More stellar performance from ATF. This is the a director of industry operations for ATF’s Houston field office:

But the staffers and a deputy sheriff also discovered that someone had removed the bedroom door from its hinges and replaced it with a 5-by-4-foot piece of plywood affixed to the frame and the drywall with hinges and screws, the arrest report said. The door had two locks attached from the bedroom side and a circular hole padded with duct tape. The deputy noted in the arrest report that the hole appeared to be used “in some sort of sexual act.”

So, who was on the other side?

Update: The plot sickens. Read at own risk.

Larry from Brownells emails that Al Gore is dumping a bunch of homogenized temperature data on Iowa and they’re a bit short staffed. So, web-orders are the way to go and ship times could be slow.

Good thing she had a gun:

Donna Jackson, 57, was on the phone with 911 for more than ten minutes reporting an intruder at her home when she shot and killed the man, Billy Dean Riley. The incident was captured on tape by the 911 dispatcher. Riley entered Jackson’s home after breaking a glass door by throwing a patio table through it. Jackson shot him once in the chest with a 16-gauge shotgun.

It took longer than ten minutes for the police to show up. That’s a long time.

Update: 25 whole minutes. that’s a TiVoed sitcom.

At the LA Times:

First, we need to recognize that guns are present in more than 40% of all homes in this country — like it or not. Any credible discussion of this issue must acknowledge that reality.

Second, gun owners and non-gun owners alike are in universal agreement in this country that violent, predatory criminals should not possess, have access to nor easily obtain firearms.

Third, we all wish that mentally troubled individuals would not own, possess or acquire guns.

Both sides of the debate need to acknowledge they actually agree on several key issues. I am a gun owner, and I do not intend to surrender my rights because of the acts of criminals, mental midgets or a sentimental wish of how things might be somewhere else (The Times muses about Canada’s low homicide rate). I am hungry for action that moves our common agenda forward.

Also there’s this from the opener:

The “crazy” thing about the gun debate in America is how misguided and off-base both sides of the issue are. An example from one side is The Times’ Dec. 1 editorial on the Washington state police officer shootings, “Crazy about guns”; from the other side, we have almost any fundraising appeal over the last year from the National Rifle Assn.

That’s also a problem with the debate. Comparing an editorial to a fundraising appeal sent to members. You see, the anti-gun side is parroted as gospel by the press. The pro-gun side rarely has the opportunity to do that. So, we communicate on our own. Our side isn’t often presented so how can folks even know what compromise solutions exist?

The Herald Times is all butthurt because of some grassroots activism. Their response seems to bee Waaah!! that mean ol’ NRA. Seem shocked that gun owners don’t like to be treated like sex offenders.

Unpossible again:

a Hispanic male entered the restaurant through a back entrance, pointed a weapon at a clerk and demanded money. A second suspect, a black male, then came in and pointed a weapon at several customers demanding money. Both suspects then took cash from the register and fled the scene before police arrived.

Don’t these guys know guns are banned at restaurants?

Video of a man taking a gun from some punk. This could not have happened since guns are banned there.

Board and blogs for Droid stuff at Feisty Little Droid.

A bit written by Marko ended up in the Nuge’s book without attribution. Looks like they’re square now.

Greg:

Uncle says iced tea should be sweet with lemon. While I don’t mind sweet tea, you can always sweeten it yourself, but you cannot un-sweeten it.

No, you cannot. And you also cannot sweeten iced tea with sugar. It just goes to the bottom of it. It must be sweetened when it’s brewed or not at all.

Well, except some of that homogenized data.

Heh:

Turning declines in raw data into rises in one’s tables is one of the things that led to Michael Bellesiles’s resignation from Emory in the Arming America scandal.

Oops

Reason’s Damon Root has a look at the politics of hardcore punk and alleged efforts to keep non-leftist voices out of music. I’ve never thought of the hardcore folks, generally, as right wing though they do share some views associated with conservatives. I suspect political ideology doesn’t matter much for record sales. I don’t listen to music for its political message. I listen to it because I like it. If I didn’t listen to those with whom I disagree, I’d miss out on some good music. Like anything by REM, since Stipe is onto every lefty cause no matter how silly. Or Hed PE, a group comprised of truthers but they can bring the noise. And I am also not a straight-edge vegan animal rights activist but I’m digging Earth Crisis.

Tam:

If they stick to their numbering conventions and the rimfire is the next new model released, it will be the Glock 40.

So the Glock 40 will be a .22 and the Glock 22 is a .40. Hilarity ensues at gun shop counters across the country.

He uses magazines Mr. C. has a look at rimfire magazines.

What this is? I haven’t a clue.

All guns are always loaded. Even flare guns.

JayG continues his review of laser sights and discovers something:

One thing that jumped out at me as I was shooting with the laser sights was that it wasn’t a panacea for shooting issues. I had expected to sight the laser in on the X-ring, then be able to chew out the X with boring precision. It doesn’t work that way at all – things like smooth trigger control, sight picture, etc. are still important and can still wreak havoc with your shooting even with a laser sight.

I don’t know why I want one but I do:

LaRue 7.62

Hero 15 DMR

20MM Rifle

As with most things global warming related, key data is omitted. Given that I actually know what the logical fallacy of appealing to authority means, I clarified that in the comment he’s partially quoting.

LA Gang Tours:

The mission of LA GANG TOURS is to provide an unforgettable historical experience for our customers with a customized high-end specialty tour. We will provide customers with a true first-hand encounter of the history and origin of high profile gang areas and the top crime scene locations in South Central, Los Angeles. Each tour bus for LA GANG TOURS will have a guide from the South Central areas who has gained hands on knowledge and experience of the inner city lifestyle.

Hobbits, unlike global warming data, were real.

I have and love my EeePC. But I feel a bit silly having a new computer with an 8 year old operating system on it. So, the question is do I upgrade to Windows 7? Anyone have experience with that?

I did the trial version/temporary install of EasyPeasy. And I liked it. A lot. But there are some applications that I use that it will not run. I hear there are Windows emulators for it. Anyone ever try that?

A non-thought provoking piece getting gun safety wrong from the official journal of not-doctors. I play poker with a doctor and we discussed this one night. He said it was the position of some regulatory body but most doctors ignored it. Rightfully, he thought.

I found one at their market place. Can’t link it from webpage but if you search for ballistic from your phone, it shows up.

The latest Shooting Illustrated (one of the better gun mags out there and the price is right for NRA members at under $10) had a bit on the various tactical 22LR rifles out there. I hear their new site will go live in January and you’ll be able to see the article and some video. Bottom line is most folks are making 22LR versions of their rifles and I imagine demand is high due to ammo prices. It’s a trend I’ve noted before. With some new additions added all the time.

But I’ve also pondered the various conversion kits. CMMG makes a conversion kit for AR-15s. The kit is sold at Brownells. It has the advantage of being cheaper than a whole rifle and you can use all the optics and doodads on your current rifle. Cons would seem to be that it would be less accurate since my AR barrel is not rifled for the 22LR cartridge. There was a review in the recent Guns and Ammo that I cannot find online which stated accuracy wasn’t the greatest but it was reliable.

Also, The Packing Rat has a good review of the kit with some pics.

I wonder how this kit would work with subsonic ammo and a suppressor?

Looks pretty cool:

From Gun Porn

D.C. Court Ruling Could Affect Out-Of-State Gun Buying:

You can buy a car from an out-of-state dealer and pick it up there. You can buy a house in another part of the country, as speculators unwisely did during the real estate bubble, sight unseen. But even though the Second Amendment protects an individual right to own firearms — and presumably to buy them — you can’t purchase a handgun while you’re visiting another state.

Well, you can. You just have to have it shipped to your federally licensed firearms dealer. But that’s presuming you live in a state. This case is about those not in a state:

A gun rights group has sued the Justice Department to overturn this prohibition, which became law as part of the Gun Control Act of 1968, and the case is now in front of U.S. District Judge James Robertson in Washington, D.C.

Narrowly speaking, the Second Amendment Foundation has filed the Hodgkins v. Holder suit on behalf of American citizens who live abroad and would like to buy firearms when they return for a visit (but can’t because Form 4473 requires them to list what U.S. state they live in). More broadly, it could restore Americans’ right to buy handguns while traveling across state lines as long as they undergo the normal federal background check.

Wonder how states that do not use NICS but use their own instant check system will play into that.

It is always interesting to check out the regional differences in food and what defines food depending on where you are. LabRat has a look. So does Chris. Being that I live in a different region, I can say, without reservation, that they get quite a bit wrong.

For instance, chili has no beans. Chili with beans is called chili with beans.

Cornbread is cornbread if it has sugar in it or not (I like my cornbread with a bit of sugar but not much – of course, I also put bacon flavor in it). It’s a matter of degree. And it’s cooked in a frying pan in the oven. A johnnycake is cooked on a skillet and it is thin like a pancake.

Barbecue is meat cooked over a fire. The sauce is a regional thing.

Bonus round: Iced tea. Being in the South East, when I order tea, there should be no follow up questions. It comes sweet and with lemon.