Monthly Archives: December 2011

New Games: Munchkin Zombies, Zombie Fluxx

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Last night we played some new games.  Munchkin Zombies and Zombie Fluxx.  I have played Munchkin Zombies, with friends, in the past and it was a blast.  All of them are gamers, though, and my two partners for these games were not.

I have a soft spot for zombies.  Those lovingly dumb and scary zombies never cease to amuse me.  Games, TV, Movies, if they have zombies in them, I am interested.

Both of these games were great fun.  Having played the original Munchkin with my gamer friends, and enjoying it, Munchkin Zombies was pretty simple to learn and play.  Liking the Munchkin system, adding zombies was a total plus.

My partners tonight, who had never played Munchkin before and never played role-playing games, the experience was quite different.  The play seemed restricted, and I found myself explaining things that would be familiar to a role-playing gamer.  Also I noticed that this frustrated my non-gaming partners a lot.  They got the hang of it by the second game but both said the game made them angry.  That seems fair, Munchkin really does a great job at mocking role-playing games so it seems fair that the humer is lost with non-gamers. Continue reading →

Tapco Intrafuse 10/22 Stock Swap

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My Birthday on Thursday was a good one.  I headed up to Cabelas, after work, to retrieve my brother-in-law.  He was going to be staying with us for a few days.  Of course, while I was there I could not help browsing around.  Picked up a shirt, a Tapco Intrafuse Stock, and a Tactical Solutions extended Mag release for my Ruger 10/22.  This gun was the second gun I purchased and I have had it for about 15 years.  It is a fantastic shooter and tons of fun but it was feeling a bit stale.

I spent the night rooting his Kindle Fire and installing the new parts on the 10/22.  I had been eyeballing one of these kits for a while and with some Holiday money burning a hole in my pocket this seemed like a great time to do it.  The Tapco kits get really good reviews and Cabelas had it for like $99.

Here is what the Ruger 10/22 looked like before I started.

 

I should have been taking pictures during the process but there are enough installation videos on youtube to go around.  It was really easy to install, almost too easy.  I think it took about an hour.  No modifications are required to the gun.  All the factory sights stay on, just the old stock comes off.  Even the extended mag release was really easy.  Remove one pin, take out the old one and insert the new one.  That is it.  The best part of this stock swap is the “tacticool” look.  The stock has two picatinny rails for a bipod, lights, optics, what ever furniture your heart desires.

I still need to get a few more things like a new picatinny base for the factory scope location and some new rings for the buckmaster I had mounted on it.  I might change optics but the Buckmaster would shoot 2″ groups at 100yds so I am hesitant to replace it.

This was a very easy and fun project.  I would highly recommend that anyone with an old 10/22 lying around who wants to dress it up a bit, give this kit a shot.  It really is top notch.  I will report a bit more once I get the scope mounted and get it out to the range for a bit.

Green Washing? You Decide

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It looks (from the barricades) like the work is being done by Miron Construction from their website it seems that they have done a few LEED and Green projects in the area.

A small amount of detective work turned up an article stating that these are supposed to be 4kw generators and will be placed facing Silver Spring Drive.  They are on that side of the building and some more work needs to be done to determine the make and model of these turbines.  Frankly I have never seen vertical turbines like these before.  So more research turned up information about the shape of the turbines.

Gorlov Helical Turbine – Designed in a helical configuration, this type of turbine came up in the beginning of the 21st century to solve the issues faced by a Darrius turbine. These are self-starting and offer better reliability (Wind Turbine Zone, 2011).

This looks very similar to the design of the ones I found on the ground outside the building.

A bit more searching around lead to a company called QuietRevolution that makes vertical turbines that look very similar to this Gorlov design.   They have a model called the qr5 that is specified peak power at 16m/s is: 8.5kW aerodynamic; 7.0kW DC; 6.5kW grid.  This could be our model and manufacturer.

Check them out here.  QuietRevolution qr5.

I plan on snapping some more pictures and adding them when they are done with the installation.

The larger question for me at least is whether this installation is hypocritical. Two 4kw wind generators are not going to make a difference.  They are a token gift to the power gods.  If a computer can draw a maximum of 400w with a normal power supply each of these guys could offset 40 computers at idle.  Does it make a difference in reality maybe not.  Will my company promote the heck out of the fact that they have two wind generators on the building you bet.  The expenditure is worth it for the green credit right now.

Greenwashing? What do you all think?

Update 1/3/11:  They are up on the roof.  I tried to snap a photo today while driving home but it did not work too well.  I will snap one tomorrow on the way in.  They look nice but the comments from people have been interesting.  Egg beaters or kitchen mixers have been popular descriptions for what they look like.  I wonder if my employer will be publishing any information as to their actual output.

Cleaning Confusion – Organizational Issues

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Clean Desk

I finally got around to cleaning up my desk a bit.  It tends to be a dumping zone for just about everything I happen to be carrying when I reach the end of my house.  I spent some time cleaning it up, dusting and reorganizing all of the cables.  The issue that I have is even when I clean there is always a small pile of things that just don’t seem to have a home.  They sit there and breed, when I am not watching them, and spread until they have completed their domination of my workspace.

Rebel Items

Here is a closeup of the rebel items staged for breeding and the ultimate takeover.  I need to develop a strategy for dealing with these items.  I have tried moving them to another place, in their current form but then they breed there.  I have tried to disperse them in smaller configurations but like mold that only seems to hasten their growth.  I have even tried to place them in a box, hidden away but then I spend 30 minutes looking for one of the items.

There does not seem to be a suitable method for dealing with this clutter.  I am open to any suggestions the internets may provide.  I need to curtail these things before they take over my desk again.

Hand Written Thank You Notes

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I am not sure how many people still write thank you notes for gifts much less write them by hand any more?  I had always never felt much of a desire to write them or receive them.  That is until I became fascinated with fountain pens and handwriting.  I am pretty sure that this desire comes from my determination and fascination to do things “old ways”.

This fountain pen is a Pilot Varsity disposable pen that I borrowed from a friend, who also happens to have a fetish for fountain pens.  His fetish is much more expensive than mine at this point.  I have yet to actually purchase one of my own but I have narrowed the options a bit and am looking forward to taking a trip to the pen shop.  Yes, we actually still have a pen shop in this city.  It will be a fun day.  I have a post in the works on some of the pens I am looking at and will finish it shortly.

I liken my fascination to these pens to other things in my life that require a ritual.  Making coffee, or tea, in my house is always whole bean and loose leaf.  Both require a ritual of preparation that enhances the pleasure for me.  I get the sensations of grinding the beans, and smelling them, not to mention a far superior cup of coffee or tea.  Another similarity is preparing food, most meals here are lovingly crafted from whole ingredients, again requiring preparation.

I think that the act of taking out paper, inking a pen, and then writing, slowly because the words take much longer to form this way than typing, completes the act.  It provides sensations that are not present with a computer which spits out perfect type every time.  These thank you letters are unique, crafted by me solely for the recipient.  This lets them know that I really appreciated their gift with a little bit of my time and creativity.

Everyone should try sending a handwritten letter or note to someone.  It will really brighten their day and yours by writing it.

Gander Mountain – Glad I don’t work the gun counter.

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Today I went with my Wife to pick up her new Ruger LCP.  Here is an account of what I saw to the best of my recollections.  Names have not been changed because those named have done nothing wrong.

Gander was an absolute mess, especially the gun counter.  There was easily 10 people waiting and only two guys working.  It was not looking good at this point.  We needed some other stuff like .380 ammo and some cleaning patches for the guns so I planted the Wife in line while I went shopping.  When I got back it was only another 10 minutes or so till a nice gentleman named Clayton helped us out.  He seemed a bit flustered but worked quickly processing the pickup of the new handgun.

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CCW First Impressions – Range Day

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Today, I exercised my rights to carry concealed for the first time.  This was a big step in my mind.  There are a lot of legal and safety ramifications of carrying a loaded firearm in public.  I went to three places while carrying today and all of them went well and felt comfortable.

First we went to Gander Mountain so the Wife could pick up her new Ruger LCP 380.  Gander was a mess, read more about it here.  The whole time I was out and about, I was looking for signs prohibiting concealed carry.  I did not see any at Gander, but they do have have a sign that says all firearms and bows need to be checked at the front desk.  Reading further it states that this does not apply to people legally carrying open or concealed.  That meant I was good to go.

I did have a bit of a snag getting out of the truck in the parking lot here,  The magazine popped out of my FN.  I had read about this being a problem with the ambidextrous magazine release and the crossbreed holster.  I need to stop leaning so hard against the release button.  The crossbreed was really comfortable walking around though.  I can tell it is starting to break in nicely now.

Marlin Guide Gun 1895GBL .45-70 Government

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I hate Christmas

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Photo :http://randomreality.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2007/12/14/3408466.html

For the past several years I have felt a very large dislike (hatred) for the Christmas Holidays.  It started when the stores started putting Christmas crap up earlier and earlier.  Add to that Christmas music, which is the most abhorrent music ever.  It is an aural assault and every crappy “music star” has to record their own version of it to pollute the radio waves with.

On top of all of this I work for a major retailer so I feel terrible that I contribute to this commercialisation of overconsumption.  I don’t actually produce any of the sales garbage but I do support all of the designers and machinery that put it into motion.  I enjoy the giving and receiving of gifts as much as the next person but I really enjoy home made gifts or time spent more than someone buying me something.  With one exception, buying me some beer or booze is acceptable year round and it will be greatly enjoyed.

 

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Concealed Carry Permit – In Use

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After the legislation finally moved through the Wisconsin Government, I was very excited to finally obtain my concealed carry permit.  Responsible gun owners in Wisconsin were at the whim of a political process that was many years coming.  We watched anxiously as the bill that Dave Zien introduced was rangled and subjected to all sorts of policial games.  It was a totally insane process, causing the bill to be delayed and eventually vetoed by Jim Doyle.

A republican Governor, House and Senate finally produced an environment conducive to getting this legislation passed. Well it did pass and thousands of responsible gun owners were granted the right to carry a weapon for their own protection and safety.  I mailed my permit anxiously on the first day.  About 3 weeks later I got my permit in the mail.  Now, we are 3 months into concealed carry in Wisconsin and there have been no shoot-outs, no road rage turned into Gun battles.

Here is my permit.  I was very excited to finally get this.  I had a few questions to answer before I could actually put this into use.  While I had qualified for this permit based on the Hunter Safety training that I had taken over 20 years ago, I did not have any training that actually applied to carrying a concealed weapon.

My Wife, has not taken Hunter Safety so she needed to take a class.  We signed up for a course offered by our local police department.  They are still offering this class. Register for it here.

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