Category: FWIW

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Apropos of Nothing in Particular. . .

Just a random thought that intruded into my day. . .

I really do not understand why the MK MPT-76 is termed an “assault rifle” instead of a “main battle rifle” as

Its 7.62×51mm (roughly a .30 caliber round in fairly high-powered configuration matching the typical .308 Winchester “deer” and other medium-large game round) NATO round falls outside the parameters generally accepted for assault rifle rounds and was initially used in M14 main battle rifles and M60 machine guns (in the US military).
Its USE in the Turkish military is as a main battle rifle.

Still, in general use, most refer to this rifle as an “assault rifle,” completely against all reason.

It’s a real head-scratcher. . .

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Terminally Stupid Quora Questions

I used to think FarceBook and TwitPost were the best “stupid traps” on the interwebs, but Quora has begun to convince me otherwise. For example, a recent question:

Why does Grace O’Malley-Kumar’s mother believe there should be mandatory prison terms for knife carrying?

(Recap, some goblin in Nottingham, England, attacked a teen with a knife as she tried to protect a friend, killing her.)

My answer to this stupid question is,

Because she stupidly blames the tool for the actions of the killer. Banning the carrying of knives is as stupid as banning guns. Only those who intend no harm to others will comply. Those who intend to harm others will not comply. After all, they already intend to break the law with acts of violence.

What should be done instead is for the killer (whom I will not name, because spreading his name just adds to his “fame”) to be executed using the same means he used to kill Grace. Publicly. Videoed and broadcast regularly as a warning to other goblins. (BTW, that is how drunk drivers who kill someone should be executed: by having their car – or its remains – dropped on them until they are road paste. Again, videoed and shown as a warning to drunks who choose to drive.)

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Memory Aids. . . of a Sort

The fun thing about aging is that, while new injuries seem to take longer to heal, at least I probably won’t miss them for long, since old injuries (some 60 or more years old) continually remind me of their continuing (have I stressed “continue” enough yet? 😉 ) presence. Joy! It’s a memory boost! Maybe I will NEVER “forget” an injury! *heh*

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Car Not Like Cold

Not, indeed! Negative # temps decreed canceling my Wonder Woman’s eye surgery today. Rescheduled. Need an engine block heater like we used to have in our vehicles. Oh, well.

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Apropos of Nothing in Particular

Just another Olde Pharte rumination.

During college years, when I had occasion to drive home, for whatever reason, without a rider, I kinda liked starting late for the 600-*something-mumble* jaunt, because I enjoyed pulling over near the Guadelupe Mountains so I could sit back and enjoy a night sky completely devoid of light pollution. Good stuff, Maynard.

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Ya Never Know. . .

You may never know what effect you have on someone, but sometimes. . .

Interesting guy I met one day back in 2010, here in America’s Third World County™ – just barely here in the county; the town he lives in is about 1/2 in a neighboring state. But anyway, interesting guy. Likes to talk mostly about music, his American Indian heritage (he refers to himself as an Indian, not a “native American” or whatever the current buzz term may be), religion in general and also specifically relating to his heritage, and more.

One day when we had met again by chance, as is our wont, he started asking questions about the Bible and Xian theology as he saw it represented in society, and one of his questions spurred me to pull my lil pocket New Testament out of a pocket in my ADC (All Day Carry) vest in order to use a direct quote from scripture to answer his question.

The last couple of times we have interacted, we began as usual asking how each other was doing. His top answer both times was, “Reading my Bible.” Now, discussions about religion/theology have been more oriented toward him contrasting and comparing observations about Xianity in society as against scripture, demonstrating on his part a serious inquiry.

Ya never know. . .

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Practice Makes Perfect?

Nope. “Practice makes perfect” is common misconception. Practice makes PERMANENT. Only perfect practice can make perfect, so BETTER practice simply makes being BETTER a permanent stepping stone on the path of improvement. Sooner or later, though, one meets one’s physical or mental limits (or both) and consistent best practice just makes permanent the best that one can be.

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To Sum Up. . .

I am constantly amazed at folks who just see no benefit from even such simple maths as algebra, trig, geometry, etc., in their daily lives. There was a brief point in my life, college calculus classes, when I could pretty much just look at a simple math problem and know the answer. (Gave my prof fits, ‘cos I rarely wrote down the steps to achieve the answer. . . cos I hadn’t thought of ’em.) But. . . word problems in that class that attempted to use semi-sorta “real world” situations where different calculus functions could be used to solve things were not so much my metier at the time.

Time passed, as is its wont, and everyday circumstances took on “math meaning” in my perceptions more and more often, until not a day passes that something doesn’t trigger algebraic, “trig-ic” *heh*, differential. . .-ic ?, or whatever thoughts.

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Is It just Me?

Yeh, it’s probably just me. *heh*

Lil hitches in a sci-fi (or really, any) story stand out when the rest is well-written (especially if it’s “hard” sci-fi, which must meet a stricter standard for suspension of disbelief). Here’s a marginal blip: in order to “blend in,” a Chicom operative orders a cheese pizza. . . and eats it. The thing is, while lactose intolerance among those of northern European ancestry has generally been around 5%, among the Chinese, especially the Han, it’s around 90%. A cheese pizza just doesn’t seem normal. To me, that would stand out, not blend in.

*shrugs* My Wonder Woman chides me sometimes about being a bit too detail oriented, so maybe this is just an idiosyncratic problem.

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The Best Thing About Being a Libertarian

The best thing about being a libertarian is not caring what anyone else thinks is the best thing about being a libertarian.

(IOW, you do you as long as you mind your own business and don’t infringe on others’ rights. If you stray from that, the consequences are all on you.)