Alive and happy because they carry,
and make it public knowledge,
which prevents the bad incident from occurring in the first place.
You may not be able to prove that an action caused
an event to not occur, but you can discern it.
Ella praises Jesus on stage.
Greetings Sheepdogs, 
Taken from
Weekend Knowledge Dump- May 22, 2026 
To eliminate any confusion as to who is speaking, if someone else is speaking,
the text will be black on a white background. If I [Jon Low] am commenting,
the text will be dark green on a bright yellow background.
If you don't like that, you may copy and paste the text into an editor (just
about any editor in the Linux / UNIX / POSIX world, or Notepad in the
Micro$oft world, or just about any in the Apple world). Editor, not word processor.
But be aware that all of the hidden text (white text on white background)
will show up. Or, maybe not. All kinds of people are asking me to hide all
kinds of things in these blog postings.
This blog is not a back channel (dual-simplex), it's just a broadcast (simplex).
[In the context of, simplex (broadcast, one-way communication), dual-simplex
(two simplex systems on different channels allowing two-way communications),
half-duplex (walkie-talkie, push to talk system, only one person can talk at a time,
two-way communication on one channel), full-duplex (telephone, etc., two-way
communication at the same time on the same channel).]
"GunTuber Arrested by the Feds" by Brandon Herrera
Please donate to Dugan Ashley Defense Fund at
"Don't have a gun? Buy one.
Don't know How to use it? Learn.
Don't believe in guns? Get ready to hide behind someone who does."
-- Charlie Daniels
Table of Contents:
Software --
Prevention
Mindset
Situational Awareness
Safety
Training
Psychology
Practice
Intervention
Strategy
Tactics
Techniques
Postvention
Aftermath
Medical
Survival
Education
Legal
Instruction
Hardware --
Gear
Intelligence --
Signals Intelligence
Cryptology
This and That --
"No freeman shall ever be debarred the use of arms."
-- Thomas Jefferson
*************************************************************************
Weekend Knowledge Dump- May 22, 2026
Greg Ellifritz
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Prevention ***** ***** *****
Things you can do to avoid the lethal force incident.
Table of sections:
Mindset
Safety
Training
Psychology
Practice
“To those who have fought for it,
freedom has a flavor that the protected will never know.”
― P. McCree Thornton
***************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Mindset and Attitude --------------------------------
Figuring out the correct way to think.
"The Defensive-Only Mindset: Why Survival Beats Justice"
by Jacob Paulsen
“The Man in the Arena”
by Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909), 26th President of the United States
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how
the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have
done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in
the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who
strives valiantly; who errs, who comes up short again and again,
because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who
does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms,
the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at
the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and
who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so
that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who
neither know victory nor defeat.”
"Apex Predator?" by John Farnam
"I do not carry a pistol so that I may impose my will on others.
I carry a pistol so that others may not impose their will on me."
-- Tom Givens
"Principles for the Armed Lifestyle" by John Murphy
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
"Survival is a mindset, not a skill set."
-- Greg Shaffer
"Cosplaying the Warrior Ethos
Bayonet Assault Courses, The Warrior Ethos, and the Fear of Combatives Training"
by Matt Larsen
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
"Your gunfights will always be anomalies.
So are those of all the instructors you venerate.
It’s useful to keep those facts in mind."
-- Greg Ellifritz
Email from Stav --
Do you carry regularly? If you don't, what's stopping you and what are
some challenges you are facing when it comes to carrying?
. . .
A few of you said that you don't feel ready yet, and I am SO proud of your
self-awareness! Firearms ownership is a great responsibility. I want to
encourage you to take one step this week to get yourself closer to your goals.
Here are some ideas:
Sign up for a class or a 1-on-1 with an instructor in your area.
Enroll in step 1 of my 2-step program designed to make you a
confident carrier, all on your own time.
Sign up for a basic safety course in your area (if you've already
taken it but it's been a while, this can be a great refresher).
‷If you look at someone bigger, faster, and stronger and immediately think,
‶I'm at a disadvantage″, I have news for you: you are.
But that's only because you just put yourself there for no reason.
The truth is that anyone can do debilitating violence to anyone else.
Your size, your speed, your strength, your gender -- all the factors that
untrained people think make the difference when it comes to violence --
all matter far less than your mindset and your intent.‴
-- Tim Larkin
"Practice vs Training: Knowing the Difference is Critical"
by Dave Bahde
"Decades ago, one of my martial arts instructors scolded me for spending
an entire session practicing what I knew rather than learning. Instruction time
is “precious and should be spent learning, practice is your problem, and should
be done on your own,” he told me."
"Physical skills, especially those requiring manipulation of something like a
firearm, are not, nor have they ever been, instinctive or natural."
"There is an old Zen saying, “when walking walk, when eating eat.”
It emphasizes the need to know what you are doing and focus on that thing.
Basically, “when training, train, when practicing practice.” "
"An unarmed man can only flee from evil and
evil is not overcome by fleeing from it." -- Jeff Cooper
Drop on request.
"Your life is as good as your mindset." -- Nicola Cavanis
"Should I Have Shot My Home Invader" by Active Self Protection Extra
"Firearms instructors have no ethical standard that they have to adhere to.
So, firearms instruction is not a profession, even though some are paid for
their services."
Citing the book,
"The Righteous Mind:
Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion"
by Jonathan Haidt
ISBN-10 : 0307455777
ISBN-13 : 978-0307455772
"Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist.
Children already know that dragons exist.
Fairy tales tell children that the dragons can be killed."
-- G.K. Chesterton
“We Both Know Why You Don’t Like Combatives”
Basketball, Warzone Medical Evacuations,
and the Myth That Combatives Is “Too Dangerous”
by Matt Larsen
‟If violent crime is to be curbed, it is only the intended victim who can do it.
The felon does not fear the police, and he fears neither judge nor jury.
Therefore what he must fear is his victim.
It is high time for society to stop worrying about the criminal,
and to let the criminal start worrying about society.
And by "society" I mean you.”
-- Col. Jeff Cooper, "Principles of Personal Defense"
The Myth of "Stupid Places and Stupid People"
by Phil Elmore
Excerpts:
"Defeatism isn’t just a weak way to live your life.
It’s actively more dangerous to you."
"Forget the aggressor’s feelings. Forget compliance. Dismiss defeatism.
Fight back. Fight back hard and fight back immediately. That’s the only
way to increase your chances of not being victimized. Complying will
simply get you victimized according to the attacker’s timetable."
"Don’t Go Along to Get Along"
"Be so focused on watering your grass that
you don't have time to check if someone else's is greener."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"Mindset is Not a Slogan" by Tom Givens
‟Fear is an instinct. Courage is a choice.”
-- Rear Admiral Joseph Kernan, U.S. Navy
"The line between everyday life and sudden violence is thinner than most realize."
-- Tim Larkin
“You need to have the capacity for danger. You need to be ‘dangerous’.
Yet, you need to learn how to not use it except when necessary.
And, that is not the same thing as being harmless.
There's nothing virtuous about harmlessness.
Harmless just means you’re ineffectual and useless.”
-- Jordan Peterson
“Your character is what you do when no one is looking.”
-- Thomas Jefferson
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Situational Awareness --------------------------------
How to avoid being taken by surprise.
In Matthew 10:16, Jesus says,
"Stay alert. This is hazardous work I'm assigning to you. You're going to be like
sheep running through a wolf pack, so don't call attention to yourselves. Be as
cunning as a snake, inoffensive as a dove."
-- The Message (The Bible in Contemporary Language)
"Many people don't realize that your awareness skills
are more important than your marksmanship skills.
Well, you can't shoot something you don't know is there,
or don't know it needs to be shot!" -- Tom Givens
"The Lost Intent" by Jeff Boren
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Excerpts:
"When Jeff Cooper developed the Color Code, he was not trying to make
people more observant. He was trying to make them more decisive."
"In his Commentaries, Cooper described the Code as a way to measure
a person’s “capacity… to cross the psychological barrier that inhibits [the]
ability to take deadly action.” "
---
" Readiness Not in the “Color Code?” "
by Rich Grassi
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger.
"Jeff Cooper's Color Code exists to help you get your head
around the need to kill someone in the immediate future."
-- John Hearne
---
Jeff Cooper's Color Code of Mental Awareness
UNAWARE - of what's going on around you. (White)
AWARE - of who is around you and what they are doing. (Yellow)
ALERT - to a POTENTIAL threat and taking action to avoid the threat. (Orange)
ALARM - by a REAL threat and taking action to escape the threat,
which might include shooting to PREVENT the attack. (Red)
COMBAT - front sight, press. Shooting to STOP the attack. (Black)
---
The colors are meaningless, requiring a level of indirection.
So you should use meaningful words instead. So the student doesn't
have to decode the meaning of the color. Using insider jargon is WRONG!
---
"Jargon Does not Equal Expertise"
-- Rick Billington
"Lessons From Argentina’s Collapse
What American Survivalists Still Get Wrong"
by Steve Charles
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger.
Excerpts:
"But Argentina showed that most violence during societal decline is not
military. It is criminal."
"The ability to “gear up” assumes danger announces itself in advance.
Real danger rarely does. One of the most consistent lessons from Argentina
was that the handgun you actually carried mattered far more than the rifle
you owned. People who survived violent encounters often did so because
they had a concealed handgun immediately available. Not in the car. Not in
another room. On them. Every day . . ."
"People holding gold frequently discovered that it was difficult or outright
impractical to use in day-to-day survival. A grocery store owner trying to
feed his own family often had little interest in weighing precious metals or
gambling on purity during an economic panic. In unstable environments,
liquidity matters more than theoretical value.
You cannot shave a few dollars’ worth of gold off a coin to buy bread,
fuel, medicine, or diapers.
Even when precious metals retained long-term value, they often failed
as practical street-level currency during the actual crisis. People needed
immediate, recognizable, divisible means of exchange.
What actually worked was cash, foreign currency, trade goods, and
practical necessities.
People also bartered constantly using food, fuel, batteries, medicine,
alcohol, cigarettes, tools, and services. Someone who could repair
generators or fix vehicles often possessed more immediate economic
power than someone sitting on a cache of gold coins."
"An officer may be forgiven for losing a battle,
but never for being taken by surprise."
-- Jeff Cooper
"How to Spot a Bad Guy- A Comprehensive Look at Body Language
and Pre-Assault Indicators"
by Greg Ellifritz
Zugzwang is a thing. But with situational awareness, you can avoid it.
"When Shit Hits the Fan, What Do You Do . . . First" by WTF Kristen
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Excerpt:
Ask yourself some simple but important questions:
What do I do if I am in the living room and someone starts kicking the door?
What do I do if I am in the kitchen and the entry point is only a few feet away?
What do I do if I am in the bedroom?
Where do my kids go?
What if the kids are on another floor or other side of house?
What is my safe area? our safe area?
At what point do I call 911?
What is my first move, not my fifth?
"Always stand on principle, even if you stand alone"
– James Madison
"The Awareness Mindset: Why Most People Lose the Fight Before It Starts"
by Jacob Paulsen
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Mobs!" by John Farnam
Pay attention to crowds forming and immediately leave.
If you don't, you may end up as I did in Printer's Alley in Nashville, TN
refilling an ATM with cash while 50 youths started throwing tables and
chairs around. Not willing to turn my back on them, to close and lock the
ATM, I stood facing them with my pistol out. Not pointing at anyone,
just watching. You bet they were watching me. Tens of thousands
of dollars in 20's, an armed guard in uniform with a pistol in a two handed
low ready. I was surprised no one was taking pictures of me. Maybe
they were.
In a few minutes they all left. But I know I came very close to a
lethal force incident.
If I had been paying attention, I would have locked up and left when
they started congregating. Should have had two guards on such jobs,
but company policy was one man.
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Safety --------------------------------
How to prevent the bad thing from happening in the first place.
How to avoid shooting yourself, friendlies, and innocent bystanders.
How to prevent unauthorized persons from using your guns.
"You are not responsible for negative reactions to your boundaries."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"The 4 Tests Predators Run on Targets" by Defend Confidently
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Interrupt the bad guy's process.
"The Avoidance Mindset:
Why the Best Self-Defense Story Is One Where Nothing Happens"
by Jacob Paulsen
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Excerpt:
"The hardest thing about teaching avoidance is that the wins are invisible."
John Farnam's rules to keep you out of trouble:
Don’t go to stupid places.
Don’t associate with stupid people.
Don’t do stupid things.
Have a “normal” appearance.
Be in bed by 10:00 PM (your own bed).
Don’t fail the attitude test.
"Beware the Involuntary Trigger Squeeze" by (no author cited)
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Excerpt:
"In all of the examples above, keeping your finger off the trigger will prevent
an involuntary trigger squeeze."
[No, that is not true. Off the trigger, but inside the trigger guard is not enough.
The trigger finger must be in the register position, on the frame or slide above
the trigger. -- Jon Low]
"Safety is something that happens between your ears,
not something you hold in your hands."
-- Jeff Cooper
"Chicago Cop Kills His Partner" byActive Self Protection
Jeff Cooper′s Rules of Gun Safety
RULE I: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED.
RULE II: NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING
THAT YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY.
RULE III: KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER
UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET.
RULE IV: BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET.
---
RULE V: Maintain control of your gun. -- Stephen P. Wenger
"Do you wear your seatbelt when driving?"
Is a required question in the Medicare annual exams.
Because you cannot predict when an intoxicated or distracted driver will ram you.
"Do you carry your pistol when awake?"
Is a required question in DefensivePistolcraft.com courses. And should be
a required question in your classes. Because you cannot predict when a
criminal predator or animal will attack you.
"Gut feelings are guardian angels."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"Assertiveness" by John Farnam
Excerpt:
“Measure yourself against the enemy before declaring war.
Who fail to hunt foxes should stay clear of elephants!”
-- R.N. Prasher
"You brought a gun to the fight. That doesn’t mean it’s YOUR gun.
The gun belongs to whomever can keep it. Think about that before
intervening in other folks’ problems. When is the last time you practiced
your in-hand weapon retention skills?"
-- Greg Ellifritz
---
When was the last time you practiced your in-holster weapon retention skills?
Have you taken a class to learn such techniques?
-- Jon Low
---
". . . if the assailant has a gun, it may actually be the easiest
gun for you to access, if you know how to take it from him."
-- Stephen P. Wenger
"Casing a Joint: Why You Should Sit Facing the Door" by Bryan Black
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Bryan Black is mistaken. Cooper's color code is not in Cooper's book,
"Principles of Personal Defense". The link in the article gives an Amazon.com
reference. But you don't have to buy the book. It is free at many places, e.g.
"It's easier to stay out of trouble than to get out of trouble."
-- Claude Werner
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Training --------------------------------
Figuring out the correct tasks to practice.
Care enough to continue your training.
"Five Rules To Help You Win A Gunfight!" by Chad Winkler
https://boondocksfta.com/2021/05/five-rules-to-help-you-win-a-gunfight/?v=0b3b97fa6688
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
"Never believe anything you read or hear.
To figure out what’s best for you,
experiment until you have no doubt."
-- Brian Enos
*** Extremely Important ***
"The Sun And Shifting Point Of Impact" by Docent
https://practicaleschatology.blogspot.com/2026/05/the-sun-and-shifting-point-of-impact.html
Primary source,
"Shifting Point of Impact?
Sun of a Gun!"
by Jeff "Tank" Hoover
https://gunsmagazine.com/our-experts/think-tank/shifting-point-of-impact-sun-of-a-gun/
My students have experienced this. My poor student became very distraught
because her point of impact had changed (group moved from dead center to
misses off to the right), even though she knew that she was getting exactly the
same sight alignment and sight picture.
Pay attention to the light on your sights. The brightness (clear sky, overcast),
the angle (time of day), the color (sunrise, noon, sunset, haze, overcast, etc.),
because it changes with time. Sometimes by the second. And it matters.
Indoors when shooting an IDPA match, in different positions, you will get
different lighting, because the lights are in different positions relative to your
sights. A lot of things are going on, so it's easy to miss this and attribute your
misses to something other than the different lighting conditions.
Your glasses should be vertically polarized, because glare off bodies of water
or the reflecting ground are horizontally polarized.
In bright lighting conditions use grey tinted glasses to reduce contrast.
In dim lighting conditions use amber tinted glasses to increase contrast.
These are general rules, they may or may not work for your eyes.
"Having a gun is important.
But knowing WHEN to use it is even more important."
-- Greg Ellifritz
"Make sure you're being truthful when assessing your everyday-carry needs"
by Jeff Gonzales
https://nramedia.americanrifleman.org/june-2026/page-50
continued on page,
https://nramedia.americanrifleman.org/june-2026/page-60
You need training because:
You don't know what you don't know.
Much of what you know is false. [If you don't believe this,
you have an attitude problem and need to fix yourself. -- Jon Low]
It's good to the have the answers before the criminal tests you.
-- Claude Werner (paraphrased)
I, Jon Low, find the following article to be psychologically and physiologically
wrong. It's important to figure out what exactly is being trained here. I don't
think they are training aiming-eye coordination by blocking the target from the
aiming-eye. Only the aiming-eye is aiming the pistol. So practicing shooting
without the aiming-eye aiming the pistol, does not make sense to me.
---
"Red-Dot Occlusion Training:
A Performance-Booster for You & Your Optic-Equipped Handgun"
by Paul Fitch
https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/red-dot-occlusion-training-a-performance-booster-for-you-your-optic-equipped-handgun/
Excerpts:
"The end result is a superimposed sight picture over the actual target."
[No, as a matter of fact, that is not necessarily true. It might be true at infinite
distance, but would not be true if there is any parallax, which would occur
for any non-infinite distance. The underlying assumption is that because the
non-aiming eye is focused on the target, the aiming eye will automatically be
focused at the target and looking at the target, which is not obvious because
the aiming eye can't see the target. -- Jon Low]
Ansatz is a thing. And the better your training, the better your guesses / estimates.
"Penn & Teller Give a Lesson in Misdirection Using a Vanishing Chicken"
by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lo5BRAKvJoA
Do you see how to use this to get your pistol pointed at the bad guy without
him knowing?
Misdirection is different from distraction. 
Hat tip to John Hearne.
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Training --------------------------------
Figuring out the correct tasks to practice.
Care enough to continue your training.
"Five Rules To Help You Win A Gunfight!" by Chad Winkler
https://boondocksfta.com/2021/05/five-rules-to-help-you-win-a-gunfight/?v=0b3b97fa6688
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
"Never believe anything you read or hear.
To figure out what’s best for you,
experiment until you have no doubt."
-- Brian Enos
*** Extremely Important ***
"The Sun And Shifting Point Of Impact" by Docent
https://practicaleschatology.blogspot.com/2026/05/the-sun-and-shifting-point-of-impact.html
Primary source,
"Shifting Point of Impact?
Sun of a Gun!"
by Jeff "Tank" Hoover
https://gunsmagazine.com/our-experts/think-tank/shifting-point-of-impact-sun-of-a-gun/
My students have experienced this. My poor student became very distraught
because her point of impact had changed (group moved from dead center to
misses off to the right), even though she knew that she was getting exactly the
same sight alignment and sight picture.
Pay attention to the light on your sights. The brightness (clear sky, overcast),
the angle (time of day), the color (sunrise, noon, sunset, haze, overcast, etc.),
because it changes with time. Sometimes by the second. And it matters.
Indoors when shooting an IDPA match, in different positions, you will get
different lighting, because the lights are in different positions relative to your
sights. A lot of things are going on, so it's easy to miss this and attribute your
misses to something other than the different lighting conditions.
Your glasses should be vertically polarized, because glare off bodies of water
or the reflecting ground are horizontally polarized.
In bright lighting conditions use grey tinted glasses to reduce contrast.
In dim lighting conditions use amber tinted glasses to increase contrast.
These are general rules, they may or may not work for your eyes.
"Having a gun is important.
But knowing WHEN to use it is even more important."
-- Greg Ellifritz
"Make sure you're being truthful when assessing your everyday-carry needs"
by Jeff Gonzales
https://nramedia.americanrifleman.org/june-2026/page-50
continued on page,
https://nramedia.americanrifleman.org/june-2026/page-60
You need training because:
You don't know what you don't know.
Much of what you know is false. [If you don't believe this,
you have an attitude problem and need to fix yourself. -- Jon Low]
It's good to the have the answers before the criminal tests you.
-- Claude Werner (paraphrased)
I, Jon Low, find the following article to be psychologically and physiologically
wrong. It's important to figure out what exactly is being trained here. I don't
think they are training aiming-eye coordination by blocking the target from the
aiming-eye. Only the aiming-eye is aiming the pistol. So practicing shooting
without the aiming-eye aiming the pistol, does not make sense to me.
---
"Red-Dot Occlusion Training:
A Performance-Booster for You & Your Optic-Equipped Handgun"
by Paul Fitch
https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/red-dot-occlusion-training-a-performance-booster-for-you-your-optic-equipped-handgun/
Excerpts:
"The end result is a superimposed sight picture over the actual target."
[No, as a matter of fact, that is not necessarily true. It might be true at infinite
distance, but would not be true if there is any parallax, which would occur
for any non-infinite distance. The underlying assumption is that because the
non-aiming eye is focused on the target, the aiming eye will automatically be
focused at the target and looking at the target, which is not obvious because
the aiming eye can't see the target. -- Jon Low]
Ansatz is a thing. And the better your training, the better your guesses / estimates.
"Penn & Teller Give a Lesson in Misdirection Using a Vanishing Chicken"
by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lo5BRAKvJoA
Do you see how to use this to get your pistol pointed at the bad guy without
him knowing?
Misdirection is different from distraction.
It's not a vanishing chicken trick. It's an appearing gorilla trick. Even the title is misdirecting.
"Those motivated by a desire to improve their gunfighting skills
as opposed to a quest for trophies, must be willing to bleed ego on
the match results to avoid shedding blood in combat."
-- Andy Stanford
Centrifuge Training LLC's Post --
https://www.facebook.com/centrifugetraining/posts/pfbid02hrYAN4CWRRTVjatJUnaMV7SjmKPzrqnFBFjRmsz59Gn9nj1vVEyFwfaFrej8A1e3l
Hat tip to Tom Givens.
Things that probably will happen. Things that probably will not happen.
And to train accordingly.
"Ineffective and potentially dangerous, point shooting should be avoided
at all costs and aimed fire employed in any lethal-force scenario."
-- Massad Ayoob
"Speed will come..." by Zito
https://www.practicalperformance.net/post/speed-will-come
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
I mildly disagree with AJ. While his weight lifting analogy may be correct
in that context, I think a car driving analogy is more appropriate. You learn to
drive a car, you practice by driving everyday, eventually you are able to drive
with automaticity. Pushing yourself to do things more quickly than automaticity
(not speeding on the highway), as starting the car and pulling out of the parking
space, does not serve you well. Because you will naturally go as fast as you can
safely go, as fast as you can comfortably go, as fast as you can competently go,
as fast as you can confidently go.
To push yourself to go faster, risks going faster than you can see (faster than
you can process visual information), faster than you can think. [Out running
your head lights. (Running past the target in a match and not shooting it
because you didn't see it. Hitting the deer at night because you didn't see it in
time.) Out running your GPS. (The GPS tells you to take exit 26, but you've
already passed exit 26.)]
Operating faster than you can think is not safe. And the older you get, the
slower you go. A person has got to know their limitations. If you shoot faster
than you can think, you could easily shoot the wrong person.
"There are three different areas, or disciplines,
in which the armed person must train.
These are mindset, gun handling, and marksmanship.
Each is equally important, and you must be at least
competent in all three areas."
-- Tom Givens
"Validation" by John Farnam
https://defense-training.com/validation/
Excerpt:
"Intelligence does not protect us from self-deception."
---
As an instructor, you must be able to explain why you are teaching a given technique.
An appeal to authority is a logical fallacy.
"If you’re not measuring your training,
what you’re doing is called playing."
-- Chris Sajnog
"In order to measure, we must be able to quantify."
-- Aaron Cowan
A lot of instructors teach you to shoot fast. That doesn't mean shooting fast
is correct. Sorry, that's just reality. You've got to be able to decide in real time
how fast you need to go.
Email from Raquel Bueno --
"Slowness is an act of courage."
It’s quieter, steadier, and allows us time for reflection. In my practice,
one thing I’ve learned over the years is that velocity may get us there more
quickly, but the cost can be greater. We miss out on things, including the
time it takes to reassess, evaluate our direction, and pivot. Many (MANY)
times, I’ve moved quickly—into relationships, jobs, answers. And most often,
when I move at this “fast-forward” pace, my ability to calibrate to the situation
is inhibited, and I have to pull back, reflect, and stabilize. It’s taken me many
years to deeply understand what my mom tried to teach me early on . . . patience.
Patience requires a slowness, an unfolding."
-- Raquel Bueno
---
"Without discrimination,
you're going to shoot the wrong person really fast."
-- Paul Howe
"Those motivated by a desire to improve their gunfighting skills
as opposed to a quest for trophies, must be willing to bleed ego on
the match results to avoid shedding blood in combat."
-- Andy Stanford
Centrifuge Training LLC's Post --
https://www.facebook.com/centrifugetraining/posts/pfbid02hrYAN4CWRRTVjatJUnaMV7SjmKPzrqnFBFjRmsz59Gn9nj1vVEyFwfaFrej8A1e3l
Hat tip to Tom Givens.
Things that probably will happen. Things that probably will not happen.
And to train accordingly.
"Ineffective and potentially dangerous, point shooting should be avoided
at all costs and aimed fire employed in any lethal-force scenario."
-- Massad Ayoob
"Speed will come..." by Zito
https://www.practicalperformance.net/post/speed-will-come
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
I mildly disagree with AJ. While his weight lifting analogy may be correct
in that context, I think a car driving analogy is more appropriate. You learn to
drive a car, you practice by driving everyday, eventually you are able to drive
with automaticity. Pushing yourself to do things more quickly than automaticity
(not speeding on the highway), as starting the car and pulling out of the parking
space, does not serve you well. Because you will naturally go as fast as you can
safely go, as fast as you can comfortably go, as fast as you can competently go,
as fast as you can confidently go.
To push yourself to go faster, risks going faster than you can see (faster than
you can process visual information), faster than you can think. [Out running
your head lights. (Running past the target in a match and not shooting it
because you didn't see it. Hitting the deer at night because you didn't see it in
time.) Out running your GPS. (The GPS tells you to take exit 26, but you've
already passed exit 26.)]
Operating faster than you can think is not safe. And the older you get, the
slower you go. A person has got to know their limitations. If you shoot faster
than you can think, you could easily shoot the wrong person.
"There are three different areas, or disciplines,
in which the armed person must train.
These are mindset, gun handling, and marksmanship.
Each is equally important, and you must be at least
competent in all three areas."
-- Tom Givens
"Validation" by John Farnam
https://defense-training.com/validation/
Excerpt:
"Intelligence does not protect us from self-deception."
---
As an instructor, you must be able to explain why you are teaching a given technique.
An appeal to authority is a logical fallacy.
"If you’re not measuring your training,
what you’re doing is called playing."
-- Chris Sajnog
"In order to measure, we must be able to quantify."
-- Aaron Cowan
A lot of instructors teach you to shoot fast. That doesn't mean shooting fast
is correct. Sorry, that's just reality. You've got to be able to decide in real time
how fast you need to go.
Email from Raquel Bueno --
"Slowness is an act of courage."
It’s quieter, steadier, and allows us time for reflection. In my practice,
one thing I’ve learned over the years is that velocity may get us there more
quickly, but the cost can be greater. We miss out on things, including the
time it takes to reassess, evaluate our direction, and pivot. Many (MANY)
times, I’ve moved quickly—into relationships, jobs, answers. And most often,
when I move at this “fast-forward” pace, my ability to calibrate to the situation
is inhibited, and I have to pull back, reflect, and stabilize. It’s taken me many
years to deeply understand what my mom tried to teach me early on . . . patience.
Patience requires a slowness, an unfolding."
-- Raquel Bueno
---
"Without discrimination,
you're going to shoot the wrong person really fast."
-- Paul Howe
[And speed degrades discrimination. -- Jon Low]
"Modern Sensei's of Firearms Training" by Gary Glemboski
Armed Lifestyle Magazine, volume 25, page 36.
https://www.armedlifestylemagazine.com/read/issue-25
Hat tip to Kristen Wilson Day.
Article on page 36.
"In reality, we are training for an unknown event, against unknown threats,
by developing as many known skills as possible."
-- Jeff Gonzales
"The Intro Guide to Shooting, Fighting, and Adapting Under Pressure"
by John Valentine
https://www.pressuretesttraining.com/build-skills-that-survive-pressure
Excerpt:
"Fortuitous results can reinforce poor training and tactics
when people study the outcome without studying the conditions.
That is why principles matter.
Principles keep us from worshiping methods."
"Isolation builds the skill. Integration tests the skill inside the problem.
That is the training cycle."
---
Email from John Valentine related to the article above.
"The core problem in Combatives is initiative."
The person who starts the encounter usually gets the first advantage in timing,
position, information, and intent. He may choose the time, place, angle, distance,
and moment of escalation. He may know the fight has started while you are still
trying to understand what is happening. That creates the reactionary deficit.
You are behind in time. You may be behind in position. You may be behind in
access. You may be solving a weapons problem before you know a weapon is
involved.
That is why training has to go past isolated performance. You need to
recognize the problem, regain initiative, control weapons and force, and finish
within time.
. . .
Read that section in the guide again, then ask yourself:
Where does my current training assume I already have the initiative?
That question matters.
-- John
"When you're training to protect yourself and others, speed always comes last.
In the more than twenty-five years I've been training people in self-protection,
I've never heard from someone who used self-protection tools in the field and
felt like they suffered from a lack of speed at the moment of truth. In fact, I
usually hear the opposite: it's much more common to suffer from a lack of
accuracy or force." -- Tim Larkin
The following articles are recommended by Greg Ellifritz.
"Inside the Mind of a Home Defense Shooting
What your brain does in a fight for your life."
by Kristopher Hasenauer
https://www.offgridweb.com/preparation/inside-the-mind-of-a-home-defense-shooting/
"Stress Under Fire
Mental Preparation for Emergencies"
by Tom Sarge
https://www.offgridweb.com/preparation/stress-under-fire/
"Stress Response Part II
When the Alarm Doesn’t Turn Off"
by Kristopher Hasenauer
https://www.offgridweb.com/survival/stress-response-part-ii/
"A mistake that makes you humble is better
than an achievement that makes you arrogant."
-- Nicola Cavanis
“A Missing Step in Basic Training” by Rick Remington
https://rangemaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/2026-06_RFTS-Newsletter.pdf
"Holster work!"
"Shoot sooner, not faster."
-- Matt Little
“The secret of success is this.
Train like it means everything when it means nothing –
so you can fight like it means nothing when it means everything.”
-- Lofty Wiseman
"Most deadly force encounters occur spontaneously, without warning and
at extremely close ranges. Realistically, you may not have the time or the
space to effectively draw, no matter how fast your draw stroke."
-- Jeff L. Gonzales
“The world is filled with violence. Because criminals carry guns,
we decent law-abiding citizens should also have guns. Otherwise,
they will win and decent people will loose.”
-- James Earl Jones
"Proper training ingrains the proper responses.
Repetition is the mother of all skill. With skill comes confidence.
With confidence comes the ability to think under pressure and
make sound tactical decisions."
-- Tom Givens
“You are no more armed because you are wearing a pistol
than you are a musician because you own a guitar.”
from "Principles of Personal Defense" by Col. Jeff Cooper, USMC,
(1920 – 2006 A.D.)
Simple is faster. Simple is more reliable. So, simple is better.
"Before all else, be armed." -- Nicolo Machiavelli
"Safe gun handling and knowing how to operate the gun competently is one thing.
How to fight with the gun is a whole other plane of knowledge."
-- Tiger McKee
"Superior judgment trumps superior skills." -- Dan Millican
"Calluses are a status symbol that money can't buy."
-- Jim Beaumont
*************************************************************************
"Modern Sensei's of Firearms Training" by Gary Glemboski
Armed Lifestyle Magazine, volume 25, page 36.
https://www.armedlifestylemagazine.com/read/issue-25
Hat tip to Kristen Wilson Day.
Article on page 36.
"In reality, we are training for an unknown event, against unknown threats,
by developing as many known skills as possible."
-- Jeff Gonzales
"The Intro Guide to Shooting, Fighting, and Adapting Under Pressure"
by John Valentine
https://www.pressuretesttraining.com/build-skills-that-survive-pressure
Excerpt:
"Fortuitous results can reinforce poor training and tactics
when people study the outcome without studying the conditions.
That is why principles matter.
Principles keep us from worshiping methods."
"Isolation builds the skill. Integration tests the skill inside the problem.
That is the training cycle."
---
Email from John Valentine related to the article above.
"The core problem in Combatives is initiative."
The person who starts the encounter usually gets the first advantage in timing,
position, information, and intent. He may choose the time, place, angle, distance,
and moment of escalation. He may know the fight has started while you are still
trying to understand what is happening. That creates the reactionary deficit.
You are behind in time. You may be behind in position. You may be behind in
access. You may be solving a weapons problem before you know a weapon is
involved.
That is why training has to go past isolated performance. You need to
recognize the problem, regain initiative, control weapons and force, and finish
within time.
. . .
Read that section in the guide again, then ask yourself:
Where does my current training assume I already have the initiative?
That question matters.
-- John
"When you're training to protect yourself and others, speed always comes last.
In the more than twenty-five years I've been training people in self-protection,
I've never heard from someone who used self-protection tools in the field and
felt like they suffered from a lack of speed at the moment of truth. In fact, I
usually hear the opposite: it's much more common to suffer from a lack of
accuracy or force." -- Tim Larkin
The following articles are recommended by Greg Ellifritz.
"Inside the Mind of a Home Defense Shooting
What your brain does in a fight for your life."
by Kristopher Hasenauer
https://www.offgridweb.com/preparation/inside-the-mind-of-a-home-defense-shooting/
"Stress Under Fire
Mental Preparation for Emergencies"
by Tom Sarge
https://www.offgridweb.com/preparation/stress-under-fire/
"Stress Response Part II
When the Alarm Doesn’t Turn Off"
by Kristopher Hasenauer
https://www.offgridweb.com/survival/stress-response-part-ii/
"A mistake that makes you humble is better
than an achievement that makes you arrogant."
-- Nicola Cavanis
“A Missing Step in Basic Training” by Rick Remington
https://rangemaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/2026-06_RFTS-Newsletter.pdf
"Holster work!"
"Shoot sooner, not faster."
-- Matt Little
“The secret of success is this.
Train like it means everything when it means nothing –
so you can fight like it means nothing when it means everything.”
-- Lofty Wiseman
"Most deadly force encounters occur spontaneously, without warning and
at extremely close ranges. Realistically, you may not have the time or the
space to effectively draw, no matter how fast your draw stroke."
-- Jeff L. Gonzales
“The world is filled with violence. Because criminals carry guns,
we decent law-abiding citizens should also have guns. Otherwise,
they will win and decent people will loose.”
-- James Earl Jones
"Proper training ingrains the proper responses.
Repetition is the mother of all skill. With skill comes confidence.
With confidence comes the ability to think under pressure and
make sound tactical decisions."
-- Tom Givens
“You are no more armed because you are wearing a pistol
than you are a musician because you own a guitar.”
from "Principles of Personal Defense" by Col. Jeff Cooper, USMC,
(1920 – 2006 A.D.)
Simple is faster. Simple is more reliable. So, simple is better.
"Before all else, be armed." -- Nicolo Machiavelli
"Safe gun handling and knowing how to operate the gun competently is one thing.
How to fight with the gun is a whole other plane of knowledge."
-- Tiger McKee
"Superior judgment trumps superior skills." -- Dan Millican
"Calluses are a status symbol that money can't buy."
-- Jim Beaumont
*************************************************************************
On the right is Prof. Judith A. Curry, retired
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Psychology --------------------------------
"Train and practice so that you can stay in your rational mind,
and force your enemy into his emotional mind. The emotional
mind makes bad judgments which will allow you to win."
-- John Hearne
Email from Orion Taraban, Psy.D. --
"Scars and stars." Wednesday, May 27th, 2026
You may not believe me right now, but the pain that you've experienced
may one day become the most valuable resource in your life. And I don't
mean this in some clichéd “whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger”
kind of sense.
Look: there are literally billions of people on this planet who are suffering
unnecessarily right now. They are trapped in the labyrinth of their pain, and
some of the pain is similar to the pain that you experienced in your past.
The difference is that – while they are still suffering – you have escaped.
And that Escape Plan – whatever you actually did to get out and get better –
is worth more than gold to those who are still caught in the vice.
This is how, in William Golding's words, “the scar becomes a star.”
Slipping the noose and healing the wound is a process that can terminate
in becoming a guiding light for others. If it worked for you, it might work
for them, as well. And who knows? Perhaps you will eventually arrive
at the point where you can genuinely feel gratitude for the pain you've
experienced by virtue of the good it's managed to bring into the world.
This week's behavioral experiment:
Go outside before you look at your phone in the morning. Notice how you feel.
Warmly,
Orion
[In case you didn't notice, all of Orion's stuff is based on Christian philosophy, as
opposed to a particular Christian theology (which varies with denomination).
If you don't understand what I'm saying, you might want to take a Humanities
class in Christian philosophy. -- Jon Low]
"Be stronger than your strongest excuse."
-- Nicola Cavanis
Email from the Active Self Protection newsletter by J. Green --
Scottish mountaineer and writer W. H. Murray wrote on the power of
commitment and getting started:
"Until one is committed there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back,
always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation),
there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas
and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself,
then Providence moves too.”
“Training deals not with an object,
but with the human spirit and human emotions.”
--Bruce Lee
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Conferences --------------------------------
Attending classes and conferences is required for growth.
There is nothing worse than teaching obsolete shit. Because your
students don't know any better.
"The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword;
because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force
superior to any bands of regular troops that can be, on any pretense,
raised in the United States."
-- Noah Webster
Security Operations Summit 2026, $150.00
July 23-25, 2026 A.D.
With hands-on pre-event options on Wednesday, July 22nd!
Southeast Christian Church
920 Blankenbaker Parkway
Louisville, KY 40243
3rd Annual GOALS Convention in Des Moines, Iowa, USA
Gun Owners of America
Gun Owners Advocacy and Leadership Summit (GOALS)
August 1st and 2nd, 2026 A.D.
Bullets & Bibles 2026 (The registration fee is a tax deductible charitable donation).
Friday, August 21, 2026 A.D. – Sunday, August 23, 2026 A.D.
Hosted at Living Water Ranch, north of Manhattan, KS.
Food and lodging included in registration price.
To register,
If you have already pre-registered,
The Guardian Conference, $800
September 18th - 20th, 2026 A.D.
in Oklahoma City, OK.
Gun Rights Policy Conference, Second Amendment Foundation, $25
September 25–27, 2026 A.D.
in Dallas at the Westin Dallas Fort Worth Airport hotel.
Click on the link to book a hotel room for $159.00 per night.
Rangemaster Tactical Conference, $670.00
Friday-Sunday, April 2-4, 2027 A.D.
Dallas Pistol Club; Carrollton, TX
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Classes --------------------------------
Attend classes so you know what the best practices are.
"Dynamics of Interpersonal Conflict" by Randy Harris, $490.50
Cohutta Pines
367 Old Highway 2
Cisco, GA 30708
Saturday, June 6th, 2026 A.D.
9 AM - 5 PM, Eastern Time Zone
Gateway Instructor Development Course (Nashville), $ 450
Sat, Jul 11, 2026, 8:00 AM CDT – Sun, Jul 12, 2026, 6:00 PM CDT
Firearms Pharmacy, 705 Briskin Lane, Lebanon, TN
Rule #4, Round #2, & the Monkey:
Preparing to Counter the Active Shooter with a Handgun
When: July 16th, 2026 | 8:00 PM ET, 7:00 PM CT
Where: Online Webinar (Approx. 90 minutes)
Cost: $5 (Free for Guardian Nation Members)
Intensive Pistol Skills, $ 495
Sat, Aug 22, 2026 – Sun, Aug 23, 2026
8:00 AM – 5:00 PM CDT
Royal Range, 7741 Highway 70 South, Nashville, TN, USA
Gunsite – 250 Defensive Pistol, $2,135
Royal Range, Nashville, Tennessee
Monday, August 24, 2026 - Friday, August 28, 2026
Duration: 5 Days
Prerequisite: None
Ammunition: 1000 rounds ball (ball means copper jacketed round nose bullets)
available for purchase on-site.
The student will also have to purchase approximately 1 box of Simunitions
from Royal Range for the indoor simulators.
Law Enforcement / Military only --
"Skill Acquisition and Visual Range Control", $20
by Dustin Salomon, Karl Rehn, and Greg Vecchi
Georgetown (Austin), TX
Sept 21, 2026 A.D.
12:00 - 16:30, Central Time Zone
Protective Pistolcraft Instructor, 5 Days, $ 1350
Mon, Nov 2, 2026 – Fri, Nov 6, 2026, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM CST
Last Resort Firearms Training, 4220 Gravel Pit Road, White Hall, AR, USA
This is the 3-day Firearms Instructor Development Course and
the 2-day Advanced Firearms Instructor Course given in 5 days.
Taught by Tom Givens, Tiffany Johnson, Aqil Qadir, and John Hearne.
No prerequisites. Includes a night shoot and much more.
"The Tactical Anatomy Summit", $650.00
JANUARY 30-31, 2027 A.D.
Lakeland Training Center
1421 Fish Hatchery Rd
Lakeland, FL
Time: 8 a.m - 6 p.m.
*$35 per day Range Fees will Apply at Location
Suggested Lodging: Best Western Auburndale
The following are in random order. I list them because I have taken a class from
them and thought well of the class, or because someone that I trust recommended
them.
Last Resort Firearms Training (Ed Monk)
Agile Training and Consulting (Chuck Haggard)
Thunder Ranch (Clint Smith)
Classes,
ConcealedCarry.com (Jacob S. Paulsen et al)
Project Appleseed
Agile Training and Consulting
Gunsite Academy
Lee Weems
Massad Ayoob Group
West Coast Armory North, Martha Holschen
Active Response Training, Greg Ellifritz
Rangemaster Certified Instructors
Map of Rangemaster Certified Instructors
Dustin Salomon
KR Training
Kari Grayson
Citizens Safety Academy
Carry Trainer, Mickey Schuch
Paladin Training, Inc.
Citizen-Defender, John Murphy
Defensive Training International, John Farnam
Rangemaster, Tom Givens
Trident Concepts, Jeff Gonzales
Apache Solutions, Tim Kelly
Harris Combative Strategies, Randy Harris
Mead Hall Range & Tactics, Bill Armstrong
Two Pillars Training, John Hearne
Mike Seeklander
Claude Werner, The Tactical Professor
Tatiana Whitlock - Training in Context
NRA Instructors and their classes.
‟Training is NOT an event, but a process.
Training is the preparation FOR practice.”
-- Claude Werner
*****************************************************************************
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Perceptual and Memory Distortion During Officer-Involved Shootings
by Alexis Artwohl, Ph.D.
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Practice --------------------------------
How to get proficient at that task.
"You have to be lucky to win. And the more you practice, the luckier you get."
-- Col. Lones Wigger
"For my fellow shotgun instructors out there . . ." by Dave Cagle
What an excellent Christmas present or Birthday present!
Why practice?
“To each there comes in their lifetime a special moment
when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and
offered the chance to do a very special thing,
unique to them and fitted to their talents.
What a tragedy if that moment finds them unprepared or
unqualified for that which could have been their finest hour.”
-- Winston Churchill
"Don’t Assume Your Skill—Validate It" by Jeff L. Gonzales
Excerpts:
"One of the biggest mistakes I see shooters make is assuming their
current skill level is the same as their remembered skill level. It is easy
to think we are maintaining technique because we train regularly, carry
daily, or have had strong performances in the past. But unless we
periodically validate our skills under measurable standards, we are
guessing."
"The reason I retest these standards is simple: skill is perishable."
"Be careful what you practice.
Because you will do in combat whatever you have practiced,
no matter how ridiculous."
-- "Shooting in Self-Defense" by Sara Ahrens
"Good habits and skill beat luck every time."
-- Sheriff Jim Wilson
‶Practice is the small deposits you make over time,
so that in an emergency, you can make that big withdrawal.″
-- Chesley Burnett Sullenberger, III
"Why are the little things called little things?
They are everything."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"People rust faster than equipment."
-- John Hearne
"Remember, the day you plant the seed is not the day you earn the fruit."
-- Nicola Cavanis
“Willingness is a state of mind. Readiness is a statement of fact!”
-- Lt. Gen. David M Shoup, USMC Commandant 1960-1963
"Your speed [in mastering the art and science of your discipline] doesn't matter.
Forward is forward."
-- Nicola Cavanis
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit.”
-- Aristotle
"Maybe you can't achieve it in one day.
But you can achieve it one day."
-- Nala Knight
"Remember, growing may feel like breaking at first."
-- Nicola Cavanis
*************************************************************************
Presently, less than 1% of the eligible U.S. population have served in the U.S. Armed Forces.
While many foreigners serve in the U.S. Armed Forces,
working to earn their U.S. citizenship.
I had several in my recruit platoon.
Truly a select few.
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Intervention ***** ***** *****
Suggestions on how to deal with the incident that you failed to avoid.
Table of sections:
Strategy
Tactics
Techniques
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Strategy --------------------------------
Deciding on the end state and how to achieve it. Generally speaking, you want to escape.
"You win gunfights by not getting shot."
-- John Holschen
"Never let fear decide your fate."
-- Nicola Cavanis
“How do you win a gunfight?
Don't be there.”
-- John Farnam
************************************************************************
------------------------------ Tactics --------------------------------
Maneuver and fire in support of your strategy to escape.
Sometimes you must close with the enemy and destroy him with fire and close combat.
“People shoot you because they see you.
They see you because you let them.
Don’t let them see you.”
-- Clint Smith
"Your Church Radios May Be Illegal, Unsafe, or Both"
by Keith Graves (Christian Warrior)
“Fortuitous outcomes reinforce poor tactics.”
-- Chuck Haggard
“No possible rapidity of fire can atone for
habitual carelessness of aim with the first shot.”
-- Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States,
"The Wilderness Hunter", 1893
"Real fights are short." -- Bruce Lee
“When you’re in the dark, stay in the dark;
when you’re in the light, light up the dark.”
-- Stephen P. Wenger
"You often don't know where the bad guy is who is shooting at you."
-- Phillip Groff
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Techniques --------------------------------
Ways to execute a given task in support of your tactics,
especially when disabled or under stress.
"Use only that which works,
and take it from any place you can find it."
-- Bruce Lee
Dustin's technique was demonstrated in a course called
“Semi-Auto Pistol Level 2” at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center.
It is generally used when forced to draw and fire support-side-hand only.
The point is, qualification courses of fire for police departments (and many
other gun schools) are not relevant to gunfighting.
"Whatever you leave alone is perfect." -- Brian Enos
"Modern Day Gunfighting Lawmen" by (no author cited)
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger.
Excerpt:
"Jim [Cirillo] said he was looking so hard at the front sight of his revolver
he could see the serrations in it."
"The foundations of your grip are established
before you even draw the pistol from the holster."
-- Tanner Denton
"Long Guns & Handheld Lights" by Erick Gelhaus
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
"In my strategy the footwork does not change.
I always walk as I usually do in the street."
-- Miyamoto Musashi
"What if I Told You That Vehicles Don’t Have a Blind Spot?"
by Jason Crist
https://www.itstactical.com/skillcom/driving/what-if-i-told-you-that-vehicles-dont-have-blind-spots/
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
"Ineffective and potentially dangerous, point shooting should be avoided
at all costs and aimed fire employed in any lethal-force scenario."
-- Massad Ayoob
"Self-Defense For The Mobility-Challenged
Stay prickly regardless of your physical abilities"
by David Freeman
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Excerpt:
". . . when I leave home, I slip my gun in the holster, clip a spare mag pouch
on the opposite side and I’m ready to go."
[I think one should carry when at home. Not only when leaving home. -- Jon Low]
One of the photographs in the article shows a pistol with a laser mounted and
says the author uses it as a carry gun. I would recommend against mounting a
laser on your pistol. In bright lighting conditions, you won't be able to see the laser
on your target. In low lighting conditions, the laser does not provide sufficient light
to positively identify your target. If you are using a hand held flashlight in the dark,
you won't be able to see your laser dot with your bright flashlight on. Better would
be to mount a flashlight under the muzzle.
The only place the laser is appropriate is as a dry practice tool.
Autogenic breathing to lower blood pressure and to improve judgment is a
good thing. Inhale on a slow count to 4, hold for a second, exhale on a slow
count of 4, enjoy the respiratory pause between the exhale and the inhale. Repeat
until the pounding in your ears subsides, until the tunnel vision subsides, until
your hands stop shaking uncontrollably. It works. It always works, for all humans.
Trained breathing as part of your shot process is counter-productive, as it
complicates your shot process for no benefit. So it should be completely ignored.
Studies conducted by the U. S. Army Marksmanship Training Unit in the 1970's
demonstrated that without instruction, and with dedicated practice, the shooter
will automatically release the shot between breaths. And with further practice,
the shooter will automatically release his shots between heart beats. No instruction
to do so, just regular dedicated practice. So teaching the shooter to do something
that will occur automatically, naturally, with practice is counter productive, as it
gives the shooter another thing to think about and to work on. Such studies have
been replicated more recently at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado
Springs, CO.
I bet you're wondering how such knowledge can be unknown to so many,
especially to one with a platform such as a gun magazine. What we believe
is a function of what training and what media we choose to consume. Or,
neglect to consume. Even open minded people believe what they want to
believe, and refuse to believe anything that is obnoxious to their worldview,
especially their political view. If you think you are above such, you are delusional.
Sorry, that's just human nature. As Doctor Taraban says, it's always best to
live in reality. Even if you don't like it. Even if it's mean and nasty. At least
it is real.
"The secret is applying extreme force with the pinkies and
working your way up the rest of the digits."
-- Jeff L. Gonzales
"Super Simple Standing Rear Naked Choke Escape" by Henry Akins' Hidden Jiu-Jitsu
"It's not daily increase but daily decrease - hack away at the inessentials!"
-- Bruce Lee
"Why Most Archers Aim the Wrong Way" by Jake Kaminski
". . . only shoot as fast as you can assess, and . . . assess after each shot,
both of which, we should be training to do all the time anyway."
-- Ralph Mroz, "Street Focused Handgun Training"
[Never shoot faster than you can see. Never shoot faster than you can think. -- Jon Low]
From an email from Stephen P. Wenger --
A List Member Replies:
Regarding red-dot optics (RDO) versus iron sight on handguns,
an older list member shares:
I learned to use them as, in my 70’s, I found it harder to use irons past about
16-20 yds. As a CJTC-certified police instructor, I learned and taught the
techniques to use an optic when battery died or damage occurred. Not as good
but no worse than irons at 20 yds. It’s like any other tool. Train with it.
Turn it off and train. And my pocket backup is iron-sighted. But when I had
an officer who was close to retirement and was doing well with irons I had
authorization to excuse him from transition and risk the unintended consequences.
-- List member
---
There is no such thing as an average gunfight but I suspect that very few
private citizens who use deadly force judiciously engage assailants beyond
15 yards. The key point is training – training to use the RDO, training to
transition to whatever backup is available on that gun should the RDO fail
and ongoing training with one or more handguns without RDO's, including
guns that may be carried in a pocket. So . . . RDO's allow handgun shooters
with aging eyes to continue scoring hits at longer distances and may shorten
the learning curve for new shooters but it seems unwise to let the latter – if
they prepare for the possibility of having to use a gun off the range – believe
that an RDO relieves them of the need to learn to use iron sights. Meanwhile,
more pistols are being sold with RDO's already mounted.
-- Stephen P. Wenger
“What’s the number one reason for reloading?
Missing the target!”
-- Claude Werner
"Up Close & Too Personal" by Erick Gelhaus
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
"I can always do nothing more consistently than I can do something."
-- Ben Stoeger
"Can You Really Access Your Gun Weak handed?" by Massad Ayoob
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
"Grip first, then press."
-- Mike Seeklander
*************************************************************************
Harmeet Dhillon,
head of the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division,
is taking direct action to protect our Second Amendment rights.
"How Harmeet Dhillon Cleaned House at the DoJ Civil Rights Division"
by Michael Malice
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Postvention ***** ***** *****
Suggestions on how to treat your wounds or the wounds of your loved ones.
Suggestions on how to avoid prosecution, conviction, and prison time.
Suggestions on how to avoid the civil law suit and judgment.
Table of Sections:
Aftermath
Medical
Survival
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Aftermath --------------------------------
You must be alive to have these problems: criminal and civil liability.
“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him,
but because he loves what is behind him.”
― G.K. Chesterton
In the right hand column of this web page, click on "Never Talk To The Police"
or use the address,
In the right hand column, click on the link labeled "Self Defense Insurance".
Or, the link is,
Read this before you buy insurance. You need to make an informed decision.
The various policies are drastically different.
"You need to read the fine print." -- Massad Ayoob
“Your understanding and consent are not required
for someone to take your life, kill your loved ones,
and destroy all you hold dear.”
-- William Aprill
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Medical --------------------------------
"If you prepare for the emergency,
the emergency ceases to exist!"
-- Sherman House
"May Is National Stop The Bleed Month:
What Concealed Carriers Should Know"
by Jacob Paulsen
Tactical Emergency Casualty Care Course - NAEMT Certified, $495.00
Tracey Mendenhall | VP of Operations
(Life Saving Ninja)
DEFEND SYSTEMS
(615) 480-7758
"The shorter the fight, the less hurt you get."
-- John Holschen
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Survival --------------------------------
"Survival is a mindset, not a skill set."
-- Greg Shaffer
‟We don’t decide what is necessary to survive a
lethal force encounter initiated by someone else.
That person decides what’s necessary for us to survive.”
– William Aprill
"Survival is not based solely on technique.
Survivability may hinge on the use of the correct technique
appropriate to the environment you are fighting in.
Oh, and yes, marksmanship is always valuable."
-- Clint Smith
“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”
--Benjamin Franklin
"If you stay fit, you do not have to get fit.
If you stay trained, you do not have to get trained.
If you stay prepared, you do not have to get prepared."
-- Robert Margulies
*************************************************************************
Hat tip to Van Evans.
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Education ***** ***** *****
Table of contents:
Legal
Instruction
Gear
*************************************************************************
"You will never get smarter or broaden your horizons
if you're unwilling to learn from others and read."
-- Becca Martin
Dear Jonathan:
The Crime Prevention Research Center hired McLaughlin & Associates to
survey 1,000 general election voters on May 19, 2026, to determine how many
voters carry concealed handguns. The results are striking.
Thirty percent of likely voters report carrying a permitted concealed handgun
at least occasionally, while 13.2% say they carry all or most of the time. Even
in Constitutional Carry states, where a permit is not required, a substantial share
of voters carry concealed handguns: 34% report carrying, and 21% report
carrying with a permit.
Hispanic and Black voters carry concealed handguns at disproportionately
high rates relative to their shares of the voting population. Perhaps most
surprising, voters who identify as “very liberal” report carrying all or most of
the time at the highest rate of any ideological group, slightly exceeding the rate
among those who identify as “very conservative,” the second-highest group.
We compiled data on concealed carry permits in some Eastern European
countries and found that approximately 3.7% of adults carry concealed
handguns in the Czech Republic, while about 2.5% do so in both Estonia
and Lithuania. Poland's new government has also expanded the issuance of
carry permits, though permit holders still account for only about 0.42% of
the adult population.
John Lott
Crime Prevention Research Center
358 S 700 E, Ste B, B409, Salt Lake City, UT 84102
johnrlott@crimeresearch.org
(484) 802-5373
Rangemaster JUNE 2026 NEWSLETTER
"Murders in US Are Very Concentrated, and They Are Becoming Even More So"
by John R. Lott
Excerpt:
52% of US counties had zero murders
"The FBI Just Settled the 9mm vs .40 vs .45 Debate" by TFB TV
Hat tip to Durand TheConnect.
Paraphrase of key points --
RII = Rapid Incapacitation Index.
RII says light fast bullets are good. But that turned out to be false.
Whenever you choose self-defense ammo, always choose the heaviest bullet.
Revolvers were discarded because of magazine capacity and the inability
to reload a revolver quickly.
Did you notice how Scott used the word "fleet"? "We're going to get
them out in the fleet."
The 10mm had too much recoil. The 10mm pistols that they issued
had too many problems.
The pistol / ammo / human system must work over 13,000 to 14,000 agents.
Just because it works for an individual is meaningless. That's just anecdotal
evidence.
The 40 caliber S&W had too much recoil.
So the FBI went to the 9mm for reduced recoil and more magazine capacity.
More engineering dedicated to the 9mm, because less restrictions on the 9mm's
velocity, because of its lower recoil.
Not a whit of difference in performance (terminal ballistics) between the 9mm
and the 40 caliber S&W.
The 9mm pistol / cartridge / human system works better over the fleet of
13,000 to 14,000 agents, and so was chosen. It's not an individual thing.
It's a fleet thing.
Any bullet will work when shooting the bad guy in the front of the chest with
no barrier. The story changes completely when having to shoot through the shoulder
or upper arm of the bad guy because you are shooting from the side of the bad guy,
or when having to shoot through the forearm of the bad guy who is holding a rifle
pointed at you. That's why bullet design is so important.
9mm cartridge with a bullet of 135 to 147 grains.
The length of your barrel matters!
The transition to 9mm was not to get high qualifying scores nor to save money.
American Hunter
American Rifleman
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Gun University
"Defensive Use of Firearms" by Stephen P. Wenger
Get on his emailing list for his newsletter,
Greg Ellifritz's reading list,
American Rifleman
and American Hunter
are now online free of charge.
Practical Eschatology
2nd Amendment News & Articles
Citizen-Defender, John Murphy
YouTube.com channel
Blog posts,
Rangemaster Newsletter, Tom Givens
Active Self Protection, John Correia
"My Gun Culture" by Tom McHale
Quips, John Farnam
Active Response Training, Greg Ellifritz
Make sure to check out the Weekend Knowledge Dumps.
The Tactical Professor, Claude Werner
American Handgunner Magazine
Tactical Science
International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors
Alien Gear blog
Shooting Classes Blog
"Cogito, ergo armatum sum." (I think, therefore armed am I.)
-- John Farnam
*************************************************************************
There is no substitute for being there.
Carmella Rose
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Legal --------------------------------
"GunTuber Arrested by the Feds" by Brandon Herrera
Please donate to Dugan Ashley Defense Fund at
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State,
the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
-- Second Amendment, Constitution of the United States of America
"ATF Director Cekada and Chief Counsel Leider Sit Down for
Wide-Ranging Interview on Reform Agenda" by Scott Witner
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger.
The ATF Director and Chief Counsel speak, on the record, to us, gun people,
not to the liberal media. This is the first time this has happened in the history of
the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
Gun Law Database
"Missouri schools could hire armed ‘rangers’ under bill sent to governor
Republicans say the new armed guards would improve responses to threats,
while Democrats warn more guns won’t make schools safer"
by Annelise Hanshaw
Comments by Stephen P. Wenger --
"As usual, Democrats prefer that the only guns in schools be those brought
unlawfully by those intent on harm. That way, firearm-related casualty rates
are higher, boosting calls for more infringement."
"Build A Reciprocity Map:" by Concealed Carry, Inc.
"Self-Defense and the Law:
Do Vehicle Assaults Warrant Armed Defense?"
by Massad Ayoob
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
"Firearms are second only to the constitution in importance,
they are the people's liberty's teeth." -- George Washington
"SCOTUS Urged To Revive ‘Oath or Affirmation’ Requirement For 4th Amendment Searches"
by Steve Lehto
Hearsay vs. first hand witness testimony with direct knowledge of the facts.
“Is there no virtue among us? If there is not, we are without hope!
No form of government, existing nor theoretical, will keep us from harm.
To think that any government, in any form, will insure liberty and happiness
for a dishonorable population represents the height of self-deception.”
-- James Madison, 1788
Marcos Garza, I ran into this guy when I was in the Marine Corps.
"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.
It is wholly inadequate for the governance of any other."
-- John Adams, October 11, 1798
"Long Shot
When I decided I might want a gun, I answered truthfully on the application’s
“race” question. I soon learned what I’d done."
by Aymann Ismail
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger.
Excerpt:
Then he asked what race I’d listed on the paperwork.
“Other,” I told him.
He burst out laughing. “You idiot,” he said. “You’re supposed to put white.”
“When you will not fight when you can easily win, without bloodshed,
and when you still will not fight when victory is sure and not too costly,
you may well come to the moment when you will have no choice but to
fight with the odds against you, and you have only a small chance of survival.
There may even be a worse case: you may have to fight when there is no
hope of victory, simply because it is better to perish as warriors than to
live as slaves.”
-- Winston Churchill
Gun confiscation registry.
“Laws are made for men of ordinary understanding and should, therefore,
be construed by the ordinary rules of common sense. Their meaning is not
to be sought for in metaphysical subtleties which may make anything mean
everything or nothing at pleasure.”
— Thomas Jefferson (1823)
"Should I Have Shot My Home Invader" by Active Self Protection Extra
"If you only shoot when you must, you won't be dragged through the legal system."
That's not true. Depends on your jurisdiction. Depends on the prosecutor.
Depends on the people living in that jurisdiction.
And if you are prosecuted, as Andrew Branca says, there is a 10% chance of
conviction, even is you are completely innocent. That's just the noise in the system.
So you MUST have sufficient money to hire a powerful, politically connected
attorney who can get the charges dismissed before trial. Which means you MUST
have an insurance policy from a company that actually pays claims, as opposed to
denying claims. If you don't know, ask me. Or any knowledgeable person in the
community could tell you.
---
Directly related to the above article.
"Shoot/Don’t Shoot" by Greg Ellifritz
"Supreme Court REVERSES Leftist Immigration Judges 9-0!"
by Robert Gouveia Esq.
---
Barnes v. Felix is a May 15, 2025 Supreme Court decision that unanimously
rejected the "moment-of-threat" doctrine for evaluating excessive force claims
under the Fourth Amendment. In a 9-0 ruling authored by Justice Elena Kagan,
the Court held that lower courts must assess the objective reasonableness of
police force based on the "totality of the circumstances" without arbitrary time
limits, rather than isolating only the split-second an officer perceived a threat.
The case arose from the April 28, 2016, traffic stop in Harris County, Texas,
where Officer Roberto Felix Jr. fatally shot Ashtian Barnes. After Barnes
restarted his car and began to drive away, Felix jumped onto the vehicle’s
doorsill and fired two shots. The Fifth Circuit had previously granted summary
judgment to the officer by applying the "moment-of-threat" rule, which limited
its analysis to the two seconds before the shooting. The Supreme Court
vacated and remanded this decision, emphasizing that earlier officer conduct
and the broader context of the stop must be considered in determining
constitutional violations.
---
BARNES, INDIVIDUALLY AND AS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE
ESTATE OF BARNES, DECEASED v. FELIX ET AL.
*************************************************************************
Oink oink!
Carmella Rose
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Instruction --------------------------------
"Remember,
the students who require the extra effort
are the ones who need us the most!"
-- John Farnam
*************************************************************************
----- Instructors -----
"You don't have to memorize formulae.
Because you can always derive them from first principles."
-- Sven Hartman
*** Extremely Important ***
"The Sun And Shifting Point Of Impact" by Docent
Primary source,
"Shifting Point of Impact?
Sun of a Gun!"
by Jeff "Tank" Hoover
My students have experienced this. My poor student became very distraught
because her point of impact had changed (group moved from dead center to
misses off to the right), even though she knew that she was getting exactly the
same sight alignment and sight picture.
Pay attention to the ambient light on your sights. The brightness (clear sky,
overcast), the angle (time of day), the color (sunrise, noon, sunset, haze,
overcast, etc.), because it changes with time. Sometimes by the second.
And it matters.
Indoors when shooting an IDPA match, in different positions, you will get
different lighting, because the lights are in different positions relative to your
sights. A lot of things are going on, so it's easy to miss this and attribute your
misses to something other than the different lighting conditions.
Your glasses should be vertically polarized, because glare off bodies of water
reflecting ground are horizontally polarized.
In bright lighting conditions use grey tinted glasses to reduce contrast.
In dim lighting conditions use amber tinted glasses to increase contrast.
These are general rules, they may or may not work for your eyes.
"Your curriculum needs to be recent, relevant, and realistic."
-- Austin Killmer
"Instructor Tips | Giving Credit and Citing Sources" by Daniel Reedy
It's the honorable thing to do.
As John Farnam says, "Everything I teach has been stolen from others.
I've never had an original idea in my life."
"The limited time you spend with students
may be the only training they ever receive!"
-- John Farnam
"Why Firearm Instructors Should Consider Background Checks
for Concealed Carry Students" by Marcus Melnick
Excerpts:
"Even a simple question during registration, asking the student to disclose
if they have ever been arrested is a step in the right direction."
---
I disagree. In the U.S. it's really easy to get arrested, especially if you are
of certain ethnic groups (Blacks) or political groups (January 6th).
Better would be to ask, "Do you have a felony conviction?"
Because if you have had the conviction expunged, you may legally answer, NO.
Ya, one could get an arrest expunged, but an arrest doesn't count for anything,
legally, so a lot of people wouldn't spend the $1000 dollars in legal fees to get it done.
"Have you ever had a felony conviction?" would include lawfare. Remember,
President Trump has 34 felony convictions. Would you deny President Trump a
seat in your class? (I would be honored to have President Trump in my class.)
A lot of people have suffered lawfare convictions. Are you going to screen them
out of your classes?
-- Jon Low
“The most valuable resource that all teachers have is each other.
Without collaboration, our growth is limited to our own perspectives.”
-- Robert John Meehan
Please be aware that your student may not be capable of shooting accurately
at long ranges (15 to 25 yards), because his vision acuity makes him incapable
of doing so. You must be aware of your student's limitations and be accepting
and accommodating.
“The student’s purpose is to expand their body of knowledge and social network.
The instructor’s purpose is to help the student achieve the student’s goals.”
-- Amy Schwartz
Colonel Robert Lindsey to his fellow trainers:
"We are not God's gift to our students.
Our students are God's gift to us."
“He who dares to teach must never cease to learn.”
-- Richard Henry Dana
"Every time I teach a class,
I discover I don't know something."
-- Clint Smith
“Qui docet, discet.” (Who teaches, learns.)
-- American Society of Law Enforcement Trainers
Be careful what you teach.
Because your students will do in combat
whatever you have trained them to do,
no matter how ridiculous.
-- "Shooting in Self-Defense" by Sara Ahrens
"A false path will always be tensely, angrily, violently defended
by those it has deceived, because those who are so easily deceived
are ever too arrogant to repent.”
-- Instructional axiom
"You must teach skill sustainment as part of training."
-- John Hearne
************************************************************************
----- Students -----
“Train, Practice, Compete
are the key elements in the development of humans.”
-- John M. Buol, Jr.
"Keep in mind that this is some seriously next level material.
It is totally normal that the first time you see this stuff, you find
it confusing. You find it difficult to understand. So, confusion
should not discourage you. It does not represent any intellectual
failing on your part. Rather, keep in mind that it represents an
opportunity to get even smarter."
– Tim Roughgarden, Professor of Computer Science and other
stuff at Stanford University
"Try.
Try again.
Try once more.
Try differently.
Try again tomorrow.
Try and ask for help.
Try find someone who's done it.
Try to fix the problem.
Keep trying until you succeed."
-- Nicola Cavanis
“It may seem difficult at first but everything is difficult at first.”
-- Miyamota Mushashi
"It's better to be wrong than to be vague."
-- Freeman Dyson
"Thinking is the hardest thing a person can do.
That's why so few people do it."
-- Henry Ford
*************************************************************************
----- Andragogy (as opposed to pedagogy) -----
"Growth is uncomfortable because you've never been there before."
-- Nicola Cavanis
‟An instructor should not expect any learning to
take place the first time new information is presented.”
-- ‶Building Shooters″ by Dustin Salomon
*************************************************************************
Through the kelp forest.
Carmella Rose
*************************************************************************
------------------------------ Gear --------------------------------
And the safe storage thereof.
“Your car is not a holster.”
-- Pat Rogers
“Mingle Event,” 2026 by John Farnam
Suggestions for pistols.
"There are no dangerous weapons, only dangerous men."
-- Robert A. Heinlein
The problems with 380 Auto cartridge and pistol:
---
-Most 380s have short barrels that do not burn enough of the powder
to push the bullet fast enough to drive deeply into a person.
-The smaller case capacity means that there is less powder/not enough
available velocity to drive a bullet deeply into a person.
- Hollow points will either drive deep into a person or expand properly.
They generally will not do both.
-The super slim/lightweight guns we often fire the 380 through, recoil
harshly compared to performance.
-- Will Dougan
---
In a life-or-death situation, it is INCREDIBLY difficult to get a
firing grip that facilitates proper function. The smaller the gun, the
more likely you’ll foul the grip. You’ll either fiddle-fuck-fiddle-fuck
or induce a malfunction after the first shot.
A gun that’s big enough to fight with, really isn’t that hard to
conceal . . . if you know what you’re doing. Most CCW-ers either
don’t know enough to know they need help with their concealment,
or they won’t admit they need help.
They’d rather stick a Ruger LCP in their pocket and treat it like a
lucky rabbit’s foot.
-- Memphis Beech
---
Hat tip to Ashton Ray.
The purpose of a high capacity magazine is NOT to let you shoot more;
it is to let you reload less.
-- Tom Givens
I like the feel of my Springfield Armory XD. Louis Awerbuck recommended
it. It's comfortable. It's ergonomic.
But I consistently shoot tighter groups with my Glock. So I carry my Glock.
Personal preferences, sentimental preferences, aesthetic preferences, have
no place in combat. You don't want to get to the Pearly Gates and find out that
a contributing factor of you being there was your choice to carry the comfortable,
cool gun, instead of the reliably accurate gun.
“Mission drives the gear train.”
-- Pat Rogers
I have seen a lot of advertisements for subsonic 9mm ammo. The idea being
that when used with a suppressor it will be quieter, as there won't be a supersonic
crack as the bullet travels through the air.
If it's just recreation, that's fine.
If you intend it for self-defense, may I suggest that you plug the cartridge's
data into any free online ballistic calculator? May I suggest you read the ballistic
gelatin test results? You might be surprised. You might be disappointed.
Better surprised in the comfort of your living room on your computer than in
combat.
"Why are the little things called little things?
They are everything."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"Best Concealed Carry Guns In 2026 [Field Tested]" by Elwood Shelton
From Weekend Knowledge Dump- May 29, 2026 by Greg Ellifritz --
You’ve all seen article titles exactly like this
"Which Is Better in 2026: 9mm Luger or 45 ACP?"
in every gun publication produced in the last 50 years. How can we still be
debating this issue?
This article does a deep dive into the issues of kinetic energy. I see lots of
analytical folks attempting to quantify “stopping power” by using an energy
calculation. Don’t get caught up in that trap. I think the actual value of
calculated kinetic energy is almost zero. I’ve never once looked at energy stats
when choosing a defensive load. Energy isn’t irrelevant, it’s just so far down
the list of importance that it almost doesn’t matter.
When choosing a defensive round, these are the factors I look at
(in order of importance):
– Is the round reliable in my gun?
– Can I shoot it fast and accurately?
– Does it hit to the sights?
– Does it penetrate to the FBI minimum standard of 12″ in ballistic gelatin
– Does the round expand to 1.5X initial diameter when it hits flesh?
After it meets those criteria, feel free to evaluate kinetic energy.
I personally think that statistic is virtually useless. Look at my stopping
power study.
There is zero correlation between the best “stopping power” and the round’s
kinetic energy value.
-- Greg Ellifritz
What is the "Pencil Test?"..What Does It Tell You?..(Revolvers & Semi-autos)
by TheYankeeMarshal
If you put the eraser end of a pencil against the firing pin, it works better.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Ammo sources:
Unlimited Ammo
Target Sports USA
GunMag Warehouse
SGAmmo
True Shot Ammo
The Mag Shack
If you know of any others, let me know.
Parts sources:
Numrich Gun Parts
Wolff gun springs
*************************************************************************
Caleigh Haetten
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Intelligence ***** ***** *****
Always cite open source. There is always some conspiracy theorists who has said
what you want to say. Quote him. Everyone will understand.
In case you don't understand the origins of wokism.
Email from Brivael Le Pogam --
I want to offer my apologies, on behalf of the French, for giving birth to
French Theory (which in turn gave birth to the worst of all ideological
monstrosities: wokism).
We gave the world Descartes, Pascal, Tocqueville. And then, in the
intellectual ruins of post-1968, we gave Foucault, Derrida, Deleuze.
Three brilliant men who forged, in the elegance of our language, the ideological
weapon that today paralyzes the West.
We must understand what they did.
Foucault taught that truth does not exist, that there are only power relations
disguised as knowledge. That science, reason, justice, the medical institution,
the school, the prison, sexuality—everything is merely a staging of domination.
Derrida taught that texts have no stable meaning, that every signifier slips
away, that every reading is a betrayal, that the author is dead and the reader
reigns supreme.
Deleuze taught that we should prefer the rhizome to the tree, the nomad to
the sedentary, desire to the law, becoming to being, difference to identity.
Taken individually, these are debatable theses. Combined, exported, and
popularized, they form a system. And that system is a poison. For here’s what
happened. These texts, unreadable in France, crossed the Atlantic. The
departments of Yale, Berkeley, and Columbia absorbed them in the 1980s.
They found there a soil that did not exist among us: American Puritanism,
its racial guilt, its obsession with identity. French Theory married this substratum,
and the child of that union is called wokism.
Judith Butler reads Foucault and invents performative gender. Edward Said
reads Foucault and invents academic postcolonialism. Kimberlé Crenshaw
inherits the framework and invents intersectionality. At every step, the matrix is
French: there is no truth, there is only power, so every hierarchy is suspect,
every institution is oppressive, every norm is violence, every identity is constructed
and thus negotiable, every majority is guilty.
That’s how three Parisian philosophers, who probably never imagined their
practical consequences, provided the operating software to an entire generation
of activists, university bureaucrats, HR managers, journalists, and legislators.
That’s how we ended up with a civilization that no longer knows how to say
whether a woman is a woman, whether its own history is worth defending,
whether merit exists, whether truth can be distinguished from opinion.
It’s shit for one simple reason, and it must be stated calmly. A civilization
stands on three pillars: the belief that there exists a truth accessible to reason,
the belief that there exists a good distinct from evil, the belief that there exists
a heritage to be transmitted. French Theory set out to dynamite all three.
Not out of malice. Out of intellectual play, fascination with suspicion, hatred
of the bourgeoisie that had nurtured them. But the result is there. An entire
generation learned to deconstruct and never learned to build. An entire
generation knows how to suspect and no longer knows how to admire.
An entire generation sees power everywhere and beauty nowhere.
I apologize because we French bear a particular responsibility. It’s our
language, our universities, our publishers, our prestige that gave this nihilism
its chic packaging. Without the legitimacy of the Sorbonne and Vincennes,
these ideas would never have crossed the ocean. We exported doubt the
way others export weapons.
What is being built now, in Silicon Valley, in AI labs, in startups, in
workshops, in all the places where people still make things instead of
deconstructing them—that is the response. A civilization is rebuilt by builders,
not by commentators. By those who believe that truth exists and is worth
devoting oneself to. By those who embrace a hierarchy of the beautiful,
the true, the good, and are not ashamed to transmit it.
So, forgive us. And back to work.
-- Brivael Le Pogam
Hat tip to Sidney Ontai.
"Mosque Shooters Live Streamed Their Attack: See it Here
The shooters were trans with nazi ideology"
by Keith Graves
"They give themselves away."
"Writing on the guns."
"True Enlightenment?" by John Farnam
Let us never forget what we are fighting for.
"Pakistan Deploys Fighter Jets, Troops To Saudi Arabia" by Docent
"How Ukraine’s Deep Strikes Broke Russia" by Cappy Army
"The U.S. Military Just Cancelled Walking" by Justin Taylor
A Javelin in every squad. My son was a missileman trained on the Javelin.
They were only in Weapons companies, not in every squad.
"MOSCOW TURNS INTO HELL! as Ukraine’s Drones HIT Moscow HARD"
by Business Basics
Interview with Sarah Adams. (She spoke at a meeting of church security
in Franklin, TN that I attended.) She names names.
"Former Benghazi CIA Chief Lied to the GRS Operators During the Benghazi Attacks"
by Shawn Ryan Clips
150 well trained terrorists. Not a spontaneous uprising as Hillary Clinton claimed.
If you believe anything Clinton says, you're delusional.
The CIA chief of station, "Bob", lied to the operators saying that 17 February
were coming, when he knew they were not.
"The Undercover Army (was) Mainstream A Ways Back"
by BigCountryExpat
Hat tip to Docent.
Citation of article referred to,
"Exclusive: Inside the Military’s Secret Undercover Army"
by William M. Arkin
"The REAL Truth About Kara Hultgreen's F-14 Tomcat Mishap"
by Ward Carroll
"The Navy has mishaps, not accidents, because there is a chain of events
that led to the mishap. There are no acts of God. There are no accidents."
"The aircraft doesn't care what gender the pilot is."
"Why Fighter Jets Ban 90% of C++ Features" by LaurieWired
I coded in Ada. I was working in the industry when the Ada standard came out.
I was working in the industry for Lockheed Martin when the first C++ standard
came out.
"JOINT STRIKE FIGHTER
AIR VEHICLE
C++ CODING STANDARDS"
C++ Core Guidelines
"The Blackwater Massacre and What Really Happened in Nisour Square"
by Shawn Ryan Clips
Important intelligence (truth). Interview with Brittney Shki-Giizis.
"Canadian female fighter at the forefront of Ukraine's drone war"
by Kyiv Independent
"Ex-CIA official arrested after $40M in gold bars allegedly found inside his home"
by Sarah N. Lynch, Olivia Gazis, and James LaPorta
Counter Intel failed to do a background check on David Rush, much less a
background investigation. I wonder why? No, I don't. It's the same reason
Aldrich Ames went undetected for 10 years in spite of buying and driving fancy
cars and living way beyond his means. If you're liked, no one on the inside will
suspect you, much less believe you're crooked. The good old boys' network in
full view. Will anyone in counter intel get fired? What do you think?
Incompetence reigns supreme at the CIA because they are all civil servants.
It's almost impossible to fire a federal civil servant. So there is no incentive to
be competent or improve one's self. Time in grade promotions. No meritorious
promotions. Sort of the opposite of the Marine Corps.
Oh, looky looky, it's a dog and pony show.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Institute for the Study of war
The Dispatch
Strategy Page
"The Merge"
Breaking Defense
Intrigue
1440
29155
Global Recaps
Timber Sycamore
Ground News
Soldier Systems
Executive Order 12333
*************************************************************************
Celine Bethmann
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Signals Intelligence,
Ground Electronic Warfare,
Cyber Warfare,
(sometimes Air Electronic Warfare too) ***** ***** *****
Always cite open source.
"A free people ought not only be armed and disciplined,
but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain
a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them,
which would include their own government."
-- George Washington
CDs and DVDs use a single spiral track starting at the minimum radius and going
to the maximum radius. Disk drives use concentric tracks. You must know why.
So you may exploit this for our purposes.
You will find your answer in
"Error Correcting Coding
The Theory of Information and Coding"
by Robert J. McEliece
Q360.M25
ISBN 0 521 30223 4
[I don't have to specify the "You" above, because there are so few people who
read this blog / this section of this blog, who would understand that the citation
was meant for them. -- Jon Low]
"AI slop is flooding maths YouTube" by 2maniac and Mathemaniac
This is more subtle than it appears.
"How Does GPS Actually Work?" by Fact Quickie
"It’s Happening . . . Crimea Is Being LIBERATED" by The Military Show
"Hacker Legend Barrett Brown Exposes the Cyber Industrial Complex |
VICE: Cyberwar" by Blueprint
** Commentary (from Soldier Systems)
------------------------------------------------------------
“The Pentagon’s cyber reform effort stumbles out the gate
While many are promoting such a move, the US doesn’t need a military
service branch dedicated solely to Cyber operations. What we actually need
is an Information Warfare service which combines SIGINT and its related
disciplines of Electromagnetic Warfare and Cyber along with Military Deception,
Psychological Operations and Cognitive Warfare.
Like US Space Force, it would operate day-to-day at the strategic level with
subordinate units active in theater and tactical operations. Likewise, the other
service components would retain their in-house capabilities to support their own
operations.
The best way to accomplish this? Transform the National Security Agency
into a military service branch. It has a dual hatted Director for both SI and Cyber
and has technical control over the entire enterprise. What’s more, Cyber, as an
SI discipline relies too heavily on NSA to go it alone without massive redundancy.
I often hear from detractors of increased autonomy for Cyber (and my
proposal for a combined IW service) that there are Title 10 / Title 50 issues.
So fix them. They are decades old legal constructs for a world that doesn’t
exist anymore. Just as Congress can fix those issues, Congress must also step
in and direct the Department of War to do its bidding.
This is a similar problem to the creation of USSOCOM. Defense half-stepped
or outright ignored legislation until Congress had had enough and gave very
specific instructions on what must be done. This was in the form of the
Nunn-Cohen Amendment (P.L. 99-661), attached as a rider to the
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1987.
Regardless of what direction they want to go, Congress is going to have to
do it again. The current architects of the status quo aren’t going to fix anything
without very specific direction.
Lethality . . . we talk about it and define it in empirical terms. The authors
of this article take a deep dive and suggest that it must be something much more,
something we haven’t seen since World War Two when western democracies
were truly at stake.
The authors suggest a new definition for lethality, “willingness and ability
to bring a level of violence that is unacceptable to the enemy.”
The ability and desire to wage Total War. Is that the bar we should place
on lethality?
Read more at
A fundamental AI problem.
Lima electronic warfare system. Built by Cascade Systems Technology.
"The OnlyFans “Hack” Wasn’t a Hack — It Was Worse" by Ryan McBeth
A correlation attack.
Cyber crime as a service.
"You're Right - I'm AI generated (Here's The Proof)" by House of El
The state of AI in the context of audio and video.
What to look for to detect that it is AI.
"The terrifying reality of Wi-Fi sensing" by Cyb3rMaddy
802.11BF Wi-Fi Surveillance Standard
This requires tomography to be done properly. Good thing I studied such in grad school.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Breaking Defense has a weekly newsletter, "Networks & Digital Warfare" at
Crypto-Gram by Bruce Schneier
2600
Soldier Systems
*************************************************************************
Anna Cramling
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Cryptology ***** ***** *****
Always cite open source.
Cryptosystems are considered "arms" by federal law, ITAR,
International Traffic in Arms Regulations. That means cryptosystems are
protected by the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Never let the
government infringe on your right to keep and bear cryptosystems, to
include home made cryptosystems, to include sharing cryptosystems with
others.
Kumar is P. Vijay Kumar of the Communication Sciences Institute at
the University of Southern California.
Hammons is Roger Hammons, at the time, a grad student at the
Communication Sciences Institute at the University of Southern California.
"Kumar and Hammons recognized in the binary strings the so-called
Kerdock code, of the well-known, highly efficient nonlinear codes that
had previously proved so difficult to use. Similar relationships linked
quaternary sequences with other nonlinear codes. Expressed in quaternary
form, the nonlinear codes became linear and relatively easy to use."
"The Jungles of Randomness" by Ivars Peterson
QA273.15.P48
ISBN 0-471-16449-6
Page 123.
[Look for these and you will find them. As James Bamford says,
"Too many secrets" -- Jon Low]
"Arms discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe,
and preserve order in the world as well as property.
Horrid mischief would ensue were the law-abiding deprived of their use."
-- Thomas Paine
"Paul Rapp, a physiologist at the Medical College of Pennsylvania,
once checked the efficacy of a variety of test commonly used to identify
and characterize chaotic systems. He applied the tests not to biomedical
data but to a set of random numbers. The numbers were adjusted slightly
to reflect the kind of filtering typically imposed on experimental
measurements to remove extraneous noise when signals pass from sensor
to amplifier to computer. Five widely used test failed to identify correctly
the underlying randomness in this artificial data set."
"The Jungles of Randomness" by Ivars Peterson
QA273.15.P48
ISBN 0-471-16449-6
Page 143.
"You don't have to memorize theorems.
Because you can always derive them from first principles."
-- Sven Hartman
Check out Edward Norton Lorenz's seminal paper,
"Does the Flap of a Butterfly's Wings in Brazil Set Off a Tornado in Texas"
presented in 1972 to the American Association for the Advancement of Science
in Washington, D.C.
‟We must then wholeheartedly believe in free will,” he declares. ‟If free
will is a reality, we shall have made the correct choice. If it is not, we shall
still not have made an incorrect choice, because we shall not have made any
choice at all, not having a free will to do so.”
-- Edward Lorenz (1918 - 2028)
[Lorenz was explaining the large effects of small changes in initial conditions
of dynamic systems. Unfortunately, Hollywood and culture have distorted his
findings. -- Jon Low]
"Nothing in life is to be feared; it is only to be understood.
Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that?
We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves.
We must believe that we are gifted for something,
and that this thing must be attained."
-- Marie Curie
Consider a random walk (Brownian motion, our pseudo-random generators).
In one dimension the probability of returning to the starting point is 1, given
infinite time. In two dimensions the probability is again 1. But in three dimensions,
the probability is about 0.34.
"But that's obvious. You have more space in higher dimensions."
Is it? Do you really? Remember we are conducting the experiment in
infinite time. Is it reasonable to wander off to Never-Never-Land? Any more
reasonable than to return home? To stay a certain distance away from home?
To stay within a certain distance from home? (strange attractors) Remember
how distance (the metric) changes as dimension increases. The size of unit balls
go to zero as the dimension goes to infinity. The size of hyper-polyhedra that
circumscribe the unit hyper-cube to go infinity as the dimension goes to infinity.
(Only the unit hyper-cube remains of size 1 as dimension goes to infinity.
At least in Euclidean space, zero curvature, where the Pythagorean Theorem
holds, the L2 Norm. What happens in elliptic space, positive curvature?
What happens in hyperbolic space, negative curvature? Do the infinities
cancel out to give us reasonable things?)
Do you see how you can use this in your secure communication protocols?
Sorry, I can't find an open source to cite. So I must beat around the bush.
But you get the idea.
"Anyone who considers arithmetical methods of producing random digits
is, of course, in a state of sin."
-- John von Neumann
Simon is economist Julian L. Simon of the University of Maryland, College Park.
“. . . The issue first struck home in 1967 when Simon realized that all four of
the graduate students who were taking his course on research methods in business
had used "wildly wrong" statistical tests to analyze data for their class projects.
"The students had swallowed but not digested a bundle of statistical ideas - which
now mislead them - taught by professors who valued fancy mathematics even if
useless or wrong," Simon says.”
"The Jungles of Randomness" by Ivars Peterson
QA273.15.P48
ISBN 0-471-16449-6
Page 193.
"Computer science has nothing to do with computers or science."
-- Donald Knuth
Hence, according to Chaitin and Kolmogorov's definition, a random sequence
is one for which there is no compact description.
[No data compression algorithm will compress it. Because the algorithm can't
predict future bits based on past bits, and the sequence doesn't have enough
repetitions of subsequences to allow for any library of subsequences to be useful.
Basically, no redundancy.
Yes, I have read Chaitain and Kolmogorov. So I sort of know what I'm talking about.
-- Jon Low]
"The Jungles of Randomness" by Ivars Peterson
QA273.15.P48
ISBN 0-471-16449-6
Page 197.
"All that we don't know is astonishing.
Even more astonishing is what passes for knowing."
-- Philip Roth
Ermentrout, G. B., and N. Kopell.
"Inhibition-produced patterning in chains of coupled nonlinear oscillators".
SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics volume 54 (April 1994): 478 - 507.
---
Kopell, N., G. B. Ermentrout, and T. L. Williams.
"On chains of oscillators forces at one end".
SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics volume 51 (October 1991): 1397 - 1417.
---
Always best to do the literature search before the research, experiments, and
analysis. Someone may have solved the problem for you in the past. Or, at
least pointed you in the correct direction.
"Premature optimization is the root of all evil."
-- Donald Knuth
"Measurement of one of two incompatible observables (on a state in which the
other observable is sharp) induces an unavoidable, uncontrollable uncertainty
in the unmeasured observable."
-- Michael A. Morrison
---
In a letter to Max Born in 1926, Albert Einstein wrote,
"Quantum mechanics is very impressive. But an inner voice tells me that it is not
yet the real thing. The theory produces a good deal but hardly brings us closer to
the secret of the Old One. I am at all events convinced that He does not play dice."
-- Quoted in A. Pais's scientific biography of Einstein, "Subtle Is the Lord . . ."
The Science and Life of Albert Einstein (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1980).
"Never memorize anything. Rather, study it until it becomes obvious."
-- Norman Christ
"Handbook of Applied Cryptography", by A. Menezes, P. van Oorschot, and
S. Vanstone, CRC Press, 1996.
Chapter 11, Digital Signatures
---
11.98 Definition
Let gᵢ : X → X, i = 0, 1, be two permutations defined on a finite set X.
g₀ and g₁ are said to be a claw-free pair of permutations if it is computationally
infeasible to find x, y ∈ X such that g₀(x) = g₁(y). A triple (x, y, z) of elements
from X with g₀(x) = g₁(y) = z is called a claw.
If both gᵢ, i = 0, 1, have the property that given additional information it is
computationally feasible to determine g₀⁻¹ , g₁⁻¹ (the inverses), respectively,
the permutations are called a trapdoor claw-free pair of permutations.
---
A convertible undeniable digital signature, introduced by Boyar et al. [181],
---
J. Boyar, D. Chaum, I.B. Damgård, and T. Pedersen,
“Convertible undeniable signatures”, Advances in Cryptology –
CRYPTO ’90 (LNCS 537), 189–205, 1991.
---
is an undeniable signature (§11.8.2) with the property that the signer A can
reveal a secret piece of information, causing all undeniable signatures signed
by A to become ordinary digital signatures. These ordinary digital signatures
can be verified by anyone using only the public key of A and requiring no
interaction with A in the verification process; i.e., the signatures become
self-authenticating. This secret information which is made available should
not permit anyone to create new signatures which will be accepted as originating
from A.
As an application of this type of signature, consider the following scenario.
Entity A signs all documents during her lifetime with convertible undeniable
signatures. The secret piece of information needed to convert these signatures
to self-authenticating signatures is placed in trust with her lawyer B. After the
death of A, the lawyer can make the secret information public knowledge and
all signatures can be verified. B does not have the ability to alter or create new
signatures on behalf of A. Boyar et al. [181] give a realization of the concept
of convertible undeniable signatures using ElGamal signatures (§11.5.2) and
describe how one can reveal information selectively to convert some, but not all,
previously created signatures to self-authenticating ones.
Chaum, van Heijst, and Pfitzmann [254]
---
D. Chaum, E. Van Heijst, and B. Pfitzmann,
“Cryptographically strong undeniable signatures, unconditionally secure for the signer”,
Advances in Cryptology–CRYPTO ’91 (LNCS 576), 470–484, 1992.
---
provide a method for constructing undeniable signatures which are unconditionally
secure for the signer.
Fail-stop signatures were introduced by Waidner and Pfitzmann [1227]
---
M. Waidner and B. Pfitzmann,
“The dining cryptographers in the disco:
Unconditional sender and recipient untraceability
with computationally secure serviceability”,
Advances in Cryptology–EUROCRYPT ’89 (LNCS 434), 690, 1990.
---
and formally defined by Pfitzmann and Waidner [971].
---
B. Pfitzmann and M. Waidner,
“Failstop signatures and their applications”,
Proceedings of the 9th Worldwide Congress on
Computer and Communications Security and Protection
(SECURICOM’91), 145–160, 1991.
---
The first constructions for fail-stop signatures used claw-free pairs of
permutations (Definition 11.98) and one-time signature methods
(see Pfitzmann and Waidner [972]).
---
B. Pfitzmann and M. Waidner,
“Formal aspects of fail-stop signatures”,
Interner Bericht 22/90, Universität Karlsruhe, Germany, December 1990.
---
More efficient techniques were provided by van Heijst and
Pedersen [1201],
---
E. Van Heijst and T.P. Pedersen,
“How to make efficient fail-stop signatures”,
Advances in Cryptology–EUROCRYPT ’92 (LNCS 658), 366–377, 1993.
---
whose construction is the basis for Algorithm 11.130; they describe three methods
for extending the one-time nature of the scheme to multiple signings.
Van Heijst, Pedersen, and Pfitzmann [1202]
---
E. Van Heijst, T.P. Pedersen, and B. Pfitzmann,
“New constructions of failstop signatures and lower bounds”,
Advances in Cryptology–CRYPTO ’92 (LNCS 740), 15–30, 1993.
---
extended the idea of van Heijst and Pedersen to fail-stop signatures based on
the integer factorization problem.
Plain text → data compression → encryption → error correction coding
→ transmission (storage) → reception (recalling from storage) →
error correction decoding → decryption → decompression → plain text
"An Unexpected Twist on Möbius Strips" by Numberphile
"The Original Sin of Computing...that no one can fix" by LaurieWired
Ugly? FORTRAN was the first language I learned in college.
"Reflections on trusting trust" by Ken Thompson
"David A. Wheeler’s Page on Fully Countering Trusting Trust through
Diverse Double-Compiling (DDC) - Countering Trojan Horse attacks on Compilers"
"the true reason C++ always wins" by LaurieWired
Excerpt:
"There are two kinds of programming languages: the ones that people
complain about and the ones that nobody uses." -- Bjarne Stroustrup
---
When I worked in Silicon Valley for the small venture capital start ups
(between stints at Lockheed Martin) the philosophy was, "You don't have
to be better than the competition, you just have to suck less. Because,
whoever is first to market wins." I remember many projects that the
executives stopped, because they determined that someone else would
get to market before us.
C++ was always just a pre-processor for the C compiler. We made
a lot of struct (structures) in C that eventually became class (class objects),
before C++ was standardized.
"A 1.58-Dimensional Object" by Numberphile (Ben Sparks)
There are a lot of different definitions for dimension.
Sierpiński tetrahedron, a 2 dimensional object that lives in 3 dimensional space.
"Fractal Dimensions (extra footage)" by Numberphile2
"Imaginary Cube" by Hideki Tsuiki
"How (and why) to take a logarithm of an image" by 3Blue1Brown
"Perfect Shapes in Higher Dimensions" by Numberphile (Carlo Sequin)
The minimal regular polytopes.
"Your Programming Language Can't Understand You . . ." by LaurieWired
"C++ is the best language." WORD!
I've written all the parts for a compiler. Have you?
Rather than counting parentheses in Lisp, you can use formatting indentation
to indicate level.
"Turing Award Winner:
Disagreeing with Google, Postgres, Future Problems | Mike Stonebraker"
by Ryan Peterman
---
"Readings in Database Systems"
Fifth Edition, edited by Peter Bailis, Joseph M. Hellerstein, and Michael Stonebraker
---
"Readings in Database Systems"
4th edition, edited by Joseph M. Hellerstein and Michael Stonebraker
Do you see how he struggles to use the word "architect" as a verb? He knows the word is
a noun. But he has to use the language of his tribe. It's funny. The correct word, of course,
is "design".
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences (OEIS)
"Handbook of Applied Cryptography"
by Alfred J. Menezes, Paul C. van Oorschot and Scott A. Vanstone
"Computer Security and the Internet:
Tools and Jewels from Malware to Bitcoin", Second Edition
by Paul C. van Oorschot
ISBN: 978-3-030-83410-4 (hardcopy), 978-3-030-83411-1 (eBook)
"An Introduction to Error Correcting Codes with Applications"
by Scott A. Vanstone , Paul C. Oorschot
Research and Publications (P. Van Oorschot)
Alfred J. Menezes
Scott A. Vanstone
*************************************************************************
I love pickle ball.
Anastasiia Volkova
*************************************************************************
*************************** This and That **********************************
Rest in Peace Dr. Pål Wessel, my grad school advisor.
Rest in Peace Dr. Nessim Lagnado, my high school physics teacher.
The purpose of war is not to die for your country.
The purpose of war is to ensure that the other guy dies for his country.
— George S. Patton
"I hate it when I'm trying to eat a salad and
it falls in the trash and I have to eat a taco instead."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"The origins of the alphabet" by Words Unravelled and RobWords
“I hate the way people use slide presentations instead of thinking.
People would confront a problem by creating a presentation. I wanted
them to engage, to hash things out at the table, rather than show a
bunch of slides. People who know what they’re talking about don’t
need PowerPoint.”
– Steve Jobs
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of people always
possess arms and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Richard Henry Lee
"We should not forget that the spark which ignited the American Revolution
was caused by the British attempt to confiscate the firearms of the colonists."
-- Patrick Henry
*************************************************************************
************* Psychology **************************************
The Wason Selection Task.
"The Reasoning Test Psychologists Still Can't Explain" by The Rest Is Science
Be useful to other people.
"Close the loop on reality, hard." -- Elon Musk
************* End of Psychology section*********************************
"The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it."
-- Mary Flannery O'Connor
"Annie Sanders 🇺🇸 | Athlete of the Week" by World Climbing
A colleague came into possession of about 800,000 small arms of
various makes, models, and chamberings, legitimately manufactured with
serial numbers, new in the box condition. (Spoils of war, so to speak.)
Wishing to avoid "engaged in the business" and knowing that he could never
dispose of them at gun shows in a reasonable amount of time, he offered
them to a reputable gun store, telling them that he had acquired them in an
estate auction sight unseen. He offered to transfer them to the gun store in
small batches as personal transactions, which is legal in his state. When the
general manager of the gun store asked him how much he wanted for them,
our colleague told the GM could sell them for whatever the market would bear.
Our colleague would not accept payment, but told the general manager to take
10% of the sales for the store and to make a tax deductible donation of the other
90% to a specified church. He assured the GM that it was a legitimate church
with whom he had no affiliation to assuage the GM's fear of a money laundering
operation.
When telling me about it, our colleague cited Matthew 6:3-4,
"When you help someone out, don't think about how it looks. Just do it --
quietly and unobtrusively. That is the way your God, who conceived you in
love, working behind the scenes, helps you out."
-- The Message (The Bible in Contemporary Language)
---
In another conversation at another time, we talked of how we could kill the
enemies of our country, since we could not claim self-defense or defense of
others. In particular, no imminent threat. Because just about all of our
operations had been pre-emptive strikes. Which by any legal or moral standard
would have been murder. He cited Matthew 5:48, where Jesus says,
"In a word, what I'm saying is, 'Grow up'. You're kingdom subjects.
Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity."
-- The Message (The Bible in Contemporary Language)
At first I thought that was a nonsequitur. But on reflection, maybe we should
do what God created us to do. Because God trumps man's laws and morals.
Or, maybe he meant something else.
“You can’t truly call yourself ‘peaceful’ unless you are capable of great violence.
If you’re not capable of violence, you’re not peaceful, you’re harmless.
Important distinction.”
-- Stef Starkgaryen
Semper Fidelis,
Jonathan D. Low
Email: Jon_Low@yahoo.com
Radio: KI4SDN
Abusing Bob.
Anastasiia Volkova
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.