Iain M. Banks: The Hydrogen Sonata

Iain Banks' Culture series doesn't lend itself to easy summations. Entire essays have been written on the world he set up, so I won't go into much detail.

Essentially, Banks has created a liberal utopia on a galactic scale. Given a limitless supply of easy energy and near-omnipotent manufacturing technology, the citizens of the Culture want for nothing material. Tedious administration is done by artificial intelligence, leaving normal folks to live their lives as they please. In such a society, property is an archaic concept, something that is even reflected in their language. With scarcity removed from the equation, the only real crime is coercion.

Still, every society hits a wall eventually. In Banks' world, self-destruction or a collapse into barbarism is unlikely, and the end point for civilizations is simple ennui. What do you do when you just feel like you're going through the motions, with nothing left to contribute?

Well, there's always suicide.

Going Mobile

I like the layout of this site, but it doesn't translate well to mobile devices.



When I wrote the theme, I rendered the elements in percentage units, rather than as fixed measurements. As a result, resizing the window allows text to reflow naturally. On the mobile version of Chrome, this works well, as zooming the body text adjusts the flow. However, the sidebar and header text are nearly impossible to see. Firefox simply zooms in on the text, without adjusting the flow.

So, I'm left with several options. The first is to change the structure of the site to be more compatible with phones and tablets. That's not very desirable, as it's going to lose functionality on the desktop. The second is to serve up a different theme for mobile devices. This entails maintaining two different versions of the site. No thanks.

The third option involves a WordPress plugin called WPtouch.

Wounded Warrior Project

A couple of weeks ago, Tom Gresham offered to interview someone from the Wounded Warrior Project. They declined, as they didn't want to appear on a show that promotes firearms. It struck many of us as odd, but it is confirmed on their website.

WWP does not co-brand, create cause marketing campaigns or receive a percentage or a portion of proceeds from companies in which the product or message is sexual, political or religious in nature, or from alcohol or weapon companies.

As one would guess, this is more than a little controversial. WWP relented and sent Steve Nardizzi to speak on the show. The audio is here (11/18, part 1).

He claimed that the organization "obviously supports the 2nd Amendment" and cited their cross-promotions with hunting events. However, he also reiterated that WWP doesn't engage in "co-branding" with firearms manufacturers because there's a great deal of regulation on "cause-marketing opportunities," and that the return on investment isn't lucrative enough.

That's not any less insulting.

Personally, I remain conflicted. I find their policy offensive, but I can't argue with the good work they do. I have friends who've benefited from their assistance. If I were to terminate involvement with every company that didn't support the gun culture, I'd need to go through my house and throw a lot of things out.

Tamara Needs Our Help

So, I just got off a bout of food poisoning. I'm eating again, but if feels like someone's punched my stomach. That's unpleasant.

Tamara, fellow gun blogger, high queen of Coal Creek Armory, and lady with a S&W collection that puts mine to shame, has real problems. She's been diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma and needs to get work done. She doesn't have insurance, so this is coming out of her own pocket. Tamara's done a lot for the gun culture, and here's a chance to give something back in a tangible way.

There are several raffles being held to raise money, but if you want to go right to the source, hit the PayPal button on the sidebar of her page and send a donation directly.

Chris Muir also has an absolutely epic poster he's raffling off here for five bucks.

Executive Orders

There won't be any new gun control laws coming from the legislature any time in the near future. Why not? Because the President wants them. The Republicans have done a bang-up job of playing the obstructionist card the last few years, and I've little doubt they'll continue to do their best to deny him anything they can.

So, will he try to pull something "under the radar?" One of the concerns I frequently hear is that he'll resort to passing legislation through executive orders.

That's not how it works.

We don't have an exact definition of what an executive order is, nor do we know the full limits. Authority for them is attributed to Article II, Section 5, which states the President "shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed." To this end, executive orders are generally understood to grant the President the authority to enforce or facilitate a certain law.

But they are not used to make laws.

Four More Years

At this point, enough of the votes are in that it's safe to call it. The American people want President Obama to serve a second term.

Read that last part again. He was voted in, fair and square. There wasn't some liberal media conspiracy. There's no more elusive birth certificate silliness this time around. Simply put, the voters spoke.

If that's not good enough, and you just have to blame someone, I've got an apt candidate: the Tea Party.

Two years ago, I looked back on the wretched farce that was the 2010 midterm election and noted that the Tea Party was able to win seats. The question, however, was whether or not they could govern. The answer turns out to be a resounding no. Sure, they played it well for the fans back home by nipping at the President's heels at every turn, but let's discuss their actual achievements.

Anybody? Nope. I've got nothing.

Public perception of them was skeptical at best, especially following (what was at the time) the most expensive election in history. They set themselves up as a bunch of strident contrarians, but that only works so long. For some reason, they chose to play brinksmanship on the debt ceiling in 2011, culminating in threats of a government shutdown if they didn't get their way.

That backfired for Gingrich in 1995, and it backfired in 2011. If you were listening to anybody besides Hannity or O'Reilly, you'd have noticed the dramatic shift in public opinion to the negative. Not only had they forked the Republican party at a time it desperately needed unity, their actions left a stigma on the party as a whole.

This wasn't helped by the fact that their pet Presidential candidates were far-right hyper-religious types guaranteed to intimidate moderates and independents. By the time Romney stepped through the dust cloud to gain the nomination, it was obvious that even his own party wasn't too keen on him as a candidate.

All they had to do was not screw up, but they couldn't even manage that. So here we are: four more years of gridlock.

Indifference

I voted just a couple of hours ago. When I walked through the door, I singlehandedly doubled the turnout at that time. All but two of the cars in the parking lot belonged to the people working the polls.

Despite what Peggy Noonan and Dick Morris claim, I don't see Republicans showing any more enthusiasm than they did in 2008, and if there's one thing that will bolster an incumbent's chances, it's the other side not showing up.

I can't say I've got high hopes for tonight.

Purgation

The Catholics have guilt, and the Jews have relentless self-examination. What's left for the modern Protestant stranded in plush suburbia?

The blues? Heck no. White folks (Stevie Ray Vaughn excepted) don't get that at all. Scientology? Too expensive. Calvinism? Too retro. Those Robert Bly campouts? Really creepy.

If a life of quiet desperation seems a bit too literate and everybody's tired of hearing about your sundry neuroses, what's left to do? Turn that desire for self-flagellation inwards and express it in awkward and possibly dangerous ways!

This is not an advisable way to go about it. Pride may goeth before the fall, but it doesn't make a very good bullseye. Jealosy and selfishness quite literally dodged the bullet, and despite making two appearances, laziness seems to have pretty good survival skills in today's guilt- and bullet-ridden society. Unfortunately, the glory of God got winged pretty good at the bottom there.

I'm not sure what sort of proselytization was being attempted here, but it's more than a bit unsettling in both concept and execution. Let's hope tonight's shooters find a more peaceful way of working out their inner demons.

(Whether or not Jews can get the blues in the standard manner is a matter for debate, but they do seem to get the general idea.)

The Softer Name of Revenue

Cook County Illinois recently debated the idea of a 1¢ tax per bullet on ammunition. The proposal failed, but it's going to be replaced with a $25 "transfer" fee on all firearms sold within the county.

It's offensive and futile, and it's unlikely to serve its intended purpose. The Illinois State Rifle Association is claiming that the funds will actually be funneled to anti-gun groups, though no attribution is given to the claim.

It's a sneaky brand of gun control, and the constitutionality of the measure is questionable at best, and the law might find Chicago in court yet again on 2nd Amendment grounds. In the McDonald case, the Supreme Court referred to the right to keep and bear arms as "fundamental," and as such, it should be protected under the same scrutiny as freedom of the press.

In the end, the only people affected by this tax will be gun stores in Cook County, as buyers will likely choose to purchase guns elsewhere in order to avoid the tax.

(Pictured above is a 1903 Springfield Krag-Jørgensen in .30 Gov't. Yes, I'm having an inordinate amount of fun with Instagram.)

Stormy Weather

So, I broke down and bought a smartphone. Now I don't have to go all the way across the room for internet. What a marvelous future we occupy!

The little blinky squawkbox has all sorts of applications, some of which are truly novel. Google Sky Map is a great deal of fun, and Instagram makes me look somewhat competent with a camera. It comes in handy for capturing moments like this, when Maia decides that the sudden blustery wind doesn't meet with her approval.

The Heartbreak of Bullet Setback

Take a good look, kids. Don't flinch. Don't avert your eyes. Bullet setback is real, and it could be happening in your very own neighborhood as we speak.

"Impossible!" you say. "My community is free of hippies and bullet setback! It could never touch our halcyon lives of quiet desperation!"

You'd be wrong. Dead gun wrong. See Timmy with his new 1911? Look how shiny it is! A wholesome, all-American boy with his all-American gun! But watch as Timmy loads up a magazine and slaps it into the pistol to "function test" it. He dry-cycles the ammunition by racking the slide to chamber and eject each round. Sure, it looks "cool," but it's a tragedy waiting to happen.

The sad truth is, Timmy's in bed with Communism. The Reds want him to have a negligent discharge! If they can't succeed at that, they'll make darned sure he has a case-head blowout at the range, just like the one pictured above.

What Uncle Joe Stalin knows is that the bullet gets pushed slightly into the case each time it hits the feed ramp. Setback can also occur with folks who constantly unload and reload the top two rounds of their carry ammunition.

"Well, Vladimir's not getting to me!" you might say. "I'll get one of them newfangly plastic pistols!" Wrong again! You're no safer than you are from the lead paint in dear old mom's kitchen.

As the bullet gets pushed further into the case, pressures increase, and that's got to go somewhere. It can happen with any gun. The combination of hollowpoints and the 1911 seems to be a good recipe for this, but I've seen it happen with most major service calibers and guns.

Now, there are other causes, such as improper seating or crimping, but most of the issues I see are from the two aforementioned practices. Dry-cycling ammunition doesn't prove any sort of functionality (or lack thereof) that won't become apparent in live fire. All it does is damage the ammunition, and possibly the gun.

And that's just what the Bolsheviks want.

Yep, He Went There

In tonight's debate, the President was asked point-blank if he'd support a ban on "assault weapons." His answer was an unequivocable yes. It's a bit ironic, since he acknowledged that most of the violence in his hometown was carried out with "cheap handguns" rather than AK-47's.

This places him on shaky rhetorical ground when he claims to support the 2nd Amendment, but the shocking thing is that Governor Romney implied that he'd support it if it "provided opportunities for both [sides] that both wanted." Just like they did in 1993.

Flaunting that NRA endorsement a bit, aren't we Mitt?

I'm not worried about such a thing happening, as the votes aren't there in Congress. Even if the idea had support, everybody remembers the political fallout from 1994. What gets me is that both men were either so overconfident or so utterly...I don't know, what's the opposite of smart?

ETA: It's interesting that Romney brought up the Fast & Furious debacle, which both Crowley and the President conveniently sidestepped discussing. Mittens also thinks machine guns are illegal, when in fact they're simply taxed and regulated by the NFA.

The actual quotes follow.