April 11, 2018 -- A Quick Run Around The Web

"RS3 Overview HD"--Riflecraft (4-1/2 min.)

The author makes three different models of shooting slings. This particular model is a cross body sling intended for the AR or other modern sporting rifles that allows rapid adjustment. He demonstrates the sling and discusses its features.

• "Your Hump Day Reading List for April 11, 2018"--Grant Cunningham. 
• "The glaring problem with your ‘dream’ survival rides…"--Loadout Room. The author warns against using exotic types of vehicles, whether it is an obscure foreign brand or some very specialized vehicle. The problems you have is that it may be difficult, post-SHTF, to get parts for such a vehicle, and you may not have access to someone with the knowledge or tools to repair it. For instance, he notes that the "350mm wide, low profile performance tires on a 20 inch rim (like you’ll find on most high performance vehicles nowadays)" is difficult to change, and many tire shops don't even have machines capable of handling tires that large. 
• "5 Common (wrong) assumptions about living in the country"--The Modern Survivalist. FerFal goes through 5 commons assumptions about living in the countryside that are incorrect. They are (1) easier to survive (truth: you are farther from medical care; a greater number of auto accidents are at high speeds and, thus, deadlier; obesity is a greater problem in rural America), (2) food distribution is more robust (truth: the opposite is generally true due to monoculture farming and that fact that most produce will be shipped to cities for sale), (3) lower incident of drugs (truth: drug use is high all over the place; meth labs are more common in rural areas; drinking is a problem), (4) it is "greener" to live in the country (truth: your carbon footprint will be the same size or larger), and (5) cities are full of people on welfare (truth: so are rural areas).
• "Product Review: Gamma Seal Lid"--Blue Collar Prepping. If you don't already know, gamma seal lids are a replacement for the locking lids on 5-gallon food buckets. The lids have a ring that fits around the mouth of the bucket, and a center that unscrews but still provides an airtight seal. If you don't have these for your food storage, you should; particular for items that you will be accessing frequently. You don't need to get these seals for all of your buckets. For instance, if you have 10 buckets of rice, you could have one bucket with a gamma seal lid, and the rest with regular lids. As you use up the rice in the gamma seal bucket, you can open a new bucket and dump it into the gamma seal bucket. Anyway, these are great products and, in my opinion, fall in the "must have" for bulk food storage.
• "You Can't Defend Yourself Any More"--MacYoung's Musings. Marc MacYoung discusses how our right to self-defense has eroded over the years due to our outsourcing our self-defense to police, and the spread of memes such as "violence is never the answer." For instance, he writes in regard to the legal system:

With the rise of intolerance towards violence, I’ve seen a correlating free fall of being able to effectively claim self-defense. While still legally allowed, it’s almost impossible to meet the ‘standards’ they’ll demand of you. Basically, if you can’t afford a top of the line defense attorney, then you have to be an expert in violence and explain how you knew you were in danger. If you can’t do either, don’t claim self-defense and accept the plea deal they’ll offer.

I don't know if it is quite that bad yet, but I could see that in larger cities. MacYoung also goes on about how policing has changed so that now, instead of simply busting up an altercation and sending those involved home, police now operate under a de facto policy that someone has to be arrested. He has some other comments as well, so read the whole thing.

• "How to Make Magic Mix and Why it Will Revolutionize How you Cook"--Store This Not That. The author explains:

It’s a simple mix of flour (or cornstarch, if you’re gluten free), butter and powdered milk that will allow you to easily and effortlessly make flawless white sauces, smooth gravies, homemade cream soups, and even chocolate pudding in just minutes!  It’s honestly one of the best kitchen hacks to save you money and time while cooking.

Recipe, video, and some ideas for using it are at the link.

• "Do rifle crowns matter? Does a crown affect accuracy? I find out with the help of my grinder…"--Rifleshooter. Not as much as you would think. In fact, very little as long as the barrel is cut off square.
• A blast from the past: "The Box O’ Truth #1 – The Original Box O’ Truth"--Box O' Truth. This is the original post, where the authors shot through 12 layers of drywall and pine board to test whether it would stop bullets from common defensive rounds. Other than a .22 pistol (which went through 6 layers of dry wall), the 9 mm, .45 ACP, and 5.56 penetrated through all layers of the dry wall. Replacing the dry wall with 3/4 inch pine board, the .22, 9 mm, and .45 ACP were able to penetrate multiple layers (but not all 12 layers), while the 5.56 penetrated all 12 layers.
• "Rifle Fundamentals: Shooting and Follow-Through"--Shooting Sports USA. From the article:

        The fifth fundamental of firing the shot is follow-through. In most sports, following through means completing a movement. For example, think of a baseball swing or golf swing. In shooting, it means to continue aiming, breath control and hold control until after the shot is fired.

        Do not anticipate the shot and move before and during the time the bullet is still in the barrel.

         A part of follow-through is remembering what your sight picture looked like when the shot was fired. Was it good or were your sights pointed to one side or high or low? Remembering what your sight picture looked like when the shot was fired will tell you where the shot should have hit the target. It is vital to good shooting.

• Are you really surprised? "Confirmed: Two-Thirds of ‘Child Refugees’ Questioned in UK Are Adult"--Breitbart. 
• Again, are you really surprised? "Hate Crime Hoax: Police Charge Girl For Lying About Man Forcibly Removing Her Headscarf And Calling Her A 'Terrorist'…"--Weasel Zippers. The incident had allegedly occurred in the Woodbridge neighborhood of Washington, D.C. The girl had reported to police that a "man put a knife against her arm and called her a 'terrorist.' She claimed he then covered her mouth to muffle her screams and removed her headscarf before fleeing." None of it happened.
• "SUN, SEA AND SLAUGHTER Mexico’s party hotspot Cancun sees 14 murdered in 36 hours as tourist town is overrun by drug gang violence"--The Sun. The article adds: "More than 100 people have now been slaughtered in Cancun since the beginning of 2018, as Mexico’s cartels continue to spread fear throughout the country."
• "The Insanity of Open Borders"--PJ Media. The important part:

       ... Look through the State Department reports on the hundred or so poorest countries in the world and read a few at random, and you'll soon recognize that inviting their citizens to move next door to you is to put out the welcome mat for people to whom the world is a far different place than it is to you: a place marked by murderous hatreds between tribal and religious groups; a place where virtually every economic transaction involves some kind of corruption; a place where men take for granted their right to brutally abuse their wives and children; a place where due process is unheard of, where police officers and soldiers can beat, torture, and even kill with impunity, and where judges know nothing of justice; a place where sanitation and medical care are primitive; and a place where the rare soul who refuses to cheat and steal on a daily basis is not viewed as a paragon of virtue but as a fool.

        Now, people can be easily removed from such cultures, but they cannot easily be liberated from what those cultures have done to them. Some people living under tyranny and barbarism genuinely long for honest employment and for freedom, and have skills and work ethics that would be of value to any country; surely a reliable way should be found to identify such persons and give them a new life. But most people from such places are hard-wired with that tyranny and barbarism, and take it with them wherever they go.

• "It’s Time For The United States To Divorce Before Things Get Dangerous"--The Federalist. Money quote: "It is long past time for an amicable divorce of the United States of America. There is simply no common ground with the Left anymore. We are now the couple screaming at each other all night, every night as the kids hide in their room." The author also adds:

This idea of breaking up the country may seem a bit outlandish now, but you won’t think so once real domestic unrest comes to your town. Our political disagreements have become a powder keg, one that already would have blown if conservatives had liberals’ emotional instability.

While an amicable "divorce" would probably be best, there is no clean way to do this because, unlike prior to the Civil War, there is no clear geographic divisions. Even in your Red suburbs, there are probably plenty of people driving Prius cars with "Refugees Welcome" bumper stickers.

• An inconvenient truth: "New study reveals increased snowfall in Antarctica over last two centuries"--Phys.org. 
• "New Paper: Seismic Changes Signal 95% Probability Global Temps Will Hit 1990s Levels By 2019"--No Tricks Zone. In other words, this research is predicting global cooling.
• "Climate change: It Was The Sun All Along – So Say The Bulgarians"--Watts Up With That. The author explains:

The gentle, much-appreciated warming of the second half of the 20th century could not have had carbon dioxide as its cause. Carbon dioxide’s logarithmic heating effect is weak at 100 ppm, tuckered out well and truly at 200 ppm and beyond 300 ppm – well never mind. We are now above 400 ppm from which it is a monotonic 0.1°C for each 100 ppm increase. That doesn’t explain anything and in turn leaves the Sun as the only possible causative agent for the Modern Warm Period. 

And, remember, that the Sun's luminosity is decreasing. Things are going to get colder.

• A reminder that we live in the 21st Century: "Could Boeing's 'Starliner' Spacecraft Be a Next Step for Reaching the Moon and Beyond?"--Live Science. The spacecraft is automated and will allow for ground recovery of the space craft (instead of ocean recovery such as the Apollo program featured).