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The AT&T folks are shouldering a hell of a task right now. I've worked with BellSouth and AT&T telco engineers for years, including the linemen out in the field, and if there is anything that impressed me about them more than their technical prowess it was their professional dedication to keeping "Ma Bell" online for the customer. I imagine that you had engineers in the Nashville area who already had their work clothes and steel toed boots on before they even got the first phone call yesterday. Those folks take pride in keeping people connected. Just keep them in your thoughts because this wrecked Christmas for them and their families, and I bet a bunch of them spent Christmas day in a dangerous environment enduring absolutely miserable wet and cold conditions.

Right or wrong, whenever I hear “Person of Interest” I think of Richard Jewell. I know we love speculating our asses off here, but it’s a solid idea not to make any hard judgements until time and evidence have time to bring clarity.

Why is it that someone cant simply take a minimum level of precautions without being "scared?" I am not so concerned with my own health but I am concerned for my son who has asthma, for our elderly neighbors, for my coworkers, and even the rest of my fellow citizens. This isnt an either or issue. It doesnt mean you are terrified etc. It means you have empathy for your fellow human beings and hope to prevent spreading something you may carry with no or little symptoms at all.

And why would at&t be chosen to audit the dominion voting machines? They can’t even keep the billing for their customers correct.

Let's remember... Let's remember that we're all fundamentally good people here as far as history suggests. I don't understand why a topic like this would inspire arguments between members, but I suspect that tensions are just running high and everyone is on edge. Treat each other kindly. Disagree with tact. Step away from the keyboard for a little bit when you feel the urge to snap at someone. These are skills that we are probably going to need frequently in the year ahead. We might as well start practicing them.

There used to be an NFA section in the classifieds. Few but me seem to remember it.

First bolded comment... go get the context for that statement. He didnt mean what you think he meant. The second bolded comment... Sweden has now said they were wrong. https://www.google.com/search?q=sweden+covid-19&rlz=1C1ASUM_enUS817US817&oq=sweden+covid-19 https://www.politico.eu/article/stefan-lofven-sweden-coronavirus-escape/ Again, you missed the context of the statement you are referring to here. Please show us the charts or even the numbers.

This is what people who keep talking about the low likelihood of death from COVID-19 miss.

I just watched the Netflix show about this recently. Manhunt:Deadly Games is the name. It's heartbreaking what the FBI and media did to that man.

Yeah, it's all kinds of crazy to think people had to leave their families on Christmas morning to do damage control on a bomb site with work hazards galore and temps in the 20s. But most folks probably just want their phone or internet back.

The sad thing is that we might be looking back & saying these were the good old days. Hope & pray not. If someone sells their ammo for what it will cost to replace is it gouging?

Just get closer to your game. I called in this bobcat and took him at 35 yards with my 1966 Winchester 30-30. My eyes are 65-years-old wore out, so yes, iron sights are tough, but still work for me close up. I limit my deer shots to 50 yards with irons. Not hard if you hunt thick woods. If I'm hunting open fields, I still have some scoped bolt guns for that.

Thanks guys, I can't wait to try it out. I've heard they were great running guns to have a 3",Bbl. it's not easy to find some of the parts for. I do have a source for recoil springs but orginal Mags. are hard to find and cost as much as my Staccato P 4.14 double stacks or more. I'll post some pics when I get time to go shoot.

I’m not going to ban you. You are a valuable member with a long history that also does not recognize that you participate in the same things you call others out on. You encouraged us (the mods) to call out people that agitated others. I simply took you up on that offer. I don’t think you’ll find I’m alone in this opinion.

Unless it was used solely as “I don’t want to kill people but I’m trying to get my message heard nationwide”. Then it makes perfect sense.

Now I found it. Been searching for it in this thread, but now I found it. I question whether you know what that word means or if you're using a straw-man argument to drag the Biden election sham into the discussion of COVID. To be clear: I don't think Trump seriously mishandled COVID. I do think that he should have hyped less, but that's like asking rain to not be wet. I do think that the establishment is scared as hell of Trump and weren't going to let him have Term #2 at any cost. I do think we saw that play out in broad daylight. I do think so many people hate Trump that they don't care what crimes were committed to keep him from being re-elected. I do think dark times are ahead of us. I don't think this has any bearing on the medical treatment of COVID.

I admit that I'm not a very good Christian. But lately I find myself praying a lot for the unfortunate people stricken with this plague. May God help us all.

Just picked this up last Friday at Goodlettsville Gun Shop, they handled the Transfer for me. I purchased this one off of another site I belong to. Came with orginal bag, owners manual, and one Mag. I found another orginal Mag. and bought it, man the original Mags. are expensive if you can find them. As soon as I feel well enough I'm going to take it out and run some rnds. through it. I've always wanted one of these for some reason.

Took the pawpaws about a week ago when they were still a little firm and finally got around to using them! They were a hit all around. Used this recipe: https://www.realtree.com/timber-2-table-wild-game-recipes/wild-pawpaw-pancakes Anyone need pawpaw seeds shoot me a pm with a mailing addy, and you can tell people you have a story about those mystery seeds from china, too.

Add this to the category of don’t need, but must have. I just ordered this pistol. I’m certain I overpaid for it, but such are the times. I’ve owned four 15-22 carbines. I still have one in fde. I have a ton of .22 ammo so the carbine, my G44 and this pistol will get to the range more. I can’t wait to get my Dead Air Mask silencer. I’ll throw a Vortex Spitfire or Swamp Fox Blade on this pistol and have a little .22 fun.

People not wearing masks.

I’m not sure of the exact way that it’s desired to be done, So I am tagging @TGO David

His livelihood is ruined either way. He doesnt have customers he closes.

This tracks pretty much word for word with an update I had passed along by the leader in my organization getting info. Add in the update by AT&T ln their website earlier today and this isn't a quick fix at all.

My first RV trip was to Illinois loaded with weapons. How crazy is that? I ain't skeered.

I am not at liberty to share everything I know, but I've been privy to quite a bit of detail because of work. The switching center was damaged pretty extensively. The front third or so of the building sustained structural and mechanical damage. There was/is water standing on the floors of most levels. The basement was/is flooded. All of this ostensibly due to fire suppression systems that were either triggered by fire or ruptured because of the concussive force of the blast. Last night we were told that AT&T was bringing in national-level help from their own disaster recovery teams. Generators to bring power online was one a priority. I'm sure the flooding was even more of a priority. I am more convinced now than I was 24 hours ago that the switching center was likely the specific target. I may be proven wrong, but it just feels that way to me for a lot of reasons that I really can't go into beyond what I've already said in other posts. Ironically, I made those posts before I know what I know now... so I'm not going to delete them.

Another really great tweet thread on the subject.

A genuine " Blast from the Past "..! Aint seen one of these in forever... Im glad ya rescued this guy... On a related note; i seem ta remember that Colt tried a slightly warmed over copy of these pistolas, but they couldn't do anything with the popularity of the Detonics and finally quit tryin. Admirin leroy...

My friend, I may be completely off base here, or maybe somebody deleted something that would have provided context, but your couple comments in this thread make no sense to me all. I’m truly interested in what you are trying to say, but it’s not coming across in a manner that I can put together.

Even on Christmas Day, the drama and random blurts never cease to amaze.

What are you talking about?

Please explain? Why are you guys calling a hotline? Which one? I mean, unless of course any of you have actual evidence or input?

My employer just sent out alerts that our main number is down. Of course we use ATT as our phone system. This could be bad for weeks to come. Maybe more. I seriously doubt the location was coincidental.

I was just typing something similar. This bomber seems to have gone out of their way to avoid casualties, and I see those things you mentioned as proactive steps to prevent loss of life. Everything about this is pointing to something downtown being the focal point. AT&T is a believable target, but it could be unintended collateral damage of somewhere else being the real target. And I'm with you on having to respond to the telecom outages...I have docs leaving their families and headed to the hospitals (who are working through those issues you mentioned) in response to systems that let them work from home being down. One told me he's bringing a bag to just stay until everything is good. Small sample of the best being brought out in a crisis. I'm also curious as to what actually took down the network; the bomb itself and backups failed after a few hours of coverage, or are they doing something with the response that took it out. Suppose we'll figure that part out soon enough.

I really don’t see what this thread has to do with @Daniel telling you are wrong. You took a serious question and needlessly brought him into it. Consider this a dose of scrutinization.

There is one site called OakHillGuns.com that has the new Colt Pythons at a more reasonable price. They are out at this time but if you want one put your email for notification when they are back in stock. I have purchased a lot of guns from them and they have some of the best prices on the market. https://oakhillguns.com/revolver/colt.html

Auctions are the purest form of the free market.

I choose to wear a mask, and I wish others would, but I’m not going to get bent out of shape about those who choose not to wear a mask. We live in a red state, and there has been nothing nor will there be any statewide mandates that trample on everyone’s freedoms. Tennessee politicians are hot garbage, but they know their constituents. They will never go too far. It puzzles me how people in the south can always find a crisis or potential boogeyman. Nothing that people repeatedly worry about ever happens, especially in Tennessee. We should be some of the most carefree people in the world. We simply have to do whatever it takes to get back to normal. For some it seems that being slightly inconvenienced is a larger problem than COVID-19. If a worldwide pandemic can’t get everyone on the same page, nothing will.

Part is our strange environment here in the Tri-Cities. At one point, we had 3 BestBuys in a 30 to 40 minute radius. Same thing with lots of other big box stores. I can understand places like Lowes a bit better because no one want to drive 30 minutes home with a truck full of lumber. With the additional push to online from COVID, it is expected to see place s consolidate. As much as everyone one would like to think, I hate to say that I doubt their 2A stance did it. They sell more soccer cleats than gun supplies and always have. Kingsport is also losing a lot of places to The Pinnacle which is only 20 minutes away. There is a D1ck's there now too. Also, I have heard chatter that Kingsport is not the friendliest location for retailers. I do not know specifics though. Eastman has been laying off for years now. Sometimes not enough at once to be a blip on the local news though. I have multiple family members working there in different capacities. It is not longer the "guaranteed a job until you retire" place it was in the 80's. Of course, where is? The outsourcing to other countries is also partially our own fault. I have heard that over 1/2 the people that take the BASIC level test to start hiring into operations can't do 3rd grade math. Out of the ones that pass, a significant percentage don't make it through the drug testing. So maybe a quarter of the people that they actually feel good enough about to interview make to the HR review stage. In the 70's or 80's something like 85%+ passed the same math test. Don't quote me on the numbers, but they are close. It is not longer the other "first world" countries that are kicking our arses in education. Plenty of "third world" countries are pumping out very competent people with Masters degrees or PHDs while our local population runs meth labs out of their car trunk. I have kids in school and the local education system is a joke. My kids spend more time every day killing time in a class than actually being taught, Once the standardized tests are done, they do NOTHING the rest of the school year. Plus, the teachers are no longer like it was for me growing up. Teachers used to spend a good bit of time every week building lessons and preparing to teach. Now, the teachers will run you over if you are in the road when the last bell rings. They do as little as possible. One of my son's teachers can't even be bothered to make it to his own virtual meetings set up for twice a week. Always has some lame excuse. That teacher also can't even seem to get the required 2 grades per week. He ends up fudging attendance as a grade it seems. This is not just COVID either, he did the same crap last year. How hard is it to give 2 assignments a week? It is a downward spiral. Ask any kid in college for a reason they are going into teaching and the ones being honest will say because they get the summer off. Forget "teaching the future leaders of our country". I will get down off my soapbox now.

It's a shame so many people don't mind having blood on their hands by helping kill off half a million of us. But Murica! Freedom! - OS

China can kiss me Blarney Stones.

It’s an indication of what the New World Order (globalization) is going to demand. Now that the Democrats and liberal media have demonized nationalism (doing what’s best for America) this is where the new administration will be taking us.

Of course China thinks gun ownership is a problem in this country. Most every country without the rights we enjoy thinks the same thing. That’s all of them BTW. Problem is China carries great weight on the global stage now. We have only ourselves to thank for that.

TGO Friends; Well, it is here again and probably none too soon for some of us and all too soon for others. This year has been... interesting... to say the least, but as I pause and think about the reason for Christmas, I am still very grateful and can say that the good still shines brighter than the bad is capable of blotting out. Even when I consider the loss of friends that our community has endured this year, I can confidently say that I still believe that we were better to have known them and enjoyed their company while we could, than we would be had that never happened. I am going to try to peel myself away from the Internet for the next few days and spend the time watching my kids and my first grandchild enjoy the wonders and mysteries of Christmas. I hope you will not be offended in the least if I say that I hope I don't see many of you on here for the next 36-48 hours either... but at the same time I wouldn't blame you a bit if i do. Let's face it: TGO is as much a group a close friends and honorary extended family as it is anything. Perhaps even more than anything else. So if we do happen to bump into each other here over the holidays... well, let's just enjoy the fact that we are merely being close to those whom we choose to be close to. After all, you don't get to choose your real family but most of us gladly make the choice to include each other here in our days and nights. As always, if you are unable to celebrate the holidays because of work - THANK YOU. No matter what it is you do, thank you. Whether it is working patrol as a police officer, a hospital floor as a nurse, doctor or some other role, a utilities company as an engineer or technician, an IT job as a herder of cats and conqueror of ones and zeros, or wearing the uniform of our armed services or some other first responder, or even as the clerk at a gas station or a waitress at a 24/7/365 greasy spoon... THANK YOU. Whatever your job, whatever your role, if it keeps you there instead of at home on Christmas, I appreciate you. For the rest of you, I hope that you find comfort, peace, relaxation and restoration in the days ahead. Whether you are surrounded by family or friends, or enjoying the peace and quiet of solitude, I hope that it is in a place that you prefer doing what you wish to be doing. MERRY CHRISTMAS, TGO! Thank you for being a bright spot in an otherwise dark year. Let's be sure that we are all here for each other in 2021. It's probably going to be more nuts than we can imagine. Yikes. On behalf of the moderating team, --David

"Large" is a relative term. The 3 ply masks do not allow nearly the same degree of passage of emissions as does say, a common bandana. Many, if not most all, of the same size droplets that would penetrate through said bandana would not make it through a 3 ply surgical mask. Certainly, some virus is released into the air by just the act of breathing, and those escape from around any non totally sealed covering, but they have short ranges and longevity and concentration. Hence the self distancing part of the equation. The idea is to hedge all the bets you can, there is no one magic bullet short of living in some sort of bubble. - OS

UPDATE - Denial overturned. Happy, yes of course... but WTF right? FFL said when I swing by to pick up my unfired 1970 Colt Commander today he'll give me as much info as he can. THANK YOU EVERYBODY here for the words of encouragement and advice, and as suggested I'll apply for my 03 C&R and see if we can get to the bottom of this. I don't have a super common name, but it's not "rare" or anything and several people in CA share my name and even one with the same middle name so who knows? But my FFL said the TBI lady seemed pretty confident in saying it could be overturned from the get-go so I need to keep this from happening in the future. This really messed with my head and had me questioning my move to Tennessee for a bit. Again, thank you and stay tuned.... I'll add more when I get more.

I'm a 99 Savage guy, but I do like lever rifles in general. I have an older Rossi Puma in 357 Mag. It is a neat little rifle. One in 45 Colt would be awesome.

Hey folks, Every once in a while I run into a China product that is a fantastic value. This easily qualifies for that. After I have pulled a couple slivers I ordered 5 of these for gifts. The capper on just how useful these are is this story. My wife had what looked like a skin tag popping out on her upper eye lid where the eye lashes are. By naked eye, yeah it certainly looked like a skin tag. Then I thought let me look at it with those jewelers glasses set to 15X. It in fact was an ingrown hair that tried to poke out but did a U turn back into the lid skin. I could clearly see the black hair below the skin surface. So with a acupuncture needle, I carefully broke the skin at its furthest point sticking out and exposed the hair enough to grab it with my extra fine tweezers and pulled the hair out root and all. The jewelers glasses made this possible. Even with a basic magnifying glass, it would not have been any help at all in defining the situation. I'v pulled a number of wood & steel slivers out of my fingers with these glasses and its nothing short of amazing on knowing, I got it all within a highly accurate extraction. The 25X lens is way too strong on any operations since my fine tweezers tips look like cannon barrels. Clearly, these are prized as a survival tool. https://www.ebay.com/itm/10-15-20-25X-LED-Eye-Jeweler-Watch-Repair-Magnifying-Glasses-Magnifier-Loupe-USA/254375610539?hash=item3b39f7c8ab:g:19sAAOSwCDxdrsc5

It wasn't hard I guess, but I really studied since I wanted to learn the material. Got a 100. Used both the ARRL book and an app to take the section quizzes and sample tests.

Continuing with those thoughts, let's discuss why penetration is more important than expansion or caliber size. All too often we read comments on gun forums and hear comments in real-life discussions about the perils of "over penetration" in self-defense shootings and ultimately the conversation turns toward the notion that a mythical sweet-spot exists wherein a cartridge provides adequate penetration yet not too much. When you consider the dynamics of a self-defense encounter (the distance at which the shooting may take place, the way that the body of the individual receiving fire may be angled, intermediate barriers between them and the shooter, the anatomy of the individual being shot at, etc.) then it becomes obvious that it is quite literally impossible to load a cartridge that will provide just enough penetration for every single instance. As illustrated in my preceding post, the temporary cavity effects and permanent tissue damaging effects of handgun cartridges make them poor performers when compared to the incapacitation qualities of rifle calibers. While a subject shot with a handgun caliber may indeed bleed out from a minor would given time, a self-defense shooting requires quicker incapacitation of the subject resulting in a more immediate elimination of the threat. Barring mortal injury to the central nervous system (CNS) via the bullets fired, the most effective means of dealing with the threat is to use a cartridge capable of penetrating deep enough into the subject so as to reach the large blood-bearing vessels and organs in the torso. Failing this, rapid physiological incapacity of the threat is unlikely. In comparison, if a bullet completely penetrates and exits the subject, the bullet will have had enough penetration to reach the critical organs and vessels and will more likely have caused hemorrhaging sufficient to induce hypovolemic shock in the subject. Second to CNS trauma, this is the only reliable means of incapacitating the subject. This bears out two points: 1. Shot placement is critical in any self-defense shooting, not only because of the liability attached to each bullet fired, but but also because failing to deliver shots accurately to the areas most likely to incapacitate the subject will result in that subject remaining a threat. 2. Penetration is king when choosing self-defense cartridges. If you have to choose between penetration and expansion, choose the former.