The Ultimate Answer to Kings

You might recall a week ago, when we learned that InrangeTV, responding to censorious things going on at YouTube, had moved gun videos to Pornhub. Seemed a little weird, but what the hell? It’s a weird world.

Weirder than I knew, it seems…

BREAKING NEWS: PornHub Bans Gun Videos

In recent weeks, we at MindGeek have experienced an unexpected increase in traffic on one of our sites; PornHub. This increase in traffic can be cited to the specific search queries of ‘guns’ and ‘firearms.’

You’re welcome.

The MindGeek group has labored tirelessly for many years to produce and erect a foundation of quality content for a specific group of customers. We do not believe this new segment of unique visitors is a part of that group we have pushed to acquire.

And now you’re getting them for free. Again, no thanks needed.

As a result, starting today, our media team will be removing all channels and video content related, but not limited to the terms ‘guns’ and ‘firearms.’

We would like to take this opportunity to apologize to any of our long standing customers who may have felt offended or bothered by the influx of recent content. The problem shall soon be rectified.

Let me get this straight. People come to your site to watch videos of other people pissing on each other, and you’re concerned they’re going to be offended by the sight of a gun?

You folks need to work on your priorities.

ETA: Uncle Joel might have gotten caught by an April Fool’s joke.

‘Yuge’ March for estimated gun sales

Estimated gun sales eclipsed historic highs in March, according to federal data.

Applications submitted to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System exceeded 2.7 million last month — the busiest March on record and the third highest ranking month since the FBI began keeping track in 1998.

Estimated gun sales — the sum total of transfers in the NICS’s handgun, long gun, multiple and other categories — totaled 1.4 million, an 11 percent spike over last year and 16 percent above 2016, the busiest year ever for background checks.

And while we’re at it…

Enjoy your new government-mandated transparency, Davey.

h/t

I used to make my meager living as a dealership mechanic, but that was a really long time ago. I don’t even know what cars made in this century use for taillights. This being the age of multiple simultaneous Star Trek TV series, it probably involves tachyons.

But in the olden days, when men were men and cars burned gasoline, we used good old-fashioned 1157 filament bulbs. This guaranteed hilarity for cops who had the excuse of regularly pulling us over (and occasionally shooting us dead) when we forgot to check to see if all the bulbs were actually burning.

The Jeep has seen pavement probably five times in ten years. Maybe a few more, definitely not as many as ten. Frankly, I don’t give the taillights much thought. But there was talk of using the Jeep to haul some trailerloads of trash to the county dump, and that will definitely involve pavement and could conceivably involve imperial entanglements. So, just as a precaution, I backed the Jeep up to a shinyish surface to see if it had any working brake lights.

It really didn’t.

Again: I used to do this a lot. Automotive filament bulbs had a reputation for frequent failure, and so if a car had zero brake lights that didn’t necessarily mean a scary electrical problem. Most commonly it just meant you hadn’t checked your bulbs lately.

And so it proved to be in the Jeep’s case.

Boy, they’ve gone up in price. But I probably won’t have to worry about them again for another long time.

h/t

I am not a gun nut, having spent too much time in the company of Ian and friends to ever again claim that title.

I am kind of a knife nut, though. And even though I’ve carried a knife very similar to the one being made below for a year and still love it a lot, and it’s faithful and true and tends to my every (knife-related) need and never lets me down … well, I guess I’m a fickle lover. Because I watched this video over coffee this morning and had to keep reminding myself, “Joel, you carry a better one than that, for god’s sake…”

Yes. Mine is better.

But still…

It’s early yet, and I know the weather is just itching for a chance to break my heart. But what the hell? It’s too warm and still not to pretend that building season is here.

Anyway, Big Brother is coming for a visit in a couple of weeks to do the addition trim, and I need to be geared up for that. So…

Before he gets here, I can do exterior window and door trim while the lumber holds out.

Take that cool little Honda generator feralfae gave me last year out of the powershed. Gas it up, switch it on, set the choke.

First pull, y’all! Started right up. Emptying the gasoline out of the tank is an enormous PTA, but I like the way there’s a valve that lets you empty the carb bowl after it finishes running dry. I put it in storage with a fair – and as it turns out, justified – degree of confidence that bad gas and condensation wouldn’t wreck the carb.

Brought the woodcutting table to the Lair from the woodlot, brought the chopsaw out of storage at Landlady’s barn. First cut of the season! Continue reading →

You get something like this…

When I saw how the string that drops the hammer gets cut, I laughed till I choked.

I got the chicken yard’s top cover in early 2015 to replace the original, an old cargo parachute, which was in streaming rags in far less than two years. (pro-tip: cargo chutes do not withstand constant UV exposure for any substantial length of time.)

I got this one through Ian at a cost of something like $65 as I recall, and I don’t know where he got it. You can clearly see it’s too small: I left it open in front so as not to interfere with the gate (yes chickens can fly but they prefer not to – I’ve yet to have a chicken choose to fly through that hole though they could in an emergency) however it was also open over the coop and that swiftly became a problem. Some chickens prefer to roost on top of the coop in warm weather, and they could look right over the fence where there was no top cover. Once while I was slaughtering a hen I looked to my left and saw half a dozen horrified hens standing on their coop and watching me do it. Also sometimes they’ll casually hop over the fence from the coop roof and then freak out with agoraphobia until I open the gate and shoo them back inside. Hence the landscape fabric over the coop.

As for the open part in front – that could also be problematic. Not long ago I looked out the window because the chickens were squawking, and saw a red-tailed hawk standing on the gate like a fat guy looking at a smörgåsbord. This is why I keep a [legal, non-violent, totally PC object] at the cabin’s new back door.

Anyway – the camo netting turns 3 years old in a month or two. The net itself is fine and strong, but the camo material is falling apart. Hence this new addition, which solves one problem neatly and hopefully will address the other.

You want to know fun? Fun is trying to disentangle a camo net that’s had three windy years to thoroughly fuse with recycled chain link fencing. I spent more time releasing the edges of the net than I ever did stringing the new one. Since I had to still use the old net I couldn’t just hack it down with a razor knife. More’s the pity.

But having finally accomplished the task…

There ya go. Honestly if I even keep using this chicken yard for years to come, which is a little up in the air at present, I’ll end up needing to replace the whole thing. I think this new piece of netting came from an Amazon supplier and on every level its quality doesn’t equal that of the original net. So I don’t believe it’ll last more than a season or two, but in the meantime it buys me time as I come into the season when every dollar is needed for other things. So greatly appreciated!

I’m optimistic that the rules for debating with and about the Parkland kids can get even stupider before the weekend is over, but the bar has been set high.

– Allahpundit

I’ll just shut up and let Dullhawk have the final thousand words…

The camo netting I use as top cover for the Lair’s chicken yard is falling apart.

Couple of weeks ago a Generous Reader sent me a section of new camo netting. Not enough to replace the whole top cover, but maybe enough to replace the windward side.

It was kind of an awkward size, roughly 16′ by 4′. So I divided it in half, pinned the halves together, then cut them into two pieces.

Then this afternoon, with nothing else on my plate at all, I proceeded to v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y sew them back together with heavy waxed thread.

This isn’t the first sewing project of this sort I’ve encountered. It doesn’t happen often. But whenever it does, I wish I’d taken the time to learn how to use a sewing machine.

Still, at last it’s done. And if tomorrow doesn’t blow a gale – never a safe bet in Spring – I’ll see about fixing the top cover.

Maybe if we say please? Y’think that would get her to go away?

…enabling the children to treat your gun rights like disposable toys.

This happened two weeks ago of course, but I just read about it this morning.

Baltimore Can’t Afford to Heat Schools, But is Paying $100k to Bus Students to Gun Control Rally

Earlier this year, students in Baltimore schools were told to bring blankets and cold weather attire to class every day because the heating systems in over one-third of all the schools were either broken or barely working. Students, faculty, and staff were forced to bundle up inside the school in January until it became so unbearable that the schools actually closed due to unsafe temperatures.

To most people, these underperforming, outdated, and broken heating systems would be a priority to get fixed. However, at the time, Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh claimed that there simply wasn’t enough money to make the repairs and upgrades.

It is not just the heat either. The infrastructure in the Baltimore school system is crumbling and many students find themselves unable to even drink the water. But we see where the priorities lie.

Fast forward to March, and all of the sudden—in spite of claiming they have no money—the mayor has miraculously pulled $100,000 out of nowhere to bus thousands of students to a gun control rally in Washington D.C.
…
The $100,000 will pay for 60 buses, free t-shirts, boxed lunches and other amenities for a few thousand students who signed up to go to the rally.

Yup. You can depend on your elected representatives to safeguard your rights – right into a shallow, unmarked grave.

“Smart Home” weaponization in 3…2…1…

h/t

Along the same lines, and with a nod to Claire’s new book…

Claire and Kit Perez’s new book Basics of Resistance comes out April 19 but the Kindle version can be pre-ordered right now. And as of just a few minutes ago it had the banner above. #1!

For $0.99 you can keep that ball in the air, even if you’ve never organized anything but your ammo shelf.

…I should get a pass for trying to destroy the career of anyone who says anything even slightly derogatory toward me. ‘Specially if it’s true.

David Hogg pushes Laura Ingraham boycott after Fox News host taunts him over college admissions

I’m nothing remotely like a Laura Ingraham fanboy but I fail to see the logic behind a massive advertiser boycott over such a paltry shot as this…

You know what they say you should do if you can’t take the heat? Little man, you do not yet know how hot that kitchen can get.

Just so you know, I’m going to permanently enter two items on the “Send Joel Stuff” page…

That’s a nylon sheath and 5-ply sock for a below-knee amputation, both in regular/medium size, which (for informational purposes only) are available at amputeestore.com as items shm and 1sp5rgmd, respectively.

This is not a big freaking campaign like last year’s gelsock bleg. That’s because I’d become dependent on the gelsocks but had let the few I had get totally shot, they’re expensive and fragile and not very long-lived, and the only way to be sure of a continuing cache was to stockpile a bunch. Thanks to your help there are now more than 30 and so I can rotate them enough that I haven’t had to retire one in all this time. This isn’t like that – I’m not currently in trouble on my stump sock supply but I’m getting there and need to replenish over time. Also new ones aren’t that expensive so I can get back to having a 2-week supply in good shape all by myself just by buying one a month for a year.

Having now found a supplier that will sell to me, I can fix the problem myself before it becomes a crisis. But if anybody wanted to help speed the process along, there it is. 🙂

Private to that guy who sent that waterproof ATV suit: I put the whole thing on yesterday, mostly just to see if I could put the pants on over the prosthesis (yes) and the belt gear (no) but I ended up happy I’d done it. I had to go up the ridge and turn off the well pump, and happened to choose the one period in the afternoon when the constant drizzle decided to briefly reset to Downpour before resuming the light freezing rain. Little Bear actually came inside encased in ice on his outer coat, and didn’t seem to notice.

And it precipitated All Damn Day until about sunset, when of course the sky cleared just to be assholish and then it got kind of cold. Cold for late March, anyway – I really doubt the chicken water froze very hard but there’s a ballistically protective shell of ice around the Jeep at present.

Not one peek at direct sun all day, and the battery voltage reflects that…

But again, doubling the battery bank to four Trojan T-105s has made a dramatic effect on the depth of the pool. If I’d done that to the two Interstates, – well, I wouldn’t have. I’d have shut everything down and read a book all day. But if with the old bank I’d binge-watched Game of Thrones like I actually did yesterday, we’d be down at 12.0 or maybe high elevenzies, actually discharged. So that happened.

Today’s supposed to be at least ten degrees warmer than yesterday without all that annoying wind and sleet, so once the cabin warms up – STILL not lighting a fire because goddamit I’m sick of winter – things should be a good deal more pleasant. Also it’s baking day and that’s always fun.

It’s the whole point, lady.

And of course he’s not planning on doing it himself. That’s what minions are for, being far more expendable.