Too Lazy to Fail

On Friday I called Ruger and spoke to Michael. They’re sending me a UPS sticker to ship the receiver in to be refinished.

This is a new Ruger 10/22 rifle after about 70 rounds of bulk-pack ammunition.

Looks like the ejected brass wore off the paint on the receiver.

And it’s not just there. The handle is apparently enough to wear it off as well.

The paint around the worn spots comes off with a fingernail. I didn’t pick at it after I discovered that. If Ruger screws me, I want to make it to go as long as it can before the flaking off spreads to the rest of the receiver.

I bought this over the blued version because I wanted a rifle that I wouldn’t have to worry as much about. Turns out the receiver is just aluminum with some paint slapped on it. The store won’t accept it for a return, so Ruger will have to take care of me. I don’t know what they could possibly do, but even the unlikely best-case scenarios will result in lots of wasted time and effort for me.

Way to go, Ruger.

The good: Reliable plinker out of the box. Cute as a button. Lightweight and easy to handle. Cheap at $214 plus tax and fees.

The bad: The barrel is stainless steel, but the receiver itself is some other metal with a silver paint. After fewer than 100 rounds, the paint around the ejection port is chipping away rapidly.

Also, would it have killed you to include a picture or diagram for disassembly, Ruger? I pressed the wrong pin out while I was trying to clean the thing, and managed to bork up the trigger assembly. The good news is that thanks to the interweb, I’m now an expert on every single freaking pin and moving part in the rifle.

Also, the sights are accurate but very hard to see.

Rating: 6/10 because I would have expected better finish quality from Ruger. I’m going to see about returning it Monday for a blued version. I don’t like the wood stock, but it’s trivial and cheap to replace it.

 On one of my throwaway email addresses I’m subscribed to the Brady Campaign’s emails. It typically goes something like this.

(Bill is passed defending right to carry)

Brady: Blood in the streets! Send money!

(Tragic campus massacre)

Brady: We don’t want to look opportunistic, but IT’S THE GUNS! (Send money!)

(Looming election)

Brady: We need to send the politicians a message! Send money!

U.S. Supreme Court Hears Arguments in District of Columbia v. Heller
The Most Significant Second Amendment Case in the Nation’s History

Dear Paul,

As I watched the presentations to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday, I was constantly aware how critically, and immediately, the Justices’ decision will impact gun laws that protect you and your family today, and in the future . . .

. . . from the Brady background check law and the federal machine gun ban to strong state gun laws in California, New York, Illinois, and many others.

Please help us defend these laws by making as generous a contribution as you can today to the Brady Gun Law Defense Fund.

As the Court deliberates over the next few months, your support is critical. We need to be prepared for the outcome, whatever that might be. This is no time to play wait-and-see.

A lot of politicians, and many citizens, think the Second Amendment limits our ability to enact common sense gun restrictions. This position got a lot of attention in Tuesday’s arguments.

However, it was clear to me from both questions and answers at the Supreme Court hearing that there is broad support from all sides for responsible regulation concerning guns. We need to stress this position to the American public before and after the decision is made in late June.

We are hopeful that the Justices’ ruling will uphold the right of people in communities like the District of Columbia to enact sensible gun laws they feel are needed to protect themselves and their families.

Even if the District’s ordinance is struck down, and regardless of how the Justices rule on the individual’s “right” to bear arms, their questioning clearly acknowledged the importance of and the need for reasonable regulations on guns.

One thing is certain — we have the support of many Americans like you on our side. In a recent Washington Post poll, a solid majority of Americans indicated they would support a law for their communities similar to the one in question in the Supreme Court case.

While I was in the courtroom, Brady staff and activists were at the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court carrying signs and speaking to the media. They were joined and cheered on by passers-by — school children, government workers, and tourists.

We will not wait for the Justices’ ruling in this case. We are, and will continue to be, on the offensive. Our voices — your voices — are making a difference!

Now is the time to contribute to the Brady Center as we get ready during the next few months for all the vital next steps that will follow the Court’s historic decision.

Please give generously today.

Sincerely,
Paul Helmke, President
Brady Center and Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence

P.S. Click here to see my remarks at the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court following the oral argument. But first, please make a generous tax-deductible contribution to the Brady Center.

Way cool. You can hear the audio of the session, as well as seeing the transcript as it’s spoken line-by-line, including portraits of the folks who are speaking.

Thanks to Kit for the link.

Originally found at Tam’s, then at icanhascheezburger.

I order one measly man-purse from LAPG, and they start assuming I’m an urban ninja.

Missing option: I don’t wear tactipants EVER, you insensitive clod!

If you can put up with the “tactical” prefix for everything (including wallets), then there’s some nice manly stuff to be had at LAPG , my reward for filling out the survey was a 10% off any order coupon titled “survey”. Go figure. Anyway, now I’ve given it to you so you don’t have to deal with 10 questions about how you’d rather have a notepad pocket on your ankle than built-in kneepads.

http://jacksonsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080312/NEWS01/803120318

 Ken Rhodes, a Jackson-based drug division TBI agent, walked into the ice cream store Tuesday afternoon right after two robbers entered the store demanding money.

One robber had a pistol and went behind the counter, taking money from the store and from an employee. The other acted as a lookout, according to a release from the Jackson Police Department.
Authorities said the lookout fled when Rhodes entered the store, but the gunman ran towards the back of the store.

”Employees told the agent they were robbed and that the suspect who ran toward the back could not get out,” the release said. ”The agent positioned himself between the personnel and the back of the store challenging the suspect.”

After getting no response, Rhodes chased after the robber and called Jackson police for backup, according to Roger Hughes, TBI special agent in charge of the drug investigation division.

“No shots were fired and no one was injured,” Hughes said. “We’re very proud of Ken and we’re very happy no one was hurt.”

The robbers fled on foot west of the store, located at 2089 N. Highland, with an undetermined amount of money, according to Jackson police Investigator Tyreece Miller.

This is the first time the Baskin Robbins on Highland has been robbed, store officials said Tuesday.

Jackson police received the call about the Baskin Robbins robbery at 3:41 p.m. Tuesday.

Police had responded 16 minutes earlier to a robbery at the Colonial Bakery store at 615 South Royal Street.

“At this time, I don’t think they’re related, but we’re still investigating,” Miller said Tuesday night.

A sign at the Colonial store hanging in the window read, “Closed 4 Rest of the Day” after the robbery Tuesday. Store officials declined to comment. Jackson police said they received the call about the Colonial store robbery at about 3:25 p.m. Tuesday.

The robbers were armed with pistols, said Lt. Sammy Britt. They fled on foot.

You folks who only carry your handguns “at night and in bad areas” should take note of armed robberies at an ice cream shop and a bread store at 3:30 in the afternoon.

You folks who mock those who choose to carry an extra magazine as “rambos” should take note of the multiple bad guys.

I’m also curious about how a TBI agent can go from positioned between the suspect and the only exit to chasing him down the street with no explanation given. Either the paper got the details of the event wrong or there’s an agent out there with some ’splaining to do.

From the front page of my bank.

Or even better, Turn Your Appreciating Asset And Some Vacation Time Into Some Neat Memories And A Broken Limb:

This was funnier in my head, but it’s hard to find an image on the web of Waldorf with his face scrunched in after being struck by Statler.

From Oleg Volk:

Click the thumbnail for full-size.

Sticker reads:

Attention Criminals!

For your convenience,
patrons here are unarmed.
Please go about your criminal
activities. Come back often.

The excellent blog Get Rich Slowly pointed me to this video of folks whose lives are absolutely dominated by the things they own.

This has always been something I’ve feared, as I’ve watched my family struggle and sweat for hours to deal with the amount of stuff that they possessed. They would grunt, and moan, and curse at the things that they didn’t even like or use but couldn’t bear to get rid of. When the next move or spring cleaning, or whatever rolled around, they would move those possessions again, many of which had not been touched since the last inventory management episode.

This is why you often see me throwing away 55gal trash bags full of junk, or giving books/games/stuff away that I’ve gotten my usefulness out of. I’m not being generous, I’m shifting the burden onto my friends! Let them be mastered by their crap!

This is also another reason why I don’t like dead-tree books, unlike Marko. When I’ve absorbed the information, they’re just one more doo-dad I have to keep up with.

(Pro tip: There is a full-screen mode for the video that makes it much more watchable. Hover your cursor over the video to see it.)

(Edited to add: Dear Vimeo, your code breaks the formatting of my webpage. See to that.)