Set Phasers to ROCK!

Star Trek and Wayne's World fans unite (from 45-Caliber Justice)!

Zucker's Taxman

Ever feel like the government literally has it's hand in your pocket every step you make? Jerry Zucker does in his latest video.

Korean Archery

South Korea has dominated the Olympic medal count in archery ever since modern archery was introduced in 1972. Here's an amazing video showing off Korean archery prowess.

Poetic Justice?

Ever feel demotivated at work?

...from Texican Tattler.

Perfect Pasta

The secret to great pasta is obtaining a balanced ratio of sauce to pasta. Too much sauce sticking to the pasta will overpower the pasta, and too little sauce sticking to the pasta will make for a bland and "doughy" dish. I've found that linguine provides the best sauce to pasta ratio. The flat linguine provides the right amount of surface area to which the right amount of sauce can stick. Spaghettini (thin spaghetti) is also comparable in its noodle mass to surface area ratio.

Regular round spaghetti has less surface area for a given mass of noodles, and so not enough sauce is able to stick to the noodles, giving it a slightly doughy flavor. Other pastas susceptible to this are fettuccine, penne, and rigatoni. The exception would be when making a baked casserole, where the sauce and flavor would have an opportunity to be baked into the pasta, thus overcoming the smaller outer surface area. Undercooking the pasta and then sautéing it briefly with sauce also help the sauce cling to the pasta (sautéing with a bit of water used to boil the pasta helps too). Pastas such as angel hair and capellini have too much surface area, and are overpowered when using thicker sauces, but do better with lighter sauces.

The linguini that I like best is DeBoles Linguini, which is made of durum semolina and Jerusalem artichoke flour.

Kahr TP9 Review

TP9-NOVAK

I purchased a Kahr TP9 with Novak night sights (TP9093-NOVAK) about a month ago, and after putting about 400 rounds through it, I have to say that this is a fantastic gun. NOTE (6/2011): Kahr has changed the TP9 since this review was published, so check the updates at the end to see changes.

Background
First some background information. I first got the idea of purchasing a TP9 after fiddling around with my Kahr P9 (KP9093). I bought the P9 about four years ago because I needed a concealable gun that I could carry for those occasions where I had to have my shirt tucked in without having a sweater or jacket on. The P9 seemed to be a good choice due to its combination of firepower and size, particularly its thinness of just 0.90" slide width.

Thunderwear

My method of carry was to use a Thunderwear holster in an unorthodox fashion. Instead of the normal method of placing the Thunderwear so that it hangs between your legs (which feels too uncomfortable with the gun resting on my private parts), I shift the Thunderwear so that it is in line with my left leg. I also position it a tiny bit lower on my leg so that I can sit comfortably. All I have to do to draw the gun is to suck in my gut, stick my hand in my pants and grab the P9. The only time drawing is problematic is when I am sitting up straight, but this is alleviated by shifting to a slouched sitting position. I think this is a small price to pay for the very good concealability the Thunderwear affords.

Ported Barrel

In order to mitigate felt recoil and muzzle flip from the lightweight P9, I installed a 4" ported barrel that Kahr sells, and a Harrt's recoil reducer (which is unfortunately no longer being produced). This helped a great deal when firing rapidly. The P9 shot well, but I began to want to replace the P9 with another Kahr due to the following reasons.

1. I wanted to get a Kahr with a longer sight radius in order to shoot better groups. I also wanted to squeeze some extra speed out of a longer barrel (the extra 0.5" on the ported barrel doesn't increase velocity).
2. There's a bit of horizontal play between the slide and the frame of the P9. I doubt this has any effect on accuracy at 7 yards, but it annoys me.
3. When I dry fire the P9, I can see the front sight jerk to the right a bit when the trigger is pulled fully to the rear. I never see this on any other handgun I own, so I know I'm not using improper technique. I think that this occurs due to the heaviness in the trigger prior to letoff, and then the very long overtravel after reaching the trigger letoff. This also does not affect accuracy, as my groups are not veering to the right at all. The bullets are probably exiting the barrel by the time the trigger fully reaches the rear. Still, this also annoys me.
4. Although I really like the bar-dot sights on the P9, I wanted to get tritium night sights.

My first thought was to send the P9 to Cylinder & Slide for a trigger job, night sight installation, and installation of a Bar-Sto barrel. However, I heard that they have a very long backorder, and that the wait could be up to a year. I didn't call C&S to verify this, because I had already just decided that it probably wasn't worth the cost. My second consideration was to get a T9 with Novak night sights (KT4043-NOVAK). I would have loved to get the heavier Kahr T9 to help with recoil and muzzle flip, but the longer grip and thicker grip panels would have adversely affected concealability in my Thunderwear setup. It was then that I saw a TP9 with Novak night sights in the counter at Shooter's Paradise (now closed) in Woodbridge, VA. Now, onto the review.

Review
I made sure first of all that the TP9 had minimal horizontal slide/frame movement, and that I didn't encounter the dry fire jerking that I described above. After I verified the TP9 was free of these conditions, I bought it for $650.

P9 with Clipdraw

IWB with Clipdraw

The TP9 is essentially the same as the P9, except that is has a 4" barrel as opposed to the 3.5" barrel on the P9. The thin grip (0.9") fits my smaller hands perfectly. The front sight is 0.140" wide and the rear sight notch is 0.150" wide according to my Lyman Dial Calipers. The white outlines around the tritium capsules look painted on. I prefer the white inserts that Meprolight uses, but the Novak sights are adequate. Using my Lyman Electronic Digital Trigger Pull Gauge, the trigger weight averages to 6.5 lbs. and is smoother that the P9 (the P9 gets very heavy right before letoff, whereas the TP9 is more uniform). The trigger overtravel is noticeably less than the P9, and the reset is somewhat long. As there are no manual safeties, the trigger pull is long, but smooth. The trigger pull feels similar to a double action revolver trigger, but lighter. The TP9 comes with one 7 round and one 8 round with extension magazine. I use the Thunderwear setup as described above, but have also attached a Universal Clipdraw on the TP9 for occasional IWB carry without the Thunderwear. Here's my review of the Clipdraw.

Shooting Impressions
After cleaning with Break-Free CLP, and then lubing with Wilson Combat Ultima-Lube oil and grease, I took the TP9 (along with the P9 for comparison) to the range to break it in. The Kahr manual recommends a 200 round break in period. I ended up shooting about 400 rounds through the TP9 using 115 gr. Winchester White Box (USA9MMVP), 115 gr. Federal American Eagle (AE9DP), 115 gr. +P Corbon DPX (DPX09115-20), and 127 gr. +P+ Winchester Ranger (RA9TA) ammo. I experienced one failure to feed on the second magazine (WWB), but then experienced no other problems whatsoever. I think this is typical, as my P9 had about a dozen FTFs during its 200 round break in period, but no other problems afterward. For the first 100 round or so I was a bit underwhelmed, as the recoil and muzzle flip were noticeably greater than my P9 with ported barrel and Harrt's recoil reducer (although still relatively low). I could definitely shoot a lot faster with the P9. However, I got better groups (< 1.5" @ 7 yards offhand) with the TP9 than on the P9. After the first 100 rounds, I got accustomed the feel of the TP9, and noticed that the front sight went right back into the rear sight notch exactly after each shot. I also learned to adjust my grip as high as possible so that the rearmost part of the frame is sticking into, and not over, the web of my hand. With practice and a higher grip, the TP9's recoil and muzzle flip became very controllable even for fast firing. I am now very pleased with my TP9 purchase and have lost the desire to continue shooting and carrying my P9 for the time being.

Further Observations
One thing I noticed was that after extensively firing the TP9, the horizontal slide/frame movement on the TP9 became even greater than on the P9, even though it had almost none when I bought it. Paradoxically, the accuracy does not seem to be degraded at all. I think that because the horizontal movement is located only in the front, this does not adversely affect lockup of the barrel to the slide. I think I might still purchase a T9 or K9 in the future. I really like the feel of heavy guns, and although they are a good deal thicker, I've never actually tried to place one in my Thunderwear to see how much can or can't be seen. The TP9 is now my go-to gun that I carry most often when carrying concealed. My TP9 made such a good impression on me that I definitely want more of what Kahr has to offer.

Pro

• Very thin and concealable
• 4" barrel for more velocity than the P9
• Smooth, long trigger
• Lightweight but very controllable
• Accurate

Con

• Long trigger reset
• Magazines do not drop free
• Would be better with a bit less trigger overtravel

Rating: **** ½

Update 6/2011
Upon checking Kahr's website, I noticed that Kahr has changed the TP9 to now have a longer grip (similar in length to the T9) that only uses the 8 round magazines without the grip extension. The model number seems to be unchanged (TP9093-NOVAK). The dust cover is also longer than before. The TP9 that I have circa 2005 has a grip length that is identical to the P9 (4.5" height). The new TP9 has a listed height of 5.08", similar to the T9 height of 4.95". I'm not sure I like this change, as having a shorter grip is better for concealment, and you can still use the 8 round w/ extension magazines with a shorter grip.The only benefits I can think of for the longer grip is a cleaner look (you don't need to use the 8 round with extensions magazines) and maybe marginally less recoil and muzzle flip. Perhaps the extended dust cover helps keep the slide rails cleaner as well. Or perhaps this gun is geared towards people wearing thick gloves or those with giant hands. I think due the longer grip I would knock off ½ a star from my rating for this new model (due to less concealability), but can't say for sure without testing the new model. Here are some pictures that help illustrate the changes.

My TP9-NOVAK circa 2005 (notice the short P9 style grip and shorter dust cover)

New TP9-NOVAK (longer dust cover, and longer grip holds 8 rounds in mag with no extension)

P9

T9-NOVAK

My TP9 came with one 7 round magazine and one 8 round magazine with extension. The new TP9 only uses an 8 round magazine with no extension.

7 round mag

8 rnd mag w/extension

New TP9 8 round mag

Cylinder & Slide is now reporting only a 1 - 2 month backlog with a turnaround of about 8 weeks on custom gunsmithing work. I'm now considering getting the barrel re-crowned with an 11° crown, modifying the frame to allow magazines to drop free, and getting a trigger job (although the trigger is pretty good as is). Robar also has some gunsmithing options for Kahrs as well.

Crimson Trace now has a trigger guard mounted laser sight (Laserguard LG-437) that fits the TP9. A limitation of this style of laser is that there's no way of selectively turning the laser off other than loosening the grip of your middle finger on the pressure pad (impractical when shooting) or removing the unit all together. Still, I might get one. I'm sure there are a bunch of arguments for and against use of lasers in various shooting situations, but at the very least it may be helpful as a training aid.

Sandwiches That You Will Like

During PBS' fund raising drives, one show that is heavily broadcasted these days is a show called Sandwiches That You Will Like. Sandwiches That You Will Like is a WQED Pittsburgh production that basically showcases the best sandwiches in the country. Here are some of the outstanding sandwiches that are highlighted in the show.

1. Muffulettas from Central Grocery. One of the greatest sandwiches ever created.
2. Cheesesteak from Pat's. See my analysis.
3. Shrimp Po' boy. Lot's of good places. I like them from Mandina's with some Turtle Soup au Sherry.
4. Pastrami on Rye from Katz's Deli. I thought Koch's Deli was great, but Katz's is the gold standard. 
5. Barbeque sandwiches. I prefer pulled pork or rib sandwiches in a vinegar based sauce myself, but all barbeque is good. The Rib Stand at Reading Terminal Market makes a fantastic rib sandwich.
6. Lobster Roll from Red's Eats. Lobster meat on a buttered roll drenched in clarified butter. One of my missions in life is to try out this sandwich before I die, although the cholesterol might kill me when I do.

Other sandwiches of note that were showcased included:
7. Italian hoagies from south Philadelphia. The Veggie from Chickie's Italian Deli is fantastic.
8. Italian beef with hot peppers and giardinara from Chicago
9. Falafel sandwiches
10. Vietnamese Banh Mi sandwiches
11. Beef on Weck from Schwabl's. I recently had a Beef on Weck sandwich from Jimmy's Old Town Tavern. It was pretty good (though beef was well done...I prefer rare), and the Kummelweck roll with caraway seeds and kosher salt was the highlight of the sandwich.
12. The Elvis from Peanut Butter and Company. A peanut butter sandwich containing bananas, bacon, and honey, that's then grilled in butter.

The show prominently features Holly Moore, one of my gastronomical heroes who has some good reviews of greasy dives on his website. Roadfood.com also has some informative reviews as well. I highly recommend watching this show for anyone who appreciates cheap, yet delicious food. Oh, and make sure you have plans to eat you watch it because you will be hungry.

Rating: *****

Tim Kaine's Left Eyebrow is Possessed!

In Tim Kaine's Democratic response to Bush's 2006 State of the Union address, his left eyebrow decided to rebel against his face by taking a life of its own. I don't mean to be uncharitable or to take cheap shots at anyone with facial tics, but did anyone else think it was bizarre how his left eyebrow kept jumping around everywhere? I could barely pay attention to what he was saying while being totally fixated on that crazy eyebrow! Here's a shorter clip, albeit with less eyebrow action.

How to Shake a Snapple

I was recently in my office cafeteria, when I noticed a young whippersnapper buying a bottle of Snapple iced tea. Before opening it, he inverted the bottle about 160 degrees, and then proceeded to pound the bottom of the bottle with the palm of his hand several times. Each strike causes the depression in the cap to pop out with a popping sound, while presumably mixing the contents at the same time. I was so annoyed by this that I almost went into a crazed epileptic seizure.

Ok, before you start thinking I'm some kind of obsessive-compulsive psycho, I've always been annoyed by this since the height of Snapple's popularity in the 90's. I was in school in Philadelphia at the time, and noticed that all my classmates who hailed from the northeast would do this with their Snapples prior to opening them. Supposedly, this was the "cool" way to shake a Snapple. I had no end of northeastern "elites" to admonish for wasting motion on such an inefficient process in order to look hip.

Now, I'm no guru of fluid dynamics, but this method of shaking does not adequately or efficiently mix the settled gunk on the bottom of the Snapple to produce a uniform mixture of juicy goodness. The pounding on the bottle simply creates compression waves that do not displace particulate matter well enough to create a uniform mixture. Contrast this to the technique the other 99% of the world uses to shake a bottle, which is through rotating the bottle. Rotational shaking produces much more torque, which promotes the aeration of the liquid with bubbles and the creation of eddies, all of which contribute to better scraping the gunk from the bottom of the bottle and mixing it.

So, now that you have the facts at hand, please, please, for the love of efficiency shake your Snapple like a normal human being, and not like some Snapple fashionista, or you will one day face my wrath (or see me foaming at the mouth in a crazed epileptic seizure). OK, you may still think I'm an obsessive-compulsive psycho, but I had to get that off my chest. ;-)

Tales of the Philly PD

Wyatt Earp wrote about an incompetent Philly cop that reminded me of my favorite Philly cop story that happened around 1997. I was driving two college kids back to church after picking up some groceries with them in Upper Darby. We were heading east on Market at about 50th street, and were stopped in the right lane when a bus stopped to pick up some passengers. Well, the car in front of us got impatient and tried to get past the bus. The driver must have been really impatient because he overshot the middle lane and slammed into the car driving in the far left lane. I was tempted to just leave, but with two impressionable kids in the car, I decided to do my civic duty and present myself as a witness to the crash.

So I got out of the car and went to the crash scene, and the guy who got hit was a Chinese guy who had almost no command of english. The perpetrators of the crash were two young guys who looked very nervous. They start arguing with the Chinese guy about whose fault it was (it was definitely not the Chinese guy's fault, as he was simply driving in his lane when the other guys rammed the rear corner of his car from two lanes away). Very soon, a police van rolls along, and so the Chinese guy and I approach it to explain what's going on. In it are two women officers who look like this is the last thing they want to deal with, and they stay in the van while speaking to us from the driver side window. Since they're getting angry because they can't understand what Chinese guy is saying, I take over and explain what happened. While I'm speaking, one of the guys who started the crash starts to walk quickly away, while the other starts to drive away in another direction. Seeing this, both the Chinese guy and I excitedly exclaim to the cops that they're making a run for it and that they (the cops) should catch them! Now, what happened next I'll never forget. Both the cops get really upset and with some major attitude say, "Uh uh, you don't speak to US that way! YOU don't tell US what to do!" I can see where this is leading, and since there's no time to lose, I quickly calm the Chinese guy down and say in a polite and calm manner, "Officers, the guys who rammed into this guy are leaving the scene..." I try to describe the car and what direction they went in, but as I was trying to do so they just drive off in mid-sentence!! Unbelievable!!

So now the Chinese guy is really distraught because of his wrecked car, and I'm upset at myself for not noting the license plate number of either the car that got away or the police van (I was too shocked). A few minutes later, another cop comes walking along and we explain the situation to him, and he is very sympathetic and courteous, but there is little he can do if we didn't get the license plate numbers. So I end up leaving dumbfounded. I had seen this kind of police apathy in New Orleans, but this was my first negative experience with Philly cops. Now, I have a lot of respect for hard working cops and think for the most part that they are grossly underpaid and under-appreciated, but can't FOP or the city do anything about these bad apples?! Anytime one has a pretty much guaranteed job, what incentive does one have not to act this way?

How to Write Unmaintainable Code to Ensure Job Security

I once had to take over development and testing a very poorly written VB/Oracle client-server app that was developed in Honduras. Needless to say, all the comments were written in Spanish. After much wrangling, the original developers were hired on as consultants to help decipher the whole mess. Here's a tongue in cheek guide on how to write unmaintainable code in order to make yourself indispensable as the only person who can decipher it, therefore guaranteeing your job security for years to come, at least in theory (via Slashdot).

Calvinist Humor

Here's a funny picture that's been circulating around some blogs (via TulipGirl). For those who don't get it, see here or here.

Cheesesteak Heaven

Although it's practically heretical to even think about eating a cheesesteak outside of the Delaware Valley, The Best Philly Cheesesteaks provides reviews for cheesesteak joints all across the country for those who have the craving and just can't get to Philly.

Dirty Restaurant Secrets

Here's the website for the Virginia Department of Health. You can see how your favorite restaurant did on their last inspection. The violations range from pretty trivial to really lawsuit-worthy. It's also a pretty handy guide to see a list of all the restaurants in each county.

Cheesesteak Construction

Oh, how I miss eating a real Philly cheesesteak! Here's a page that delves into the perennial question of Pat's or Geno's. He goes into a pretty detailed analysis of each ingredient.

For me, Pat's wins hands down. It's less a matter of the individual ingredients than the overall construction. Here's how they order their ingredients when they build their steaks.

Pat's

1. Bread
2. Meat (greasier; to some, a negative, but for me a plus)
3. Onions
4. Cheese Whiz (slapped on top)

Geno's 

(all ingredients taste fresher and seem to be of a higher quality)

1. Bread
2. Cheese Whiz (thinly spread)
3. Meat
4. Onions (coarser chopped, spicier, and less cooked)

Now Pat's is superior because since the meat is in contact with the bread, the juices get to seep into the bread and meld with it (the greasier beef helps). Also, the heat from the meat tends to rise, thus further melting the cheese on top and creating a deliciously messy slurry of cheese, onions, grease, and juicy bread.

Geno's, on the other hand, spreads their cheese on the bread first, and then slaps the meat on top. The thin layer of cheese acts as an insulating layer, so the juice from the meat can't penetrate into the bread. Also, the cheese doesn't melt any further all that much, as the heat is radiating mostly upwards and away from the insulating cheese. Then you've got your too spicy onions on top all alone (you've really got to cut the spiciness by mixing with cheese for optimum flavor). Sometimes the onions get put under the meat, but this depends on the preparer, and doesn't help much since there's not enough melted cheese to produce a slurry. This adds up to a steak where instead of all the flavor elements fusing together into a hot and greasy mess, the steak is more sterile with each flavor element being neatly separated from the others, and tends to be drier.

The bottom line is Pat's is the flavor champ due to its scientifically proven construction of melding all the flavors together. Geno's is just OK, but it's really popular for those who demand fresh quality ingredients, a clean decor, and a neater and easier to eat steak.

Oh, and ya gotta get a bunch of the free cherry peppers to go with your steak!! Mmmm...

Dead Man Eating

It's no surprise that someone who daydreams about planning the perfect meal would be so fascinated with this site. Dead Man Eating chronicles the last meals and final words of executed murderers. More than just than morbid curiosity, this site is interesting because it shows what people would choose to eat when they know it's their last meal. Some just accept the standard prison meal, while others plan huge artery clogging feasts. Who would have thought that capital punishment and yummy food would be such an interesting combination?

Froggy Ruminations: A Warrior at Rest

A tribute to a beloved brother.

Liberal Hypocrisy

I keep hearing liberals talking about paying one's "fair share" of taxes. Of course that means that the more money you make, the higher rate you pay in taxes, offset by a mountain of potential deductions and exemptions that one can claim. I don't see how this is fair at all. If anything, everyone should be paying the same rate, without any deductions whatsoever. Pennsylvania's state tax is set up this way, and doesn't attract much protest from those seeking to steal from the "rich" to achieve "social justice".

However, on the federal level, any attempt to enact a flat tax is met with howls of protest. As per standard class warfare tactics, conservatives are characterized as being heartless, uncompassionate monsters who want to make bread with the blood of poor children. These protests are are loudly propagated by wealthy liberals. If rich liberals actually cared about the poor, then they should put their money where their mouths are and fork over their own money, rather than make other people pay. These rich liberals have the gall to say we're not being taxed enough while taking advantage of favorable tax laws to reduce their own tax liability. This is the crux of liberalism: make other people pay for what you want. Here's a couple ways for those who think we're not being taxed enough to rectify the situation, and prove they're not as heartless as "evil conservatives".

How do you make a contribution to reduce the debt?


There are two ways for you to make a contribution to reduce the debt:


You can make a contribution online either by credit card, checking or savings account at Pay.gov


You can write a check payable to the Bureau of the Public Debt, and in the memo section, notate that it's a Gift to reduce the Debt Held by the Public. Mail your check to:


Attn Dept G
Bureau of the Public Debt
P. O. Box 2188
Parkersburg, WV 26106-2188

How do I make a contribution to the U.S. government?


Citizens who wish to make a general donation to the U.S. government may send contributions to a specific account called "Gifts to the United States." This account was established in 1843 to accept gifts, such as bequests, from individuals wishing to express their patriotism to the United States. Money deposited into this account is for general use by the federal government and can be available for budget needs. These contributions are considered an unconditional gift to the government. Financial gifts can be made by check or money order payable to the United States Treasury and mailed to the address below.


Gifts to the United States
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Credit Accounting Branch
3700 East-West Highway, Room 622D
Hyattsville, MD 20782

The Dawn of an Uneventful Era

I hate writing. As most of the posts here will be quite mundane in nature and probably poorly written, I expect that this blog will be the most unread in all the internet.