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Thoughts On Ukraine… One Year After Invasion

It’s been a year since Russian started their full invasion of Ukraine – although there’s been a low-grade war in eastern Ukraine since 2014. Much to everyone’s surprise, Ukraine wasn’t just steamrolled over. Some of that was due to the fighting spirit of Ukrainian people, but some was due to the complete ineptitude and corruption of the Russian Army. Much to no one’s surprise, the tribes have taken their positions on the conflict, and sent out their flying monkeys to keep their members in line – particularly those of the chattering classes.

My initial thought is that we should be doing whatever we can to help Ukraine. They were the ones invaded. They are the ones who are facing the destruction of their country without provocation. Yet, do we risk a nuclear confrontation with Russia over Ukraine?

I’m also concerned about how the sanctions were laid down on Russia. How quickly the main, and mostly Western, financial system turned on Russia. Why? If Russia is the aggressor? Because we’re seeing the rise of a secondary system with China at its helm.

So, what should we do? Honestly? I think we let the Ukranians buy whatever arms the world will sell them and get the governments out of the way. Maybe making loans that would allow them buy whatever we can sell them.

EDC Post for 2023

Another in my series of seeing how things change year over year. I tend to carry a lot of stuff. Here are my previous posts:

2018 post.

2019 post.

2020 post.

2021 post.

2022 post

My EDC hasn’t changed much since my post last year.

Just Around The House

This is the EDC I will carry most days that I don’t go outside the house.

Phone

I’m using an iPhone 12. I have the 128 GB model. I used to need to have all teh space, but since I work from home, I can manage more under Wi-Fi and need less space. I switched to a case that lets me use MagSafe chargers and has a small folding wallet for a few cards.

Earbuds

I’ve switched back to my Apple AirPods Pro. I particularly like Apple’s "transparent" mode which allows more of the outside sound through. I was trying a pair of Jabra’s, but they didn’t last the whole year. I’ll probably try them again, as I preferred the controls than to my AirPods.

Pocketknife

I carry a Leatherman Skeletool for just around the house. Much to The Wife’s chagrin, I’ve found I need a knife or one of the myriad of little tools far too often.

Flashlight

For walking around the house, I carry an older Streamlight ProTac. It’s good for quickly looking in shadowed and/or darkened areas. Like under the bed. It’s also surprisingly good at finding where one of the cat’s decided to mark its territory.

Watch

I’m using a 44mm Series 5 Apple Watch. I like the always on feature.

Going Out Of The House – On Person

Additional stuff when I’m going out.

Wallet

I use a Saddleback Large Leather Wallet. I keep a Tool Logic Credit Card inside it. It’s not that I use it that much. Mostly, it’s because I’ve had the damn thing for probably twenty-five years, and my wallet feels empty without it.

Keys

My brother picked me up a Lifelong Ring 300 key ring system. I mainly use the main big ring and have all of my keys on the wire key rings. In addition to my keys, I have:

  • Kingston 32GB Flash Drive – Because you never know when someone has a file they want to give you

  • Gerber Artifact – I’m not sure if Gerber is still selling these, but their Shard would be a good substitute

  • Surefire Sidekick – Of course, I have to have another flashlight. It doesn’t get used as much as it did when I was commuting in the dark early morning, but it’s still come in handy a couple of times.

Pocketknife

If I’m out of the house, the Leatherman gets switched out for a Kershaw-Emerson CQC-10.

Flashlight

For going out of the house, I carry a Streamlight ProTac 750 lumen flashlight. It’s too big to really be a pocket flashlight, so I carry it in one of my IWB spare magazine holders.

Pepper Spray

I carry a small Sabre Pepper Spray for when I need something between strong words and deadly force.

Pen

I carry around a CRKT tactical pen.

Sidearm

Unless I’m going to someplace I’m not legally allowed to carry, I generally have my Smith and Wesson M&P9 M2.0 equipped with a Streamlight TLR-1. I keep it and the spare magazine loaded with 124-grain Speer Gold Dots (since that’s what the local cops use). I’ve switched to using a Bravo Concealment kydex IWB holster after the leather on my hybrid started folding over and preventing good holstering. I’ve started using a pair of IWB kydex magazine holders for a spare magazine and my flashlight.

Going Out – The Bag

After much discussion with The Wife, I switched to carrying a 5.11 LV10 Sling Pack for carrying all the bits and bobs I normally carried in the pockets of my cargo jeans. Since I switched out to the bag, some of the items I normally carried were switched out for bigger items.

Electronics Support

In addition to the spare batteries for all my various items, I make sure I have the needed cords for all my devices. For charging, I use an Anker PowerCore I also keep a spare set of Apple Earpods in case my wireless earbuds aren’t working or out of power.

First Aid Stuff

Tools

  • Bic disposal lighter – Must Have Fire

  • Gerber Dime – This is a good little multi-tool for quick jobs. And the purple one I have is just cute.

  • Leatherman Skeletool – This is not the one I carry around the house. This is another that I happened to have. It lives in my bag since this one came with all the little bits Leathermen made to fit into the modular screwdriver.

  • Mini Tape Measure – I think mine is actually from Tractor Supply, but running around with The Wife necessitates having a tape measure when she finds stuff for the house.

  • Reusable twist ties

  • Smith and Wesson M&P tactical pen – Because writing. And tactical. And there may be more than one.

  • Streamlight Polytac X Flashlight – Yes, I have another flashlight. Don’t judge. I like this one because it has a rechargeable battery, but will also run on a couple of CR123’s.

Odds and Ends

  • Amazon Microfiber Cloth – These are really handy for cleaning my eyeglasses and my electronics’ screens.

  • Hand Sanitizer – I prefer the small little bottles from Bath and Bodyworks.

  • Post-It Notes – Because you never know when you’ll need to write something down or leave a note for someone. I like the vibrant colors in case I need my note to draw attention.

  • Travel Pack Tissues – Because allergies. And occasional cleaning.

  • More magazines – Since I had the space, I figured I could keep a couple more spare magazines in a Blackhawk Double Magazine Pouch. Yes, the likelihood I’ll need these is very low. It’s still comforting to have another thirty-four rounds available.

  • Emergency cash – No, I’m not going to say how much

Monday Links

This is going to be a bit random.

Probably the big news that’s going to hit this week was WSJ’s report on a classified Dept of Energy memo stating COVID-19 was most likely due to a lab leak. Of course, it’s a low confidence report with a bunch of caveats that other agencies have different theories. Still, considering how folks who have put that theory forward have been treated, it’s an interesting turn of events.

Governor DeSantis, in a bid for the culture war, appointed a bunch of right-wing folks to the board of New College – which to be fair, was kind of the loony left-wing cousin of the Florida University system. Supposedly, because the current board was not managing finances. The first thing the new board did was vote the interim president (one of their allies) a huge raise. Now, according to the Tampa Bay Times, the school may not be able to afford the raise.

Now a couple of articles from the Volokh Conspiracy.

First, an article about a WaPo report opining on the need to shame conservative judges so they will be more moderate in their opinions. Yeah, that’s going to work. Keep telling yourself that.

Next is something that I think could be very interesting. The governors of Utah and Indiana have voiced support for allowing states to sponsor immigration visas. Considered how screwed up the feds are, I’d be fine with the states stepping in.

Switching from Volokh to Reason. An unsurprising article on how hard it is to sue the government to hold officials accountable.

This is a weird Reddit of a post that the GWACS suit against KE Arms has been dismissed. I haven’t been able to confirm through other sources, but it’s promising.

Now on to the lighter items.

VizMedia has uploaded a bunch of old anime series to YouTube for free. They’re subtitled versions, but hey, free anime!

I think this hit the national media, but a local guy had a pool built in the shape of an old single-action revolver. Okay. It’s your money. Can’t imagine that’s going to be fun to upkeep.

Conversations At Ward Manor

The Wife picked up crocheting in the last couple of months. While MIL is a big crocheter of afghans, sweaters, and such, The Wife is much more into making stuffed animals. Like a penguin, cats, a Hello Kitty. You get the idea. So, we’re sitting in bed and this comes up.

The Wife: What pattern should I do next?

Derek furiously searches and sends over a pattern.

The Wife: That’s cute. What is it?

Derek: That’s Totoro.

Derek furiously searches and sends over another pattern. The Wife looks and puts her phone in my face.

The Wife: Does this look like something that <The Wife’s name> would actually make?

Derek: But it’s Baby Cthulhu!

The Wife: Well, I guess it is kinda cute.

Not sure what she’ll make next, but I keep pushing the geek stuff.

I Am Not the NRA

It came time for me to renew my NRA membership, and this year I chose not to send them money. According to The Reload, I’m not the only one.

It wasn’t just the allegations of corruption in the leadership of the NRA. It wasn’t just the botched bankruptcy or the constant legal woes. It wasn’t just the failure of the organization to help against the recent gun control pushes. It wasn’t just the board handing all the money over to Wayne LaPierre to fight his own legal battles. It was all of these things – and one more. It was the fact that my vote didn’t count. That my vote for the board – the one reason I still sent my money since 2019 – was essentially shit-canned so that hand-picked sycophants could get their own turn at the trough.

If the NRA wants me back – and people like me back – I need to see some real reform. I need to see WLP and his cronies removed. I need to see the board reformed to a real oversight organization.

I need the NRA to be what it should be. An organization that helps mold new shooters by teaching them the basics. That helps them in their journey through continuing courses. That has a strong political arm to help protect our rights – and not wading into other culture war bullshit.

I see some solid moves to that end, and I will be the NRA.

Monday Links

I missed last week due to day job antics. A lot of tasks that looked simple that weren’t. Oh well. I managed to get it done on time. So, this week I have some serious items, and then a bunch of light items that have been building up. Buckle up, this is going to be a bit longer than normal

First, for the serious items.

From Reason comes an article about the lone Republican on the Federal Trade Commission Board resigning in protest of Chair Lina Khan’s expansion of the FTC’s power and disregarding the rule of law. While I personally like some of the areas Khan’s addressing (non-competes come to mind), I don’t think her method is good for the health of the republic. See ATF.

Speaking of gun laws, we have an article from Townhall about a judge declaring that the ban on marijuana users from owning guns is unconstitutional. While I have a personal dislike of the devil weed, I also dislike how its handled in our laws. I also don’t think users should be prohibited from owning guns. Anymore than alcohol users should be.

Moving on to economics, we have a Reuters article on how orders for industrial robots hit record highs last year. Tight labor market for workers means its more economical to automate.

This was a big brouhaha last week or the week before, but here’s an article from a local station on AMC going to a tiered pricing for its tickets. All I heard from most of the voices was complaining about price gouging. Unsurprising, I find this “concern” unmoving. With the changing economics of the movie theater industry, the companies are going to have to find some way to make it more profitable. If it causes a significant backlash, they’ll quietly discontinue.

For the last serious item, an article from NBC about how colleges are looking at nuclear mini-reactors for electricity. I like the idea of a decentralized power system with a bunch of smaller nuclear reactors.

Now, on to the light items.

These are more local interest stuff, but hey, it’s my blog.

First, an article on the “dead” University Square Mall. Huh, I actually thought it was shut down. I have a scene in Badmoon Rising set in the mall.

Next, an article about local businessman and philanthropist Dr. Kiran Patel finally finishing his huge compound. We’ve been watching that one go up for years.

The Wife and I joke about winning the lottery and building a compound for the family. Which is why this article on an old summer camp for sale caught my eye. Heck, it’s only a couple million.

SQUEE! New Civilization is coming!

The Brother sent me this article about the math around the anime missile swarm.

Oh hey, I can park Serenity in front of my house. Sort of.

Friday Quote – Alous Huxley

The surest way to work up a crusade in favor of some good cause is to promise people they will have a chance of maltreating someone. To be able to destroy with good conscience, to be able to behave badly and call your bad behavior ‘righteous indignation’ – this is the height of psychological luxury, the most delicious of moral treats.