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  That would be if solar magnetism was the ONLY factor. There are others. Google Henrik Svensmark if you'd like to know more. Here is one link. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henrik_Svensmark   Apparently, in the troposphere (the atmosphere from 1 mile to about 11 miles high) there is a strong correlation to the 11 year cycle.  It's only at ground level that we don't see this 11-year cycle. Perhaps it is due to ocean oscillations. Cosmic rays themselves also vary based on the proximity of supernovae and when these stars exploded. Sorry that I don't understand Svensmark's work enough to better explain it.   My point is that Svenmark's theory of climate change seems credible, yet the climate alarmists reject it out of hand.  There is no objectivity in climate science today. Scientists start with a preconceived outcome and when their research doesn't support it, they tweak the research until it does. There have been too many cases of this for me to believe that humans are the primary cause of climate change.

Meanwhile, unreported by the major media, antarctic sea ice hit the highest level ever recorded back in September last year.   http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamestaylor/2012/09/19/antarctic-sea-ice-sets-another-record/   Also, the actual recorded temperature increase is less than half of the projected increase over the past 20 years and is now BELOW the lowest predicted level of all 44 IPCC climate change models.  See graph here. http://www.drroyspencer.com/wp-content/uploads/CMIP5-global-LT-vs-UAH-and-RSS.png     If you want to follow the AGW debate, here's a good site to see the news from both sides. http://climatedebatedaily.com/   Two other good sites... http://www.drroyspencer.com/ http://wattsupwiththat.com/   Here is the skeptic's theory that seems to hold the most water so far.   Cosmic rays help create clouds in the lower (below 2 miles) atmosphere.  More cloud cover over several years = global cooling. During periods of high solar activity, the solar wind blocks cosmic rays from reaching earth. Therefore, less clouds and hotter weather. There is a very high correlation (0.92) between solar irradience and low level cloud formation. Obviously, other factors are at work, but the IPCC completely discounts solar irradience as a factor, while at the same time stating that it is not completely understood.

I shove a holster between the seat and the center console at the front right side of the seat. It holds the firearm in place and accessible. It's not as well concealed as I would like. I toss an old t-shirt over it when I'm not in the car. I also have a long-hair wool seat cover that I sometimes stick it under. Completely invisible and I doubt if anyone would look under a seat cover if they broke into the car. It's more accessible than my hip carry position. Everything is a compromise between concealment and readiness.

What's a three-way lock?

That's a bit of why I posted this here. I'm not in law enforcement and 20/20 hindsight is easy.  Still, Once the hijacked guy reported that he had been hijacked by the bombers, I'd have responded with every vehicle in the city.   I'd have multiple helicopters with thermal imaging in the greater Boston area on alert status, just like the US Air Force keeps its fighter and bomber crews.  A helicopter over  in the car chase and gun battle could have tracked the guy when he got away from the scene.   I appreciate the input. Mostly, I'm upset because many of my friends were there and one friend was injured... minor injury thankfully.

My point about the dogs is that according to reports, there were bomb sniffing dogs at the start. It would seem pretty simple to bring them to the finish and patrol the stands and major crowd areas. I don't see any indication that was done. I question why dogs were present at the start and not at the finish.

I've puzzled over this all week. Maybe someone in law enforcement can put a different perspective on this for me, which is why I'm posting this here. All the press conferences and news channels are praising law enforcement for catching these bombers, but my take is that they have barely risen to a D grade.  What's your perspective?   Intel from Isreal in 2011 to check out the older brother... didn't help or put him him on a watch list.  Did not catch bombers before the event, in spite of multiple purchases of suspicious IED material. Did not catch before blast with bomb sniffing dogs. Did not catch after blast. Only ID'd the suspects AFTER the guy who lost both legs came out of surgery and gave a definitive description of bomber #2. One silver lining: They did ID suspect number #1 after getting the eye-witness report above, so I give them a A on this. Did not catch the bombers immediately after the event. They were able to escape. Trail went cold. Put pictures on TV. This would have been the end had these two bombers had any Plan B.   Then, for some inexplicable bone-head reasons, they 1) kill a cop sitting in a car 2) carjack a guy to get money from an ATM, tell the guy they're the bombers, and then LET HIM GO. In the ensuing car chase, bomber #2 gets away IN SPITE OF A THOUSAND LEOs in the area. Finally, a citizen reports seeing blood and a man in his boat. He calls 911. Bomber #2 is apparently too injured to run away this time, so they catch him. Barney Fife could have caught the guy once he was ID'd in the boat.   Am I being too hard on law enforcement? It looks like they just got lucky to me.

I have a Bully Dog computer chip on my 2001 Dodge Cummins diesel. The HP boost in towing is very noticeable. Installation is a lot less labor intensive than what you're considering. I'd ask around in some truck forums and see what others are doing with the circa-2000 Ford 4.6 V8. You might get some good ideas.

The Springfield XD-40 sub compact might be worth a look. It comes with a 10 and a 13 round mags.  I have small hands and it feels a lot better than a Gen 1 - Gen 3 Glock. The XD-40 is a little to thick and heavy for my hands, too, but I could carry it in a pinch. It's more of a dresser gun for me. The older Glocks have a grip angle and thickness that is just too uncomfortable for my hands.

Fellow Nashvillian and former Texan here. Welcome to TGO and Tennessee.

I cannot find a definite of cartilage as in at a gunshow, or the cartilage thereof. It would seem to mean as a result of any contact made at a gunshow, since cartilage is a connective tissue. If the trade takes place as result of a discussion at a gun show, it would be connected.   That's my take. I'm not a lawyer.

My LA Police Gear 3-day backpack ($30) arrived today. In coyote tan, it screams tactical. The zippers were sticky, but I rubbed them with a bar of soap and they seem okay now. I need to rig a way to carry a water bottle on the outside, but otherwise, it's a great backpack.

It's not just the distance. It's the traffic. Sometimes, from 5PM to 6:30PM, traffic is a crawl westbound from the I-440/I-40 intersection for the next couple of miles. I've seen it backed up on I-440 westbound for an additional two miles. There's really no way to get from east Nashville to Dickson/Pegram/Kingston Springs without going through that bottleneck. I drive that stretch in the opposite direction every Thursday and it's backed up about half the time.   When it rains, people here forget how to drive. If it rains, expect a traffic jam.

I'm not an expert. Here's my experience. I have Comcast in Nashville (not the triple play). I bought the Motorola Surfboard SGB6580 from Best Buy for about $130 a year ago when my router went out. It works fine in the house and the signal will reach my RV roughly 130 feet away and through two non-brick walls, but the signal is weak.  It works fine on my deck about 50 feet away.  This modem will not work if you have Comcast phone service. If you get Comcast's phone service too you'll have to rent their proprietary modem for $7/month.    FWIW: I just checked my broadband speed at speedtest.net. It's 25.28 Mbps with the laptop about 25 feet away through one interior wall.

I don't understand the fascination with Facebook either. When the stock first came out, I did the math and figured it was worth about $7/share. Based on potential... maybe $10-$15. It came out at $40, dropped below $20. I just looked it up and it's trading for $26. Go figure...  It's still way overpriced.

First, thank you and your husband for your service to our country.  You seem to be on the right track as far as your approach is concerned. You might want to consider the following points.   How you carry affects what you can conceal and carry. Your primary options are IWB over the hip pocket, side of hip, or appendix. Pocket carry might work with baggy shorts in summer. The flashbang bra would work for a really lightweight gun in the summer.  You might be surprised at what carry methods work and don't work. It's very individual.  The right holster is incredibly important to comfort.   The thickness of a handgun is a big factor in comfort and concealment for us smaller people.  Some thin guns you could consider include the Taurus 709 Slim, Sig P238, Kahr PM9, and Glock 36.   There's no need to limit yourself to one carry weapon. I have four. In winter, I carry a Taurus 709 or Glock 26 OWB over the right hip. A light jacket or sweatshirt provides adequate concealment. In summer, I carry a Kahr PM9 or Kel Tec P3-AT (380 caliber) in a super thin pocket holster.  The super tiny guns (Kel Tec P3AT, Ruger LCP, etc) aren't fun to shoot, but they are easy to conceal and carry when it's really hard to carry a medium sized gun. I'd rather have a tiny .380 in my pocket than a 9mm in a drawer at home.   Finally, there's no need to find the "perfect" gun or keep it if you use it for a while an find out that it's just not for you. TGO has a classified section to buy/sell/trade firearms. Provided that you don't overpay when you buy a new gun, you can probably resell it for only a small financial loss and then buy another if you find that it doesn't suit your needs.   My wife and I are retired Air Force and live about 25 minutes from Fairview. We have a private range near our home. You and your husband are welcome to fire anything I own.

I found a free (open source) software program that will let you download an entire website to read offline. It's called WinHTTrack Website Copier.  I tried downloading a wiki book with no success so far. I get a "forbidden" message, but maybe that's unique to wiki books.   I'll try another website. I'm using the Linux version, but it should work the same as the Windows version.  (Once Windows 8 came out, I gave up on Windows. I use Linux Mint or Ubuntu for almost everything now.)   It would be great find a list of downloadable survival books. I found the following list at PreppersNetwork.  http://kentucky.preppersnetwork.com/2009/09/free-survival-ebooks.html   Surely, someone has already compiled a list of downloadable books.  If you find one or more lists, please post the link here.  Thanks. :wave:

  BoredBoredBored.... where are the Zombie attacks? And what's with the turf battles? They have the whole world to chose from! They could send out a scout party and find a better place, but no. They decide to stay and fight over who gets TO LIVE IN A PRISON???  Off the top of my head, I can think of several better places to live.   An island off the coast. A Carnival cruise ship docked in a beautiful lagoon. Key West. Merritt Island.     But no, we have to fight some crazy one-eyed guy.    Somebody let me know when the Zombies become part of the plot again.

In 50 years of owning guns, I've never been into the black gun mystique so I don't know much about them, but I'm thinking when the shortage runs down I might buy an AR or a mini 14. It seems that whenever I check out AR-type guns on forums, I'm always reading about problems. I want a no hassle gun.   Which is best?   Here's my criteria.   Short or collapsible stock:  Since I can get an aftermarket stock for the mini 14. That would seem to be a tie. A folding stock is no good for me... my arms are too short.   Primary uses:  I live in a rural area. This would be my primary weapon to carry when responding to a "What's that noise?" activity outside or when a show of force might be appropriate in responding to a potential break in. (That happens about twice a year where I live.) It would also be my primary weapon to shoot that darn coyote, but that's really unlikely since the coyotes seem to only stay in this area a day or so all year. A 3x or 4x scope would be all I'd need for that. The field of vision here is only a little more than 100 meters.   It would also be my SHTF long gun.   I don't hunt. I'm not much of a target shooter, so I'll probably only put a few rounds through it to sight it in and make sure it fires.

I'd call. It's probably just sitting in a stack of papers on someone's desk. They could probably find in and process it in minutes.   Mine was taking weeks and I chanced to meet someone who worked in that office. I asked her to check it for me and my renewal arrived in less than a week.

A different car stopped at my gate last night about dusk and set off the gate alarm. It stopped for a minute and then went up the road. After it was out of sight, I followed it. The guy stopped a couple miles up the road at a remote intersection. I passed him and turned around to get another look and a white late model full size 4-door Chevy pickup pulled up. The guy got out of the car and handed the guy in the pickup something through the window. I stopped in the middle of the road and took a picture. Both vehicles sped away when they saw me. The car was a mid-2000 Ford Crown Victoria, in some really light color... gold, silver, maybe? It wasn't white, because the pickup was white and they looked different in the dusk. It could have been a Mercury Grand Marquis... The side profile and tail lights are similar. I go the tag number of the car... I called a friend who's a private investigator and he told me to call vice. I called last night and got no answer, so I'm trying again this morning. Any advice on how to proceed?

  There's a difference between modulation and flashing. Here's the applicable law.   This Federal law supersedes all state laws and makes motorcycle headlight modulators legal in all 50 states.  FMVSS 108 (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards) (49 CFR Part 571.108 S7.9.4) allows motorcycle headlight modulation systems all 50 states provided they comply with the standards set forth in this section.   Title 49 USC 30103 (b1) (US Codes) prohibits any state from forbidding a system that conforms to FMVSS 108 (see copy below).  Here is a web page with all of Part 571 and all of the subsections; they've now broken it up by section to make it easier to read.  The Legal Information Institute at Cornell University also has a nice website where you can read the various sections of the entire Title 49 USC. Code of Federal Regulations Title 49, Volume 5, Parts 400 to 999 Revised as of October 1, 2000 From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access [CITE: 49CFR571.108] [Page 236-307] TITLE 49 TRANSPORTATION CHAPTER V NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION  PART 571 FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARDS Subpart B--Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards Sec. 571.108 Standard No. 108; Lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment. S7.9.4 Motorcycle headlamp modulation system. S7.9.4.1 A headlamp on a motorcycle may be wired to modulate either the upper beam or the lower beam from its maximum intensity to a lesser intensity, provided that: (a) The rate of modulation shall be 240 <plus-minus> 40 cycles per minute. ( B) The headlamp shall be operated at maximum power for 50 to 70 percent of each cycle. (c) The lowest intensity at any test point shall be not less than 17 percent of the maximum intensity measured at the same point. (d) The modulator switch shall be wired in the power lead of the beam filament being modulated and not in the ground side of the circuit. (e) Means shall be provided so that both the lower beam and upper beam remain operable in the event of a modulator failure. (f) The system shall include a sensor mounted with the axis of its sensing element perpendicular to a horizontal plane. Headlamp modulation shall cease whenever the level of light emitted by a tungsten filament light operating at 3000 deg. Kelvin is either less than 270 lux (25 foot-candles) of direct light for upward pointing sensors or less than 60 lux (5.6 foot-candles) of reflected light for downward pointing sensors. The light is measured by a silicon cell type light meter that is located at the sensor and pointing in the same direction as the sensor. A Kodak Gray Card (Kodak R-27) is placed at ground level to simulate the road surface in testing downward pointing sensors. (g) When tested in accordance with the test profile shown in Figure 9, the voltage drop across the modulator when the lamp is on at all test conditions for 12 volt systems and 6 volt systems shall not be greater than .45 volt. The modulator shall meet all the provisions of the standard after completion of the test profile shown in Figure 9. (h) Means shall be provided so that both the lower and upper beam function at design voltage when the headlamp control switch is in either the lower or upper beam position when the modulator is off. S7.9.4.2(a) Each motorcycle headlamp modulator not intended as original equipment, or its container, shall be labeled with the maximum wattage, and the minimum wattage appropriate for its use. Additionally, each such modulator shall comply with S7.9.4.1 (a) through (g) when connected to a headlamp of the maximum rated power and a headlamp of the minimum rated power, and shall provide means so that the modulated beam functions at design voltage when the modulator is off. ( B) Instructions, with a diagram, shall be provided for mounting the light sensor including location on the motorcycle, distance above the road surface, and orientation with respect to the light.  

I'd like to add a headlight modulator on my bike that flickers my headlight. You almost never see bikes with these in Tennessee. Where can I get it done?  I might just do it myself with a kit.   When I took a motorcycle safety course in 1971, one thing stuck in my mind. The instructor said, "Pretend you are invisible."  It's good advice.

If you must go with an electric shaver, try a Remington wet/dry double foil screen. You can pick up a refurbished one on eBay for $15-$30. You'll have to get a women's model for this price, but they are EXACTLY the same as the men's models, but different colors. The model numbers are WDF-3000, WDF-3500, WDF-4800, etc.  I think my most recent one is the WDF-5500 in sort of an ice blue color. It's literally cheaper to buy this refurb razor at $24 than to buy a new foil and blade replacement. You'll need to go online and learn how to shave with a wet razor, but a wet shave with the right soap is the best electric shave I've had.   That said... and this is generalizing, I know... but most men don't have a clue about how to shave.   I go to the YMCA a lot and occasionally there are guys shaving in the locker rooms. I AM AMAZED at their lack of technique! These guys need to go to a place like Badger and Blade and watch their tutorials to learn how to shave.   I recommend that you really should try an old timey double edge razor and the right soap/oil for your face. I use a Merkur Progress double edge razor ($56 on eBay) and Personna Platinum (red box) blades (50 for $8.99 on eBay).  I've tried the best British soaps and Boar bristle brushes, but I no longer use them.    I get the very best shave this way.   Wet face with warm water. Apply a light layer of almond oil like you'd apply after shave. (You can buy special shaving oils if you like... they might be better for an oil-only shave, but I prefer oil + a special soap. Other shaving oils include jojoba, grapeseed, vitamin E. Castor oil is also used, but only in blends; it's too thick by itself.)   After applying the oil, wet face with warm water again. Rub your face with a bar of special soap (described later). It won't form a lather like you're accustomed to with a shaving gel. It will just get soapy. Shave VERY lightly, going in the direction of the grain. If you have a light beard, you're done. For heavier beards, rinse, apply another light layer of soap and shave going at right angles to the grain. Once you get good at this, you can do a final shave against the grain, but it really isn't necessary.   For soap, I prefer Tea Tree Oil soap. Whole Foods Market sells the fancy oil-based soaps. You can also find soaps that have oil in them at flea markets. I've tried Bay Rum and other scented soaps, Eucalyptus, Peppermint, Orange, etc. I buy my soap from a flea market vendor who specializes in home made soaps. ($5/bar... lasts about six months to a year.)

  If you go with the Kel Tec or the Sccy, there's a forum to discuss all things Kel Tec called KTOG. Since the SCCY is a clone of the Kel Tec P11, most of the mods for the P11 should work on the CPX-2.   I have no experience with any of these guns. I've owned two Kel Tec P11s, which the CPX-2 copied. They sometimes require a little tinkering to get right, but they have a great warranty and parts are cheap.  I think some/most parts are interchangeable. These lightweight guns sometimes have FTE problems. KTOG forum explains how to fix it.     If you want a manual safety, I carry the Taurus 709 and like it a lot. It's thin and relatively lightweight. The downside is that its 7+1, just like the PF9.