Jan 062013
 

States that honor an Oregon Conceal Carry License

States that honor an Oregon Conceal Carry License

I have had my Washington Concealed Pistol License (CPL) for over 10 years and decided it was time to get a conceal carry license for Oregon as well. According to USACarry.com, my Washington CPL is currently recognized by 25 other states but our neighbor to the south, Oregon, is not one of them. Oregon, unlike almost ever other state, does not recognize concealed weapons permits from any other state. So, to carry a pistol either in the car or on your person, you must have a conceal carry license from Oregon.

We travel extensively through Oregon both on our way from eastern Washington to the Oregon and Washington coast and to visit family down in Boise, Idaho. We also enjoy camping and hiking in many Oregon State Parks as well as the numerous scenic areas in northeastern Oregon. Without an Oregon conceal carry license, before crossing the state line I must make sure to store my pistol in the trunk so as not to get in trouble if I happen to get pulled over for a faulty tail light or whatnot.

Oregon is a ‘shall issue’ state for Oregon residents only. ‘Shall Issue’ means that the local sheriff will (must) issue a conceal carry license to those who meet the Oregon conceal carry licensing requirements. To receive a non-resident license, applicants must either 1) own or lease property in Oregon or 2) be a resident of one of the four states contiguous to Oregon; California, Nevada, Idaho, and Washington. Non-resident applicants must meet the same requirements as Oregon residents plus submit a letter addressed to the sheriff explaining why they ‘need’ to carry concealed in the sheriff’s county. Oregon law says the sheriff ‘may issue’ conceal carry licenses to qualified non-residents at his discretion. If the sheriff is a proponent of the Second Amendment then you have a good chance of having your license approved, if the sheriff does not believe in the right for citizens to keep and bear arms, then you had better apply in a different county.

The sheriff offices do not allow you to submit an conceal carry application by mail and most require non-residents to set an appointment to bring in the application. When calling my nearby sheriff’s office, I was only able to leave a voice mail and did not get a call back that day. I ended up sending an email and was pleasantly surprised to get a response within the hour with a date and time, even though it was 6 weeks in the future. If you plan on getting an Oregon conceal carry license, don’t wait till you have taken the class to set your appointment.


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Jan 042013
 
... the next time you see a supersize meal in McDonald's or Burger King, ask yourself how much of what you are looking at is meat and dairy product and how much is bun, french fries, and soft drink -- that is, how much is fat, and how much is starch and sugar? Fast food isn't so much fatty as it is starchy and sugary.
Page: 28-29

Sitting down at the fast food joint, you usually have a small piece of meat sandwiched between two huge buns, a boat load of potatoes, and a large drink (maybe diet to make it less unhealthy). Even at the mexican joints, you are encouraged to eat your fill of chips before a meal.

When I do go to a hamburger place I have asked for my burger to be lettuce-wrapped, bypassing the bun altogether but usually just drop in to the local grocery store for a baked chicken breast.


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Jan 032013
 

Zero Day
Mark Russinovich

Besides the two examples of ‘cloyingly sweet’ and ‘cloying sentiments’ I am trying to think of other examples. Any ideas?

Sentence: Following a cloyingly sweet dessert, the only dish that disappointed Carlton, Fajer suggested port and cigars.
Page: 139

Definition:

: disgusting or distasteful by reason of excess <cloying sweetness>; also
: excessively sweet or sentimental <a cloying romantic comedy>

Examples

  1. After a while, the softness of his voice becomes cloying.
  2. the cloying sentiments of so many Mother's Day cards

Source: Merriam-Webster.com


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Jan 022013
 

Defend Schools



A petition to immediately end all “gun-free school zone” laws and regulations which disarm honest, law-abiding teachers, parents, and adults-and prevent them from defending school children against armed and violent criminals.

In the wake of this tragedy, many are pushing for more gun control, but they ignore the real ways in which this tragedy could have been minimized:

  • A 1997 high school shooting in Pearl, Miss., was halted by the school’s vice principal after he retrieved the Colt .45 he kept in his truck.
  • A 1998 middle school shooting ended when a man living next door heard gunfire and apprehended the shooter with his shotgun.
  • A 2002 terrorist attack at an Israeli school was quickly stopped by an armed teacher and a school guard.
  • A 2002 law school shooting in Grundy, Va., came to an abrupt conclusion when students carrying firearms confronted the shooter.
  • A 2007 mall shooting in Ogden, Utah, ended when an armed off-duty police officer intervened.
  • A 2009 workplace shooting in Houston, Texas, was halted by two coworkers who carried concealed handguns.
  • A 2012 church shooting in Aurora, Colo., was stopped by a member of the congregation carrying a gun.

We call for the immediate repeal of all laws that disarm civilians. We demand an immediate end to the tragically-failed policy of gun-free zones around schools which leaves young school children vulnerable to mass murderers.

If you feel strongly about the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, please sign this online petition.


Source: Libertarian Party on Facebook
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Terrorist Virus Worms Its Way Through Internet

 

Zero Day
Mark Russinovich
These worms descended to the depths of the computer, burrowing down and existing like a living parasite, planting themselves within the operating system. They were designed to resist detection. To mask themselves further, they worked slowly at replicating clones, sending out new versions of themselves to seek new computers at an all but undetectable rate. They were a cancer on the Internet and on every computer they could find.
Page: 93

How much damage could a computer virus cause? How much of our infrastructure is dependent on computers? Sure, buildings may not collapse but just about everything else, including planes, trains, nuclear power plants, banks, and the stock market, are susceptible and vulnerable.


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Dec 282012
 

hoodie conceal carry After having a concealed pistol license in Washington for 10 years, I finally decided that I should put it to use and buy a gun that I can actually carry. Washington state law requires you have a concealed pistol license (CPL) when you:

  • Carry a pistol concealed on your person.
  • Carry or place a loaded pistol in a vehicle.
But what are my reasons for why I would want to carry a pistol with me?
  • First, in the course of my business I regularly carry fairly large sums of cash and fear someone deciding that I am expendable in their effort to rob me.
  • Second, our office was burgled the other night. While waiting for the restoration company to arrive at 2am in the morning, I realized how vulnerable I was. Rather than wait inside the office which was missing a plate glass window in the wee hours of the morning, I decided to wait out in my car (and didn’t feel much safer).
  • Finally, I like going out on hikes to either explore or to photograph and am always leery of the characters I might run in to. So far I have ‘met’ some interesting characters but who’s to say the next one won’t be unstable.

Having decided I want a pistol I can carry concealed on my person, I now have to choose which gun I want. In researching the various guns I know I want to have at least a .380 and no more than a .45 though the 9mm seems to have the most going for it. It is large enough to be effective for self defense yet not so large as to make the gun difficult to shoot. Another positive is that 9mm ammunition is usually the least expensive large caliber ammo available.

I checked out some of the ‘single stack’ guns like the Diamondback DB9 and Ruger LC9. The advantage of single stack ammunition magazine is that it allows the gun grip to be narrower but this ‘feature’ limits the number of bullets to usually 6 rounds per magazine. A double stack magazine, like the Glocks will allow 10+ shells per magazine though this makes the grip wider and thus more difficult to conceal. Personally I like the feel of the double stack grip in my hand. I also read a number of accounts of these small single stack guns being uncomfortable to shoot. This is usually justified by saying they are designed for personal defense, not target practice. The problem is that you need to be comfortable shooting any gun you plan to use for personal defense. The only way to do that is through lots of practice at the target range.

Next, deciding which gun to buy.


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Dec 132012
 

Geo-HoHoHo 12-12-12 Was fun to get together last night with a room full of geocachers for a white elephant gift exchange. It brought back many memories since it was held at the site of our original cache meetings way back in 2002. I have cut way back on my geocaching addiction but there a better group of people to hang out with and what a clever ‘log’ for everyone to sign.

Here is the ‘forum notice’ that “Sluggo” posted to the Geocaching.com forums to announce the first meeting for the Geocachers of Southeastern Washington (GCSEWA):

I just sent out this e-mail to all the cachers that I can contact east of the cascades. Of course we would love to have anyone join us.

Hello everyone,

Those of you who know me (and that isn’t many) know that I have a motto that I always live by: “Anything worth doing is worth overdoing”. Well I fear that is what I have been doing with the East Cascade Geocaching Society. I wanted something informal, simple and relaxing, so that I didn’t have to put in a lot of work on it. Well… I did right the opposite. I tried to find the perfect meeting place, in the perfect city, at the perfect time to meet everyone’s needs. Man! That’s a lot of work. So, (at Sugar’s insistence) I have come to the understanding that “it’s time to get the show on the road”. So let’s get rolling.

Beginning November 07, 2002 and on the first Thursday of every month thereafter, we will hold Geocaching Therapy Sessions at Sterling’s Restaurant in Richland, Washington (N 46deg 16.724min; W 119deg 16.403min) from around 6:00 pm until around 9:00 pm.

Bring yourself, your spouse, your non-geocaching friends, your kids, but not your dog (unless it is a guide/assistance dog).

Sugar and I will probably eat while we are there, but it is not a dinner gathering. I talked with the manager and he is cool with people just getting coffee, pie, snacks, etc. He is NOT reserving a table for us, so we will just fill in as we arrive. They have a section that is rather isolated and ideal for a group to just sit and talk. Once again, nothing formal, nothing planned, just a chance to meet each other and chat.

I want to put in a special note for the under 18 crowd (especially my friends from Oasis School), this is for YOU TOO! So, be sure you try to attend (with or without your parents)when you can.

I am going to put a post on the geocaching.com forum so maybe we can draw a few travelers in while we are at it. If you know of a local geocacher that isn’t included in this e-mail, feel free to forward it to them and ask them to drop me a line so I can include them in future mailings.

Sugar and I are looking forward to meeting all of you,

Sluggo and Sugar


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Biggest Difference Between Cane Sugar & High-Fructose Corn Syrup?

 
No doubt, the large-scale replacement of cane sugar by corn syrup contributed to obesity and diabetes, but not because it's chemically much different from regular sugar. Cane sugar is 50 percent fructose; high-fructose corn syrup is 55 percent fructose. Indeed, the main reason corn syrup has made America's diabetes and obesity problems worse is that it's so cheap. Now kids can afford to buy soda in 20-ounce bottles instead of 7-ounce ones--the way it was sold before cheap corn syrup became available.
Page: 27

I must admit that I always thought that high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) was intrinsically worse than ‘real’ sugar. I had no idea that the two were almost identical in every way except one, price.

I am guessing that the government subsidies to corn producers help to keep the price of HFCS cheap. Does it strike anyone as schizophrenic that the government, with their war on obesity, would demonize dietary fat, which is an essential to our diet, while subsidizing HFCS?


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Nov 212012
 

Zero Day
Mark Russinovich
amazon.com
LibraryThing
GoodReads
Google Books

Interesting concept but the story line was totally predictable. All the characters seemed to fit the stereotype you would expect from the hot protagonists to the smarmy bad guys along with the bungling bureaucrat.

Book Info

Zero Day
by Mark Russinovich
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books: St. Martins Press
Published: 20110315
ISBN-10: 031261246X
ISBN-13: 978-0312612467
Started: 10/12/2012
Finished: 10/23/2012
Source: Amazon (used)
Reason: Leo Laporte & Steve Gibson highly recommended this book on their Security Now podcast in conjunction with the publication of the author's new book, Trojan Horse, which I also purchased.
Format: Hardcover

Publisher Synopsis

An airliner’s controls abruptly fail mid-flight over the Atlantic. An oil tanker runs aground in Japan when its navigational system suddenly stops dead. Hospitals everywhere have to abandon their computer databases when patients die after being administered incorrect dosages of their medicine. In the Midwest, a nuclear power plant nearly becomes the next Chernobyl when its cooling systems malfunction.

At first, these random computer failures seem like unrelated events. But Jeff Aiken, a former government analyst who quit in disgust after witnessing the gross errors that led up to 9/11, thinks otherwise. Jeff fears a more serious attack targeting the United States computer infrastructure is already under way. And as other menacing computer malfunctions pop up around the world, some with deadly results, he realizes that there isn’t much time if he hopes to prevent an international catastrophe.

Written by a global authority on cyber security, Zero Day presents a chilling “what if” scenario that, in a world completely reliant on technology, is more than possible today---it’s a cataclysmic disaster just waiting to happen.


Author Info
Mark Russinovich works at Microsoft as a Technical Fellow, Microsoft's senior-most technical position. He joined the company when Microsoft acquired Winternals software, which he co-founded in 1996. He is also author of the popular Sysinternals tools. He is coauthor of the Windows Internals book series, a contributing editor for TechNet Magazine, and a senior contributing editor for Windows IT Pro Magazine. He lives in Washington State with his wife, daughter, two dogs and two cats.


Source: Security Now Podcast
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Nov 212012
 

A very funny look into the world of parenting from Bluefish TV‘s parenting series: It Starts at Home with Matt Chandler & Gary Thomas available exclusively at RightNowMedia.org I know I heard a number of the lines in this rap as a kid and have used them on my own kids.


Source: BlueFishTV
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Radical Wheat-Ectomy

 

Wheat Belly
William Davis
For many, the idea of removing wheat from the diet is, at least psychologically, as painful as the thought of having a root canal without anesthesia. For some, the process can indeed have uncomfortable side effects akin to withdrawl from cigarettes or alcohol. But this procedure must be performed to permit the patient to recover.
Page: 11

I did not think I could cut wheat out of my diet. I like bread. Von makes wonderful homemade bread. Pastries were my friend and the only meal I knew how to make was cereal.

Now, I can walk by a tray of deserts and not be tempted to have one, whereas before I would have had 3.


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Nov 192012
 

Today marked the finale of the Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce’s “Good Health is Good Business Challenge”; a 100 days of wellness program designed to promote the benefits of workplace wellness. Over 400 individuals signed up for the challenges and participated.

The Challenge offered three ways to participate.

  1. The Lifestyle Challenge utilized a point system for participants to accumulate points for healthy choices: Hiking, yoga classes, annual health screening tests, etc. Individuals with the greatest points accumulated will win the Challenge.
  2. The Ultimate Challenge is all about the numbers: Participants had a confidential weigh-in/body fat measurement by the trainers from Gold’s Gym and repeated the process today at the end of the 100 days. Individuals with the greatest body fat loss percentage will win the Challenge.
  3. The Healthy Business Designation recognizes Chamber member businesses for developing wellness programs for their employees.

According to the Chamber, research shows that employers who implement workplace wellness programs see improved employee productivity, reduced stress and absenteeism, improved morale, and retain quality employees. A side benefit of the Challenge, the top finishers of the Ultimate and Lifestyle Challenges will win $1,000 cash! Second place winners receive an iPad and third place winners win a $250 fitness package sponsored by the Columbia Basin Racquet Club.

My Weigh-In

I only signed up for the Ultimate Challenge. I had started my LCHF (Low-Carb/High-Fat) lifestyle (hate the word diet) almost 3 months earlier, had already lost 29 pounds, and felt I was going in with a disadvantage. But I also knew I was shooting to lose a total of 60 lbs, so really I was only half way to my goal and knew I could continue what I was doing. My BMI had started back in May at 33 (obese). I was shooting for getting my BMI below 25 (normal). At the Challenge weigh-in it was at 29.8 (top end of overweight). So, was it a disadvantage starting out having already lost 29 pounds or was I getting a running start by having already lost half the weight I wanted to lose?

No idea, yet, if I won the Chamber’s Challenge, that won’t be announced for a couple weeks but I think I have a good chance at one of the prizes. According to their measurements, I dropped 26.5 pounds in the last 100 days, dropped my BMI from 29.8 to 26.2, and took 6 inches off my waist. I still have 10 pounds to lose to get down to a BMI of 25, hoping to hit that number by this time in January. Thanksgiving and Christmas are such social occasions, but LCHF has taken away my cravings for sweets.


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Nov 172012
 

Planning on going to the free Camerata Musica Concert tonight at 8pm at the Battelle Auditorium. It has been a while since we have made it to one of these.


Source: Camerata Musica
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Nov 172012
 

Totally amazing. Remembering when our twins were born at 8lbs each, I can’t imagine triplets weighing a total of 20lbs. She carried them 37 weeks, with the largest of the boys being 7lbs 8oz! Sounds like mom ate healthy, having a dozen eggs a day to keep the babies nourished.


Source: NBC News
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Nov 172012
 

Having just come home from a beautiful wedding, it seemed provident to see this on my twitter feed. One of the best things about attending weddings is that, as I sit next to my bride, I remember back to our day many years ago and thank God for blessing me so.

This quote first appeared on Pastor John Piper’s twitter feed back in 2011 and a woman named Patty Hurtarte copied it into her journal. Almost two years later she turned it into this design, framed it, and gifted it to her pastor and his wife, Joshua and Shannon Harris.


Source: John Piper
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Nov 162012
 

image

I was just in Costco and saw that they have Photoshop Elements for $49.99. If you don’t need all the bells and whistles of Photoshop, or don’t have a wad of $100 bills in your wallet, Photoshop Elements might be just what you need to tweak some of your photos.

Elements has many of the features of Photoshop that a photographer will need, including all the adjustments that come with Camera Raw. Either way, save $30 and buy yourself a Christmas present.


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Nov 162012
 

Nice to know it is not just our Generals who are stupid.

PHOTO: Taliban fighters line up as they hand over their weapons to join the peace process in Herat, Afghanistan, Nov. 3, 2012.
Taliban fighters line up as they hand over their weapons to join the peace process in Herat, Afghanistan, Nov. 3, 2012. (Hoshang Hashimi/AP Photo)

Source: ABC World News
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Starch Toxicity – from Fat to Diabetes

 

When you're a kid, your body can handle a lot of starch. Your pancreas makes plenty of insulin, and your tissues respond very well to it. However, when you grow up -- especially if you have a genetic predisposition to insulin resistance -- the way your body metabolizes glucose changes. Your pancreas continues to make plenty of insulin but your body begins losing its responsiveness to it. As a result, your pancreas has to make increasing amounts of insulin to keep your blood glucose levels down. As time passes, your body's ability to produce insulin begins to lag. If the pancreas can't secrete enough insulin to overcome insulin resistance, glucose starts backing up in the bloodstream, the condition we call type 2 or adult-onset diabetes.

The tissues that line blood vessels are particularly vulnerable to high blood glucose levels. Diabetes eventually leads to blood vessel disease, the most common cause of death and disability in the industrialized world. However, diabetes is only the late stage of starch toxicity. Profound body chemistry disturbances precede diabetes by decades, causing quirky appetite regulation and imbalances between good and bad cholesterol that promotes cholesterol buildup in arteries. The most frustrating problem starch toxicity causes, though, is a tendency to accumulate excess body fat.

Page: 19-20

When people ask me why I have gone to a Low-Carb/High-Fat diet, I liked to respond with “I am allergic to starch, it makes me swell”. Although I am trying to be humorous, there is also some truth to the statement. I also wanted to cut out carbs because I have a family history of diabetes and I knew the amount of sugar I was consuming was not healthy.

Body fat is just an early symptom of a condition that can end in heart attack or diabetes.


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Vocab: Negus – a hot toddy for a cold winter night

 

I might have to find a recipe for ‘negus’. On a cold winter night a hot drink of port, sugar, lemon, and spices might just hit the spot.

On a funnier note, the poor kid in this spelling bee was beside himself trying to spell the word.

Sentence: The negus, which would greatly improve its flavour and potency and contribute considerably to the gaiety of the occasion, would be added at the last moment.
Page: 22

Definition:
  • ne·gus [nee-guhs]
    noun, plural ne·gus·es.
    1. a title of Ethiopian royalty.
    2. ( initial capital letter ) the Emperor of Ethiopia.
    Origin: 1585–95; < Amharic nəgus king < Geez, participle of nägŝä to reign
  • ne·gus [nee-guhs]
    noun
    a beverage made of wine and hot water, with sugar, nutmeg, and lemon.
    Origin: 1735–45; after Colonel Francis Negus (died 1732), Englishman who invented it
  • Source: Dictionary.com