I wrote about the SmartCarry deep concealment handgun holster in June of 2008. I had worn it around a few times, and while it was comfortable enough, I still couldn’t get the hang of living with it on. It really is an “assault diaper,” and fits very snugly around my waist, with the pistol right over my groin. This requires some changes in my usual behavior, especially using the restroom. One of my big complaints about my SmartCarry review was how to use a urinal without either spraying myself or appearing like a pervert.

This write-up is not intended to show you how to sneak a gun into some place you’re not allowed to carry. It’s not intended to help you break any laws or company policies. If you choose to carry some place you shouldn’t, that’s on you. Here are some of the pros, cons, and lessons learned after wearing the SmartCarry for a longer period of time.
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I have only won like twice in my whole life, but I like the board game Clue. I think it was one of the first games I played with a lot of pieces. I can still remember the pistol clearly; it was a pepperbox-style hand gun with a rounded grip.

Anyway, I was searching for some new games to play at the office. So far we have really liked co-operative games, but we have burned through Hoopla and Cloodle many a time over and were due for a change. I saw Clue Express at Target on sale for $10 and thought I would give it a shot.

The game promises to take twenty minutes or less, and that seemed about right with the amount of time we could devote to play. Would it be as fun as the full-blown version?
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This is a continuation from my post about two weeks ago discussing the fictional breakup of the United States. The first post talked about the “official” theory from a Russian political theorist, and how he obviously knew jack shit about America since South Carolina was allied with New York state. No fucking way, even if the Yankees had turned Charleston into a glass parking lot.

Anyway, I countered with a map of my own. As some of you mentioned the first time around, the map is too simplified. Intra-state politics would shift boundaries around. However, I am both ignorant as to the micro-climates of each state and lazy. So you’ll get the real US map with a bunch of colors on it. This time I’m going to address the nations that carved themselves out of the United States, and a rough sketch about their subcultures and affiliations.
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It’s been almost a month since I last wrote about P90. The holidays, a looming layoff, and just general apathy crushed almost all of my desire to get in front of the television and mimic Tony Horton.

I just finished session 78, which means I grunted through twelve sessions in almost thirty days. I should have done twice that many, and would be almost done with the entire Basic program had I stuck to the schedule. Instead I played on the computer, did some chores, and read a little. I also caught up on some television sans the Beach Body workout crew. It felt nice to relax, but I felt guilty at the same time.

I’m not sure if I can steel myself to crank out the remaining twelve sessions on schedule. I have to go through a fairly extensive brow-beating to get motivated enough to work out. On the other hand, seems like a waste to get this far and then stop. So we’ll see.
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I have two Gmail accounts — one for personal use, and one associated with my online persona. Switching back and forth between the accounts to get all my hate mail became tedious almost immediately. I found GAlert, a desktop program that monitors multiple Gmail accounts and notifies you when you have new email. Google changed something about the authentication method in December of 2008 and GAlert stopped working. Unfortunately work has stopped on the project, and the company responsible for putting out the program have gone AWOL.

I tried a few other programs, none of which were as easy to use as GAlert. Some required money, some seemed sketchy. I almost gave up until I found Gmail Manager, a plugin for the Firefox Web browser by Todd Long. Would Gmail Manager suit my multi-account needs?
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I got this text message over the weekend from “Marietta”:

(favecute.com) Gail said you would really want to see that site

I was obviously suspicious, but the text was relevant enough as to be an actual text. I don’t know a Marietta, but I do know a Gail from the contract prior to my current position. Favecute.com isn’t an obvious porn site or 3NL@RG3 Y0r P3|\|1$ spam message. So I did a search on Google, and sure enough: it’s spam.

This is the first spam text message I’ve ever gotten. I imagine that there is a program that tries every possible phone combination, and sends it via a bulk email to Verizon’s @vtext.com or equivalent.

I get tons of spam messages a day via email and blog comments, and they have been getting progressively better crafted. I admire the social engineering aspect of this one … what if someone knew a Marietta and a Gail? Pretty slick.

On the downside, those of you without a text plan may pay $0.10 or up to $0.25 to get this unsolicited note in your inbox. I wonder what Verizon has to say ….

My home lost power last Saturday in the middle of the night. It was unusually cold for this part of Virginia, and I think the cold plus everyone cranking their heat crushed the power network. I woke up to my home network’s uninterruptible power supply screeching at 2AM. I shut the computers down and went back to bed. I was confident my mutant ability to resist cold and my three dogs would keep me warm. The power came on and went off again twice more, finally taking a long nap at about 3:30AM.

By the time I woke up the house was about 52°F downstairs. My friend Stilts was visiting, and we were both hungry. I used my mobile phone to call our favorite breakfast place, and they had power. Stilts headed home after breakfast, and I settled in to play a little game. That little game was “how well could I handle a minor power outage in the winter?”
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There are few pistols that are as recognizable, or have such a distinct place in world history, as the Colt Model 1911 handgun. It was the first handgun I ever fired (my uncle’s). When I turned 21 and bought my first handgun, my mind was on concealment. The 1911 was heavy, large, and expensive. I wound up with a Glock 27 — a very dependable pistol that I’ve carried ever since.

I purchased quite a few other handguns in the meantime: a North American Arms Guardian .32ACP, a Kel-Tec PF-9, two Tokarev TT-33s, and a CZ-52. No matter what, my mind always drifted back to the 1911. I think, for the most part, 1911s have a mystique about them that often pushes high-tech variants into the hands of true handgun aficionados. Extremely well-suited and extensively modified 1911s find their way into shooting tournaments and SWAT units a like. Accessory rails, improved sights, different frame sizes, triggers, grips, finishes, and manufacturers all combine to make owning a 1911 a very personal experience. And an expensive one. My friend Bond owned a VERY nice 1911 made by Kimber. I think the handgun now sells for about $800+.

I always thought a 1911 would be beyond my budget … until I discovered Rock Island Armory.
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The Wall Street Journal recently published an article discussing a theoretical collapse of the United States in 2010. Igor Panarin presented his theory in 1998, and cites mass immigration, economic collapse, and moral decline as key triggers to a second American civil war that will fragment the US into four pieces, with Alaska going back to Russia and Hawaii ending up in Japanese or Chinese hands.
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I love my HTC Touch (known as the VX6900 on the Verizon network). I use it for all sorts of stuff: check Gmail, send text messages, approve Gibberish comments, listen to Internet Radio awesomeness Pandora.com, use the built-in GPS and Google Maps, and sometimes I even call people on it. Even though the upgrade to Windows Mobile 6.1 improved battery efficiency, I still have to recharge the phone several times a day. I used to get really pissed off about it, especially coming from my fantastic Samsung u740. I could rock that Samsung for three to four days without recharging its extended battery. However, once I thought of the Touch as a small computer instead of a phone I started treating it like a laptop. I wouldn’t expect my Dell Latitude at work to go all day without a recharge, would I?

I used to carry around a mini-USB / USB cable in my work bag that let me charge my phone via my laptop. Every time I plugged it in, though, Windows XP kept trying to setup a relationship with my phone via ActiveSync. I got tired of clicking “cancel” a couple times a day and just tried to hold out as long as possible, hoping the phone would have enough juice to survive the work day. I needed another way to charge my phone, and damn it would be helpful if I had a spare battery, too ….

Then I found this cradle / dock on eBay that claimed to charge the phone and a second battery at the same time. At $22 shipped it was probably a piece of shit, but aren’t dodgy product reviews what Gibberish is all about?
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