Cracked on Self Defesne... not entirely bad.

Huh.... this advice from cracked is actually pretty.... good. There's a little bit too much of "you'll get killed in the street!" and "Criminals are invincible ubers so don't even try."

But.... The points about the value of alertness, deescalation, realizing a fight can be sudden, unexpected, and more brutal than one expects are valid. As is the article being open about saying it is not a fitting venue to tell people how to fight back.

There's also passages like this which are entirely good advice:

So while a lot of armchair badasses may think "I want to train to fight so I can pull the knife out of a mugger's hand and shove it aaaalllll the way up his ass," Richard does not consider that self-defense. Self-defense is saying, "Well shit, he can have my wallet. It's not worth a freaking blade in my lung." Or even better, saying, "That guy's acting weird, I'm getting out of here" five minutes earlier.

Yuuup, a good class will spend as much time on when to use force in response to an attack as what options are available.

Of course then the article undercuts everything by ending with:

"It's also not a bad idea to do what millions of women around the world have done, and get yourself a can of mace."

This isn't to knock a spicy treat dispenser; they have a very valid role, but.... after an article full of cautions and caveats ending with "Little Lady should just buy X" kinda undercuts the whole thing.

(For one such dispensers will blow back when used, and have a limited range, and may not work, so practice and training can /really/ help)

Bitish Rationing in WW2, the rest of the story

InRange TV continues this interesting bit of history with 6 more videos

2:  What food one gets in a week

3:  Cooking to deal with the rations

4: the National Loaf; that is how bread was rationed

5: More nuts and bolts of the rationing system

6: Where Cafeterias and Restaurants fit in with the system

7:  Black Markets and booze

8: Conclusions

What's interesting is to see that for such a system to work certain levels of competence, fairness, and acceptance are needed on the level of the goverment at a minimum.

First the state has to make sure the system actually runs and that there is food available.  That is if a product is being rationed then having it available in some level is vital.  As is ensuring that people can actually live on the rations provided.

Second the system has to at least attempt to minimize the whole "shut up prole know your place" sentiment that is pretty eternal. Where the connected and well to do, especially if those people are the ones running the system,  can still gorge themselves on whatever they want.  (That said given game one harvested was not rationed, and hunting in the UK is very much a well-to-do pursuit...)

Third is acceptance.   Teetotalers and prohibitionists pushed for Lord Woolton, the man running the system, to ban alcohol in England. (Their argument was that grains used in booze could be better used in food) Woolton pointed out that asking workers who where already increasing their hours and lessening the variety of their food, to also give up all booze would cause riots.


One can see that  in today's world of  state governments that can't even keep a lottery self-funding,  goverment health organizations that enact polities that increase obesity,  where well to do bolivators and goverment mandarins take private jets to exotic locations to lecture on how the proles should have less electricity, and demand policies that seem to be driven out of spitefully denying people simple joys....

Well,  competence, fairness, and acceptance are in short supply. 

British Rationing in WWII

Ian on Inrange TV has a new series coming up

So far there's an overview of some of the nuts and bolts of the British WW2 (and beyond) domestic rationing system.

Not just linking for a historical interest, but as this was a massive state regulation of food with rationing (obviously), price controls, wholesale purchase, attempts to influence supply and demand, and social engineering.

And this is a scheme that seems to have functioned fairly well, resulted in improved health, and had less black market activity than many other rationing programs.

My natural libertarian leanings recoil at such at thing, but in the points of intellectual honesty I am curious to learn more.

Opening lines.

That's the first step right?

Well I have an idea of characters and setting, still planning the plot. As it's a short story do have to be careful about size and the 'verse.

But I'm pretty happy with this opening line:

When meeting a demon over drinks it pays to wear your nicest holster.  

It's a start.

Backup Procedures

Way back in the day I participated in National Novel Writing Month (nanowrimo).

I worked on a story called Backup Procedures.

Think of an alt-history future-pulp on other planets humans travel to via submarine.  Where humanity's allies in this universe are a race of large crab-like creatures and a demonic-looking all female species which is not actually demonic but created from humans and a race of eldritch old ones.

Never finished it.   Didn't even get to revise it like I promised.

And I'll admit my track record is... well time, time and time.

But I'm thinking maybe I could start with a short story to get back into  the 'verse

Constitutional Carry for Indiana?

Another attempt is being tried with House Bill 1022.

As Tam says:

Contact your local legislator, Hoosiers, and also make sure that Speaker Bosma's office know that we will not appreciate him burying this in committee or shuffling it off to a study again. You can't call yourself "Indiana's Conservative Leader" and continue to kill gun rights bills. Pick one.

And I'll echo her mention that if you're  Hoosier and not a member of ISRPA, join up.  They're a great state-level organization and do the yeomen's work for gun rights in this state.