Little hummingbirds like this one like to browse the puffy flowers of the Chinese Lantern Bush at the Botanic Garden. I walked up to within five feet of this one and snapped this photo before it flitted away. Cute little thing – about three inches in length.
After today’s session at the range, we set the guns out for cleaning as usual. I like to take a picture of the guns we took each time we shoot, just for the record. We don’t take all the guns on a given day. I handed my little Canon PowerShot A510 to Damsel while I was opening the tool box, and she took this nice perspective picture of the shotguns awaiting clean-up.
She just seems to have the artistic flair with the camera, while I’m just a mere photo journalist most of the time. I guess I can deal with that.
Today we will be going back to the South Coast Botanic Garden for a plant sale and to visit the rest of the garden.
One of the prettiest flowers growing in the Garden is this striking red and white Dahlia. I took this picture last week at the orchid show. Click for the big picture (which hardly does this beautiful flower justice – you had to be there).
Here are some interesting facts about Dahlias:
Aztecs collected or cultivated Dahlias as early as the 15th century. Flowers were depicted in cave drawings and hieroglyphics credited to the Aztecs of the 14th and possibly of the 13th century. It was used as a religious symbol and for medicinal and cultural rather than aesthetic purposes. Dahlia tubers were an important food source for the Aztecs indeed to this day. the Indians of central Mexico rely on the tubers as a valuable part of their diet. It was woven into clothing for the Royal family, warriors shields, breast plates, necklaces, etc.
The first encounter by other than the peoples of Mexico seems to be well established as made by a Spanish citizen, Francisco Hernandez who was sent to Mexico in 1570 to investigate the “natural resources of “New Spain.” The first published pictures were drawings by an Hidalgo Gentleman, Francisco Dominguez who accompanied Hernandez on at least some part of his explorations. Both the report and drawings were published at Rome, but not until 1651, about seventy five years after first produced. Prior to publication the report was translated to Latin, and later to English. Little recorded information is found concerning the next 126 years.
(Source: dahlia.org.)
Mike Thomas, a journalist associated with the Orlando (FL) Sentinel, comes to some logical conclusions in an editorial he wrote about unarmed victims of a violent crime. In the complete editorial, Thomas relates some of the warning signs and the consequences of the victims not taking action to protect themselves.
This is an excerpt from the editorial with highlights I made:
I am not knocking the cops, just acknowledging reality. There are a thousand threats in the Big City. Picking out the real ones from the bluster is an impossible task. Given this reality, given that Central Florida is turning into a bad Mad Max sequel, my liberal belief in gun control is getting wobbly.
I’m not advocating selling machine guns and cop-killer bullets at Wal-Mart. But if somebody faces an immediate threat, I have a hard time understanding why they need to wait three days or longer to buy a handgun for self-protection. Shouldn’t we be allowed to go to a reputable gun store, get a lesson in how to use a specific weapon and buy it after the background check?
The stated reason against this is that some ill-tempered lout will blow a fuse, run off to Guns R Us, buy a Glock and open fire on his spouse, neighbor, boss or co-worker. One might assume someone this prone to venting with a volley already has a gun, locked and loaded.
A 2000 report in the Journal of the American Medical Association, hardly part of the gun lobby, showed cooling-off periods did not reduce homicide rates or overall suicide rates. After examining 51 studies on various gun-control laws, including mandatory waiting periods, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded in 2003 that there was “insufficient evidence” to say they reduced gun violence.
It seems we pass laws that feel good without a lot of proof they are doing any good. Maybe I need a good slap from Ted Kennedy, but I almost buy the National Rifle Association argument that the primary target of gun-control laws would be the people who shoot them at ranges, then lovingly oil and ogle them before safely locking them up.
As far as keeping guns away from bad guys, gun-control laws work as well as crack cocaine-control laws. We even have high school kids in Orange County firing guns in the air at high school athletic events.
If there were no guns, I would say allow no guns. But since all the wrong people already have them, and the cops can’t do much about it except match their firepower, then it may well be time to arm thyself, citizen.
When Florida liberalized permits for concealed weapons in the 1980s, critics predicted a Wild West bloodbath. It never happened. Responsible gun owners don’t use guns irresponsibly. Go figure.
Until the cops get better at enforcing gun control on those who shouldn’t have guns, a better alternative for the rest of us is gun education, gun classes and secure gun storage.
Mike Thomas, in a way, is like journalist Lawrence Solomon, who decided to get into the minds of “global warming deniers” only to come to the conclusion that man-made contributions to climate shift are grossly exaggerated.
Hat Tip to NRA-ILA for pointing me to this story.
To paraphrase Br’er Rabbit:
“Necessity may be the mother of invention, but ingenuity surely must be the daddy.”
From Reuters via eWEEK News:
Computerized Pillow Said to Stop Snoring
The computer reduces or enlarges air compartments within the pillow to facilitate nasal airflow to minimize snoring.
A German scientist has come up with a solution for snoring—a computerized pillow that shifts the head’s sleeping position until the noise stops.
Daryoush Bazargani, professor of computer science at the University of Rostock and the pillow’s inventor, was displaying a prototype of his pillow at a health conference in Germany on Wednesday.
“The pillow is attached to a computer, which is the size of a book, rests on a bedside table, and analyzes snoring noises,” Bazargani says. “The computer then reduces or enlarges air compartments within the pillow to facilitate nasal airflow to minimize snoring as the user shifts during sleep.”
The ergonomic pillow can also be used for neck massages.
Bazargani says several U.S. firms were interested in manufacturing the pillow.
“I invented it because I snore,” he says. “I tried all sorts of products, but nothing worked. I hope people who use it will sleep more peacefully.”
Note: the photo is of a competing product currently being marketed as a snore-no-more pillow.
My new camera arrived on Monday; yesterday and today I’ve been busily reading the owners’ manual and playing with some of the camera’s new and improved features.
Meanwhile, check out this purple orchid that I photographed using my old camera at the orchid show last Saturday.
In an order denying a motion to lift the stay of mandate in the DC Gun Case, the DC Circuit Court uncovers a paradox in the arguments made by the District of Columbia.
It seems that DC’s claim that the handgun ban is constitutional by virtue of rifles and shotguns being legally owned in DC, fails the test of being actually available for self-defense given the fact that such legally-owned weapons must be stored locked or dissembled. In addition, the Circuit Court notes that rifles and shotguns may not be suitable for home defense due to the danger of bystanders being injured and that such weapons may be difficult or impossible for smaller persons to handle. Hand guns, however, are ideal in close quarters and easily handled by smaller persons.
Hopefully, the enlightenment provided by the DC Court will give guidance to SCOTUS when the matter is brought before them. Logically, the choice for home defense is a loaded hand gun.
Excerpts from DC Gun Case Blog and notes from the DC Circuit Court can be seen below the fold.