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Letting Go

The Gun Thing

Took the frankenpoodleshooter to the range yesterday, and fired off a single mag before getting sick of the thing (as explained here).  Then I put it away and shot something else — and shot almost all the ammo I’d brought along for that particular gun because I was having so much fun.

So today I’m going to offer the frankenpoodleshooter up for a raffle.

I know, I know:  it’s fugly as Rosie O’Donnell, but it runs like a sewing machine and has the best trigger of any AR I’ve ever shot before.  (It may come as a surprise to some, knowing my feelings on the topic, but I first shot an AR-15 back in 1983, and I’ve since fired dozens more, in various locations and with various people.)

It is, of course, perfectly legal in terms of current ATF regs.

Tickets will cost $5 each (via the usual, i.e. Venmo, PayPal, Zelle and paper checks to the Sooper-Seekrit mailing address), and there’s a limit of ten tickets per person.  I’ve set a secret reserve price — I know how much the thing cost to build, but I’ve set myself a sum to afford a replacement gun, which the proceeds of this will pay for.)  If that reserve is not reached, all the money will be refunded.

Please note that as always, I will be sending the gun to the winner via an FFL (unless he’s a Texas resident), but I will not repeat not send the gun to any state where AR-15s and such are banned.  I will be contacting the designated FFL to establish that fact prior to sending it off, so please don’t attempt to put me in legal jeopardy.

It will arrive as pictured above, with the red dot sight and spare mags.  (If the winner is a north Texas resident, I’ll throw in all the 5.56x55mm ammo I have on hand.)

Life is too short — well, my life is, anyway —  to shoot a gun which doesn’t give me pleasure in the shooting thereof.  But lots of other people enjoy the AR-15, so if you’re one of them, or want to get into the AR-15 thing, there’s no reason why this wouldn’t be a good way to do so.

Update:  This raffle has been canceled due to lack of interest.

(Reader Anthony M., please send me an email so I can refund your entry.)

Quote Of The Day

Business, QOTD, Technology

“A prospective employee today saying that they don’t use A.I. is the equivalent of a prospective secretary in 1995 saying that she doesn’t use a PC.” — Scott Galloway

I hadn’t thought of it that way before — being preternaturally suspicious of A.I. as I am — but the more I read and speak to people, the more I’m starting to see why the above is true.

I’m just glad I’m not part of today’s prospective employee group.

The Four Idols

Deep Thoughts

I’m not sure that there’s a better podcast than Triggernometry, and this episode is one of the best.

  • Power
  • Money
  • Fame
  • Pleasure

Which two could you live without, or would actually push away?  Watch the episode, and see how it works.  (And unlike most things I talk about here, don’t feel you have to share your findings in Comments, because it’s intensely personal;  I’m not going to share mine, for that reason.)

And by the way, the expression “performative activism” explains just about everything I find irritating about today’s world.

Ditto? And A Chewsday Challenge

Men & Women

Well, here we are:

A bizarre new AI-powered dating service is sweeping across California college campuses by replacing endless swiping with computer-generated matchmaking that promises to find students more compatible dates.

Ditto, a startup founded in 2024 by former UC Berkeley students, is expanding rapidly after ditching the Tinder-style model in favor of an AI-driven system that pairs users based on their interests.

“For the past 20 years, we’ve connected in primitive ways,” Ditto says on its website. “But now … AI brings your ‘profiles’ to life as agents.”

Silly me, I thought that was the way Tinder paired people off, but I’ve been told that in fact it was other dating (“looking for a shag / partner”) websites (e.g. match.com, OKCupid, etc. ) which did that.

On a tangential note, I constantly thank goodness that I’m not part of the dating pool — never was, unless we’re talking about my teens and twenties, which are so far in the past that genealogists shudder.

Here’s a thought:  in Comments, imagine what my profile would read like in Ditto.  Be as graphic or insulting as you wish.

Mixed Feelings

Politics, Tragedy

I don’t know what to think about the news of Sen. Lindsey Graham’s sudden death over the past weekend.

I know that there were times when I agreed with him, and other times when I found his attitude or actions completely bewildering  — not to say enraging.

I’ll let my Readers who knew him better help guide my thoughts.  It’s a little sobering for me, however, to realize that Graham was my age, and now he’s gone:  just like that.

And of course, the Left are exhibiting their usual behavior at his death, but that was to be expected.

More important, however, is who will replace him in the Senate.