SHTFriday: Guess what fits inside a Power Pot?

Go over to Blue Collar Prepping and find out!

Happy New Year, Everypony

I'm out for the year.  Gonna go watch the latest Hobbit movie tonight, because I'm a massive nerd and have no social life. Have a great time, be safe, and celebrate responsibly.

Free Will is a Matter of Quantum Uncertainty

Imagine, if you will, a cat placed within a box. This box has no windows and is soundproofed. Further imagine that you then leave the room, during which time I might, or I might not, poison the cat and kill it. When you come back into the room, you have to decide – without opening the box, mind you - “Is the cat alive or dead?”

The answer, of course, is “I won’t know unless I open the box and observe it. Until such time as I do, the cat exists in a state of quantum uncertainty, meaning that the cat is potentially alive and dead at the same time. The act of observation solidifies the probabilities into certainty.”

This (highly simplified) version of a thought experiment known as Schrödinger‘s Paradox can be applied to the notion of free will*. For centuries, humankind has argued whether or not we have ultimate control over our own actions, or if everything that happens to us and everything that we do is predestined, whether it be by Deity or by the inter-relatedness of cause and effect. Indeed, it could be theorized that entire branches of science and commerce – specifically psychology, advertising, and politics – are highly advanced tools of mental and social manipulation designed test whether or not we have the free will not to succumb to their machinations.

However, I disagree with both sides of this argument, because I feel they are proceeding from an incorrect conclusion. Proponents of free will vs. predestination both like to believe they are the scientists, and if they just look hard enough they will find the evidence necessary to collapse the probabilities into a certainty. They are, unfortunately, incorrect in this belief.

Humanity is not the scientist. Humanity is the cat.

The cat does not understand what is happening to it. It cannot comprehend why it has been placed in the box, or how long it will be there, or what will happen to it while it is there. The cat is completely incapable of affecting its environment: it cannot escape, cannot make its presence known (remember, the box is windowless and soundproofed), cannot do anything other than wait for the experiment to run its course.

If the cat had the intelligence, it might notice that it is utterly trapped and its every action within the box is futile. If it understood logic, it might realize that, having been placed into the box by a scientist, it follows that a scientist will remove it. If the cat had self-awareness, it might conclude that this removal does not necessarily precede the cat starving to death. The cat might even despair, were it self-aware enough, and attempt to kill itself in order to die quickly, rather than suffer a slow lingering death of negligence.

This is humanity. We understand that we are alive, and trapped inside this reality. We cannot change anything about this reality other than to choose to leave the experiment early. Everything that we do, including suicide, is done because we are inside that metaphorical box. It is irrelevant to our existence if we have free will within this box, because the “free” portion of free will is so thoroughly constrained by the environment of the box. It does not matter if the cat has free will to pace within the box, because the cat cannot leave that box.

Humanity has created philosophy and religion in an attempt to explain the box. Some beliefs state that the box only exists within the mind of the cat, and that it can leave any time it desires. Others say that the box is a test, and that if the cat is virtuous, it will be rewarded with a paradise on the other side of the box. Some will argue that the box is a death sentence, and that it doesn't matter what the cat does, because it’s going to die there. Regardless, all of these beliefs try to bypass the fact that the cat is the experiment, and try to make it into an observer.

The cat cannot observe itself in the same manner that the scientist can. The cat can only perceive part of itself, and only while it is alive. Once the cat dies, its observation of itself ends – but that does not mean it cannot still be observed. The scientist which placed it there (Deity, Mother Nature, Causality; call it what you will) will observe it, living or dead, and remove it.

What all this means is that the concept of “free will” is irrelevant. If we have free will, we still cannot comprehend the outside of the box from the inside, nor can we understand our purpose within it. If we do not have free will, it does not matter, because we only have the illusion of free will while trapped within that box. We will only know the truth once an outside force – God, death, whatever – removes us from that box.

The point is not “Have we free will or not,” but “How have we spent our time in the box?”

Palette's Product Review: American Eagle vs. Silver Bear

Or put more thoroughly:

Palette's Monday Gunday Product Review: Federal American Eagle vs. Barnaul Silver Bear 9mm 115gr FMJ

Bit of a mouthful, isn't it?

Back before the holidays started, I was approached by a representative of AmmoEasy.com who asked if I wanted to do an ammunition review for them. Having done ammunition reviews before, I was happy to say yes!

I chose to perform a head to head test between two 9mm cartridges, Federal's American Eagle (made in America) and Barnaul's Silver Bear (made in Russia). This allowed me to an "East vs. West" showdown a la...



.. well, you get the idea.

IN THE WESTERN CORNER: Weighing in at one hundred fifteen grains, boxer-primed and with a gleaming brass case, is American Eagle!

IN THE EASTERN CORNER: Also weighing in at one hundred fifteen grains is Silver Bear, with a distinctive zinc-plated steel case and berdan-primed!


Both are chambered in nine millimeter Luger!

Both are full metal jacketed rounds!

LET'S GET READY TO RRRRUMBLE!!!

American Eagle is clearly the prettier of the two cartridges. Its gleaming brass casing reminds me of fields full of amber waves of grain, while Silver Bear isn't really silver at all; it's just sort of a shiny metal that isn't even polished.  Of course, who really cares how ammunition looks?  That's just pre-fight trash-talk.

Round One

American Eagle is reloadable because of its brass case and boxer primer. Berdan primers require special tools to reload, and while it is possible to reload a steel casing, last time I checked it is't advisable for the hobbyist due to the wear it will cause on resizing equipment. Winnah: American Eagle!

Round Two
On the other hand, no one really saves money by reloading anyway (you end up spending the money on powder, primers and tools), and the lower price of the Steel Bear means you get more bang for your ruble. Winnah: Silver Bear!

Round Three
Regarding performance, both were excellent. I did not experience a single dud, misfeed or failure to eject from either one. The only noticeable difference was that the American Eagle was slightly louder in its report, and the Silver Bear had slightly more recoil. However, when I mixed them randomly inside the same magazine, I had difficulty telling which was which and was correct in my guess only about half the time. Winnah: Tie!

Round Four

But wait... Silver Bear is a bi-metal bullet! According to conventional wisdom, a steel-cored projectile will wear out a barrel faster than the pure copper of American Eagle. However, others say this is nothing at all to worry about. Winnah: Judges can't tell. 

Because this is an exhibition match, this fight is ooooooooverrrrrrr!

The winner:  American Eagle, but just barely. Silver Bear performs well and is affordable; American Eagle costs more (though not much more), and most of that is due to reloadability. I honestly do not know if shooting bi-metal bullets is detrimental to a firearm over the practical lifespan of a non-warfighting weapon. I do, however, refer you to this brass vs. bimetal torture test for more information. 

The main reason that I picked American Eagle as the winner is not due to price, or reloadability, or single-metal projectile;  I picked it because it's made in the USA, and I believe in giving American money to other Americans, rather than to Vladimir Putin. But if you choose to shoot Silver Bear, I certainly won't fault you; just make sure that your firearm can eat steel-cased ammo, as some cannot.


Obligatory FTC Disclaimer: I received this product for free. I was not paid or otherwise compensated in return for giving it a good review. Basically, someone said "Hey would you like some free ammo in exchange for your pretty, pretty words?" and I of course said yes, because ammo. It's not like they could ask for it back after I shot it. 

Gun Blog Variety Podcast #19

http://tinyurl.com/nmwoenx

This week, in the final Gun Blog Variety Cast of 2014:

• I talk about fitness for preppers.
• Nicki Kenyon discusses Cuba.
• Miguel Gonzalez gives you his pick for the best Christmas movie of all time.
• Barron B. explains when security updates aren't enough.
• and Weer'd breaks down some audio anti-gun hate.

Thanks for downloading, listening, and subscribing. And don't forget to share this with a friend!

You can listen to the podcast here, and the show notes may be found here.

Doctor Who: Christmas Goes Deeper

And in the end, everybody lied. The Doctor lied to Clara about Gallifrey. Clara lied to the Doctor about Danny. Missy lied to everybody about everything. And everyone knew everyone was lying, and they were all too polite to say anything. 

Spoilers are found in stockings underneath the tangerine. No one likes either. 

And after a brief interlude of rooftop lunacy, we see the consequences of those lies.

I went into this episode with a great deal of trepidation. I'm quite fond of Nick Frost, from his days with Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright, Jessica Hynes, et al. Spaced and the Cornetto Trilogy are fantastic, and have my highest recommendations. That said, this is Santa Claus in Doctor Who. Even if it is a clever and sarcastic Santa Claus, it only leaves" an episode of Who to be directed by Edgar Wright" before I've got Bingo.

Take what I've previously said about finales, and multiply it by a factor of 10; Christmas specials are even more unlikely and even more bonkers than the finales. Starting with the arguably the calmest story of the Christmas specials, Eccleston's regeneration into Tennant (which only featured killer Christmas trees, Santa robots, and an asteroid spaceship shattering the windows of every building in central London), the Christmas specials have been an affair of escalating madness over the last 9 years, and "Last Christmas" is really no different. For context:

1. Aliens use 'blood-magic' to hypnotize a large percentage of Earth's population only be chased off by the newly-minted Tenth Doctor, then blown out of the sky by Earth's first Death Star Laser.
2. A glimpse at Ten's dark side as he stops an alien spider queen from hatching a brood of spider-babies that have been nesting at the Earth's core since its formation. Drains the Thames.
3. Space-Titanic nearly crashes into Earth, buzzes Windsor Palace. Kylie Minogue almost becomes a companion.
4. Ten meets what he thinks is a future possible incarnation of himself. Hundreds-of-feet-tall Steampunk Cyberman stomps around Victorian London.
5. The first half of Ten's epic showdown with the John Simm Master. Later goes on to inspire a scene in the third Transformers film as Gallifrey starts to leave the rift it was in, entering Earth-space.
6. Eleven becomes the ghosts of Christmas's past, present, and future to inspire good in a bitter old space-tycoon to save Amy and Rory from a crashing ship. Air-sharks.
7. Eleven repays a grieving widow who once helped him by helping her bend space and time to bring her bomber pilot husband home after his plane was lost in the war. Tree-people.
8. Eleven becomes a bitter recluse hiding in a cloud. Clara's debut, along with Strax, Vastra, and Jenny. The villains are no less than Sir Ian McKellen and former non-canon Doctor Richard E. Grant.

And now Twelve: Inception with guest-stars Santa Claus and Aliens.

In short, Christmas stories are insane, more-so than season openers and finales combined, and "Last Christmas" is, again, no different. The jarring juxtaposition of dingy polar base and creepy brain-eating head-crabs with Santa Claus and his elves is nigh-disorienting. It really shouldn't work, and the mind screams out that it doesn't, but somehow Nick Frost with a jolly beard and red suit somehow fits right in.

It is quite good seeing Coleman and Capaldi on-screen again, especially seeing how difficult and unresolved their last scene was in "Death in Heaven". Twelve tries to distract Clara (successfully) from the dream-crabs by saying something unkind about Danny, and she hauls off and slaps him in a way that he hasn't been slapped since Jackie Tyler. There's an air of open hostility from Clara towards him as they reveal they were both lying the last time they spoke, which is met by Twelve coming as near as it seems possible to walking on egg-shells. Normally Twelve and Clara butt heads quite well, but this time he was almost petulantly deferential to her. This is a very different dynamic for them, one I found enjoyable but also severely strained; it was almost out of character for Twelve, but he was still enough him that it felt natural.

I also really enjoyed the heart-wrenching dream sequences with Clara: first, with her last Christmas with Danny (PE stealing the show even after he's dead), and then her last Christmas with the Doctor. By the end I was sitting by myself and saying out loud “Don't do that again, I can't take it.” 

This episode also marks the sixth appearance of Slade's "Merry Christmas Everyone", as the most Northern girl in the world dances like a buffoon to distract herself from the threat. Other highlights include the dream logic of “it's a long story”; magic carrots; bigger on the inside; Santa questioning how ridiculous the Doctor himself is; “There's a horror movie called Alien? That's... really offensive. No wonder everyone keeps invading you”; and the scene that would not have worked in any other episode: Twelve's sheer joy in piloting Santa's sleigh. And of course the ending, implying that we will get another year with Clara who, given last year's character development, needs and deserves it.

I do have to wonder where this leaves Nine, though, with the exchange at the end of "The Doctor Dances": 

Rose: “Look at you, beaming like you're Father Christmas.” 

Nine: “Who says I'm not, red bicycle when you were twelve...”

Merry Christmas & Happy Heart's Warming Eve

This is the most magical time of the year. And because Friendship is Magic, this means it is also the friendliest time of the year.

Thank you all for being my friends.

May you, and everypony you love, have a blessed holiday.