Watching the Fire Alarms

                Many years back there was a trend at the local Students' Union for setting off the Fire Alarms. This very childish and irresponsible behaviour was only curbed when the Fire Brigade threatened to have the bar’s alcohol license revoked.

                A friend of mine at another university has seen a similar trend. His suggested solution is quite brilliant but also very simple. He suggested to the campus police that Fire Alarms should incorporate a camera. Where this is not possible cameras should be positioned so they can view anyone operating an alarm. If someone is operating an alarm legitimately the camera footage will allow them to be identified and commended. If someone is operating the alarm as a hoax then the footage will also allow them to be identified, hopefully so it can be arranged that they spend some time with others who have no regard for others’ welfare.

                The intelligent reader may be objecting that hoaxers may attempt to cover the cameras. This likelihood can be reduced by use of small concealed cameras positioned in a variety of locations. A camera does not actually need to be mounted in the alarm, just have a view of the alarm's operator.

                I am sure a lot of rot will be raised against this idea under the banner of “civil liberties” but it is just that. University campuses are already under surveillance and this idea is just to ensure that alarm points are included in the field of view. It would be a big contribution to improving public safety and preventing some genuine criminal behaviour.  

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Long Range Pistol Shots and Zero.

                In yesterday’s post I mentioned that the purpose of a military pistol round is close combat, and therefore a supersonic round more suited to longer range shooting is not a logical choice. It is worth bearing in mind that the longer range performance of even subsonic rounds like the .45ACP is much better than most people assume. I have seen estimates that the De Lisle Carbine was effective to 200 yards and possibly as much as 400yds.

                The following table, taken from FrFrog’s Ballistics pages, is interesting.

 

                With weapons zeroed to 50 yds the rounds tested hit just 5 to 12” low at 100yds. Rounds such as the .40 S&W, 10mm and .357 SIG can be expected to perform rather like the .357 Mag. Evidently the higher velocity rounds fly flatter, but in practical combat terms there is little to choose between them. A shot aimed at head or shoulder height at beyond 75yds is going to strike in the thorax, whether you have a 9mm, 357, 44 Mag or 45 ACP.

                Zeroing a pistol at 50 yards may not be practical so a good approach is to zero your pistol to hit 2” high at 25 yards. Using this zero the round will have dropped less than 12” below point of aim at 100 yards and the maximal ordinate will not exceed 3”. This holds true for nearly all common combat pistol calibres. Higher velocity rounds will have a flatter trajectory and have dropped less than slower ones, but all these rounds will hit less than 12” low at 100 yards and not exceed 3”+.

                For more details, see my books.

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Army Wants More Powerful Pistol -Only One Real Answer!

                I have just glanced at an article claiming the US military is looking to replace the 9mm pistol with something more powerful. The obvious move is to simply go back to the .45 ACP, but the article also talks about looking at the .357 SIG and .40 S&W.

                Military trials in the past have often not been that scientific. A decision gets made in advance and the main purpose of the trial is to find evidence to support this decision. Some of you might reasonably be asking hasn’t the US military ever investigated handgun ammunition before? Yes they have! A very extensive study back in 1998. It found the .45 ACP to be superior to all lighter, higher velocity rounds. These findings have been mainly ignored.

                Millions of dollars will doubtless be wasted selecting a new calibre.

                Let us just consider for a second what the military needs from a pistol.

• It needs a round that works well at close range.
• It needs a round that can be used effectively with a suppressor.

                Logically it needs a heavy, subsonic round, not a high velocity supersonic round optimised for ranges of more than 75 metres. Only one military pistol round meets those criteria and in addition has a proven combat track record. The .45 ACP.

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Broccoli and Celery really are Horrible. It is Genetic!

                Decades ago President George Bush (senior) commented that he did not like broccoli. The provoked a massive media circus with outraged protests from broccoli growers. Bush seemed somewhat bewildered by this response. “I just don’t like the taste!”. Decades later, his son uses his position to forward his opinion that he dislikes gay marriage. He probably got off lighter than his father!

                The difference between gay marriage and broccoli is that no one has tried to force me to try gay marriage or homosexuality. Broccoli, on the other hand...My aunt gave me a cook book where nearly every recipe uses broccoli. In between the recipes are articles on the miraculous powers of broccoli. Even my nice Chinese take-away sneaks it into my order occasionally. My mother, typically just resorted to threats and bullying, but I held firm.

                It is OK to dislike broccoli! You are in fact in a majority! Broccoli is one of those foods where how it tastes depends on genetic factors. Broccoli contains compounds such as PTC (phenylthiocarbamide). Some people can barely taste them while other people find them repulsive. What is interesting is that the majority of the population can taste them. 70% of the world population can taste (and dislikes!) these compounds. In different regions this varies from 59-75%. Some non-tasters dislike this vegetable too!

          Let me emphasise that this is a genetic thing. Two people can eat the same thing but it will taste totally different to each. Two people can eat the same thing from the same plate and one will think “oh, that is nice” and the other will think “yuck!”. For the majority of the population, they will not like it!

          Celery seems to be another genetically determined taste. Some people talk about “pleasant nutty flavour” while to others it seems metallic. Celery is an ingredient in Marmite and notably even the advertising slogan of this product is “You will either love it or hate it”.

          If you like broccoli and celery, go ahead and eat it. But understand that most of the human race is not tasting the same as you are. If you are going to use these ingredients in a dinner, it is just good manners to find out if your guests are tolerant of them. The chances are they are not! If you are selling food commercially, avoid these things, most of your customers will want to! Stop sneaking it into our food, it is just wasting food and money! Stop forcing it on children, they probably have good reasons not to eat it. To them, it really does taste that bad!

Good Hosts do not serve Broccoli!

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