Suck it, Bloomberg! is a post from: Guns, Cars, and Tech. If you see this posted elsewhere, please drop me a line.

Headline: “Nashville” production team may need incentives to stay in Nashville

Actual story: The taxpayers of Tennessee paid 32% of the production costs of a show that is on a major broadcast network, and now the network is upset that the state may only pay 25% of the production costs for season 2.

Your tax dollars at work.

Fun with headlines is a post from: Guns, Cars, and Tech. If you see this posted elsewhere, please drop me a line.

His wife cocked her head.

He started laughing in an evil way.

Yeah… Wizard and I were geeking out over a kitchen appliance.

And just in case you don’t know why:

You know you’re a geek when… is a post from: Guns, Cars, and Tech. If you see this posted elsewhere, please drop me a line.

I’m sure most of you will remember me talking about Linoge’s experiences with the US Firearms’ ZiP Gun (now with response post!).  Long story short, Linoge was able to reliably pull the trigger and operate the firing pin while the gun was out of battery.  This caused a couple rounds to go off while not in battery (.22 ammo in notorious for not going into battery properly in a semi-auto).  The President of the company apparently feels that 1. it’s impossible for a rimfire to detonate out of battery (evidence to the contrary), and 2. not having the trigger disconnected unless the gun is in battery is not a problem.

Well, shortly after that, the fine folks at guns.com reviewed the ZiP gun.  While they failed to have the out of battery experience that Linoge had, they too noticed that their firearm had this “interesting design feature.”  They also had a different malfunction.  Their particular T&E item would, randomly, but repeatably, fire 2 rounds per trigger pull!

I have a theory that it may have not gone into burst mode, but rather the trigger actually got pulled twice.  I have not handled this gun, but I could see this happening if the trigger reset is short.  Given the… umm… interesting ergonomics of this weapon, plus the fact that it can be fired before it’s fully back into battery could mean that a looser trigger pull could essentially bump fire it.  It’s a hair-brain theory, but I’m trying to give the manufacturer the benefit of the doubt.

I hadn’t really read or heard anything more about this quirky little gun until today, when I tripped over this forum post.  Someone bought a ZiP gun, took it to the range, and discovered that his 10 round 10/22 mags were so tight a fit that he needed pliers to remove them (the 25 round mags didn’t work, but that’s to be expected).  He reported multiple double shots, and at least one of them had the second round fire so dramatically out of battery that the case of the .22 did a rather good attempt on disintegrating.

So, it looks like he experienced *both* issues reported by the two previous reviews.  I’d say that this is pretty damning evidence that these things should best left on the shelf.

Please don’t get me wrong.  I admire this company for trying a rather radical new design.  I would love to say that I’m trying to figure out a way to explain to the wife why I need to add it to my collection.  Unfortunately, at this point, all signs point to this being a dangerous product.  The most alarming thing is that the company that makes it can’t say that they are not unaware of the issues, and does not seem interested in fixing what is clearly a defective design.

Gee… this seems to be a trend is a post from: Guns, Cars, and Tech. If you see this posted elsewhere, please drop me a line.

Once the DoD requested the 3d printed gun files be removed from the internet, a couple things happened.

I’m not above admitting that it is childish of me. I was told I couldn’t have this thing and suddenly I knew I had to make it. I see it with my kids all the time. Toys can sit in a corner collecting dust for ages, but the second it is in threat of being removed, they have renewed interest, at least for a few minutes.

Emphasis added.

Signal, inability to stop is a post from: Guns, Cars, and Tech. If you see this posted elsewhere, please drop me a line.

His reply?

He bought it–already converted–in 2004 and added the non-optic top rail and G36 magwell. He sold it in 2007 to fund the purchase of a transferrable Uzi.

Gun Porn: Converted to G36 Edition is a post from: Guns, Cars, and Tech. If you see this posted elsewhere, please drop me a line.

So, I’m guessing most of you have heard that someone has successfully managed to build a working firearm using nothing but 3D printed parts and a carpenter’s nail. Congress is freaking out over it. The designers have had it posted on the internet for a little while now. The BATFE has been asked about this several times and has posted a public letter stating that what these people are doing is legal as long as the person building the firearms is not selling them and is not a prohibited person (it is, in fact legal to build a firearm for personal use without background check, etc).

The original site (defcad.com) has since removed the the files due to a take down “request” from the Department of Defense Trade Controls. Notice that it’s not from the BATFE or another law enforcement agency that normally operates inside the United States. It’s the Department of Defense. The reasoning is that they are potentially distributing this information to foreign entities that may or may not be good guys.

Here’s why this should matter to non-gun people. The is the exact same law that the US government used in an attempt to suppress PGP and similar encryption programs in the 90′s. This is the government reminding us that it believes that it has not only the power, but the right to censor the internet if it thinks that the information might have military value.

Of course, the reality is the old saying “the internet sees censorship as damage and routes around it,” but this is very much a 1st amendment issue as well as a 2nd amendment issue. The internet has become very much integrated into our lives, and the idea that the constitution ends where our national borders end now being interpreted as the constitution ends where the internet begins.

Sometimes it’s about multiple rights is a post from: Guns, Cars, and Tech. If you see this posted elsewhere, please drop me a line.

“New Shooter Day” is now an ITAR-controlled event is a post from: Guns, Cars, and Tech. If you see this posted elsewhere, please drop me a line.

Actual headline: La Vergne works to replace faulty emergency system
Accurate headline: City leaders spend money on new cars, parades, while 911 calls go unanswered

Actual headline: Student posts principal’s mugshot online, gets suspended
Accurate headline: Student falsely accuses principal of DUI arrest, gets suspended

*Look, I really don’t give a crap what limits a private organization wants to put on membership, but if you find that organization’s stand on something so horrific that you have to run screaming to the nearest reporter, shouldn’t you stop being associated with that organization? Note also that they asked him if his thoughts had changed over the last five years and he deflected

Fun With Headlines: 5-9-2013 Edition is a post from: Guns, Cars, and Tech. If you see this posted elsewhere, please drop me a line.

What is that, you ask? It’s proof that there are no limits to the stupidity of mall ninjary.

That, my friends, is a “tire deflator” that is threaded 1/2-28, and is meant to attach to the muzzle of your AR. Because what everyone really needs on the end of a rifle is something that will poke holes.

Here’s what it looks like attached:

Please, if you buy one of these, just forget you ever had a rifle in the first place.

Just…Wow… is a post from: Guns, Cars, and Tech. If you see this posted elsewhere, please drop me a line.