http://www.punchdrunkmonkeyman.com/index.php Copyright 2013, pedersje@gmail.com pedersje@gmail.com en-US SPHPBLOG 0.4.6.1 http://www.punchdrunkmonkeyman.com/index.php?entry=entry130520-125348
I still owe the blog a piece on heart surgery, which I might be about ready to write, now that we're almost a year on.]]> http://www.punchdrunkmonkeyman.com/?entry=entry130520-125348 pedersje@gmail.com Mon, 20 May 2013 17:53:48 GMT http://www.punchdrunkmonkeyman.com/index.php?entry=entry121016-100932 Site/Meta http://www.punchdrunkmonkeyman.com/?entry=entry121016-100932 pedersje@gmail.com Tue, 16 Oct 2012 15:09:32 GMT http://www.punchdrunkmonkeyman.com/index.php?entry=entry120818-171553
I bought a Generation 3 Glock 19 last Saturday. I don't like it, but will, in the near-ish term, be using it to replace my beloved Browning Hi-Power as my default carry gun.

I'm retiring the Browning for a couple of reasons:

First, there are some middling complaints about the function of the gun which will take some effort (and money) to get fixed. Nothing has changed here: the magazine disconnect still irks me, as do the magazines that won't drop free, or that the hammer bites the web of my hand. None of this is serious enough to fix right now, but it's all stuff I want to get fixed.

Second, the logistics of the Hi-Power suck like hard vacuum. For a gun that's actually being produced, parts are difficult to find, and cost too much money. Factory anything costs anywhere from 25% to 100% more than it ought to, including the price of the gun itself. After-market accessories and parts exist, but are a bit thin on the ground. Holsters would be nearly non-existent if the Hi-Power weren't about the same size as a compact 1911.

So, it's going to go back in its case and only come out when I can't stand to carry the plastic wondergun or want to take it to the range.

Unlike the Hi-Power, I really don't love the Glock. I don't even like it. It's ugly, has a plastic frame and a striker-fired action. Everybody and their aunt has one and at least half of all Glock owners are rabid fanboys not entirely dissimilar to old-school Mac users (i.e. "I've only ever used this one thing of this type, but let me tell you how much better it is than whatever you're using now."). Disassembly requires pulling the trigger on a closed chamber, which can and has caused negligent discharges and injuries. The factory sights are made of plastic. The factory controls are too small. The grip doesn't feel good in the hand. It doesn't have an external safety other than the trigger blade.

But. The thing is, I didn't buy the Glock because I'd changed my mind and suddenly become a fan. I bought it because it solves the persistent problems I've had because I chose to use and carry the Hi-Power. You can buy parts or accessories for a Glock almost every place that sells guns. And the parts are affordable, they all drop in, and the gun shop probably has at least one guy certified as a Glock armorer, anyway. The guns have an excellent (if overblown) reputation for durability and reliability.

So, I don't like it. It's a choice which does not please me. But, I think I respect it, and that'll have to do.

In the meantime, I've replaced the stock magazine release, will have new sights on order before the weekend is out, and have already got a light and laser installed. Still need a holster and magazine carrier, but my wallet's been soaked enough for one month.]]> Guns http://www.punchdrunkmonkeyman.com/?entry=entry120818-171553 pedersje@gmail.com Sat, 18 Aug 2012 22:15:53 GMT http://www.punchdrunkmonkeyman.com/index.php?entry=entry120710-172005 do it).

On the other hand, I am (finally) the proud owner of a shiny, new Bushamstermaster ACR. You may not give a crap, but I have been anticipating one for five years. I took it apart this evening (I at least field strip most guns after buying them and before shooting ) and put it back together, and mangled an O-ring in the process. It's not a critical part, thankfully, but it's a bit annoying, all the same. Otherwise, I am pleased, and look forward to shooting it as soon as I'm able.]]> Guns, Magpul Masada/Bushmaster ACR, Meatspace Stupidity http://www.punchdrunkmonkeyman.com/?entry=entry120710-172005 pedersje@gmail.com Tue, 10 Jul 2012 22:20:05 GMT http://www.punchdrunkmonkeyman.com/index.php?entry=entry120528-104720
Thanks.]]> http://www.punchdrunkmonkeyman.com/?entry=entry120528-104720 pedersje@gmail.com Mon, 28 May 2012 15:47:20 GMT http://www.punchdrunkmonkeyman.com/index.php?entry=entry120325-145021
Three years later, I finally got tired of having a robot sitting around being useless, so I did some research, and hit upon somebody else's documentation of diagnosing their Roomba.

Although the model and symptoms aren't quite the same, that turned out to be my problem: the home base was cooked.

The long and the short of what I needed to confirm that:

• A voltmeter. I have a cheap multimeter laying around someplace, but can't find it. I wound up buying a new multimeter at Home Depot, but Radio Shack had a cheap one I should probably have grabbed, instead.
• A 4.7k ohm resistor, good for at least 1/4 watt. I bought some 1/2-watt 4.7k ohm resistors at Radio Shack. They worked fine
• A means of connecting the resistor to either the probes of your meter, or to the contacts of the Roomba home base. One approach is pictured in the article linked above. I grabbed a bunch of alligator-clipped test leads while I was at Radio Shack.

With each end of the resistor clipped to a different probe, it was pretty trivial to check the voltage being put out by my home base. The good/bad news for me is that, instead of rising to about 22.5 volts, my base was falling to 2 volts. Well, as they say, there's my problem.

When the new base arrived, I double checked the voltage on it, just for good measure: it puts out a bit over 20. Not quite as high as it ought to be, but I'm not sure what the tolerance is on that number, and it sure seems to have done the trick: Roomba's been busily eating dust bunnies and getting caught on cables for over a week, now.]]> Miscellanea http://www.punchdrunkmonkeyman.com/?entry=entry120325-145021 pedersje@gmail.com Sun, 25 Mar 2012 19:50:21 GMT http://www.punchdrunkmonkeyman.com/index.php?entry=entry120223-100942 squids can fly. Like rockets.

(Link stolen from SayUncle.)]]> Miscellanea http://www.punchdrunkmonkeyman.com/?entry=entry120223-100942 pedersje@gmail.com Thu, 23 Feb 2012 16:09:42 GMT http://www.punchdrunkmonkeyman.com/index.php?entry=entry120109-083424
I shot the Hi-Power, an AR I completed back in May, the 870 (purchased last January) and the Sterling carbine (re-received back in October). I had the CZ and Sig Mosquito packed, but they never got brought out. C'est la vie. I emptied the magazine in the Hi-Power, and fired the AR, 870, and Sterling for the first time. Everything worked! Huzzah!

Alas, I am way out of practice, and hardly hit anything.

I only have one magazine for the Sterling at the moment, but shooting it's a gas. There's almost no recoil, and very little noise or blast (pistol ammo through a 16" barrel: go figure). I couldn't tell how much of the problem with hitting with it was due to the sights and how much was me. (I wasn't impressed with the peep sight, though.) Still, fun.

Just FWIW: the Sterling carbine is a Wise Lite build purchased and worked over by the guys at Crusader Weaponry. Fun gun, and I've been pretty pleased with the customer service.]]> Guns http://www.punchdrunkmonkeyman.com/?entry=entry120109-083424 pedersje@gmail.com Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:34:24 GMT http://www.punchdrunkmonkeyman.com/index.php?entry=entry111020-120235
I expect I'll have some relevant content again, soonish. Before the end of the year, surely. Probably not before the end of the month.]]> Site/Meta http://www.punchdrunkmonkeyman.com/?entry=entry111020-120235 pedersje@gmail.com Thu, 20 Oct 2011 17:02:35 GMT http://www.punchdrunkmonkeyman.com/index.php?entry=entry110928-172124

Actually, I did have a good time at homecoming last weekend, but I think my first instincts were right: I should probably have skipped the 10-year thing.

That's not to say I disliked seeing people, but it was too many people in too little space for my liking. I also saw pretty much everybody who came that I cared to see both before and after, anyway.

So, it was nice seeing everybody! But I'll probably pass on the 15- and 20-year gatherings in favor of doing something other than moping around in a room that is too warm and too loud.

(Oh, you think I'm kidding about the lamp? Nope.)]]> Meatspace Stupidity http://www.punchdrunkmonkeyman.com/?entry=entry110928-172124 pedersje@gmail.com Wed, 28 Sep 2011 22:21:24 GMT