I’d guess one of the most common reasons for owning and carrying a firearm is self-defense. If someone tries to break into your home or your car, you can shoot them. If someone starts shooting in the bar (or church or classroom) you’re at, you can shoot them, to save your life and the lives of others.
If you expect to find yourself in some place where getting shot seems like a real possibility, why not wear a bulletproof vest? For example, if I was going clubbing in a rough neighborhood, wouldn’t a good kevlar vest be more useful than a glock?
No good against a head-shot, granted. But I’ll bet the data would show those are more rare than taking one in the torso.
Would wearing a vest be less “manly” in some way? Would like to know what percentage of hand gun owners also have body armor of some kind.
Last time I called my MINI service rep to ask about an engine light on my Cooper, he said there are more than 100 things that could cause the light. If I’d taken the time to dig out my manual, it would probably have listed all of those but I’m not sure how I would know which was the culprit.
The light came on last night so I opened my Automatic app, clicked on the alert icon and learned the problem was “incomplete combustion in cylinder 4.” It also gave me easy-to-follow instructions for clearing the light and nearby mechanics.
This feature alone is worth the price of Automatic ($99). But the device/app has made me a better driver. Fewer jack-rabbit starts; less hard breaking; and I’m keeping my highway speed at 70mph.
This Frontline documentary was… damning. I’m sure “defenders of the faith” have ready responses to every charge although I’m not sure what one would say to 8-year-old Monica Barret who was raped by her priest (“If You Tell Anybody, Your Parents Will Burn in Hell”). A middle aged woman now, Ms. Barret’s dry-eyed account of that event was chilling and heart breaking.
I suppose you argue that the producers and Frontline and the media (and all non-Catholics?) are out to ‘get’ the Catholic Church. Fuck if I know. Has anyone said, “I don’t want to be part of this. I’ll find another place worship. Call me if you get your shit together.”
Sounds like the new Pope might be trying to make some changes but the corruption runs deep and high and any real house cleaning is gonna be ugly.
Company I used to work for is big in collegiate sports marketing so this story probably more interesting to me than many of you. But this tech will almost certainly show up in lots of places. A few excerpts from full post:
The system, developed by UK start-up Mobbra, will let organisers *send football replays, backstage interviews with pop stars, or area-specific food deals direct to fans’ phones*. It will also encourage the audience to become part of the show.
With Mobbra’s system, dubbed Massivity, organisers can *take control of fans’ phones to create spectacular effects*. For instance, the camera flashlight on each phone could be activated remotely, turning the crowd into a glittering star field. Or a team’s colours could sweep around the phone and tablet screens in the venue like a Mexican wave.
These kinds of applications are possible because Mobbra has found a way to deliver Wi-Fi to every user in a large crowd. A typical wireless access point can supply just 50 connections – so unless a venue can afford to run an access point for every 50 or so people, Wi-Fi is not guaranteed. Even then, simple radio interference can destroy any chance of stadium-wide access.
The phone side of the equation is choreographed by an app called Fangage, which tweaks the phone’s Wi-Fi settings. It will launch on the Apple and Android app stores later this month. *During a game, all phones could vibrate to tell the crowd of a betting opportunity, or a special food and drink offer*, says Walton. “You can have four streams of video, which could be replays or goals from other matches that are on at the same time. At gigs you’ll get behind-the-scenes news and backstage interviews with the stars.”
I’ve been using the Automatic widget/app for a couple of weeks and have found it very useful. The screenshot below is from the companion website and shows some of the data the device captures. On a recent trip from St. Louis to Jefferson City I saved seven bucks by keeping my speed (mostly) at 70 mph or below. The app beeps once when you exceed 70. I also avoided “rough breaking” and “hard acceleration.” For those with jobs that involve tracking mileage, this would be a hand/automatic way to do it.
I left Tucson bright and early Sunday morning and headed south for Bisbee, AZ, home of Bisbo Nian (not his real name) and his charming partner Taylor. I “met” Bisbo on Google+. Like me, he’s a J-Walk Ranger (see previous post) and lives in Bisbee, AZ, a couple of hours south of Tucson. Southern Arizona is spectacularly beautiful county. Wide, sweeping vistas punctuated with mountains that change color throughout the day.
Bisbee is a old mining town, retrofitted with aging hippies, artists and assorted free spirits. (The Wikipedia entry will give you a better feel for the place than I can.)
When I called Bisbo to let him know I’d arrived,he was at the local airport trying to get his vintage biplane — and himself– air-worthy. He’s a pilot for Southwest Airlines but hadn’t flown his biplane for a while and wanted to refresh his memory on the thing before taking me up for tour of Bisbee. Fortunately the winds were just gusty enough to keep that from happening.
Some local wag once described Bisbee as “Mayberry On Acid” which perfectly captures the charm of the place. I felt like I was with Sheriff Taylor on our walking tour. Bisbo seemed to know everyone and everyone knew him. It was all I could do not to whistle that song.
Bisbo’s Reason for Living, Taylor, joined us and we had lunch at a great vegan restaurant. After lunch Bisbo showed me one big-ass hole in the ground…
…and then we piled back into his VW microbus and headed for the border where I got to see The Fence. I won’t get all political here but I agree with Bisbo and Taylor that the wall is a stupid idea on lots of levels.
Then it was back to Bisbee for a tour of B & T’s charming home where I met their two cats, saw some of Taylor’s paintings and art, and Bisbo’s handiwork with power tools (They’re remodeling their home). Very impressive.
We finished the day back at the Copper Queen Hotel (where I was staying) for a musical jam session (Bisbo plays the banjo).
The trip back to Phoenix the next morning included a breathtaking sunrise over the mountains (a photo wouldn’t have done it justice).
I don’t usually take trips that include renting a car ’cause I’m not fond of long road trips. But the trip to Bisbee was worth it. And all the more so thanks to the hospitality of Bisbo and Taylor. Here’s a short video montage of my visit.
The first mission of the 2014 Soldier of Fortune Tour took us to sunny Arizona. It was 32 degrees and snowing when I left St. Louis… 90 when we landed in Phoenix where I rented a car and headed for Tucson to meet John Walkenbach (known to one and all as J-Walk).
I first heard of John Walkenbach some years ago when I clicked a link somewhere and found myself on the J-Walk Blog. I was immediately hooked. John was a prolific blogger with a taste for the bizarre. And always funny. And he had a huge following.
I didn’t know much about John until I spotted him on Google+ shortly after that service launched. There, too, he posted frequently and got lots of comments. Apparently many of the readers of his blog had followed him to Google+ and I found myself adding people from his circles to mine.
After I retired (12/31/12) and started talking about taking some trips, John invited me to visit him. Last Friday I hopped on a plane and flew to Phoenix, rented a car, and headed for Tucson. (It was 30 degrees and snowing when I left St. Louis and 90 when I got to Arizona) The scenery on the drive to John’s home was pretty exotic for a boy from the midwest.
I knew he and his partner Pamn had nice digs from photos John had shared but I fear I went a little Gomer Pyle as they showed me around. I leave it to John to share more, except to say there were guitars and banjos everywhere you looked. Gonna be a hell of a yard sale when John goes to that big hoedown in the sky. The view from their patio (?) was… well, it was a goddamn vista is what it was.
John took me to a great vegetarian restaurant for lunch, followed by a jam session with some of his old time music pals.
Back at Rancho Walkenbach, Pamn had prepared the best vegetarian meal I have ever eaten.
John let me ask endless questions about his past; how he started writing books; his music… I think he has a PhD in Experimental Psychology! That can’t be right.
It was a great day spent with two interesting people who get a gold star for hospitality.
Shortly before noon I was traveling west on Highway 50 (divided four lane), going about 50 miles per hour. My lane appeared to be free of snow but had patches of black ice (which I guess I always thought of as some mythical substance). There were no cars close to me and I wasn’t changing lanes.
With no warning or sense I was losing control, my Toyota 4Runner seemed to move sideways, off the highway to the right, almost immediately I struck a metal signpost head on. Fortunately some brilliant engineer had designed these posts with hinges so it broke away with just enough impact to deploy the airbags. A good trick for a 17 year old vehicle (thank you, Toyota). A ravine full of scraggly small trees brought the vehicle to a stop.
Called 911 and within minutes local and county folks were on the scene and a bit later the wrecker pulled the 4Runner out. I walked away with a bloody nose from the airbags (yes, I was wearing seatbelt and shoulder harness) and some bumps and scrapes.
I can’t think of much I could have done to avoid this, other than drive a lot slower than 50 mph. My first accident in 50 years of driving and I was lucky. Could have hit another car or something less movable.
I’d guess one of the most common reasons for owning and carrying a firearm is self-defense. If someone tries to break into your home or your car, you can shoot them. If someone starts shooting in the bar (or church or classroom) you’re at, you can shoot them, to save your life and the lives of others.
