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A lot of you know @bersaguy. He’s had some incidents over the last week that are going to require surgical intervention tomorrow. I got to go by and see him this afternoon. He’s in great spirits, but the triple bypass surgery he’s having tomorrow afternoon is serious. He could use your prayers over the coming days. I’ll update as soon as I hear tomorrow, but in the meantime, keep him in your thoughts.

Farnam’s latest Quip is in response to an older gent, whose question may be relevant for a lot of us here; so I’ve taken the liberty of reproducing it below:Where is “Safety?”by John Farnam | 5 Jan 2018“Reasonable” Response.A student asks:“I’m in my 70s. When I’m the victim of an unprovoked attack by a younger, bigger, stronger person(s) who is using only his fists, elbows, knees, and/or shod feet, how much of a pommeling am I expected to absorb, and for how long, before I employ deadly force in order to stop the attack and thus prevent myself from being injured/murdered?We have seen several instances where a single blow from a fist to an unprotected head proved fatal, many others where such a blow caused permanent, disabling injury and/or disfigurement.Of course, ‘injury’ is easy to demonstrate AFTER it has been inflicted. But, the object of legitimate self-defense is to PREVENT such lethal/disabling outcomes. How can I persuasively demonstrate what didn’t happen?”My comment:No matter whom you ask, you won’t get a very satisfactory answer to that question, and mine (as follows) won’t be very satisfactory either!We all look for “safety” in “the law.” We ask ourselves, “When I strictly follow the law can I know that I will never be prosecuted?”In fact many naive instructors keep reiterating, “Know the law,” as if that were even possible, and as if that represents a guarantee that bad things will never happen to you.If you were to carefully read every law, ordinance, rule “guideline,” and regulation that could ever possibly apply to you as a gun-owner/carrier, particularly as you travel around the Country, there would not be enough years left in your life to complete the task!Even then, the task would be largely and exercise in futility, because we no longer have a “nation of laws.” We have a “nation of agendas.”Some laws, like our immigration laws for example, are openly, deliberately, and contemptuously violated every day, with no consequence! Laws against possession and use of marijuana are openly violated in entire states, with no consequence.So then, what is “the law” when it can be ignored by state governments? What other “laws” can we all ignore?I am today seeing officer-involved shootings which are completely justified, by any standard, not only being the subject of civil suits, where cities don’t even put up a fight, as they dole-out untold millions of taxpayer dollars to the “bereaved” families of vicious, violent, (and mercifully dead) criminals, but these innocent officers, who acted properly and did correctly the job we pay them to do, are also being viciously prosecuted by politically-active prosecutors, who cynically see an unjust conviction merely as a career stepping-stone.So, when you’re involved in a self-defense shooting, what will be important?The factor that will most sway prosecutors is usually the way the event is reported in the papers and other news media.When the headline is, “Local Gun-Nut Slays Honor Student,” you can bet the system will be under immense pressure to prosecute, while actual facts of the case shrink to irrelevance!When the shooting is cross-racial, hang on to your hat! You may find yourself being prosecuted merely in an effort to mollify rioters!When the shooting takes place during an election year, hang on to your hat! A political candidate may push for prosecution merely in an effort to court votes from a particular minority.We saw this exact phenomenon in the Zimmerman Case in FL in 2008!So, where is “safety?”There is none, but here are some things I can recommend:1) Be a good person! Heaven knows none of us are perfect, but good people ever strive towards goodness, decency, and personal honesty. At the same time, be very good at minding your own business!2) (a) Don’t go to stupid places. (b) Don’t associate with stupid people. (c) Don’t do stupid things. (d) Be in bed by 10.00pm (your own bed!). (e) Have a “normal” appearance. (f) Don’t fail the attitude test!3) When you go armed, keep weapon(s) discreetly out of sight. Don’t talk about your guns. Don’t “show” your gun(s) to anyone. Don’t brandish your gun except for good cause.4) When you must shoot, use your sights, press your trigger carefully, and hit with every shot.5) Stop shooting when the threat(s) is clearly neutralized.6) Don’t chase suspects!7) Don’t flee the scene, except as necessary to preserve your own safety8) Be first to the phone! Report the incident to police as soon as practicable.9) Know what to say, and what not to say, to police. Know your lines!10) Get your lawyer involved as quickly as possible11) Be prepared for an unpleasant aftermath, endless media lies, PTSD, complete disruption of your life. Don’t expect anyone to be sympathetic, nor “understanding.”12) Like any traumatic event, you’ll never really “get over it,” but as days and weeks pass, you’ll be able to put it in perspective, and move on.I realize the foregoing is inadequate and grossly oversimplified, but it may be helpful.There are no guarantees!/John

MAC address filtering on the router is good. If the device isn’t approved by you - it doesn’t connect to the network. We have a rule in our house. No devices in bedrooms. Period. All phones (my wife and mine included) get charged in the main area of the house. That makes it convenient to check it. I sat with a parent of a 13 year old a couple of weeks ago - trying to find her after she had gone missing. We were looking at her Instagram account from a forensic perspective - a secondary account she had opened after her parents found her previous one and shut it down. This one had been open for just over 24 hours. There were 11 people she knew following this account. There were 1089 anonymous followers - in under 24 hours - many of whom turned out to be sex offenders - including the person we eventually found her with. We’re not going to put the internet back in the box. It’s here to stay - yet it is still remarkably immature. You’ve got to find a framework where you help your kids figure out that consumption - what’s okay, what we need to limit, and what we need to avoid at large. Theres something else that I find myself saying with parents a lot when I lecture on this topic. “Our kids may or may not listen to us, but they never fail to emulate us.”

Gents, please pay attention to your health. This is not a joking matter. I survived a heart attack two years ago come May. Did not seem to be all that bad of symptoms so I put off going to doctor. Bad idea! I wish Doug the best and I am thankful that doctors can do such great work. Get a yearly checkup at least. I will not try to give folks the live better, eat right, exercise speech as I do not live that myself. Just pay attention to your body though. Prayers for Doug and if he needs anything please advise us.

Alex Jones....

I can understand your frustration at potentially loosing a source of cheap surplus ammo Dolomite, but I think it is a BIG stretch to think these sanctions are being done to screw over gun owners. And to say that you will henceforth be voting D to spite the Rs sounds pretty dangerous. A better policy might be to ignore the R, D, or XYZ besides their names and vote based on each individual and their track record. Its wild that even within our small group here we have those wanting to crucify the administration for colluding with the Russians while others are hating on the Russian sanctions. I love the freedom of options we have in our country, and I fully support each of you in your choices of guns and ammo. I for one have never owned an AK or purchased a round of russian surplus ammo. I've used them extensively overseas and as an armorer of soviet bloc weapons I know they are very reliable, but I personally have a hard time wanting to own/carry what our enemy uses, especially when our home grown equipment is (in my opinion) superior, albeit often more expensive. Just my 2 cents

The go to your start menu and find the restore option then create a restore point. That way if it decides to screw up again you can at least go back to the way it is now. Create a restore point, do not restore to an earlier time.

I have said for a very long time I would vote for a newcomer over a current politician, did it last election. Dare I say it but I did not vote for Trump, glad he is doing what he said he would do but I had serious doubts about that as well as all the other politicians on the ballot. I couldn't bring myself, standing at the poll, to pull the D handle but that didn't mean I voted R either, because I didn't. And if you haven't figured it out yet, I voted for Larry the weed guy for President. At least if he became president I wouldn't be giving two ####s about the world right now as I ate my way to 300 pounds. I do what I can, I do make calls and do send emails. I am passionate about rights and not just mine but everyone else's because when someone else looses their rights mine go right along with theirs. That is why I get so damned pissed off, I put in the effort and others have a C'est la vie attitude when it comes to preserving their own rights. At some point everything going on will affect every single one of us so I send the emails and make the phone calls, even if most won't, because it seems like no one else gives two ####s until it hits them square in the nuts. The time to fight isn't when you are against the ropes but we you have freedom of movement. We are at war and loosing almost every battle with the liberal mindset that is destroying our country. Even here in Tennessee we are a lot closer to becoming a blue state than anyone probably realizes. Look at every major population center and you will see they are run by liberals. It is just a matter of time before we turn blue unless we can get off our collective asses and come together as a unified front against those who wish to do us in. Our representatives, the ones we elected, refuse to take a stand on our behalf so we need a change, even if that means an election cycle of other than republicans, to send a message that we are fed up. That is why Trump got elected, now if we can do with our state representatives we might actually have a fighting chance. As long as the Grand Old Party remains in office we will continue to loose our God given rights, maybe not as fast as with a bunch of liberals but then end result will be the same.

He seems squared away for the moment, but I’ll apprise if there are changes.

It isn't an attack on gun owners but it will definitely impact gun owners and it is well within our legislators power to minimize the impact to us. The legislation prevents any business dealings with those companies on the list, regardless of the product. Rostec owns Tula Ammunition and Wolf ammunition is produced by Tula. Both would be affected by this. Primers would also be affected as it is a ban on business dealings, not specific products so it could include a myriad of other products produced by those companies. It could also affect US companies that export products to Russia if those exports go to any of these companies or the banks that also do business with the sanctioned companies. Imagine this in terms of gasoline. Some people use the cheapest gas possible while others only use the highest grade possible but the majority of gasoline users use cheap gasoline. And when the cheap gasoline runs out gas prices will increase because of a shortage, like we have seen before. I remember buying premium at $5.50 a gallon when cheap regular unleaded ran out. Getting rid of cheap gas would increase gas prices, simple economics. Ammunition prices have continued to climb since at least 2010 and often times we hear that the reason for this is because material costs have risen but if you actually look at the materials used to make ammunition it has remained relatively stable, even decreasing if you account for inflation. Lead has remained steady while copper has fallen in value during the same time that ammunition has continued to climb. I believe the reason is because ammunition manufacturers, because of shortages, have raised prices because they know consumers will buy it. And while I do not have a problem with that do not tell me materials are the reason when they are not. When ammunition is in short supply the prices will climb setting a new "norm" for pricing, just like 22 ammunition has. The increase in the cost of 22 ammunition is not because it costs more but because shortages have caused them to raise prices based on shortages. And this shortage caused by a lack of cheap ammunition will undoubtedly cause a shift in pricing across the board costing us all and it could easily be prevented by exempting ammunition being imported from the sanctions about to be imposed. Hopefully it doesn't happen and all this was an exercise in futility but either way I stand by my statement that those representatives telling us they are our friends are acting like they are not. We could get anything we wanted passed right now but they refuse. We are about to loose more gun freedoms than we have in a very, very long time and our representatives are the ones allowing it to happen. They could easily reel in the ATF and their lawless ways of rewriting law but they won't. Instead they are making criminals out of law abiding citizens overnight and without a change in the law. And because of that we are going to see a lot more restrictions and leading that charge we have Paul Ryan advocating for a lot of what the ATF is currently doing. I never said I wanted to vote democrat but I refuse to vote republican any more because they have time and time again they say one thing then do another. Maybe I will just stay home next year instead of pulling the voting handle while holding my nose. I suspect next year a lot of "our" representatives will be wondering what happened because if national reciprocity, at a minimum, doesn't get passed a lot of gun owners are going to stay home.

Didn't say, it was forwarded to locals for action. So, dark web, illegal activity, surface web legal...sounds about right.

My wife and I raised 2 daughters. At the time cellphones were not as ubiquitous or sophisticated as today but we were nonetheless early adopters. I remember wanting to be a popular parent, and I also remember realizing that at some point you can't be friends with your kids until you get them grown. Don't back down, your daughter's life may depend on your actions.

My brother had a similar problem with one of his daughters. He took her cell phone for 30 days. He was "the most hated dad in America". Then when she earned it back the phone was put on his nightstand after 8 or 9pm (can't remember). He and his wife were all up in her business "ALL THE TIME". He was never afraid to pull her car, phone, whatever it took. He said his only goal at the time was to get her to graduate high school and for her to not get pregnant. He wasn't looking to be friends with her or anyone else. At times his wife would say he went too far. She graduated and is now on her way to a field in nursing. No kids. And the best thing is they have a very strong relationship. So many people being a parent means you have to be a friend or your kids will run. I disagree.

I don't see this as an attack on firearms/ammunition. It is IMO a sanction on Russia that simply tries to impact their political actions. If it happens to involve an economic facet that includes ammunition, so be it. I don't think as a community of gun owners we can be or should be immune to worldwide political actions. That doesn't mean I like it, but I'm not paranoid to think they every action targets me as a gun owner is planned to do so.

My first thought about the phone camera is to take some sandpaper to the lens. It'll ruin the camera, but it is your phone to ruin. I would also look at the logs of your router to see if that gives any indication of her Internet activity, or if there are unknown devices connecting, such as a contraband cell phone or tablet. Every router I've seen has a list of connected devices in it somewhere. You can even set allowed MAC addresses, which will block everything else. See about pointing your router's DNS lookup to one of those safe site only DNS services. It'll block known bad sites, and should work for everything that connects to the WiFi. I used host files on our home PC's to reroute sites like Facebook to 127.0.0.1, or even better, some other site. Then play dumb when the page won't load. Most definitely lock down the router password. Nobody but you and the wife should know the password. And change it every so often. Don't forget about the guest network too. And look to see if the neighbors have anything that can be connected to, especially like the Xfinity or ATT guest connections. Not as relevant today, but when my kids were young, the only PC with Internet access was in the living room, and there was a password on the PC. Kids did not get to use it unless we were in the room. As long as they are acting out, a child needs to have no expectation of privacy. Search her room whenever you want. A friend of mine removed the door from his son's room for a while.

Jump in, get involved, be the bad guy. Not to be too critical, but mom isn't getting the message across. Hopefully they'll both thank you later.

Serbia does not produce steel-cased ammo. Steel-cased ammo is cheaper to produce. The Russians have known this for decades, as did the ze Germans in WWII. If there is in fact a complete shutdown in the Russian pipeline then everyone just needs to be prepared to pay more. Your Representatives and Senators will have no understanding whatsoever.

I’m going to say this as someone who has worked more assault cases than I can remember. Snapchat does not belong on a 14 year old’s phone. Full stop. You’ve got someone else delivering her a device, she’s googling how to get a SIM card and lying to you and your wife about it. There’s more going on than you know - and she’s in over her head. Our kids are always going to be smarter than us about technology. You’re not going to get out in front of that. But, we’re smarter than them about life. You’ve got to come to some type of understanding. It’s possible to recover some Snapchat data depending on the version and the particulars of the device, but it’s unlikely. You should consider blocking access to the camera, uninstalling any social apps and then locking the device so that she can’t install new apps. I’d make sure you have geolocation turned on as well. We’ve used it to find more than one teen - most of them before it was too late. If you do find out that this is an adult, you should consider getting law enforcement involved.

Find a round of .380 and stick it in there.

Sorry for the rant. I just get sick and tired of those who are supposed to be our allies in this fight to maintain our gun rights do things that harm those rights. Our super majority will not do one single thing to advance gun rights then when we loose control of both the house and senate they will try then use that failure as political fodder to try to get back into office. How about they do these things now to stay in office rather than wait and use it as an excuse to reelect them.

While I am sure there are many reasons this is just politics, etc, I don't have an issue with it. I know many are single issue people and that's ok, but most of those people are also the same group that talks about buying American, etc, etc. We are a fickle bunch. Most American's want everything as cheap as they can get it and then when the cheap things get taken away we complain. This does not prevent anyone from getting the ammo they need. It will reduce the amount of super cheap ammo, but ammo will be available.

Better carry a small tape measure around too, eh? - OS

There's no "either" or "or" in there, no reason to think it's not all inclusive seems to me. First part specifies the required wording, second part the required visual. - OS

I'm fixed OK for 9's but that would be a nice convertible set up with a 22 TCM barrel & recoil spring. Now if I can only figure a way to get those 72 rd Sumoi drums in a.........

It's so cold I saw a Democrat with his hands in his own pocket

?? Statutorily conforming no-gun signage is still binding, and the newer standards are as of today in effect for all. - OS

Well, if you gotta know..... there's a AR15 hammer in there running things. You see the MPA folks that originally built it as a MPA 971 wanted to use a straight up FAL FCG. But the FAL hammer was only functional under the Cobray M11 upper if the FAL lower was mounted way off center to the upper. So much so that MPA couldn't use the terribly off center rear FAL sight with a front barrel sight. An AR hammer corrects that major down fall of the original design. I also shaved a crap load of useless steel (& using alloy lower) off the unit taking it from 13.5 lbs to 10.25 lbs as you see it with an empty mag. What makes this a plausible unit is the super HD drum mags. Clearly, there is no better made hi cap drum mag than these Sumoi units and at a bargain price. When I use to work at Auto Ordinance, they used to sell 39 rd Tommy drums for stupid money and they in fact were Jap made "Toy" drums for non firing replicas. You can tell those by the cheap bent tab cartridge pushers. Pure garbage but they did actually work as long as they weren't over wound. Nothing more fun than building a one of a kind!

Surely he doesn't out-weird you in that regard? - OS