Smith1776 wrote: ↑Mon Dec 30, 2019 2:42 pm
Either way, I ought to go to the local shooting range and try one out some time... I've fired plenty of virtual guns. Does that count?
Yes, it counts as a minus. As does anything one picks up from TV and movies.
I have had some shooting lessons, but I have reservations about carrying one around. When you have a hammer...
dualstow wrote: ↑Mon Dec 30, 2019 7:45 am
As long as Hasids are going to dress conspicuously (i.e. forever), I think they had better get some armed bodyguards dressed the same way. Can’t depend on the gov’t to protect them.
You'll notice that in the TX church shooting, the attacker was killed by members with concealed carry, and limited the damage to only 2 dead. Would have been a lot more dead if that was NY.
I think dualstow was talking about hiring security guards, who can carry concealed weapons.
Indeed. Licensed professionals who carry concealed and who can react relatively calmly.
Glad to hear about the Guardian Angels. I remember my dad pointing them out to me when I was a kid on the subway in the 70s.
Last edited by dualstow on Mon Dec 30, 2019 2:52 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Smith1776 wrote: ↑Mon Dec 30, 2019 2:42 pmI've never fired a gun before in my life. I've got mixed feelings about carrying one everyday if I lived in a place that allowed it. It seems to me that the use of a gun, even for legitimate self-defence purposes almost always results in bad consequences for the user somehow. The legal ramifications, the potential PTSD, etc. But, I suppose if it can save your life...
The only time you're firing a gun at someone is in order to stop a lethal threat to you or someone else. Worrying about PTSD in such a situation is a bit silly. Better than being dead, no?
It sounds like you're thinking of this as a movie script, where you've assumed that action X is bad and so there'll be some kind of comeuppance for doing it.
Smith1776 wrote: ↑Mon Dec 30, 2019 2:42 pm
Either way, I ought to go to the local shooting range and try one out some time... I've fired plenty of virtual guns. Does that count?
Yes, it counts as a minus. As does anything one picks up from TV and movies.
I have had some shooting lessons, but I have reservations about carrying one around. When you have a hammer...
Right, I've heard of some pretty bad stories about what carrying even a legitimate weapon for self-defence can lead to.
Having a gun can make one overconfident and more likely to stand ground rather than avoiding an altercation. This can then make a violent incident and resulting injury more likely.
I wonder if my local gun shop sells anything James Bond-ian.
Smith1776 wrote: ↑Mon Dec 30, 2019 2:42 pmI've never fired a gun before in my life. I've got mixed feelings about carrying one everyday if I lived in a place that allowed it. It seems to me that the use of a gun, even for legitimate self-defence purposes almost always results in bad consequences for the user somehow. The legal ramifications, the potential PTSD, etc. But, I suppose if it can save your life...
The only time you're firing a gun at someone is in order to stop a lethal threat to you or someone else. Worrying about PTSD in such a situation is a bit silly. Better than being dead, no?
It sounds like you're thinking of this as a movie script, where you've assumed that action X is bad and so there'll be some kind of comeuppance for doing it.
Yeah, I honestly just mistrust myself somewhat in this regard.
I feel like I'd be the guy who'd underreact and not use it when I should have (costing lives), and then overreact by using it when I shouldn't have (also costing lives).
I'm pretty mild mannered, honestly. Someone with steadier nerves ought to have the guns.
Smith1776 wrote: ↑Mon Dec 30, 2019 2:42 pmI've never fired a gun before in my life. I've got mixed feelings about carrying one everyday if I lived in a place that allowed it. It seems to me that the use of a gun, even for legitimate self-defence purposes almost always results in bad consequences for the user somehow. The legal ramifications, the potential PTSD, etc. But, I suppose if it can save your life...
The only time you're firing a gun at someone is in order to stop a lethal threat to you or someone else. Worrying about PTSD in such a situation is a bit silly. Better than being dead, no?
It sounds like you're thinking of this as a movie script, where you've assumed that action X is bad and so there'll be some kind of comeuppance for doing it.
Yeah, I honestly just mistrust myself somewhat in this regard.
I feel like I'd be the guy who'd underreact and not use it when I should have (costing lives), and then overreact by using it when I shouldn't have (also costing lives).
I'm pretty mild mannered, honestly. Someone with steadier nerves ought to have the guns.
Understood. But I'm not so sure you're in the clear in the "underreact" situation here. If you're in the situation you described, where you using a firearm saves lives, then have you really absolved yourself by having made an earlier decision to not carry one?
I'm really just thinking out loud here. I'm not arguing that you should carry. Probably nobody should who isn't comfortable doing so.
Xan wrote: ↑Mon Dec 30, 2019 3:52 pm
Understood. But I'm not so sure you're in the clear in the "underreact" situation here. If you're in the situation you described, where you using a firearm saves lives, then have you really absolved yourself by having made an earlier decision to not carry one?
I'm really just thinking out loud here. I'm not arguing that you should carry. Probably nobody should who isn't comfortable doing so.
That's a really good point actually.
I sometimes carry around a little bottle of pepper spray (euphemistically marketed as "dog spray") with me when I go out and about. Say, when I know I'm going to be in downtown Vancouver late at night.
Effective up to 12 feet and non-lethal! It's probably the sweet spot for me in terms of what I'm comfortable with for self-defence.
Smith1776 wrote: ↑Mon Dec 30, 2019 4:16 pm
I sometimes carry around a little bottle of pepper spray (euphemistically marketed as "dog spray") with me when I go out and about. Say, when I know I'm going to be in downtown Vancouver late at night.
Effective up to 12 feet and non-lethal! It's probably the sweet spot for me in terms of what I'm comfortable with for self-defence.
I'm not certain, but I think that is illegal in Canada.
Smith1776 wrote: ↑Mon Dec 30, 2019 4:16 pm
I sometimes carry around a little bottle of pepper spray (euphemistically marketed as "dog spray") with me when I go out and about. Say, when I know I'm going to be in downtown Vancouver late at night.
Effective up to 12 feet and non-lethal! It's probably the sweet spot for me in terms of what I'm comfortable with for self-defence.
I'm not certain, but I think that is illegal in Canada.
Bought from Canadian Tire, and clearly marketed for every day carry... only against potential dog attacks of course!
I carry bear spray. Had to buy some for Yellowstone, but I refresh it every year in the city. No idea whether or not it’s legal.
I know I’m not allowed to carry knives.
Sure hope I don’t run into any bears.
Smith1776 wrote: ↑Mon Dec 30, 2019 4:16 pm
I sometimes carry around a little bottle of pepper spray (euphemistically marketed as "dog spray") with me when I go out and about. Say, when I know I'm going to be in downtown Vancouver late at night.
Effective up to 12 feet and non-lethal! It's probably the sweet spot for me in terms of what I'm comfortable with for self-defence.
I'm not certain, but I think that is illegal in Canada.
Bought from Canadian Tire, and clearly marketed for every day carry... only against potential dog attacks of course!
I only hope bear spray works better on people than it does on bears! If you come face to face with a grizzly, you could have a loaded AK-47 in your hand and it wouldn't do you any good.
Gotta look into that. NYC allows you to carry sprays, you just can't buy pepper spray either in the city or by online order. My personal plan to date has been to go straight for a particularly vulnerable part of the male anatomy.
dualstow wrote: ↑Mon Dec 30, 2019 7:45 am
As long as Hasids are going to dress conspicuously (i.e. forever), I think they had better get some armed bodyguards dressed the same way. Can’t depend on the gov’t to protect them.
You'll notice that in the TX church shooting, the attacker was killed by members with concealed carry, and limited the damage to only 2 dead. Would have been a lot more dead if that was NY.
I think dualstow was talking about hiring security guards, who can carry concealed weapons. They are already getting help from the Guardian Angels. So thankful they are still around - and now getting more active!
As far as guns...the Angels can't carry them and not sure how effective they'd be in a shooting situation. Note though that the violent attacks so far have involved fists & knives, not guns. It might be that (as the studies on this suggest) there is a positive net effect of tight gun restrictions. For every Texas church saved by armed congregants, there are probably at least as many other people who DIDN'T get shot by the guns that their attackers were not able to get hold of. I get the Second Amendment and all, it's just that I don't know if the self-defense argument really holds up.
The research is clear: by far the best way to defend yourself is with a gun.
This is especially true for women, who are almost all weaker than even an average-strength man.
And criminals can always get guns, so the best estimate is that there are exactly zero people whose lives have been saved by "tight gun restrictions", whereas there are millions of defensive uses of guns every year in the US.
WiseOne wrote: ↑Mon Dec 30, 2019 10:59 pm
I only hope bear spray works better on people than it does on bears! If you come face to face with a grizzly, you could have a loaded AK-47 in your hand and it wouldn't do you any good.
Gotta look into that. NYC allows you to carry sprays, you just can't buy pepper spray either in the city or by online order. My personal plan to date has been to go straight for a particularly vulnerable part of the male anatomy.
After doing a bit of research, you're right that an AK-47 isn't the best choice for that situation. A .44 magnum should do the job though, and it's a lot more portable.
Thanks for posting that, tech! Very well written survey of the literature...I keep forgetting that actual facts are generally not well translated into news articles or sound bites.
A gun for self-defense simply isn't an option in NYC, although moving out is probably what I'd do if it got to the point where a gun became a necessity. However, self-defense classes might be a good idea...looking into those.
There are Taekwondo and Judo gyms right down the street from my house. This discussion has me thinking that I should get back into it. The practical skills learned aside, it's also great fun!
WiseOne, reading your comment about a particularly vulnerable area made me wince and cross my legs.
WiseOne wrote: ↑Tue Dec 31, 2019 9:43 am
Thanks for posting that, tech! Very well written survey of the literature...I keep forgetting that actual facts are generally not well translated into news articles or sound bites.
A gun for self-defense simply isn't an option in NYC, although moving out is probably what I'd do if it got to the point where a gun became a necessity. However, self-defense classes might be a good idea...looking into those.
I suspect that a lot of people ignore such unconstitutional laws. And it’s even possible that the Supreme Court will actually figure out what infringed means in the current gun control case they are hearing this term.
Smith1776 wrote: ↑Tue Dec 31, 2019 2:46 pm
There are Taekwondo and Judo gyms right down the street from my house. This discussion has me thinking that I should get back into it. The practical skills learned aside, it's also great fun!
WiseOne, reading your comment about a particularly vulnerable area made me wince and cross my legs.
If I ever meet you in person I'm wearing a cup.
You'd be safer yet if you didn't try to mug me :-)
But, you could certainly use that technique yourself if you were ever in a bad situation, right?? Except that it's theory and I have no idea how I'd manage it in practice.
Smith1776 wrote: ↑Tue Dec 31, 2019 2:46 pm
There are Taekwondo and Judo gyms right down the street from my house. This discussion has me thinking that I should get back into it. The practical skills learned aside, it's also great fun!
WiseOne, reading your comment about a particularly vulnerable area made me wince and cross my legs.
If I ever meet you in person I'm wearing a cup.
You'd be safer yet if you didn't try to mug me :-)
But, you could certainly use that technique yourself if you were ever in a bad situation, right?? Except that it's theory and I have no idea how I'd manage it in practice.
But your gold bullion looked so shiny!!
Yeah, as a kid I read Bruce Lee’s The Tao of Jeet Kune Do, and it had some awfully painful looking drawings of attacks to the groin.
Mechanical engineer, history buff, treasure manager... totally not Ben Gates
I watched some of National Treasure — or the sequel actually — being filmed in Philly as we ran into the scene walking back from Chinatown. Fun! I think Sean Bean was the only real actor there. Everyone else was a stunt double.
It’s funny that you wrote treasure manager. I sometimes consider printing up a business card that reads TREASURE STEWARD.
dualstow wrote: ↑Fri Jan 24, 2020 10:37 pm
Is anyone successfully using Veracrypt in MacOS Catalina?
Never used Veracrypt, but I am not impressed how Catalina broke a crap ton of my third party apps.
My fault really -- I should have read reviews on how Catalina's 64-bit nature would break many 32-bit games in particular.
Hmm. Good to know, although I barely have any third party apps on my Mac. I have learned that they get broken so I don't always upgrade, and since I don't play videogames it's easy to keep apps to a minimum. Telegram is all I need.
I went from Snow Leopard and Mavericks to Sierra and High Sierra and have been resisting going further, perhaps until I have new hardware. However, I want to back up an iPad mini before replacing it, and I just read that Catalina OS lets you use Finder to back up instead of iTunes.
I hate iTunes so much that I am willing to give up Veracrypt and just create DMG files if I have to. There's also the chance that I'll still be able to use Veracrypt and create new containers. I just won't be able to access old ones, so I'll have to copy encrypted files to plaintext.
Do you like Catalina aside from the broken 3rd party apps, or is that like asking Mrs Lincoln how the play was?
dualstow wrote:I've often thought Tim Pool's way of speaking sounds like Chris Wallace, and they're both from Chicago. Is that one kind of Chicago accent?
There is no such thing as a 'Chicago accent'. The issue is that everyone from roughly this area has a thick accent and thinks the rest of the country sounds funny.
dualstow wrote: ↑Sat Jan 25, 2020 7:54 am
I went from Snow Leopard and Mavericks to Sierra and High Sierra and have been resisting going further, perhaps until I have new hardware. However, I want to back up an iPad mini before replacing it, and I just read that Catalina OS lets you use Finder to back up instead of iTunes.
I hate iTunes so much that I am willing to give up Veracrypt and just create DMG files if I have to. There's also the chance that I'll still be able to use Veracrypt and create new containers. I just won't be able to access old ones, so I'll have to copy encrypted files to plaintext.
Do you like Catalina aside from the broken 3rd party apps, or is that like asking Mrs Lincoln how the play was?
I've had no issues with the current release of Catalina. A couple of minor ones on the initial release. I have no 32bit apps though. Catalina has a few improvements vs. High Sierra or Mojave but nothing earth shattering in my opinion. I think most of the changes are undercover such as improved security. Backing up iPhones to my MacBook Pro using Finder works flawlessly and easily, as did backing up to iTunes with earlier MacOS releases. I also back up my iPhones to iCloud. I think iCloud is pretty secure so I don't worry about using encryption apps beyond what MacOS does to secure the info. I tend to update MacOS promptly with every release to keep up with the security updates - worth it in my case to deal with the usually very minor bugs.
DNA has its own language (code), and language requires intelligence. There is no known mechanism by which matter can give birth to information, let alone language. It is unreasonable to believe the world could have happened by chance.
Mountaineer wrote: ↑Sat Jan 25, 2020 10:07 am
...
Backing up iPhones to my MacBook Pro using Finder works flawlessly and easily, as did backing up to iTunes with earlier MacOS releases. I also back up my iPhones to iCloud. I think iCloud is pretty secure so I don't worry about using encryption apps beyond what MacOS does to secure the info.
...
Thank you, Sir. I primarily use veracrypt to keep an offline password list and some journal (diary) files.
I copied some passwords to a USB drive last year and lost the drive on an Amtrak train or a cab, so they're out there.
As does anything one picks up from TV and movies.
www.allterraininvesting.com 
For the Chicago accent, I usually think of people who sound like this guy:
