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When I built this shop back in the winter of 201-2018, one of the things I built of scrap lumber was a temporary table that we could use as a cook prep area and to use as a serving table. Built from scrap 2x4s and plywood, it was never meant to become a permanent fixture, but it is so damned useful that it keeps being used even today.
A major reason why I got this set is because I think they'll be especially useful with powders that don't meter consistently with small charges, where a difference of 0.1 or 0.2 grains can make a big difference (e.g, Red Dot and Unique).
A few years ago when reloading components were hard to come by, one of the powders that was seen relatively frequently on the shelf was Winchester 244, which is just ahead of Alliant Unique on Hodgdon's burn rate chart. When searching for loading data for Win-244 a common theme is that there is not much to be found.
I picked up a pound in 2024 and loaded a box of .38 Special 158 grain LSWCs but didn't do much with it. I mostly use Bullesye, Titegroup, and HP-38 in .38 Special, with some Unique thrown in for variety.
One thing I like about 244 is that like the other ball powders it meters consistently, so I wanted to find a use for it.
Another cartridge I load for is .44-40 WCF, which I shoot in a Cimarron Model P revolver, a Cimarron 1860 Henry rifle, and a Cimarron 1873 Sporting Rifle (all built by Uberti). Loaddata.com has data for Winchester 244 in .44-40, with 200 grain bullets ranging from 6.8 grains to 7.6 grains, and for 223 grain bullets from 6.5 to 7.4 grains, so today I decided to load some up.
Muzzle velocities for these loads range from around 928 FPS to a bit over 1,000 FPS from a 7" Colt Frontier Six Shooter, according to Loaddata.com. That's in the ballpark of what .44-40 will do with full charges of high quality black powder, e.g., Swiss.
I loaded 50 with a 200 grain RNFP from Desperado Cowboy Bullets and 50 with a 215 grain RNFP from Matt's Bullets, both over 7.0 grains of 244, which I dispensed using the No.9 rotor in my RCBS Little Dandy.
Performance of this should be similar to the Skeeter Load of a 250 grain Keith bullet over 7.5 grains of Unique in .44 Special, albeit with lighter bullets.
I'm hoping to try them out next weekend.
NOTE: Make sure you verify the load data before relying upon it, and if you use a Little Dandy do not rely on what my measure throws. Verify that yourself with a scale and your powder measure.
Here’s a horror story for you, with as happy an ending as the horrendous circumstances allowed. In retrospect, I can say it probably would have ended better if the parents had been able to access a gun. In Massachusetts where it happened, even owning handguns let alone carrying them legally is a hassle, but it […]‘Disgusting’: Same professional protester allegedly found at nearly 100 different protests – ‘Here’s her saying ban guns, not drag. Amazing. This is her telling us that lies have consequences’ [More] As long as reward exceed disincentives…
The post The Finest Treasonous Malcontents Money Can Buy first appeared on The War on Guns.
This post is the third in a series on how to make your home network harder to attack. Here are links to posts one and two.
Post two introduces the concept of a Firewall which is a device that lets you connect to the Internet without letting the Internet connect to you. Firewall technology comes embedded in your Internet provider's device like a Cable TV modem. A recent article does a comparison on a number of these devices.
If you look at the device it will look a lot like this:
The red colored connection goes out to the Internet, the yellow ones go to your devices (as does the Wifi). This one has a connection for a landline telephone as well (ask your parents, kids).
Installing the device is really simple - red (labeled "WAN") goes to the outside which is untrusted, and yellow/WiFi go to your own devices which are trusted.
Except nothing is as simple as that. Your Internet provider actually owns the firewall device, it's not really yours. Some providers run their own WiFi network for other subscribers who happen to be passing by - Verizon is notorious for this, and you will often find all sorts of WiFi networks called "VerizonXYZ" or some such.
So who is outside the firewall, and who is inside? The question may sound pedantic but it's terribly important. Fortunately there is something you can do about this.
Ships used to sink all the time but this is pretty rare these days. One major reason for this is that they are divided into compartments which are watertight - if the ship hits a rock (or, like the Andrea Doria gets rammed by another ship) only one compartment will flood and the ship can likely make it to port.
_under_construction,_1_April_1940.jpg) |
| USS South Dakota under construction |
The network security analog of this idea is to use more than one firewall. Don't trust your provider's firewall? (and you really shouldn't) Buy your own and hook it up to your provider's firewall. The red (WAN) port on your firewall gets connected to the internal (yellow) connector on the provider firewall. Now anyone that the firewall lets in can't get past your firewall.
And it really is your firewall, although you'll have to buy it with cash money. But your devices connect to your firewall's yellow network connections, or to your firewall's (NOT your provider's firewall) WiFi.
Now you don't have to trust your provider because their device doesn't have access to your internal "watertight compartment".
Linksys, Netgear, and TP-Link are low cost options, running $30 - $70 or so.
The first thing you should do is replace your firewall's operating system with dd-wrt:
DD-WRT is a Linux based alternative OpenSource firmware suitable for a great variety of WLAN routers and embedded systems. The main emphasis lies on providing the easiest possible handling while at the same time supporting a great number of functionalities within the framework of the respective hardware platform used.
Here's a step by step tutorial on how to install dd-wrt on a Netgear device:
Why go to this hassle? Product longevity. Consider a $60 Netgear device. The profit margin on this to Netgear is probably $5. You can't pay for a lot of enhancements or security bug fixes with that. DD-wrt is an open source project with a bunch of passionate contributors. I like my chances on having a viable, supported software five years down the road with them. Not so much the device manufacturers.
So now you have a device you can trust for the long term. We're not done yet, because there's all sorts of new tech evil that people want to use - Ring doorbells, Alexa, etc. That's tomorrow.
I've posted in the past about my two Colt single actions clones, a 4-5/8" .357 Magnum Cimarron Pistolero built by Pietta, and 5-1/2" ".44-40 Cimarron Model P built by Uberti. The Model P is built on a "black powder" style frame. I.e., the cylinder base pin is retained by a screw instead of a spring loaded plunger, which was introduced by Colt around 1895, IIRC. The plunger makes maintenance easier since removal and replacement of the cylinder doesn't require a tool.
Pietta below on the left, with the Uberti on the right. The lighting makes the color of the Pietta's frame look lighter than it actually is in normal light.
In the video, Mr. Pearce notes that the Pietta clones feature a removable cylinder bushing and a "Swiss safety," i.e., a two-position cylinder base pin that can be used to prevent the hammer from falling completely. My Uberti Model P, which has Colt-style lockwork rather than a floating firing pin, has both of these features as well. Actually, the cylinder bushing in my Pietta is stuck, and may even been peened in place so I'm leaving it be. There's no need to remove it except for replacement, at which time I'll apply judicious force.
Between the two, the Uberti has a nicer blueing job but functionally the two guns are equivalent. I can't compare accuracy since I've never benched them. That said, I'm able to hit what I'm aiming at with either gun if I do my part.
Ruger's New Model Blackhawk is certainly a more modern design, safe to carry with all 6 chambers loaded, but a well-made Colt-pattern single action is still a fine sidearm when you keep its limitations in mind.
Fears of a midterm blowout could push President Donald Trump into a “Civil War”-like response, a political expert has warned.[More] What “political expert”? Cute, the way they file partisan propaganda under “News”…
The post ‘Top Men’ first appeared on The War on Guns.
Antifa Activist: ‘This Is What the Founding Fathers Gave Us the Second Amendment For’ [More] Guess he didn’t read the bit in the Constitution about “calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions.” [Via bondmen] Tangentially-Related UPDATE Liberals Think Antifa Isn’t Real. But It Is—and It Knows How … Continue reading "What, He’s Agreeing with WHITE SLAVE OWNERS?"
The post What, He’s Agreeing with WHITE SLAVE OWNERS? first appeared on The War on Guns.
Philadelphia Sheriff Rochelle Bilal — employing hipster slang and evoking a call-and-response chant — on Friday called federal immigration agents “fake, wannabe” law enforcement and claimed their actions violate both “legal law” and “moral law.” [More] Coming from a DEI appointment presiding over a cesspool of corruption and incompetence, that’s rich. That’s the thing about … Continue reading "We’re the Only Ones Real Enough"
The post We’re the Only Ones Real Enough first appeared on The War on Guns.
Bessent Signals Crackdown On Dark-Money NGO Protests ‘Just Like We Did With The Mafia’ [More] A-yup. Tools of the One Percent ought to be a meme for the next No Brains rally. [Via bondmen]
The post Follow the Money first appeared on The War on Guns.
Trump’s Greenland push escalates as GOP lawmaker moves to make it America’s 51st state- Rep Randy Fine, who is introducing the bill on Monday, says he wants the US to acquire Greenland voluntarily [More] We sure giving two senators to 57,000 people raised in an aid-dependent European mindset culture is a good idea? I guess … Continue reading "Greenland with Envy"
The post Greenland with Envy first appeared on The War on Guns.
By Dave Workman Everytown for Gun Safety, the Michael Bloomberg-backed gun prohibition lobbying group, is pulling out all the stops in its campaign against H.R. 8, the bill which would make national concealed carry reciprocity a realty. Lately, Everytown has been flooding Facebook with advertising loaded with inflammatory assertions such as, “Our lawmakers should focus […]
The post Everytown’s Over-the-Top Campaign Against H.R. 38 appeared first on Liberty Park Press.
Stand With Lawrence DeStefano in His Fight for Justice [More] Here are the details. I never ask readers to do anything I’m not willing to do, and I’m willing to spread the word and to pitch in. It doesn’t have to be a lot. Every little bit helps. Are you? I’ll be curious to see … Continue reading "Our Turn"
The post Our Turn first appeared on The War on Guns.
Oregon only has 4 million people. And like 20 percent of their voter registrations were bad? [More] “Our democracy”… So… when do we see the Kraken? [Via Michael G]
The post Adventures in Baselessness first appeared on The War on Guns.
Former DC cop sentenced to decades behind bars for child sex trafficking… Barnhill had previously served seven years in prison for similar crimes involving minors and resumed trafficking after his release… [More] I wonder how many were of Pelosi-endorsed voting age? [Via Steve T]
The post We’re the Only Ones Repeat Offending Enough first appeared on The War on Guns.
A Kansas City man contacted KMBC 9 Investigates after witnessing a man push a woman to the ground and steal a package on the streetcar on Wednesday…. “It was just a situation to where if, I think if a security guard had been on the streetcar at that time, he could have intervened immediately,” Roberts … Continue reading "Off Their Trolley"
The post Off Their Trolley first appeared on The War on Guns.
Former North KC District employee, brother charged with selling dozens of illegal machine guns [More] Why are they illegal? Why are people the state knows can’t be trusted with them allowed access to those of us who can be? [Via Steve T]
The post It Depends Upon What the Meaning of the Word ‘Infringed’ Is first appeared on The War on Guns.
Kansas City considers new gas station ordinances as shooting injures three [More] Reduce violent crime by imposing prohibition of alcohol sales…? Genius! [Via Steve T]
The post No New Thing Under the Sun first appeared on The War on Guns.
Of all reporting Florida cities, Miami Gardens reported the highest violent crime rate in 2024 at 11.77 per 100,000 people. [More] You don’t say. Anybody else notice an elephant in the room…?
The post Demographics is Destiny first appeared on The War on Guns.
A U-Haul driver allegedly plowed into a massive crowd of protesters at an anti-Iran regime rally in Los Angeles on Sunday… The rental truck, which had the words “NO SHAH. NO REGIME. USA: DON’T REPEAT 1953. NO MULLAH” emblazoned on one side … Bill Essayli, the first assistant US attorney for the Central District of … Continue reading "Mystery to Me"
The post Mystery to Me first appeared on The War on Guns.
A number of Portland Antifa riot suspects, arrestees or members have been revealed to be convicted sex offenders, including child sex offenders. [More] Meatspace trolls exhibit the same characteristics as the virtual ones. [Via Michael G]
The post The Content of Their Character first appeared on The War on Guns.
New gun storage law took effect on same day boy found firearm, shot another child in Humboldt Park [More] Forget it, Jake. It’s Chi-Town.
The post The Best Laid Schemes first appeared on The War on Guns.
Virginia: More Gun Control Bills Filed Including Semi-Auto Ban & Tax on Suppressors! …by NRAHQ [More] And not a single comment poster so far has brought up NRA’s part in this self-fulfilling prophecy.
The post Who Could Have Seen THAT Coming? first appeared on The War on Guns.
Former Nickelodeon star Jennette McCurdy discusses age-gap relationship at 18 and reveals how perceived maturity was weaponized against her [More] Now extrapolate how a Dunning-Kruger convergence of inexperience, ignorance, immaturity, unearned pride, confusion, and anger that is then insidiously groomed, influenced, conditioned and manipulated, results in choices on “sexual identity” and politics.
The post The Appeal of DSA first appeared on The War on Guns.
Wednesday interview with @GunOwnersRadio discussing @NRA v. NRAF. We discussed all the info I had at the time. I suspect I’ll have more to report this upcoming week. [More] And there was war in Heaven…
The post A House Divided first appeared on The War on Guns.
A 24-year-old Mississippi man accused of killing six people — including family members, a child and a church pastor — in a violent shooting rampage that unfolded across multiple rural locations Friday night may face the death penalty, prosecutors said… [More] “May”…? Y’know, if they listened to Zohran we wouldn’t have these problems.
The post Mississippi Burning first appeared on The War on Guns.
The post Rare & Unique Sightings From 100 French FR-F2 Sniper Rifles first appeared on Forgotten Weapons.
The "war on protein" is as much made-up ragebait as are the ones on Christmas or Christians.
You can’t swing a Happy Meal in this country without hitting a burger joint or a barbecue shack or a steakhouse. (And thank heavens for that.)
If there was a war on protein, then protein won a crushing, lopsided, complete victory sometime before I was born. I mean, Dr. Atkins wrote his book while we still had boots on the ground in Vietnam.
And why are they using a photo of RFK, Jr. that makes him look like the bad guy from a low-budget Saw ripoff?
WH Comms Director: "Did you get that picture of Bobby for the socials?"Photographer: "Sure did, boss. All creepy and sinister just like you asked."WH Comms Director: "What?"
The police and fire departments responded to the 6100 block of 18th Avenue at around 9 p.m. and learned about a dog biting a 36-year-old woman.
While family members, officers, and fire personnel were gathered outside the home, the dog escaped and attacked multiple individuals, including members of the Kenosha Fire Department.
A police officer, who has four years of law enforcement experience, discharged his firearm, fatally wounding the animal. The dog was actively and aggressively attacking and biting numerous residents, who were treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
On January 12, 1528, Gustav Vasa, Gustav I of Sweden was crowned King of Sweden. He ruled for 37 years, and became known as the “father of the nation.” His coronation started a succession of 23 monarchs with many of them known as “Gustav/Gustaf”. Their current king, Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus, was born on April 30, 1946. He ascended the throne on September 15, 1973. Carl XVI Gustaf is the seventh king of the House of Bernadotte. He is the longest-reigning king in Swedish history. — And on January 12, 1913, after using other pseudonyms over the years, Josef Dzhugashvili …
The post Preparedness Notes for Monday — January 12, 2026 appeared first on SurvivalBlog.com.
The Tyrant Design T.D.C. 002 Folding Knife has a 2.75-inch Tanto blade that is 0.13 inches thick at the broadest part of the spine. It has a black nitride finish and is made of D2 steel. The blade opens smoothly around a ball bearing pivot point using nicely textured thumb studs. It is secured in the open position by a liner lock. Jimping on the spine of the blade gives better control during delicate cuts. The grip of the handles is enhanced by textured EPDM rubber panels with a decorative chevron pattern. Chevrons on the accent spacer on the back …
The post Tyrant Design TDC 002 Folding Knife, by Thomas Christianson appeared first on SurvivalBlog.com.
The following recipe for Rich Amish Cornbread is from SurvivalBlog reader Tractoguy. He says: “I love the taste of cornbread, but don’t eat much of it because it is usually so heavy. This is the lightest, fluffiest cornbread that I have ever had, probably because of the sour cream in it.” Ingredients 1/2 cup wheat flour 1/2 cup cornmeal 1 egg 2 Tbsp. sugar 2 tsp. baking powder 1/4 cup milk 1/2 cup sour cream 1/4 cup melted butter (1/2 stick) Directions Combine ingredients, mixing briefly. Pour the batter into a greased 7-inch square baking dish. Bake at 400 degrees …
The post Recipe of the Week: appeared first on SurvivalBlog.com.
Today’s graphic: A map showing recent U.S. Internal Migration — The Geography of Choice. (Graphic courtesy of Reddit.) Note that majority of the states that are gaining population are conservative “Red” states. Preppers moving to the American Redoubt, Texas, The Ozarks, and to the Cumberland Plateau undoubtedly were a contributing factor in these population shifts. The thumbnail below is click-expandable. — Please send your graphics or graphics links to JWR. (Either via e-mail or via our Contact form.) Any graphics that you send must either be your own creation or uncopyrighted.
The post SurvivalBlog Graphic of the Week appeared first on SurvivalBlog.com.
“This, to me, is the ultimately heroic trait of ordinary people; they say no to the tyrant and they calmly take the consequences of this resistance.” – Philip K. Dick
The post The Editors’ Quote Of The Day: appeared first on SurvivalBlog.com.
This crock has been floating around for some time built on the myth that the gold fringe on the U S. flag in the courtroom is an Admiralty flag and therefore the judge has no authority on land
I see a new variant is when pulled over, saying "Ian traveling, not driving " is supposed to immediately disable officer authority. This used to be an ignorant white people's thing but it appears that as part of full racial equality, black people are increasingly buying into Sovereign Citizenship.
UPDATE: reader pointed me to a case called Hallstrom v. City of Garden City (9th Cir. 1993) where a woman pulled over for a vehicle defect claimed that did not need a driver's license to travel. The decision upheld that Idaho could require a license. Where Garden City got in trouble and had to pay damages was that they refused to release her on bail until she completed the booking process (I suspect she refused fingerprinting, which would be hard with a recalcitrant prisoner). Her rights as a "sovereign citizen" were never discussed. Her right to travel was never held to exceed state authority to require a driver's license.
Below are the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens that our brave ICE officers arrested, despite the efforts of rioters and sanctuary politicians to protect them:
Hernan Cortes-Valencia, a criminal illegal alien from Mexico with a final order of removal dated Dec. 1, 2016, who’s been convicted of sexual assault against a child, sexual assault-carnal abuse and four DUIs.
Sriudorn Phaivan, a criminal illegal alien from Laos with a final order of removal from March 8, 2018. He’s been convicted of strongarm sodomy of a boy, strongarm sodomy of a girl, another aggravated sex offense, nine counts of larceny, unauthorized use of a vehicle, four counts of fraud, vehicle theft, two counts of drug possession, obstructing justice, possession of stolen property, receiving stolen property, burglary and check forgery. He also has pending charges for two counts of receiving stolen property, flight to avoid prosecution or confinement and burglary.
Ge Yang, a criminal illegal alien from Laos with a final order of removal from Oct. 16, 2012. He’s been convicted of strongarm rape, strongarm aggravated assault against a family member, aggravated assault with a weapon, an additional sex offense and domestic violence involving strangulation.
An unidentified protester outside the Whipple Building Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was interviewed about Wednesday’s ICE-involved shooting and said, “We have to show up with guns and end this.”
The unidentified protester accused ICE of shooting people “with no cause” and said, “We have to show up with guns.”
He continued, “We have to, there’s no way around it. I don’t care if I don’t have a Minnesota carry permit. I’m unarmed right now but this is the last time I show up to face these guys without a weapon.”
The unidentified protester said, “The time for peace is over. They fired the first shot; it’s time to end this sh*t by any means necessary.”
I am pretty sure the number of leftists prepared to cosplay at armed revolutionary is not huge. The ones prepared to do so once the bullets start flying is much less. (ThIs is true on our side as well. There are just a lot more of us.)
If these idiots start actually opening fire, they will be amazed at how rapidly their media allies will desert them. The greed that drives much of the progressive agenda (the Abortion and Gender Reassignment industrial Complexes) requires an operational tax leeching system and revolution will destroy that. Also, open rebellion will give Trump legal options that will not work in the Left's favor.
Progressives just need to accept that they lost.
Colt’s iconic “snake guns” have captivated revolver enthusiasts for decades, and Day 4 of Revolver Week delivers a head-to-head comparison that feels like a celebration of that heritage. In this video, the spotlight is on two charismatic variants of the modern Colt Python .357 Magnum — the classic 3-inch model and the more tactical Combat […]
The post Revolver Week Day 4 Review: Colt Python 3″ vs Combat Elite — The Ultimate Snake Gun Face-Off! first appeared on Day At The Range.
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Marques Griffin, 30, told police he heard a noise in his apartment on
Robin Hood Lane Thursday morning and found a man in his living room.
Police say Griffin followed the intruder outside and fired three shots as the man ran away. The suspected burglar died at the hospital.
Griffin is now being held at the Shelby County Jail.
On January 11, 1571 Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II granted Austrian nobility freedom of religion. — January 11, 1966: 550 people died in landslides in the mountains behind Rio de Janeiro after a huge rainfall. — The 20th Anniversary SurvivalBlog 2005-2025 Waterproof/EMP-Resistant Archive USB sticks are available for Pre-Ordering. Orders should start to be mailed in the last week of January. To be sure that you get yours, order soon! — Although it is quite blatantly pro-monarchist, the only fairly complete coverage of the anti-Khameni revolution in Iran seems to be coming from the YouTube channel Tousi TV. – JWR …
The post Preparedness Notes for Sunday — January 11, 2026 appeared first on SurvivalBlog.com.
Effective January 1, 2026, the ATF eliminated the $200 tax on firearm suppressors. This change will undoubtedly encourage many shooters to purchase or make a suppressor. In this article, I will share information for those new to suppressors to be able to make an informed decision as to whether to pursue getting one (or several). As a disclaimer, I have no financial involvement with any companies or products mentioned here. What are firearm suppressors? A firearm suppressor is a muzzle device mounted on a shotgun, rifle, or pistol to reduce the sound made when the gun is fired. They are …
The post Introduction to Suppressors, by Subsonic Scribe appeared first on SurvivalBlog.com.
The latest meme created by JWR: Meme Text: Learning Center Leering Center Learing Center King Learing Center News Links: Daycare accused of multimillion-dollar fraud shifts blame for ‘revealing’ mistake above its front door… as kids are suddenly ‘trucked in’. Minnesota’s infamous Quality ‘Learing’ Center is now closed, records show. Notes From JWR: Do you have a meme idea? Just e-mail me the concept, and I’ll try to assemble it. And if it is posted then I’ll give you credit. Thanks! Permission to repost memes that I’ve created is granted, provided that credit to SurvivalBlog.com is included.
The post JWR’s Meme Of The Week: appeared first on SurvivalBlog.com.
“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, …
The post The Editors’ Quote Of The Day: appeared first on SurvivalBlog.com.
Republican lawmakers are urging President Donald Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act against Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz after the Democrat warned he could deploy the National Guard in response to federal immigration enforcement actions in his state.
"Invoke the Insurrection Act. Arrest Tim Walz," Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill., said in a post to X on Wednesday evening.
Miller’s calls to apply the law, which gives the president powers to arrest suspects obstructing federal law enforcement, follow Walz’s suggestion that he might deploy the National Guard to push back on President Donald Trump’s use of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
As member of Congress pointed out, calling out the National Guard to resist federal law enforcement is what started the Civil War. It is also what Democrats did when ordered to integrate public schools. Does Tampon Tim want to find out what military extraction feels like? Trump can go ahead and federalize the Minnesota National Guard and then they report to him, not Elmer Fudd.
Have y'all been watching the crap going on in Iran over the past couple of days? It's hearting up and it looks like the people might overthrow the mullahs.
I'm sure that the violent spasms are not over yet, but it seems that the Iranian people might get their country back.
Let Freedom Ring
U.S. Trade Deficit Fell to Lowest Level Since 2009 as Tariffs Reshape Trade
The monthly trade deficit continued to shrink in October after President Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on imports, the latest data showed.
If you are not clear on why this matters: every dollar that goes over there beyond what comes back is available to buy stuff here: land, factories, stock. Regular trade deficits lead to gradual absorption of our economy in foreign sometimes unfriendly hands.
12/24/25 Guardian (just before the fertilizer hit the fan):
In December, the country’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, said the hijab was crucial “to preserve the dignity of women and to restrain very strong and dangerous sexual urges”, heralding the start of a new push to enforce the dress code laws.
Within days, the security forces intensified their hijab enforcement. The organisers of a popular marathon race in Kish Island, off the southern coast of Iran, were arrested and accused of “violating public decency” for allowing women to run unveiled.
If the only think that keeps Muslim men from raping women is the face and other epidermal parts are covered, what does that say about the effectiveness of Muslim moral teaching?
I understand the desire not to provoke unnecessary lust, but if Ahmad can see the skin around her eyes, he can certainly imagine her lips and other parts a little lower. Maybe Ahmad just needs blinding? I think the ayatollahs may have a serious projection problem.
Forget about the Internet and security for a moment - you already own something with a firewall. Your car has one between the engine and the passenger compartment, even if your car isn't a sweet 1969 Dodge Charger.
The firewall in your car is designed to contain engine fires to the engine compartment, not letting the flames spread to the passengers. Firewalls have been around cars for a long, long time - certainly since the 1930s, and probably a lot longer.
Now back to the Internet and security. Internet firewalls are designed to keep bad things (and Bad Guys) out of your network, so they don't burn down all your devices. Yes, I stretched that metaphor, but that's exactly where the name came from.
An old Internet wag once described a firewall as a device that "keeps the bad guys out while letting the good guys out". That's a really good description. Internet firewalls have been around for basically as long as there has been an Internet, say from around 1990. The technology is very well understood, and very mature. That's the good news.
The bad news is that there are a million ways to set up your firewall so it's more full of holes than Swiss cheese. This post will try to help you avoid this.
More good news: your Internet Provider almost certainly has a firewall capability in hte box that gives you Internet access. For example, if you get Internet via cable TV, you have not only a cable box that changes channels, you have a separate box that gives Internet. That thing has a firewall built in, so yay.
You an check this yourself via a web site that I've linked to a number of times over the years, Steve Gibson's Gibson Research. You should see something that looks like this:
Green is good.
So what went on when you ran that? There are a bunch of Internet services like web, email, and so on. Each uses a "port" - email is 25, web is 80, there are a bunch of others. What Gibson's app did was to try to connect to all of these posts on your IP address. Ideally, your firewall (like mine) dropped these connections in the trash can.
So from a first cut, your firewall is letting you out onto the Internet (so you can read this, hello!) but keeping the Bad Guys out.
But the devil is in the details of how we (and our devices) use the Internet. The next post in this series will explore this: Secure Your Home Network: Can (and should) you trust your devices?
Carrollton police said its officers responded to the call and found out that the 16-year-old had gone to the hospital and died from his injuries.
Officers found out that the shooting happened in the roadway between two vehicles: one occupied by the 16-year-old who died and four other teenagers and another with a 20-year-old Carrollton resident. Police interviewed the other four teenage passengers and found out the five teens were meeting the 20-year-old man" under the pretense of selling illegal substances, with the intent to commit a robbery."
Police said the 16-year-old male brandished a firearm, which resulted in the 20-year-old acting in self-defense. The four teenagers were all charged with Aggravated Robbery, and the 20-year-old man has not been charged, police said.
"Now I will not lie, it feels kind of like cheating making fun of this Ready-Player-One-ass car. Can you imagine rolling up to the club in this shit? The wealthy of our era are so jaw-droppingly tasteless they have finally invented a Rolls-Royce that you could not get laid in."
-sometime automotive journalist Victoria Scott on a Bespoke program Rolls-Royce
Just some excellent writing there. Like, John-Phillips-at-the-1990s-height-of-his-powers cackle-out-loud funny. I'm legitimately envious of a few of those turns of phrase.
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On January 10, 1776, the “Common Sense” pamphlet by Thomas Paine was first published, advocating American independence. — January 10, 49 BC: Julius Caesar defied the Roman Senate and crossed the Rubicon, uttering “alea iacta est” (the die is cast), signaling the start of civil war and his appointment as Roman dictator for life. — And January 10th, 1776, was the day that North Carolina Governor Josiah Martin issued a proclamation calling on the king’s loyal subjects to raise an armed force to combat the “rebels”. This ultimately led to Colonel Donald McLeod leading the men on an assault on …
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(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the article.) The final aspect of emergency cooking stoves that I cover are biomass units, in particular the Kelly Kettle. I appreciate the ability to configure these units to either “cook” on or quickly boil water with. The small feed openings at the bottom or the chimney opening on top of the kettle do restrict the size of materials used to feed the flames when compared to other small biomass cookers. None the less, the kettle’s speed and efficiency for boiling water as well as its lower weight and ruggedness impress me. The final …
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To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make both long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug-out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year. We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those — or excerpts thereof — in the Odds …
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“Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not; The noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the pransing horses, and of the jumping chariots. The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the glittering spear: and there is a multitude of slain, and a great number of carcases; and there is none end of their corpses; they stumble upon their corpses: Because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the wellfavoured harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, …
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It did not last long. The Duma had a quorum problem because so many MPs were outside getting free bibles.
Today's weirdness. 1/8/26 Times of London:
The United Arab Emirates is restricting students from enrolling at British universities over fears that campuses are being radicalised by Islamist groups.
Officials with knowledge of the situation told The Times that federal funding was being limited for citizens who hope to study in the UK, citing concerns about the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood among other issues.
This CBS News report includes what the officer saw. You can hear the collision when she struck him.