- I'd like to start off saying- this one wasn't mine. Thank goodness!
We'll call him Mr. Z, one of the engineers I work with. Apparently he had been cleaning his carry sidearm (I don't know what sidearm he carries, nor is it terribly important. Suffice it to say, it's a 9mm semi-automatic).
To clean said sidearm, he dropped the mag, racked the slide, checking the chamber visually as he did, reinserted the mag, racked the slide again, riding it forward.
Some of you already see the problem- bear with me.
What he neglected to do, if he is going to use the mag as a hold-open method when clearing the weapon, is to *check the mag* AND ENSURE it's empty.
So that was first gig...
Then he inserted the mag into the weapon, and rode the slide forward. This is two failures, way I see it: he didn't slingshot the weapon (pull slide back forcibly, and release), and he failed to maintain control of the weapon, ending up with his hand in front of the muzzle.
Additionally, he apparently had his finger on the trigger throughout this. I can attest to how easy this can be to do, and yet swear you never touched the trigger-- I have a 45ACP hole in my wall to this day to remind me of it, from my own AD about this time last year.
Adding insult to (severe) injury, the weapon sent a 9mm bullet through his (I am not a doctor, I am relating what I was told) 2nd metatarsal near the radius, effectively shattering the metatarsal and causing damage to the 3rd metatarsal, and perhaps some damage to the wrist as well. Subject has no feeling at all in his offside index finger, and no feeling in the near side of his middle finger on same hand. He's visited a (hand surgeon- what're they called?) today and will likely be out all week in the near term before attempting to come back to work- nevermind the time he'll have off work for PT, surgery, etc. There may even be a concern of him losing the finger, the way it sounds. (Again, I am relating info third-hand, as "what the Doctor said")
I won't relate any of the "black humor" that's circulated around the office regarding this. Let's just say that once we'd related our wellwishes for his recovery, he was fair game- most of us are former military, and a lot of us are former military shooters at an above average level. Yeah, once he's healed up, he's gonna have to run the gauntlet... this is our way of saying "we're sorry you had an accident, hope you get better soon... NOW- don't ever do that shit again!"
(I have mentioned, I am not a Politically-Correct person, haven't I?)
So- I've said it before, I'll say it again. I am kinda OCD about clearing weapons after my experience. To clear a semi-auto, I:
-Drop the mag- examine the mag. DO NOT put the mag back in the weapon. Verbally state if the mag is cleared or not- if it isn't cleared, clear the mag of all ammo.
Parenthetically: if you're one of these folks that uses the mag as a hold-open- stop it! Stop working around the system, stop being lazy! Use the slide lock, or hold the slide open manually if your weapon doesn't have one! Hell, stick a spent casing in it- stovepipe it intentionally, if you're using that special semiauto that doesn't have a slidelock! I use spent shtgun shells as holdopens/chamber flags on my AK for exactly this purpose.
-rack the slide and lock it in the open condition. Visually look in the chamber for a round. Insert the pinky finger into the chamber as you do- verbally state the condition of the chamber, and make it clear if need be. Then and only then:
-visually examine and touch the breech. Verbally state the condition of the breech. Make it clear if it isn't. Then and only then:
-look down the magwell via the ejection port. See daylight or other light through the empty well. Verbally state the condition of the magwell. Then and only then:
-State the condition of the firearm as "Weapon is clear".
-if you put the weapon down, immediately clear the weapon upon picking it up again. Same, if a weapon is given to you, even if you've seen it cleared by someone else. NO exceptions! I will often do this three times in succession- I've seen an old rusty shotgun that had a shell stuck in the tube come free unexpectedly- could have been a horrible surprise.
Is this OCD? Why yes, it is. Will someone likely comment that it's too much work, or duplicative? Of course- that's the point.
I haven't been shooting for all my life. I am not a dummy, either. I know intellectually that a weapon I just set aside, turned my back on, with no ammo in the house, and noone else home, IS empty. But how long does it take me to clear the weapon every time I handle it? 10 seconds, on a slow day. Isn't that worth it?
I hate to play Armchair Quarterback, but if my friend had done my little OCD clearing drill, he would not be looking at possibly losing a finger, nor would he be in great pain as he is presently. Also, we wouldn't be writing rude nicknames on his whiteboard for his return ;)
Worst of all, by far-- he's gonna have to listen to the Misses rag his arse about this one till he dies. Believe it. ;)
Clear 'em, folks. Laugh at me when you see me clear a weapon three times as I pick it up. I'll laugh with you, and hope like hell I am wasting precious seconds of my life. But remember- the moment you quit respecting these weapons, they can and will bite you, and they exact a heavy price.
- and most importantly, Teach your kids better than you yourself were taught! None of this circumvents the 4 rules- in fact, it reinforces them.
14 December 2009
03 November 2009
So.. .how long till these guys are declared "terrorists"?
Anyone checked out the Oathkeepers site?
While I do feel they are in the right, I wouldn't at all put it past the present "leadership" to declare them terrorists.
You know, kinda like the rest of us, who are veterans, believe in the Constitution, the right to bear arms, etc, etc...
While I agree with their stance, I don't think I'd say it would be wise to go sign up on their forum-- seems a real handy damned way to get put on a watch list.
Yes, I am WELL aware of how paranoid that sounds, thank you. But lest we forget, the White House DID stand up a "snitch" line for just this sort of thing, publically, not too long ago.
While I do feel they are in the right, I wouldn't at all put it past the present "leadership" to declare them terrorists.
You know, kinda like the rest of us, who are veterans, believe in the Constitution, the right to bear arms, etc, etc...
While I agree with their stance, I don't think I'd say it would be wise to go sign up on their forum-- seems a real handy damned way to get put on a watch list.
Yes, I am WELL aware of how paranoid that sounds, thank you. But lest we forget, the White House DID stand up a "snitch" line for just this sort of thing, publically, not too long ago.
02 November 2009
On my absence...
Folks--
The good news is, I am fine. I had a minor upper respiratory thing going on last time I made that post, and it returned two weeks ago-- so I missed like a week's worth of work. :(
I'm fine folks-- just pretty fed up with the direction I see things going.
10 months ago I would not have given a second thought to speaking my mind. Now, with this... cabal... in power, I'm not so sure.
Every day I wake up and am just astounded at the absolute idiocy of our present "leadership". It's like they're TRYING to bring the whole system down. I wish that I could honestly say that is crazy talk, but looking at the track record of advisers, etc, I can't honestly say it's not possible that's exactly what they're after.
So, I bite my tongue, for the most part...
Some may say this is cowardice. I prefer to think it's being prudent. Because the more I see going on, the more it seems like the fight's ours, and the Cavalry ain't comin'...
The good news is, I am fine. I had a minor upper respiratory thing going on last time I made that post, and it returned two weeks ago-- so I missed like a week's worth of work. :(
I'm fine folks-- just pretty fed up with the direction I see things going.
10 months ago I would not have given a second thought to speaking my mind. Now, with this... cabal... in power, I'm not so sure.
Every day I wake up and am just astounded at the absolute idiocy of our present "leadership". It's like they're TRYING to bring the whole system down. I wish that I could honestly say that is crazy talk, but looking at the track record of advisers, etc, I can't honestly say it's not possible that's exactly what they're after.
So, I bite my tongue, for the most part...
Some may say this is cowardice. I prefer to think it's being prudent. Because the more I see going on, the more it seems like the fight's ours, and the Cavalry ain't comin'...
10 September 2009
Out sick :(
So I called out sick yesterday, and just now as well.
Being sick, sucks.
Other than the physical illness part, I ALWAYS feel like I am faking it, even when there's evidence to the contrary.
Nevermind the fact I didn't eat yesterday ( I loves me my food, as you can tell if you've met me :/ ), threw up, and etc. I have a 3 degree above normal fever and feel like crap. I feel like everyone's seeing the email I sent in, rolling their eyes dramatically, and sighing loudly with a very put-upon feel to the whole thing.
It doesn't help that there's an inspection, and someone else is going to have to address my cube in my absence- even though I rarely work at that facility. (Note to self- keep things straightened out in said cube, going forward).
Also, since a large portion of the engineering staff was out for the whole of last week, the Director actually put out a notice that if you don't feel well and have a fever, you should stay home.
But in all, I keep feeling like "well the fever isn't debilitating, and not 105, so suck it up and drive on". I intellectualy get that I *am sick* and should stay away from work lest I make the whole damned building sick. But I'm the guy that says this H1N1 thing is much worry about nothing (I am not a doctor, just cranky) and even though I am not claiming to have it and don't have any medical training, I still feel like I am riding the coattails of it to get a couple free days off.
Even though I know I am not.
Being sick, sucks.
Other than the physical illness part, I ALWAYS feel like I am faking it, even when there's evidence to the contrary.
Nevermind the fact I didn't eat yesterday ( I loves me my food, as you can tell if you've met me :/ ), threw up, and etc. I have a 3 degree above normal fever and feel like crap. I feel like everyone's seeing the email I sent in, rolling their eyes dramatically, and sighing loudly with a very put-upon feel to the whole thing.
It doesn't help that there's an inspection, and someone else is going to have to address my cube in my absence- even though I rarely work at that facility. (Note to self- keep things straightened out in said cube, going forward).
Also, since a large portion of the engineering staff was out for the whole of last week, the Director actually put out a notice that if you don't feel well and have a fever, you should stay home.
But in all, I keep feeling like "well the fever isn't debilitating, and not 105, so suck it up and drive on". I intellectualy get that I *am sick* and should stay away from work lest I make the whole damned building sick. But I'm the guy that says this H1N1 thing is much worry about nothing (I am not a doctor, just cranky) and even though I am not claiming to have it and don't have any medical training, I still feel like I am riding the coattails of it to get a couple free days off.
Even though I know I am not.
25 August 2009
Welcome to the Blogroll...
Welcome to the blogroll, Lawdog
Blogging's been a bit light lately since the software guys at work put out a new release, and I've been *busy*.
Even more so, in my off time, it's looking like. I just got railroaded into being my son's Den Leader.
Also, there's been mention of me becoming a Range Safety for the troop, as well. I've done it before, with older "kids" (in some ways, trainees are just big kids). Anyone know what's involved? I wonder if they'll accept the Eddie Eagle program for training material.
Come to think, I wonder if it's too soon to start 'em on Small Unit Tactics? Bounding Overwatch, Travelling Overwatch, just the simple stuff. ;)
I've had tons of stuff I wanted to blog about of late- a lot of it political in nature. But admittedly, there's a bit of me that is concerned about anything I post coming back to haunt me. Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not setting up an email box at the White House for people to snitch on each other...
Seriously, though- I've had a bellyfull of politics. I gave The One a chance when he got iinto the office-- after all, surely his stance couldn't be as bad as the opposition represented? Turns out, it's even worse...
Blogging's been a bit light lately since the software guys at work put out a new release, and I've been *busy*.
Even more so, in my off time, it's looking like. I just got railroaded into being my son's Den Leader.
Also, there's been mention of me becoming a Range Safety for the troop, as well. I've done it before, with older "kids" (in some ways, trainees are just big kids). Anyone know what's involved? I wonder if they'll accept the Eddie Eagle program for training material.
Come to think, I wonder if it's too soon to start 'em on Small Unit Tactics? Bounding Overwatch, Travelling Overwatch, just the simple stuff. ;)
I've had tons of stuff I wanted to blog about of late- a lot of it political in nature. But admittedly, there's a bit of me that is concerned about anything I post coming back to haunt me. Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not setting up an email box at the White House for people to snitch on each other...
Seriously, though- I've had a bellyfull of politics. I gave The One a chance when he got iinto the office-- after all, surely his stance couldn't be as bad as the opposition represented? Turns out, it's even worse...
15 August 2009
Fancy trick-shootin' with a Benelli
I feel very, VERY sorry for whoever tries to break into this guy's house at 3am.
To say this guy knows a thing or two about point shooting is just entirely missing the point...
"ya throw the gun, you throw the bird, you load the shell, you shoot the bird"
Like it's nothing. I am just gobsmacked at this guy's skills...
To say this guy knows a thing or two about point shooting is just entirely missing the point...
"ya throw the gun, you throw the bird, you load the shell, you shoot the bird"
Like it's nothing. I am just gobsmacked at this guy's skills...
03 August 2009
Remember "Band of Brothers"?
Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg bring us the same level of drama, set in the Pacific campaign:
Oh yes, I WILL have HBO while this is playing...
Oh yes, I WILL have HBO while this is playing...
Magic Jack- VERY pleasantly surprised!
OK, so I've seen this magic jack thing on TV for like 3 years and I admit I've been curious.
I'm no luddite and I'm sure not a stranger to things Geekish - in fact I've used Vonage for about 6 years, but still-- it's on an infomercial-- how good could it be? It's a rule or something- on an informercial, it HAS to be crap.
Things being what they are and times being the same, ie: TIGHT- I finally decided to throw $40 ($20 for the device, $20 for the year's service... and there's a 30 day money back guarantee which, according to several folks on the web, is valid) at the thing and see what happened.
(yes, two both my readers- I did my research-- found that the folks that are complaining about the device seem to fall into two categories: mouth-breathers who can barely use a keyboard when on the web... sorta... to spit their vitriolic complaints into the ether, and people who would starve to death with a truckload of canned goods, a rifle, a canopener, and an axe, and 50,000 rounds of .223 at their disposal. Either way-- not the brightest bulb on the strand, they)
Got the Magic Jack in the mail today- it arrived in 4 days (ok, I spent the $4 for express shipping- hell, it's reasonable, and I'm impatient- there's geekin' to be done!). It came in a soft-sided mailer, same sort you'd ship an AOL disk back in the day. (Yes, I know. Shut up.) Opened it, it ships in a simple cardboard and foam affair. There's no real directions to be had other than "plug into USB jack. Do not plug unto USB hub that isn't powered by AC"
(at this point, our complainers are already losing their damn minds.. "ZOMG111!!! THERE'S NO DIRECTIONS!!! IT'S SO haaaaaarrRDDDDDD1!!!! SOMEONE COME FIX THIS, I DON'T HAVE AN ENGINEERING DEGREEEEEE!!!)
No, I'm not kidding. I have supported users for... well, WAY too long. I know of what I speak, ok? Let's just say-- I'm way burned out on IT work. WAAAAY. I'm seriously considering getting my welding certificate.
So anyway-- being devil-may-care, I plugged the damn thing in... and...
.. it just worked!
One minor caveat- you must have patience- it'll install the software (software lives on the device- there's a bit of flashram, see) automatically, bring up the softphone (software phone.. this isn't that technical, really) panel, and bring up a wizard to walk you through getting your phone number, all automatically on most systems (those that have registry hacks done to avoid USB Autoplay may- *MAY*- have minor issue. But if you can figure out how to disable autoplay, you can damn sure open Explorer and launch the app yourself). The only gotcha- and it wasn't a huge one- is that I run Skype in the background 24/7 on this machine, and it wanted to use the Magic Jack as an audio interface. I clicked "disable" when the window spawned, and it's not a problem.
I got this because my ATT cellphone gets horrible service in my home. For $20 a year, why not? I've already made a couple calls and am VERY happy with the quality. I'll be keeping the device, no doubt about it.
BTW- the website and presumably the salesdroid if you elect to go that way on the phone, will try to sell you the next 5 years of service for a discount of $60, right when you buy, giving the impression it's "now or never". Don't. Get the bare bones, see if it works- *for you*- and if so, you'll see an advert pop up in the softphone panel giving you the same offer after you've installed the device.
For those techincally inclined: my system is an AMD Athlon64, 2.0Ghz, 2.0GB RAM, XP Pro 32-bit. Nothing stellar by any means. I can't comment on what the Mac experience would be with this product, and I don't believe they support Linux. Knowing LUGs like I do, though, I would be VERY surprised to find there's not already someone supporting them in the OS community.
The hardware side of things, in terms of what you'll use every day with the Magic Jack... is a standard single-line set. AKA a "telephone". I'm actually using a GE 28300EE1-A SkypePhone/landline combo handset. It's likely why I had that little instance of Skype trying to use the MagicJack as an audio device. Oddly enough, this actually sounds better on that handset than it did over my Vonage line. There will likely be some comparisons on that front in the near future.
So, yeah-- sometimes there's some good stuff to be had on infomercials. BTW- you can buy these at WallyWorld, Best Bastard, and Rat Shack as well.
Quite honestly, for $20/year, I'm not real sure how they're even leasing the phone number. If this holds out I may well kick Vonage to the curb- and they're already a stellar product even at $15/month.
So overall- my review for this product is 5 out of 5 rounds dead-center-mass.
I'm no luddite and I'm sure not a stranger to things Geekish - in fact I've used Vonage for about 6 years, but still-- it's on an infomercial-- how good could it be? It's a rule or something- on an informercial, it HAS to be crap.
Things being what they are and times being the same, ie: TIGHT- I finally decided to throw $40 ($20 for the device, $20 for the year's service... and there's a 30 day money back guarantee which, according to several folks on the web, is valid) at the thing and see what happened.
(yes, two both my readers- I did my research-- found that the folks that are complaining about the device seem to fall into two categories: mouth-breathers who can barely use a keyboard when on the web... sorta... to spit their vitriolic complaints into the ether, and people who would starve to death with a truckload of canned goods, a rifle, a canopener, and an axe, and 50,000 rounds of .223 at their disposal. Either way-- not the brightest bulb on the strand, they)
Got the Magic Jack in the mail today- it arrived in 4 days (ok, I spent the $4 for express shipping- hell, it's reasonable, and I'm impatient- there's geekin' to be done!). It came in a soft-sided mailer, same sort you'd ship an AOL disk back in the day. (Yes, I know. Shut up.) Opened it, it ships in a simple cardboard and foam affair. There's no real directions to be had other than "plug into USB jack. Do not plug unto USB hub that isn't powered by AC"
(at this point, our complainers are already losing their damn minds.. "ZOMG111!!! THERE'S NO DIRECTIONS!!! IT'S SO haaaaaarrRDDDDDD1!!!! SOMEONE COME FIX THIS, I DON'T HAVE AN ENGINEERING DEGREEEEEE!!!)
No, I'm not kidding. I have supported users for... well, WAY too long. I know of what I speak, ok? Let's just say-- I'm way burned out on IT work. WAAAAY. I'm seriously considering getting my welding certificate.
So anyway-- being devil-may-care, I plugged the damn thing in... and...
.. it just worked!
One minor caveat- you must have patience- it'll install the software (software lives on the device- there's a bit of flashram, see) automatically, bring up the softphone (software phone.. this isn't that technical, really) panel, and bring up a wizard to walk you through getting your phone number, all automatically on most systems (those that have registry hacks done to avoid USB Autoplay may- *MAY*- have minor issue. But if you can figure out how to disable autoplay, you can damn sure open Explorer and launch the app yourself). The only gotcha- and it wasn't a huge one- is that I run Skype in the background 24/7 on this machine, and it wanted to use the Magic Jack as an audio interface. I clicked "disable" when the window spawned, and it's not a problem.
I got this because my ATT cellphone gets horrible service in my home. For $20 a year, why not? I've already made a couple calls and am VERY happy with the quality. I'll be keeping the device, no doubt about it.
BTW- the website and presumably the salesdroid if you elect to go that way on the phone, will try to sell you the next 5 years of service for a discount of $60, right when you buy, giving the impression it's "now or never". Don't. Get the bare bones, see if it works- *for you*- and if so, you'll see an advert pop up in the softphone panel giving you the same offer after you've installed the device.
For those techincally inclined: my system is an AMD Athlon64, 2.0Ghz, 2.0GB RAM, XP Pro 32-bit. Nothing stellar by any means. I can't comment on what the Mac experience would be with this product, and I don't believe they support Linux. Knowing LUGs like I do, though, I would be VERY surprised to find there's not already someone supporting them in the OS community.
The hardware side of things, in terms of what you'll use every day with the Magic Jack... is a standard single-line set. AKA a "telephone". I'm actually using a GE 28300EE1-A SkypePhone/landline combo handset. It's likely why I had that little instance of Skype trying to use the MagicJack as an audio device. Oddly enough, this actually sounds better on that handset than it did over my Vonage line. There will likely be some comparisons on that front in the near future.
So, yeah-- sometimes there's some good stuff to be had on infomercials. BTW- you can buy these at WallyWorld, Best Bastard, and Rat Shack as well.
Quite honestly, for $20/year, I'm not real sure how they're even leasing the phone number. If this holds out I may well kick Vonage to the curb- and they're already a stellar product even at $15/month.
So overall- my review for this product is 5 out of 5 rounds dead-center-mass.
02 August 2009
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