Bleak Thought of the Day

Be a careful about what you ask for (or how you choose to measure success):

"the admission that exercising a hospital's primary function is no longer a source of value and revenue, it is viewed as entirely cost, risk, and liability. Consequently, they are no longer building any capacity, and are in fact looking for ways to reduce their capacity and eliminate hospital beds"

Ammo Availability

Speaking of buying ammo, a reader sent me this link to a simple app that checks the availability and pricing of ammo - http://www.gunbot.net/. You can search by caliber and it has a nice feature that gives you a pricing benchmark:

"Current climate "good deal" threshold (red text) = 60 cents per round"

Current climate being key there.

Supply and Demand of Guns and Ammo

Nice to be on the supply side of the equation right now.

Via Of Arms and the Law

Cost Savings

While the price of rifles and ammo goes up, Magpul is trying to make their training programs more affordable:

News from Magpul Dynamics 

With the state of the industry right now, the Dynamics crew is making some accommodations....

Magpul Dynamics Pricing and Ammunition Requirement Update

In an effort to make training more accessible in these times of increased prices and reduced availability, Magpul Dynamics has updated their pricing structure, round counts, and acceptable calibers for the 2013 training year.

Effective immediately, all three-day classes are reduced to $600 per student, and two-day classes are reduced to $450 per student. In addition, the curriculum has been revised for all pistol/carbine courses based on the changes occurring over the past year to allow for maximum training value at a slightly reduced round count. Also, we are temporarily allowing the use of pistol-caliber carbines and 22LR AR-15 pattern training rifles in the carbine classes. Please understand that there are many drawbacks to training with 22LR as opposed to normal rifle platforms, but significant training value will still exist. We expect a full return to allowing rifle-caliber rounds only in the future as the ammunition supply catches up with current demand and ammunition prices return to a reasonable level. However, we understand the financial burden placed on students with the current state of the economy and the rapid rise in retail pricing in the ammunition industry. We firmly believe in the value of quality firearms training and are committed to providing quality products and services at a fair price.

Duane, Steve, Jon, and Caylen

It is nice to see that people get it - and I bet it helps their business. They (deservedly) look good and probably get a few customers they wouldn't have before the changes.

I believe in letting the markets work, so the prices are what the prices are for rifles, pistols, and ammunition. If you don't like the price, let it go. If others do the same, the prices will come back down. Heck, if the Constitution isn't totally torn up, there might even be some deals to be had when things normalize.

Hallerin Doesn't Get It Either

Doesn't matter if it is the utility company or a rental company... Go Green with your Rental: Greenhouse Gas Emissions Offset for $1.25.

Hallerin Uh, ok. Has anyone every checked "yes" on this??? pic.twitter.com/JWGJkRQL Sun, Jun 10 17:18:31 from Twitter for iPhone

Green for Green

In my latest utility bill, KUB had a generous offer allowing me to support Green Power Switch Pure Solar. For a mere $8 per 50 kWh block, I can pay to have "green" power.

Seriously, why don't we let the markets work? At least this is optional compared to sending my tax dollars chasing after green solutions.

Baofeng: Value

From a post by Soxy on the Transmission1 forum:

"if any rep from baofeng monitors this site is'nt it about time you got these radio's right.after the uv-3r mk-1 then the mk-2 and the mk-3 and now the uv-5r there are still major issues.come on get it right and stop ripping your customers off and coming out with useless excuses."

I'm not sure why this bothers me so much. The outrage? The grammar? The lack of specifics (relating to the "useless excuses"? The incorrect model names? The sense of entitlement? The sense of powerlessness?

No one is making this person buy these radios. Most reasonable people understand that, in the real world, there are trade-offs. Pay less, get less. He can't be bothered to use capitalization or do any proof-reading for a few sentences, but someone else better darn well make a perfect product and make it super cheap.

I did not reply on the board as I generally prefer to avoid feeding the trolls. Since logic does not appear to be his strong suit, trying to persuade him with more logic is likely to fail.

The junkbox

Need some odds and ends to supplement your junk box? Try the online market for electronics - the junkbox. You can find old gauges, fire alarm speakers, tubes, connectors, flux capacitors, fuses, etc.



Via Lifehacker

New Kid on the Block

There is a new kid on the block making waves in the stock market. International Business Machines is about to pass Microsoft to become number two in market capitalization. I think the company makes typewriters or something. Wait, that can't be right.

Gaming the Markets with High Speed Technology

Using technology to game the market system is another place that really makes me rethink my laissez-faire philosophy. Don't get me wrong the technology is cool, but I prefer it when companies provide a good or more traditional service (like changing my oil, performing surgery, etc.).