Negotiating With Pirates

It's an interesting economic analysis of the dynamics of hostages and pirates.

The typical instance of Somali piracy isn't that different from what a young Julius Caesar experienced when he was kidnapped by pirates and held for ransom on his way home from political exile in Asia Minor. One interesting detail in Plutarch's report is that, "When these men at first demanded of him twenty talents for his ransom, he laughed at them for not understanding the value of their prisoner, and voluntarily engaged to give them fifty." 

Read the whole article to find out how Caesar eventually dealt with the pirates.

How to Train a Great Gun Dog

Five Quick Tips

I would add: Train your dog to like water at an early age. You want water to be a fun place to earn praise for your dog right from the start.

Moose Shoots Hunter; Straps Him to Car

The cops didn't think it was funny.

This falls under Rule #35: The cops never think it is as funny as you do.

270-Year-Old Book Found in Charleston

It's a book about parties in the 1780s. I actually think the bigger finds are the letters that they came across in the same search.

The recent search of the archives has already turned up several other gems that librarians didn't know were there.

They include two letters written by Alexander Hamilton and a unique third letter written by John Marshall, chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, to South Carolinian Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, who helped draft the Constitution.

"It was written the day that Thomas Jefferson was sworn in (as president)," Kometer said. "John Marshall was the one who actually swore him in. He started a letter to Charles Coatesworth Pinckney in the morning and then he took a break and came back at 4 o'clock to finish the letter and said I have just administered the oath."

I don't have much of an interest in party etiquette, but a letter from Chief Justice John Marshall to Charles Pinckney would be pretty cool to see. I hope they will put the letters on display. I wonder what else is just laying around in the vault. It kind of reminds me of the last scene from "Raiders of the Lost Ark". I'm sure some "top men" put those letters in that vault.

Massachusetts Bans Bake Sales in Schools

No sugar cookies, no peace!

Congressmen Who Resemble Muppets

Our Congressmen act like Muppets most of the time, so why should you be surprised that they resemble them? My favorite: Shumer/Gonzo.

Via Insty

Sunday Sporting Clays

Sometimes you need to get out of the house and have a mental health day. When the summer weather hits one of my favorite ways to enjoy the outdoors is at the sporting clay range. It’s a great way to enjoy some time with the guys, and it keeps your wing-shooting skills sharp come fall.

Sporting clays is usually described as "golf with a shotgun", but I can tell you from personal experience that it beats the heck out of golf. Oh, and those earmuffs are the awesome Howard Leight ones that I reviewed awhile back. They're still awesome.

Yours truly turning a clay target into a fine powder.
 (Photo courtesy Chad Horne)

Saturday Open Thread

Big weekend here in the midlands; if you want to do some eating, there's the Crawfish festival. If you're into history, you can go see the Battle for Columbia, and if you're looking for something more upscale, there's the Camden Cup. I guess if none of that works for you, there's some horse race in Kentucky today.

If you can't find something to do this weekend, it's your fault. My day may or may not involve a kiddie pool in the backyard.

Sammy Watkins Arrested for Weed

I'm shocked that #2 smokes weed!

HMAV Bounty Coming to Charleston

It's not the original HMAV Bounty, but a pretty good replica will be in Charleston next week. I love seeing these pieces of history. If you're in the Charleston area next week, this should be a sight to see.

The story of the mutiny always makes me wonder what I would do in a similar situation.Faced with an idyllic life in Tahiti versus severe discipline on a British ship, I can certainly see the attraction of Tahiti. However, the mutiny is also a good example of "be careful what you wish for" as almost all of the mutineers eventually were killed in conflicts with the natives (and each other). Say what you will about the British discipline system, but it did have the advantage of not devolving in to a massacre.

Being a rule follower, I would have probably not joined the mutiny, and I would have ended up in the small 23' boat with Bligh. In what is probably one of the top ten feats of seamanship, Bligh sailed that little boat 3,618 nautical miles back to Timor (the Dutch East Indies) with out any maps or charts. He did it with only a sextant and a pocket-watch. Bligh may have been a harsh taskmaster, but he knew how to sail. Pretty damn impressive if you ask me.

2012 Kentucky Derby Poster

LB Dantzler Enjoying Success at SEC Level

The #5 ranked Gamecock Baseball team is doing very well this year thanks to some talented freshmen starters. Additionally, newcomer (from junior college) third-baseman LB Dantzler is doing very well on the field, and fits in with the weird clubhouse vibe that the Gamecocks have with his whole "Fear the Fish" deal.

The Post and Courier has a nice story on LB's background here.

Dantzler must have listened, because he is enjoying the buzz surrounding his pet betta fish, Reptar, which he brought to Auburn late last month when his neighbor was unavailable to watch the fish. As word of the strange traveling partner hit Twitter, Dantzler smacked two homers in the series and decided to continue keeping the fish in the dugout or bullpen at games.

He even brought Reptar — which he named after a character from the cartoon TV show “Rugrats” — into a postgame press conference during last weekend’s series against Alabama. By then, “Fear the Fish” T-shirts were being sold, with a garnet betta fish at the center of the USC’s black “C” logo rather than a Gamecock. Brad bought 15 of them and gave them to friends and relatives.

 That's right. He brought his pet fish with him to a press conference. Baseball players are...different.

LB Dantzler's Pet Fish: The new Gamecock Baseball Mascot

Perigee Super Moon this Weekend

For all you astronomy geeks out there, the moon will be very close to earth this weekend. In related news, I believe Newt has timed the suspension of his campaign to coincide this event. Coincidence? I think not.

Anyone Ready for Duck Season Yet?

Turkey season is over and duck season doesn't start until November, so until then, get out to the clay range and stay in practice. Eventually, it will be time for this:

Perfect weather for duck hunting.

For more photos, check out GunDogMag.

Rep. Tim Scott Pumps Your Gas

Whether or not you think that our government can do anything about gas prices, it's not a bad way to get out and meet the constituents. Personally, I believe that the less time that politicians spend in the fever-swamp of DC, the better.

Someone Alert Sandra Fluke

An 18-wheeler full of condoms will be stopping in Columbia to give them out for free.

On Friday, May 4, the "Condom Nation" tour will stop at the corner of Millwood and House Streets in Columbia from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. and then from 4 p.m. - 7 p.m., the tour will be at Tony's Snack Shop on Bluff Rd. just east of Interstate 77.

Free condoms! I'm sure that Sandra Fluke would want to know about this so she can protest and complain about how they aren't giving out birth control specifically for women. This is just another example of how men are so sexist.

Rep. Trey Gowdy Grills Secretary Sebelius

Via the NY Sun, this five minute video shows local upstate boy, South Carolina Representative Trey Gowdy, absolutely destroy Secretary of HHS Kathleen Sebelius. This really highlights the divide between the parties today:

Imagine that. A lawmaker wants to talk about the law.

I want to puke when she says that she doesn't pretend to understand the nuance of Constitutional law. She understands it fine - she just doesn't give a damn. Her goal is to advance contraception/healthcare/whatever she wants in any manner that she can regardless of the Constitution.

On a related note, what kind of idiot wants insurance coverage for birth control? Birth control is a regular, predictable, and recurring expense that people have. Insurance is for irregular, unpredictable, and catastrophic expenses that can be spread out over a large group.

Asking for insurance to cover your birth control is like asking for insurance to cover your deodorant.

One Third of Chicken in Charleston, SC Has E-coli

I actually would have thought it would be higher, you know, like 100%, because that's why you don't eat raw chicken.

About a third of the chicken samples taken from two major Charleston area grocery store chains tested positive for E. coli bacteria, according to the results of a 10-city food safety study released last month.

 I guess I picked the wrong time to open up a chain of chicken sushi restaurants.

Safe Chicken

South Carolina Sues over Yucca Mountain

On Wednesday, an appellate court panel will hear oral arguments in a lawsuit filed by South Carolina and Washington state seeking an end to a political stalemate over the Yucca Mountain nuclear-waste repository.

Here's my favorite line from the article in discussing what happens until the Court rules:

Until that decision is made, nothing can move forward unless Congress decides to act.

Right. Because Congress is all about "acting" on stuff. I think it would be safe to say "Until a decision is made, nothing can move forward." Full stop.

What's the deal with Yucca Mountain anyway? Wasn't it originally designed to be a nuclear waste storage facility? All the waste has to go somewhere, and putting it under a mountain in the Western US desert seems like a good as place as any. If Nevada doesn't want to store nuclear waste, that's fine, but why did they start doing this in the first place? Seems like South Carolina and a bunch of other states relied (to their detriment) on the promise that Yucca Mountain was going to take all this waste off their hands.

Also, why is nuclear the n-word in the headline of the article? Are we not supposed to say nuclear?

New Blog to Check Out: Josh's Muse

There's a new link in my "Gun Blogs" category on the sidebar: Josh's Muse. It's a nice blend of gun-related topics and what he's listening to on his iPod, along with some random thoughts.

Sound familiar?

He also is a proud owner of the best semi-automatic pistol ever designed. But hey, I might be a little biased.

Check him out if you're so inclined.