Evolution vs Firearms

I've often thought that I've heard just about every anti-gun argument there is. In truth, there's not much new coming from the oppressors of freedom. Or so I thought. Then I came across a web site (mis)titled "Gun Control: A Rational Approach." The site is the work of David Roper, Professor of Physics at Virginia Tech. In his writing, Dr. Roper pontificates about human evolution.

In ~200,000 of human evolution, guns have been available for humans to kill each other for only ~700 years and the extremely high killability of guns has only existed for ~115 years. That is not enough time for physical (including emotional) evolution to cause humans to use guns in such a way as to insure their survival.

The professor's pablum provides a unique view of history and science in an attempt to support the professor's anti-gun argument. Taking his conclusion further, we should consider that automobiles have been around for only about 344 years. Death by automobile coincidently also has only existed for about 115 years. So by the good professor's logic, humans are not anywhere near evolved enough to drive cars responsibly.

I wonder how the author feels about the common suggestion to treat guns like cars.

Come to think of it, Dr. Roper is probably not a fan of the flush toilet either. Humans have had less time to evolve to its use than we have with guns.

IDPA BUG Match

The first match of the year for me was the annual IDPA BUG match held at Rivanna. I've had lots of range time recently, but this was the first competition opportunity since November. Over the past few weeks I've put about 500 rounds through a new gun and was excited to put that practice time to test in a match.

In order to accommodate shooters who had yet to acquire holsters or multiple magazine carriers for the new IDPA division, all stages had table or low ready starts, and any magazines were staged on tables or barrels. All guns and magazines were loaded with just six rounds per IDPA rules.

The first stage my squad shot had the shooter seated at a table, facing a falling steel popper that activated two drop turners, which fell at essentially the same time. You had to be quick to put two shots on one, and then catch the other on its second exposure. I posted a video of the movers in action here. It was quite the warmup to get the match started! I've often lamented that I wasn't able to shoot some stage twice, and this time we did. Each shooter ran the stage twice and the times were added.

Next up was a stage requiring SHO and WHO shots only. The first string was shot left hand only around the left side of the barricade, and the second using the right hand only from the right side. If anything, this stage showed me I need to work more on shooting single handed with the small gun.

For the next stage we started with the loaded gun and extra magazine on a barrel. Picking up the gun, we engaged three targets in tactical sequence, did a reload on the clock, and reengaged the targets with two head shots each.

The final stage was a field course, with magazines set out on a couple of barrels. At the start, you engaged three targets while backing up. Grabbing a fresh mag from a barrel, the next three targets were engaged through a small port in a wall. The center target of that array was very low to the ground and close to the wall; it made for a stretch to get gun up an over to make the shot. Moving to the last position, another reload and three more targets from cover completed the course of fire.

This was the first time I'd shot a BUG match. I had a great time despite it turning into a longer than expected day. The stage with the popper and drop turners created a backlog of shooters due to the time required to reset (twice for each shooter.) However, that time was spent socializing with other shooters, and the weather was surprisingly pleasant for January. I was mostly pleased with how I shot, using the small, and new-to-me gun. I won't be shooting it every match, but I expect I'll break it out from time to time in future matches as it is surprisingly fun to shoot.

Blue & Gray Purchased By Adventure Brewing

The rumors of an impending sale have been going around since a sales announcement for an unnamed brewery "located 1 mile from a very historic downtown in central Virginia" was seen on Craigslist a few weeks ago. I suspected Blue & Gray was the brewery being offered but had no confirmation, until now. Fredericksburg.com reported on Friday that Adventure Brewing has purchased Blue & Gray Brewing.

According to the report, the Adventure Brewing tasting room in Stafford will remain open, while the Blue & Gray facility will become Adventure’s production brewery. Some of Blue & Gray's beers will continue to be produced by Adventure.

This is exciting news for the craft beer scene in the Fredericksburg area. Congratulations to Adventure owners Tim Bornholtz, Stan Johnson and John Viarella on their success. And a big thank you goes out to Blue & Gray founder Jeff Fitzpatrick for his pioneering efforts with craft beer in Fredericksburg. His brewery, founded in 2002, was the first in the Fredericksburg area. Best wishes in your future endeavors Jeff!

See "Adventure Brewing purchases Blue & Gray Brewing" for more information on this exciting news.

Five O'Clock Friday: Don't Be This Cat

This early Felix the Cat cartoon serves to remind us that cartoons were not always for kids, and often had a darker, but still humorous side. Titled Woos Whoopee, this Felix adventure tells the tale of a wild night of drinking in a speakeasy, followed by an interesting hallucinogenic walk home.

Enjoy the weekend. Avoid the dragons.

H/T to Brookston Beer Bulletin for digging this up this classic.

Loser-in-Chief

The 10 US sailors taken hostage have been released, and no doubt the story will fade from view in a day or two. Prior to their release, the Loser-in-Chief gave his last discourse on how much he despises the United States of America State of the Union speech. Notably absent was mention of the nine men and one woman taken by the Iranians. Former Navy SEAL Matthew Bracken penned a very interesting comment over at American Thinker...

I rarely pull out my dusty old trident, but in this case, here goes. I was a Navy SEAL officer in the 1980s, and this kind of operation (transiting small boats in foreign waters) was our bread and butter. Today, these boats both not only had radar, but multiple GPS devices, including chart plotters that place your boat’s icon right on the chart. The claim by Iran that the USN boats “strayed into Iranian waters” is complete bull$#it.

For an open-water transit between nations, the course is studied and planned in advance by the leaders of the Riverine Squadron, with specific attention given to staying wide and clear of any hostile nation’s claimed territorial waters. The boats are given a complete mechanical check before departure, and they have sufficient fuel to accomplish their mission plus extra. If, for some unexplainable and rare circumstance one boat broke down, the other would tow it, that’s why two boats go on these trips and not one! It’s called “self-rescue” and it’s SOP.

Read the rest here... 

Bracken has real world experience and I think valuable insight, and his entire post is worth a read.

"Surveys show..."  Heh.

Red Dragon Brewery Opening Planned For Summer

Fredericksburg will soon have another craft brewery. Red Dragon Brewery was granted a special use permit by the City Council on Tuesday.

A special use permit was required as the planned location is zoned for commercial/transitional office, which does not allow for a brewery. Most speakers at the hearing spoke in favor of the brewery, but one Council member voted in the negative. The permit approval places restrictions on the hours of operation and prohibits outdoor service.

Brewery owners Thomas Evans and Danial Baker plan an English-style pub at the location on Princess Anne Street. A July 2016 opening is anticipated.

Congratulations to Red Dragon on the progress so far. I look forward to visiting this Summer.

Future Home.
Photo from brewery's Facebook page.

You can follow the brewery progress on the Red Dragon Brewery Facebook page.

Blog Linkage Updates

I've been doing some cleanup on the links tabs at the top of the Musings. There are now just two link tabs, each with long lists of interesting links. I've also removed numerous links to blogs that are sadly no longer active. If a blog hasn't been updated in over two years, I won't waste your time directing you to it. Unfortunately there were a lot of dead links among the beer blogs especially.

The Craft Beer & Food tab focuses on just that. There's a subsection for local places to eat and drink good beer, a larger Virginia-related section, and a longer general beer blog listing. Most of the recent updates to this tab have been in the list of Virginia breweries.

The Shooting, Freedom & Faith tab has lots of interesting links for further reading on those subjects. Again, the first subsection has links to local clubs and matches. There's also a large general list of shooting and freedom-related links, followed by some specific sections devoted to politics and faith.

I've been neglectful in pointing out new additions to the links as I add them, and plan to get back to that going forward. Here are a few links that have been added in recent weeks.

Midwestern Rebel
"Sharp words, ideas and commentary on life politics, family and overall preparedness"

Peace or Freedom
"Just your average GI pissed off at watching the Left destroy the country he's sworn to protect."

The Last Tradition
"A blog of Politics, News, Crime, and Culture from a Conservative POV"

If you write a blog that might be of interest to readers of these Musings and wish to add reciprocal links, let me know and we'll make that happen.

Cheers!

A Brewery In Your Gut

Apparently this really happens...

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Drunken-driving charges against an upstate New York woman have been dismissed based on an unusual defense: Her body is a brewery.

The woman was arrested while driving with a blood-alcohol level more than four times the legal limit. She then discovered she has a rare condition called "auto-brewery syndrome," in which her digestive system converts ordinary food into alcohol, her lawyer Joseph Marusak said in interviews this week.

A town judge in the Buffalo suburb of Hamburg dismissed the drunken-driving charges this month after Marusak presented a doctor's research showing the woman had the previously undiagnosed condition in which high levels of yeast in her intestines fermented high-carbohydrate foods into alcohol.

In tests done to prove her case, the woman achieved a blood alcohol level of .36, without consuming any alcohol.

All possible jokes aside, this doesn't sound like a fun way to live.

See "Woman Beats Dui Rap With Claim Her Body Brews Alcohol" for more on this rare, but not unheard of condition.