Hloy Siht!

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdgnieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid. Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? yaeh and I awlyas thought slpeling was ipmorantt!

My life as a grammar/spelling nazi is over.

Charlie's Angels

It's been awhile since we've done a dedicated 'gun post' and this is one that I've been contemplating for a while.

Today I'll talk about a pet peeve of mine when watching new (and sometimes experienced) shooters move. Largely, I blame it on Hollywood, but there's some blame to go around to the gun rags as well - most of which may know a lot about guns, but not much about shooting. I love seeing a picture of some gun rag author talking about how controllable the recoil is on a given pistol, and the picture shows the gun in full recoil with the muzzle pointed straight up in the air, but I digress.

Today we will discuss about something that we have affectionately termed "Charlie's Angels". Charlie's Angels is where you move from point A to point B with the gun pointed straight up in the air, ala the old Charlie's Angels posters. It looks something like this:

Inevitably, the same people that do this also have their trigger finger wrapped squarely around the trigger, just like the Hollywood movie heroes.

I'll be blunt. Don't do this. There are several reasons.

1. The threat, or the target, will practically never be above your head. They are going to be somewhere in front of you, if you are paying attention. By pointing the gun in the air, you are wasting valuable time that you do not have to waste in either a gunfight or in a match. It's a bad plan.
2. What IS likely to be above you are people you care about if you are in an office building, or a home with 2 stories. If you have an AD with the gun pointed above your head, that's a bad thing if you're at an office or home environment, not to mention outdoors in an urban setting like where our range is. Gravity being what it is, the round will HAVE to land somewhere, and Mr. Murphy says it will hit something you'd rather it not hit. It's a bad plan.
3. If you happen to trip and fall while moving from point A to point B, and your gun is pointed up, it's awfully easy to wind up pointing the gun at your own head and having an AD while you're trying to catch yourself on the way down. If you trip and fall into a barricade, the gun will hit you in the head or face. It's a bad plan.
4. If a bad guy happens upon you with your gun pointed at the ceiling, it's a simple matter of physics and control to push the pistol into your face, keeping the barrel pointed up, while his other hand is either shooting you, cutting you, or hitting you in your now unprotected belly. It's a bad plan.

The gun is either in the holster, or it's pointed downrange. Period. This is assuming that you, as a responsible shooter, have absolute control over your trigger finger. If you don't, then you don't need to be carrying a gun. I cannot tell you how many times authors on this blog have slipped, tripped, or just fell on their own accord (JR) while running with a gun in their hand and have not had an AD.

Here's a better example of a low ready, or ready gun (whatever you want to call it) that will serve you much better than Charlie's Angels:

If I need to from this position, I can take the shot. I am also in very little danger of having my gun taken away from me or controlled by an opponent. If I am unfortunate enough to slip, fall, or have an AD, the round will have very little chance of striking me. If you're moving more than 3-4 steps, you can take your weak hand off the gun and haul ass - but your strong hand and the gun will stay essentially in the same position you see here.

If you're pointing the gun up when you move, I really hope you stop doing it. And you damn sure won't be doing it when I'm the Safety Officer or Match Director. If you want to shoot yourself, do it on your own time.

Claude Lelouch: Rendezvous

This is amazing. I can't believe in all my years, that I am just now seeing this. The video is 10 minutes long and worth watching all the way through. The driving is fantastic, but hearing the Ferrari's V12 sing is even better.

On an August morning in 1978, French filmmaker Claude Lelouch mounted a gyro-stabilized camera to the bumper of a Ferrari 275 GTB and had a friend, a professional Formula 1 racer, drive at breakneck speed through the heart of Paris. The film was limited for technical reasons to 10 minutes; the course was from Porte Dauphine, through the Louvre, to the Basilica of Sacre Coeur.
No streets were closed, for Lelouch was unable to obtain a permit. The driver completed the course in about 9 minutes, reaching nearly 140 MPH in some stretches. The footage reveals him running real red lights, nearly hitting real pedestrians, and driving the wrong way up real one-way streets.
Upon showing the film in public for the first time, Lelouch was arrested. He has never revealed the identity of the driver, and the film went underground until a DVD release a few years ago.

MUSIC CITY USA DUKEFEST!

Speaking of Hillbilly White Trash.

Celebrate one of America's best-loved television shows with two days of music, car stunts and fun for the entire family. Show your love for the Dukes of Hazzard with your dedicated car. And of course, it wouldn't be DukesFest without the General Lee.

Don't miss the "Mullet Contest", "Redneck Bikini and Camel Toe Contest", and the ever popular "Pickled Pig's Foot Eating Contest". Sign up early to get your camping spot!

REGISTER NOW FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN A TRIP TO CMT DUKESFEST 2006 ALONG WITH A VIP MEET AND GREET WITH THE CAST OF THE DUKES OF HAZARD.

Ex-Teacher Still Jailed After Strip Video

Hot for teacher? Damn straight.

A Tennessee teacher is being held without bail after she allegedly sent a strip-tease video to her former student.

Video may not be safe for work. No nudity, but unbelievable hotness and gratuitous ass shaking.

The video was allegedly shot after Rogers was arrested and remanded to her own custody for using a MySpace Web site to contact the boy.
Rogers spent six months in jail for having sex with a 13-year-old student was arrested in April, for violating probation by apparently communicating with the victim.

Hillbilly White Trash: The Ecosystem grows

We're hot stuff now. We're brand-new members of the Hillbilly Ecosystem. Yeee-haaa!

Ariz. Posse to Round Up Illegal Immigrants

Now this is what I call a pretty smart move. Since it's quite obvious the Federal government is going to do nothing to stop the flood of illegal immigrants into our country, the State of Arizona passed a law making it illegal to smuggle humans across the border.

The law made human smuggling a state crime in Arizona - it was already a federal crime - allowing local law enforcement agencies to arrest suspected smugglers. It was meant to crack down on smugglers, but under a disputed interpretation, County Attorney Andrew Thomas argues the law can be applied to the smuggled immigrants themselves.

Once again, Sheriff Joe Arpaio is making headlines:

"I'm going to catch as many as I can and throw them in my jail," said Sheriff Joe Arpaio. "And the jails are not that nice."

Why is it that a little Sheriff out in the desert gets it, but the fat cats of both parties in Washington don't?

As you would expect, some lousy, flea bit, slip and fall lawyer has threatened suit against the Sheriff, but the Sheriff's not backing down:

"I get sued when I go to the toilet. You think I'm worried about it?" he said. "If they think I'm going to slow down because of these threats, I've got news for them - I'm not going to slow down. I'll do more of it."

The whining is endless, with illegal - no - I mean, undocumented immigrant's rights groups stating that "every act like this contributes to the angst and anger and desperation in our community...." waaah waaaah waaaaaah. I suppose that our angst and anger that the horde of illegals crossing into our country creates doesn't mean anything, right?

I really don't give a shit, if it hurts the feelings of the illegal immigrant community and fortunately for the citizens of Maricopa County in Arizona, neither does the Sheriff. Now if only we could get something like this going here in Texas....

Man charged in dildo assault

A 37-year-old man remained in police custody Tuesday, charged with a violent assault against his former girlfriend. He has testified that his only weapon was a dildo.
"It lasted 10 to 15 minutes, max," he told the court. "I didn't hit her with anything other than a dildo."
He also suggested the woman may have had bruises from before the assault. "She doesn't tolerate much because of anorexia."

We're a Large Mammal

It's been a while, but we're back in the ranks of Large Mammals in TTLB's ecosystem. We're presently ranked #708 of all the blogs tracked there (which is most of them). Not too shabby for a little Texas blog.

I still think they're measure of average visits is WAY wrong (we get about 1200 visits/hits a day - they say only 40), but I'll take what I can get.

Moussaoui recants testimony

Moussaoui to Judge: "I changed my mind. I don't want to go to Federal PMITA prison."

Judge to Moussaoui: "Suck it."