Syria

I find this whole thing tiresome. JayG has a good post about it here to give a bit of context to the abhorrent hypocrisy involved here.

All I really want to say is that hypocrisy is unpleasant from all quarters. As such, those who would criticize Obama for going in to Syria, consider your own response to Bush going into Iraq.

I am finding myself increasingly fond of isolationist policies. This country has been a little too gung-ho about policing other nations for my taste. There are always arguments to be made both in favor and against each, but I take any military action with a heaping serving of salt these days. I won't say I can't be convinced that military action is the right course, but merely that my initial bias is against.

In direct regards to Syria, do we really think it's a good idea to be arming and aiding these people? The logic seems to be 'enemy of my enemy' which is a terrible notion in international politics. So far, it seems that all these north african and middle eastern rebellions have made things worse internally and much worse for US relations. You'd think we'd have learned our lesson with the Mujahideen.

I can't say I know enough about the Syrian situation to say who's in the right. I can say that it seems like both sides are pretty skeazy. I can say that it's almost certainly none of our business.

Feh. Nobel peace prize means a whole lot these days, no?

Return to the Land of the Free

I am once more in Texas, in my own bed. Or at least, on my own mattress surrounded by the disassembled bits of my bed, as well as the assorted paraphernalia of college life. Unpacking starts tomorrow. For now, I've been awake for most of the last 38 hours, so I will take advantage of these pillows and update more when I am coherent.

It's good to be back.

Overheard in the Kitchen

"Quick! Fetch me the earwigs!"

Family is weird.

A Fun Day Ahead

I haven't been to the range all summer. Time constraints and a few legal irritations combined in a point of major annoyance.

That being said, last week dad and I found a very nice range a short ways away from our place in WI, and today, we are going to really see if it's any good.

I have still yet to fire my Enfield, but as I now have both a range and ammunition, that will change today. I have a handful of T&E products to test out as well, so look for a review or two coming soon.

Today is going to be a good day.

Washington State and the NRA

The NRA is a source of not insignificant frustration to a lot of gun owners. While we do recognize and appreciate the good work they do, it can be more than a little irksome to see a clear cut fight that they aren't weighing in on. The NRA has some weight to throw around. The trouble is that with that weight comes inertia.

Right now, Washington state is gearing up for a fight on gun issues. The NRA thus far has paid it essentially no notice. Gay Cynic has a post up about it here.

One very important thing to note here is that the NRA is not astroturf. The power of the NRA comes from it's members, and in my experience, they are willing to listen if the members start to make noise about something. As such, I'd encourage you to follow any of the links at GC's place and get in touch with the NRA. There's no need to be angry or inflammatory, but simply stating that you'd like to see the NRA get involved in this could go a long way.

It's stuff like this that makes the NRA the power it is. It's a simple thing to possibly give this a nudge in the right direction. Go, contact NRA!

I Hate Hymenopterids

While digging for a water feature in the yard Wednesday, I seem to have angered a nest of digging wasps. Of course, given the nature of the critters, first I knew of it was the classic flaming poker into the back of my left index finger. Through gloves no less. Little bugger.

In related news, finger stings HURT

On some level though, I can hardly blame them, considering I came out later and soaked their nest with wasp killer. It took some effort not to light it on fire too, tell the truth.

It did get me thinking though. I have had thankfully few interactions with the nasty things. One trend I have noticed is that, while I have a reasonably high pain tolerance, a sting from one of them is enough to get me to vacate the area. Not only that, but I always find myself fairly uneasy going back to the same areas again. It took effort to go back and spray the nest, and it was very much a hit and run type of operation.

Simply put, they are critters that have a really compelling defense mechanism. If it weren't for the miracles of modern chemistry, I may have had to abandon the project because of them. This has been unusually (or perhaps entirely typically) rambly, but I suppose the dual point to this is that first off, hymenopterids are nasty but effective little things, and I love living in the modern era.



In other news, I spent today cleaning guns. I detail stripped my Enfield for the first time, and found a few strands of grease caked grass or other plant matter. A part of me has to wonder whether it's been there since wwii.

I also have a bit of an advice bleg. I'm looking to replace the glass that came with my 700. It's really not bad glass, with nice crisp images. My main complaints though are the reticle and the eye relief. I have to creep uncomfortably close on the scope to get the image, which I am none to happy with. (somewhere in the 2-3" range on a .308) Any suggestions for a scope in the 4-16x range with a bit longer eye relief and a price that is acceptable to a poor college student budget?

Ammo blues

Finally managed to find ammo at reasonable prices (ok, steep but not absurd prices) so I stocked up as much as I could afford to.

.303 Brit for $.90 per pop is painful enough that I reeeeeally want to look into reloading. Ah well though. At least I can finally shoot my Enfield.

Mostly .308, with a bunch of 7.62x54R, 7.62x39 and .30 carbine too. It's steel case stuff, but I'm trying to feed a bolt gun, so I'm not too worried.

The supply I bought will hopefully see me through the rest of the drought so I can buy some better stuff at reasonable prices. Or who knows. Maybe the Herter stuff will be excellent ammunition.