October 2, 2018 -- A Quick Run Around The Web

"Maybe I Was Wrong About Pocket Pistols"--Lucky Gunner (10 min.)

Lucky Gunner recently had a discussion with the Tactical Professor about the effectiveness of pocket pistols (aka "mouse guns") for self-defense. The Tactical Professor argued that due to the background of most gun writers and trainers in the military and/or law enforcement, we only see a military or law enforcement perspective on the use of firearms; but the mission of the civilian defender is much different from the soldier or police officer and so doesn't necessary require the same tools. In that regard, he specifically notes that a civilian that wounds an attacker causing the attacker to run off is a "win" for the civilian defender, but would be considered a "loss" for a police officer. It reminds me of some comments in my post, "Concealed Carry -- No Elegant Solution", in which I lamented the lack of good information for civilian carry when I first obtained a CCL because "[m]ost of the articles and books were authored by someone with a law enforcement background, whose concealed carry experience was typically plain-clothes duty."

• A new Woodpile Report is up. Lots of good commentary and cites to interesting articles. A couple that caught my eye were (i) the Market Ticker's "An Impending Shooting Civil War," arguing that we were one major crises from a hot civil war because the left simply can't let people be; and (ii), an article from James Wesley Rawles on "Should We Brace for Severe Winters Ahead?" I and many others have been pointing out for years now that all signs point to a less energetic sun and declining temperatures. Throw a big volcanic explosion into the mix (or several smaller ones) and, yes, we could be facing a mini-Ice Age.
• "Indonesia quake-tsunami death toll moves above 1,300, as 200,000 people battle thirst and hunger and starving survivors rummage through rubble for food"--Daily Mail. The article indicates that police had previously tolerated looters taking food and water from abandoned shops, but now that looters have turned to taking valuables, the police have resorted to tear gas and other measures to stop looting. Food and water are in short supply, and hospitals are overwhelmed due to the number of injured.
• "Sectional Density – All Important And Almost Ignored"--Abe's Gun Cave. The author explains that "Sectional Density simply tells you how concentrated a bullet’s weight is compared to it’s diameter," or, in other words: "how 'long and thin' versus 'short and fat' a bullet is." Sectional density is important because it is one of two factors (the other being bullet shape) used to determine how aerodynamic is the bullet. It also plays a factor in terminal ballistics: "High sectional density bullets penetrate more reliably, especially through thick hide and bones."
• "Clearing Your Cover Garment: Concealed Carry For Beginners"--The Truth About Guns. A couple pointers. First, if you are using an open garment (i.e., unbuttoned shirt or photographers vest):

A best practice is to index the tip of the strong-side hand thumb against the body as you clear the cover garment. While you can use the support hand to hold the cover garment in place, you should be able to use the strong side hand alone to clear cover.

If you have something like a t-shirt or polo shirt on:

Many people will also carry under an untucked shirt such as a t-shirt, polo or buttoned shirt. In this instance a lifting motion is required along with a sweep to clear the garment, moving the fabric up and to the back. A best practice is to index the thumb against the body, sliding into a shooting grip.

• "Buckling Up The Basics Of Gun Belts"--Gun Digest. A good article explaining the purpose (or need) for a good quality gun belt, and some pointers for finding a good belt. An excerpt:

Top-notch gun belts are made from double-thick leather, stiff as an oak stave and, in heavy-duty models, wrapped around a solid core. In many cases, the core is Kydex, a strong yet flexible type of plastic, favored in holster making. But in the top-of-the-line variety, the reinforcing material is spring steel. The combination of this material, when properly constructed, a belt is malleable enough to comfortably serpentine around the waist, yet yields little to vertical pressure. Leather is by far the most common material available and options abound, including excellent examples from Bigfoot Gun Belts and Alien Gear. On the plus side, they’re extremely durable and typically sharp looking. But, over time some show surface wear where the belt contacts the holster loops.

The author goes on to discuss synthetic belts, such as those made from cordura (see, e.g., my review of the Volund Gearworks Atlas G-Hook Belt).

"Six Months At Sea In The Merchant Marine"--Martin Machado (22 min.)

A short look at how the author got into the Merchant Marine, and what his duties and life was like aboard a large container ship. 

• "Ditch the Diet Coke: Six artificial sweeteners used in a range of soft drinks and foods 'are TOXIC to gut bacteria'"--Daily Mail. My wife won't like this, but, on the other hand, maybe she could stop taking probiotics.
• "Civil War? If It Starts It Will Be Uglier Than Anyone Can Imagine"--American Digest. The author warns: "From the Left’s point of view, it’s either accept defeat at the hands of people they truly believe are subhuman or start shooting the subhumans." However, it will not be a war with clearly demarcated boundaries, such as in the Civil War of the 1860s. As the author illustrates:

        I live in a so-called “deep blue” state. Does anyone think that if the balloon goes up, I’m going to run out with my AR-15 and join the “Washington State Progressive Stormtrooper Brigade” just because I live here?

       No, what is going to happen is much more complex and simple at the same time.

       I am a conservative, White, male, Christian that is a veteran. My neighbor is a dope-smoking, atheist, Communist, attorney. He knows I am armed and knows my cultural preference. I know he is likely armed.

       If the shooting starts in St Louis, Chicago, Portland, and Metro Seattle, it will spread. If it is open season on conservatives, those getting shot are going to get nervous and itchy very quickly.

        How do I mow my lawn, given that my neighbor may shoot me dead? How does he smoke his dope in his backyard, given that he has the same fear from his gun collecting, kook-fringe, fascist, racist, neighbor that is just aching to force his dusty religion upon him?

What the author describes is a war of neighbor against neighbor, town against town, county against county--just as the Brethren have been warning for the last 150 years (see my post on "The Coming Civil War").

• "Opinion: Let's just call it by its name — a winnable trade war"--DW. The author acknowledges that because of the lopsided trade balance, China just doesn't have the ability to match U.S. tariffs tit-for-tat. However, he warns that China has other options, including on the diplomatic front. However, what caught my attention was what I see as the earmark of the clueless elite: that people are fungible. In warning of possible consequences of a trade war, the author explains:

America is not the center of the globe; India and China both have over a billion more people than the US and as countries like Indonesia, Pakistan and Nigeria grow, a new, connected global order needs to be maintained. That can only be done through talking and real negotiations on equal footing.

Ignored here is that someone from a third world country is not the equivalent of an American or European in wealth, productivity or consumption. The larger populations of India and China do not scale up to markets dwarfing the United States. Indonesia, Pakistan and Nigeria may never (at least in the life time of anyone alive today) become as productive or as large of a market as North America. 

• "Searching for 'Planet X,' scientists discover distant object billions of miles beyond Pluto"--USA Today. From the article:

        At the very edge of our solar system, scientists have discovered a new, extremely distant object billions of miles beyond Pluto.

       Even more interesting: The object has an orbit that hints of an even-farther-out “Super-Earth” or larger “Planet X” which could be lurking out there.

The object is 200 miles wide and has been named 2015 TG387. It is 7.9 billion miles from the Sun, or two and half times as far away from the Sun as Pluto. 

• "Running Ubuntu VMs on Windows just got a whole lot more streamlined"--Ars Technica. "[N]ow an Ubuntu image is available through Hyper-V Quick Create, which offers three-click creation of Virtual Machines."