Yet Another Reason I'm Happy To Be Happily Married

I don't have to experience bad dating scenes like this one:

Novi man beat up, his car driven into lake after Facebook date goes awry

The Detroit Free Press:

A 34-year-old Novi man’s planned sexual encounter arranged over Facebook took a bad turn when he was ambushed by a group of men hiding in the bushes, police said today.

When it was over, the man had a broken jaw, his possessions were stolen and his vehicle was driven into a lake, according to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office....The victim told police he met a woman on Facebook and arranged to see her at a BP gas station . . ..

First off, meeting someone for the first time at a gas station does not sound like a particularly auspicious nor romantic start. Of course, his date went downhill from there, all the way to him getting rolled and his car rolled into the lake.

The poor fellow is now out cash, a cell phone and has to de-water a Ford Explorer (hey, they don't float after all!) but hopefully has gained some wisdom on looking for love in all the wrong places and in the future eschews lousy date locations.

New Contender for Headline Of The Year

David Hardy of Arms and The Law posts a strong contender for headline of the year:

But now we have the following competitor:

Zombies have risen and they're ruining the economy

Zombie consumers lead US into lost decade

The global economy is being hobbled by a new generation of zombies — the economic walking dead.

Maybe I need to get a few of the Zombie Targets that Tam likes so much, to you know, help out the economy and all that.

Of course blaming the zombies is rather like blaming the victim now isn't it? The state of the economy certainly couldn't just be due to some leader's economic incompetence and lousy ideologically-driven policies being the cause, now could it?

How's that Egyptian Spring working out for you?

The Egyption re-revolution certianly hasn't resulted in any outpouring of liberal democray or any less anti-Israeli and anti-Semitism sentiments in Egypt.

Alleged spy arrested in Egypt is US law student

A man who Egyptian authorities have arrested on charges of being an Israeli spy is a 27-year-old American-Israeli law student who was doing an internship at a nonprofit organization in Cairo, a classmate said Monday.

Egypt says Ilan Grapel is a Mossad agent, and pictures of him in Israeli military uniform have been published in Egyptian papers. The semiofficial Al-Ahram daily identified him in a headline as a "Mossad officer who tried to sabotage the Egyptian revolution."

Horror of horrors look at the incirminating stuff he had:

Grapel was equipped with "communication devices, laptops, CDs, and flash memory," the paper reported.

Tourists and students visiting Egypt beware, your everyday carry on laptop and cell phone just became grounds to get you arrested for espionage.

As the article dryly notes:

Egypt, like other Arab states, has a long history of blaming internal problems on Israeli saboteurs.

No kidding. Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose and all that.

Anybody that seriously believed that Egypt was going to transform into a rational, liberalized western-style democracy with respect for minority rights was seriously deluding themselves.

Aim Fast Hit Fast Class Review

The Aim Fast Hit Fast Class is designed for experienced shooters to improve their shooting ability. Taught by Todd Louis Green. A description of the class can be read at his website.

In short, it is an intensive and challenging class over two days with multiple shooting drills that help you increase your speed and accuracy as well as give you the tools to continue to improve after the class is over.

To The Range

So Murphy's Law and I pulled in Saturday morning nice and early onto the CCF&SA range in Wilmington, Ohio.

After running into some rather unfriendly people at the club, We figured out where and who Todd was, introduced ourselves, did the necessary paperwork and then the course began with a safety briefing and then on to some instruction and then the shooting. The day started out overcast with a weather forecast of heavy rains all day but quickly turned into sunshine and scorching hot temperatures requiring lots of water, sunscreen, and shade breaks.

Please Don't Let Me Be "That Guy"

You know, in every class there's That Guy, the one who: isn't ready for a drill, or who isn't paying attention, or drags the class down in multiple ways through incompetence.

Of course, luck had it that Todd made the order of the class so that I would go first on each of the individual drills after he had demonstrated them. I was number 1 in squad 1 so our squad shot first on the group drills as well.

So I was uniquely positioned to be able to demonstrate to the class how not to do a technique after Todd had demonstrated it correctly.

Without the opportunity to see others do the drill, I often at times felt and probably looked like a retarded monkey. At times, a retarded monkey could have shot better too.

Thankfully, while I wasn't the fastest shooter, I was one of the cleanest, meaning hitting the target with all shots, no misses. I did a 30 second yet clean barrel drill (I can't recall the real name for it - there's two barrels and you weave a figure 8 between and around them firing a shot at a designated target each time your either are at the outer side of the each barrel or in the center - much harder than it sounds) and my other events were pretty clean with the occasional frustrating miss, generally due to anticipating the shot, which Todd helped me work on fixing, more on that later.

In short, I wasn't the class "That Guy".

The FAST Drill:

This is Todd's signature drill. A test of speed and accuracy - 2 shots into a 3x5 "head" above an 8 inch circle "body" in which you reload and fire into it 4 shots, all at 7 yards. On the FAST Drill, I shot the first two clean, getting my best score on the drill Saturday afternoon shooting with a score of 7.66 making Intermediate, but missing Advanced by a long 1.67 seconds. I was the only one that had shot clean on both FAST drills that day if memory serves.

On Sunday morning, just before I got ready to shoot the third FAST, Todd said, "You know, very few people in a class shoot all four FAST Drills clean...." So I got the two head shots, made 3 body shots and on the final shot I jerked the trigger putting it just outside the circle. Jinxed! But it's my fault for thinking too much for about a 10+ second run plus penalty for the miss. Try to think or decide to go fast in your head and you'll end up going slow in reality.

On the fourth FAST, all tired out, I shot clean but with a 9.13 second time, too slow and messing up the mag change.

Other Drills

I scored a 45 out of 50 on the dot torture drill, showing I need to work on my trigger control. First time I've ever done that drill and it is very useful indeed, and worth practicing.

In the weak hand drills I learned I need to practice weak hand only shooting more. 'Nuff said.

My best draw from a holster was on the second Triple Nickel Drill at the end of Sunday. It was 1.4 seconds from beep to shot and everyone said it looked very smooth.

The first Triple Nickel drill started off funny however: On the beep, I drew, the gun went click (I had not chambered a round after the last Fast drill, just loaded the magazine with the amount of rounds instructed) I said "S..t!" very loudly and clearly, and proceeded to rack the slide and get to shooting. I shot a clean run but was over the five second "win" time.

There were lots more drills, all of which showed techniques to enhance one's shooting ability.

Things Learned

If the Class was solely about putting 1000+ rounds downrange, I could do that a lot closer to home. Instead, the course was about learning new skills to improve your technique and shooting faster and more accurately than you had before.

Keeping an open mind, I tried all of his suggested techniques, often with difficulty, but finding adopting them a marked improvement over how I had previously done things. The Press-Out, while I couldn't quite grasp it from his good description on his website, became understandable with his in person instruction, demonstration and then practicing it all weekend under his observation and tutelage made it a must-use technique.

Todd was able to give individual instruction to each of the 12 students and he helped me immeasurably with my grip, fixing a problem I didn't even realize I had, and my shooting got measurably better.

He also diagnosed a trigger control issue where I was squeezing the trigger but then crunching it down when I wanted to break the shot, anticipating it and causing it to go low. Again, my shooting improved a lot in a very short time.

In other words, those two corrections and the instruction in the use of the press-out alone were worth the price of admission, but I learned lots more. The side manipulation technique for reloads that he teaches is itself so simple yet much more effective than any technique I've done before.

Todd is an excellent and capable instructor and very able to demonstrate and communicate how to improve your shooting. His demonstrating and explaining the Press-Out really improved both my shooting time and accuracy. He has an approachable manner with a good sense of humor and excellent instructional skills.

Conclusion

If you're looking to seriously improve your shooting abilities, and be able to leave a weekend class with new techniques that you can continue to practice and perfect to make your shooting even better, Todd Green's Aim Fast Hit Fast is a fantastic class to take.

I will continue to practice the techniques learned and I'll keep on improving thanks to this great class and instructor.

Back from the Ohio Trip

I'm back from Ohio.

On Friday, Murphy's Law and I after driving through a thunderstorm to get there, met up in Dayton, Ohio and we spent the day and had a great time at the National Museum of the US Air Force at Wright-Patterson Airbase.

If you've never been there and you like aircraft, you are missing an awesome treat. Let's put it this way, if there's a military aircraft you like, they probably have one on display.

They also have some of the "onlys", as in "the only remaining model of its kind in the world" like a XB-70 Valkyrie (189 feet long, 105 foot wingspan and 30 feet high) on display indoors.

From the Wright brothers to a Spad VIII,

to a Predator drone and just about everything in between, they had one, nicely and informatively displayed.

A more detailed report of the trip around the museum, including the very interesting discussions with the friendly and learned docents, and more pictures will follow shortly.

Then Saturday and Sunday we did the fun class - The pistol-training.com's Aim Fast Hit Fast taught by Todd Green. A full review will follow but as a preview:

1. Awesome instructor.
2. Learned tons.
3. I need more practice.
4. Without a doubt the class is worth taking and I highly recommend it if you want to improve your shooting skills.
5. When the weatherman predicts thunderstorms, expect a blazingly hot sun and prepare accordingly.

A big thanks to Tam at View From the Porch for informing us by blogging about the class and her good, descriptive, and positive review.

Tired but happy I returned home last night, unpacked the car, did the laundry and passed out and slept the sleep of the just, or something like that.

Before I go on with the AFHF review however, I thought I should pass along a few things learned while wandering in the wilds of mid-southern Ohio:

1. Ohio drivers will regularly pitch a tent in the left lane of a highway and blissfully camp there driving under the speed limit.

2. Ohio drivers have yet to figure out that the stalk on their steering column can cause a turn signal to be activated. Its use apparently never gets covered in Ohio's driver's ed curriculum.

3. Damon's is considered to be fine dining.

4. The staff at Arby's in Wilmington, Ohio can, and did, flunk lunch.

5. Dayton likes to close all of its on and off ramps to I-75.

6. For all of that, gas was 30 cents a gallon cheaper in Ohio.

June Has Been a Bad Month for Authors

First we lose Joel Rosenberg, who was not only a talented and prolific science fiction and fantasy writer, but also a serious pro-2nd Amendment rights activist in Minnesota.

This means there will be no further Guardians of The Flame Books. There will be no further additions to the Metzada Series. There will be no more D'Shai adventures, and no more Keepers of the Hidden Ways Books.

Damn and double damn, Joel Rosenberg's books got me through some rough spots in my teenage years and really into good Sci Fi.

On top of the terrible loss of Mr. Rosenberg, z"l, we come to find out to our dismay that Lillian Jackson Braun, the author of the extensive and enjoyable The Cat Who Series mysteries just died as well.

Both of these fine authors and fine people will be sorely missed.

Fiction Review - Spies of the Balkans by Alan Furst

Spies of the Balkans: A Novel is a great fiction read.

The book is wonderfully written, and the story is richly told, breathing life into pre- and early-World War 2 Thessalonika.

The book revolves around Costa Zannis, a senior Salonika police official who handles sensitive (i.e. political) matters for the police force. Without giving any spoilers away the novel begins as a spy novel and then becomes much more. The Walther PPK does feature prominently throughout.

Well worth reading not only for the suspense, it chronicles every-day life and history in the city and Greece itself before and during the Italian invasion of Greece and then the German invasion.

The book is a very readable work of fiction set in a well described historical setting of Greece and the Balkans before and during World War 2. The Balkans and Grece is an area that hasn't received a lot of attention for that time period in fiction.

Spies of the Balkans is well worth your time should the desire for well written historical fiction strike.

Dive 182 - Union Lake and a taste of Scootering

So Chad, Rob, Chris, Keith and I met up at Union at 8am this morning and hit the water.

Lots of boats were present and the visibility wasn't great but it turned into a pretty decent dive.

I did a good valve drill, no hitting the bottom during the drill, and my trim is getting better.

We kicked around the boats a bit and then Reichy gave me his scooter to try.

Its a Dive X Sierra and awesome is not the word for it.

Once I finished embarrassing myself clumsily hooking into the tow line and trashing my buoyancy while doing so, I was ready and it was a blast.

I was zipping in circles around the other divers effortlessly. I went from boat to boat and just had a great time before handing it back. Much too much fun.

Here's a cool example of what these scooters can do:


Now I gotta get me one of these. One more item on the must-get list.

I also donated air to Rob who was running low and as we headed back to shore we saw a 2 foot long pike almost completely hidden in the weeds. Nice smooth ascent on the way back keeping in good trim with good buoyancy control.

Great dive.

Comms Restored. Rule 2 of CCW no longer violated.

Well it took a reset to factory option to clear the problem. To do a factory reset option on the droid to unbrick he phone after the Gingerbread install bricks it, do the following:

Note this formats the phone and kills all your data and customizations. You have been warned.

1. Hit the power button and home button at the same time.
2. when the triangle appears on the screen hit both volume buttons.
3. Then scroll to restore to factory default and press the power button.

Interestingly enough it did not restore the factory installed operating system but made the Gingerbread update operating system work.

The downside is that all data, customizations, downloaded apps are gone due to the factory reset.

Luckily, the work server backed up the calendar, contacts, and email and the phone is synced and data is flowing once again.

If you haven't backed up all your personal data or do not have a server it syncs to, don't try the update or you may end up being badly hosed.

So I'm now busy reinstalling the apps and trying to redo the customizations I had done.

At least now my brief non-communications dark age is over, allowing me to no longer violate Rule 2 of carrying a gun.

Rule 1 of course is: Have a Gun.
Rule 2 is: If you're carrying a gun, carry a cell phone.

Droid "Gingerbread" Update Bricks Phone, Hard.

I ran the Droid "Gingerbread" update on my phone last night.

Others in my office had complained that it required them to redo their account settings manually. I ran it anyways figuring I could easily reestablish the account if necessary and looking forward to some improved security and allegedly better functionality. So figuring that was the worse that could happen I ran the update from the settings feature on the phone.

The update downloaded, I executed it, it ran and after some time I got a red Motorla icon and then nothing.

After about 45 minutes, I took the battery out to reset it and on reinstalling the battery I get the start-up screen including rotating eye, it takes me to the home screen, gives about 5 seconds of functionality, and then locks, hard.

Touch screen does not work, pressing the power button blanks the screen and on pressing it again the home screen disappears, leaving only the top indicator showing the time (which freezes and does not change), the 3g , bluetooth and connection bar symbols, not pressing the power button results in the same black screen with top bar. The phone will not receive calls or work in any fashion, and the time indicator freezes at the time it bricks.

Removing the battery for up to 45 minutes does not change the result, it always starts with a white M with a red background, does the eye roll, goes to the home screen and locks, and every reinsertion of the battery results in the same effect leading to the bricking.

This sucks and I'd strongly advise anyone with a Droid to not run the Gingerbread update until Google announces they've un-screwed up (a more angry word would be used but this is a family-friendly blog...) this upgrade.

You'd figure that Google could handle an upgrade on Droids given that they're all running the same operating system and are on the same Motorola phone hardware but No....

Perhaps Google could issue an appropriate warning with the update:

"This update that we produced and delivered to you may turn your phone into a brick, with less utility than a brick as it doesn't offer a lot of structural support when mixed with mortar. Would you like to continue y/n?"

If anyone can offer some help or suggestions on backing this out, or doing some other reset procedure, it would be appreciated.

Dive 180 - Valve Drill

So last night we hopped into Union Lake at about 9:30. No boats were to be seen and the viz was pretty decent. Quite a few fish were about including one hiding in a cooler inside one of the sunken boats. Surface water temps were in the high 50s and dropped as we descended, with a very marked thermocline separating the warm(ish) from the cold water layer.

We kicked out to the Model T and then followed the lines out to the north boat, ending up in 40 feet of water and then I did a valve drill for practice.

A valve drill involves maniplating each valve in sequence, showing that you can reach, shut down and reopen each valve on your doubles. The valve drill demonstrates that you can safely shut down a post that has failed thereby saving your breathing gas supply and that you can isolate one tank from the other, preventing an irreperable blow out of one tank from consuming all of your breathing gas.

The sequence goes: right post shutdown, switching to the backup reg that's on your left post and clip off primary regulator, right post opening, check primary regulator to ensure its on and unclip, isolation shutdown and opening, left post shutdown, switching to primary, left post opening. Check all valves, check pressure gauge and done.

Here's an example of how its done (with a slight variation from our technique described above, see if you can spot the difference):



Valve drills are good practice for valve manipulation, but not easy to do while keeping your buyancy and trim under control. Typically when you breathe your primary down after you shut down the right post, you don't have air left in your lungs so you drop a bit until you get the left regulator in your mouth and start breathing again.

In other words, I dropped quite a bit, then stabilized and got on with it.

Its also a pain doing it while using drysuit gloves and with a sore shoulder, but practice makes the drill go better.

We then headed back to the shore, did a slow ascent with stops and ended a good dive. Trim and buoyancy were much better than before and I'll keep working on it.

A Little Levity Break

Too Good not to share: Transterrestrial Musings has a posting with links to some hilariously bad ad placements and some funny answers allegedly from students.

Well worth your clicking and eyeball time.

One final thing, I'd advise against drinking anything while viewing the links, the monitor and keyboard you'll save may be your own.

Surf And Turf On Your BRIDGE Card, Sir?

The Lansing State Journal: Lobster, steak, Mountain Dew on Bridge Card no urban myth

So someone used a Bridge card (here's an image of the receipt), Michigan's version of food stamps to buy a case of Mountain Dew, 6 lobsters and a couple porterhouse steaks in Menominee Michigan.

Living large on the state, baby.

Obama's trial balloons burst yet again

Most competent administrations use underlings to float trial balloons on policy. Then, when the trial balloon bursts and the administration needs to disavow that particular proposal, the President doesn't look like an inexperienced incompetent.

President Obama sadly lacks or feels no need for such a competent administration.

That's why he announced a push for Israel to concede to have the 1967 borders as a starting point in negotiation and offered a contiguous Palestinian state. That of course, would be an unmitigated strategic disaster for israel and just emboldend both Israel's and the US' enemies in the Mid East.

Thankfully Prime Minister Netanyahu gave the American people a solid dose of reality. You could tell Obama was annoyed to find that not everyone wants to roll the dice on survival for a promise of hope and change. (via the excellent Thunder Tales). Hopefully the staunchly Liberal Democrat wing of American Judaism just had a "WTF?" moment.

So what does Obama do after this particular foreign policy balloon pops? He backs away from it a bit at the AIPAC conferenc, claiming he was "misunderstood".

Hardly misunderstood, he was just caught yt again pushing his unpopular left wing agenda.

This administration seems determined to change the Presidential March from Hail to the Chief to "Send in the clowns"

Update: The Palestinians certainly have recognized the new course set by obama - Palestinians reject Netanyahu peace outline

Nabil Shaath, an aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said Netanyahu's insistence on keeping key parts of the territories the Palestinians want for their state is a "declaration of war against the Palestinians." ... "What Netanyahu said in his speech tonight is a clear rejection of the suggestions of President Obama concerning the borders of 1967," said Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rdeneh.

In other words the Palestinian negotiating posture just changed based on Obama's statement to "first give us everything we want, then we'll consider peace with you".

Bandit! 9 O'Clock Low!

This little masked bandit turned up in our backyard 9 am this morning:

Apparently he didn't get the message that racoons are supposed to be nocturnal.

15 Years Ago Today I Got Married....

And I've been happily hitched ever since.

Thanks to my darling wife Natasha for 15 wonderful years together and two of the best kids in the world. The time has certainly flown by and looking back I wouldn't have spent these past 15 years any other way.

If you run, you only die splattered.....

Yet another example of why running from the police is just a dumb and often fatal idea.

Lansing college student dies on I-96 after 140-m.p.h. motorcycle ride, crash into cop car

A 20-year-old Lansing Community College student was killed when his motorcycle struck the back of a patrol car during a high-speed police chase on I-96 in Livingston County early today.

The fleeing deceased's speed during the chase reached at least a clocked 114 mph and since he easily outran police cruisers doing 127 mph they figure he was doing 140 mph! The guy had no record and obviously no reason to flee police.

At 140 mph (heck even at 114 mph) on a motorcycle your margin for error is zero, and he slipped outside the margin with fatal consequences. Its a damn shame the man is dead for a stupid reason.

Look, when the flashing lights come on behind you, it means the game is over.

Come to a stop, take your ticket and fine like a man. You're speeding, you got caught and the ticket is the cost. Deal with the consequences and get on with your life.

Fleeing adds criminal charges that are far more serious than your initial speeding offence to the mix, and you run the risk of losing your life. Neither criminal charges nor death offer an improved result over what's going to happen if you just pull over.

Pull the other one, its got bells on....

Gates: 'No evidence' Pakistani leaders knew bin Laden was there

U.S. officials have “no evidence” that current Pakistani leaders knew Osama bin Laden had been holed up near their capital city for half a decade, but they suspect someone — perhaps a retired official — did know about the al Qaeda leader’s whereabouts....Amid passionate calls from Capitol Hill for the Obama administration to get tough with Pakistan after the revelation bin Laden had been hiding there for up to five years, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday he has seen “no evidence at all that the senior leadership knew.”

Gates told reporters during a Pentagon briefing that “I’ve seen some evidence to the contrary.”

In fact, Gates said, U.S. officials “have no evidence yet with respect to anybody else” knowing bin Laden was hiding in a compound about 30 miles from Islamabad.

Still, the former CIA director added, “My supposition is somebody knew.”

No kidding. Its rather unlikely that "senior leadership" had no idea Osama was operating from and hiding beside a major military base. His presence was a little bit too explosive so to speak for this to be the work of some low-level functionary. More than likely someone high up in the government leadership knew, and the ISI certainly knew and supported his living there.

Gates kind of covering for the Pakistanis is what happens when you rely upon unreliable "allies" like the Pakistanis and Saudis, both of whom are at least playing double games to undermine the US. However, as the US has put itself in a position of having to rely on these unreliable regimes expect more of this soft-shoe approach where a far sterner approach would bear better results.

Detroit 1-8-7 star gives a classy good-bye but really mixes up his metaphors

Actor James McDaniel wrote a farewll letter to Detroit after learning Detroit 1-8-7 would be cancelled. He should have seen it coming as using California's penal code section 1-8-7 for murders taking place in Michigan was always a bit Hollyweird.

However, Mr. McDaniel's letter starts off with a rather inapt description:

Dear Paris of the Midwest,

We will miss you.

Methinks he meant the Beirut of the Midwest and he was confused because Beirut used to be called the "Paris of the Mid East" a long time ago.....

Afghan Pro-Insurgent Protest Against Violence Leads to Violence

In the Afghanistan feel-good story of the day, after NATO forces on a raid killed 4 insurgents, a protest against the raid of 1,500 people turned violent.

The AP via Findlaw: Protest over NATO raid turns violent; 11 killed
Note in the article that the 4 "civillians" reported in the first paragraph as being killed were, according to NATO, shot after pointing weapons at NATO forces during the raid in the sixth paragraph.

The protest turned violent as some in the crowd started looting shops and throwing stones at a small German base in the city.

So the protest over the deaths of 4 insurgents led to the deaths of 11 of the protestors protesting.

Insurgent supporters of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan must be adepts of the new math.

Interesting Headline Word Choice

The Associated Press (via Findlaw): French agape over treatment of jailed IMF chief

agape: /ˈæɡəpiː/ or /əˈɡɑːpeɪ/; Classical Greek: agápē; Modern Greek: αγάπη [aˈɣapi]) is one of the Greek words translated into English as love, one which became particularly appropriated in American Christian theology as the love of God or Christ for mankind. Many have thought that this word represents divine, unconditional, self-sacrificing, active, volitional, and thoughtful love. Although the word does not have specific religious connotation, the word has been used by a variety of contemporary and ancient sources, including Biblical authors and Christian authors. Thomas Jay Oord has defined agape as "an intentional response to promote well-being when responding to that which has generated ill-being."In his book, The Pilgrimage, author Paulo Coelho defines it as "the love that consumes," i.e., the highest and purest form of love, one that surpasses all other types of affection.[citation needed] Contemporary philosopher Slavoj Žižek refers to it as "political love".

Considering that IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn faces criminal sexual conduct charges, the headline was either unintentionally ironic or some headline editor is having a bit of homographic fun. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Local Idiocy Of The Day: Win the Lottery, Stay on Food Stamps.

The Detroit News: $2M Michigan lottery winner defends use of food stamps


So if you won $2 Million from the State Lottery, how many of you, dear readers, would stay on food stamps?

Lottery winner Leroy Fick (sadly of Michigan) has no problem doing so:

A Michigan man who won $2 million in a state lottery game continues to collect food stamps 11 months after striking it rich.

And there's nothing the state can do about it, at least for now.

Leroy Fick, 59, of Auburn won $2 million in the state lottery TV show "Make Me Rich!" last June. But the state's Department of Human Services determined he was still eligible for food stamps, Fick's attorney, John Wilson of Midland, said Tuesday.

Eligibility for food stamps is based on gross income and follows federal guidelines; lottery winnings are considered liquid assets and don't count as income. As long as Fick's gross income stays below the eligibility requirement for food stamps, he can receive them, even if he has a million dollars in the bank.

One shame on Mr. Fick for ficking around and continuing to draw on public largess after winning that kind of money. I don't know a lot of people that would even consider receiving public assistance after winning 2 million, but apparently its ok by the state and Mr. Fick.

Also, I'm rather amazed at the stupidity of a federal and state system that doesn't consider liquid assets as part of the calculation for eligibility for public assistance. Liquid assets by definition are liquid and can be used to support oneself without reliance upon the public purse.

The mind boggles at the sheer idiocy of the system in action.

California: Land o' Fruits, Nuts, Flakes, Bad Judicial Decisions, and Gun Bans

Federal judge rules against Calif. gun advocates

A federal judge ruled Monday there is no constitutional right to carry a hidden gun in public - a decision that dealt a setback to gun-rights advocates who had challenged how much discretion California law enforcement officials have in issuing concealed weapons permits.

U.S. District Court Judge Morrison England Jr. in Sacramento supported a policy by Yolo County Sheriff Ed Prieto that says applicants must have a reason, such as a safety threat, to legally carry a concealed weapon in his county northwest of Sacramento.

. . .

England signed the ruling Friday and it filed in court on Monday.

. . .

[Alan] Gura filed a notice Monday saying the groups will appeal Judge England's decision to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.

Gura had argued that Prieto's policy gives the sheriff arbitrary discretion over a fundamental constitutional right to bear arms.

England countered that California law currently lets gun owners carry an unloaded weapon so it can be quickly loaded and used in self-defense if needed.

As a result, "Yolo County's policy does not substantially burden plaintiffs' right to bear and keep arms," England wrote in his 16-page decision.

Talk about ignoring reality, the Constitution, Heller and MacDonald. Thanks Judge. Glad I'm not in California.

With luck, and acceptance of certiorari, this case will push forward through the 9th and up to the Supreme Court and get this lousy decision, that essentially restrict Heller to bearing arms in the home then decides the ban is not a substantial burden on the right to keep and bear arms, reversed.

In the decision, the judge also concludes that a decision to issue based on "Good Cause" and "Good Moral character" is not void for vagueness and then it is not a violation of equal protection as some might meet these undefined requirements and some might not. Well, ok then.

The decision is (available for viewing here).

But wait, there's more: The Judge's dubiously-reasoned decision is absolutely predicated on the fact that California allows unloaded pistols to be openly carried and thus people aren't substantially burdened. So what does the California Assembly do the very same day the decisions comes out?

Calif Assembly bans open carrying of unloaded guns.

California.

Why Can't the answer be: "Both"?

Religious obsession or psychological disorder? Mental exam ordered in Warren shooting death

A Minnesota man who police say killed his 20-year-old stepdaughter in Michigan because she left home and wasn't following Islam will get a mental evaluation.

Lake Huron Dive Cancelled Due to Storms

The only thing worse than a cancelled Great Lakes Wreck Dive would be an unanticipated Great Lakes Wreck Dive when your dive boat sinks and you get to dive on it.

Discretion being the better part of valor, and the good captain not wanting to lose his boat or us divers in a storm, the awesome lineup of three wrecks at an average depth of 100 feet was cancelled this morning when 4 foot swells were reported with even nastier storms and waves coming in. Drat.

The wrecks: Checotah (possibly the most sunk vessel in the Great Lakes - 4 sinkings and three name changes), The Col. A.B. Williams and the New York, none of which I've dove before.

Luckily they'll still be there when the weather clears and we can get out and try them again. Hopefully soon.

Instead we did Union Lake for a 70 minute dive to burn up the 32% Nitrox mix in the stage bottle I rented from the shop along with Rob and Keith. A good dive, but Union Lake with its sunken speedboats is a far cry from the Great lakes and Great Wrecks of Lake Huron.

Whither Romney the RINO?

Vodkapundit ably and eloquently lays out the case against Romney for consideration this primary season and I certainly agree.

As I commented over there, as Romney is a squishy and beatable RINO I expect the MSM to pile on praise for him through the primaries and push for him to win as they did with McCain.

Then, on the off chance he wins the primaries (this could happen if the GOP powers that be figure its his “turn” a la Bob Dole and McCain), expect the MSM to replay September Dawn (Mountain Meadows massacre movie) on primetime TV prior to the election. Then watch the MSM nail him for this Romneycare and other squishiness and then assail him for conservative views on other things and being out of touch etc.

This is one RINO that needs to be put on the endangered species list during primary season and sent back to his natural habitat -- far, far away from the race for the Republican nomination.

In the wake of Federal banking reform to help defaulters, fees go up for all. Who knew?

Who indeed? Its not like this wasn't a predicted consequence of reducing charges on those who don't pay their credit card bills on time or overdraft their accounts.

The Detroit Free Press: Banks hit customers with higher fees -- and more of them

Well, Prof Todd Zywicki of the Volokh Conspiracy certainly did. He gets one free "I told you so" to everyone that claimed it wouldn't happen. However, that doesn't make the increased fees any more palatable.

As usual with this administration, and Democrats in general, the responsible are stuck with the increased costs and those who are irresponsible are relieved of, or get reduced, consequences for their actions as everyone pays for their failings.

Update: A similar and thoughtful post from The Blogprof: Thank a Democrat: Banks hit customers with higher fees -- and more of them because of increased government regulations

GM to spend $109 million, create or save 96 jobs

The Detroit Free Press: GM to pump $109 million into Flint, Bay City plants

General Motors says it will invest $109 million in its Flint and Bay City, Michigan, operations, keeping or creating 96 jobs.

That's over a million dollars per job saved or created.

At this rate, it would take GM spending $589,811,111,111 to create enough jobs to fully employ all 487,000 of Michigan's unemployed (Source State of Michgian's labor market Information website) assuming these were all for jobs created not just "saved".

And you wonder why, with that kind of job creating power and efficiency, wags call it Government Motors.

The Obama Administration Really Intends That It Means It This Time......

Reuters: Attorney General vows to close Guantanamo

Although we have not closed Guantanamo within the time period that we initially indicated ... it is still the intention of the president, and it is still my intention, to close the facility that exists in Guantanamo," Holder told a joint news briefing with French Interior Minister Claude Gueant.

Well, at least Holder and Obama still intend to do it, so perhaps the headline that Holder is vowing to close it is a bit of an overstatement. Good and noble intentions, after all, are all that matter when every promise comes with an expiry date.

When pressed for an exact date of closure, Holder allegedly replied "ad kalendas graecas".

Dive # 177 One Dive Over Two Days

We got into Union Lake on May 6 and got out on May 7.

Crossing midnight underwater was kinda cool. Visibility was excellent. There was a ton of mudpuppies to be seen and quite a few very large fish. The water was calm, not a boat to be seen and Keith, Chad and I had a great dive. I had my heated best on and it worked very nicely so I was not feeling cold during the dive. We saw the various boasts including the farther off north boat. The dive felt pretty good, but I'm unconsciously waving my right hand while diving which is a habit I need to break, but other than that the five was great with good control.

The details:

Time: 45 minutes
Max depth: 40 feet
Water temperature: 50 degrees
Gas consumption: 700 psi.

Oh Canada!

In a great Canadian Election, our good Canadian neighbors just elected Stephen Harper and the Conservative party to a majority in Parliament, reduced the Liberals to third party standing and decimated the Bloc Quebecois.

A fantastic result even with the socialist NDP moving up past the lackluster Liberals to form the opposition.

This election will change the political dialogue in Canada with the Conservatives potentially in full control of law-making in the House of Commons. Some of Harper's priorities for defense, the economy and justice issues now stand a much better chance of becoming law.

Canada just decisively moved toward the center-right and away from the center-left and left.

It was such a wipe out that in a historic shift, even my Dad voted Conservative.

Flying pigs were seen on Toronto Airport Air Traffic control radars as the 905 area code went Tory in a big way. Ice-forming conditions were reported in the netherworld.

The National Post has a good editorial on what should be expected from the Conservatives now that they're in the majority. May the Conservatives live up to expectations.

So congrats to Canada for an excellent election. Here's to at least 4 years of good government and for a strong Canada as an ally and good neighbor.

You Just Can't Make Every Islamist Happy....

The Detroit Free Press: Bin Laden's burial at sea criticized by metro Detroit [Muslim] funeral home operators

and

The Detroit Free Press: Islamic scholars criticize bin Laden's sea burial

Yeesh, the Obama administration and the US Military cater to Islamics and bend over backwards to ensure Osama gets buried in an Islamic fashion and all they get are complaints. My preference for his head on a pike is looking better by comparison - give 'em something worth complaining about.

One example of these complaints:

Clerics in Iraq — where an offshoot of al-Qaida is blamed for the death of thousands of people since 2003 — also criticized the U.S. action. One said it only benefited fish.

"If a man dies on a ship that is a long distance from land, then the dead man should be buried at the sea," said Shi'ite cleric Ibrahim al-Jabari. "But if he dies on land, then he should be buried in the ground, not to be thrown into the sea. Otherwise, this would be only inviting fish to a banquet."

And the problem with that is? After all turingin him into fish food makes him 1000% more valuable to the world than he was prior to his demise.

Another complains that cotton wasn't stuffed up his orifices:

After Rahman was told that authorities feared that bin Laden's grave would become a shrine, she said, "That has nothing to do with God. They should have buried him."

Under Islamic law, the body has to be washed, all the orifices are stuffed with cotton, and then the body is wrapped in cotton sheets, Rahman said. The body is laid in the casket on its back with the head facing toward Mecca.

Instead of cotton he received some copper-coated lead in his orifices, and that kind of deposit, worth far more than cotton, has got to be worth something.

Not to mention there's just tons of unhappy islamists in the world today, which certainly confirms that the world is a much better place without bin Laden in it.

Update: Well that's a relief, via Instapundit, Frank J. Fleming notes that Osama Was Shot in Accordance with Islamic Tradition. Nicely done.

Kwame Korruption - The Gift to Detroit that Keeps on Giving

If we hadn't known before, this is even more confirmation that Kwame and Krewe used the city as their personal piggy bank.

The Detroit Free Press: Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's cousin charged with stealing from nonprofit

Nneka Cheeks may love Trouble -- the dog she is accused of caring for with money embezzled from a nonprofit -- but she is likely less thrilled about the double trouble the Michigan attorney general is bringing.

Attorney General Bill Schuette charged Cheeks on Thursday with eight counts of embezzlement and one count of racketeering -- all felonies -- accusing her of stealing more than $19,000 from a nonprofit established to maintain the Manoogian Mansion, Detroit's mayoral residence.

Schuette said Cheeks -- a former mayoral aide to Kwame Kilpatrick who is also Kilpatrick's cousin -- used $1,300 of that money to pay a veterinarian who cared for Trouble.

The article goes on to list the numerous ways in which Cheeks enriched herself by tapping the funds including jewlery, furniture and wedding items.

We've certianly not yet reached the bottom of the Kwane & Kompany Detroit rabbit hole. Just wait until the federal investigation really gets rolling.

OBL now RIH

Making my day this morning I just found out that Osama Bin Ladin is now Resting in Hell (hence the catchy header).

Nicely done Seal Team 6.

My only criticism is why the heck was the body buried at sea "in accordance with Islamic custom, which requires speedy burial".

As tons of Islamists and Al-Qaeda types are going to claim he's not dead but just resting somewhere. His body needed to be brought to the US and his head put on a pike at Ground Zero to assure all that he is in fact toast.

Putting a head on a pike ensured in the good old days that no pretenders to the dead outlaw could arise claiming to be him, and besides it would have been quite a fitting act of closure to his worst act of terorrism.

Other than that we'll give this an A for effort and result, and we'll give the Obama Administration credit for the guts to authorize it.

In Honor Of May Day, Some East Bloc 9x18 Goodness

The Eastern Block under Soviet domination manufactured a variety of pistols chambered in the Russian designed 9x18mm Makarov caliber.

I've already talked about my CZ-82, now for May Day its on to some other pistols chambered in this useful cartridge.

Both of the below pistols are blow-back action and both owe much to the Walther PP design.

The FEG PA-63

Made in Hungary by Fegyver és Gépgyár, Arms and Machine Factory more commonly known as "FEG".

With an aluminum frame strengthened with a bit of titanium in the alloy, the FEG is a nice, lightweight carry pistol. Walther PP in size and highly influenced by the Walther design, if not an almost complete copy, the FEG has a reputation for being more reliable than the Walther.

The action has a double action first shot with subsequent shots being single action, and with a seven round magazine the pistol is a very adequate pocket carry pistol. The magazine locks the action open on the last shot and just like the Walther PP, there is no external slide lock.

The FEG is an inexpensive firearm that can be found for $200 or less, making it an excellent choice for a CCWer on a budget.

The downside to the FEG is the trigger. The initial double action trigger pull is an excellent trigger finger exerciser that takes all your strength to operate. You don't need a Gripmaster when you have a PA63.

The FEG's single action is much better and hopefully the double action pull will loosen up a bit with time and further shooting.

At the range, the PA-63 fed all rounds perfectly, from the standard 9x18 ball to the Silver Bear hollow points.

Its a nice pistol at a great price.

The Bulgarian Makarov

This is a military surplus Makarov manufactured in Bulgaria and it was still encrusted with cosmoline when I purchased it.

Designed by Nikolay Fyodorovich Makarov, the Makarov pistol became the Soviet Union's standard military side arm from 1951-1991, replacting the 7.62x25 Tokarev. Satellite nations such as East Germany and Bulgaria and China also produced Makarov pistols.

This Bulgarian Makarov's trigger is very nice and smooth and far better in both double and single action than the FEG, indeed this trigger while not a match trigger by any means, is more than adequate for self-defense and plinking. Smooth in both double and single action, hits on targets were easy to achieve, even with the smallish sights.

An 8 round magazine and a price under $250 makes this yet another excellent carry choice when using hollow points. It fits tightly in a jeans front pocket or decently in a cargo pocket and multiple holsters are available for carry.

The Makarov design shines in the area of reliability and this one was no exception - ball, hollow points, it ate everything with no problems at all.

The PA63 and the Makarov are great pistols, both as carry and historical pistols and reminders of the Cold War. Both firearms are a testament to the excellent East Bloc small arms manufacturing industry while unable to provide consumer goods of quality to their subjects.

So Happy May Day and here's to the West winning the Cold War.

For proof, see the video below.

How's that Airport Security Working Out for You?

The Detroit Free Press: 12 airport employees charged in 2 drug smuggling rings and Details emerge in case of drug smuggling at Detroit Metro Airport

Its pretty clear that for all the show-and-grope of the flying public, they're not scrutinizing the baggage handlers very well, and in fact apparently baggage handlers don't go through security checks before going to work.

Anyone else see the problem with this gaping hole in airport security?

If you can smuggle 16 Kilograms of cocaine and 130 Kilograms of marijuana in one shipment alone (should the fact that the last name of one of the cocaine smuggler's was Coke have been a clue?), a couple pounds of Semtex and an air pressure triggered detonator would be child's play.

More Detroit and Wayne County Fun With Gun Permits

Apparently the corruption in Detroit has even reached the issuing of Concealed Pistol Licenses at the County level:

The Detroit Free Press: Ex-assistant says Wayne County clerk fired him over gun permit questions

The fired deputy chief of staff for Concealed Pistol License processing(talk about bureaucracy when you need a deputy chief of staff for such things...) alleges that clerks were offering expedited service for issuance of the permits in return for a $50 expediting fee. This is bad enough considering there is no provision for such a fee in the law, nor any proof the fees did anything other than allegedly lining some clerks' pockets.

He also, and even more disturbingly, alleges that permits were being issued to felons and other disqualified individuals who are not otherwise eligible for a permit.

Before shall-issue became law in Michigan, it was pretty well known and understood that the only way you could get a permit in many counties was to be connected politically or make an appropriate monetary contribution. It is sad to see that some in Wayne County are allegedly carrying on that tradition.

Royal Weddings Bring Out The Crazy

Or at the very least the shows that Michigan's Medical Marihuana laws are leaving some people with a tenuous grasp on reality, as aptly demonstrated by a staff writer for the Detroit Free Press:

Will and Kate, how's this for a royal honeymoon in Detroit?

Yes, you may pick your jaw up off the floor now.

Other inspired suggested honeymoon spots for the happy couple: A tour of the Bight of Benin; followed by punting on the Somes River; and then have some happy times in Moldova?

Sheesh.

ABA Concerned The Kids Aren't All Right On Civics

The American Bar Association is concerned about the lack of the American public's understanding of civics and the low level of political engagement by the youth.

In Flunking Civics: Why America’s Kids Know So Little, the ABA expresses concern that civics are not being taught well in schools or elsewhere.

Well, with a public education system that has constantly downgraded the importance of civics and history, what does the ABA expect?

Only one state deserved a rating of A when it came to teaching its students American history, according to a recent study. Most states fall in the category of “mediocre to awful.”

The study ranked history standards in 49 states and the District of Columbia (Rhode Island has no mandatory history standards, only suggested guidelines) for “content and rigor” and “clarity and specificity” on a scale of A to F. Only South Carolina got straight A’s.

Nine states’ standards earned a grade of A- or B. But a majority of states—28 in all—had standards ratings of D or F, the study found.

It is a real concern, as a democracy's citizenry untaught in its history and governance, and ignorant of its history and the history of the world, tends to not choose its leaders wisely.

While reading the article, try not to guffaw too loudly at one of the expert's supposed reasons for the lack of understanding of civics:

.. . the disappearance of traditional newspapers and TV news shows that objectively report information, youngsters have become increasingly disengaged from civic and political life, experts say.

Ah yes, the golden olden days of the objective mainstream media reporting - when was that again?

The article even goes on to blame Bush for this lack of focus on civics:

Since the late 1990s, when American students tested poorly in reading, science and math against students from 20 other Western nations, federal educational policy has focused strongly on those three subjects at the expense of history, social studies, government and civics.

That trend began in 2001 with the Bush administration’s landmark No Child Left Behind Act, which gives priority to federal funding for efforts to improve student performance in reading and math, skills that are considered fundamental to student success in the workplace.

Not only is civics lacking, but apparently so is math, history, and logical reasoning. The 1990s, dare I say, preceeded Bush so the trend can't have begun under Bush in 2001 a decade later, no? It is true that there has been more of a focus on those areas since NLCB cosnidering performance in them was also woeful, but schools have been neglecting civics for far longer than Bush had been in office.

This federal meddling in education being complaint about in the article is of course a further argument to get the feds out of education but that might be too complex a separation of powers argument for this study's civic-knowing authors to handle for now.

And as with all things, in lack of understanding of civics, it is women and minorities that are hardest hit:

The problem is exacerbated by evidence of what researchers describe as a growing “civic achievement gap” between white, wealthy, native-born youths—who demonstrate consistently higher levels of civic and political knowledge, skills, attitudes and participation—and poor, nonwhite and immigrant youths, who are thus at a disadvantage politically.

Well yes, if you're in a lousy area in lousy public schools coupled with not having been here as a child to learn civics in the first place, it is a shocker that you're at a disadvantage and don't know civics.

The sidebar of the article (at the bottom of the page) "American Know-How & the ABA" gets even funnier in that it blames conservatives for the decline in teaching "progressive" civics in schools. Yes, really.

In any case, it is nice for the ABA to recognize there actually is a problem. Perhaps they could urge other states' to adopt South Carolina's curriculum?

Surely UN can't be Syrious?

Via the indispensible Michael J. Totten: Syria to Join the UN’s “Human Rights Commission”

Really, while Syria is busy shooting down its own people in droves, the UN dictator's club is busy electing it to the Human Rights Commission.

Luckily, since the main (and almost sole) effort of the UN HRC seems to be condemning Israel, Syria should fit right in.

Oh, and under the Barack Obama administration, in a reversal from the Bush administration, the US is now supporting, legitimizing and approving this charade of a "Human Rights Council".

Goodbye Jeep, Hello RAV4!

After 11 years since its production and 8 years in my care and over 152,000 miles, it was time for the Jeep to go.

So introducing the new dive-, shooting-, kiddie transport- and everything else mobile my new Toyota RAV4.

My first new car, ever. Now I know what they mean by that new car smell.

11 Years worth of technology upgrades and automotive know-how makes this a very smooth and fuel efficient ride. So much so that I calculated I'm going to save $80 a month in gas at current prices. The 4 cylinder engine has plenty of pep and while it is not as quick on acceleration as the Jeep with the straight six, its actually pretty close.

I've already taken it to the dive site and the side opening rear door is perfect for gearing up - unlike the Jeep it does not come crashing back down on my head at awkward moments, such as when both arms are busy. The tanks and gear fit in perfectly.

The interior is quite roomy with everything laid out in a logical fashion, the seats are more comfy and form fitting and the suspension is so much nicer.

In short, its a very impressive vehicle and should be very suitable for everything I need it to do.

I spent quite some time online researching compact SUVs to decide possible worthy successors to the Cherokee.

Now I did try at first to buy American, but was stumped. You see, in the Detroit area they don't advertise the price that you as a consumer will actually be charged for the car. No. Instead it is the employee price plus lease loyalty and all sorts of other discounts that the non-employee doesn't qualify for so figuring out what you will actually be facing when you go to sit down and make a deal is just about impossible.

That is how a Jeep Liberty advertised as a $144/month lease ended up being $286-296 after the test drive and once we sat down to discuss it with the salesman (even with a CDI number I was being given by a friend), and the Jeep Patriot ended up costing even more! Apparently the Patriot's residual value is so bad, you can buy it for just $60/month more than the lease.

As to the Jeep Liberty, I was hoping it would be a worthy successor to the Jeep Cherokee it replaced. The current version doesn't even come close.

The steering was brutally stiff, so much so I wondered if the power steering was defective, the ride extra harsh and pickup seemed much less with as much road noise as the old Jeep. The turning radius was worse as was the overall responsiveness. After 11 years of engineering and IMHO an inferior engine that is all of 2 mpg more fuel efficient than the Cherokee it replaced, not impressive. In addition, the setup and height into the passenger compartment made it very hard for the kids to get up into the back seat - far worse than the Cherokee. If you want truck-like handling that makes it feel like a much larger truck than it is along with feeling every bump on the road in your lumbar region (this is not a good thing), go for it.

The Jeep Patriot was rather intriguing - 4WD, smooth handling, fuel efficiency with a 4 cylinder almost matching the RAV4s, good pickup, a decent layout and a CVT transmission that was capable if very noisy, but the price was ridiculous and a deal breaker. The salesman weren't willing to work things out package wise and couldn't make a 4WD fit our budget requirements. Maybe in three years when this RAV4 lease ends I'll look again at some Patriots coming off lease if they hold up. I expect they'll be going for quite cheap as most of the value of it will have been paid for in the 3 lease years.

Thence we went to Toyota and the experience was completely different.

At the Toyota dealership the advertised price was the actual price on arrival at the dealership. Quite refreshing after the Jeep experience. The sales staff were friendly, not pushy and very helpful in getting cars out to try and answering all my questions, not to mention encouraging me to take my time and thoroughly drive the car to be sure I like it.

So I now have a new RAV4.

Something to be said about the capitalist system when you can get a superior and more refined automobile for less than a demonstrably inferior one. So my first non-American car and so far its been a top rate driving experience.

I'll miss the Jeep but I'm really enjoying my new ride.

An Outing with Murphy's Law and the Pig

As Murphy's Law has related, he traveled to this pleasant peninsula and together we went to the fabled pit to play with his new M-60.

I also had a chance to shoot my new-to-me PA-63 and Bulgarian Makarovs, and a more detail review of both will come later.

I also shot my M&P 9, but it was so windy our target stand wouldn't stay up so fast draws on cans and boxes had to suffice.

But back to the important stuff: Shooting the M-60.

In one word - Awesome!

Murphy's Law on the M-60:

In seven words: - I gotta get me one of these:



 At the very least, I call designated ammo bearer Assistant Gunner.

Dive 176 - Union Lake on Easter Sunday

The dive was originally set for noon today but unbeknownst to me was rescheduled for 8:30 am later last night after I had gone to sleep. Luckily some other divers namely James and also decided to skip the 8:30 dive and we met around 3-ish and got in the water.

There's already some boat traffic on Union Lake but it wasn't too bad. Visibility was considerably less than just 11 days ago with quite a bit more weed growth and the boats are already stirring things up.

There was quite a bit of lake life to be seen: A huge Bass that got close enough to practically touch and a ton of crayfish, some approaching red-lobster-for-dinner size.

We also chanced upon two crayfish having an amorous encounter, something you don't see everyday. There was also a spurned crayfish just a short distance away feeling all rejected. We left the crayfish undisturbed in their crustacean reproduction efforts and continued on our way.

The dive was very good, I was feeling great, buoyancy and trim well under control and I had a great time, even if a bit chilly. A good time with some friends on an Easter Sunday afternoon.

The Details:
Dive Time: 38 Minutes
Max Depth: 37 Feet
Water Temp: 46 degrees
Air consumption: 700 PSI.

What happens when useful idiots aren't useful anymore

David Bernstein over at The Volokh Conspiracy notes the end of a pro-palestinian International Solidarity Movement volunteer from Italy who, while working to shield the terrorists of Hamas, was kidnapped by another Islamic terrorist group and killed when Hamas failed to meet the splinter group's demands. Bernstein also points out a particularly asinine tweet by the ISM about the murder.

Sort of an "own goal" as it were, not to mention a stupid choice of hostages.

You know Hamas doesn't see the ISMers as anything more than idiot human shields and propaganda pieces, so his value as a hostage for trade was nil (for a prior example, see Corrie, Rachel, Pancake). Either that, or the whole event was a setup to create an image of Hamas as comparatively moderate, which some media outlets already seem to have accepted. Had to say which really and it might be both at once.

Arab League wants a No-Fly Zone over Gaza.

Not to stop Hamas and friends from firing missiles at Israeli schoolbuses of course, but to stop any defensive response.

Low Dog on the Totem Pole makes some good points on the absurdity of the suggestion.

As I recall, members of the Arab League have tried to create no fly zones against Israel in the past. The last time such a thing was tried it didn't work out too well:

It is generally accepted that in the course of the first attack against the Bekaa an 9 June 1982, the IAF destroyed 17 of the 19 Syrian SAM batteries and their radar sites, as well as 29 Syrian Air Force (SAF) fighters, without loss. The following day, the IAF destroyed the remaining two missile batteries. The SAF once more challenged the Israelis and lost approximately 35 more aircraft, again without downing an Israeli aircraft. By the end of July, Syria had lost at least 87 aircraft

Good luck with that one Arab League, and quit trying to have the west do your anti-Israeli activities for you.

A Trouble with Transit

Progressive types love mass transit. Whether it be the current siren song of high speed rails to nowhere or busses to shlep the hoi polloi to the progressives' neighborhoods for work and back to their humble abodes, they likes it muchly.

There is of course a problem with mass transit. The drivers, being unionized liberals themselves tend to go on strike or out sick as they fancy.

In this case Detroit bus drivers called in sick so they could attend a union National Day of Protest in lansing.

The Detroit Free Press: 82 Detroit bus drivers call in sick, causing delays amid Lansing protest

Extra delays of 30 minutes or more for city bus riders will be the norm today after more than 80 Detroit Department of Transportation drivers called in sick to join protests in Lansing against Gov. Rick Snyder’s proposed budget cuts, officials said this morning.

By late morning, 82 drivers had called in sick, reducing capacity for the city’s buses to 80%, DDOT Director Lovevett Williams said at the city’s Rosa Parks Transit Center

Now if I called in sick under false pretenses, that would be grounds for termination. For the 82 Detroit Amalgamated Transit Union member bus drivers, not so much.

Mayor Dave Bing’s spokeswoman, Karen Dumas, said the drivers would not be paid for the day off.

“They have a right to call in sick and to protest – people call in sick for reasons other than illness,” Dumas said. “Our regret is it’s being done at the expense of people who depend on DDOT for their livelihoods, for their jobs.”

Well ok then.

At least some Detroiters get it:

Troy McPherson, 19, a fast-food worker from Detroit, said he believes in the right to protest but didn’t think it was proper for drivers to disrupt the city’s already slow, unreliable bus service.

“Do that on your own time,” he said. “Other people have business and family things going on. We’ve still got to do our jobs.”

Exactly.

A comprehensive and reliable mass transit system can be useful. one that is unreliable to begin with and one that can be disrupted at the will of a union, leaving its riders in limbo, not so much.

The Pool is Open! Dive #175 in Union Lake

Spring is here, the ice was off the lake, and it was time to go diving. Chad, Rob and I headed into Union Lake to shake off the winter blahs and check our newly serviced equipment last night.

The details:
Time: 35 minutes
Average Depth: 28 feet.
Water temp: 45 degrees.
500 psi used.

The water was markedly warmer than it was during my last dive in December when it was 36 degrees, but at 45 degrees its not exactly what you would call warm. I had on a heated vest that we're still testing and while it disconnected itself under water it did provide a nice initial kick of heat. A bit more product improvement and I'll be comfy.

There were lots of lake life on display as no boats had yet gotten in the water to scare the fishes.

Lots of large bass, a blue gill and even a large pike was seen near the boat launch. Once the boats enter the water the pike will be gone from the area to be seen only farther and deeper out into the lake.

Many crayfish were in abundance, lots of small bass and other fish were seen and there were three mudpuppies to be seen, including a very cute little one.

So a very good dive indeed. Buoyancy and trim was good on the dive, all the equipment functioned properly and no problems. Then we went to the Sweet Water Bar and Grill for some adult beverages to celebrate the opening dive.

It was a nice, enjoyable dive and a good way to open the season.

150 Years Ago Today, The Civil War Started With A Bang

150 Years ago today, at 4:30 a.m. April 12, 1861, the artillerymen commanded by Confederate Brigadier General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard opened fire on Ft. Sumter in Charleston Harbor.

The firing on Ft. Sumter was the opening battle of the American Civil War.

Beauregard's artillery instructor at West Point, Major Robert Anderson was commanding Ft. Sumter at the time and had refused Confederate demands that the Fort be surrendered.

The Fort surrendered the next day without a Union soldier being killed (one was later killed in the hundred gun salute negotiated as part of the surrender that was reduced to a 50 gun salute as a result). The Fort was returned to Union hands on February 22, 1865.

The Civil War would become America's most bitter conflict with over 618,000 killed and exceed all casualties in all of America's wars from the Revolutionary war through the Vietnam War. The battles in the war had casualty counts that rivaled American losses in the major battles of World War 1. Indeed, the Civil War in many ways foreshadowed the nature of combat in World War 1, and the bloodiest day ever in American military history was September 17, 1862 at the Battle of Antietam/Sharpsburg.

For an excellent overview of the US Civil War I'd recommend John Keegan's The American Civil War: A Military History It gives an excellent lesson in not just the military conflict but its cultural, social, political and economic background and effects and is quite well-written. After reading Keegan, there are a multitude of other excellent authors to delve into from sweeping overviews of the war to microcosmic analysis of individual battles down to the experience of a private on the battlefield itself.

The US Civil War is one of the most written about topics in American history.

There has been a book published about the Civil War for every day since it ended and more will continue to be published on the topic, especially this year.

Road From The War of 1812 Featured in the Detroit Free Press

The Detroit Free Press: Downriver War of 1812 trail gets its due
A road built through a swamp built out of logs for the movement of troops in the War of 1812 is featured in the Detroit Free Press today.

607 of the original logs are still in place and a visible marker of "Hull's Trace", the road built by General William Hull with that section built around July 4, 1812.

Pretty impressive that the remains of the log road are still there, almost 200 years later.

As yet another example of the more things change, the more they stay the same, people were bitterly complaining about the lousy conditions of Michigan's roads back then, much as they continue to do so today.

WWII Rare German Bomber Found Off Of The English Coast

The wreck of a Doernier Do-17 bomber has just been officially confirmed to have been found on a Kent sandbank.

This twin engine Doernier Do-17 bomber is the only known remaining example of the type. The bomber was found by a fisherman and then identified by some recreational scuba divers. It currently rests at a depth 50 feet on a sandbank and is in such good condition that the Royal Air Force Museum plans to raise and recover it.

Up and away: Rare German wartime bomber found in Kent seabed to be raised for museum display


Some very neat side-scan sonar pictures, showing the aircraft as it currently lies in the sand can be seen at the link.

This Do-17 is most likely the bomber that was shot down on August 26, 1940, the original combat report of the downing of the bomber can be read here.

None of the over 2,000 Do-17s built were known to have survived to the present, so if this one can be recovered and restored, it will be a unique historical aircraft and a fitting display for the memorialization of the Battle of Britain.

Detroit has gone to the dogs

The Detroit News: Postmaster, Bing meet over shootings, wild dog attacks

Animal activists estimate the city is home to 50,000 strays. Dogs have knocked down fences and run through glass doors toward mail carriers

The dogs are attacking mail carriers and otherwise making nuisances of themselves.

Of course, dogs are not the only threat mail carriers and others face in Detroit, there's human animals as well.

Wesley said dogs aren't the only problem. His letter detailed three incidents since December in which carriers were caught in gunfire and another involving a carrier accosted with a gun. "In my tenure … I have never seen the multiplicity of dangerous events spiraling at the same time," the letter read.

In other words, Welcome to Detroit 2011.

So are the Police looking for Phelpsian supporters as suspects?

The Detroit News: Police investigating racial slur on sign

A spokesperson for the Washtenaw County Office of the Sherriff said the department got two complaints around noon today that the road sign on Ridge Road near Holmes Road displayed the message "God hates (N-word)".

Police removed the sign and are now trying to figure out who tampered with it.

Hamas Scumbags Attack School Bus, World Media Yawns.

Hamas terrorists launched an anti-tank guided missile at an Israeli school bus. The missile critically injured the driver and a teenager. Luckily the bus was nearly empty when struck or it would have been much worse. They also fired multiple mortar rounds at Israel.

At the link above you'l see Honest Reporting notes on how the biased media reported on the event.

The Detroit News reported in a way to make the Israeli response have more emphasis and leaves it to the reader to guess who fired the missile strike:

Israel avenges attack on school bus

Jerusalem— An anti-tank missile fired from the Gaza Strip struck a school bus in southern Israel Thursday, wounding two people, one of them critically, prompting fierce Israeli retaliation that killed five Palestinians. Israel unleashed airstrikes and tank fire against Hamas targets across the border. It was the heaviest assault on the coastal territory since a broad military offensive two years ago. Besides the dead, more than 30 Palestinians were wounded.

Nice subtle bias there, and no mention of the over 50 mortar rounds fired by the Hamas scum either.

Considering it was an anti-tank guided missile, Hamas terrorists deliberately aimed at the school bus -- yes when you deliberately aim at a school bus carrying children you are a terrorist, period -- and admitted they did it.

You'll note that Islamic terrorists have quite a habit of attacking children.

Like the cowardly scum that they are, they like to attack those who can't fight back and those whom western society accords a high degree of value and protection. Solomonia has an interesting post on this phenomenon.

Hamas needs to learn that attacks on children have real consequences.

What if Moses had the Internet?

This is simply awesome:

Happy almost Passover 5771/2011!