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Messages - Steingar

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2041
Spin Zone / Re: Toy guns vs replicas vs real firearms
« on: September 26, 2016, 01:46:01 PM »
Quote from: Rush on September 26, 2016, 01:26:20 PM
That's actually a very good point with which I agree, if the costs in time and money were comparable, and I were poor enough that I couldn't have both.

Then I would need to weigh the stakes as well as the odds.  Lets say the odds of me dying from a heart attack are very high, lets even say they are 100%, I'll give you that.  If I don't spend money on gym membership and instead become a "gun enthusiast", then the odds are 100% I will die of a heart attack anywhere between age 45 and 90.  Let's say I am a young woman and the odds of me being murdered are very low, but if it does happen, I get to suffer prolonged torture and rape before I die. 

Please do remember that we're talking orders of magnitude here.  The odds on your dying young of heart disease range from even money to double digits depending on the shape in which you keep yourself.  Spending the firearm money on a gym membership that you use will statistically extend your life by a fair margin.

Quote from: Rush on September 26, 2016, 01:26:20 PM
Let's see, what to do?  Just how small would the odds need to be before I'd chance the torture session and losing from 25 to 70 years of my life?  Okay you make a fair point, I'll grant you that there is some number low enough. But I am also going to have to include the odds of me being in a natural disaster where the thugs from the inner city swarm out like cockroaches and loot my neighborhood.

In a natural disaster whoever wants it can have my shit.  My crap is worth neither dying nor killing for.  I don't care, the emphasis is getting means mine out of the disaster zone as quickly as possible.  Thankfully where I live the wx is unpleasant but not deadly, and I am in a zone that is seismically stable.

Quote from: Rush on September 26, 2016, 01:26:20 PM
Then you have to add the odds of being in a convenience store when it's robbed, or a bank, or in a mall when the next jihadist goes whacko. And the odds that the neighbor's pack of pit bulls will get loose. And so on.

Than you have to add the odds that you can't shoot straight in an emergency.  Don't believe me?  Try this:



Quote from: Rush on September 26, 2016, 01:26:20 PM
The odds of any one of these things hurting or killing me is very small, but the cumulative odds of something happening which would make me wish I had a gun, is not so small. Maybe still small, but not infinitesimal, and the stakes of the worst of them are SO very high, that I think on balance I need to take my heart attack. But I don't need to make that choice. I can afford my gun AND get good healthcare, so it's a no brainer.  In this case, why wouldn't I want to be ready to defend myself?

Like I said, I once had reliable numbers saying your odds of suffering a firearm tragedy are higher than your odds of a home invasion of the sort that will harm you (keep in mind most "home invasions" are burgers looking for a quick and uncomplicated score).  I don't have the numbers anymore, but my guess is if you don't live in a war zone and don't do or sell drugs, the odds on your home being invaded by someone who wants to harm you are laughably small and simply don't justify the investment and upkeep of a firearm.  Moreover, any home that has small children and firearms laying about loaded (a prerequisite for home defense) is just asking for tragedy.

2042
Spin Zone / Re: Now, for something completely different
« on: September 26, 2016, 11:43:12 AM »
Quote from: Anthony on September 26, 2016, 06:57:18 AM
Sorry to hear that Michael.  The Mooneys handle like Grummans, and unfortunately will get into pilot induced oscillation if you don't come in at proper airspeed on final, and hold it off, and not force it down.  A go around is your friend, but you know that.  Don't give it up.  I like the M20C's a lot.

I like my Mooney.  I pulled the power off for a landing at a short airstrip.  Came on on speed on final, but the sink was too much and I landed hard.  I have no idea how you do a power off 180 in a Mooney.  If I don't either come in fast or keep some power in I'm due for an arrival.  Chalk it up to a case of m not following my own established procedures.  And what really honks me off is normally with my established procedures I can land well within the distance needed for this airstrip (which was actually more than I was thinking).  I blew it.  Totally my bad.

I did do one good thing that saved my life.  I promised myself long ago I would never put the power back in after a bounce, or anything else.  Too much to do in too little time in a go-around.  So when I hit (not knowing I had a strike) I just rode out the oscillation.  Turns out the prop was bent asymmetrically.  Had I put in the power I can only imagine the outcome, but I doubt it would have been good.

Well over $20 grand to fix, but the insurance will pay.  Like I said, I'm half tempted to just bag it, but once I get the aircraft back I'll see how well I can do.

2043
Spin Zone / Re: Goodbye 4th Amendment
« on: September 26, 2016, 11:37:48 AM »
Quote from: JeffDG on September 26, 2016, 10:30:25 AM
Another deflection, this time to ad hominem.  Nicely done.

You keep adding a bs addition about government funding.

Should the government be able to ban a movie, from a private organization, from being distributed?  It's a pretty straightforward yes/no question, and has nothing whatsoever to do with government funding. 

From a private organization?  Of course not!  That's assuming that said private organization used non-governmental funds to make said movie, or that making said movie was within the purview of the government funding.  I don't think an NGO should take money they got for feeding babies and use it to make political films (or any other kind of films, for that matter, except perhaps one of them feeding babies).

2044
Spin Zone / Re: The Clinton Lie Ratchet
« on: September 26, 2016, 10:39:06 AM »
Quote from: Anthony on September 26, 2016, 10:35:39 AM
Compare Chelsea Clinton to Donald's kids, Eric, Don Jr, and Ivanka.  They are accomplished business people, and speakers. 

So me where they've made more than they inherited from the Orange one.

2045
Spin Zone / Re: An alternative to gun control
« on: September 26, 2016, 10:37:36 AM »
Quote from: Becky on September 26, 2016, 10:26:16 AM
Relevance to thread? Not to mention source establishing validity?

Medication was the first thing proposed in this thread.  As far as sources, with 30,000 deaths/year from opiates the number being treated/using must be quite a bit higher (I'm seeing estimates of one on ten), since you have to build up quite the tolerance before things get that bad.  Besides, there are sufficient users to warrant the advertisement of anti constipation medications during the Super Bowl (constipation is a side-effect of opioid use).  According to what I can find with minimal effort one in ten Americans is on an antidepressant, among quadragenarian and quinquagenarian women the number quadruples.

That's a LOT of folks.  We are indeed a medicated land.  Odds are you have a good friend or associate on antidepressants.  And there is probably a relative on opioids.

2046
Spin Zone / Re: Goodbye 4th Amendment
« on: September 26, 2016, 10:28:34 AM »
Quote from: JeffDG on September 26, 2016, 08:06:04 AM
Steingar is still avoiding answering a simple question:

Should the government have the right to ban a movie about a political candidate?


Steingar has answered the Canuk's question repeatedly and cogently.  Perhaps they don't teach you to read up North.

True story.  I was in Montreal with some friends.  One was a Canuk and bragged about how all their bills were different colors, so they could tell them apart.  She criticized American money because it was all green..  My pal Peter quipped that it was so because Americans know how to read.

2047
Spin Zone / Re: An alternative to gun control
« on: September 26, 2016, 10:24:21 AM »
Population is medicated, between opiates and monoamine uptake inhibitors I'd be surprised if the majority weren't medicated most of the time.

2048
Spin Zone / Re: The Clinton Lie Ratchet
« on: September 26, 2016, 10:22:42 AM »
According to you idiots anything that says that the Donald is not a shining knight in white armor is biased.  The only truth to which any of you will listen is that Hillary Clinton is fatally flawed.  You are completely and utterly tone deaf to anything else whatsoever.  Go ahead and insult me and call me whatever you want.  Jack says it best:


2049
Spin Zone / Re: Toy guns vs replicas vs real firearms
« on: September 26, 2016, 07:35:25 AM »
Quote from: jb1842 on September 26, 2016, 05:55:38 AM
There is a difference between firearm enthusiasts, and those who own guns for self defense or hunting. My neighbor owns over 250 firearms, but doesn't shoot. He's an enthusiast. I own personal firearms to hunt and have fun with. Going to the range is a great stress reliever and improves my mental state. Ammo isn't that expensive. Do I wish it was cheaper? Yep, along with avgas and annuals. Granted I get ammo from work to shoot my pistols, but I handload a lot of my other ammo. And my private range only costs me $45 a year, and an hour drive through the Wisconsin countryside is also a stress reducer. Barring some catastrophic malfunction, firearms just don't discharge without someone doing something wrong while handling it. And for the 30,000 people who died last year...since most firearm deaths are from suicide, I bet that those who did wanted it to happen to them.

To be honest, I think your firearm activities are all based on very good ideas.  To me hunting is a great activity, one you can share with your family and even provide sustainable food.  Target shooting is an awesome activity, though the one time I did it the shooting cost me the same as dinner at a pretty good restaurant or a weeks groceries for the Steinholme.  That said, it was fun.  And guns are beautiful objects full of history and technology, many manufactured right here in the USA.  I can denigrate no one for collecting them.

Where I take exception is for those who expressly own their firearms for defense against home invaders.  They're trying to tell me I need one for my self defense.  I promise you the day I need one for my self defense is the day I move.  And if I can find nowhere in the US where I can only find safety in carrying a firearm, I will become an expatriate.

2050
Spin Zone / Re: Now, for something completely different
« on: September 26, 2016, 05:35:40 AM »
Quote from: Gary on September 25, 2016, 06:50:45 PM
Sure will, I know Brian remembers you.  Hopefully the Mooney is in the shop for something routine and not a major issue.

Major issue.  Prop strike which was entirely my fault.  I am almost ready to bag the whole thing, since I feel like a truly lousy pilot.

2051
Spin Zone / Re: Goodbye 4th Amendment
« on: September 26, 2016, 05:34:48 AM »
Quote from: PaulS on September 25, 2016, 07:14:07 PM
Soooo, if only public money is used to fund candidates, who picks which candidate gets funded?

The public.  It can be metered with a necessary number of signatures on a petition, for example. 

But here's the rub. This is all academic.  The politicians are happy as can be with the status quo, and it appears that some segment of the public is too, though I can hardly see why.  This is just a fantasy and nothing more.

2052
Spin Zone / Re: Black man shot "for being black"
« on: September 26, 2016, 05:29:29 AM »
Quote from: jb1842 on September 26, 2016, 05:22:30 AM
I've been a LEO for 13 years. Been in a shooting, been to the emergency room twice (once in the back of an ambulance), surgery to fix injury on the job, and been in more fights than I remember. More dangerous than my father-in-law the retired roofer, and he will even tell you that. Do I fear for my life all day, no, but I've been in plenty of situations where I have.

Thank you for your service.

2053
Spin Zone / Re: Toy guns vs replicas vs real firearms
« on: September 26, 2016, 05:28:31 AM »
Quote from: Rush on September 26, 2016, 04:57:41 AM
People who carry guns don't have fear. They have a plan. Learn the difference.

To brag that you're walking around with no defense or protection, and you're unconcerned, "Here I am, a baby seal, come get me Orca!" To people who carry guns, that is what you look like, and it's not something brag worthy.
[/quote]

If you say so.  Like I said, the vast majority firearm deaths occur between people who know each other.  I don't routinely associate with firearm enthusiasts.  I'll play the odds on this one. 

In the meantime, to keep themselves safe firearm enthusiasts pay a cost.  There is the cost of the firearm, its ammunition, its upkeep and the time it takes to stay proficient.  That money and time could be used for exercise to stave off cardiovascular illness, which is orders of magnitude more likely to kill you than a firearm.  Those resources could be used for other leisure activities to improve your mental state and lower your blood pressure.  Stress-related diseases and stroke are orders of magnitude more likely to affect you than being shot with a firearm.  And there is the possibility that you or someone in your household could suffer from a discharge of the firearm itself.  You'll all tell me that will never happen, but then again I bet every last one of the 30,000 people who died last year from firearm discharge said the exact same thing.

2054
Spin Zone / Re: Toy guns vs replicas vs real firearms
« on: September 25, 2016, 06:30:30 PM »
There was a point where I was able to get solid numbers, and calculated that the odds of my having to defend myself against attack were orders of magnitude less than the firearm itself being involved in a tragedy in my home.  I can no longer calculate these things as I can't get numbers in which I have any confidence. 

Home invasion for the purpose of murder or assault is still vanishingly rare.  There have been a couple in my fair metropolis, but all involved drug activity.  The vast majority of firearm deaths involve people who know each other.  Half are suicides.  You are far more likely to die of mundane things, like traffic and household accidents, than you are from someone invading your domicile. 

Oh, and in answer to all the comments.  Yes, I have homeowners insurance, the bank was rather prickly on that point.  I might even maintain it after I pay off the note.  I have gas lines, meaning fire is always a possibility.  Our water heater caught fire not long ago.  I have lots of smoke detectors too.  Lots of people get burned up in house fires, way way more than suffer assault during a home invasion.

I've even got an alarm, for the sole reason that Mrs. Steingar feels safer with it.  I have to admit, I like the fact that it makes a very loud racket.  Were I a home invader that would be enough to scare me off and find a house absent one.

If someone really wants to assault me they'll find it laughably easy.  I walk 3 miles to and from work every day.  I'm outside, unarmed and unarmored.  But Steingar does not and will not live in fear.

2055
Spin Zone / Re: Black man shot "for being black"
« on: September 25, 2016, 06:17:33 PM »
Quote from: Bob Noel on September 25, 2016, 02:09:19 PM
In what way do you think their job (LEO's) is so safe?

I didn't say they were.  But whenever we have this sort of shooting, some police advocate will come on the air and tell us just how dangerous being an LEO is.  And someone will put up some horrible vid on the internet of a police officer murdered in the line of duty.  But if you look at the stats police work is not the most dangerous of professions by a fairly wide margin.  It is the profession at which you're most likely to be murdered.

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