Camping in the rain sucks

Never trust the weather man.

Tammy, Maxwell, and myself went camping last week. We left for the Prince Albert National Park on Thursday morning. It rained during the 2.5 hour trip there, and continued raining non-stop the whole time we were there.

Tammy and I have never camped together before, and of course never set up a tent together before. We weren't exactly smiling during the process. Setting up a tent in the pouring rain sucks. It was so miserable, it was funny. We were soaked, sliding around making a mess.

The rain never let up. Other than bathroom breaks, which involved ponchos and hurrying to the facilities, we stayed in the tent and tried our best to entertain ourselves.

Tammy is now considering the purchase of a tent trailer. Just wait until she finds out what on is worth.

Bad day at the range

I think I am actually getting worse at shooting.

I went to the range after work yesterday, and didn't exactly set any records. I was sighting in a new scope and trying out the new Choate stock on the Savage .223. This is the second time I have shoot this rifle, and I have to admit, I think I am starting to shoot worse than ever before. My groups were all over. I was lucky if I could keep them under 2 inches at 100 yards. This just isn't acceptable for me. I normally keep used targets for reference, but I tossed yesterday's. At one point I finished off a box of Winchester 55 grain cartridges, started a fresh box and found that my point of impact was about 2 inches higher than the last box. What the hell?

I don't get it. I used a bipod (which I prefer), and had sand bags to ensure I was steady. I can think of a pile of excuses. Maybe I just need to get used to the stock and scope (and new rifle). I admit that I can adjust the cheek pice so I can get a good cheek weld and maybe try adjusting the length of pull on the varmint stock.

Maybe I should just stop whining, get things adjusted, then try shooting a bit more. After all, I haven't shot more than 100 rounds in over a year. maybe I am jusst out of practice.

I took my 4 year old to the range

Yup, I took Maxwell, who was just a few days into his fourth year, to the range. We got up just before 6:00 Am to get there about 7: 00 AM. This is the best time to go, since there is less people around, and the temperatures are pretty nice.

Maxwell wasn't exactly thrilled to get up that early, but soon felt better once I reminded him where we were going. It was his first time, and I could tell his imagination was running wild about what "the range" might be. We hit the road and made it about 5 minutes out of town before wehad to turn around. Maxwell wanted to bring his shotgun. So after a quick return trip home for his toy, and a quick stop at Tim Hortons for an extra large double-double, we made it to the range to see that my buddies were already there and hitting paper.

Maxwell loved it. I didn't bring any firearms this time, as I just wanted him to feel safe and comfortable about the range, with it's benches, different people, and gunshots. I had already coached him in the car about the importance of keeping his ear protection on, and staying near me. He made me proud. He stuck to me like glue and looked great in ear muffs.

He soon realized that there was .17 MR and 22 long rifle brass lying around, and spent his time filling his pockets. He even sat at a free bench with his plastic over-under shotgun and firde a few shots. The guys were great, shaking his hand like a gentleman and making him feel welcome. It was truly a great first experience for a 4 year old boy.

I can't wait to take him again.

Include HTML within PHP

I did some testing and found that I can now include HTML documents inside of my existing documents. This ability to reuse code beats me copying and pasting all the time. Now a simple edit to a single HTML file that I have included in multiple files can affect multiple pages without me having to edit each.

I couldn't find a reliable way to do this in HTML, so I was forced to use PHP. That's okay, as I have a little PHP integrated into my site anyways. Here's an example of what I did to include other HTML files in my existing HTML files:

The PHP page that contains this directive must have a .php extension and the server must support PHP.

Why did I feel like sharing this tip?
I found it difficult to find a way to include HTML in HTML, so I figured that even one more example on the Internet might help someone.

What a great week !

This last week has been great for a gun nut like myself. Finally after all the waiting, the goodies I ordered had arrived. I also went for a drive to Ted Gaillard's place and picked up my newly rechambered Remington 700. He was kind enough to sell me 100 pieces of 8mm Remington Magnum brass too. Returning to town that day, I checked the Post Office (yes my town is that small) and found a parcel ticket in my box. I was thrilled, as I was expecting the new Pact dispenser and scale combination to arrive. I handed in my parcel ticket and was surprised to see a long rectanglular box. My Choate stocks had arrived! I hurried home and cracked that box open. Damn their beautiful. Well, to me anyways.

Only a few days later I was lucky enough to come home and find that Tammy picked up another parcel from the Post Office. The Pact combo arrived. In minutes I had the box open, and started reading the manuals for the dispenser and scale.

Now I have a lot of work to do (can I really call it work?). I have about 180 pieces of 8mm Rem mag to form. So I will either have to borrow a buddies .35 dies or buy a set myself to create false shoulders on these cases before I fire form them to the new .338 Gaillard wildcat. I will also have to buy a sheet of stone flooring to use as a solid base for the Pact combo. I have read numerous recommendations suggesting that the scale works best on a sheet of smooth stone tile resting on a foam or rubber pad. This will make for accurate readings, as tiny bumps could throw off such a delicate scale. A cushioned and solid surface will defintely cut down on vibrations.

I need to run out and pick up a few pounds of powder too. Probably IMR 7828, or something similar. I can't wait to try out the new cartridge. I am tempted to fire form all of the cases without bullets, buy using the pistol powder and Cream of Wheat method. This will prolong barrel life, and not beat the hell out of me as I fire over 100 rounds.

One last note. I took some pictures of the two stocks I received. I'll post those in the next few days, to show off these great stocks. They truly are good products, despite what some others might suggest.
NOTE: I set the combo on a 13x13 foam-supported ceramic tile. This cuts down on vibrations that might affect the scale.

Choate has incorporated a nice integrated aluminum block to aid in securely mating the receiver with the stock.
Both the Ultimate Sniper and the Varmint stock have added accessories like extensions and alternate cheek rests.The Varmint stock differs from the Sniper (not just in color).Both stocks also have roomy forestocks allow for nice fat target barrels. I guess I need to save up some dough.

Moved to Blogger

I just transferred everything from my old Wordpress log to Blogger.

Why? I am lazy. I just don't enjoy having to frequently update or upgrade my Wordpress installation to handle security updates, etc.

Why Blogger? Why not? It's reliable, I don't have to update the software, and millions of users can't be wrong, can they? Heck, I can even edit the look and feel of the blog if I like (once I stop procrastinating and start doing it).

Mugison and the Queens of the Stone Age

On May 5th I was lucky enough to experience the Queens of the Stone Age and Mugison at the Odeon Event Center.

Both bands were simply great. I admit I went in not knowing anything about Mugison, and wasn't sure what to expect. Wow, what a band. They sounded great, and were really into it. The guitar player was impressive, as he seemed to really be feeling teh power of the crowd. I liked them so much I didn't hesitate to grab a copy of their "not officially released in North America" CD. I am not sure how I would describe the style of Mugison's music. Maybe it's better of not being labeled under any particular music category. These guys are just Mugison. They rocked.

The Queens of the Stone Age blew me away. These guys are simply fantastic musicians, and played hard. I am so happy I got to see them live. It's something I'll never forget. I don't have to describe them too much, as many people are already well aware of the excellence of the Queens.

The show was great, and I will definitely see either of these bands again if given the chance.

HOWTO: Make web visitors never come back to your site.

I have the secret to making web visitors never return. It's easy. Just edit your page to make it look like it is under going maintenance. It doesn't necessarily have to say "Under Maintenance", but it does have to look like you are fixing it, and never took the time to prepare something off-site in preparation for a disaster, or a server move, etc.

Am I an expert in this? Perhaps not, but I am guilty of it. Take a look at NewToGuns. It is my own web site and I buggered up the xhtml to the point where I got pissed off and nuked it. Sure I kept all my articles, but the site is definitely "under maintenance"

I am getting anxious

Part of me loves waiting for new stuff I have ordered, while the other part of me hates the wait.

I still haven't received the two Choate stocks I ordered. I suppose it takes a while to get U.S export permits and all that. I am really looking forward to trying these out, even with the boring look of standard barrel profiles. I have been waiting since December, which seems like a long time ago to me.

I also ordered a nice powder dispenser and scale combo from Pact about 2 weeks ago. I phoned them today (okay, I am impatient sometimes) and was told they will ship in 5 to 10 days. Looks like I am getting one hot off the production line.I can't wait ot say good-bye to my old Lyman powder chucker, and hello to digitally measured powder loads.

I still haven't picked up my newly chambered rifle yet. The .338 Gaillard chambering was completed a couple weeks ago, but I haven't picked the rifle up yet. Part of me is anxious to get it, while part of me isn't, as I have no 8mm Remington Magnum brass available. Which brings me to my next point...

I had a local vendor order me 250 8mm Remington Magnum cases from the U.S. two weeks ago. I wonder how long that will take with all the shipping, and permits, etc. I was told around June, but after waiting all this time for my Choate stocks, I am not exactly holding my breath.

Bucket Explore versus Jungledisk

Sorry Jungledisk fans, but I have to say that although it was only $20, it was $20 too much.

Bucket Explorer is a far superior product. Sure it cost twice as much, but it's worth it. I bought Jungledisk first because a friend recommended it, but wish I had tried Bucket Explorer first. Bucket Explorer is just easier to use, and has features I like. Creating and deleting buckets is a breeze. It's just a pain in Jungledisk. Bucket Explorer makes permissions a snap, and even offers easy linking to files. These easy to use public URLs and time-limited signed URLs are a nice touch. Perhaps it's minor, but Jungledisk's long bucket names such as 334HNDX984NXN49F8N-webbucket just aren't as nice as the simplicity of Bucket Explorer letting me create something nice and smple like "webbucket". Bucket Explorer (like Jungledisk) works in Linux. Anyone that has read enough of my past posts may realize I love using Linux, and Bucket Explorer is simply great on my KDE based distro (Mint Linux). It was easy to istall too. I also realy don't like the idea that Jungledisk stores my data in their own format. Good luck accessing files uploaded by Jungledisk with any other client software.

So what do I loose by deciding against Jungledisk? I realize that Jungledisk provided a backup feature. Well, I can use S3Backup if I need it, and it's free. Go ahead and check that link out, and have a look at S3 Webmaster while you're there, it's pretty cool too. Jungledisk does have Jungledisk-USB. With this I could carry around a working copy of Jungledisk on a USB key and access S3 from any USB supported computer. Okay, I can't find an alternative for this, but frankly, I wouldn't miss it. Jungledisk is$20 for life and that apparently includes updates. Sadly these included updates don't include the newly added Jungledisk-Plus features. BucketExplorer will only provide free upgrades for 6 months. I hope they reconsider this.
So what have I learned? I should have done more research before buying any S3 application.

By the way, you might want to skip both Jungledisk and Bucket Explorer and simply rely on the S3Fox addon for Firefox and find that you'll be entirely happy with that. It's pretty damn useful.