Tag: You’re Doing it Right

DEFCAD for Your Firearm Related 3D Printing Needs

Late last year it was announced that design files for firearm related objects would no longer be allowed on Thingverse. This decision came after 3D printer designs for AR-15 lowers were posted. In response Defense Distributed has launched DEFCAD, a site to host 3D printer designs for firearm related items. As of this writing designs for a shotshell holder, an AR-15 pistol grip, an AR-15 lower, and many other items are available.

The best thing about the Internet is the fact that no information posted to it can ever be completely killed. Despite Thingverse’s attempt to censor firearm related 3D printer designs they are still available.

How to Legally Race on the Road

Have you ever wanted to drive down the road at 125mph but were afraid of what the police would do to you? Fear not, there is a very simple way to race down the road legally, just call the police and claim your car won’t stop:

When Frank Lecerf drove off to do his weekly supermarket shop in northern France, he was not expecting to embark on a high-speed car chase that would force him over the Belgian border and on to the national news bulletins.

Lecerf has filed a legal complaint after his Renault Laguna, which is adapted for disabled drivers, jammed at 200km/h (125mph) and the brakes failed, forcing him to continue careering along a vast stretch of French motorway and into Belgium. Police gave chase until he ran out of petrol and crashed into a ditch.

The 36 year old was on a dual carriageway on his way to a hypermarket when the car’s speed first jammed at 60mph. Each time he tried to brake, the car accelerated, eventually reaching 125mph and sticking there.

Apparently it never occurred to him that he could turn the car off, shift it into neutral, or hit the emergency brake (although that quickly loses value as speed climbs). Of course all that assumes that Mr. Lecerf actually wanted to stop, which he probably didn’t (and I don’t blame him, racing down the road at 125mph sounds like fun). With that said the police provide him an escort, likely because they wanted to cruise around at 125mph as well.

Digitizing Books for Fun and Preservation

With the introduction of e-readers such as the Amazon Kindle and Barnes and Nobel Nook e-books have finally gained a foothold. In fact it’s been almost one and a half year since Amazon announced that they sold more e-books than hardcover books. It’s easy to see why e-books have taken off, it’s far more convenient to have every book you own on a single device instead of lugging around a handful of books wherever you go. Unfortunately there are some books that still aren’t in electronic format, many of which are very rare. For example, I have a copy of The Black Flag of Anarchy Corinne Jacker. It’s a very interesting title that covers anarchism in the United States but, as far as I can see, no electronic copy exists and no electronic copy is likely to be made. That is, at least, until I follow these instructions for building a do-it-yourself book scanners:

Daniel Reetz, founder of DIYBookScanner.org, had been making kits available for those looking to build their own device. Finding a need for a scanner himself, Reetz built his first book scanner from the trash he found from dumpster diving. He created an Instructable to share his experiences and discovered a diverse group of individuals who also had the need for a book scanner. The group ranged from a man from Indonesia hoping to preserve books from flood damage to a group of engineers looking for a new and interesting project to spark their interests. The DIY Book Scanner had modest beginnings, but over a period of two years it evolved into a movement of individuals using readily available resources to create solutions.

The article primarily discusses the trials and tribulations faced by the ArsTechnica writers who built one of the do-it-yourself scanners. It’s not easy but it is possible and the technology is guarantee to improve and become more accessible. Digitizing books is the most effective way to make rare titles available for everybody’s enjoyment and is currently the most effective way of preventing such titles from disappearing entirely. It is my hope that every piece of written literature will someday be available in electronic format.

Fighting Against the State’s War on the Homeless

The state is at war with the homeless. City governments, especially in large cities, have been working hard to make the lives of homeless individuals miserable in the hopes that they’ll leave and, effectively, become another city’s problem. Fortunately there are people who are trying to fight the state. One of the ways people in London are fighting back is through a tactic called guerrilla benching. If you live in a large city you’ve likely noticed an increasing number of divided or otherwise oddly shaped benches. Although it seems like these odd benches are so shaped for artistic reasons the truth is that they are designed that way to prevent homeless people from sleeping on the benches. Guerrilla benching is the act of clandestinely installing benches that individual can sleep on in public spaces.

It’s a rather clever tactic that is difficult to fight. Who is going to pay any attention to a newly installed bench? Who is going to call the police to report a bench that homeless individuals can sleep on? Who is even aware that oddly shaped benches are so shaped to prevent homeless people form sleeping on them? The tactic is brilliant because it exploits the ignorance of the average person. Even city officials are likely to pay little attention to the newly installed bench since they aren’t aware of the day-to-day operations of the city they purport to run.

I would like to see this kind of thing grow. There is little reason to actively prevent homeless individuals from sleeping on public benches. In fact I think it speaks quite ill of our society that resources are being actively invested in making the lives of individuals who have nothing even more miserable. Why not invest those resources in helping those in need instead of hindering them?

Without the State Purely Scientific Research Wouldn’t Receive Funding

Many people believe that the state is necessary to fund scientific research, especially pure scientific research. In fact a common rebuttal statists make when I advocate anarchism is that we need the state to fund scientific research that isn’t likely to turn a profit. These people believe that private funding for scientific research only happens when the research is like to make a profit. Quite the opposite is true as Jack Horner, one of the most famous paleontologists in the world, explained during his interview on Slashdot:

How will science be funded in the US next?
by damn_registrars

For a long time the primary source of money for scientific research has been the federal granting agencies (NIH, NSF, DOE in particular). All three of them are facing either budget cuts, budget stalls, or increases in their budgets that do not match inflation. This does not seem to fare well for new scientists or established ones who are looking to further their careers. Where do you see research money coming from next? Alternately, are we looking ahead to a time where fewer people will be doing science because the funding just won’t exist to pay even their meager wages any more?

Horner: Like most researchers in the early part of their careers, I relied on writing grants to NSF, but as these government agencies became more stringent and stingy with funding for dinosaurs and other purely scientific endeavors, I moved away from government funding to private funding, and I think this is where most all research funds for dinosaurs will eventually come from. Private people who have the financial where-with-all and interest in the field currently fund most of the dinosaur collecting, research and exhibitions in the United States. It is up to us paleontologists to make sure we engage the public in all venues, and keep their interest high, if we expect to continue these kinds of studies. The government is much more interested in practical sciences (renewable energy, climate change, medical) these days, a trend I would expect to continue for quite some time.

When it comes to purely scientific research the state has little interest in providing funding. Instead scientists wanting to perform purely scientific research, such as paleontology, have to seek funding in the private sector. What many statists fail to realize is that there are people out there that have a deep interest in purely scientific research and are willing to donate money to its cause.

Prohibitions Are Business Opportunities

In the state’s war on obesity public schools around the country are either severely restricting or outright banning soda. Statists still believe they can control behavior through prohibitions but history reminds us that isn’t the case. During Prohibition entrepreneurs setup businesses where individuals could purchase alcohol in a social environment. These businesses eventually became known as speakeasies, as individuals discussed them quietly in public in order to avoid tipping off the police. Although the public school system has tried to beat all forms of creativity and historical knowledge out of American children they continue to overcome their oppressors and bypass school prohibitions:

A School is believed to be the first in London to become “water only” and ban fizzy drinks for pupils.

[…]

Some entrepreneurial teenagers have spotted the “business potential” of smuggling in contraband cola, lemonade, orangeade and other soft drinks to sell at inflated prices. The ban was announced in a newsletter to parents. No food was banned, with sweets and chocolate cleared for consumption in the grounds.

Pupil Jake Phillips, 15, said that “speakeasies” are starting up selling the prohibited drinks. “There is business potential now there’s a gap in the market,” he said.

“Gangsters sold alcohol in America when that was banned. Prohibition always leads to supply and demand. That means anyone who sneaks it in can make a lot of money.” Pupils under 16 are not allowed out at lunchtimes so they cannot buy drinks elsewhere.

It’s good to see students learning from history and ignoring draconian mandates. Perhaps, someday, these children will be the destroyers of the state.

Olympic Arms No Longer Selling to Employees of the State of New York

It’s too bad Olympic Arms is currently unable to meet current demand for their rifles because their recent announcement makes me want to buy something from them:

Press Release: Olympic Arms, Inc. Announces New York State Sales Policy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Olympic Arms is a staunch believer in and defender of the Constitution of the United States, and with special attention paid to the Bill of Rights that succinctly enumerates the security of our Divinely given Rights. One of those Rights is that to Keep and Bear Arms.

Legislation recently passed in the State of New York outlaws the AR15 and many other firearms, and will make it illegal for the good and free citizens of New York to own a large selection of legal and safe firearms and magazines. We feel as though the passage of this legislation exceeds the authority granted to the government of New York by its citizens, and violates the Constitution of the United States, ignoring such SCOTUS rulings as District of Columbia v. Heller – 554, U.S. 570 of 2008, McDonald v. Chicago – 561 U.S. 3025 of 2010, and specifically the case of United States v. Miller – 307 U.S. 174 of 1939.

Due the passing of this legislation, Olympic Arms would like to announce that the State of New York, any Law Enforcement Departments, Law Enforcement Officers, First Responders within the State of New York, or any New York State government entity or employee of such an entity – will no longer be served as customers.

In short, Olympic Arms will no longer be doing business with the State of New York or any governmental entity or employee of such governmental entity within the State of New York – henceforth and until such legislation is repealed, and an apology made to the good people of the State of New York and the American people.

If the leaders of the State of New York are willing to limit the right of the free and law abiding citizens of New York to arm themselves as they see fit under the Rights enumerate to all citizens of the United State through the Second Amendment, we feel as though the legislators and government entities within the State of New York should have to abide by the same restrictions.

This action has caused a division of the people into classes: Those the government deems valuable enough to protect with modern firearms, and those whose lives have been deemed as having less value, and whom the government has decided do not deserve the right to protect themselves with the same firearms. Olympic Arms will not support such behavior or policy against any citizen of this great nation.

Olympic Arms invites all firearms manufacturers, distributors and firearms dealers to join us in this action to refuse to do business with the State of New York. We must stand together, or we shall surely fall divided.

Sincerely,

Brian Schuetz
President
Olympic Arms, Inc.

Emphasis mine. Were every firearm manufacture to follow Olympic Arms’s example New York politicians would likely find themselves having to repeal their recently passed gun control legislation or face the realization that their primary expropriators, the police, would be unable to expand their expropriation operations. After all, the state would find it very difficult to steal from the general population if they didn’t have an arsenal of weapons to backup their threats. Imagine the headaches that would be faced by various police departments in New York if Glock and Smith and Wesson refused to do business with them.

For now I will make a note to purchase an Olympic Arms rifle when they catch up on production.

Gun Ownership in Latin America

As this country continues to go the way of Rome I’ve been looking at escaping this sinking ship of a nation before things get too bad. While performing my research on foreign lands I came across an excellent podcast called The Expat Files. The Expat Files is a podcast done by John Mueller, a man who left the United States and has lived in various Latin American countries for over 20 years. The most recent episode discussed gun ownership in Latin America. Honestly, based on what Muller said, it seems many Latin American countries are freer than our own. He mentioned that many countries do have laws requiring registration, licensing, and the usual slew of gun control advocate demands but the laws are not enforced because most Latin American countries lack the resources to run a police state. On top of that many countries in Latin America don’t bother enacting gun control legislation because they know people, especially those living in rural areas, will simply ignore them. I also found it rather interesting that it’s normal to see individuals walking around with pistols strapped to their hip as we’re often told that the United States is one of the few countries that allow such activities.

Overall escaping this country and heading to a place where the state’s decrees aren’t enforced sounds better and better. It’s obvious that things are going well in the United States nor are they going to be improving anytime soon. Between the never ending wars, deflating currency, faltering economy, and draconian state the United States is becoming uninhabitable. If you’re interested in escaping this ship but want to keep participating in the shooting sports I’d advise you to listen to the lastest episode of The Expat Files because Latin America may be a better option than sticking around here.

The Appropriate Response to Gun “Buybacks”

Zerg539 sent me another great story via Twitter. The Seattle Police Department decided to setup its first gun “buyback” in 20 years. I put the phrase buyback in quotation marks because the name is an exercise in Orwellian doublespeak. Buying something back implies you originally owned it but, with the exception of some police surplus guns, the Seattle Police Department never owned the firearms they’re trying to buy. Therefore calling it a gun buyback is incorrect, it’s really a gun acquisition. Thankfully local gun owners decided two could play at that game:

Police officers in Seattle, Washington held their first gun buyback program in 20 years this weekend, underneath interstate 5, and soon found that private gun collectors were working the large crowd as little makeshift gun shows began dotting the parking lot and sidewalks. Some even had “cash for guns” signs prominently displayed.

Police stood in awe as gun enthusiasts and collectors waved wads of cash for the guns being held by those standing in line for the buyback program.
People that had arrived to trade in their weapons for $100 or $200 BuyBack gift cards($100 for handguns, shotguns and rifles, and $200 for assault weapons) soon realized that gun collectors were there and paying top dollar for collectible firearms. So, as the line for the chump cards got longer and longer people began to jump ship and head over to the dealers.

This is the appropriate response to gun buyback programs. State operated gun “buyback” programs are an exercise in using tax money to purchase firearms from unsuspecting individuals (the programs primarily target criminals who want to dispose of crime guns, since the police outright state that no attempt to trace the firearms will be made and that the firearms are destroyed, and those who inherited firearms and are ignorant of their true value). The best way to demonstrate the state’s attempt to rip off gun owners is to offer a better price for firearms. If the state says they’ll give $200 for “assault rifles” you need only offer a little more than $200, unless the rifle is scrap metal, in which case you let the state buy it. I’m glad to see the act of gun owners swarming state “buybacks” continues to increase in popularity.

Dissent Wasn’t Allowed at the King’s Inauguration

Apparently not every celebrity is enamored with Obama’s policy of bombing people overseas:

Rapper Lupe Fiasco was thrown offstage and escorted off the premises of a Washington, D.C. concert hall during a pre-inauguration concert Sunday night, after going on an anti-war, anti-Obama rant, according to concertgoers.

At least the United States hasn’t become as bad as Thailand… yet.

EDIT: 2012-01-22: 10:20: I accidentally a word. Thanks goes to Bob S. for pointing it out.