Gun Report S&W M&P40

Picked up a new S&W M&P40 last weekend and was able to shoot it at Wednesday night's match. Ran about 100 rounds through the gun with no issues, other than my own brain farts. The rounds I shot were a mixed bag of either 180g FMJs from Precision Delta, or 185g moly coated Precision bullets. Either way, the rounds were making about 145-147pf.

Initial impressions of the M&P40 are good. I like the trigger, and with the large grip insert, the pistol feels like my Rock Ranch 2011 on the backstrap and like a standard 1911 on the front strap. It points like my 2011 and feels good in the hanb. Unlike my XD40, which I sold off to finance another project, the M&P40 fits my hands just about perfectly, and I can get good contact on the grip with my left hand.

Controls are where you think they should be - and if you're a lefty there is a built in slide release on the right side of the gun as well as the standard left side; and you can reverse the magazine release button so that it's on the right hand side as well.

About the only negatives to this point that I can think of are the sights - which are the dreaded 3 dot, or should I say, now just one dot because I blacked out the rear dots. The notch isn't as wide as I'd like, but that will be remidied when I put a new narrower front sight.

The other negative is the pistol came with a magazine disconnect - which means you can't pull the trigger unless a mag is in the gun. Needless to say, I'll be disconnecting the disconnect because for shooting matches, it's a pain in the ass to unload and show clear when you have to put a mag back in the gun.

All in all, if the pistol proves to be reliable and functions properly in all conditions, I'd say that the M&P is a keeper. So far, I lubed the pistol when I got home from picking it up, and won't give it a cleaning until it starts jamming up.

We'll see how long that takes.

(side note - my broadband went down and I'm in dial-up hell which is not letting my upload any images. As soon as broadband comes back up I'll post something)

Looks like proof of global cooling to me!

In a fascinating article, Reuters tells us of a new discovery:

a short-necked plesiosaur, a prehistoric marine reptile the size of a bus, that they believe is the first complete skeleton ever found.

The 150 million year old remains of the 33-foot ocean going predator were found in August on the remote Svalbard Islands of the Arctic, the University of Oslo announced.

How cool is that?

Speaking of cool - you'll note of course that a prehistoric Reptile was found in the Arctic, right?

Anyone else see the irony here?

More climate hysteria

Here's a lovely article thanks to our good friends at the AP on how the Northeast is going to turn into a sweltering desert in the next 100 years if we don't do something!! Anything!! Now!!

Scientists Issue Global Warming Report Wednesday, October 4, 2006 8:52 PM
EDT
The Associated Press
By LINDA A. JOHNSON TRENTON, N.J.

(AP) - Global warming could strain the Northeast's power grid, farms, forests and marine fisheries by the next century unless carbon dioxide emissions are reduced by 3 percent each year, according to a report released Wednesday.

Keep in mind dear reader, that human contribution to carbon dioxide emissions constitute a whopping .1 of 1 percent. And that's world wide - not just in the Northeast!! You'll notice, of course, they didn't associate an actual COST with reducing emissions, we are supposed to cut back...

The climate in the nine states - from New Jersey and Pennsylvania up to Maine - could become like that of the South with longer, much hotter summers and warmer winters with less snow, the report by the Union of Concerned Scientists said.

Wow, so growing seasons would be longer and more food could be produced?

"This has enormous implications for human health. It puts a lot of stress on the energy system. It could lead to blackouts," said Katherine Hayhoe, an associate
professor of geosciences at Texas Tech University and a lead author of the two-year study.

Golly. Blackouts. If the eco-nazis would let us build more power plants to handle the increased demand, then do you really think blackouts would be an issue? Hmmmmm?

If power plant and auto emissions of carbon dioxide - considered the main culprit in global warming - continue unabated, average temperatures in the Northeast could rise between 6.5 degrees and 12.5 degrees by the end of the century, she said.

A shift to cleaner, renewable energy sources would cut that increase inhalf, she said. The study said Boston could see its number of 90-degree-plus summer days jump from one to 40 if no changes are made. New York City could have 70.

Yeah, right. 70 days over 90? It seems that we had about that number of days down here over 100!! And look, we somehow managed to survive. Why don't you ask the folks out West how THEY manage to survive!

Doug Inkley, senior science adviser at the National Wildlife Federation, said the report was done by top-tier scientists and backs up his group's research showing a warmer climate in the Northeast will push out temperature-sensitive species from sugar maple and northern pine trees to songbirds and trout.

"This report is yet another wake-up call we cannot ignore," Inkley said.

The National Wildlife Federation?? Yet another unbiased source. Great job AP!!

The report targeted the Northeast because it is the world's seventh-largest source of emissions, behind the U.S. as a whole and five other nations, and because the region's leaders have taken steps to reduce emissions and could spur efforts elsewhere.

Mike MacCracken of The Climate Institute, a former head of the interagency group that did climate assessments under a Clinton-era research program, called the report "a high-quality job" that gives "pretty reliable indications of the amount of change."

Source #2 for this great piece of work is a Clinton hack?? No bias here!

John R. Christy, director of the Earth System Science Center at University of Alabama-Huntsville, said regional analyses he's done indicate the latest climate models can't predict well for a region, especially for rain and snow.

He said the report's recommendations - mostly centered on replacing or upgrading buildings, cars and appliances with more energy-efficient ones - won't
have much effect on the total amount of carbon dioxide going into the atmosphere, partly because energy demand will keep growing.

Holy crap Batman!! Two whole paragraphs dedicated to a contrary point of view! It's a new record!

--- On the Net: Union of Concerned Scientists report: http://www.ucsusa.org/

You'll note, dear reader, that there is no alternative website listed where a concerned reader could go find information to counter the sky is falling propoganda from the eco-nazis. You'll also be happy to find, if you were to go to their sage website, that not only are they worried about climate change, but Bush dropping a nuke on Iran!

Teachers and Guns?

Vote now!

A Kalifornia TV station is currently hosting a poll to decide if we should arm school teachers or not. Right now it's at 52% yes, 48% no.

More surprising (or not) to me than the poll results in Kalifornia, was the Democrat add running right across the top of the screen. I guess that's the news media at work for ya right there.

Camp Crawford (?) is in Town

Omigosh - we got hippies! This looks to be part of the stupidity that Michelle Malkin warned us about.

This is what was going on right around the corner from my office, on Northbound I-35 in Lewisville today. I got a call from Catfish, who was heading home, and got caught in the traffic that these folks were manufacturing. Being the enterprising blogger I am, I grabbed my trusty digital camera and went to get a first-hand look.

Catfish said that bus looked familiar, like the one at Cindy Sheehan's gang at Crawford. Sure enough, I had a young man from the Crawford newspaper ("the" paper, or "a" paper? Beats me), approach me and ask who I was and what I thought. I shared that I am but a humble blogger with the humble Texican Tattler, and I thought that they were creating a traffic jam on OU/Texas weekend. "That's not until tomorrow," says he. "The Norman campus closes on Friday," quoth I. "But, that's not until tomorrow," reiterates he. "And therefore, the students, including my son, are coming home today," I explained.

Furthermore, it was unfathomable to him that holding such a protest in such a pro-Bush, pro-Republican stronghold would create any type of consternation for anyone. I asked him if he thought those horn honks and middle fingers were symbols of support where he came from. I think that sums up the depth of thought process of the worker bees in this organized "protest." I had to spell "Texican" for him twice.

However, let's step back and look at what the organizers have managed:

A traffic-stopping protest in a major metropolitan area, in a high-traffic zone, on a very high-traffic day. There were handlers that descended on the police when they arrived to keep tabs on things. My suspicion is they had some sort of legal training. There were drinks, well-made signs (along with some hand-made ones, to be fair), and a shameful, disrespectful display of American flags flown upside down and draped on their bodies. Note the couple of guys wearing BDU/camo pants.
A well-equipped bus, with mirrored tint, propane power sources, satellite dish, air-conditioning, professional paint job and looking to be in very good repair. It appears it may be a rental from the Texas Pop Festival (more hippie evidence!). Note the "Texas" flag with a peace sign, displayed over the entrance. It's backwards, and smacks of a lack of familiarity with the State of Texas. Or maybe they did it just to be contrary. Either way, it tells me something. Just like Catfish before me, I suspect that the organizers ain't from around here.

In any event, I'm sure it'll be on the evening news and/or the newspaper. People like this don't really care about their cause - they care about the sentiment they generate, and they don't care who they make angry doing it.

That's right - the people driving north on I-35 were NOT giving them peace signs in return.

Pimp Daddy sums it up well: if you really want to convince me of your commitment, show me some Jim Jones action. Don't just make the Kool-Aid, drink it!

Best Avatar EVER

I think there's a blog at the link above, too.

Do big breasts lead to paradise?

Man, this story is not at all what I hoped.

Tired of being poor and going to school with no good jobs in sight after graduation, Catalina decides to do what her friends have done and get breast implants in order to snag a gangster boyfriend who can take care of her.

Gee, they could've filmed this in Garland.

Beer drinkers beware: 4 percent of U.S. hops crop burns

The United States produces 24 percent of the world's hops, and about three-fourths of the U.S. crop comes from the Yakima Valley. Hops were a $77 million crop in Washington state in 2004. More than 40 families grow hops in the valley, which is dotted with orchards, vineyards and farms.

No. Please, no. The humanity.

Cockle picker gangmaster rules come into force

Twelve licences have already been granted to gangmasters who supply work crews to pick cockles.

Cockle-picking gangmasters. Sounds like a good phrase to memorize.

Red To Green

Last week I posted a link to an excellent speech from Senator James Inhofe, completely debunking the global warming hysteria. He used a plethora of facts, dates, and names from the scientific "community" to back up his assertions.

The Law Dog was kind enough to pick up the discussion and a lively debate erupted on his comments, with the typical suspects arguing for us to curb our energy usage, etc. I replied that the whole environmental movement was nothing more than the old Reds now preaching Green. In other words, the old socialists wearing a different hat.

Now today, I see this article in a British paper telling us just that.

The article claims that if we only spend one TRILLION dollars over the next generation, then we, as in, the West, can reduce our carbon dioxide emissions. Now, when you take into consideration that the total amount of manmade carbon dioxide in greenhouse gases equals .1 of 1 percent of all carbon dioxide produced, then you could see why I'm skeptical.

Now, the socialists come into play here:

Turbo-charged growth in emerging economies is helping to drag billions of people out of poverty across Asia, Latin America and eastern Europe. But according to PwC, the price will be paid by sharp rises in global energy consumption and carbon emissions. They say it means the rich nations that have done most to cause the problem must take more drastic action to reduce their environmental impact.

That's right dear readers - even though the West has already drastically reduced greenhouse emissions (keep that .1 of 1 percent in mind...), and the developing (as in, poor) countries are producing MORE greenhouse gases, it's up to the rich West (as in, the United States) to pay the bill.

Anyone read a copy of Marx lately?

Remember - the socialists turned environmentalists want us to spend ONE TRILLION DOLLARS to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions from .1 of one percent to zero while the developing countries around the world pay nothing, and continue to emit more greenhouse gases. Just what do you think that will do to their economies and what do you think that would do to ours, comrade?