Busy Me

This is shaping up to be a crazy week.

Yesterday I discovered I didn't have an article for Blue Collar Prepping, and so I ended up issuing a Skill Challenge (read the article for more details if you haven't already), the writing of which took more time than expected. Between that and my usual duties of the day, I was unable to write my scheduled Monday Gunday post. My apologies.

It looks like I might be missing today's Tuesday Traveller as well; I received a last-minute "Hey, I'm in Orlando, want to grab lunch?" from a Facebook friend (who I suspect of being Bizarro Salem, by the by) and I don't want to pass up that opportunity. I'm not sure what time I'll be back or what kind of dent it will put in my schedule.

So in conclusion, everything is fine; life has just gotten in the way of blogging. Hopefully I'll be back on track soon.

Gun Blog Variety Podcast #52

http://tinyurl.com/nmwoenx

Adam and Sean  make it to Episode 52! That's one full year of The GunBlog VarietyCast!

• Erin Palette gives us some very good advice about depression.
• Nicki Kenyon thinks The Donald would be The Disaster for US foreign policy.
• This week's Special Guest is Sean's father, Eugene Sorrentino. He tells us why you should never shoot all your ammo at the range.
• Barron B tells us all about why Adobe Flash sucks.
• And Weer'd goes back to that never ending well of liberal foolishness, MSNBC, and audio fisks someone we've never even heard of before.

Thanks for downloading, listening and subscribing. Please share with a friend, and Like and Share us on Facebook.

Listen to the podcast here.
Show notes may be found here.

A special thanks to our sponsor, Law of Self Defense. Use discount code "Variety" at checkout to get 10% off anything you buy.

SHTFriday: Attitude

Nothing witty to say here. Just go read the article.

Salem Watches A Porn

Hey wait that title could be taken out of context.. 

While you may see me, from time to time, gush over the Marvel Cinematic Universe (deservedly so in my eyes, given the love and respect the source material is treated with), it is undeniable that I love Batman as much as I love any modern representation of Iron Man or Thor; probably moreso, given my disinterest in much of the rest of the DC Universe.

My first memories of Batman represented in visual media would probably be seeing glimpses of him and Robin on Scooby-Doo reruns. I'd cringingly watch a few minutes, then lose interest, as I hated Scooby-Doo. I remember later on seeing reruns of the 1966 Batman television series. I'd watch this not because it was entertaining, but as sort of an oddity. I wasn't alive in the 60s, so I can't attest to the veracity of the Swinging Sixties nostalgia, but if this show was representative of it, I see where that reputation comes from.

Fortunately, the 1990 Keaton/Burton film came along, shortly followed by its sequel and the near-flawless Batman: The Animated Series, spinning off into The New Adventures of Batman & Robin, Justice League, Batman Beyond, and a number of other similarly excellent shows and films, which still appeal to me years later, despite my general disinterest in most animated features.

Our lovely editor Erin pointed me towards an... edited version of Batman XXX: A Porn Parody (which I've helpfully linked below – all the naughty bits have been edited out, reducing it to just shy of a mere 25 minutes, the length of an average episode). I've never actually sat down and watched one of these porn parodies, but I've paid attention to the news on them. Because of the fantastic costuming efforts. Really. No, guys, stop giggling I promise that's why. These porn parodies have more faithful translations of their costumes than the actual, official movies. Check out their Harley Quinn and Wonder Woman!

Great cosplay, but unofficial! 

So, how does it measure up?
Eerily well, actually. Everyone from Batman and Robin to the extras in group scenes (not that kind of group scene!) are wearing period-appropriate outfits. Lines are delivered in the same manner as low-budget 60s Hollywood. The actors filling in for Adam West and Burt Ward in particular absolutely nail (stop it!) the mannerisms brought to the orginal roles. Ceasar Romero's Joker is re-created right down to the grease-paint covered mustache, and Frank Gorshin's manic Riddler even has that uncomfortable bulge in his tights (which makes a lot more sense in the context of a porn). Tori Black as Catwoman is similarly fantastic, as she captures the sultry air that Julie Newmar brought to the role, perhaps even improving on it a little. Even the Batusi and the 'climbing' sideways across the set of a building lying on its side are there. BIFF and POW make appearances in the final battle sequence, and Batman even corrects Robin's grammar while tied up.

Seriously! This is a porn parody!

It's not without flaws, though. As anyone knows, my waifu Batgirl makes an appearance, but she's being played by Lexi Belle, as a blonde. Even though Yvonne Craig's Batgirl is probably dead last on my list of Batgirls (yes, I have a list), she (like Lexi) starts out with a brunette beehive, but instead of putting on a red wig for the costume, she's using Lexi's natural blonde locks. And as everyone knows, Barbara Gordon is not a blonde (looking at you, Alicia Silverstone... hang on, she's dead last on my list).

Can I make it any clearer? 

But probably the most frustrating thing is that Lexi is possibly the person most qualified to play Harley Quinn in the entire world. She's cute, perky, and screams mentally unbalanced. It's a real shame, as Axel Braun Productions made a Batman vs Supermanparody that features Harley, but didn't use her.

There's also a missed opportunity here, as there's a character I clearly don't remember from the original series: Bruce Wayne's fiance Lisa, who seems to exist merely to fill a hole (come on now, quit giggling) in the script. I would have loved to see them innovate a little, bringing in a ginger actress to play Batgirl and having Lexi play a Batman 66-inspired Harley Quinn.

All in all, it's a faithful and surprisingly respectful translation of the 1966 Batman series with a metric buttload (okay, I'll own that one) of sex scenes worked into it. I can't attest to the actual sex scenes (I haven't seen them yet. I haven't. Really, I haven't. Stop looking at me like that!), but I'd recommend watching the edited version at least for a laugh.

Traveller Tuesday: Two More Subsidized Liner Variants

Remember when I promised I'd do more of these?

It's that time again.

My use of Traveller setting and dress falls under
fair use guidelines for both Mongoose and Far Future Enterprises.

Unlike last time, which compared the profitability of commercial ventures, these two variants are an example of lateral thinking when it comes to the question of "What else can you do with a 600 dton, jump-3 ship?"

Art by the amazing Ian Stead.

Mercenary Liner

(link opens Google document)

As I may have mentioned before, a Broadsword-class Merc Cruiser can only transport a platoon or so of combat effective personnel. While this make it great for high-value SEAL-equivalent insertion and extraction, it's not at all suited (or cost-effective) for transporting a company of knuckle-draggers.

However, a Subsidized Liner with J-3 range is just perfect for that sort of thing.

First you strip out all of the frippery and most of the nice appointments. Keep the staterooms; the captain, the troop CO and the chief engineer get their own room; everyone else gets to double up. After the ship's crew has been taken care of, you can fit between 60 and 66 troops inside (it depends on whether or not the gunners are ship's crew or from the merc unit; if you turn the mercs into gunners you get more room for nice things like a ship's surgeon [who gets his own room] and a medical suite).

I mentioned gunners? Well, a lot of merc insertions are likely to be hot. Let's use those 6 hardpoints for their intended purpose. A mix of lasers and particle beams gives the ship acceptable punch from short to long range (moreso if you make use of the weapons upgrade system from High Guard), with pulse lasers and sandcasters for defense. Speaking of defense, let's add some armor too: 4 points of Crystaliron is about all that will fit, although and expensive upgrade to BSD will increase that 6. And of course, this has my signature "reflec and rad shielding only cost money, not tons" add-on.

Since the ship already has a power plant rated for jump-3, it doesn't take much room or money to replace the 1G engines with 3G. This gives the ship speed for running, assaulting, and evading.

In addition to the usual Ship's Boat (which ought be turned into some kind of gunship), there's room for four air/rafts (good as utility vehicles or technicals) and four 10-dton tanks or APCs or whatever you want to bring the bang.

Cargo space is quite limited, though, and likely restricted to ammunition, spare parts, food and medical supplies. 

Now that I've made a Liner for war, let's see one made for peace. 

Hospital Liner (Mercy Ship)
This pairs well with the Refugee Liner I mentioned in my previous post. But while that ship is designed to evacuate the healthy, this ship is designed to provide critical care to the wounded and dying.

Most of the space has been converted to a medical ward, able to treat up to multiple casualties at once. The stabilized are offloaded to the refugee transport, and the ones who are likely to die regardless are put into emergency low berths with the hope that they can be revived and saved at a later time (usually at a class A starport with a state of the art trauma unit). The in-betweens can use their gurneys as beds for the week in jumpspace if necessary.

Out of 15 staterooms, only 5 are used by the crew, which allows carriage of up to 20 medical personnel to a disaster site. A full complement of autodocs -- one per surgical bay -- act as nurses for patients, meaning that all carried medical personnel can be specialized doctors (brain surgeons, cyberneticists, psychiatrists, etc).

There are three versions of this variant: Far, Fast, and System. The Far version retains J-1 capability and is most efficient as a fleet adjunct or as a response craft to a disaster in other systems. The Fast version drops to J-1 in exchange for 6G thrust; this gives increased utility within the system (as a response craft to passenger ships in distress) and additional treatment capacity, while still retaining the ability to jump should a disaster occur in a nearby system, or if it would take too long to reach via maneuver drive. The System version strips out all jump drives and can treat even more patients.

In instances where non-injured must be taken aboard (such as when a passenger ship is in distress), they are typically routed to the Passenger Lounge, where they are looked after by a Steward (or whoever has the lowest Medical skill).

The Mercy Ship has only token defenses (one triple sandcaster and a reflec coating), because 1) it can't spare the room for more and 2) any such ship venturing into a hot zone will have an armed escort --preferably a ship in the 1,000 dton and up range, bristling with weapons and possessing zero tolerance for anything that would try to capture a hospital.

Art by Ian Stead

MGPPR: Team Never Quit Training Ammo

(Monday Gunday Palette's Product Reviews)

Back in May, I had the privilege of attending a dinner hosted by Lucky Gunner that featured SEAL Marcus Luttrell and spotlighted a new ammunition brand he had created. This brand, Team Never Quit, gave away 50-round boxes of 9mm or .45 ACP ammo to everyone who attended the dinner.

I scored three boxes* of TNQ 100 grain frangible semi-wadcutter rounds, and after promising a great review of them to the Lucky Gunner rep, I promptly put them in my range bag and forgot all about them. Oops.

Which is why I'm reviewing them now. Better late than pregnant, I always say!

Specifications
For the number crunchers, here's the spec sheet on this particular ammo load.

Recoil
I usually shoot 115 grain round nose, and I could definitely detect the difference between it and the recoil of 100 grain TNQ rounds. Since I'm not an expert shooter I likely can't use the proper terminology to describe the difference, so I'll explain it like a writer: while muzzle rise was about the same as traditional rounds, the backwards kick into my hand was reduced. Usually my hand is sore after 100 rounds of 115gr RN and is ready for a break, but I shot 150 rounds of the TNQ ammo and still felt great. If I'd had more boxes, I would have happily shot those as well.

Performance
Out of 150 rounds, I had only one failure to fire. I'm not sure if the primer was a dud or if it was something else entirely; all I know is that my Glock 26 went "click" instead of "bang", so I worked the slide and went back to shooting without issue.

All of the rounds -- even my single dud -- loaded and fed properly, and ejected smoothly.

Accuracy
I feel a bit odd talking about bullet accuracy when my limited shooting ability is the greatest hindrance to that, but I promised Lucky Gunner a great review in exchange for those extra boxes, so here is some photographic evidence.

The top target was shot with a box of 50 at a distance of 25 feet, using the LaserMax Guide Rod Laser in my Glock 26 to help with aim. You'll notice I don't have the best grouping (although that big hole at 11 o'clock is nice), but they're all good hits and nothing was outside the 8 ring.

The center target was a second box of 50, shot at the same distance and conditions but without the laser. Performance was similar, only my groupings weren't as tight and I had a few outside the ring (all of them are solid hits, though). There's a bit of a hole at 11 o'clock but it's not as good as above.

The target at low right was shot at 50 feet, using the laser. You'll notice I'm even more scattered, with a few wingers above, below, and to the left.  Still, they're all on paper.

Conclusion: These bullets are plenty accurate, but the shooter needs more practice.

Cleanup
My pistol was remarkably clean after shooting 150 rounds through it. I've shot some ammo (Federal, I'm looking at you) which turned my pistol absolutely filthy after just 50 rounds. This was the opposite -- after shooting three boxes I just needed to boresnake the barrel a bit and give the boltface a good once-over with a nylon brush.

Price
Here's the sticker: these bullets are $27.00 for a box of 50. That's nearly three times the price of a 50-count box of Tula Ammo or Brown Bear, or just a bit over twice what a box of American Eagle runs.

Admittedly, some of the ouch of that price is mitigated by the ease of cleanup and the knowledge that a percentage of each box goes to the Lone Survivor Foundation, but as someone who is notoriously stingy and yet still loves to shoot, I don't love this ammo enough that I think it's worth paying that price for it.

Recommendation
These are very nice bullets and I enjoyed shooting them. If you buy them, you will enjoy them very much (especially the lack of cleanup afterwards). However, their cost prices me out of their market.

In short, this is Premium target ammo. You will get what you pay for.

* How?  Without going into great detail, here are the steps:

1. Camp the ammo boxes to make sure that everyone who wants a box has gotten one. 
2. Set a pick to discourage people from grabbing more than one as a target of opportunity. 
3. Casually mention to the event organizer that the servers really want to clear the swag table, and that the organizers don't want to take heavy ammunition back home with them anyway. You, however, are perfectly happy to take home that ammo, and can write a nice review with a larger sample size...

Obligatory FTC Disclaimer: I received this product for free. I was not paid or otherwise compensated in return for giving it a good review. In fact, these boxes were handed out for free to anyone who attended the dinner. Of course, I scored more boxes because I promised a review, but it's not like 9mm bullets are valuable enough to be a bribe. 

Gun Blog Variety Podcast #51

http://tinyurl.com/nmwoenx

You're going to love this episode. The new field recorder goes out into the great outdoors!

• Adam and Sean host another fine episode of The GunBlog VarietyCast. They talk about their dogs, a book you should read, a "small plane" that caught on fire in Nashville, the Tennessee Governor's new plan to allow TN National Guardsman carry privately owned weapons, and the things that grind our gears.
• Erin Palette tells us why cars and floods don't mix, and what to do when they get too close to each other.
• Nicki Kenyon discusses "Existential Threats." What are they and why do we care?
• Sean attends the Silencerco Quiet Riot Tour's North Carolina stop. Joining him is John Richardson of the Polite Society Podcast. John and Sean shoot suppressed pistols, rifles, and even shotguns. And they recorded themselves doing it, so you can hear what they really sound like!
• Barron B reminds us that every security system has a weak point. And most often, that weak point is the people.
• And Weer'd gives us a twofer. He does one of his patented Weer'd Audio Fisks. His targets? Rachel Maddow and Al Sharpton.

Thanks for downloading, listening, and subscribing. Please share with a friend, and Like and Share us on Facebook.

Listen to the podcast here.
Show notes may be found here.

A special thanks to Silencerco for hosting us at their Quiet Riot Tour, and also to our sponsor, the Law of Self Defense. Remember to use discount code "Variety" for 10% off at checkout.