A Quick Run Around the Web -- August 14, 2015

Full Earth, Full Moon (source)

Some miscellaneous thoughts and readings for today:

• "View and compare statistics from cities and countries around the world." Kim Komando reviews Numbeo.com which compiles data (provided by users) to compare cost of living, property prices, crime, health care, pollution, traffic, quality of life, and travel for different countries or cities. Each of the major categories listed has multiple sub-categories. It appears that you can access it for free, but continued use requires you to sign up as a member of its "community."
• "Don’t Purchase Bates Footwear" from Loose Rounds. The author found the products to be very comfortable, but fall apart quickly with even just light use. The author recommends Merrell, Danner, and Salomon brand footwear. My eldest son (who does a lot more hiking and camping than I do) is very hard on shoes and boots. However, the Merrell light weight hikers seem to be holding up for him; and I've used Merrells for a long time without trouble. I have a pair that I use for hunting, hiking, and a general outdoor work boot that look beat to death, but are holding up very well with just an annual application of bees wax to treat the leather. 
• "Imaginary dangers ... paranoia in a Chinese proverb" from Protegor magazine (French--after you are on the page, right click to translate). A warning that being too cautious can harm your life more than any real danger--strike the proper balance.
• "Reloading 101 – Adjusting Reloading Dies" from The Arms Guide. Even if you think your dies are properly adjusted, it is worthwhile to periodically check them, as I learned recently. About a month ago, I was shooting some 9 mm that I had handloaded and was having feed problems, which was odd because I hadn't had issues in the past with this particular load. In investigating, I discovered that my seating die apparently was not adjusted correctly, so I was seating the bullets slightly deeper than they should have: resulting in a cartridge about 0.1 inches less than the recommended overall cartridge length. Since I was already using a very light 90 gr. bullet (i.e., very short in overall length), that was apparently enough to mess up the feeding, turning my Glock into a single shot. On the plus side, I finally got to use my bullet puller!
• "Winning Deadly Force Encounters" at Blue Sheep Dog. According to the author, the five keys to winning are:

1. Proper Mindset – Possess a fundamental belief system to be at peace with taking another human life when necessary
2. Understanding the Law – Comprehensive knowledge of when the law allows deadly force in self-defense or the defense of others
3. Firearm Familiarity – Full understanding of the manual of arms for the primary (and back-up) firearm
4. Mastery of Shooting Fundamentals – Proper draw, solid shooting platform, sight alignment, target identification and beyond, trigger pull and reset, follow-up shots, evaluating shot placement and effectiveness, scanning and breathing, securing the threat after the shooting
5. Knowledge of Vital Targeting Areas – Cranial vault, upper thoracic cavity (upper chest), pelvic girdle.

The author discusses each of the points in more detail, including a good discussion of the head shot (and why a direct hit to the Medulla Oblongata is not required). Read the whole thing.

• "“Look at the coordination going on In this video. How they angle themselves and trap the holstered guns using the walls to their advantage. A single toy gun can be used to procure a small arsenal if you play your cards right. Think out side the box…." Goons 2, guards at security checkpoint 0.
• Matthew Schaffer writes about "A Last-Ditch De-Escalation Technique." Essentially, being extremely self-effacing. A technique intended for the person facing a beat down or attack based on dominance--it will not work against an attacker with a predator mindset and, in fact, may encourage such an attacker.
• I hadn't popped by U.S. Crow's website for awhile and have missed some new stuff. A few of the things I found interesting:

• "How to force breach any building after SHTF"
• "How to Breach a Building at Night" 
• "How and why you should be a Data Prepper"
• "How to make Napalm B"--a little more involved than simply dissolving styrofoam cups in gasoline.