-few readers suggested Linux - maybe if I get ambitious later, with surplus machines, but for now I'll stick with what I know.

1073 - Thursday, 9 February 2006: Frost on the windshield this morning but sunny again after work. Evening, high winds and cold.

It's been so long since I had a) income and b) gumption for reloading I'm not sure exactly what I need on my next visit to Sportsman's Warehouse. Some .323s, probably another box of .358 (plated) - with MegaPacks of 9x19mm constantly in stock at Bi-Mart (and now, I notice, at G.I. Joe's), and with the P35 liking that load, I'll not bother loading any of that for a while (still have a pile of (inaccurate but at least reliable) 147gr plated). More .311s probably wouldn't hurt... ah, I have a box of Hornady 123gr .310 I got at Bi-Mart, I'll try those over the same load I'm using for the 125gr Sierra, though they just don't look like they'll be as accurate. I'll no doubt need powder, hm - everything's crammed in the cabinets now, I'll have to inventory. IMR4064 for the Mosin of course - what was I using for the VZ last? 49.0gr W748, an easy-metering ball powder (35 rounds left, and a hundred-odd processed cases). Actually Bi-Mart carries that (I think) and they're having a reloading sale through the 15th. Primers? Got a couple-few batches worth at the moment I think. Ah, buckshot, for the superlight loads for the loaned-out double, and Federal 12S0 wads. A couple more trays of shotgun primers too. Gotta keep my sisters supplied!

And I have to start saving again too, for emergencies like the car blowing up or the hovel burning down or assault-and-moonbattery at work. Forgot lottery tickets for Wednesday.

Ugh, big sizing project ahead, Mosin and Mauser brass. Handgun brass isn't such a hassle, with straight cases and carbide dies and the mostly-functional Pro 1000, but I still have to do rifle cases on the single stage, lubing each case and hauling on the handle with one hand while trying to keep the table from shattering with the other. And the old Compaq machine is taking up half the reloading table right now, right where the single-stage would go.

On second thought I'm using maybe 25Mb now, GoDaddy's sale offers 50Mb for about a third the price per year, do I really need a half-Gb for a personal site? Well, no such thing as too much ammo or server space, hm.

And a Mojo for the Mosin M44. And car parts. Can't do this all at once of cour$e. Hm.

1074 - Friday, 10 February 2006: Another survivor of the Beaverton Dilbertville applying for work at the current place, one of the better production-floor team leads. Her being moved to the office probably marked the beginning of the terminal Dilbert phase for that company.

Friday traffic, yecchh. No shopping today, just back to the hovel and decompress.

Nance's Blackout is... not Clancy, nor Ringo. But it's not unreadable. Except the protagonist is an FBI agent and every time she introduces herself to another character my inner editor quips, "Burn any churches lately?"

Going with GoDaddy's 50Mb option to start - plus private registration (so not everybody can look me up on WhoIs), looks like $16.30 for two years! Although this may just be for domain registration and not actual server space. Anyway I have the name now, until February 2008. Trying to log into the hosting account, it may take a day or three to percolate through so I can get my FTP addresses and whatnot.

1075 - Saturday, 11 February 2006: Barberton - web stuff, for ACSW and Cox Knives. Still learning.

Cruffler shows off his "bubba-ized" Lee-Metford, tells how he'll describe it as a "bubba" on the lists just to watch the reaction - it's a period Gibbs/London sporterization, real Ghost and the Darkness stuff.

To the range noonish. Somehow I wasn't quite in the mood, or maybe the lines were just too crowded. A little pistol practice with my 147gr handloads, which are still inaccurate, but I know the P35 likes the UMC 115gr FMJ, but I can't use jacketed rounds on the handgun line's practice plates, but I sensed strong indications that with an accurate load I can go Really Fast with this pistol as compared to the revolver. Then to the lower rifle line, just some bench practice on SR1C with the MojoVZ, checking sights - quit with 10 Mauser rounds left but I seem to have a good 100-yard zero with the long WW1 bayonet fixed; the best string of five was 49/3X! Must buy more .323s (then move the old computer off the reloading table and set up the single-stage again). Split about 1:30, gotta look into web stuff.

Later, laundry, bleah, and groceries, splurged some on comfort food.

1076 - Sunday, 12 February 2006: Zzz.

Gun Talk live from SHOT Show, in the Taurus booth, too many new things to list. S&W introducing an AR clone; SIG introducing 556 semiautomatic rifle based on the Swiss 550 series; Kimber offering larger-caliber rifles and snooty shotguns.

Through Dotster, secured ACSWW.ORG, but now I learn that hosting is sold separately - will shop around (ditto for JEFFERSONIAN.NAME through GoDaddy). At least the name is paid for ‘til 12 February 2008 and I should be able to figure out the rest before the next Barberton show.

Speaking of burning churches, back when it was six I heard that five had mostly-white congregations and only one was mostly-black, so it's not racially-motivated (in the conventional, mainstream-media sense). And now I hear it's up to ten and the ethnicity is evenly split. Sounds to me like someone is out to get Christians. Indulging in utterly baseless speculation, I'll give even odds it's either a "peaceful, spiritual" Islamist or a "tolerant, inclusive" Democrat. "And he that hath no sword...."

1077 - Monday, 13 February 2006: Bleah Monday.

Church burnings in Alabama, now someone Molotovs a bank in Georgia, and not even for the first time. What the heck is going on down there?

Reader suggests Telana for web hosting.

Another reader informs me that the series/RPG I was reminded of by Ringo's Princess of Wands is called Bureau 13. (I read one of the books once years ago.) Doesn't look like plagiarism though.

Rumors that Colt, or at least the civilian component, is out of business, or at least changing hands. Crappy management, methinks. (Gun companies got Dilbert too I guess.) Reports that Ithaca is coming back under a slightly different name. (Remember that the Ithaca M37 is, by not much of a stretch, a John Browning design, based on the expired patent for his 20-gauge-only Remington M17.)

Helping second sis shop for... something... via the net. I'm still pushing her toward a 4" stainless .357 with adjustable sights, but grip size is still an issue, as is cost. So far she likes some Taurus rimfire models (which I wouldn't at all mind having in my own collection), but as I've said, years ago when I first had enough money at one time to buy one NIB firearm, I chose the GP100 and never regretted it. Versatility. It can be loaded all the way down to target wadcutters and all the way up to 158gr or even heavier (Sierra offers a 170JHP and a 180FMJ) anti-velociraptor rounds. At the low end it can punch paper or tumble tin cans or add squirrel to the pot; at the other end it's arguably enough for deer; and in between it's plenty for defense. Anyway, sent her the URL for GunBroker to expand her shopping horizons. -First sis spends hours torturing herself on GunBroker and is probably suffering withdrawal as her home computer's net connection is down. :(

Finished Nance's Blackout, frankly not up to my standards. Baen (and before that, Clancy) has spoiled me. Next I guess is Steven Kyle's Beyond Recall, a bio-thriller. Gotta have something to read.

When my sisters were visiting, I briefly tortured myself at one of the shops with a .45ACP EAA Witness, sigh. But on further consideration, I think my first .45ACP will have to be a 1911... and for a Witness I'm kinda thinking of 10x25mm. Some folks compare it to the .41 Magnum, and having 15+1 rounds of that in hand would be quite comforting. -If, of course, I could afford to feed it enough to practice enough to tame it.

Eh, vaporware. Money. Car insurance first. And next paycheck, renew GOA and SAF and OFF. And the next paycheck is rent again, and, and....

Elsewhere, a little justice.

1078 - Wednesday, 15 February 2006: Not everyone in show business is on the Other Side. This particular one, I'd heard of before.

But Al Gore (Still) Hates America.

Can't figure out Kyle's Beyond Recall, either it's an eco-freaky message piece or the message is to show how freaky the eco-freaks are. In fairness it is of higher quality than Nance's Blackout, but I'm impatient for another Baen to come through in the library's hold queue. Maybe I'll just grab a Patton or Rommel bio off the shelf at my local branch.

Monday off, "Presidents'" Day. The Federalist Patriot recently had a satisfying rant on the utter inappropriateness of equating Washington with Lincoln. Anyway the day off will cost me, oh, maybe sixty bucks net, as I probably haven't been with this temp service enough hours to qualify for holiday pay. What the heck, I'll give up $60 once in a while to not have to get out of bed on a Monday.

1079 - Thursday, 16 February 2006: W Kethcup Withdraws All Google Ads ‘cause Google is helping communist China censor the internet and that's Wrong. -I almost never use ketchup (nor catsup neither), but if I did I'd buy W. If I owned a restaurant it would be the official house brand.

Learning more about web hosting, have a placeholder up now for the new address, but the free space from GoDaddy that came with the domain registration comes with advertising space over which I have no control. Once I get regular hosting set up it'll be a simple matter of dumping the files, which are already on Iguanasoft and, for testing & development, duplicated on my home machine, onto the new server. I'd've made more progress before now if I wasn't burned out from work and the long commute every day.

Extra-cold forecast for the weekend, but "no moisture." Which is good ‘cause Portland is in the "OMG" belt. I learned how to drive in ice a couple years ago, but these cityfolk doofuses....

Another webcomic to add to my daily list.

1080 - Friday, 17 February 2006: Cold - about freezing this afternoon - with high winds in an utterly clear sky.

Burnout. Vegging. Yay three-day weekend.

Kyle's Beyond Recall does appear to be an eco-freaky message piece: "Overpopulation! Depleted resources! Social breakdown! Humans are eee-villl!!!" But I'm almost done with it.

More Ringo forthcoming, including the third in the Paladin of Shadows series started by Ghost. Must watch library website closely to get into the hold queue first. :)

Crap! The shower pipes, which were clear this morning, are frozen now at 5:15pm with sunshine streaming through the hovel's windows! Fortunately I still have the garden hose and faucet adapter for the bathroom sink, which hasn't frozen yet. Slapping more weatherstripping on the door, attacking bathroom window with expanding foam. Ancient electric heater in the bathroom wall turned on. Fuji curled up in the dirty laundry.

Hot spiced cider! Alpine brand, Swiss Miss is weak.

Portgate - US port security is being sold to an Arab company at the direction of the "republican" Bush administration and one of the most treasonous creatures in federal government, Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), is foremost in pointing out the risks to national security. If I used alcohol I'd'a drunk myself to death by now. Is there a "lesser evil" anymore?

1081 - Saturday, 18 February 2006: Zzzzz.

Shower pipes still frozen, sink bypass working.

Catching end of Jeff Kropf Show, interview with former Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Tom Cox, now running for city position as Republican, discussing (and dissecting) this year's candidates (and platforms, like the proposal to make health care a state constitutional right) from Socialist Parties A & B.

Preparing to retransfer everything to the 8Gb hard drive from the Compaq machine, into the faster donation.

...Aaaand about eight hours later I have come to the conclusion that BILL GATES IS THE ANTICHRIST!!! WinXP is the most horrendous operating system it has yet been my misfortune to encounter! Fortunately the 4Gb drive has a (minimally-dys-)functional Win98 setup running and I can just swap the IDE cable around and I'm back where I was this morning. Will try reinstalling that, to get my printer working (which, in fairness, I did with WinXP, but the modem wouldn't work), later. -No, I'm not throwing out the donated CD, I'll keep it as an extra option for future projects. I think my sister's machine runs XP. Maybe I'll need to reinstall it on someone else's troubled machine, into the toolbox it goes. I appreciate the donation, but I'm going back to Win98! Gaah!!

That's it, I'm having some french toast sticks from the frozen-foods section dammit. And syrup.

Oh, and the shower pipes unfroze about noon.

While various versions of Windows were installing and configuring I processed some brass. Tomorrowish I think I'll load up some Mosin - but I still don't have the Mojo for the M44, hm. And I have to think ahead to rent and bills and fuel and such. Grumble.

Here is a more detailed account of Portgate.

Self-toasting kitty. -Back when the hovel still had a baseboard heater, and back when it still worked, Fuji would come out from under the computer desk with a herringbone pattern singed in his fur.

Finishing Kyle's Beyond Recall and what a load of crap, with the US president caving to terrorist demands to spend a percentage of the US Gross National Product on a commie social scheme. And of course it's eee-vill big-business conservatives who are too stupid and arrogant to immediately roll over and submit to such rational demands (the alternative being the release of a warbug to kill millions). Phooey! Gimme some Ringo dammit. And send Stephen Kyle to Fallujah to preach his appeasement. Now what the heck am I supposed to read? I'll get something at the library tomorrow. Maybe a Lee bio finally.

1082 - Sunday, 19 February 2006: ^%$# Gates *#$% Windows *$#@!!! At least I'm still online, but I still can't get my Lexmark Z515 USB printer running at the same time as the modem that's built into the mainboard. I'll try it again later.

Gun Talk, discussion of the Cheney incident of course, not least as regards media bias, but also an interview with Alan Korwin and further examination of the Blueshirt Problem. And, again with the recommendation of a .357 revolver as a multirole defensive/recreational piece, especially for beginners. (There's also a thread on rec.guns leaning in the same direction.)

Ack! Experienced temporary loss of self-control at Sportsman's Warehouse, but I'm set to reload .357, Mauser, Mosin, and my particular superlight 12 gauge for a while. Powder and primers I can get at Bi-Mart, and I already have enough for now. Old Compaq machine partially cannibalized and added to pile of derelict computers, reloading table back in action.

Grabbed Emory M. Thomas' Robert E. Lee: A Biography.

Bleah! FarmRich brand frozen french toast sticks aren't nearly as good as Krusteaz, which were out of stock. More syrup.

Record cold forecast tonight, possible rain tomorrow.

1083 - Monday, 20 February 2006: Zzz.

Checks on the way to ISP (January and February bills came a couple days ago, in the same envelope - they've had trouble with their billing, and cashing my checks on time, since I signed up with them), SAF and GOA. OFF mu$t wait a bit.

I've got the 8Gb drive's copy of Win98 recognizing the modem and the printer and (nearly) everything else at the same time now, but for some reason I can't log on with that configuration even though it dials and makes modem tones. Switch back to the 4Gb drive and everything but the printer works. Eh, still haven't lost any data, will keep fiddling with it at leisure.

Consulting with a web-design client, meeting for photos and other details, and while I'm on that side of the river getting some pistol practice for the match next Sunday.

Maybe a hundred rounds fired, burning up the duty rounds to replace with fresh, comparing accuracy from four loads: UMC FMJ, WinUSA JHP, UMC JHP, and my 147gr RNL handloads. All about the same, and tighter than last time, feeling better yet about competing with this piece, although hand tremors were returning again near the end of the session. I have a theory about that: with a revolver, or a bolt-action rifle or another manually-operated type, recoil is a single event, one thing happens and it's over. In an autoloader, first there's recoil, then the bolt or slide runs back and flings out the empty, then it runs forward and picks up the next round, then it slams to a stop as it enters battery, and each of these motions is transmitted to the hand. I think, that with all this other stuff going on, my subconscious is still a bit shaky where the P35 is concerned. But I do think I'm getting better.

Both 14-round magazines tend to spit out the top round when the magazine is seated firmly with the slide locked back. Both removed from service, which still leaves me with two good 13s and a 22 that hasn't given me any trouble yet. But magazines are known to be the weak point in autoloaders and one should expect to have to buy, and discard, several. On Gun Talk, Tom Gresham relates the anecdote of Clint Smith, of Thunder Ranch, taking a misbehaving ~$25 magazine from a student and flinging it as far as possible into the wilderness, then telling the student, "There, now you won't have to bet your life on that magazine." Otherwise, zero malfunctions again.

The small practice plates have been removed from the handgun line because doofi were firing jacketed rounds on them, which is clearly posted all around that area as not allowed (the reason I heard was for excessive wear on the plates, which were donated by a member; the day's R/O said it was for the hazard of flying jacket fragments). This may make it harder for people to practice for the plate match. However, gave website cards to and chatted with an R/O and a new shooter about the plate match, and even went around behind the regular handgun berm to show and discuss the plate match targets where they're stored.

A little light snow at the club's elevation but nothing back in Portland.

Vancouver ARCO $1.99, near the hovel $1.97.

Email backing up a little again.

Aaaand another feline-based webcomic.

(So don't wanna go back to work tomorrow....)

Oh! For reading material, I completely forgot another gift from sis, A History of Browning Guns from 1831, J.M. & M.S. Browning Co., 1942! Not taking that to work to get chewed up in the backpack or get stuff spilled on it in the break room, it stays in the hovel:

Foremost in this achievement is the inventive genius and industry which produced our weapons of defense....

1084 - Saturday, 25 February 2006: Workcommutecityfolkburnoutzzzzz. Email denial again.

Thursday, Detective Anderson sent:

So, after paying rent, I have exactly 8 cents to show for the last 80 hours' work (plus about another eight of commuting). That leaves me enough for the plate match tomorrow, groceries & fuel ‘til next payday, and very little else. And the next check will likely be short from the unpaid holiday. But I should start catching up soon. Next major purchase will be a real safe (Bi-Mart has a dandy on sale for $300 right now, a Sentry 14-place, 302lbs, a separate key-lock compartment inside, bolts for walls or floor - but I can't $wing it this month, I'll have to wait for it to come around again), then I need to consider whether to seek a replacement for the Corolla, on principle, before going for a Garand. The Garand will, I intend, be the next firearm purchase, barring impulses; and after that will be a replacement .357 revolver. Quite possibly another Ruger #KGP141. (I bought that one new-in-box, one of the few I ever have. Hell's fires are not hot enough.) And I have no shotguns at all at present, not counting the double on loan to my sister(s) - Mossberg #50668, there.

Portgate - is anyone else freaking out, not over the deal itself, not over the Bush administration's support for it, but over the high-gear campaign to sell it to us? A case is being carefully and persistently built that the United Arab Emirates (whose government runs Dubai Port World (which is seeking to buy management of a half-dozen US seaports from a British company)) are a genuine ally in the War on Terror, and if all you heard was how they're giving us flyover rights and fueling rights and bases on their territory and even have troops in the field alongside ours, one might buy it. But, this is the age of New Media - probably the most important thing the internet did was break Old Media's monopoly on information. On the net one can look up all sorts of bits, like how two of the 9/11 hijackers were from the UAE, a quarter-million dollars used in the plot went through UAE banks, etc. Conservative talk radio is divided - Tony Snow is a wholehearted member of the sales staff while Michael Savage's substitute host yesterday was probably needed for medical reasons. I dunno where Rush or Hannity are on it, I'm working when they're talking.

And me? I dunno. Both sides raise convincing points. (Oh Schumer, phooey, if a Kerry or Gore administration were pushing this deal he'd be shouting "RACIST!" every ten seconds at anyone who opposed it. Ditto Hillary.) I think it's a good thing I never really started using alcohol. These are high-intake times.

There's a show at the Clark County Fairgrounds this weekend and it used to be a good one, but as Cruffler reports and I myself have seen, it's been pushed into a much smaller hall and the fairgrounds have raised rents for it, even charging parking for the gun show while parking is free for some other show in the other side of the same building. Restraint-of-trade? Anyway I can't afford to torture myself with it one way or another. And no pistol practice today, gotta budget the fuel for at least one more week. -I don't need any donations, that's not my point; I'll probably buy a new TV (to watch DVDs and little else on) by the end of March. I'm just griping I guess.

Loading more .357 plate loads for my sister(s). On her last visit, first sis gave me exactly 150 spent cases... and I crushed one in the resizing process by not unclogging the Pro 1000's discharge chute, oh well. Just enough Bullseye powder left for 130 rounds (I probably could have squeezed another 10 out of it but I wanted to be sure the measure was dispensing uniform charges, so I discarded the last 50-odd grains) - now some Unique I think. Back to the load manuals. I've been using 4.5gr Bullseye, which gives decent ignition and accuracy with manageable recoil. That's a maximum load in Lyman #45, under a 121gr cast bullet; I'm using 125gr plated. Listed at 998fps. Okay, the same section lists 4.0 to 8.5gr Unique, for 715 to 1,387fps. But, that data's 36 years old. Sierra V only lists Sierra jacketed bullets; Speer #10 doesn't list this weight. Alliant .PDF Cowboy section lists a 125gr lead, but with American Select powder, which I'm not about to go out and buy right now with most of a pound of Unique on-hand; Unique listed for 140gr. Regular section does not list 125gr lead. Lyman data it is. Let's see what the measure throws at it's current setting - less than 4, that's no good; the starting charge is pretty weak and sis' Taurus has a 6" barrel, I don't want to give her a load that would cause squibs in my 4" GP100. Let's say, 5.5gr. 19 rounds, clearly marked as a test batch.

Continuing email with both sisters, both report they'll be coming down for the March plate match and bringing second sis' husband along, another potential subvert. Hope second sis can secure a piece of her own by then (though the selection process is not to be rushed); two pieces for four shooters is fine for the range but nearly impossible in a head-to-head match. If I had money I would stockpile M19s and M66s and M686s and GP100s and Security Sixes and Tauruses too. The 4" .357 revolver with adjustable sights may be the best all-use, any-user piece possible with the current state of the art.

Aha! Way back here I noted that the same Alliant .PDF Cowboy data lists 4.5 to 6.0gr Unique under 125gr lead in .38 Special. The larger capacity of a .357 Magnum case should reduce pressures, and it's Cowboy data anyway. 5.5gr in Magnum it is. Better use of case capacity (with an eye toward reliable ignition) too. 149 total completed. Now if only I had something to test them in....

Finally refurbishing the second RCBS powder measure I found in a clearance bin for $10 on a previous trip to the Everett area. I only have one small drum (for handgun charges), and that's in the other RCBS in the lumber stand over the Pro 1000; this one came with only a large drum (and was rusted some, but hey, ten bucks). So now I have another decent measure (I hope) and won't have to fiddle around with just one, changing settings between handgun and rifle charges, relocating the measure, etc. And I'll have less use for the leaky, inconsistent plastic Lee measure, though I may still have to use it for IMR. Let's find out... granule shearing of course, but it looks like no more than +/- 0.2gr variation, and I'm told that IMR4064 is a "forgiving" powder. Hm. Holes in paper will tell. Um, will have to order the Mojo for the M44 soon, for proper testing, and practice before the FAL match (though I may still borrow an FAL from Cruffler). -Made 50 of the old load, Sierra 125gr .311" (#2305) over 46.1gr IMR4064, in S&B brass, for sis' 91/30; then, for my M44, 58 rounds: 28 Winchester and one Norma with Sierra, and 29 S&B with Hornady 123gr (#3140). Sierra at 2.85" COL, while seating the Hornady to its cannelure gives about 2.80". (I have a feeling I'm going to stick with Sierra.) Although I didn't have to change the seating die.

Attempting to tackle email.

1085 - Sunday, 26 February 2006: Aaand I got my butt kicked by Garth. More practice with the P35. Then Garth ambles over and asks me, "Whatever possessed you to use your pistol? You're quite proficient with your revolver." Yes I know. :( I'll probably have to get the exact same model again, politics be damned. And for the same magic it will have to be new-in-box again. That day, I even had them get a fresh one from the back instead of the shelf model that everyone else had pawed; mine hadn't been out of the box since it left the factory. But that's ~$400 I don't have. -And then I'll have to run a thousand-odd rounds through it just to smooth it up. And that's after tracking down the red-insert front sight for the Redhawk. Anyway there's one decision made.

So, match day! Arrive about 9:20. This month's match was not well-advertised, I expect a much better turnout next month. There's me, match director Jim Irion, regulars Margo & Jack White... and four isn't really enough for a match. Then Garth Thompson shows up but that's still not enough. Finally a walk-in, Dirk (no last name recorded), states that he wants to use the handgun line and we pounce and browbeat him into shooting the match.

So we go set up. The targets are holding up fine but the removable wheels and tires used to roll them into position need some attention - Jim says he'll attend to that before next month. (In the last meeting I attended, a budget sheet was passed around and this match appeared to be the most consistently profitable for the club, so he can just buy new wheels if necessary.) Six shooters: Me, with the P35; Jim Irion, with his usual S&W M686; Jack White, with a composite ("It has a Colt frame... I think") 1911 (.45) today; Margo White with her usual Security Six, which I now learn is in fact a .357 and not a .38-only (she just shoots only .38); Garth with his Buck Mark with red-dot sight; and conscript Dirk with a S&W M6906. Time trials.

To review: Centerfire revolvers must hit a total of five targets in qualification and in competition, centerfire autoloaders a total of six. In qualification all these targets are on the regular target rack (see photo); in competition the last target must be one of the angled Poppers at bottom-center. The number of targets shot by .22s varies depending on the opponent. In qualification each shooter makes five runs. 30 seconds is the maximum time; anything over that counts as 30 in qualification. Of the five runs, the best and worst are discarded, the remaining three totaled, and that number used to arrange all shooters and make the first pairings between shooters of comparable skill.

In theory. Last year there was this guy with a Ruger MkII who did dreadful in qualification and got pretty durn good in competition.

Anyway:

Clark Rifles Plate Match - 26 February 2006 - Time Trials

Shooter	Weapon	Caliber	1	2	3	4	5	Result	Position
Garth Thompson	BuckMark	.22LR	6.74	5.94	4.08	6.08	4.52	16.54	1st
Dirk	S&W 6906	9x19mm	30.00	10.62	15.12	11.50	15.11	45.73	5th
Karl Leffler	Hi-Power	9x19mm	16.32	5.52	17.23	9.54	8.60	34.46	2nd
Jack White	1911	.45ACP	20.58	16.98	25.44	16.09	8.47	53.65	6th
Jim Irion	S&W 686	.357 Mag.	6.26	16.22	14.60	19.05	5.94	37.08	3rd
Margo White	Security 6	.357 Mag.	7.14	22.32	9.05	8.12	22.05	39.22	4th

(Web Design for Dummies from the library a few months ago. I created a test page to record the code for the most-immediately-useful-seeming tricks, and where I can shove the HTML around until I get the desired result, then I just cut-&-paste what I need into where I want it.)

So I'm against Garth in the first head-to-head run of the match. Considering I only had one run that was anywhere near any of his, it's not surprising that he knocked me right out in two runs in the first round. Then, none more surprised than her, Margo is much improved (even had at least one perfect run in qualifying) and defeated Jim! (By coincidence, I brought the .357 rounds I loaded yesterday, just in case someone didn't have enough, or something, and when I learned Margo's Ruger was a full .357 I had her try some, selling it as the same load I won twice with. -And then I told her to just bring back the empties, heh. Now husband Jack seems a bit ticked at me that he has to make a new load for her, heh.) (Um, this is a good load, 125gr plated lead over 4.5gr Bullseye; I'll see how the Unique load does eventually (I'm told it's dirtier), but I might have to buy more Bullseye in order to not mess with success.) Next, Jack beats Dirk.

Second round of the regular match: Garth whups Margo, Jack gets the Bye.

Final round of the regular match, Garth predictably whups Jack.

Now the Loser's Bracket. And Jim whups me, not least ‘cause I forgot to top off my magazine, argh. But I do need more practice with the P35 (and/or a new GP100). Margo, still improving, beats Dirk, and Jack has the Bye again.

Next, Jack defeats Margo and Jim takes a Bye in the second round of the Loser's Bracket.

Final round of the Loser's Bracket, Jack beats Jim.

Now, to determine the overall winner of the match, Jack takes on Garth - and the BuckMark malfunctions and Jack wins! Jack White wins the February plate match, while Garth Thompson takes Second. Determining Third or lower places kinda breaks down with the Byes and such, hm. But Margo is definitely the Most Improved shooter this month! After the match, while showing her the speed-reload technique I use on revolvers, I helped her and Jack fix her Security Six, whose ejector rod (built similar to the S&W pattern - the GP100 has a very different crane/ejector-rod arrangement) had unscrewed some from the cylinder and was blocked by the edge of its recess in the barrel lug - sis' Taurus had the same problem last year. "A touch of Loctite, and remember it's a reverse thread." And I learned another firearm-construction tidbit.

Back to the hovel, stopping for fuel (and lottery tickets of course). Vancouver ARCO $1.97, Portland now $1.95 - several other Portland stations near the hovel also somewhere under $2.

Later, a thread on rec.guns about the Largest Gun Show, and one candidate was this one. And I click on the link and go through the entry page and there's a blurb for their Very Special Guest.

Members of Clark Rifles, there are two FREE tickets to a Friends of NRA dinner next weekend at the Jantzen Beach Red Lion Inn (on the Columbia River at I-5). If you want one, contact Secretary Paul Gans quick. Clark Rifles members only! Non-CR members, tickets are $40 each - call Gary at (360)887-0696. Also, $60 at the door if available.

Thomas's Robert E. Lee doesn't suck; in the author's words it is "post-revisionist," with the message that Lee was both less and more than his legend. -Previously I had thought that Lee did not own slaves, but at the least he inherited some from his mother. However he had, personally, turned against slavery by the time of the War Between the States. More on that no doubt to follow, I'm about a third through the book and Lee is just about to get his first action in the Mexican War.

Okay, next paycheck I start saving. Here's the plan: get $500 in savings, and next time a good safe is on sale at Bi-Mart or somewhere, blow $300 on it. Then go back up to $500 again and get either a CMP Garand or a better car. Then again for whichever I didn't get last time. And in the fourth cycle, a GP100, #KGP141, with magic.

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