Two Weeks with an Ax

And now for something completely different.

I have become a statistic. Over the holiday, I got a Playstation 3 as a gift. Shortly thereafter, I took advantage of a very large accumulation of Dave and Busters points and got myself a copy of Guitar Hero III. For those of you familiar with D&B, you have some idea of what it takes to accumulate 15,000 D&B coupon points. My fiancee and I have been saving them up for a couple of years now and she is really good at certain timing games. Definitely outside of the average. Thus, one "free" copy of Guitar Hero III came home. Hey, I had the points and didn't feel like polluting my home with an XBox 360, even "free".

I've played Guitar Hero before with my friend Tom on his XBox 360. Fun stuff but not something I was looking to get. Since I had the PS3, had talked about the game at work (several of my co-workers own the various games as well as Rock Band), I decided it was worth getting at the price offered.

Haven't picked up GTA IV since.

In playing the game, I found myself getting into the music. Plus it was music I liked and had grown up with in many cases. Yes, that is what being a teenager in the 80s will do to you. The game gets you thinking about playing the music itself and that it might be fun to do it for real. Being a technical person, inevitably the question began to form in my mind: "How hard is this to do?".

Bear in mind, this is not the first time I asked this question with regard to music. A few years ago, I decided to give the flute a try. Rented a flute and signed up for lessons with a good and patient teacher at Music and Arts. Things went reasonably well and got the basics started before my teacher had to go to Yugoslavia on short notice. He transferred his students to other teachers but I didn't like the other teacher. Given what the lessons were costing me, I stopped going. Within a month, I wasn't playing anymore.

I did it strictly to try it and to try something new. As a child, I never learned an instrument beyond the recorder (which every middle school student seems to suffer through) and never took music voluntarily. Just felt I never had talent or intuition for it. I was a nerd.

Guitar Hero got those thoughts going again. With the flute, I was told at the time it is one of the hardest instruments for a beginner to start on. Given my experiences, I can believe it. Until you can get the lip plate at the proper angle, shape your lips, blow and produce a steady tone, you go nowhere fast. To play a "G" note took me two weeks.

The guitar, on the other hand, is apparently one of the easy instruments to self-teach on. Anyone can pluck a string. It makes noise. Progress proceeds from there.

Three weeks of steady Guitar Hero and the question wouldn't leave my brain. My character flaw had kicked in and said, "Here's a new interest. Go forth and go crazy until you get bored or something else piques your interest.". So I put household feelers out and getting positive feedback, I gave in and two weeks ago I crossed the threshold and bought a real guitar and some beginner books.

I followed the first rule of beginning musicians: Get what you want to play. Easy choice since I wanted an electric guitar. Can't play rock and metal if you can't get the sound you've heard on the game. The electric guitar has another advantage over an acoustic as well as the flute: I can plug headphones in and torture only myself. Since I am in the words of David Lister "a tone deaf, tasteless noise polluter" when it comes to musical instruments, this is not a trivial feature.

So I went to Guitar Center two weeks ago today and bought myself a Les Paul starter pack and I have been slowly working through my books. I started originally with the Rock Band Guitar Method book that advertises you can learn to play the songs from the game without having to read music. It uses guitar tablature only. Despite being simple to start, you have to make huge leaps to advance. So I backed off that and went to the Hal Leonard Guitar Method Book 1, a classic beginner guitar book. It starts with one string on the first three frets and moves up from there. That's more my speed.

So I've spend 30-45 minutes each night with the book open on my desk, my ax over my shoulder and headphones on, picking away at "Ode to Joy" and "Yankee Doodle". Lame (except for "Ode to Joy", I love Beethoven) but I can play eight notes and almost complete the simple songs without mistakes.

So I am a Guitar Hero statistic. Not a child but still someone who has picked up a real instrument and taking a go at it as a result of the video games. What I lack in experience I make up for in patience and desire. Being old has its advantages. I've been downloading guitar tabs for songs I've liked and bought music books for the guitar including the Guitar Hero III songbook.

Let me tell you something Guitar Hero wizards: If you think "Give It Your Best Shot" by Pat Benetar is a super easy song to play, try picking up the real ax and attempt to chop through the opening riff of 8-10 notes. Even with the guitar tab, it's a four finger chord. Sure a beginner with no practice on the guitar could do it but they will not get far. Just trying the first note is educational. I can't even fit my fingers into that position long enough to strum it. Forget about trying to travel the neck for two or three of those notes.

Put simply, this stuff is hard! Even bands you might criticize as having simple songs or easy sounds, those guitarists are still doing things that you or I cannot. So my respect for any guitarist has grown considerably because I've seen and felt first hand the difficulty in trying to make those sounds, let alone making them seem easy.

Strangely, the song from Guitar Hero I can blame for this is "Minus Celsius" by Backyard Babies, a bonus song you can buy in the game. It just stuck with me. So much I've bought the album with it from iTunes and I have the guitar tab for it. I like that style of progressive rock leaning towards heavy metal or industrial. I grew up with Twisted Sister, Motley Crue, Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Def Leppard, Rush, Queen, Van Halen and so on. These are the sounds I want to learn how to play. Some seem straightforward. Others are ungodly.

But I'm enjoying it and not aurally torturing my beloved. Foster isn't sure what to make of this. Sometimes he'll lie at my feet while I practice. I think he's keeping an eye on this strange thing on his Daddy. When I play Guitar Hero, he gets upset. Apparently I am not paying enough attention to him.

I'd say I've made a good start. What I like about the guitar is it gives you instant feedback about your mistakes. If you aren't fretting the string properly, you'll hear it. And I've gotten further these past two weeks that I ever did in four months on the flute. I can play eight notes on three strings and working on my fourth string. Hey, we all have to start somewhere. I've picked up guitar tablature in a hurry and now I'm tabbing out the sheet music. I can read the music but tab is just so much easier.

I've enjoyed it so much that I went and bought a guitar effects pedal just so I could play around. Basically an expensive toy. But its fun to change up a song and switch from a distorted scream to bluesy. It also has a built-in metronome and drum machine so I can use it for keeping time. I am considering adding an electric bass guitar and working with that too. From what I've read, the bass is the easier of the two to learn due to a slimmer neck and fewer strings but really requires someone else to play with to make the songs seem right.

I eventually plan to seek out a teacher to advance with. However, a lot of teachers won't deal with adult students. Apparently we're too much trouble. But if you know a guitar teacher in the Metro DC area who is easy going and willing to work with adults and has good recommendations/references, I would consider sending my business their way. Also considering giving the Soundry in Vienna a visit as they might be accommodating to someone like me.

I don't think I'm doing too badly for a beginner. I don't know what a proper progression should be but given my pitiful music background, I think I'm doing ok. I'm enjoying it and making steady progress. Even though it is old fashioned, practice is the key. Every time I do it, the fingers are obeying just a little bit better and becoming more reflexive. I'm looking forward to simple chords and learning how to work up and down the neck.

Rock on! Have a good weekend everyone!

Hack or Warning?

Reported on Fox News this morning. Hackers in Austin, Texas have reprogrammed road signs to warn of dangers ahead:


Innocent prank or a warning of impending doom? You decide.

Gun Porn Unclelanche!

Thanks to Say Uncle for the Unclelanche I have received. And to The Firearm Blog since they are providing much traffic as well.

If this is the traffic I received for a single piece of gun porn, dare I ask how much I would get for a family portrait?

What say you, visitors and regulars? Would you feed my ego and make me feel loved if I emptied out everything I had and posed it for a once-in-a-lifetime, not to be missed group portrait? Virtually my whole collection for comparison, drooling and to highlight how much I yet need to collect? I'll throw in brimming ammo cans for ambiance as a bonus if it'll draw you voyeurs in to admire naked wood, plastic and steel.

Regardless, I appreciate the love! Thanks for stopping by and enjoy yourselves if you've never been here before!

Bite Me, Brady! #5 - "Weapons of War" Edition

If you follow the news, you've probably heard in cases of mass shootings how they were caused by "weapons of war" and how they have no place on America's streets. Often, this is followed by some bated breath, media orgasmic reference to an "AK-47". No matter what happened, if more than two people were shot, you can wager money that the police spokesman will report it was an "AK-47". Of course, they know that detail but never bother to back it up with images of cartridge cases, witness descriptions of the perpetrators, the color of their car or what clothes they were wearing. But they do know the gun.

Funny how some details manage fall into place and others do not.

So today we're going to talk a little about "weapons of war".

AK-47, AR-15, G3/HK91 and FN FAL lookalikes are not "weapons of war". They certainly resemble them but they are not. People are confused about their appearance and assume they are battlefield rifles. Although they possess many of the desirable characteristics of such rifles like reliability, ease of maintenance and so on, these guns have never seen the dirt or grit of a war zone. More like the padded rest of a bench or the sterile lighting of a range. But as long as people will lie or distort the truth, this confusion will continue.

The funny thing is that "weapons of war" are far more common in America that these rifles if a visit to a gun show is any indication. I'd argue for every AR-15 or AK pattern rifle I see on a table at a show, I can find five true "weapons of war" nearby and readily available for sale.

By "weapons of war", I'm referring to surplus firearms. Things like Mausers in all their shapes and variations, Italians Carcanos, Mosin-Nagants in all their shoulder-bruising glory, your grandfather's M1 Garand, Great War Springfield 1903s, majestic Enfields, obscure semi-automatic rifles that only saw limited use like the Egyptian Hakim or FN-49, Civil War-era muskets and breechloaders, Zulu War Martini-Henrys and everything in between. A century or more of armed warfare all arranged for convenient access and ready sale.

And no one bats an eyelid when someone buys one and walks out the door with it after passing the required background check. Yet, people get up in arms over the lone military-style look-alike rather than real thing.

Where is the outrage? Where is the demand for something to be done? There are literally thousands if not millions of real, honest-to-God former "weapons of war" in civilian hands today and no one is screaming about that. Hell, some even come with their combat accessories and cleaning kits including bayonets. Where's the hue and cry over this?

Many of these guns are semi-automatic. But because they often have fixed magazines and are bedded in a traditional wood stock, most people think of them as hunting guns. They don't look dangerous so they're ok. Or they are bolt-action weapons so they get a free pass too. This despite the fact many have detachable magazines or capacities greater than five rounds.

Such as the Lee Enfield. This bolt-action rifle has a ten round box magazine. Although detachable, it never was removed and instead was loaded with 5 round stripper clips from the top. But during World War 1 and after, the British would exercise their troops in what was called "the Mad Minute". Soldiers had 60 seconds to fire as many aimed shots as possible with their Enfield rifles. The expectation was a soldier could put 30 aimed shots downrange in that minute. That was with reloading. That's a shot every two seconds on average with a bolt-action rifle that had to be loaded manually with two stripper clips for each full magazine between relays.

Which simply goes to show that the effectiveness of the firearm depends a great deal on its user and not necessarily its functionality.

Yet no one cries about the availability of Lee Enfields. Despite the fact that guns like this did serve on battlefields, likely shed blood and often bear the scars of those encounters. But no one complains about an average citizen owning a "vintage high-powered battle rifle". Apparently only the modern ones are evil.

So this edition of "Bite Me, Brady" is dedicated to those "weapons of war".

May I present one of the more obscure "weapons of war", specifically from World War II: The French MAS36.


This is a bolt-action rifle with a few unusual features. First, it fires the oddball (at least to us) French 7.5mm cartridge. Like most nations of the day, the French had their own standard rifle cartridge. But typical for the French, they had more than one. The 7.5mm French was a modification of their earlier 7.5x57mm MAS mod.1924 cartridge used in the FM24/29 light machine gun.


The second unusual feature is its bolt handle. Notice that it is canted forward. This gives the MAS36 its distinctive look. The reason for the forward cant of the handle is due to the fact that unlike the Mauser and several other rifles, the locking lugs for the bolt are at the rear rather than the front. The bolt face is smooth and the chamber machined only to accept the extractor. As a result, the handle is canted forward to allow for better leverage when cycling the bolt to allow the shooter to lock it in place properly without excessive force.


Despite its classic and attractive stock, the MAS36 is a weapon meant to shed blood and it shows in its design. One non-visible aspect of this is the fact the MAS36 has no safety whatsoever. Childproof this rifle is not. The moment you chamber a round, the rifle is ready to shoot. MAS36s were often carried on patrol with no round in the chamber and the soldier cycled the bolt to load a round the moment combat occurred.

The other combat feature it possesses and only found on feared "weapons of war" is an integral bayonet. The MAS36 features a 12 inch spike bayonet stowed under the muzzle. To affix it, the user presses the retaining clip in, pulls the bayonet out of its handy carry slot and flips it around and places it back in its receptacle which locks it in place.

It makes the rifle into a true menace. Or it would if it wasn't a French weapon. Alas, unlike the "weapons of war" used by the Allies, French rifles didn't see a lot of combat usage. It's one of the reasons why they can be found today in such great condition. My MAS36 is in near-mint condition. I guess the reason is because most French rifles have never been fired and only dropped once.

To facilitate its proper role in French service, the bayonet tube contained space for the most used accessory on the rifle in combat. Below we see the rifle in its typical French Army combat configuration*:

As you can see, the spike bayonet came in very handy. Not to mention the good proportions of the rifle made it easy-to-use in this configuration. The long length and sturdy bayonet made the MAS36 an ideal surrender flag. Foreign Legion service excepted, of course.

The MAS36 was redeemed in French service and really did see reliable usage in combat in Algeria and French Indochina before being replaced by the MAS49/56 semi-automatic carbine. The MAS36 did also serve as the basis for the MAS44 semi-automatic rifle and served with distinction with the French Army in heavily modified form for years as the FR F1 sniper rifle.

The French experience aside, "weapons of war" like my MAS36 are in the hands of millions of collectors nationwide. I personally own around a dozen including this most recent acquisition.

So I don't understand this demand to get "weapons of war" off our streets when a) they're already on our streets in our homes without being misused and b) they probably outnumber "evil black rifles" by a factor of five or ten to one.

And in almost all cases, far more powerful than an AK-47 look-alike with much greater reach. Why would a gang banger go to close range when a good, old fashioned war horse can do the job from a dozen blocks away? You can even hold them sideways if you want.

So our "weapons of war" remain lurking in the shadows, waiting and watching for that moment to burst onto the criminal scene. But in a way, I'm glad the glamorous AK-47 and sexy AR-15 take the spotlight. That way, we can be left to collect and accumulate these well-worn and reliable weapons peacefully. I'm sure Paul Helmke will get around to demonizing them when he gets the chance. Not that I expect he'll succeed in making his delusions of "common sense gun laws" come true.

At least if he tries and I decide to throw in the towel, I'll have the means to surrender properly in the finest French tradition.

Vive la France!

* No, the French did not issue white flags as standard equipment for their soldiers nor did they have a space with the bayonet for one to be stored to make surrender easier. But we like to make fun of them due to their military prowess. Google "French military victories" for an exhaustive list.

Off to the Merchant of Death

I'm off to my local Merchant of Death. I need to pick up another weapon of war. Pics when I get back!

Removing Another Gun Banner Lie

Gun banners won't be able to use gun control in the context of reducing child deaths because of guns in the home along with violent video games anymore. From GamePolitics:

A researcher at Texas A&M International University has concluded that there is "no significant relationship" between school shootings and playing violent video games.

So if a gun banner says you need to have your guns removed from a house with children because they might have played GTA4, you can throw this in their face. Especially since the article cites that high-profile shootings had nothing to do with video game play beforehand.

So It Begins

I did watch the swearing in. I did because of a comment made by Chris Core on WTOP regarding the transition. I wanted to see the Secret Service make the snap from Bush to Obama. Didn't see it unfortunately.

However, I did note that they just managed to squeak by the 20th Amendment. Not that many in the crowd would have known this but that amendment requires the President be sworn in by 12 noon on January 20th. Obama wasn't sworn in until 12:05pm.

I say squeaked by because I think the planners of the ceremony were cognizant of that fact and that the 20th Amendment states that the Vice-President is the President until a President can be qualified. If anyone noticed, Joe Biden was sworn in at 11:58am before inaugural music was played prior to Obama's swearing in after noon. So the 20th Amendment was satisfied. Barely.

For five minutes, Joe Biden was President of the United States until Obama took the Oath. Not that anyone would notice and I doubt there would be any serious challenge to Obama's legitimacy since the 20th Amendment was satisified. It was close but it was satisfied. I believe few people in that crowd realized what had really happened in that 7 minute span of time. But it was legal. Hopefully that will silence any critics who claim Obama "isn't their President" much as the Left did with Bush in 2000 and ever since.

I don't like the fact Obama is President of the United States. I wouldn't have voted for him and I certainly take issue with his policy positions. But his Presidency is legitimate and I do respect him for the office. As a man, it will take longer for him to earn my respect. Hopefully he will.

What I want to remind gun owners in this time of trial and tribulation is even though President Obama would likely not turn away any anti-gun legislation placed on his desk (it would be the greatest sign of his character to do so in accordance with his Oath but I digress), the ultimate power to make law does not lie with him. It lies with Congress and the Senate.

It is our duty as citizens and future citizens-to-be to make it known to our representatives our desires. I am so sick and tired of hearing them referred to as "leaders" and too many Americans have fallen into that trap and accepted our representatives describing themselves as such when they are not. They represent us and are supposed to act in accordance with our desires as constituents, not theirs. Remind them of it.

The best way for us to not despise Obama for his gun control positions is to never allow those preferences to reach his desk for signature. We must be vigilant, constant and express our voices forcefully and repeatedly to those we elected to represent, not lead, us.

Every time an anti-gun bill comes up for a hearing or a vote, we must be there. Pholne calls, e-mails and preferably letters. Make our feelings known. And for those representatives who will not listen, they are no longer worthy of our support and we should try to oust them from office in future elections.

So let's dig in and let the future bring what it will. Regardless of how you feel about President Obama, I hope he has a good, uneventful term in office. History will eventually judge him. I'm going to give him a clean slate.

It has begun.

President Bush Commutes Compean and Ramos Sentence

Just head on the radio and confirmed on MSNBC.

President Bush pardoned Border Patrol agents Jose Compean and Ignacio Ramos. Good, finally proper justice was served.

I may not have agreed with you on everything, President Bush, but I think in the long run history will judge you more kindly than the media has. I believe at your heart your a decent, personable individual and this final pardon is proof of that.

Thanks.

Updated: Apparently, he commuted their sentences and not pardoned them as some outlets reported. Different result and message but still acceptable.

Karma

I did my good deed for the week yesterday.

Earlier this year, I was stopped in traffic near an on-ramp. By normal traffic rules, merging traffic is required to yield to traffic already moving. Since it is rush hour, it is stop-and-go and I pretty much subscribe to the "let one in" model where each car merging gets let in one at a time. Kind of a natural law of the road in most areas.

Not this time. A fellow in a small SUV decided that he was going to merge in front of me along with the car I was letting in. In my world, this doesn't fly. Traffic is barely moving and you can wait your turn. Besides, I really dislike people who think just because they are edging forwards means they win.

He forced himself in anyway despite having no room to do so and me honking my horn. C'est la vie. He's an asshole.

I was right about that part.

Traffic begins to move. Bear in mind I'm sitting on the upslope of a bridge. So I wait for him to start moving. His brake lights go out and instead of rolling forward, he lets his truck roll gently backwards into me. My foot never left the brake pedal.

Aforementioned asshole immediately leaps out of his car, screams that I rear-ended him, starts pounding on my hood and window demanding I get out and see what I did to his car. Not in my world, pal. I'm on the phone to 911 and the dispatcher can hear this guy yelling. I'm calm and cool but I am not getting out to deal with this person.

Eventually we pulls off as the police arrive, exchange information and I go on my way after telling the cop what happened and the fellow's behavior. A couple hours later, the guy calls my phone, apologizes for his actions in making me think he was threatening me and says he isn't pursuing a claim because there was no damage.

I kept the police report and still have the message and this idiot's phone number. Just in case. But the whole incident could have been avoided had one person been there to say what had happened. The people beside and behind me could attest that my brake lights never went out and I never moved an inch until he rolled back into me.

I won but it was a hollow victory. Just another asshole in Tyson's Corner. My word against his and that is all I had.

Fast forward to last night. Another usual night on the Capital Beltway. Slow moving traffic, the usual crawl. A car with PA plates in front of me. But what had my attention was the car in front of him. Car had a customized tag and was swerving as we travelled over to the shoulder, practically pulling off and then slowly swinging back out, crossed the lines into the other lane towards other cars and at the last minute, swing back. Some cars thought he wanted to merge, backed off and opened a space. To which he swung into and then swung back into the lane I was in. Very odd.

Once, you chalk it up to someone not paying attention. We're all guilty of it at some time or another. Usually nothing more than scaring ourselves. But this continued for several cycles. A few times, he crossed into the other lane and missed the cars by inches or was warded off by honks from people seeing this car come into their lane for no reason. With the sudden reaction behind to swung wildly back towards the shoulder before settling down.

By the fifth time, I was convinced this guy was drunk and was going to hit someone. I pulled my phone out and keyed "911" but paused since I didn't know if a report of someone swerving but not hitting anyone would be considered an emergency. So I decided to wait and watch and if this guy hit someone, I'd pull off and act as a witness for the cops.

He did.

Not five minutes later, the whole predictable wander over the shoulder and then towards the opposite lane occurred and this time he smacked into a poor guy sitting perfectly still. Traffic scattered as the two touching cars decide what to do. I pass the two, slide onto the shoulder, flip my hazards on and wait. A minute later, the two cars pull in behind me.

I wait and watch in the mirror as the two men inspect their cars and begin to exchange information. I pull out a piece of paper and write down my name and phone number. I then get out and walk towards them. The guy that hit the other guy asks "We you involved?". I say "No. I saw it happen.". He said nothing else and went rooting in his car.

The fellow that got hit was knelt in front of his bumper taken down the guy's information. I interrupted him, informed him I saw everything happen, indicated it wasn't his fault and if he needed a witness for a police report, insurance or court to call me. I handed him my information. He thanked me and I wished him luck. Five minutes later, I'm back on the road.

A hour later, the fellow calls me and thanks me profusely again. He was glad that someone had stopped who had seen it happen so he wouldn't have to go through the "he said, he said" game with the insurance company and was it ok if he gave his adjuster my contact information? "Absolutely!" was my answer. I wished him well and to call me if he needed my help in anything over this matter.

I didn't have to stop. I didn't have to risk myself or spend my time doing so. But I felt an obligation to do so. I saw this guy get hit through no fault of his own and he didn't deserve the extra hassle of having to find the other guy's version of events or outright lies after the fact. I had observed this guy's behavior prior to his negligence and I felt my observations would prove useful.

I was the only one who stopped but it made this guy's day and turned what would could have been a serious irritant in his life to a mere inconvenience.

Sometimes these small things matter. It took little out of my day to do it and perhaps restored or reaffirmed someone else's faith in humanity.

Plus, I feel good for having done it.

Karma points. I like them.

Resolutions

Well, another year is upon us.

In retrospect, 2008 was an excellent year. Job is excellent, no worries about my future here. Home is likewise excellent with a loving fiancee who will become my wife this year along with my adopted, four-legged furry son. Life with a dingo is never boring. I call it toddler boot camp. And no, following my April wedding there will be no announcements about a new member of the Armed Canadian's shooting family.

Looking forward into 2009, I am not going to make predictions. It will be what it will be. I can tell you some things that will happen:

• My gun collection will increase modestly in size. Probably only 1-2 additions this year. Too many things like a wedding to pay for.
• On September 28, I will file my N-400 in order to become an American citizen. I am counting down the days.
• I would like to actually make progress on projects I've been nuturing and dreaming about for years.

There are things that I would like to do not out of any sense of resolution but because I feel lacking without them. I realized recently that I lack any real "survival" skills. Not in the sense of finding food, shelter or my way in a wilderness situation but in a practical sense. In a post-apocalyptic economic collapse or long-term civil unrest I find that I don't have much in the way of ability that would be useful in a practical sense. Notably, not much in the way of trade skills.

I loved shop in middle school and I took several years of mechanical drafting in high school. I enjoyed in thoroughly. I don't mind getting my hands dirty. When I had a motorcycle, I did all my own maintenance. It was a lot cheaper than having the dealer do it and I felt that if I did it, there was no one else to blame if something went wrong. Only another motorcycle rider can understand the direct impact that poor maintenance can have on a bike. A car breaks down and you can roll to the shoulder safely. A bike breaks down and you'll be lucky to make it to a safe stop upright and uninjured. Hence why I did my own work so there would be no one else to blame.

Plus, it was fun. At the time I was in the process of building an engine. Really not that difficult provided you read and pay attention. Such things appeal to the technically minded. I'd probably make a great mechanic.

Which is my problem. I have no skills I think I can barter for goods or services. Sure I can read and following a blueprint. You hand me a stack of lumber, a saw, tools, a blueprint and say "Build that", I will be able to. But that I think is a skill everyone has. I'd hope.

I feel a lack of worth because I can't weld stuff or machine my own parts. I'd really like to learn how but have no idea where to go for something like that on a casual learning basis. I could go to a trade school but they don't really offer night classes in welding. Same for learning how to turn metal on a lathe. If I knew how to machine and turn metal, I'd build my own guns from scratch. Just need someone to teach me the skills and the basics.

Same goes for reloading. Now there's a survival skill. I'd say the first cottage industry that pops up in the post-zombie hell will the local gunsmith/ammo supplier. Trade in 50 pieces of brass and get 10 loaded rounds. Something like that. I really need to learn how to reload.

In a sense, I have to. With skirmishing to look forward to this spring, I will be learning the basics in a black powder sense. I will be casting my own bullets and measuring powder for my musket. I am looking forward to that.

I want to grow the blog beyond 2nd Amendment issues. I have other passions in life. I look at Marko's site and I really want to follow in his footsteps and complete some significant fraction of the novels I have ideas for. Just for myself. I've alluded to this in the past and posted some snippets. There are at least four stories I want to tell. Getting published would simply be a bonus.

One commenter pointed out it was wonderful that I was looking to write in the tradition of Isaac Asimov and focus on the human aspects rather than the technical that a lot of science fiction tends to focus on. The fact the commenter even made the comparison I consider to be no higher compliment. I am certainly no Robert Heinlein or John Scalzi but to even think I might be able to tickle the bottom of Asimov's feet, let alone stand alongside him, in a genre sense to me would be enough.

But that's what these stories are really about. Sure, the technology supports them but it is fundamentally all about their experiences. I just don't know which character has a more compelling story. Alas, I don't think I have any great plot twisting, shocking or amazing endings that Scalzi or Richard Moragn might write. But think the characters and their struggles would be fun stories to tell.

I want to make some headway in getting back to personal software development. Before doing this as a career, I used to write code for fun. As the years have passed I've done less and less of it. My dream is to write the code framework that will allow someone to adapt any classical, hex grid based, paper-and-dice wargames to the computer. I have a shelf full of old games and a fond wish is to have the ability to play them solo on the PC.

Attempts have been made to do the odd game here or there by others but I want something grander. An easy-to-use framework that can be adapted to any game. Bring these old games back to life and introduce a new generation to old-style gaming without the paperwork hassle and information overload. Some that would make James Dunnigan nod his head in agreement. In my fantasy, I would find out that my coding framework or game adaptions were being used at the US Army War College to teach strategy and tactics.

And for those of you would understand this, I want to be able to play Renegade Legion from Centurion up through Prefect in a completely integrated gaming system. Then go from there.

If only I didn't need to work for a living.

Despite the election and uncertainty in the world, I think it is going to be a good year.

Have a good weekend everyone!