Forty years ago, this week, the Transformers came to television. I’m not going to say that this show influenced my writing, but it was a big part of my childhood.
It also had those great openings.
And the often imitated transforming sound effect
September Anime Recommendations
Monday Links
Sweet FSM. I miss a week and the articles stack up. This is going to be a long links post. A lot of gun/RKBA related stories this week.
Let’s start with our normal collection of Reason articles. And talking about RKBA-related stories…
How courts are evading the Bruen decision. Color me surprised that lawyers and judges (but I repeat myself) are trying to push the guardrails of new legal theory.
Eighth Circuit strikes down Missouri’s 2A Sanctuary law. These kinds of laws are why I think we need an amendment that allows at least a majority of states to nullify onerous federal laws.
Another parent being charged with murder because their offspring decided to murder schoolmates and teachers. I am highly skeptical of this trend, particularly since it feels like we’re burning the parents in effigy (legally speaking).
A historical look back on arms bans prior to the 20th century.
The Biden administration is trying to go ahead with its plan to cancel student debt. Even though it’s illegal and the Supreme Court has struck down pretty much all attempts. Oh yeah, that will help keep the cost of college down. If it didn’t cost so much, I’d almost be in favor of it to help burst the college bubble.
A thinkpiece on what the .gov could do to help with the housing crisis. In the same vein, here’s an analysis on what happened when the Dutch recent tried national rent control. Spoiler alert: it ended up hurting the people it was supposed to help. Cue surprised Pikachu.
A recent survey of college students find almost a third think violence is an acceptable form of protest. I’m a little leery since I didn’t see how they worded the questions, but someone needs to explain to these young adults that the means you think are fully justified for your cause are going to be adopted by your opposition because they now think they have permission. Come to think of it, that describes a lot of what’s gone wrong in this century.
Have we reached peak public schooling? This rolls into one of my soapboxes that the nation needs to have a serious discussion about what it wants out of public schools. Everyone will say they want to make “responsible and educated citizens.” But let’s face it. It’s also state-sponsored daycare for a lot of folks.
Idaho’s Child Care Program expanded benefits and now is facing a $16 million deficit. Either there were a lot more needy families or there were a lot folks just lining up to the trough. These days, it’s probably both.
And now for some Ground News aggregations.
Trump is concerned how expensive IVF is and wants insurance to pay for it. Proving once again that Trump is fine with handing out goodies if he thinks it will get him elected, and he still has no concept of economics.
Okay, yes, the WHO beclowned itself with its obsequience to China during the pandemic. Still, it’s nice to have another study showing that there’s no link between brain cancer and cell phones.
NVIDIA is getting a hard look by the DOJ for trying to lock customers into its products. Companies being asses tends to open up the market for competitors, but DOJ is going to DOJ.
The US, UK, and EU sign an AI treaty. Yeah, that has beneficial to the growth of the technology written all over it.
Now for some more RKBA and gun related content.
John Richardson is reporting that one of the NRA directors is advocating for firing the Brewer firm. Jettisoning that firm would be a strong sign that the NRA is healing.
Speaking of John, guess who’s going to be on the ballot to become part of the NRA Board? Honestly, if I could immediately vote in the election, this might get me to join back. I’m still in my wait and see period.
TTAG article on Polymer80 closing up shop after years of fighting “ghost gun” legislation. It’s sad to see Pyrrhic victories in the gun world.
I’ve got a slew of tech-related/adjacent articles.
From The Verge, an article about how new AI-powered photo editing tools will make it harder to believe what you see.
Also from The Verge, Ecoflow launching a new series of batteries/powerstations. Honestly, I’m loving the innovation and expansion in this segment. I think advances in battery tech are crucial to improving the overall health of the power grid.
From The New Yorker, an essay on why AI isn’t going to be making art. While I think AI will make art creation more accessible to more people, it’s not going to replace the spark of creativity in humans.
From Bloomberg, Intel’s problems is endangering the promise of the CHIPS Act. Damn, it’s like industrial policy can’t overrule business / economic rules. Or that maybe the government has a bad track record of choosing winning corporations.
Via Wired, the Internet Archive got slapped down for lending out copyrighted books willy-nilly on its platform.
From MacStories, Reeder is launching a revamped product. I use the current Reeder (soon to be known as Reeder Classic) to gather the various stories that tend to end up here. (h/t The Brother)
Not tech, but of local interest, the local news station has an article on Tervis filing Chapter 11 reorganization. The Ward household has many of their products and hope they come out stronger.
Geek Culture reports on Transformers new line combining TF characters with other IP forms. Of particular interest to me is the Macross collaboration. Although I doubt it’s going to be a re-issue of the G1 Jetfire toy.
Ward Manor Happenings
Day Job – Last week, I received the tentative offer to get my old day job back. I was expecting the call the prior week, but apparently there were issues. This means I’m going to be at my current job at least a couple of weeks longer than I hoped.
Birthday Party – The great-niece had her family birthday party at Ward Manor over the weekend. The Wife and MIL made a cupcake cow cake. They did an amazing job that was easily as good as we would have gotten from a bakery. The Wife and I got her a digital camera. This led to the little tyke running around the house taking pictures of anyone and anything that would stay still long enough.
Anniversary – The Sunday before Labor Day is the agreed upon anniversary of The Wife and mine’s first date. We always try to go to the same restaurant. There was a lot of reminiscing about how much our lives have changed int the intervening years.
Writing – I think I’m a couple of scenes away from finishing the main narrative on my fantasy novel. I’m still figuring out how to use flavor texts to give some of the necessary backstory. Still, there’s light at the end of that particular tunnel.
My Two-Hundred Dollar Gun
I like to peruse the Gunbroker listings for one of the big local chains. Last month, I saw what looked like a Hi-Power clone for cheap. I’ve been wanting a Hi-Power, but really didn’t want to spend the money for a Browning or even a Springfield. Maybe a Girsan. But this was an FEG P9R. Looked in decent condition, so I put a bid in for a couple hundred bucks.
About ten hours before the the auction closed, someone bid $205. I was going to let it go, but The Wife encouraged me to throw a little extra. I ended up winning for $210. Yay! I have a Hi-Power clone.
Except as I was doing research I found out that the some versions of the P9 will take Hi-Power magazines. The P9R, however, will not. And the only group currently producing new mags is Pro-Mag. That group doesn’t exactly have a sterling reputation in Ward Manor after I bought some of their mags for my Sig P6. Feck it, I’ll deal.
In a previous Ward Manor Happenings post, I mentioned that The Wife and I went out to Apopka. Well, that’s where this chain handles their Gunbroker auctions. Silly me, I thought after winning the auction, I would be able to go pick it up the next day. Yeah, no. Apparently, it had to be processed, and the guys who process the auctions don’t work weekends. Whee! Ah well, that ended with us hitting Disney Springs and me getting new lightsabers.
Last weekend, The Wife and I made the trek out to Apopka after making sure the pistol was available. On a holiday weekend, I thought it would take a while for NICS to come back, but we were in and out in under a half-hour.
And now I have my semi-Hi-Power clone.
