The New York Times has a maddening story about men who won't take jobs that are "beneath them" - and end up jobless for years.

Folks, I'm not all that old - I'm still a long way from the big "five oh" - but I was taught that a real man would take a job (any job) to help feed and support his family. The concept of "demeaning" or "beneath me" wasn't mentioned, let alone considered. You had responsibilities, and you did what it took to meet them.

I know it's an old fashioned point of view, and I'm sure the psychologists would say something about it being bad for one's self-esteem, but part of being a man is doing what needs to be done regardless of your feelings. If that means taking a job that is below your self-imposed social status, that's what you do; if it means taking two or three such jobs, then that's what you do.

Apparently these "men" never learned that. Perhaps it's time that someone knocked the concept through their thickened skulls?

-=[ Grant ]=-

Pardon my bashing of the French (after all, they do manufacture the superb Manurhin MR-73 revolver), but from James Taranto at the WSJ comes this gem:

"Tour de France winner Floyd Landis denied on Thursday taking performance-enhancing drugs during the race and said he would fight to clear his name after testing positive for the male sex hormone testosterone," Reuters reports.

Only the French would consider the presence of testosterone in a man's system suspicious.



-=[Grant ]=-

If you've read the "About Me" page, you know that I spent many years as a clock/watchmaker. Consequently, I like timepieces - and sometimes even really odd ones.

At the Indianapolis Children's Museum is a water clock - in fact, the largest water clock in North America! I'd really love to see it in action, particularly at 12:59.



That's cool - but a bit hard to fit in your house. How about something a bit easier to deal with? How about a bar code clock on your laptop? Neat bit of programming; now if someone can just program a Widget like that...

(Sorry, Windows users - Widgets are a Macintosh thing.)

-=[ Grant ]=-

Remember the story I posted a while back about the Washington state police officer who couldn't tell the difference between a Taser and a loaded pistol (wherein the Taser was a bad choice for the circumstance, let alone a firearm)?

Well, the Northwest thankfully does not have a lock on civil servants with sub-par intellects: three New York officers caught in their own crossfire.

What part of "make sure of your target, and what is beyond" didn't these people understand? "Here's your sign!"

-=[ Grant ]=-

Found on the "pdb" blog:

Blind man fatally shoots wife while trying to handle gun, food

MORGANTON - AP

A legally blind man fatally shot his wife while trying to balance a plate of fried chicken and a pistol, authorities said.

Kelly Honeycutt of Morganton was holding a .38-caliber pistol he found in a box while he and his wife were moving into a new home Monday night, said Burke County Sheriff's Sgt. Robert Beall said. He accidentally shot his wife Norita in the head after she handed her wheelchair-bound husband a plate of chicken, Beall said.

Beall said no charges were filed by investigators, but the case was sent to the county prosecutor's office for a final determination.

Beall said the husband was more than 50 percent blind, had limited movement and was in advanced stages of multiple sclerosis. His wife was his caretaker.

"They had a storybook marriage," Beall said. "No history of domestic violence, no indication of alcohol abuse. It just looks like a case of bad timing while handling a gun."

-=[ Grant ]=-

As you may remember, I'm a fan of Tamara K.'s "View from the porch" blog. She's got a new post up, and it's spot-on.

It reminds me of occasions when I've been goaded into discussing gun control with an anti-freedom activist (usually when I'm in a masochistic mood.) I've often been told that "people can't be trusted with guns because they'll go out and shoot their neighbors."

I've been known to respond "why do you want to shoot your neighbors? Are you unstable?" It usually ends that line of argument very quickly.

It's a great read - be sure to check it out.

-=[ Grant ]=-

The New York Times ran this article on getting a concealed weapons permit in Texas. What's surprising is the relative lack (for the NYT, of course) of fear-mongering, class bigotry, or gratuitous put-downs.

Does this mean they've come over to our side? Nawww, but maybe some of their on-the-fence readers will!

-=[ Grant ]=-

Famous dead castrato brought out of retirement.

No further comment!

-=[ Grant ]=-

Have you been following the story of Kyle MacDonald? He started a year ago with a single red paperclip, with the stated goal of trading up in a series of transactions to a house. It was an ambitious plan, and this week he achieves his goal.

Now, I just wonder; could I use the same idea to trade my way into one of those juicy Korth revolvers? Hmmmm.......

-=[ Grant ]=-

Politicians are starting to figure it out...well, at least their lapdogs in the media are.

According to the U.S. News & World Report, gun control legislation is a big loser on Capitol Hill these days. Hooray! But, if history tells us anything, it's that gun owners will squander their current strong position. We need to go on the offensive and build on the gains we've made.

Michael Bane has an interesting FIve-Point Plan for Consolidating Our Current Successes. Though I'm not entirely sure about the first item (we shouldn't make additional legislation, we should insist that the Constitution be upheld - but I understand his point), the rest is spot-on. Pass it along!

(Obligatory revolver content: the US News article illustration is of several Ruger GP-100 revolvers!)

-=[ Grant ]=-

In case you missed it, the IRC (International Revolver Championship) were held last month. As usual, Jerry Miculek won (no news there!) This year, however, a new entrant came in at second place, edging out the man who usually takes that slot: Vic Pickett.

The shooter was...Rob Leatham! That's right, good ol' Rob, he of 1911/IPSC fame. What you may not remember is that Rob is a revolver shooter from way back; he shot revolvers at the Bianchi cup before switching - with the rest of the field - to autoloaders. He's no stranger to the wheelgun, certainly!

But that isn't the most interesting thing - the intriguing part is that he shot in the stock gun class, shooting against Jerry (and Vic) who are in open class (optics and compensators.) That's a show of sheer talent, folks. When you can shoot with essentially no hardware assistance against top competitors who are equipped with the best technology available, you're good. Very good. Of course, anyone familiar with Rob's shooting career already knew that!

-=[ Grant ]=-

If you're looking for a job, it's probably not a good idea to put firearms related items on your resume. In today's America, it's acceptable to discriminate on politically incorrect factors.

-=[ Grant ]=-

As previously mentioned, I acquired one of the recently imported FN "Barracuda" revolvers, and am in the midst of determining what to do to improve the action. I have to make a living, too, so this isn't on the top of my priority list....be patient!

In the meantime, I have managed to develop some information about the lineage of this gun. Some less-informed sellers have been insisting that the Barracuda was made in Belgium, and that the very similar Astra was either a rip-off or a licensed copy. To quote one internet 'expert': "The FN Barracuda was the only revolver FN ever made. They were made a little over 20 years ago and dropped as they never sold as FN thought they would. They are not Astra's nor are they copies, they are entirly FN made."

Trouble is, that is a complete untruth. If you have a Barracuda, pull the grips off; on the left side of the grip frame, next to the mainspring adjustment ring, you'll see the gun's proof marks. You'll note that the proof marks are all from Eibar, Spain - there are no FN Herstal or Liege (or any other Belgian) proof marks on the gun.

Serendipitously, I also have a cross-check: I recently came into possession of an Astra-badged version of this gun. Guess what? Same Spanish proof marks, in the same spots, as the FN version.

Conclusion: The FN Barracuda revolver was definitely NOT produced in Belgium, and was definitely NOT made by FN. It was in fact made in Spain by Astra, for it is their proof marks that adorn the gun. I hope this settles the controversy once and for all!

-=[ Grant ]=-

It's become apparent that the U.S. government has lost trillions (not millions, not billions, trillions) of dollars that were taken out of our (yours and my) pockets.

The recriminations are pathetically predictable; the Democrats point fingers at how President Bush "squandered" a non-existent 'budget surplus', while Republicans chastise the democrats for their 'tax and spend policies'.

The trouble is that they are equally at fault. The only things politicians do, in the final analysis, is write intrusive laws and spend money like drunken sailors. Anyone remember the story of the turtle and the viper?

-=[ Grant ]=-

Occasionally someone will call or email: "I'm looking for a good gunsmith - do you work on Taurus revolvers?" When I politely inform the person that I do not, the result is often indignance, as if to say "how dare you decline to work on my fine possession! You have insulted me, suh!" (Delivered in the best antebellum manner, of course.)

Taurus revolvers possess many positive traits: they're available in a wide variety of calibers and configurations, they are usually fairly reliable, and they are priced right. Unfortunately, it's that last bit that gets me into trouble.

You see, the most expensive part of building a handgun, particularly a revolver, is the finishing work. You can't automate the polishing process, and Taurus revolvers are generally very well polished and finished. Given their low price point, this means that finishing is a large percentage of the purchase price. This means that they have to skimp somewhere, and the place that they do is in parts fitting.

Taurus guns have parts that simply do not fit as tightly - as precisely - as some other manufacturers. Yes, you can do a shadetree action job, maybe swap springs, and improve the action - but it will never be truly 'great' without rebuilding the gun.

I've purchased a couple of Taurus revolvers (Taurii??) to work on, to evaluate. While I like the guns (the now-discontinued model 445 is really neat, and I carry it occasionally) the effort to put a truly world-class action job on one results in huge labor costs.

Look at it this way: if you want a top-end wheelgun you have to pay for fitting parts at some point. With a Taurus, it doesn't happen at the time of purchase; it can only occur in the gunsmith's hands, which drives the cost up considerably. Like the folks who commissioned custom Norinco 1911s about a decade ago, what you end up with is a really expensive $300 gun that no one wants to buy.

I'd rather spend my time working on revolvers that will actually see an increase in value after quality work has been done, and I suspect their owners are the same way. That just won't happen with a Taurus, because after all is said and done it'll still just be a Taurus.

-=[ Grant ]=-