The GOP is screwed

Read this.

And then read this.

Why is Trump still ahead in polls?  Because a huge chunk of former GOP voters are so pissed off at the betrayal of the GOP that they're willing to let things burn down than continue the charade of "representative" government.

We’ll be honest with you Mr. Erikson – Trump could have shot Megyn Kelly in the face on stage and we’d still vote for him. After all… one does not criticize their wrecking ball when it’s going about it’s assigned task. After 2015′s “year of congressional betrayal,” it is patently obvious that this war is no longer about “principles” or “beliefs” – such notions have no proper place when mentioned in the same sentence as “the Republican party.”

The GOP is reaping what it sowed over the past six years.  Or two decades.  Trump is what happens when the GOP alienates so many people that they would prefer to see the destruction of the modern Whig Party rather than suffer through yet another Republicrat.

Potato Cannon

....fired.

I got a spud to fly close to a football field of distance.  We'll see what I can do tomorrow once I start playing around with wadding and other avenues of keeping gas from leaking around the projectile.

It's been dry in the Northwest lately

So consequently, the farmland of the Palouse has been turned into a rather fine dust.  And the winds have picked that dust up and dumped it all over Northern Idaho.

I can feel the grit on my teeth right now.  Although my parent's yard is getting some great topsoil deposited on it.

Profit Margins

Hardcover books sell for what these days...  $20?  $25?

John C. Write responds to a review of his newest book Somewhither (which I'm reading right now, review to follow sometime later).

I am happy to be “shoplifting” under such circumstances: I get paid more than twice my cut of the take had the reader bought this book in hardback.

So he gets more than twice the scratch from a $4.99 purchase on Amazon than he does from a $20 purchase at a brick and mortar store.

Tell me again how Amazon is destroying the book market in this country?  I can't afford $20 for a new book.  I can afford $4.99.  And the author makes over twice what he would normally make when I purchase the $4.99 Kindle book.

Yeesh.

So, the new gun

Took it for it's maiden voyage today.  Put 100 rounds through it.  Please keep in mind that I'm not a gun writer, or a gun reviewer.  I'm just a guy who likes to shoot, so don't expect any chronograph measurements or physics lessons from me.

You can read the specs on it here.  I won't re-hash them.  Here's my initial impression.

It's a steel slide on a polymer frame.  I originally thought that might give it too much "kick" for a small gun.  The grip is textured and contoured to fit your hand.  The grip itself is small-to-medium, but the magazine has a small extention that makes it large enough for my paws to grip.  Without that I wouldn't have purchased the gun, as my pinky would have been hanging off the bottom.  Magazine holds 12 rounds.  Sights are white dot, with the rear sights being adjustable.

I shot the pistol while I was standing with no support.  Hey, I'm in the country.  My target was a cardboard box sitting on a brush pile that I made yesterday.  I figured that if I were to use this gun in a defensive situation, I wouldn't have a bench rest or sandbags.  Ammo was Blazer Brass 115 grain FMJ.

My first ten rounds downrange at 15 feet grouped at 3 inches.  I moved back to 25 feet and could still make a 4 inch group with the second ten round magazine.  My worries about the weight of the slide giving the gun more "kick" was unfounded.  In fact, the recoil was minimal, all things considered.  My .38 Special has more of a kick.  Acquiring the target was easy, and re-acquiring it was quick.  I had no problem getting the gun back on target for a second shot.  I did a number of "double-tap" shots, and while I wasn't as accurate as a single aimed shot all my shots hit within an 8x11 square.

The grip was comfortable; I didn't have to fiddle around or play with my grip in order to get the gun where I wanted it.  It's one of the more natural grips I've found in a pistol, and that's saying something.  My big problem with Glocks is that they just don't fit my hands.  I had no problem with this gun.

All I did right out of the box was wipe off some of the gun grease they had on it.  I gave it a good wipe-down after the range session, and there wasn't much to really clean.  It ran without a hitch right out of the box with no malfunctions or FTF.

Add in the fact that this gun's MSRP is just a hair over $300 - it's a steal.  I've fired guns that cost twice as much that aren't as accurate or as fun to shoot as the Taurus.

All in all, this is a fun gun to shoot.  It's accurate and easy to control, which is really what you want in a carry pistol.  I have a feeling that I'm going to be putting lots of rounds downrange with this gun in the next year or so.

Potato Cannon

Built.

If you have teenaged boys and enjoy watching them make loud noises, this is your book.

I'm letting the glue cure, and I'll be giving it a test run tomorrow.

I am sitting outside

Smoking a Gurkha Beauty, sipping Maker's Mark, and listening to the coyotes yip and howl in the woods.





This is what my life is supposed to be like.

It called to me

Who was I to resist?

So I now have a 9mm to go with my other guns.  I'd been looking for a carry gun for hot climates.  My .45 is nice, but it's a big frame and it prints in light clothing.  The Taurus should work just fine in a climate where I can't throw a sweatshirt or flannel over my t-shirt, but have to rely on much lighter clothing.

The reviews I saw on it were rather complementary, it felt good in my hand, and the sights fit my eyes.  I'll give a report once I run 100 rounds through it.

A new new computer

So, I had gotten a new computer a while back.  MacBook Air.  It's a sweet little job, fires up quick, nice and light.  And then the Ragin' Mrs' computer went Tits up.

Sigh.

As we're doing our reviews and figuring out what she wants, she keeps casting gazes at my MacBook Air.

Fine.  Let's go get one.

Since A) we're not rich, and B) I'm military, we go to AAFES and check out what they have.  MacBook Air?  Nope.  MacBook Pro?  Yep.  Price?  It's on sale, and the price is lower than we would be paying for a new MacBook Air OR a plain MacBook.  By a wide margin.

So she gives me those little eyes....

Anyways, I'm now using my MacBook Pro, while the Mrs. has reformatted my two-month-old MacBook Air and has claimed it for herself.

She's happy.  And the one thing that bugged me about the Air was the lack of a CD/DVD drive, and now I have one.  Plus more memory for my various things.

I'm still traveling.  On holiday, as it were.  Sorry for the light posting, but I'm not at a computer very much right now.

The Debate

I just saw a poll that showed the only politician to improve his standings after the debate is Ted Cruz. The other folks who improved their standings were non-politicians (Fiorina and Carson).

Ya think the GOP is going to listen?

Nah.  Me neither.