Month: October 2013

Craigslist is a great way to sell unwanted stuff accumulating in your attic but like anything in life, there are always risks that need to be mitigated.
Read the warning on the craigslist email. Do not conduct any transactions involving checks, money orders, wire transfers, Western Union or escrow services.
If the deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true
Select a meeting place that you know is going to be crowded
Drive around the meeting area twice to do a sweep of the area and look for anything out of the ordinary
If there are more people there than you were expecting to meet, then watch out.
Meet in a parking lot that is well traveled and during a busy time of the day
Don’t carry any extra cash or additional bank cards beyond what you need for the transaction.
Let someone you trust know where you will be and how long you will be there
Do a google search of the email address and phone number of the other party to the transaction. You never know what you might find.
Watch out for someone selling electronics that are still in the original wrapper for a very low price. Those two things are indicators that the item(s) may have been stolen.
By SAMANTHA TATA
NBCLosAngeles.com
updated 10/28/2013 9:16:48 PM ET
A Craigslist ad linked to several armed robberies lured a Southern California father and his son to a deadly encounter with two teenage gang members in South Los Angeles, LAPD investigators said Monday.
Ryan Roth, 17, and Markell Thomas, 18, were arrested late last week in connection with the fatal shooting of Rene Balbuena in the 9200 block of Gramercy Place near 92nd Street in South LA.
The 41-year-old father of two was in the area Oct. 19 responding to an ad for a $300 Samsung Galaxy that his son found on Craigslist.
Investigators said Balbuena texted the suspects – who are believed to have posted the ad – to let them know he was there and ready for the transaction, LAPD Detective Chris Barling said in a news conference Monday afternoon.
That’s when Thomas allegedly jumped in the backseat of Balbuena’s car and pointed a gun at the victim’s 15-year-old son, demanding property.
Balbuena stepped out the car and was shot multiple times in the torso, allegedly by Roth, who was waiting outside the car, Barling said. Balbuena’s son suffered a non-life threatening graze wound.
The pair ran and the murder weapon is still outstanding, Barling said.
Thomas was arrested Oct. 24; Roth was arrested the next day. They are both believed to be part of the same Inglewood Bloods gang.
“No one else is going to get hurt,” Sandra Balbuena, the victim’s 19-year-old daughter, said of her reaction to the arrests.
Tearfully, Sandra Balbuena expressed gratitude for the detectives who tracked down her father’s alleged killers.
Investigators said the arrests came after they linked the slaying and attempted robbery (the suspects did not get any money from the Balbuenas) to at least seven stick-ups in the Baldwin Hills area. Those heists all involved the same Craigslist ad for a Samsung Galaxy smartphone and happened between Aug. 2 and Oct. 7, Barling said.
Thomas is believed to have been involved in all seven of those robberies, Barling said.
Both suspects were charged by the LA County District Attorney’s office Monday with one count each of murder, attempted murder, robbery with special circumstances and gang allegations. The 17-year-old was charged as an adult, Barling said.
Additional charges may be filed against Thomas, pending further investigation into other alleged Craigslist crimes, he said.

I find the conduct of self-defense hypocrites like Stacey Kincaid utterly reprehensible.
Self-defense hypocrites are people who want to prohibit civilians from owning the same guns they use to protect themselves.
Fairfax County sheriff candidate Stacey Kincaid went out and bought two AR-15s and a bunch of standard capacity magazines for herself (using a law enforcement discount no less!)
This puts Stacey Kincaid in fine company with a long line of self-defense hypocrites who keep “assault weapons” for themselves while pushing to deny ordinary people the same thing.
Senator Diane Feinstein (California Concealed Carry permit holder)
Senator Charles Schumer (New York City concealed carry permit holder)
Arthur Sulzberger, Jr. of the New York Times (New York City concealed carry permit holder)
Sylvester Stallone (who has a massive gun collection and a California concealed carry permit)

There is a great website out there called RateMyProfessors.com.
I’ve used it to rate my old college professors, especially the Vegan-pacifist-anarchist professor I had for my senior year of college!
Believe it or not, he was one of my favorite professors simply because he welcomed debate in his class and he never used grades as a cudgel to enforce ideological conformity.
This recap from VCDL is pretty entertaining. I can understand a professor giving extra credit for participating in a rally or protest after the student chooses a side for themselves, I think it is dishonest to give extra credit just for participating on behalf of a particular side.
The girl who blindly put on a “GUNS SAVE LIVES” sticker and held up a VCDL sign for about 5 minute until realizing she was with the “wrong” side in the recap below is a classic example of grades being used to make a student behave like an unthinking drone.
Her professor has really done her a disservice.
So getting back to RateMyProfessors, the reviews are limited to 350 characters so keep your review short and to the point.
Ask yourself, did you suffer through the class or journey through the class?
That is what separates a good class from a bad class.
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Not yet a VCDL member? Join VCDL at: http://www.vcdl.org/join
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VCDL’s meeting schedule: http://www.vcdl.org/meetings
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Abbreviations used in VA-ALERT: http://www.vcdl.org/help/abbr.html
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We had fun on Thursday! There were 5 of us at the site of the anti’s press conference in the park near the Blacksburg PD. However, the antis never showed up there. Kind of rude to reserve something and then not use it.
I think they might have decided not to have the press conference at the park because VCDL found out about it.
Luckily a reporter called me about an interview and I asked him if he knew about the conference in the park and he said there was another one being held in a room at Virginia Tech at 2:30 PM. So around 2 PM John Wilburn and I left and headed over to where the new press conference was being held.
As John and I were walking down a hall to the press-conference room, a student with the antis asked if he could help us. I said, “no, thanks” and we kept going. He asked where we were going and I gave him the room designation. Then, in an unsure voice, he said that the event in that room was “by invitation only.”
Oh, no surprise about that. The antis in general are very insecure and block us from attending as many of their events as they can.
I, personally, could care less if they attend any of our events as long as they behave themselves. John and I certainly wouldn’t have disrupted their little press conference.
The room had enough chairs for about 80 people, but I only saw representatives from 2 or 3 media outlets.
John and I waited patiently in the hall outside the doorway for the meeting to complete so that I could be interviewed by the press in attendance. The antis looked a little surprised to see us there and didn’t seem overly happy about it, either.
Once my interviews were over, we left to get some lunch.
Later in the day I brought the protest signs to the Squires Student Center and about 10 of us stood outside holding them.
At one point a student came over. She put on a “Guns Save Lives” sticker and picked up a “Gun Save Lives” sign and held it. Apparently her teacher was giving extra credit to those who held signs at the protest.
BUT, after about 5 minutes her face turned red as she suddenly realized that she was supposed to be standing with the antis and not us. In all that time she never bothered to look at the sign she was holding or the sticker on her chest. So she handed her sign over to John and took her GSL sticker off and slinked over to where the antis were standing.
I still grin when I think of her. I guess you just can’t find good hired help any more.
I was glad to see quite a few students of the fairer sex, either individually or in groups, coming to grab a GSL sticker from us. One said she had just received her CHP, as two of her friends had been sexually assaulted recently. Why do I think she is going to avoid the fate of her friends?
Some coverage:
Here is video of the part of the debate that was about guns. For the life of me, I have NO idea why Cuccinelli is not HAMMERING McAuliffe for his connection to, and 1.1 MILLION DOLLAR donation from, Michael Bloomberg:
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VA-ALERT is a project of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc.
(VCDL). VCDL is an all-volunteer, non-partisan grassroots organization
dedicated to defending the human rights of all Virginians. The Right to
Keep and Bear Arms is a fundamental human right.

Security comes in layers. Make your home as difficult to break into as possible
Don’t leave the gun outside of the safe
Don’t put your gun safe in a garage.
The garage is one of the most vulnerable points of entry into a house.
Garage doors are vulnerable to a variety of hacks
Radio Frequency Cloning
Guessing the password combination to a garage door  is often woefully easy.
It is usually “1234″ or “0000″, which are the factory defaults.
Garage windows are not reinforced.
Keep records of the guns you own in a secure location.
Reinforce the glass on the windows of the garage.
Printed from the Charlotte Observer – http://www.CharlotteObserver.com
Posted: Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2013
Unsecured AR-15 rifle reported stolen from U.S. Rep. Ellmer’s home
By Andrew Kenney
Published in: Politics
RALEIGH U.S. Rep. Renee Ellmers’ husband reported an AR-15 rifle stolen from the family’s home in Dunn last week, according to a police report.
The weapon had been left leaning against a gun locker in an unlocked garage on Kingsway Drive, the report said.
The rifle, a gun case and a GPS, with a cumulative value of $1,100, were reported stolen, according to Chief J.D. Pope. Police think the theft happened on the night of Oct. 15.
“According to the report, they had been out target shooting and brought the gun back and leaned it against the gun safe,” Pope said. “ … The garage door was left unsecured, according to the report.”
The case remains under investigation and likely will be treated as a burglary, he said. Ellmers’ husband, Brent Ellmers, was listed as the victim, Pope said.
The family was unharmed but shaken, said Thomas Doheny, communications director for Ellmers. Doheny confirmed that “several items were stolen” from the congresswoman’s home but said in an email that he couldn’t disclose further information yet.
The weapon belonged to Ellmers’ college-aged son, he confirmed. Ellmers was in Washington, D.C., at the time of the theft.
“Gun safety is of the utmost importance in their household, which is exactly why she’s so upset and doesn’t understand how this happened,” Doheny said.
The police report did not indicate whether there was any ammunition in or near the gun or whether there was a lock on it. And unless the gun has been stolen by a minor, it appears unlikely that the reportedly unsecured status of the gun would open its owners to any charge under state or federal gun laws.
“Our investigator has probably looked into that, but we’ve not discussed that yet,” Pope said.
North Carolina’s gun-storage laws apply only when a minor gains unlawful access to a gun and discharges it, according to Charlotte attorney Thomas Faulk. There are no federal laws requiring gun owners to lock or to prevent minors access to their weapons, according to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, which advocates for gun-control measures.
“A lot of people think there should be a particular statute on the subject, simply saying failure to secure a weapon is in itself a crime, regardless of whether anything bad happens,” said Faulk, who wrote the book Firearms Law of North Carolina.
“Having a firearm is a right, but it comes with a responsibility,” he said, speaking of the law in general. However, Mitch Hyatt, a manager of Hyatt Gun Shop in Charlotte, noted that there was room for interpretation.
“Maybe there was a gun lock (typically a steel cable) on it that locked the gun from use but didn’t prevent it from being stolen,” he said. “If someone had it, they wouldn’t be able to operate it without cutting the lock off.”
Ellmers is a political conservative aligned with the tea party. In the 2012 election, she was endorsed by the National Rifle Association and other pro-gun groups.
The police report says there had been no other break-ins in the residential subdivision where Ellmers and her family live, according to The Associated Press. The serial number of the stolen rifle has been added to a national database used by law enforcement to track firearms.
Dunn police have named no suspects, Pope said.
Kenney: 919-829-4870; Twitter: @KenneyNC

The Last Stand
Play The Last Stand on Armor Games
This is a very cool browser based game that is a LOT of fun.
I really liked the attention to detail that the author put into the sprites including the randomization of clothing, body types, age, genders, and damage on the zombies.
Lot’s of cool weapons included as well.
Chainsaw
Contrary to what Gears of War told us, a chainsaw is actually of little real-world combative value.
Glock 17
Modern-day classic. Utterly reliable and accurate.
English: An early “third generation” Glock 17 (full-size pistol chambered for 9x19mm Parabellum), identified by the addition of thumb rests, an accessory rail, finger grooves on the front strap of the pistol grip and a single cross pin above the trigger. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
 
Sawed-off Shotgun
Handy for limited ambush engagements and Hollywood movies, this gun is not exactly pleasant to shoot IRL.
Lupara (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Big Bore Revolver
Great for Dirty Harry movies and big game hunting, but it is not something that I would regularly carry.
AR-15
“America’s Rifle.” Light, fast, and accurate. It goes bang as long as you keep it well-lubricated.
AK-47
Goes bang just about every time.
Uzi Submachine Gun
You don’t see this gun very often anymore in the USA. There are a couple of manufacturers who build semi-automatic versions from military surplus parts kits but the simple fact is that you can get the same effect in a smaller package by putting a 33 round magazine on a Glock 17.
Barrett M82 (Military Designation: M107)
Loud, expensive, and FUN!
Heckler and Koch UMP
This gun was intended as a more lighter weight, cheaper, and more modular submachine gun to replace the HK MP5 although both guns are still in production by Heckler and Koch (kind of like Microsoft and Windows XP!)
There is a civilian version of the UMP out there called the USC, but it is expensive and hard to get parts support and magazines for compared to other weapons platforms out there.
English: HK UMP 45 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Remington 700
Excellent bolt-action rifle.

Very helpful article from http://pcsupport.about.com/od/fixtheproblem/a/biosaccess_pc.htm
This will help you access Tails or any other LiveCD operating system.
Having trouble getting in to your computer’s BIOS setup utility? If you’ve tried the basic steps for accessing your computer’s BIOS and haven’t had much luck, trust me when I say you’re not alone.
There are hundreds of computer manufacturers out there and each seem to have their own idea when it comes to designating a key sequence to enter BIOS. There are often even huge differences in BIOS access methods between different models made by the same company!
This list of BIOS access keyboard commands is a work in progress – meaning I need your help! If you have any additional BIOS access information to pass on or if you find a mistake, please let me know.
Note: If you have a custom built computer or one from a very small company, one of these two resources may help you out a bit more than the list on this page:
BIOS Access Keys for Popular Motherboards
BIOS Access Keys for Major BIOS Manufacturers
Acer – Aspire, Power, Veriton, Extensa, Ferrari, TravelMate, Altos
Press Del or F2 immediately after powering on.
The BIOS on the Acer Altos 600 server uses the Ctrl+Alt+Esc key and the F1 key for advanced options.
Older Acer computers may use also use the F1 or Ctrl+Alt+Esc keys to access BIOS.
Compaq – Presario, Prolinea, Deskpro, Systempro, Portable
Press F10 while the cursor in the top right corner of the screen is blinking.
Older Compaq computers may use the F1, F2, F10, or Del key to give access to BIOS.
Dell – XPS, Dimension, Inspiron, Latitude. OptiPlex, Precision, Vostro
Press F2 when the Dell logo appears. Press every few seconds until the message Entering Setup appears.
Older Dell desktops and laptops may instead use Ctrl+Alt+Enter or Del to enter BIOS.
Older Dell laptops may use Fn+Esc or Fn+F1.
eMachines – eMonster, eTower, eOne, S-Series, T-Series
Press Tab or Del while the eMachine logo displays on screen.
Other eMachine computers may use F2 to enter BIOS.
Fujitsu – LifeBook, Esprimo, Amilo, Tablet, DeskPower
Press F2 once the Fujitsu logo appears.
Gateway – DX, FX, One, GM, GT, GX, Profile, Astro
Press the F1 key repeatedly after restarting the computer.
Some older Gateway computers use F2 to access the BIOS Setup utility.
Hewlett-Packard (HP) – Pavilion, TouchSmart, Vectra, OmniBook, Tablet
Press the F1, F10, or F11 key after restarting the computer.
HP Tablet PCs may use F10 or F12.
Other HP computers may allow access to BIOS using the F2 or Esc keys.
IBM – PC, XT, AT
Press F1 immediately after powering on the computer.
Older IBM computers (including some laptops) may utilize the F2 key for BIOS entry.
Lenovo (formerly IBM) – ThinkPad, IdeaPad, 3000 Series, ThinkCentre, ThinkStation
Press F1 or F2 after powering on the computer.
Older Lenovo products allow access to BIOS using Ctrl+Alt+F3, Ctrl+Alt+Ins, or Fn+F1.
Micron (MPC Computers) – ClientPro, TransPort
Press F1, F2 or Del immediately after powering on the PC.
NEC – PowerMate, Versa, W-Series
Press F2 to enter the BIOS Setup.
Packard Bell – 8900 Series, 9000 Series, Pulsar, Platinum, EasyNote, imedia, iextreme
Press F1, F2, or Del to enter BIOS.
Samsung – Series ‘x’ laptops
Press F2 to start the BIOS setup utility.
Sharp – Notebook Laptops, Actius UltraLite
Press F2 after the computer starts.
Some very old Sharp PCs require a Setup Diagnostics Disk to access BIOS.
Shuttle – Glamor G-Series, D’vo, Prima P2-Series, Workstation, X Mini XPC, Surveillance
Press F2 or Del on startup.
Sony – VAIO, PCG-Series, VGN-Series
Press F1, F2 or F3 after turning on the computer.
Toshiba – Portégé, Satellite, Tecra, Equium
Press F1 or Esc after powering on to access BIOS.
Press F12 on a Toshiba Equium.
The following companies are either closed for business or no longer manufacture or support mainstream computers systems so verifying the following BIOS access information is nearly impossible. I have included what I could dig up for anyone who might be interested:
ARI / ALR / AST (Advantage) – Press the Ctrl+Alt+Esc or Ctrl+Alt+Del keys.
Cybermax – Press the Esc key.
Tandon – Press the Ctrl+Shift+Esc keys.
BIOS Access Information
How To Enter the BIOS Setup Utility
BIOS Access Keys for Popular Motherboards
BIOS Access Keys for Major BIOS Manufacturers
Related BIOS Resources
What is BIOS?

Great article!
From Compiling a Firearms Record.
Compiling a Firearms Record
I decided it was time to compile a record of all my firearms. So I went through them all, recorded the make, model, and serial number, and made a list. I then took photos of each firearm, and saved them in a file on a USB Flash drive. I placed the list and the USB Flash drive in an envelope, and placed it in a separate fire / water proof safe.
I considered the importance of keeping a firearm record and came up with three reasons for recording firearm information, including description, serial number, and photo.
1. If any of my firearms are stolen and then recovered, this information will allow me to claim my firearms from the law enforcement agency holding them.
2. If any of my stolen firearms are ever used in a crime, I will have my list, along with the police report, to show I was not in possession of the firearms at the time the crime was committed.
3. This information will be necessary, in the event any of my firearms are ever stolen, to receive reimbursement from my home owners insurance company.
Although the majority of my firearms are stored securely in a gun safe, and not likely to be lost due to theft. There are however times when they are not. Such as my readily available home protection firearms ,and when I am traveling. So a updated firearm record is a good idea.
What steps have you taken to record and protect your firearms?

Reblogged from Gun Scoop:
Gripping a Snub Nose Revolver:
The proper grip for a small revolver is somewhat different than for an autoloading pistol. This is dictated by the different shape of the revolvers stocks and by the difference in mechanical operations between the revolver and autoloader.
With a revolver, the grip that works best for most people is known as the ‘thumbs down grip.’ A few shooters may need to modify it to best fit their hands.
Read more… 594 more words
English: diner coffee cup and snub-mosed .38 revolver (Photo credit: Wikipedia)Great tutorial for those who own snub-nosed revolvers.