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in what i believe to be the conclusion of my search for the best 9mm carry pistol, i purchased a new smith & wesson m&p9c yesterday. it fits my hand very well, offers quite manageable felt recoil, features a good compromise between capacity (12 + 1) and size/weight, and well, it’s a smith & wesson, world renowned for their quality and customer service.

i cleaned it this morning, and armed with a variety of ammo types, i went off to the range. 212 rounds later, with flawless performance and no failures of any kind, i am quite pleased with my choice. while perhaps not quite as accurate as my sig p6 or s&w 5906, i did very well considering it’s shorter 3.5″ barrel, and the fact that this was my first outing. i can imagine i’ll improve with time.

cleaning went smoothly, as the gun comes apart fairly easily, and went back together without a hitch.

just as a comparison, i took this shot comparing it to my “j” frame revolver, which i’m not nearly as accurate. just slightly larger, with more than double the capacity.

and this was the best group at 5 yards. interestingly enough, the magazine without the finger rest permed as well as the one with the finger rest.

next purchase, additional magazines and a holster…

Original post by nexy

i don’t normally post about the politics of firearms - after all, i believe the 2nd amendment protects the right of american citizens to keep and bear arms. but i just had to post about this, because i can’t count the number of times i’ve gone into my local starbucks armed. interestingly enough, the first firearm i saw open-carried here in phoenix was at my local starbucks.

i have faith that starbucks won’t cave, because i’d be hard-pressed to decide between the two.

thanks to snowflakes in hell for the heads up.

and really, is that a cool starbucks logo, or what! i want to make them into arm patches only i’d change the question mark to something more appropriate.

Original post by nexy

i stopped by the range today and rented a smith & wesson m&p9. of all the polymer framed pistols i’ve tried, this one is by far the best fit. it was well balanced, featured very manageable recoil, quite accurate, and offers high capacity magazines. i liked it a lot more than the glock.

the center target was at 5 yards, the lower left at 7 yards, and the lower right at 10 yards. that’s about how well i can expect to shoot my s&w 5906 or sig p9, so the gun is more accurate than me.

while i was there, i handled a smith & wesson m&p9c, which is the smaller carry version. while i didn’t have the opportunity to fire it, the fit to my hand was actually better than the full size version. that may very well be my next firearm purchase.

Original post by nexy

i picked up a copy of with the beatles from bookmans yesterday for $8.00 used. actually, meet the beatles was the first beatles album that my older sister and i purchased way back in the 60’s. i couldn’t have been more than 7 or 8 years old. for my next birthday, i got the beatles 2nd album as a gift.

interestingly enough, “with the beatles” is kind of a mixture of the two, but really brings me back across space and time. every note of these songs is permanently etched in my mind. indeed, one of my first memories is sitting on my daddy’s lap watching the beatles’ first american tv performance on the ed sullivan show.

for what it’s worth, i believe the beatles were the best musical group ever. best rock band. best pop band. best songwriters. best singers (well, paul mccartney, anyway). though back in the day, john was my favorite, probably because he was a bit more gritty than paul.

oddly enough, the official beatles web site only lists “with the beatles” on their albums page.

i have a pretty good collection of beatles cd’s, and this one makes a great addition.

Original post by nexy

i came across this pink pistol on the sti website. it’s available in 9mm for a mere $1369.74 msrp. i must have it.

Original post by nexy

ya gotta love xkcd.

Original post by nexy

so much for on demand :/

Original post by nexy

we have joined the 21st century. we now have digital tv. so, you know, over 100 more channels of stuff we’ll never watch. on the up side, we now have on-demand, and logo.

Original post by nexy

i watched the pilot of caprica today. i didn’t think i would like it based on the previews i’ve seen, but i thought i’d give it a try. i was pleasantly surprised. it showed a believable beginning to the creation of the cylons, how they download and transfer consciousness, and even bill adama as a boy. some other nice surprises as well. if the series is as good as the pilot, i can imagine following this series.

Original post by nexy

we picked up a bottle of this st germain, made from the blossoms of elderflowers. it’s light and floral sweet taste, somewhere around pears or peaches, is quite unique, not too sweet and not too strong. makes a great mix with 7-up, or by itself, or in a gin and tonic. surprisingly good.

Original post by nexy

it’s the eighth night, the menorah is lit, against a back drop of a nativity scene and christmas tree. yeah, we’re a family that doesn’t discriminate.

Original post by nexy

i picked up a used sig p6 last night. i’ve been looking for a single stack 9mm for carry, and this was the best compromise between size, capacity, weight, and price. after a quick cleaning, i took it to the range today, and this was the first shot.

i was very impressed. it fits my hand perfectly, is not too light with its aluminum frame to interfere with accuracy, and is quite comfortable to shoot. here’s my best group.

clearly, the gun is more accurate than i am, and i can definitely see why this gun was chosen by the switzerland and west german police as their primary side arm. a large number was imported last year as those police forces modernized their side arms. my only regret is not jumping on the bandwagon earlier - the prices have gone up from ~$250 since then. i felt lucky to have only spent $350 on this one. i saw one at the gun show last weekend for $450.

the only thing left to do is pick up a few extra magazines, and a holster.

Original post by nexy

got a bottle for my hubby’s birthday. he’s a fan of absinthe. mixed reviews online. but a pretty bottle, and distilled & bottled in the u.s.a.

Original post by nexy

we got our tree up early this year.

Original post by nexy

we watched the plan tonight. some footage we’ve seen before, but also some new stuff, which filled in some of the back story. entertaining.

Original post by nexy

if I’m lost to God, organized religion is to blame

via this interview in the l.a. times.

Original post by nexy

i found this image of a texas mailbox on boing boing. the reason i was looking for mailbox images, is that our mailbox was broken into a few days ago. someone stole an envelope that had some of those access checks that the credit card companies send you in an effort to entice you to use the account for balance transfers, purchases, or anywhere you’d use a regular check. for a fee of course.

fortunately, our credit card company saw it as fraud, called us, and put a stop to it. i called our other credit card companies and turned off the access check mailings on all of our other accounts. i’d advise that anyone who has a credit card do the same. i’m inclined to use this as an excuse to turn off the statement mailings as well. but i sure like them as a reminder that the bill is coming due.

Original post by nexy

over the weekend i rented a ruger sr-9. i actually wanted to try the smith & wesson m&p 9 but it was already being rented, so i went for what i saw as the next closest pistol. i’ll start right off by saying that this pistol is about the same size and my smith & wesson 5906, so it’s not really what i was looking for. but i’ve heard some good things about the ruger, so i gave it a shot.

i wasn’t very accurate with it, so i won’t post the target. like the glock, it features a polymer frame, though i’ll say that it felt a lot more balanced, and fit my hand better. like the glock, it seemed well made, and functioned flawlessly. i’m sure with a little more practice, i’d be as good with it as i am with my 5906. perhaps a purchase i’d consider further down the road.

Original post by nexy

Original post by nexy

went out tonight to a local pub, testing out our new look.

Original post by nexy

we got this cool plastic shot glass set today at the high end grocery store. we paid way too much for it, but at least they won’t break, and they’re all spooky and stuff.

Original post by nexy

my vampire scope for today. it’s like a horoscope, only for vampires. or halloween. or something. via alloy.

Original post by nexy

we finished up one complete costume for halloween today after work, hooded full length robe along with skulled staff. it’s been a while since i’ve used a sewing machine, but it seemed (no pun intended) to come together fairly well. we used black denim as the material for the robe, which hangs quite well, and ought to keep us warm on those chilly romps through the moonlight. tomorrow, we’ll start on the second hooded robe.

Original post by nexy

i stopped by the range this morning and rented a para carry 9 9mm 1911 style pistol. of all the small 9mm carry pistols i’ve shot, this makes for the best compromise. it fits my hand nicely, it’s well balanced, it offers a pretty good capacity of 8 + 1, and is fairly accurate. the overall weight is just about right for a carry pistol - heavier than a glock, but lighter than, say, a kahr.

and speaking of kahr, they had a used MK9 for sale for $550, so i was able to compare the two with the para fresh in my mind. and while the kahr is well made and quite a pretty handgun, i didn’t like the short grip, or the way the extended mag worked. in my mind, either make the grip the right length, or go with a truncated grip for carry. extended mags are ugly, and i’m always afraid that squeezing it will somehow interfere with operation. i liked the weight of the kahr, which was noticeably heavier then the para, but i wasn’t thrilled with the way it fit in my hand, with or without the grip extension. and didn’t like that the smaller mag holds only 6 + 1 (or 7 + 1 with the ugly extension). i didn’t fire the kahr, but found the para pretty accurate and easy to control. see below for a 5 shot group toward the end of my trial.

Original post by nexy

getting ready for halloween.

Original post by nexy