Tuesday, March 28, 2023

There Was a Warning

3/29/23 Sydney Morning Herald:
"Washington: The shooter who killed three children and three adults at a school in Nashville sent a series of chilling messages to a friend moments before the attack, warning “something bad is about to happen”.

In an apparent suicide message received minutes before the rampage, 28-year-old assailant Audrey Elizabeth Hale wrote an Instagram note to a former school basketball teammate that also declared: “I’m planning to die today.”


Not enough time for police to intervene but still a warning.

Making Gluten-Free Bread in a Breadmaker

My wife is gluten intolerant but the smell of fresh baked bread.... So I tried to make it using a suggestion to add a teaspoon of honey and teaspoon of vinegar.   Tastes fine but also makes a fine building material, I am sure.  That is the whole loaf!

Does This Finally Answer the Question About a Solution?

3/28/23 Washington Times:

Nashville Police Chief John Drake said the school shooter Monday decided against attacking another school because it had “too much security.”

The revelation during a press conference Tuesday rekindled the debate about having armed officers at schools across the United States.

Trust her/him; it knows where not to go murdering.  It also suggests its rage was not specific to this school which zhe attended. 

 

Better 30 Years Too Late Than Not At All

 Lawmakers in Ore., Calif. attempt to expand involuntary commitment : NPR

Statistics Question

When you have a very small population (500 people) even a small number of incidents can produce an atypical rate per 100,000 people.  Over a period of several years, these atypical events tend to even out.  I suspect that there is a statistical term for describing this analytical problem.  Do you know the term?

"regression to the mean"

Monday, March 27, 2023

Watch the Spin

3/27/23 New York Post:

The shooter who stormed a private Christian elementary school in Nashville on Monday, killing three students and three staffers, was identified as a 28-year-old white transgender woman named Audrey Hale who once attended the school, authorities said.

The left spin besides the obvious: "If they had just accepted her transness back then, this would never have happened."  Perhaps if they had not messed with his identity and hormones he/she/evil might not have taken this revenge. 

The only good news: the police did not pull a Uvalde.  They did what they are paid to do, risk life and limb for public safety.

Unnerving Coincidence

 I get phishing attempts by text every few days claiming to be from FedEx.  Today's was from a Cremation Service.  When I opened two boxes on my doorstep they were ashes boxes for my wife and I.  We signed up with Neptune Society a few days ago.  I knew our ashes would be delivered in these very elegant boxes, but their arrival now caused me to think of Isaac Asimov's famous science paper parody: "The Endochronic Properties of Resublimated Thiotimoline" Astounding Science Fiction (1948)

What if we do not die?  (Yes, my wife considers me a hopeless optimist.)  Where will we store them?  Will our kids know where they are?

Sunday, March 26, 2023

This Explains So Much

My speech therapist mentioned this.  6/13/18 Science Alert:
"A defining trend in human intelligence tests that saw people steadily obtaining higher IQ scores through the 20th century has abruptly ended, a new study shows.

The Flynn effect – named after the work of Kiwi intelligence researcher James Flynn – observed rapid rises in intelligence quotient at a rate of about 3 IQ points per decade in the 20th century, but new research suggests these heady boom days are long gone."

IQs are dropping 7 points per generation both in Norway and Britain since the 1970s.

This is even happening within families so it is not the Idiocracy syndrome.

Wednesday, March 22, 2023

New Primary Source Documents Addition

 Transcripts of the trial of Timothy McVeigh.

I am glad that he confessed before execution.  I found reasonable doubt reading the transcripts.  His defense attorney was spectacular.  The government's case was full of holes.  The leftover leg and the retired Northern Ireland Medical Examiner's description of an IRA bombing that was premature and left eight torsos and nine penises was pretty amazing.

Tuesday, March 21, 2023

A Doctor in the Family

My daughter was just awarded her doctorate in social work.  She only gets the Dr. Cobb treatment for a little while 

Monday, March 20, 2023

Victory (and My Small Part)

Boland v. Bonta (C.D.Cal. 2023) granted a temporary injunction against California's Unsafe Handgun Act.  I played a small part (see pp. 14-15)..  Cornell portrayed early gun proofing laws and gunpowder storage laws as evidence the government has always the right to intervene in firearms laws for public safety.  My part cited by the judge was testifying that these laws only applied to large quantities (30 pounds and 28 pounds being common amounts).  Demonstrating that Cornell did not even have the right location for the N.Y. law was just icing on the cake.  This was six hours on Zoom hold.  By the time I finished poking holes in Cornell's declaration, California's attorney did not cross-examine me 

Saturday, March 18, 2023

A Quote That I Vaguely Remember

Part of it was "The British Empire was created by accident and otherwise..."  it is a very witty aphorism that sounds like Samuel Johnson in my memory.   Why do I need it,  I am reading R.F. Kuang's Babel: an Arcane History.  This is a profoundly entertaining parallel universe which you will have to be enchanted by when I finish it or you read it yourself.  

Kuang is clearly a fascinatingly brilliant scholar (working on her Ph.D. at Yale now) and a spectacularly beautiful young woman.  She is one of those reminders that people in the extreme tails of intelligence have a heck of a time finding mates, because people of dissimilar intelligence lose interest in each other pretty quickly.  How I met my wife is one of those reminders that God works in mysterious ways.

Wednesday, March 15, 2023

How to Stop Mass Murders

In the middle of a very good Politico article by my friend John Lott about why Biden's proposed gun control measures are already in effect in California without success, is a link to a list of 37 mass murders stopped since 2015 by concealed carriers.

Fascinating Home Mortgage Rate Inversion

Or is it a perversion?  My credit union is offering 30 year fixed at the same interest rate as the 5/1 ARM: 6.625%.

Clearly, interest rates will be dropping in the next several years. I am just too tired to figure out what these differences tell us.

Treasury bond yield-curve inversions signal recession is imminent.  What does a flat mortgage interest curve tell us?

I misread this: 30 year fixed 6.875%.  10/1 ARM 6.625%.  It still tells us something but I do not know what.


That might hint at a coming recession if the slope was more severe 

Today's Phishing

Hello
There is an unclaimed inheritance fund of my foreign late client who has the same last name as you.                               
Regards,                                 
Kelly Adams

My response was to ask for his social number and bank account number.

Biden Executive Orders More Gun Control

Working from the Ammoland description:

One of President Biden’s stated goals is universal background checks. To get closer to his goal, he will order the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to change the definition of someone engaged in the business of selling firearms. Most states allow gun owners to sell their firearms through private transactions without paying a federal firearms licensee (FFL) to transfer the gun.

The courts will never uphold a single sale as requiring an FFL unless done for the purpose of making a profit or to a disqualified person.  Do not sell a gun to anyone unless they have a carry permit.  (This is already common by private sellers in Idaho.)  Make a copy.

The second action the White House is taking is launching a public relations campaign to educate the public on the use of Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPO). ERPO, also known as “red flag laws,” strips gun owners of their firearms rights in an ex parte hearing where the gun owner cannot defend their rights. Many believe these laws are a violation of due process. Biden wants to educate people on how to file for ERPOs to increase the number of red flag orders issued.

Only some states have ERPO laws.

The Biden Administration is also asking the Department of Transportation to work with shippers to cut down on stolen firearms and speed up the reports of missing shipments. This request could mean new regulations on firearms shipments or new requirements for shipping firearms. Many gun owners worry about changes since Congress has been putting immense pressure on shipping companies leading some to change policies that have made it more expensive to ship guns. 

Because thefts from common carriers are already a big source for criminally misused guns, this does not seem unreasonable.  When I was an FFL, UPS left a shotgun on my doorstep in an apartment building.  Requiring signatures is not that hard and might simplify catching UPS employees stealing guns as has been a problem in some cities.

Biden vowed to crack down on “rogue” FFLs, and the ATF revocation of FFLs is up 500% since Biden took office. The White House will now require the ATF to release information on FFLs violations publicly. Many see this as a war on the gun industry. 

Go ahead.  Many of the revocations will be exposed as harassment; some will show improper actions.  Shame those people.

Biden will also use the Department of Defense (DOD) acquisition of firearms to attack the gun industry. It isn’t clear what he means, but this could mean putting stipulations in government contracts with firearms companies to prevent the sale of certain firearms to the public. He is also ordering the Federal Trade Commission to investigate “military imagery” used in the advertisement of guns.

How many commercial vendors have military contracts?  Not many.  The advertising issue is not entirely without merit.  Most responsible gun owners know what an AR-15 rifle is for; those who do not are probably not people we should encourage.  It is bad enough that the dying legacy news media are telling unstable sorts what gun to use when they go out in a storm of infamy.

Biden is playing the gun banners; he is going to need a lot of money for 2024.

Good article by John Lott pointing out that Biden wants to impose California's current laws that work SO WELL on the rest of us.

Saturday, March 11, 2023

So Glad I Do Not Work in Software Anymore

3/11/23 National Review explains the Silicon Valley Bank collapse and how lots of startups that did not pull their money out now will have no money to pay bills (you know, like salaries).  Their deposits exceeded the FDIC $250,000 insured amount so they may never see most of those millions again.  The left got screwed by bad decisions and rising inflation.  Leftists do themselves in again!

Honesty is Wonderful

Naomi Wolf admits she bought the Jan. 6 lies:

"There is no way to avoid this moment. The formal letter of apology. From me. To Conservatives and to those who “put America first” everywhere.

It’s tempting to sweep this confrontation with my own gullibility under the rug — to “move on” without ever acknowledging that I was duped, and that as a result I made mistakes in judgement, and that these mistakes, multiplied by the tens of thousands and millions on the part of people just like me, hurt millions of other people like you all, in existential ways."

Good News For the Big Kitty

Replacing the bottom seat cushion did wonders.  There is now adequate support.  Even more pleasing news is that lumbar support that was missing is no there again.  Having my back a little higher up allows the seats natural lumbar support to do its job.  If I had to drive to Portland I would no longer dread it (until I actually reached Portlandia).

How Did I Miss This?

2/17/23 Fox News:

Police in El Paso, Texas say that a "licensed-to-carry" bystander shot the alleged gunman who is accused of killing one person and injuring another three.

The suspect, a 16-year-old Hispanic male, is accused of shooting the individuals after a "confrontation ensued" between two groups at Cielo Vista Mall on Wednesday evening at 5:05 p.m.

The El Paso Police Department said the confrontation eventually escalated into a "physical fight," and the 16-year-old pulled out a handgun, fatally shooting Angeles Zaragoza, 17, and injuring another 17-year-old and 15-year-old.

Police say that Emanuel Duran, 32, who is a licensed-to-carry holder, shot the suspect as he was pointing his gun toward the direction of more bystanders....

Investigators learned there were "at least" two more people who were legally armed, but weren't involved in the shooting.


Friday, March 10, 2023

You Can Have My Chicken When

You pry it from my greasy fingers.  3/8/23 Guardian:

"Chickens kept in gardens will have to be registered under planned new rules."




Nice Surprise

I think I need a travel monitor for my laptop so I can get more done when traveling.   Of course where are most of these made? You know.

I did some hunting. SideTrack is made in Taiwan and not hideously more expensive than PRC.

Needed: Audiologist Black Powder Shooter

Yes, we need an expert witness with credentials who can measure and testify credibly about hearing loss associated with colonial era firearms. Think: suppressor law.

Wednesday, March 8, 2023

Balloons

The newest conspiracy theory: hot off the paranoia press.  (My wife heard it from a friend.)  The U.S. sends thousands of those balloons aloft to control us.  It is not the fault of CNN, Fox, ABC, or the general ignorance of most Americans, it is the balloons.

Tuesday, March 7, 2023

They Are Not Even Our Friends

 From gunpolicy.org:

“Harmless” .22 calibre Rabbit Rifles Kill More People Than Any Other Type of Gun Contrary to their popular image as low-powered “bunny guns,” .22-calibre rimfire rifles are commonly used in multiple shootings. In seven recent mass(1) killings involving .22 rifles in Australia and New Zealand alone, 54 people died by gunfire

Yes, they are setting up to ban rimfires.  But it makes you wonder how many semiautomatic mass murders in the U.S. involve rimfire rifles, which are generally exempted from A/W bans.  Yes, paranoid schizophrenic used a  Ruger 10/22 to murder 3 and wound 7.  There seem to be a lot of Ruger 10/22s used.  Cascade Mall.

Sunday, March 5, 2023

Illinois Assault Weapons Banned Ruled Unconstitutional

3/4/23 Washington Examiner:
"An Illinois judge declared the state's gun ban and registry law unconstitutional on Friday.

The ruling by Macon County Judge Rodney Forbes means the law, signed by Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker in January, cannot be enforced and is now awaiting an appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court. Initially, Forbes intended to take a couple of days to consider his decision but later signed his order after a couple of hours, according to the Center Square.
"Well-established Illinois authority provides that a law declared unconstitutional pursuant to a facial challenge is void, as if the law never existed, and is unenforceable in its entirety, in all applications," attorney Jerry Stocks, who was representing state Republican Rep. Dan Caulkins in this court decision, said in a statement after the order."

I doubt this is done.  Still good news.





Saturday, March 4, 2023

Maximum Gun Purchase Age?

In an otherwise responsible article about the claim that mass murders fell during the assault weapons ban 2/17/22 Newsweek:
"A recent Newsweek poll found a majority of Americans agree that there should be a maximum age for purchasing firearms, although respondents did not agree on the limit.

The poll—conducted between January 28 and 29 among a sample of 1,500 eligible U.S. voters—found 52 percent of respondents supported the imposition of a maximum age requirement for the purchase of firearms.

Among these, 20 percent of respondents thought the age limit should be set at 60, while 16 percent said that it should be set at 70."

So too young to buy a gun and too old?

This Does Not Surprise Me

3/7/11 CNN:
"U.S. has highest bipolar rate in 11-nation study"  4.4% is a lifetime chance.  The point prevalence measure is 2.8%.

People with Bipolar Disorder I are disproportionately represented in prison and jail populations.  People with Bipolar II are frighteningly energetic and effective at what they do.  Because this is an inherited problem I suspect the generally risk-taking Bipolars tend to immigrate to new places.

A little deeper in:
"The topic has been the subject of at least one book, "The Hypomanic Edge: The Link Between (a Little) Craziness and (a Lot of) Success in America," by John D. Gartner, Ph.D. Gartner, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, discusses the hypomanic qualities of entrepreneurs and leaders who took risks to come to America. (Hypomania is a milder form of mania in which a person feels exuberant and may be highly creative without losing touch with reality or experiencing psychosis, which can happen in some people with mania.)"

Trying to Find This

 Someone broken into an FBI agent's car and stole seven guns, including two submachines.  Does anyone have a reputable news source on this?

Thanks.  DuckDuckGo seems better at finding these.  I also found local police losing submachine guns to theft and the U.S. military unable to find grenades, M4s and Beretta pistols (some after being used in crimes 600 miles away from where inventory showed them) 

Friday, March 3, 2023

Big Kitty Has a Future

I took it McDowell's in Boise.  They confirmed the seat spring is okay.  The bottom seat cushion needs replacing.  Being a genuine Jaguar part it is $450 but replacing it (which requires removing the seat) is only $199.  Much cheaper than a new Corvette and I otherwise love my Jaguar.   I still would not mind 500 horsepower. 

Auto da Fe Time for Mayor Adams

2/28/23 Politico:

I do not necessarily agree with his implied correlation means causality but it is a pretty severe slap in the face of important Democratic special-interest hate groups.

"At an interfaith breakfast Tuesday, Mayor Eric Adams seemed to regret the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling that banned school-sponsored prayer in 1962.

“When we took prayers out of schools, guns came into schools,” Adams said to applause from hundreds of religious leaders gathered at an annual event in Manhattan.

Adams was discussing the role that people who attend synagogues, churches, Sikh temples and mosques could play in reducing societal ills from homelessness to domestic violence.

"Don’t tell me about no separation of church and state. State is the body, church is the heart. You take the heart out of the body, the body dies,” Adams said."

Thursday, March 2, 2023

Illegal Immigrants Coming Across the Southern Border

3/2/23 NY Times:
The Canadian southern border.  NYC is shipping them to the border.

Twilight Zone

I thought I saw every episode in syndication.   One of course starring George Takei was too controversial to show.  It involves a samurai sword brought back from WW2 that takes over a Japanese-American and deals with the racial hatred that came out of WW2, but in a surprisingly un-PC way.

I am not allowed to work past noon so I am watching Season 4 right now.  "Printer's Devil" starring Burgess Meredith who is more than just the guy who sets type on a Linotype.  He has made some modifications to it so news stories he sets take place afterwards, just trying to help the failing small-town newspaper.   There is a cost for the editor and it is not hard to guess.

There is another one set in the Appalachians with a woman using witchcraft to get the man she wants from a rival.  The incredibly beautiful face of the woman using witchcraft looked familiar.   It was Anne Francis.

"The Parallel" involves an astronaut who goes up and someone that looks like him comes back who is some subtly different. 

Another new one involves a little girl who falls out of bed into a parallel dimension.  Mom and Dad can hear her calling them but they cannot see her so they call up their friend the physicist who helps them find her.  A really eerie set of special effects for the parallel dimension in which she and her dog have fallen.

If you do not remember the name, she was in Forbidden Planet and a short-lived female and  detective show called Honey West.  It was unique.  It was a half-hour dramatic show.  Not typical for the 1960s.  What I recall vividly is that Honey had a pet ocelot and she was played as a capable if beautiful private detective.  Aside from an opening where she is dressed in a beautiful very attractive dress, the show was serious without using her looks to hold the audience (not Charlie's Angels). I really enjoyed it.

That Bizarre Canadian Shop Teacher

I am sure you have seen the story.  A very manly shop teacher came back from the summer break with what appear to be the largest breasts in human history wearing suggestive outfits and calling herself Kayla.  Some claim they are a prosthetic which she denies.  The very PC school board has placed her on leave after she was photographed without the absurdly enormous breasts.

I have heard it suggested that he was just trolling the school board and Canadian elites.

Pacemaker

My cardiologist says that I am probably goinf to need a pacemaker in a few more years.  Have any of you had that done?  She says that it is done under a local anesthetic which seems unbelievable if they are going to put leads into your heart.

Required Minimum Distribution

IRAs have something called a Required Minimum Distribution.   Starting at 72, you are required to take a substantial fraction of your IRA each year.

Now I know that one of the goals is to make sure you do not leave too much wealth to your kids.  The left does not like having to compete for condos at Aspen or Jackson Hole or Ferraris.  Does anyone know what the stated goal was? More tax revenue from the distributions?

Wednesday, March 1, 2023

Very Busy

But I need to take a break every once in a while.  I am writing a rebuttal to Prof. Saul Cornell's "expert declaration" in the challenge to Hawaii's assault pistol and LCM ban.  

It is amazing how his declarations just keep getting worse and worse and Hawaii is paying him $750/hour to produce crap that even just looking up citations shows he is misrepresenting.   

But there is some fun as well.  At one point he claims that were few pistols in the Colonial era, and those were mostly dueling pistols in the hands of wealthy and elite sorts.  (Yes, rampant Bellesiles-ism.)  Of course, I have more evidence proving him wrong on this than I can reasonably use.  Thousands of 1720s through 1760s newspaper articles and ads for pistols.  And archeological digs with pistols and pistol bullets.  And I get paid to do this!

Raiders of the Lost Ark

I just watched it again.  I have seen it so many times since my first viewing in a Westwood theater and each time I get something more out of it in pleasure. 

The fight sequence in the Nepalese bar, the "I'm making it up as I go" sequence, the opening of the Ark sequence, the Gestapo man melting, the swordsman vs. revolver sequence, the "Top men" and the collection of Army Intelligence crates.   

Something new this time.  Obviously his revolver was lost during the battles with the Germans on the truck.  When we seem him leave the captain's cabin near the end he has switched to an M1911.

I find myself wondering what Jewish reaction was to the film.  It is certainly reverent in its portrayal of what God's reaction would be to National Socialists playing with the Ark even if some of the early descriptions of its powers are really not Biblical. 

Tuesday, February 28, 2023

Great Bumper Stickers

My wife saw a car with an amusing combination of bumper stickers:  Be Patient Student Driver and Student Driver: Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid.

Monday, February 27, 2023

Yet Another Public Health Reason

2/24/23 UPI:

"Feb. 24 (UPI) -- Daily marijuana users face a one-third more chance of developing coronary artery disease compared to those who have never used the substance, according to research released Friday from the American College of Cardiology."

I am convinced George Soros funds the marijuana stuff to take down America. 

Checking Primary Sources

 From N.J.'s brief defending their requirement of affirmative consent from private property owners for licensees. 

“New Orleans in 1816, Ex. 7, prohibited “any person to enter into a public ball-room with any … weapon.” 

Left out is that the law provides:

Article 1. It shall not be lawful for any person to enter into a public ball-room with any cane, stick, sword or any other weapon , and every person having either a cane, stick, sword, or any other weapon, shall, before he enter the ball-room , deposit the same at the office which shall be at the door of the entrance of said ball-room, where there will be a person appointed to receive and take care of such articles, which he shall carefully keep, affixing to each article a number, a check of which be shall give to the owner ; and said articles shall not be returned to the persons respectively depositing them, until said persons are quitting the ball , and produce their checks.[1][emphasis added]

Sunday, February 26, 2023

Winning the Battle for Gun Rights

2/26/23 NPR:

Mass shootings targeting LGBTQ spaces and a rise in anti-trans rhetoric have inspired some queer people to take up arms. New Hampshire Public Radio's Todd Bookman joined the monthly gathering of a gun group that sees firearms as key to their own self-defense. And as you might imagine, the story does include the sound of gunfire.

TODD BOOKMAN, BYLINE: On a recent Sunday morning, the parking lot of Pawtuckaway State Park in southeastern New Hampshire is filling up with hikers. There's also a different crew packing up warm clothes and weapons.

FIN SMITH: Thank you all for coming to Rainbow Reload.

BOOKMAN: Today's organizer is Fin Smith. Like everybody else in this story, they've requested some level of anonymity because they fear for their safety.

SMITH: I recognize the temperature is freezing, and this is not the most comfortable, but if it's raining, we're training. If it's snowing, we're going.

BOOKMAN: Groups like Rainbow Reload exist around the country, often called pink pistol clubs. It's a place for experts and the gun-curious to practice and improve their shooting, but this goes beyond hobby. There's a practical goal here, to prepare and protect themselves.

SMITH: If the world is dangerous, then you have to be dangerous back. And that very much has pushed me into where I am now.

LGBTQWTF and drag shows for children bug me, but everyone has a right to be left alone.  Sometimes, shooting back is the only to fix that. 

But the Science!

Fascinating article in Quaternary Research Reviews.

A discussion of temperature change over the last 11,000 years.

"The Holocene defines the period during which civilisation
developed. Published sources provide multiple examples of societal
collapses that occurred during the last 6000 years, on local and
regional scales, synchronous with abrupt shifts to drier and/or
colder climate regimes (McGhee, 1981; Weiss et al., 1993; Hodell
et al., 1995; Dalfes et al., 1996; Weiss and Bradley, 2001; deMenocal,
2001). The frequency of wars has also been closely tied to climate
variations during the past millennium (Zhang et al., 2001), testi-
fying to the central importance of climate changes to human well-
being."

Everyone Needs A Laugh

 Over at Quora, a question and answer:

Absolutely. All of my guns are very well behaved and pose no threat to me at all. I raised most of them from when they were little derringers. They are well trained and highly disciplined. I have to admit though that one of them sassed me one day. I put it to bed that night without any ammo and it hasn’t caused any problems since.


Saturday, February 25, 2023

March 1: Conjunction

Jupiter, Moon, and Venus will be in conjunction within a degree of each other.  If you have a telescope or a fairly long lens on your camera it might be a good time to take a photo.  I plan to, weather allowing.

Oh yes, the conjunction also means you need to empty all your bank accounts and send them to your favorite blogger or your love life is shot.  Remember Tycho Brahe: "Astronomy is the bastard child of the whore astrology."

Thursday, February 23, 2023

Not the Story I Was Looking For But Unsurprising

 1/24/23 NPR:

Three shootings with multiple victims shook California over the last few days. The shootings Monday at two farms in Half Moon Bay, Calif., closely followed a massacre over the weekend at a dance hall in Monterey Park, Calif.

That's no surprise, say scientists who study mass shootings. Research shows that these incidents usually occur in clusters and tend to be contagious. Intensive media coverage seems to drive the contagion, the researchers say.

Back in 2014 and 2015, researchers at Arizona State University analyzed data on cases of mass violence. They included USA Today's data on mass killings (defined as four or more people killed using any means, including guns) from 2006 to 2013, data on school shootings between 1998 and 2013, and mass shootings (defined as incidents in which three people were shot, not necessarily killed) between 2005 and 2013 collected by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

The lead researcher, Sherry Towers, a faculty research associate at Arizona State University, had spent most of her career modeling the spread of infectious diseases — like Ebola, influenza and sexually transmitted diseases. She wanted to know whether cases of mass violence spread contagiously, like in a disease outbreak....

"What we found was that for the mass killings — so these are high-profile mass killings where there's at least four people killed — there was significant evidence of contagion," says Towers. "We also found significant evidence of contagion in the school shootings."

In other words, school shootings and other shootings with four or more deaths spread like a contagion — each shooting tends to spark more shootings.

"So one happens and you see another few happen right after that," says Jillian Peterson, a criminologist at Hamline University in Minnesota and founder of the nonpartisan think tank, The Violence Project. She wasn't involved in the Arizona State research but has found similar patterns in her own research.

Towers and her colleagues also found that what set apart shootings that were contagious was the amount of media coverage they received. "In the incidences where there were four or more people killed, and even school shootings, those tended to get national and even international media attention," says Towers.

Can we ban "assault media"?  Obviously not.

Wednesday, February 22, 2023

The Corvette Was Calling My Name

More precisely a nice young salesman named Michael Melendez at Hometown Chevrolet in Fruitland somehow figured out that I had a Corvette jones.  I admit that yes, this is the last realistic item for the man who has or can afford everything.   It was not the convertible but it had the 3LT interior package which are the same seats as the 2LT package.   The only disappointment with my Jaguar XF is that the seats are not sufficiently supportive and seat customizers here say that the structure does not allow for any improvement even at absurd pricing.

Anyway, this was a blue hardtop (removable roof panel). The seats are very supportive.  It had not been driven except off the transporter so we just took it for a spin in the parking lot.  

Corvettes have had one year wait times for several years.  (Down to six months now.) This one was available because the guy who put down a $10,000 deposit when he ordered it has had some financial reverses and some financing problems so this bargain-priced supercar was available. 

Mr. Melendez tried to make the sale but took it well when I explained the convertible need.

If you need to spend something under $100,000 on the ultimate car, give him a call.  Perhaps if the expert witness stuff keeps coming my way, I will just pay cash for one.

And by the way, even the hardtop is an amazing car.  The seat bolsters are adjustable to hold you in place during those 1G turns.
It feels so neat that I felt a little guilty getting back into the Jaguar.  I think I heard it grumbling.

I wonder if aftermarket seats for the Jaguar might be the solution. Even $2000 on comfortable seats in a car I really love makes more sense than $85,000 on one of the world's best cars. But there are no Recaro dealers near me (like hundreds of miles). Who competes with Recaro?

I found an exploded parts diagram of the Jaguar seat.   There is an assembly labeled seat spring under the cushion which might be worn out.  A local car upholstery shop says it could be either and I am going to have them take a look.  I suspect something is worn out because the seldom used passenger seat is much more supportive and does not crush down when I sit in it.

Monday, February 20, 2023

The Other Side of the Ice

A gripping account of a really bad idea.  Navigate the Northwest Passage with your children and grandchildren and a couple friends while recovering from toe surgery.  He received considerable insight without any loss of life.

Can You Find This?

 Boston, Massachusetts


From the October 27, 2009 Boston Globe:
A patient in a psychiatric center near the Massachusetts General Hospital stabbed his doctor this afternoon before being shot dead by an off-duty security guard, police said.

The physician is in stable condition, Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis said at a press conference this afternoon as he described a chaotic scene.

A relative said the victim was Dr. Astrid Desrosiers, a Massachusetts General Hospital psychiatrist who worked at the center. Isabellie Desrosiers, Desrosiers' sister-in-law, said she had been told by Desrosiers' sister that Astrid had been shot. Police identified the patient late this afternoon as 37-year-old Jay Carciero of Reading.

The actions of the security guard, who does not work at the hospital, were hailed as "heroic" by Bonnie Michelman, head of security for Massachusetts General Hospital 

Thanks one of you  found it.


A Few Years Back...

 Mentally ill patient starts rampage in hospital.  Psychiatrist draws from desk drawer, stops the incident.  Pittsburgh?  Does anyone remember?

Saturday, February 18, 2023

Odd Request, But It Is Gun-Related

 Some years ago, I recall a suit involving a same-sex wedding reception to be held in a facility in Delaware or New Jersey.  The facility was owned by the United Methodist Church (or at least one UMC church) and they refused to rent the facility for a same-sex marriage.  (Yes, the UMC refusing that surprised the heck out of me.)  Can anyone point me to that suit?

Wednesday, February 15, 2023

I Finally Bought Some Idaho Municipal Bonds

 They have a 4.08% yield to worst and the dividends are exempt from federal and state income tax.  Idaho is unlikely to go bankrupt.  Yes that is unlikely to match inflation over the next few years, but it is a very low-risk investment.

A Little Busy

 Attorneys in Rhode Island and New Jersey have hired me to help.  And I am working cases in California, Oregon, Illinois, and (sort of) Georgia.

What is a Fice?

 In a book about frontier life:

“When a boy, he went coon hunting one night, accompanied by two hounds, a cur, and a small fice."

What is a fice?  Google did not know.

Tuesday, February 14, 2023

Who or Where Was the Guy Who Stopped a Mall Shooting at an Incredible Distance in the Last Year or So?

It was briefly news.  A guy with an AR-15 shot and killed one person before a civilian took a 20 yard shot and disabled the shooter.

Found it!

Monday, February 13, 2023

Do You Have a Miami Herald Subscription

I need this article http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/broward/article202486304.html

Never mind.  I bought the $1 starter subscription.

Thursday, February 9, 2023

Too Good Not To Share

A relative had a child who become quite ill and the solution was Pepto-Bismol.  At one point he rose and vomited.  The result was like a Teletubby murder.

Does Your Library Have This Book?

 Pollard's History of firearms (1983).  I need an image of p. 210.  Oregon State at Corvallis has it.  I need this as part of killing Measure 114.

Thanks to all.  It turns out to be scanned in full.

Wednesday, February 8, 2023

Better Than I Expected

Meteor (1979).  With Sean Connery, Henry Fonda, Brian Keith and a number of other stars of the time.  Clumsy special effects and one serious technical error involving a tsunami. 

Colt Blackpowder Revolvers

I believe they were designed to easily replace one cylinder with another for rapid reloads. Am I right?

Weird Problem

There is a web page   The item labelled source volume which is supposed to have a link to this.

I have changed the page locally then used FileZilla to upload the whole page. ]

FileZilla shows the file transferred okay, but when I reload the page, my change does not appear to be there.

Never mind: Pilot error.

Tuesday, February 7, 2023

How Many Times Do I Have to See Stories Like This?

2/7/23 KSN-TV:
"Jones, who entered the Omaha Target with an AR-15-style rifle and began firing before he was killed by police had been repeatedly sent to psychiatric hospitals because of his schizophrenia. But because Jones was never formally committed, he was able to keep purchasing guns legally, underscoring how little so-called red-flag laws do to keep firearms away from deeply troubled people."

His parents thought his hospitalization would get him on the firearms disqualifier list.  It did not.  The whole story is one of hallucinations, a mother with schizophrenia, suicide threats, and a system that refuses to treat severe mental illness seriously. 

Lever Action Tactical Rifles

 You laugh but while producing an expert declaration for a Highland Park, Ill. case, I found that in the three years before the 14th Amendment incorporated the Second Amendment against the states, Winchester was advertising its repeater as two shots per second.  That is 120 shots per minute, comparable to an AR-15, perhaps very slightly slower. Hence, YouTube is now awash in tactical lever action videos.

 But an AR-15 is magazine fed.  The Winchester lever actions were only 18 rounds.  That's okay, you can buy lever action speedloaders on Amazon.

Here is a homemade one in use.


Buying Idaho Municipal Bonds

 Yes, it is time.  A few of the odd collections of stocks that I own still have high yields, like PVL with a 15.92% yield, but some of the others have taxable yields higher than the tax-exempt municipal bonds.  Time to take those behind the barn and shoot 'em.

I am waiting for some sell transactions to complete but Id Hlth Fac Auth Rev REV 3% 03/01/2051 Callable has a yield to worst of 4.393% first callable in 2032, by which point I may not care.  Remember that is exempt from both federal and Idaho income tax.  That is equivalent to 6.56% taxable income in my marginal tax bracket and is safer than almost any stock.  Reducing taxes to the most wastrel entity that taxes me is a win as well.

The market is rising today, so I may do this over several days.

Christian Healthcare Ministries

 For several years, my wife had no health insurance.  Being disabled, I had Medicare and I purchased a Medicare Advantage plan from Blue Cross of Idaho, which covers all the stuff Medicare does not (which is really anything that does not put you in the hospital).  It is about $60/month, on top of the $160 or so held back from my disability check to pay for Medicare coverage.  This has turned out to be cheaper and better coverage than my last employer health insurance at State of Idaho, which I thought was pretty good.  Deductibles are utterly reasonable.  This should tell you how much of medical insurance is covering catastrophes.

My wife, until recently, stayed home to take care of me, which past the first six months after the stroke seemed unnecessary, but it was nice to have the company.  But what about insurance?  Obamacare, as many of its fans soon discovered, was hideously expensive with annual deductibles of $5000 typically.  Private insurance alternatives were no better.  (And that was the goal.)

If you are a professing Christian, Christian Healthcare Ministries may be a solution.  They operate on the New Testament model of Christians looking out for each other.  You pay a fixed amount each month, sort of like a insurance premium.  Any incident, meaning an accident or disease problem that exceeds $500 they cover the costs.  You are encouraged to pay upfront to get the cash discount, which is typically 10% off; in a few cases, this has been 50% off.  That $500 is not a deductible; my wife's clear-cell carcinoma treatment was paid in full, because getting above $500 was no problem.  She went back every six months, then every year for follow-up visits and each was reimbursed in full.  (This is all one incident as far as CHM is concerned.)

Even if you have insurance, this may be good if you have a high deductible.  Medicare has a $750 deductible for hospital stays and $250 for inpatient procedures (like the hernia repair a couple years ago).  CHM covered that $750 deductible.

Now that my wife is working and has health insurance, not quite as generous as my Medicare Advantage plan, we dropped her from CHM.  We can add her back in at any time.  Because of the Medicare deductibles I have stayed on CHM for $123 per month.  It may not make sense, because six months of CHM is one hospital stay deductible, but this makes it easy to add my wife back in, if needed.  And it is nice to know that I am helping out other Christians using CHM.  

Why so cheap?  CHM does not cover addiction treatment, mental illness, abortion, or STD treatment.  Except for mental illness, these are largely consequences of behaviors that professing Christians should not be doing; mental illness treatment can be hideously expensive.  Imagine what our society would spend on healthcare without substance abuse and promiscuity.

Back when you were required to have health insurance or pay a tax each year, CHM was considered health insurance even though for legal reasons, they must insist that they are not.

If you fit the profile visit here.

Monday, February 6, 2023

Sense of Humor

The F-22 that shot down the spy balloon now has a red balloon painted on the side, a first kill for the F-22.

Sunday, February 5, 2023

Birdshot and Overpenetration

2/5/23 Shooting Illustrated article about whether birdshot as a technique for avoiding overpenetration of walls when engaged in home defense.  

The short version: it is surprisingly effective at distances of less than 20 yards in sheetrock.  They (suggest better or more training.)  This is why my primary home defense gun (in the unlikely event anyone here was stupid enough to break into an occupied residence in one of the most heavily armed states in the Union) is a Browning Hi-Power.  It now has a 6 pound trigger pull and is mighty accurate.  I would still be concerned about overpenetration but it seems like anything with enough power to be an effective disabler is going to overpenetrate except for brick and concrete walls.

I remember my disappointment some years ago when a friend used material from his new house to construct multiple walls for testing.  Everything from .380 ACP JHP to .45 ACP Silvertips easily went through six sheets of drywall.  I doubt insulation would have helped much.

Make sure you practice with realistic targets and distances with multiple paper attackers.  Best of all move to places that do not believe in catch-and-release law enforcement. 

Saturday, February 4, 2023

The Russian Government Has Lost the Plot

They have an ad attempting to recruit American veterans to join the Wagner Group hyping the idea that a small number of families decided what countries we have invaded during the War on Terror and Russia alone is fighting evil.  It ends with sort of a threat of American cities getting nuked if Russia does not win.  Great way to get patriotic Americans on your side.