M-4 to Get Pistons

This is great news and an amusing headline.

My own title looks like nonsense to anyone who isn’t into guns, I suspect.  For those who don’t know what it means, there have been complaints about the reliability of the M-4, the current derivative of the venerable M-16 assault rifle.  Most of the complaints have to do with the way the action works, being a direct gas system. 

For the layman, direct gas systems take the expanding propellant gases from each round fired to push the bolt back and load another round. Direct is what it sounds like; the gases go straight back into the receiver.  That means a lot of gunpowder fouling of the receiver which is the most important part of the weapon.  The more fouling the easier it is to jam in the middle of a firefight.

A piston system siphons off the expanding gases into a separate chamber where they push a piston that in turn moves a rod that transfers the energy to the bolt.  That keeps the bulk of gunpowder residue up in the piston area where there are fewer moving parts.  With a cleaner receiver there are far fewer jams, as the article shows.

There are complaints that short piston equipped M-16/AR-15 rifles are front heavy and the M-4 was designed to be light and compact.  But a weapon that is more reliable while keeping all the other good traits is worth the trade off, I think. If I had the money, I’d get a piston AR-15 rather than the classic design.  But I like front heavy rifles and heavy rifles period.

This modification is something I’d hoped the Army would do years ago.

LHC Ramps Up the Power

More good news from CERN, the Large Hadron Collider hit 1.18 trillion electron volts in the wee hours of the morning. It looks like it is finally overcoming the technical problems that stalled the program.  Still waiting for the first proton smashing but they are hopeful of doing that before Christmas.

Climate Change Scandal Taints Science

I’ve avoided writing on the University of East Anglia’s Climate Research Unit having their files “hacked” because it is hard to get worked up over the turning battle over man made global warming. The majority of people have now realized that this is bogus movement with the tipping point happening some time this year. Still, a significant percentage still believe in this junk science so the revelations of data tampering exposed by the documents has done quite a bit of damage.  Christopher Booker’s commentary at the Telegraph lays out why this is such an important scandal and I highly advise reading it.

This needed to be brought to the light like any politically driven pseudo science, but I fear there will be fallout across the board tainting the public perception of scientific research.  The old problem of a few rotten eggs ruining things is something I’ve worried about. An example of how science is now getting a negative reputation can be found in the hysteria that starting the CERN supercollider would create a black hole. The earth will be sucked into and we’ll all die!

Yes, people have little understanding of scientific method and I blame our pathetic public education system for that. The bad eggs in politicized junk science have aggravated the problem as they use sensationalism to obtain large grants.  Maybe it is time to seriously audit all research grants to see how the money is actually spent and see if there is graft going on. Of course, that would be negative publicity for scientific research again. *sigh*

We still have to get the truth and I hope this scandal will have a chilling effect on corrupt scientists.

Dubai Financial Problems Get Worse

I’m still watching with keen interest what is going on with the collapse of Dubai’s commercial real estate ventures.  Dubai World is not going to be bailed out or their debt backed up by the government of the small nation. $60 billion in liabilities will not be paid back and this is going to cause quite a few problems for the UK banks.  The Bank of Scotland may be on the hook for billions of dollars but things are murky yet.

An intervention by the central bank of the United Arab Emirates has helped markets recover, but I don’t see how a liquidity infusion will help a solvency problem in the long term.  It may not even help in the short term other than to temporarily reassure the stock markets.  Whatever the case, this may be another canary in the coal mine. I fully expect bank failures to come out of this.

Black Friday and a Hint of Black Tuesday

Another day and more bad economic news.

It is the day after Thanksgiving, when minds turn toward shopping for Christmas presents that often go to oneself. It will be interesting to see how all the sales go, some stores and online firms have had them going all week already. My gut feeling is that they will be down because high unemployment combined with overextended credit means no money to spend.  Personally, I can’t afford gifts or even to mail Christmas cards this year, unless I find a way to get extra cash – which is very hard for a chronically ill disabled guy.

But I doubt I’m alone in this boat.  One of the shoes I’ve been predicting to drop has been the hidden problems with commercial real estate loans. Nobody has been more ambitious in growing their commercial land than Dubai and things have come to a head there.  The city state of Dubai has asked for a suspension of their loan payments for six month and that has spooked the world markets today.  UK banks are particularly at risk due to this, but the ripple effect looks to be large and spanning the globe.  The Dow Jones opened with a 200 point slide before stabilizing around 150 points down.

Meanwhile, the dollar continues to slide.  I wouldn’t consider Japan to be that strong an economy due to its going into deflation. So if the US dollar is so weak against it what does it say about the US economy?  We will be seeing considerable inflation as this continues and that in turn will depress domestic spending even further.

Oil is down as well, going below $75 a barrel due to the Dubai crisis. I remember when a crisis was a much bigger thing, but that is the media for you.  Gold and precious metals are down for the same reason but that will be temporary as foreign central banks move out of the US dollar.

All the ballyhooing going on by various governments that the recession is over seems to be more propaganda (and wishful thinking) than reality.  The instability still remains and the world market reactions reflect it. With commercial real estate investments set to blow up and only a lull in the home loan failures, much will go wrong with in the next 10 months.

A Time to Give Thanks

It is that time of year again, the time of turkeys, cranberry sauce, and relatives gathering together.  In our case, two out of three apply – we have turkey and cranberry sauce.  But what is this holiday called Thanksgiving is really about?

It helps to flash back to those struggling Puritan settlers; you know them, the guys with with the funny black hats and muskets that look like some guy should be playing a jazz tune through. Colonizing untamed lands was not easy and starvation was a constant threat.  Early attempts at communal farming were a failure and the colonists were fortunate to be given charity by a local tribe of American Indians.  Not starving to death was something to be very grateful for and so was the ability to practice their religion without government interference or persecution.

Flash forward to today and compare our lives to their hard scrabble existence.  Even though times are tough by modern standards there is much to be grateful for.  We are yet free and live in a land of abundance. While times are tough at the Boonedocks right now and won’t be getting any better in the foreseeable future, I am thankful that I have a roof over my head, food to eat, heat to keep me warm, and electricity to power the PC I’m typing this on.  There are people who don’t have those things or are facing horrendous trials in their lives.

My prayer for this Thanksgiving:

I thank Thee, oh Father, for the blessings I enjoy. May those shattered families and individuals suffering today know comfort and healing, find their strengths that they have lost or not discovered, and know that redemption can be found by all of God’s children.  May they know hope and peace during these hard times and find inspiration from those who have gone before them. Please help them to feel Thy love for them and remind them that they have the divine within them.  Please help those of us who are blessed be better servants to those in need. In the name of the Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Why I Don’t Listen to Glenn Beck

Glenn Beck has gotten very popular over the past few years on both radio and TV.  He is at times very amusing and comes off  as a mix between a sideshow barker and that crazy uncle every family has. The red phone to the White House is an all time classic of political satire and a good example of how pointedly funny he can be.  He’s also gotten some important things out into the public eye that needed exposure.

But I’ve had issues with Beck’s behavior. Much mockery has been made of his loss of emotional control on air and for good reason. There is a dark side to his shtick and that is the pervasive severe paranoia he exhibits accompanied by grandiose beliefs in his own power to sway people. In that way he is a classic populist and the danger of populists is that they are often one step from becoming demagogues. 

Beck has increasingly been acting messianic, first with the 9/12 Project and now with an undefined march on Washington scheduled for next year.  While these things look good on paper, please note that every time he does something along these lines there is a new book being released or about to be released.  Lately I’ve found myself asking if it is money or delusion that fuels him -- or both? One thing I never had questioned is his patriotism.

Until now.

Calling for our young men and women to stop enlisting in the military goes so far over the line as to negate anything positive Beck has done in the past.  At this point, any conservative credentials can only be considered partial as it is clear he does not understand the troops or why they serve. I consider strong defense to be second most important leg of the Reagan stool of conservatism.  Yes what is being done to the Navy SEALS is reprehensible at face value and if the story is true, we have reason to make heads roll in the military and White House over it.  Note to Beck: the country isn’t the government and THE COUNTRY WILL STAND BEHIND THE SOLDIERS.  This isn’t Vietnam where the public abandoned our veterans. I know lefties who show more support of the troops and their mission than Beck just did.

If he believes the military will be one day used against the people of the country (and I think he does) discouraging patriotic conservatives from serving will make that easier to pull off.  Right there is a logic fail of epic proportions.  When things finally do start falling apart, I personally believe a big chunk of the armed forces, active and retired, will be the ones fighting for restoring liberty to this land.  You don’t want the people who listen to talk radio and watch Fox News to leave the military.

Glenn was always a weak sister during the war in Iraq and has shown isolationist tendencies much like Ron Paul, another destructive pseudo conservative. The world will come to us like it did on 9/11 even if we ignore it.  Isolationism is the last refuge of the coward and often a mask for someone who wants total control of their country.  That’s why it is galling to see libertarian types fall for the philosophy when it is antithetical to freedom and individuality in the long run.

One might point out the emotion of Beck’s dealing with his family members who have enlisted.  I have a young friend who enlisted in the Army last year.  While he is not active duty, the opportunity to go to Iraq happened and I spoke with him about the decision.  Without going into the details, we spoke about the pros and cons of going now instead of waiting to get out of college and being commissioned an officer. Never once did it occur to me to dissuade him due to Obama being president or his safety being guaranteed.

The young man decided to go only to have the offer yanked out from under him – college it is, at least for a year.  He had my full support in his decision, as hasty as it might be.  I agreed with his mother’s assessment that “Dying in service is still dying in service to God.” 

In the end, service in the military is about service to our country and its people.  The oath sworn by every man and woman in our armed services is to the Constitution, not Congress, not the President. Glenn Beck would do well to remember that.

I don’t like how media figures influence things so disproportionately and I’m on record as not being a fan of them whether or not they are on my side politically. This episode illustrates why.  At some point, the perceived power they have goes to their heads.  Being entertainers first, they often shoot their mouths off and do damage to their own side. But a bigger problem is how much faith their listeners and viewers put into them.

That is why I don’t listen to people like Glenn Beck and prefer to cull my news from a wide variety of sources.  Broadcast and cable news/commentary are distorted by the lens of entertainment – or spectacle, if you will. I’m a Joe Friday kind of guy wanting “Just the facts, ma’am.”  We’ve got fiction for entertainment and it is dangerous when it passes for news.