Healthy Internet for Children & Kids

10 Best Tips to protect children on the Internet

2011-08-04T19:51:00.000-07:00

The kids now are heavy users of the Internet. Internet when it comes to using a computer is very smart. . It is. Parents and teachers, because you should know the dangers that can lead to misuse of the red-line predators, and for this reason. ,. , Cyber bullying, working with more criminals, especially - students learn how to avoid problems if you know you / Please consult with their child.
The key is good communication and online security parents. teachers, allied to the need to discuss various aspects of child safety in public, so they spend a lot of time on the Internet at home or school.
The following provides some items that have been proposed by BitDefender, parents and teachers, we can consider in monitoring the security of the youngest on the Web, start a dialogue with them about safe browsing can be used for:

Parental control programs and modules is an important part of maintaining security in the lowest line. Parents and. Teachers need to understand how this service, that the whole family at risk to protect the web. Above all, children are "spies" I feel confident that it should be.
Computers should be placed in public areas. For adults to watch sometimes, is the "eye" on it may be, for example, in the living room.
Children create an account if you have a social network like Facebook ®, parents and teachers should consider the extent to which the privacy of compiling a list of trusted partners and children can communicate seamlessly with each site.
Please note that those very dangers that can lead to physically stay with people they met through their children. Network, and, if necessary, parents and teachers should be attached to them for security reasons.
Teach children to stop the conversation that someone on the web incomoden -. a friend even - the fear of them, confused, threatened or offended, they make sure that you know to find an adult to talk to please you, and the end of the conversation time.
It will identify the email with spam and inappropriate content by children, they open these messages, will help to ensure that transfers do not know.
You have to ask parents and teachers, with the regularity of some of their students in the name of the search engines for information that is displayed on the blog about them, an active community and so on.
Knowing the cat terminology, and acronyms, emoticons, etc., will know exactly what they are talking with the children on the Internet.
Among the activities that require the use of Internet in the classroom, the commercial student must be carefully monitored.
The last time they saw or heard on the Internet, to tell the kids all students and that is not true. Not sure, can give misleading information about itself to the house that is easy to attract younger members.

Some filters to protect children online, we have been treated in the community, however, apply the 10 tips are basic base. On the Internet, is powerless to avoid the risk for this population.

Keeping Your Children Safe from Pedophiles: Online and Off

2011-07-30T02:03:00.000-07:00

When we hear a news piece about a young person fallen prey to an internet pedophile, most of us as parents have one two reactions: we either panic and get overprotective of our kids or we think ‘Not my child. He or she knows better.’ The truth is, however, that any child online is vulnerable to predators, unless they are supervised 100% of the time and unless extremely stringent safety controls are in place.

The reality I’ve seen time and time again, as the parent of a 13 year old, is kids who spend hours online chatting on facebook, adding friends of friends and even strangers to their list of people they ‘know and chat to. Many kids have alternate facebook accounts as well; one they use for family and a few friends and which they keep ‘clean,’ and one they use for their real conversations. If you’ve already let your child on facebook, or if they’re using a smart phone to text, then there are likely many people they chat with that you don’t know. The important question becomes, do they know them all personally?
A key element in protecting your kids from danger – online and off – is open communication. Yes, you can set limits to computer and phone time and you can set certain parameters such as friend approval by parents and parental control on websites available to kids, but equally important is a two-way road of trust and respect between parent/s and kid/s. It doesn’t matter whether a pedophile wants to stalk your child in person or online; their intention is the same and much of the strategy is similar: gain trust and then pounce, often after turning the child from the parents or at the very least causing some confusion and divided loyalty. Cults work much the same way, as do terrorist organizations when recruiting.
Nothing beats talking to and listening to your child when it comes to really knowing what’s going on in their lives and their heads. Not only is education about how pedophiles work and what to watch out for important, but also just listening and being interested in their daily lives will help you know if/when something is off. A new friendship, whether online or off, will reveal itself as far too intense or will cause your child’s behaviour to change for the worse if something is amiss (as they distance themselves from your disapproval). Hopefully you can cultivate a relationship with your kids such that they trust your judgement as they learn to have their own.

Shauna Arthurs writes about a diverse range of topics for her websites and those of her clients, from hurricane lamps to patio dining sets to exercise ball chairs.

http://goarticles.com/article/Keeping-Your-Children-Safe-from-Pedophiles-Online-and-Off/5061212/

How to block access to adult sites

2011-07-13T17:26:00.000-07:00

As good parents, we certainly do not want our children to access adult sites. But sometimes we are confused how to block adult sites are so inaccessible to our children.

Here we present how to block adult sites is easy and free.

PickBlock is free software that uses the revolutionary filters to block pornographic images to check whether the Web page or loaded from the device connected to the USB port.

The pictures taken will be replaced by a raster image like this:

A good solution to protect your children against pornography.

The software is available for the Windows operating system and weighs 2.4 MB

Keeping Kids Safe on MySpace

2011-07-12T07:24:00.001-07:00

There are a lot of teens who are using MySpace. Individuals over the age of 14 are eligible to use MySpace so as a result there are many teenagers who are members of the online MySpace community. These young members may appreciate the opportunity to express their creativity, express their feelings, meet new friends or stay in touch with their old friends but they should also be aware that there is the potential for danger on any Internet community. Making kids aware of this is helpful but there is also a certain degree of parental involvement which is necessary to keep kids safe when they are online.

Enforcing Household Internet Rules

Kids who use MySpace, or the Internet in general, should be restricted to a few household rules regarding Internet usage. Putting these rules in place can be very helpful in reducing the potential for danger. Some of the general Internet rules parents might consider are:

* Do not post full name and address online or even school location. This will help to prevent stalking which could become a problem if online predators know where your child lives or go to school.
* Restrict Internet usage to specific hours during the day. This can prevent overuse of the Internet.
* Do not agree to meet online friends in person without consent. Ideally the parents should also accompany their children on these meetings and should ensure the meetings take place in a well lit, public location such as a coffee shop as opposed to a secluded spot such as an individual’s home.
* Do not respond to threats or harassment. Kids should be taught to ignore this type of behavior and report these instances to parents or the Internet service provider instead of responding to the threats. Responding to threats or harassing messages can exacerbate a potentially harmful situation.
* Internet usage should be restricted to high traffic locations in the house. For example kids should only be allowed to use the Internet in computers which are in locations such as the family room or kitchen as opposed to allowing kids Internet access in their bedrooms.

Monitoring Online Interactions

Parents whose children have a MySpace account should monitor their child’s online interactions on a regular basis to ensure these interactions are not potentially harmful. Parents should be particularly concerned when children are interacting with older individuals who engage in activities which are not appropriate for the child’s age or when the children are interacting with those who might be a negative influence on the child.

Parents should also be aware that those their child is interacting with may not be honest about their identity. For example a parent may think it is harmless for their 15 year old daughter to engage in flirtatious banter with a 16 year old boy but there is the possibility that her online friend is really a much older individual. Parents should monitor these activities for suspicious behavior or suggestions of meeting in person.

Reviewing the Terms of Service

Finally, parents who want to keep their kid safe on MySpace should familiarize themselves with the online community as well as the terms of service and privacy policy. This will give the parents a better idea of the type of activities their children are engaging in and being exposed to as well as the safety precautions which are in place to help you protect your child.

Dangerouz pornography to child

2011-06-28T22:14:00.001-07:00

From a spanish-language portal: Danger to child pornography

Portal reported that the rate of children addicted to pornography caused by very high inernet. With more than 130 million Internet users in the world with no boundaries and can be accessed anywhere and anytime. Causes of pornography is very difficult to prevent.

Many of the associations that use the webcam to take pictures or videos via chat which is then propagated to all the member associations.

Which can be inferred from the report portal are:
1. Internet has a negative impact for the child if there is no assistance from parents.
2. Internet dangers can be prevented by providing a useful lesson.

Let us reduce the negative impact of the internet for our children.

Why internet dangerous for children ?

2011-06-22T00:22:00.001-07:00

Internet very dangerous for childrens. Because, they cant different what think useful for them or dangerous.

Internet containing everything, science, health, bet site, casino, guns, etc.

So,if we want our children safe when using internet. We must know what their access in internet.

Thought for the day

2011-06-05T08:03:00.000-07:00

I've been taking care of small children for over three decades, and have been a father to four children over the past 19 years. Today, BooBoo taught me something new:

When a small child Spiderman climbs up the back of your easy chair, does a leg-over maneuver that places him in your lap, grabs your ears, and head butts you hard enough that you see stars, that is a sign he wants you put the laptop down and pay attention to him.

The Weekend So Far

2011-06-05T06:32:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of postings. Real life is intruding into all of my hobbies. Here's how it's been going:

New Nutrition Propaganda Graphic

2011-06-03T14:00:00.000-07:00

The government has relieved us of the drudgery of deciphering the food pyramid. Almost two decades of having to actually read and understand the ratios of fats, grains, meats, and sweets are over. Let the parade begin!

Their new reminder on how they think we should eat is called MyPlate:

Here at DaddyBear Laboratories, we've come up with our own graphic to show the ratios of the principle ingredients in a good, healthy diet that will not only keep your body strong, but will make you happier:

As you can see, not only are the basic needs of fruits, vegetables, grains, and protein taken care of, but all of the things that make plain old nutrition into a meal have been included. Please feel free to post this in your kitchen, school cafeteria, and anywhere else good people go to enjoy food and life.

News Roundup

2011-06-03T04:00:00.000-07:00

From the Inspector Clouseau Department - Police say that a woman whose body was found stuffed into the box spring of a bed in a Salt Lake City hotel may have died under suspicious circumstances. Are we actually paying for this hard charging bit of detective work?

From the Meet the New Boss Department - The executive officer of the aircraft carrier Eisenhower has been relieved of his position and re-assigned pending an investigation. This is the third executive officer the Eisenhower has lost in the last year. What is going on in the U.S. Navy? It seems we can't go a month without a captain or his exec being canned.

From the Kobayashi Maru Department - A standardized math test in Great Britain included a problem that cannot be solved. Maybe they were using this as a crowd-sourced try to see if it was truly unsolvable. A million British teenagers banging away at a million math tests for two hours might just get us closer to an answer than we have ever been.

From the Nice Marmot Department - The Cincinnati Children's Hospital has announced that they will no longer be using live ferrets to practice intubating premature infants. Instead they will be using a plastic model. My guess is that the courses on reattaching fingers and treatment of injuries to the hands from weasels can't be far behind.

And finally:

From the Mother of the Year Department - A woman has been arrested in Louisiana after she was found passed out in the ladies room of a gas station with drug paraphernalia. The kicker is that she left her 20 month old son in the car with the body of another woman. I'm not going to comment on this one. For once, I'm speechless.

Perpetuating Prohibition

2011-06-02T15:15:00.001-07:00

The Obama administration is attacking a report that calls for changes in how the global trade in illicit drugs is handled. Their contention is that following the recommendations of the study, including some legalization of drugs, would make the drug problem in the United States worse.

While I have mixed feelings about drug use (I've never tried them, nor do I want my kids using them, but I don't want the government to tell me or any other adult what they can or can't put in their bodies), I'm willing to admit that our current approach isn't working. Before President Obama and Drug Czar Kerlikowske dismiss suggestions to change our approach, they should answer the following questions:

Since President Nixon declared the War on Drugs in 1971:

Has the number of people in the United States who regularly use illegal drugs gone down, either as a percentage of the U.S. population or in total numbers?
Have illegal drugs become harder or easier to get in the United States?
How many American lives have been saved by the current policy of prohibition?
How many excess deaths have occurred in the United States that can be tied to drugs or drug related crime, controlling for criminals who would have been killed anyway as a consequence of other crimes?
What else could have been done with the billions of dollars spent on incarceration and interdiction that would have had a positive impact on drug addicts, to include education, prevention, and treatment?
How many American citizens have been incarcerated as part of drug prohibition who broke no other laws?
How many countries in Latin America, Africa, and Asia have had what passes for a functioning government destroyed by the corruption of drug money?
How much time, blood, sweat, and treasure have we spent trying to stop Americans from using drugs, and what value have we gotten for those expenditures?

I'm not saying that anyone, of any age, should be able to get whatever they want at the local package store, but the current approach is not working. All we have done is make drug use something that is done in the shadows. Even casual users of drugs take their lives in their own hands since they don't know what their intoxicant of choice has been mixed with. The amount of money that narcotics brings to traffickers has given them power to rival a nation state.

Add to that the corrosive effect that drug enforcement has had on the relationship between police and the American population. Were stories of people being shot in their own homes during raids, which even the police admit would not have led to arrests, common prior to 1971? Did police regularly troll the interstate highway system looking for motorists who were carrying too much cash and impounding it?

Our failed policies on drugs need to change. We need to admit that prohibition is not working, and allow adults to legally purchase and use whatever intoxicant they want and let them live with the consequences. The safety of these intoxicants will go up as their production moves from Skeeter's garage to an inspected and regulated factory and their sale moves from a corner in a bad neighborhood to the local pharmacy or liquor store. Our police will be able to concentrate on something other than drugs for the first time in a generation. Once the profits from narcotics trafficking dry up, the drug cartels will also dry up. Money that would have been spent on interdiction, prosecution, and incarceration can be spent on education, prevention, and treatment, or not spent at all.

Yes, there will still be people who ruin their lives and the lives of others with drugs. But the same happens with alcohol, gambling, and other non-wholesome parts of our society. Prohibition of alcohol was an unmitigated failure, and so is prohibition of drugs.

Quote of the Day

2011-06-02T15:15:00.000-07:00

Technology is wonderful, just so long as we keep the retarded politicians (but I repeat myself) out of our business. Let them shovel shit instead. With some training in shit shoveling, maybe they could be of some small service to humanity. I've done it. It can be quite important at times. -- Lyle at The View From North Central Idaho

This, Ladies and Gentlemen, is wisdom for our age.

Justice, of a sort

2011-06-02T15:00:00.000-07:00

The two individuals who snatched an 11 year old girl off the street, raped her, and forced her to live in their back yard for 18 years with the two daughters she conceived by the 'male' individual have been sentenced to long stretches in prison.

Philip Garrido has been sentenced to 431 years to life in prison, and his wife Nancy Garrido has been sentenced to 36 years. I'm hoping she lives a long life and serves out every second of those 36 years. As for him, I hope he sets a Guinness World Record for longevity and suffers every day.

When this story first broke, it really caught my eye. Even more than the fact that a missing child had been found 18 years later, or that California law enforcement personnel had been to the house on multiple occasions without doing anything, it was the location. When we left North Dakota, we eventually settled in Antioch, where the Garrido's would eventually hold Miss Duggard. My step-father had grown up a couple of towns west of there, and he wanted to be close to his family.

All of this happened after I graduated and left for the Army, but my little sisters, one of which has a bit of a resemblance to the victim and was close to her in age, still lived in Antioch for several years. If these sick bastards had decided to go hunting a little closer to home, it could have been my baby sister in that shed.

The thing that really sent chills up my spine is I know the area where the house is. I ran with several guys from that neighborhood, and dated a girl who lived a couple of blocks away. When I read about what happened there, I could easily visualize the very small world that Jaycee Duggard lived in for a very long time.

As a father, this scenario is probably close to my worst nightmare. All dads tell ourselves that we'll die defending our kids if necessary, but what do you do if someone snatches them when they're out of your sight, or when they're too far away for you to help and protect them? How long do you keep hoping that they'll turn up before you hold a funeral mass? And how, once your child is found, do you contain your rage and let the criminal justice system punish them rather than taking matters into your own hands and getting real justice for your child?

I sincerely pray that neither I nor any of you ever have to find out. I also hope that these two live a very, very long time and come to know suffering that in some way compares to what they did to a beautiful little girl who was just trying to get to her school bus.

Dumbass of the Day

2011-06-02T03:00:00.000-07:00

Today we get a two-fer:

Two Louisville parents are facing charges after police say they found them drinking inside a strip club while their baby was left in the hot car.

OK, there's a lot going on there. First, they were at a strip club drinking at 11 PM on a Tuesday night. Next, they took their kid. Then, they left the baby in a car with the windows rolled up when we had record heat. And finally, the male dumbass was supposed to be on house arrest, not in Louisville, or even Kentucky, but across the river in Indiana.

What's the penalty for violating home incarceration by crossing state lines, going to a bar, drinking, and child endangerment?

And here's the punchline:

Officers say on the way to Louisville Metro Corrections, Lee complained that the police car was too hot.

Although, now that I think about it, other than the whole "left in a car until medium rare" thing, this might be the best thing that could have happened to this kid. At least this way she'll be brought up in a nice safe foster home.

Tonight's Forecast

2011-06-01T15:20:00.000-07:00

Dark. Continued dark until morning, where we will see patches of light*

The weatherpeople are at it again. They're predicting that this summer the midwest will be cooler and wetter than usual, the Mississippi valley will dry out and warm up, and the American Southwest and Central Rocky Mountain regions will burn to the ground.

I would hate to be a weathercritter in the United States right now. The weather has been bipolar this year. In Louisville we've had a very wet spring, with hot weather thrown in intermittently just to make the humidity noticeable, then it cooled off, and now it's in the 90's. Friday I wore a sweatshirt to go to the range, and yesterday I had to stop and get a cold bottle of Gatorade on the way home to replenish fluids and electrolytes (Hooray for trucks with no air conditioning!).

While relief from the heat over what is normally a hot and muggy ordeal will be nice, cool and wet weather is not good for corn, wheat, and soybeans that are trying to grow in fields that are already waterlogged. As much as I'd like to have another cool summer like we had two years ago, I'd prefer that the crops that have made it into the ground have good conditions to grow in. I'm already preparing to pay $5 for a loaf of bread because of bad monetary policy. Those prices don't need help from a true grain shortage.

*With apologies to George Carlin

Suicide Blonde

2011-06-01T15:15:00.000-07:00

The Norwegian government is reporting that for those who show a reaction to cosmetics and other methods of enhancing appearance, the use of hair dye is the number 1 cause of problems:

People who develop allergies to hair dye often have symptoms such as eczema, redness, blistering, and itching of the scalp, face and throat, the registry says. They also experience severe swelling on the forehead and around the eyes.

Something tells me that a lady with this kind of reaction to their hair dye realizes it's not a good look for them.

I know a lot of people, both men and women, who dye their hair. While I just look at my gray hair and take that as a sign that life is about 1/3 over, others look at them as a sign of mortality. I just hope that the rate of people who have these kinds of reactions is low.

Cat, Free to a Good Home

2011-06-01T15:05:00.000-07:00

Must have a large yard, access to gazelles for entertainment and nourishment, and be able to deal with living with the high squeaking call of a cheetah.

Someone in the United Arab Emirates forgot to bring the cat in for the night, and now the authorities are looking for them. Their cheetah was found wandering the streets, apparently with no ID or microchip.

I've never understood the exotic pet thing myself. I grew up with cats, dogs, and the occasional fish. It never occurred to me to have a wolf, leopard, cobra, piranha, or Tazmanian Death Chinchilla that was smuggled across the Pacific in some guys jock strap as a pet. To me, a pet is something that is a distraction from the insanity that life becomes, not something to add to it. Although I have to say, Bluegrass and Timmy come close to causing insanity on a regular basis.

Oh well, I hope that the people who took this beautiful animal out of the wild and used it as an ornament are caught and dealt with, and that the cheetah is either returned to the wild or placed in a good zoo. I'm just glad the cat didn't mistake a small child as the slowest pig he'd ever seen.

Stepping on his Weiner

2011-06-01T15:00:00.000-07:00

Congressman David Weiner, Democrat of New Yawk, has had one of the following things happen:

He took a picture of his junk and sent it via Twitter to a woman he's not married to.
One of his staff took a picture of someone's junk and sent it to said woman using the Congressman's Twitter account.
Someone hacked into the Congressman's Twitter account, and all they did was send a picture of unidentified junk to one woman.

Considering my generally low opinion of poiticians in general, I'm leaning towards #1, with consideration of #2. #3 isn't even in the running. If someone actually broke into the Twitter and other accounts of a Congressman, then they would have done a heck of a lot more than send around underwear pictures. Not to mention that the FBI would be all over this like ants at a picnic. But that's just my opinion.

My guess is Mr. Weiner got caught with his hands in the cookie jar, and now he's in extreme damage control. Apparently that includes stonewalling, pointing to earlier incomplete and inaccurate statements from his office, claiming that these allegations are a distraction, and calling a reporter a "jackass".

Now, don't get me wrong. I've called reporters much worse in the past, including Christianne Amanpour, the diva of CNN's "Can't you see that somewhere in the world someone is suffering and why isn't the U.S. military doing something about it?". But when the reporter is trying to definitively find out whether or not a member of Congress sent unrequested lewd pictures to a woman he's not married to, I'd say the jackass has a point.

Congressman Weiner needs to man up, and either admit he poked the pooch or offer up the offending staffer for public shaming. Attacking the press for wanting to know the truth was slimy when Clinton and Nixon did it, and it's still slimy. This time there won't be any blue dress, but I'm guessing there's enough forensic evidence in the logs between wherever the picture was sent and where Twitter accepted it that if someone really wanted to know who, when, and from where this happened, they could. So the Congressman can either let the truth see the light of day, or deal with the consequences when a political opponent or journalist puts all the pieces together.

A good idea

2011-05-31T15:30:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I opined that I wanted to know how much of my gasoline purchase was going to the gas station and the petroleum company, and how much was going to Uncle Sugar.

Looks like the state of Tennessee was way ahead of me:

According to the attendant at the gas station, it's a statewide requirement. While I still had to do the math to figure out how much I gave to the state and federal governments while filling up the truck, it's better than anywhere else I've been.

He should have trimmed his mustache

2011-05-31T15:15:00.000-07:00

A man in England attempted to sneak out of the courthouse and avoid reporters by dressing in women's clothing before departing. Apparently it didn't work.

My guess is he wore something no woman would be caught dead in. Let's face it, most of us guys have the fashion sense of a mule:

"Let's see, shall I wear the bright red lipstick, blonde wig, striped silk blouse and black pants with patent leather pumps, or go all out and wear the tight sweater and skirt combo with 7" stillettos?"

Now, some guys might be able to pull this off. I've known several men who could change into something a little more feminine and blend in pretty well. I, on the other hand, would only blend in with a reunion of the 1988 East German Women's weightlifting team. It's just so hard to find pretty shoes in size 15 men's and I can't find a dress that isn't a moomoo that doesn't make me look like a hooker.

For those of you who have met me, I apologize for the mental image you just had.

Goodbye, Good Luck, and Thanks For All The Fish

2011-05-31T15:00:00.001-07:00

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has decreed that his government will no longer allow NATO forces to bomb Afghan homes that are being used by Taliban or Al Qaeda insurgents. Everyone wants to eliminate or at least minimize civilian casualties. However, the enemy we fight in Afghanistan mixes with the civilian population specifically because we may pull a punch when there's the chance of harming non-combatants. By putting such places off limits, President Karzai provides the Taliban with a safe haven to retreat to in a fight and lay low while they plan their next operation. Effectively, he's made all of the cities and a large part of the country into no-go zones for NATO troops, since unless they can call down the hammer of the gods, they're unlikely to engage the enemy in any concentration.

Since President Karzai has decided that he's capable of telling us where and how we can fight in defense of his regime, I say we let him stand his own army on the firing line for a change. I mean, it's only been a decade since we started trying to make a cohesive Afghan national army so we could go home. It's not like we didn't create the circumstances that allowed him to become president in the first place, or that we haven't spent billions of dollars and the lives of over 1500 American soldiers to prevent his execution at the hands of his countrymen.

Listen up, sparky: About 15 minutes after the last C-141 takes off out of Bagram, you, your family, and everyone associated with you is going to be put against a wall, beheaded, hung, or set on fire. The only thing that's keeping your heart beating is the fact that Americans are more willing to put steel on target than your own soldiers are. How about instead of kvetching about the methods, no matter how sloppy we use, to try to root out the Taliban, you get off your well dressed backside and get your bloody army into the field and trained to actually do more than march in a straight line on a parade field? Keep dictating to us the methods by which we keep your bloody heart beating, and you just might wake up and find yourself with a country devoid of American guns and soldiers.

Lucky Gunner Blogshoot

2011-05-31T15:00:00.000-07:00

Well, the weekend had to eventually end, but the smile is still on my face.

Here are some more pictures:

There were multiple re-enactment groups attending the first day. The half-track and tanks were joined by extremely well restored U.S. and German vehicles such as the jeep and BMW motorcycle you see above. The re-enactors were more than happy to allow us to shoot their guns, even taking the time to explain how the guns worked and demonstrating the best ways to shoot them. My favorite of all of these was of course the M-2 .50 caliber machine gun, but a close second was the Thompson. There's just something about that sub-machine gun that tripped my trigger.

Of course, no shoot would be complete without pictures of what the range looked like with lead flying at it:

I love the smell of tannerite in the morning!

The only good min-van is a dead mini-van

Someday my minivan will meet a similar fate. But I'll use more tannerite if I can afford it.

During lunch, the organizers of the event recognized two soldiers who were veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I'm proud to say that standing ovations for these two brave men came easily. It was fun to sit back and watch these two gentlemen sit down to compare notes with Vietnam veterans. I'm sure a lot of good stories and advice were exchanged.

Next, we see the signs that a good day at the range has occurred. The evidence is the many large piles of brass and the many trash bags full of bullet boxes:

Over the course of Day 1, I tried to shoot as many different guns as I could. I have decided that my "Guns I Will Own" list will now include an MP-5, a G-3, an M1917, an M-2, a Thompson, and a BAR. There were others that I shot and were fun, but these are the guns I want in my safes for 'entertainment purposes'.

The evening of Day 1 was taken up with a dinner with the staff of Lucky Gunner and the other blogger and media attendees. During the dinner, the winners for the 2011 Gunnie awards were announced. Congratulations to everyone on those!

On Day 2, the re-enactors had gone home, so for the most part we shot what we brought. Representatives from Kriss were there to demonstrate their new line of guns, and I must say they are sweet:

Oh my gosh! Someone gave me a suppressed machine gun!

I tried all four variants of the Kriss gun: the pistol, the short barreled rifle, the suppressed sub gun, and the non-suppressed sub-gun. It's basically the same action with different options added to it. All of them use Glock .45 magazines, so a user won't have to search for proprietary magazines to keep their gun fed and happy. All of these guns were comfortable to shoot, accurate within the limits of the .45 ACP round, and had amazingly light felt recoil. The Kriss representative who worked with me on the firing line showed me how the bolt pivots downward into the area just forward of the trigger guard, driving a lot of the recoil down instead of back at the shooter. This reduces felt recoil and muzzle climb. I must say I was impressed. When compared against the 9mm MP-5 and .45 Thompson, the recoil on the Kriss was very light. The civilian model has an MSRP of about $2000, which is steep, but do-able. This one goes on the "Guns I Will Own" list.

While shooting on Day 2, I realized that Oleg Volk should be nick-named "The Candyman". He brought out several really nice toys:

Keltec KSG

I got a chance to shoot his Keltec KSG and the Coonan .357 automatic. The KSG is a neat concept and it carries a metric crap-ton of shells in its two magazine tubes. I've been told that shooters are encouraged to put buck shot on one side and slugs on the other. Using the switch to select which magazine to feed from would allow the user to tailor their ammuntion selection without having to unload their weapon. The overall shortness of the gun made it easy to quickly change targets, and it kicked against my should in about the same way that the Mossberg 500 I brought to the game did.

The Coonan is also going on the list. I put two magazines through it, and I am officially in love with it. My impression of its heft at the NRA convention was correct. It's a solid chunk of steel, but that weight helps a lot in controlling recoil and climb. I was able to make respectable groups with it at between 5 and 7 yards, and I'm sure with practice that would tighten up.

I have to say, even though Day 1 was a complete blast, I enjoyed Day 2 even more. It gave us more time to talk and socialize, and since no-one was waiting for us to shoot, we could take our time and discuss the merits and failings of each of our guns. One thing I noticed on both days was just how happy and friendly everyone was. It's something I've noticed about the gunnies I know. Even the rock stars like Tam, Oleg, and Uncle were more than happy to sit and shoot the bull or share their guns with the rest of us. I was asked to shoot other people's guns and offered my own meager collection up for others to enjoy, and no-one batted an eye. Even when we were discussing politics or gun issues, which tend to get everyone's Irish up, we never stopped being polite and respectful. This reinforces something I already believed: Gunnies are good people.

One thing that allowed us to enjoy ourselves as much as we did was the copious amount of Magtech and Seller & Bellot ammunition that the folks at Lucky Gunner were handing out for our enjoyment. I'm pretty sure the only thing that can make a range trip with a great group of people better is free ammunition. Rounds of just about every caliber were given out with a smile. I can't imagine how many thousands of rounds were fired over the two days, but I'd really like to thank Lucky Gunner, Magtech, and S&B for the ammunition.

It was a great weekend, and I took my time saying goodbye to everyone as I packed up and headed north. Angela and her staff at Lucky Gunner put on a heck of a party, and the people who attended made the weekend enjoyable and interesting. I'm already looking forward to next year!

Thoughts for the day

2011-05-30T10:16:00.000-07:00

A mother's gift to her country's cause is a story yet untold

She had three sons, three only sons, each worth his weight in gold

She gave them up for the sake of war, while her heart was filled with pain

As each went away, she was heard to say, he will never return again

CHORUS

One lies down near Appomattax, many miles away

Another sleeps at Chickamauga, and they both wore suits of gray

'Mid the strains of "Down to Dixie", the third was laid away

In a trench at Santiago, the Blue and the Gray

She's alone tonight, while the stars shine bright, with a heart full of despair

On the last great day, I can hear her say, my three boys will be there

Perhaps they'll wait, at the heav'nly gates, on guard beside their guns

Then the mother true, to the gray and blue, may enter with her sons

--The Blue and The Gray, by Paul Dresser

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate, we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. -- Abraham Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address

In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, flyScarce heard amid the guns below.

--- In Flander's Fields, by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae

My little range buddy

2011-05-29T07:40:00.000-07:00

This is one of the millions of cicadas that have been our companions this weekend. When the shooting stops, it sounds like someone's running a giant weed whacker.

From the No Surprise Here files

2011-05-29T07:35:00.000-07:00

A study in the UK confirms what a lot of parents have known for years: Taking your kids to the zoo is more effective at teaching them about the environment and conservation than having them sit in a classroom and learn the same material.

Guys, if you have to have a study to figure this kind of thing out, hang it up. It should surprise no-one that kids respond better to hands-on, entertaining experiences with a dash of education thrown in than they do to textbooks and overhead slides. Anyone who's ever taken a 6 year old to see the gorillas and read the placards about how fragile their natural habitat is and how few of the animals there are in the wild knows how interested the little tykes are about their hairy cousins after that. Heck, our kids could recite obscure facts about the flamingo, the emu, and the polar bear before they could say their ABC's.

Kids learn best through play. That's why I always make it fun when I take Girlie Bear to the range, or work on ABC's and 1 2 3's with Boo by playing with blocks or coloring books. Heck, I even knew this when I taught in the military. I always spent the minimum necessary time going through the dry lecture material so that we could get to simulations where students learned and then applied the knowledge that they had heard in lectures.

Someday I'm going to ditch the day job and just start writing applications for grants so I can study the phenomenon of meat becoming inedible if left out in the sun, or that if left to its own devices, the chlorophyllic organisms in the American lawn will gain in height.