My take on the current feeding frenzy

I do not think that it will amount to anything in terms of gun control. When our side is voting with thousands of dollars in purchases and many hours of activism, training and lobbying, the other side has only talking and collusive propaganda through the mass media.

The real reason for the gun control talk — in my opinion — is to take the pressure off the administration on the economic front. Everyone has been very concerned about the depression, the coming higher taxes, the massive budget deficits and the attendant defaults on government obligations that they just had to counter-strike somewhere. Just like the Brusilov offensive designed to relieve the French at Verdun, this strategic foray into gun control might accomplish the short-term goal at the cost of squandering much political capital the Democrats have.

If the current administration tries to push gun control in extra-legal ways, then they would be just reaching for the laurels of Ceaușescu. I doubt that any of them would go to the wall for that goal, and the current propaganda blitz is no different from the leaflets the Soviets used to drop over the Finnish lines in 1939. Wishful thinking more than a threat.

Posted in civil rights, rkba, self-defense, weapon | 26 Comments

Sporadic Internet access

I am currently in a Third World location with infrequent Internet access and much work to do when I have it. So updates and new photos will be up later, probably upon my return. The weather here is wonderful, the laws Medieval and the people don’t seem to notice either.

Posted in author | 5 Comments

Canon 300/4 IS lens for sale.

I was finally able to buy a 300/2.8 IS, so the f4 is now surplus. Asking $860 including shipping within continental US. B&H is asking $1350 for it new, $1050 used.

Review of the 300/4 IS.

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Movie Review: The Hobbit.

Summary: don’t waste your time or your patience.

Casting: very poor. Certain characters, such as Thorin, were mis-cast.
Screenplay: terrible. Even having read the book, I found the plot disjointed and nonsensical. Logical connections between events were lost. The spirit of the book was lost. Lots of details and events switched around or added to the original story, none to good effect.
Pacing was atrocious, far too slow in most parts. It was like the arcade version of a Shakespeare play, with pointless and drawn-out swashbuckling at the expense of he plot.
3D effects: barely perceptible most of the time, distracting and ostentatious the rest. High frame rate looked no different from the regular 24fps version.
Music: OK, too much heroic orchestral soundtrack. Sound effects fake and mis-timed.
Visuals: spectacular to the point of becoming boring and repetitive quickly. The movie was more of a “visit beautiful New Zealand” tourist ad than a feature film.
Camera work: luckluster, with little use of closeups for detail.

Some people in the theater were fighting sleep rather visibly. I won’t bother seeing the second part of it as no part of the experience was compelling enough to put up with the overall bad impression this production made. With the huge budget and big name actors, I expected a much better film. Lame.

Posted in book | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

Calling gun rights enthusiasts in Guam, Puerto Rico, Marianas

I’d like to get in touch with pro-RKBA people at those locations. Feel free to give them my email (olegvolk at gmail). This is time-sensitive.

Posted in civil rights, rkba | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Coincidences in most massacres

Mass murderers use different methods (arson, explosions, knife attacks, shootings), but two coincidence just jump out at me. The first is that almost all mass murderers are men. The other is that they seek out locations where good people are disarmed by law.

Banning all men might be slightly impractical. Not disarming good people seems a lot easier to implement and very effective. It would be a good start.

Posted in rkba, self-defense, weapon | Tagged , | 19 Comments

How much can you hate a plant?

Marko the Munchkinwrangler sums up the social effects of prohibitions in the most eloquent way.

Posted in civil rights | Tagged , , , | 17 Comments

Kel-Tec SU16D short-barreled rifle in action


The boring reliability is why an SU16 is my go-to rifle.

Posted in rifle | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

New on CTD: Self-Diagnostic for Defensive Rifleman

Self-Diagnostic for Defensive Rifleman

Three rounds of ammunition, two dimes’ worth of office supplies and five minutes could tell you much about your degree of readiness.

Posted in rifle, self-defense, training | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Only One Knife Left

$45 (SOLD)

Icelandic pattern knife made from tractor trailer leaf suspension spring. I have one similar to it and it’s a very handy blade. Another one I had went to a friend as a wedding present — that’s the great thing about custom knives, they make unique gifts. Since this is the last blade left, shipping would be only $10 within continental US.

A little background information about the knife maker.

Posted in interesting people, knife | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Custom Combat HK USP40 For Sale

Update: sold.

Brand new, unfired pistol with Novak sights, flared mag well, extended (16rd) magazines. The trigger group allows cocked and locked or traditional double action with decocker. Comes with a color-matched Blackhawk pistol bag. My friend bought it several years ago but never got to fire it. Asking $1200. If interested, let me know and I will put you in touch with him.

Posted in pistol, weapon | Tagged , , , , | 14 Comments

This is my killing curse. There are many like it, but this one is mine.

“Fantasy abandoned by reason produces impossible monsters: united with her, she is the mother of the arts and the origin of their marvels”

This visual offense against good design actually shoots fairly well and the safety improves considerably on the original. The non-obvious upgrade to a Timney trigger actually makes this a much better weapon than its appearance suggests.

Erin Palette talks about her rifle.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 19 Comments

I Love Integral Suppressors.

I like the full sight radius, the quiet report and the improved balance. In some cases, the low-key look also helps. This one is from SRT Arms.

Posted in pistol, sound suppressor | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Where to Find the Movie “Oba the Last Samurai”?

I’d like to watch it but I do not see a streaming version available for purchase on-line. Any idea where I could find it? Buying a DVD and waiting for it to be shipped feels like too much trouble.

Posted in advice requested | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Selective Outrage?

The bombardment of Guernica in 1937 is in every history book. The more destructive and murderous bombardment of Copenhagen isn’t. Likewise, the current efforts to raise taxes are condemned but 1950s administrations got a free pass on the 90%+ top marginal rates. Plenty more examples can be found in the popular culture and media.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | 7 Comments

UTS15

The version shown is not the final version. UTAS is now shipping an improved variant.

Continue reading

Posted in shotgun, weapon | Tagged , , | 14 Comments

The Hidden Inflation.

Producers are under two pressures: to raise prices to account for the loss of purchasing power of each dollar, and to lower prices to attract customers with declining incomes. They most obvious way to accomplish both is to keep the nominal prices the same or slightly lower while adulterating the goods and services.

In groceries, that means 59oz cartons instead of 64oz, at the post office, 18-stamp booklets instead of 20-stamp, and at the hotel much reduced service, such as no daily bedding changes. The difference over even one year has been drastic enough to be noticed.

The other cost is in the increase of regulations. To use the sound suppressor registration as an example, government intervention at least triples of the prices over countries where suppressors are not registered. To that, a $200 excise tax is added. And to those costs, the value of productivity lost while complying with the paperwork requirements, easily a full day of work time. So a suppressor costing $100 in New Zealand ends up costing Americans $300+$200 tax+$200 lost work time, a total of $700 plus a delay of 6-8 months. This is as an illustration only — all regulations increase costs and most provide no benefits to anyone but the bureaucrats enforcing them in exchange for paychecks and influence.

Posted in civil rights, sound suppressor | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

A Highly Recommended Blog

According to Hoyt, political and historic commentaries by a great science fiction author.

Posted in interesting people | Tagged | 1 Comment

My Favorite Navigator

My father in Prague.

Posted in interesting people | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Custom Knives by Nikolay.

My friend Nikolay makes awesome knives. I have a few of them here and just got done with the photos. Each one is unique, made of different materials and for different purposes. They are all for sale — and if you do not see something you like, email him directly. He does make knives and other tools to order. I carry one often and it holds the edge extremely well. These one-of-a-kind knives make great, memorable gifts.

Please indicate which knives you’d like. Photos on this page are numbered 1 through 12, each image also has a unique photo number. Shipping within continental US would be $12 no matter how many you buy. Use Paypal (galinaru@hotmail.com) or send checks to:

Nikolay Yermolenko
3706 Hull Neck Rd
Heathsville, VA 22473

PS: Some of the photos are no longer loading for me and re-building them in Gallery isn’t working. Are all twelve knife photos visible to you?

Posted in craft, interesting people, knife, tools | Tagged , , | 18 Comments