September 30, 2018 -- A Quick Run Around the Web

"Paul's Top 5 Handguns for Beginners"--Paul Harrell (15 min.)

This video is aimed at people learning to shoot a handgun and so his recommendations are all .22 LR. He has some good points and caveats about this near the end of the video.

• Active Response Training's Weekend Knowledge Dump for this weekend. A couple articles that jumped out at me were one on the AR pistol, and another on the pluses and minuses of revolvers. 
• While you are Active Response Training, check out these articles by Greg Ellifritz:

• "Friends Don’t Let Friends Open Carry"--Active Response Training. Whatever arguments there are against Open Carry, there is one thing in particular that stands out: By openly carrying a firearm, you make yourself a target for a criminal either for one wanting to steal your weapon, or targeting you first. 

• "Flanking Tactics for Active Killer Response"--Active Response Training. Ellifritz contends that because police aren't taught to split up and use flanking movement it puts them at an unnecessary disadvantage when facing an active shooter. He relates the following experience from a training exercise where he played the role of the active shooter:

       I kept shooting until I saw the team (who was using a diamond formation). The team leader stopped, using the corner of a hallway for cover to engage me. I was out in the open and the team was behind cover. But, due to their positioning, only the team leader was able to fire on me. All the other officers waited impotently behind him, unable to shoot without hitting their leader. I ended up taking out four out of their six officers before I was hit.

       The only thing I could remember thinking was “why didn’t they just split up the team and send half of them around to get me from the other side of the room?” I would have been completely unable to counter that type of a tactic. I might have shot one or two people (if I was lucky), but I certainly wouldn’t have been able to take out 75% of their team.

• "Speer Bullets Introduces Personal Protection Rifle Bullets"--American Rifleman. Speer is now offering Gold Dot rifle bullets for reloaders. Interestingly, they have two different 150 grain .380 diameter bullets, one for the .308/7.62 NATO and one for .300 Blackout. The only difference I can gather from the specifications is that the bullet intended for the .300 Blackout has a ballistic coefficient of .463, whereas the "standard" 150 grain bullet has a ballistic coefficient of .503 -- i.e., the .300 Blackout bullet is not as aerodynamic as the same weight bullet for the .308/.30-06. I presume (and this is what I'm reading) is that the difference is because the bullet intended for the .300 Blackout offers reliable expansion at lower velocities. While I'm seeing good reviews for it (see, e.g., these at Midway), it sounds like these are out of 16 inch barrels, but I would like to see what it does out of a shorter barrel.
• "6.5 Grendel vs 308 – The Part Everyone Misses"--Abe's Gun Cave. The author makes the argument that you need enough power to get a bullet to the vitals and reliably expand doing so, and any extra energy is superfluous. He adds: "Truthfully, I think the 6.5 Grendel has three big advantages compared to the .308: Lighter weight, lower recoil and less expensive ammo." Also:

       Most deer are taken under 100 yards.  Virtually all the rest are taken under 200 Yards. Most shooters have ZERO business taking longer shots.  I’m a pretty good shot and I wouldn’t dream of shooting game farther for ethical reasons.

        Since probably 90% of game are taken at those ranges, realize there is ZERO effective difference between the 308 and 6.5 Grendel’s ability to reliably anchor game…

What I would be concerned about is whether the 6.5 Grendel has the power to take a quartering shot at an animal. It's one thing to take game that is presenting side-on to you, and quite a different issue if the bullet is going to need to penetrate through a shoulder. Certain loadings of the 6.5 Grendel do deliver over 1,000 foot-pounds of energy at 300 yards, so it is considered viable for antelope and white tail size game. 

• "5.56mm Ammo Comparison: M193 vs. M855 and Equivalents"--Modern Survival Online. The M193 uses a 55-grain FMJ bullet, and was intended for use out of a 1:12 twist barrel. At velocities above 2,700 fps it can fragment violently, but has a poor reputation for barrier penetration. The M855 cartridge uses a 62 grain, boat tail, lead core bullet with a steel penetrator, with a specified muzzle velocity of 3,020 feet per second (out of a 22-inch barrel, I believe). It won't stabilize out of a 1:12 twist barrel, and may be problematic out of a 1:9 twist barrel. The author notes: "Where this round shines over the M193 is its more reliable fragmentation characteristics and improved performance through intermediate barriers. Light metal, brush and dense fabric will do little to disrupt the M855. Heavy masonry and automobile glass, as well as modern armor, will still greatly disrupt or defeat it, however. Remember, it is not a true AP round."
• "The Smith and Wesson M1917 .45ACP: A Big-Bore World War Wheelgun (#3 – Allied Small Arms WWII)"--Guns America. When the U.S.A. was sucked (suckered?) into the First World War, it did not have enough 1911 pistols, so the Army turned to Smith & Wesson and Colt to produce revolvers using the .45 ACP. The .45 ACP was loaded using half-moon clips that held 3 rounds each. 
• "Tsunami unleashes terrifying waves which tear through Indonesian city after 7.5 magnitude earthquake strikes"--Daily Mail. The current death toll stands at 832, according to The Guardian, but could climb into the thousands. One thing of note with this disaster, is that there was an initial quake which prompted a tsunami alert, but after the tsunami alert was lifted, there was an aftershock more powerful than the original quake which produced the tsunami.

"You’re Doing it Wrong... The REAL Double Wrench Method"--Lock Picking Lawyer (3 min.)

You may have seen a video showing how to use two box wrenches to break open a padlock. In this video, the author explains that the method typically demonstrated attacks the lock at its strongest point, but turning one of the wrenches perpendicular to the other, you employ all your force against the weakest portions of the locking mechanism.

• Bombard's body language video on Christine Blasey Ford (YouTube--27 min.). Short take, however, is that Ford was acting. On a side note, Anonymous Conservative relates:

A trip down the rabbithole with Nicholas Deak, the CIA’s cold war banker. When he began to attract too much attention, a homeless lady went up to his Wall Street high rise out of the blue and killed him. That homeless lady [had] previously been taken in by the Stanford shrink who created the CIA program Kavanaugh accuser Ford was reportedly a part of at Stanford. And once Deak was dead, Ford’s father reportedly took over his accounts.Nothing looks the same today.

• "Can We Trust the FBI?"--Roger Simon at PJ Media. President Trump has ordered the FBI to investigate Ford's allegations against Kavanaugh. But given the FBI's soft coupe against Trump, Simon asks if we can trust them to make such an investigation:

      Peter Strzok.  Lisa Page.  AndrewMcCabe.  James Comey.

      Sound familiar?

       That's the FBI -- the folks who are being asked to investigate, apparently for one week,  the allegations against Judge Kavanaugh.  Yes, that group is mercifully gone now, but who is behind them?  And what have we not yet learned of the internal conspiracy against President Trump currently being investigated by the inspector general?  Who else is involved and who then will be conducting and supervising this investigation? Will it be the same people?

       In other words, can we trust the FBI with this when the institution itself is so tainted and deeply in need of reform?

       This is the stuff of totalitarian cultures. If things were different, we could applaud an investigation into Judge Kavanaugh's activities and, I would imagine, so would he.  It would clear his name once and for all and he could go on with his life.  But no one would suggest an investigation by the NKVD or the Stasi would be fair.  What can we say about the FBI, given what we already know?

• Our government is not worthy of our loyalty: "Caravans of migrants continue pouring over US-Mexico border"--Washington Examiner. The most basic function of a government is to protect its citizens (or subjects) from foreign invasion. And our government has completely failed at this most basic of functions. 
• Mixed-race relationships can be complicated: "Mississippi man accused of burning cheerleader to death admits he had sex with the 19-year-old and wiped out their text thread after her murder"--Daily Mail. 
• From a week ago, Saturday: "Evacuation After Fights Break Out At Valleyfair"--WCCO CBS. Here is what the police (and media) reported: "The Shakopee Police Department tweeted the amusement park was evacuated due to a high number of individuals involved in altercations, making it difficult for officers to fully contain the situation." The Police Department is doubling the number of officers at the park from 2 to 4, and the park is reportedly hiring security companies to maintain peace. What apparently is not being reported, however, is that the fights where the result of a violent mob of about 100 Somali men. (H/t Anonymous Conservative).
• "The Problem with Ireland? It's 'Too Irish'"--Michael Walsh at PJ Media. The problem? "The majority of trainee primary school teachers are white, Irish and Catholic and do not reflect our diverse population, new research has found." Wouldn't have been an issue if the country had not allowed immigration. This is the general plan, however: shame the population into accepting migrants, then complain that the political and job makeup no longer reflects the new population. 
• Camp of the Saints: "Preparing for Africa's population boom"--DW. Per the article, "Currently 1.4 billion people live on the African continent. In 32 years this number is expected to double." In addition, "by 2050, approximately 40 percent of the world's extremely poor are expected to live in two African countries — Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)."
• "Ebola’s spread from Congo growing as WHO calls risk ‘very high’"--New York Post. "The risk of the deadly Ebola virus spreading from Congo is now “very high” after two confirmed cases were discovered near the Uganda border, the World Health Organization says." (H/t Anonymous Conservative).
• So when Christ referred to God as his "Father," he was wrong? "Neutering God In The Anglican Church"--The American Conservative. From the article:

The Rt Revd Rachel Treweek, bishop of Gloucester, the Church of England’s first female diocesan bishop, said: “I don’t want young girls or young boys to hear us constantly refer to God as he,” adding that it was important to be “mindful of our language”.

The article also mentions that only 2% of young adults in England consider themselves to be members of the Church of England. What we are seeing is how a liberal religion responds to circling the drain, by doubling down.

• Democrats planning ahead: "Even if Kavanaugh Is Confirmed, Here’s How He Could Be Removed"--Law & Crime. The author suggests:

Normally, impeachment is discussed as a remedy for offenses committed while in office, but there is precedent for removing a judge for acts that took place prior to confirmation. That 2010 situation, involving Judge Thomas Porteous–who was accused of corruption, taking bribes, and perjury–is relevant here. In the past, the House had declared that impeachment was meant solely for acts committed while in office, but Porteous’ actions included a cover-up during his confirmation process that could have made it easier for him to take office in the first place.

I frankly do not understand the Democrats hostility toward Kavanaugh since Kavanaugh hasn't marked himself as a judicial activist judge--he's not going to chart new territory or challenge past precedent such as Roe v. Wade. At least, he wasn't prior to all of what has happened. Part of me hopes that he has been red-pilled by all of this. In any event, some of the theories kicking around is that this is pay back for Kavanaugh's participation in the investigation against Bill Clinton when he (Kavanaugh) worked as part of Ken Starr's team. 

• "Man who 'saved the world': Russia's Stanislav Petrov is FINALLY given award 35 years after he recognized US 'nuke attack' was a false alarm and refused to retaliate"--Daily Mail. Soviet radar showed what appeared to be launch of 5 ICBMs from the United States against the USSR. Protocol called for immediate retaliation, but Petrov did not believe the radar signals and refused to authorize a retaliatory strike. He turned out to be correct. 
• "Think everyone died young in ancient societies? Think again"--Aeon. We often hear that the average life span in some earlier period of human history was something like 30 years old, or some other young figure, and believe that meant that people pretty much all died at about that age. I even had an introductory archeology professor in college that seemed to take that position. However, those average life span figures include the large number of persons that died as infants, which drags down the average. If someone could survive into adult-hood, they enjoyed life expectancies like we generally expect today. From the article:

So it seems that humans evolved with a characteristic lifespan. Mortality rates in traditional populations are high during infancy, before decreasing sharply to remain constant till about 40 years, then mortality rises to peak at about 70. Most individuals remain healthy and vigorous right through their 60s or beyond, until senescence sets in, which is the physical decline where if one cause fails to kill, another will soon strike the mortal blow.

Moreover, "[t]he maximum human lifespan (approximately 125 years) has barely changed since we arrived." (See also Genesis 6:3, setting man's life span at 120 years).

• "With the “Dead Bug” Method, Hobbyists Can Break Through the High-Frequency Barrier"--IEEE Spectrum. The author writes:

       ... And [printed circuit boards, or PCBs] with a good ground plane are essential for high-frequency circuits operating at more than a few megahertz. A ground plane is a large area of copper that’s used as a low-inductance electrical return path from components to a circuit’s power supply. It prevents parasitic capacitance from smearing high-frequency signals into noise, and the absence of a ground plane is why you can’t build a high-frequency circuit using a breadboard and expect it to work well, or at all.

       But rapid prototyping with PCBs has drawbacks compared with the speed and ease of building a circuit on a breadboard. You can quickly make your own PCBs—as long as you don’t mind the mess and some stained clothing and are willing to drill your own through holes. Or you can send your PCB layout to be made by a commercial service, but this takes several days at least and is more expensive.

       So I began thinking about practical alternatives for high-frequency circuits that can provide maker-friendly prototypes that are fast to build, and easy to probe and alter. In this article, I’ll be presenting one key idea; some follow-on strategies will appear on the IEEE Spectrum website in the coming weeks. I should say that I make no claims of originality: Indeed I employ some oft-forgotten, decades-old techniques, but they turn out to be surprisingly useful in an age of surface-mount components operating at gigahertz frequencies.

He continues:

So how do you mount an integrated circuit on a board that’s mostly a single ground plane with no through holes? You bend the IC’s ground pins back so that they touch the surface, and solder them to the ground plane, holding the IC in place. You bend the other pins parallel to the board and solder connecting wires directly to them. Sometimes this is referred to as the “dead bug” method because of the way ICs look with their legs sticking out. As a bonus, the dead-bug method makes soldering surface-mount components easier than with a conventional PCB, as the contacts are more accessible. The ground plane also provided a convenient place to attach the heat sink of my comb generator’s power regulator.

Read the whole thing, if this type of thing interests you.