Now back to our regular monthly postings!

On a personal level, I don’t give a crap. Marry a goat for all I care.

On a cultural level, I don’t know what wider effects gay marriage will have, and neither do you, and I don’t fault people for being suspicious of advocates claiming that nothing will change, despite being a drastic change to a centuries old cultural tradition.

What I really object to is the attempts to find support for gay marriage in existing law. Gay marriage may be terrible or the most wonderful thing in history, but it is not something that can be reasonably found in our legal code or cultural history, and if an activist judge can find justification for it in existing law, then he can find support for anything in existing law. I believe this amendment is a bulwark against this kind of nonsense and I support it on that basis.

If we are to have gay marriage, then supporters should do the right thing and have a law passed by majority. I would support this law.

“It had better be the return of the 5906 and 3913.”

Well, I don’t see any 5906, but if this isn’t a 21st century polymer 3913, then I don’t know what is.

At $450 MSRP (expect to see them sub four bills once the hysteria dies down), this seems like a pretty big deal to me. I think anybody who buys a Keltec PF9 or Kahr (with their “shoot it for 500 rounds before you send it in” BS warranty) with this on the shelves needs to have their head examined.

I’d personally prefer one without a manual safety, but it makes sense on something that could potentially be carried in a pocket. I will definitely end up with one of these.

So earlier this year our Time-Warner Cable bill went up by about 50%. Somewhat peeved, I called up and demanded an adjustment, but the best they could do was not quite good enough. Voting with our dollars, we gave the TV portion the boot and are now only paying for internet service. Netflix makes up a lot of our viewing, but we still wanted local stations.

I bought a $20 rabbit ears antenna from Walmart, but it sucked. It only picked up a few stations and even then with some pixelation and dropout.

Looking for alternatives, I cranked up the google and turned up some plans for a DIY antenna. Recognizing most of the materials list in my parts pile, I hit Lowes for the remainder and knocked it together in one evening.

Here’s how it looks:

Stop laughing, because it works great!

I used 14ga utility wire (look for it with the picture hanging stuff) for the 4 v-shaped antennae, being shocked at the price for a few feet of copper household wire and not having any wire coat hangers around. I used big-ass fender washers because that’s what I had that fit the wood screws, but smaller ones would probably make the job easier. If you’re more dextrous than I, you could probably wire it with two lengths, but I had trouble stripping the wire in the middle and went with individual lengths. The balun was the most expensive part at about $3.50, but they’re available online for less. I cheated and screwed the balun to the 2nd set of antenna screws, but you may get better results by putting exactly in the middle. I only flunked out of EE school, you’ll have to ask someone who knows what they’re doing.

I tested it without the reflector screens installed, but it works great without them. For testing I propped it up behind the TV, but I’m going to drop some coax down from the attic and hang it up there, out of sight.

The TV scanned twice as many channels as with the rabbit ears, and they all come through crystal clear without any drops.

If you’re looking for a cheap way to cut the cable and give your local service monopoly the finger, I can recommend this highly! You can check what TV stations are broadcasting in your area over here, and see what direction you should point your antenna.

BELLEVUE, WA – A federal district court judge in North Carolina has just struck down that state’s emergency power to impose a ban on firearms and ammunition outside the home during a declared emergency, ruling that the provision violates the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.

Thanks SAF!

It would be presumptuous for me to call him a friend, but we shook hands at NRA in Charlotte a couple years back and occupied the same digital spaces. He was a principled and relentless advocate for liberty and freedom and will be missed.

Our lease on these fragile meat bags we occupy is limited, and we don’t get another go. Make it count.

When I first applied for a purchase permit 10 years ago, I was able to walk right up to the counter and fill out the forms. When I put in my concealed carry paperwork 5 years ago, I didn’t have to wait either. But this time, I waited a solid hour for my turn at the counter. 1) Go Forsyth County! and 2) Go Constitutional Carry!

In bloggy news, I’m still having a hell of a time eradicating the Russian hijack from this blog and #gbc. I hadn’t noticed it myself because I’m always running Firefox + Noscript, but if you’re using a lesser browser you may have noticed, and I apologize. I think I have it neutered for now, and I’m hoping that I can remove it without having to delete everything.

I wish to point out that I am unreasonably pleased in the turn comments to this post took, and I hope to bring a similar level of discourse to other political debates. Remember, when discussing politics, whores and porn stars are always relevant.

Future posts wise, one of these arrived on Thursday, and if I can steal it away from Jackson, I’ll put it on a shotgun and give you a longer report. It does hold up well to a 4 year old tormenting the cat.

My club has just started USPSA this year in the brand spankin’ new pistol bays, so I’m gonna have to get out there and try it out, as soon as they have a match on a day when I’m not working.

Renewal of existing Permit must be submitted 30 days prior to expiration date. Failure to renew an existing permit prior to the 30 day expiration date will result in providing new Firearms Safety Certificate.

FML.

[Update!]

Hey, wait a minute…

§ 14-415.16. Renewal of permit.
(a) At least 45 days prior to the expiration date of a permit, the sheriff of the county where the permit was issued shall send a written notice to the permittee explaining that the permit is about to expire and including information about the requirements for renewal of the permit. The notice shall be sent by first class mail to the last known address of the permittee. Failure to receive a renewal notice shall not relieve a permittee of requirements imposed in this section for renewal of the permit.
(b) The holder of a permit shall apply to renew the permit within the 90-day period prior to its expiration date by filing with the sheriff of the county in which the person resides a renewal form provided by the sheriff’s office, an affidavit stating that the permittee remains qualified under the criteria provided in this Article, a newly administered full set of the permittee’s fingerprints, and a renewal fee.
(c) Upon receipt of the completed renewal application and the appropriate payment of fees, the sheriff shall determine if the permittee remains qualified to hold a permit in accordance with the provisions of G.S. 14-415.12. The permittee’s criminal history shall be updated, including with another inquiry of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), and the sheriff may waive the requirement of taking another firearms safety and training course. If the permittee applies for a renewal of the permit within the 90-day period prior to its expiration date and if the permittee remains qualified to have a permit under G.S. 14-415.12, the sheriff shall renew the permit. The permit of a permittee who complies with this section shall remain valid beyond the expiration date of the permit until the permittee either receives a renewal permit or is denied a renewal permit by the sheriff.

SHENANIGANS!

These guys are the real deal, reasonably priced and genuinely dedicated to increasing the skills of all shooters. I have taken 4 classes with them and will again.