Ready to go

Well, it's getting pretty close to that time - I expect I'll be heading out something pretty close to the 9th of June (plus or minus a day).

I'd be leaving THIS week, except that I let somebody borrow my alcohol stove, and the idiot managed to step on it and squish it beyond usability. Much to my surprise, he readily accepted responsibility and has paid for a replacement; the new one is arguably better than the one I had, so I'm not too put out by the delay.

The new stove should be here the early part of next week at the latest, so with a couple of days to deal with last-minute stuff and packing, I should be ready to go Thursday of next week. Per my itinerary, I'll be starting out at Storrie Lake. Since it's in the immediate vicinity of Las Vegas, New Mexico, I'll have something approximating civilization handy while I do my shakedown campout. I'll do another post here right before I leave; after that, it's going to be catch as catch can. :-)

Gun Control is being able to hit your target.

When I was first getting started on this little journey of mine, one of the things that I recognised the need for was bear spray. As part of learning what I could about it so I could make an intelligent and informed decision about which one to buy, I naturally wondered what the difference was between BEAR pepper spray and DEFENSE pepper spray.

What I learned is that, essentially, there is none: both are capsicum sprays meant to deter or disable whatever they're sprayed at/on. The big difference between them seems to be primarily the container - and more specifically, how it works. Personal defense pepper spray is generally fired in a stream or narrow spray for a relatively short distance; Bear spray goes out as more of a fog and appreciably farther (keep the bear farther away).

Interestingly, both products would seem to be capable of being used in the other situation - at least, theoretically (bear spray comes in a MUCH larger cannister to compensate).

So where am I going with all this?

One of the things I found during my research is that a lot of bear spray dealers will NOT sell to anyone in New York City, Washington (DC), and other locations that have laws prohibiting the ownership/carrying/use of "defensive" pepper spray (among other potential weapons - all an extension of anti-gun sentiments).
When I learned that little detail, I got off on a tangent of why... and ultimately ended up learning about Warren v. District of Columbia, and a few others. Basically, no less that the U.S. Supreme Court (and a multitude of similar judgements) have ruled that:

(the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that local law-enforc­ement had no duty to protect individual­s, but only a general duty to enforce the laws.) South v. Maryland, 59 U.S. (How.) 396, 15 L.Ed.433

The consensus is that this means that while the police and other law enforcement have a duty and obligation to protect the public in general, any failure on their part to do so does not make them liable in a court of law (i.e. you can't sue them for not protecting you INDIVIDUALLY).

So here we are in an "interesting" situation: if you get mugged, shot, killed, raped, or experience some other Bad Thing, you are not allowed to seek redress against the police - yet places like NYC, DC, and others are telling you that you can't have anything even remotely effective to protect yourself. Wait... what?

Is it me, or is there a pretty big disconnect there: I can't EXPECT protection by the police, according to the courts, but local government is telling me I can't have anything to defend MYSELF with?

Fuck that.

I'm carrying my bear spray everywhere, and if some shitbird tries to rob me, he's getting a face full of capsicum; if law enforcement has a problem with that, then I'm perfectly willing to let a jury decide whether the government has the right to tell me I have to be a victim or not - and, hopefully, throw out an unjust statute. As Dave Barry says, I am not making this up: juries can do that, even though the courts don't like to admit it.

Rarin' to go

I'm semi-busy with taking care of niggling little details before heading out roughly the first week of June; stuff like:

• Trying to find the old-fashioned "strike anywhere" kitchen (wooden) matches - there's a plentiful supply of that size in strike-on-box, but it's proving somewhat tougher to find the good kind. Why do I have this suspicion that the product safety protect-us-from-ourselves bunch are involved?
• Making sure my GPS data logger works as advertised. I was thinking about an actual GPS unit, but learned that the ones in my price range stiff suffer from one notable defect: the software for them (and data formats) is pretty much exclusively Windows-based. Manufacturers of hardware that can be hooked up to computers are still having trouble accepting that the whole world doesn't use Microsoft (or, sometimes, rarely, Macs); it's something I'm used to, running Linux. Don't like it, of course, but I'm used to it. So instead of buying somebody's nice GPS unit, I went with a basic data logger that actually plays well with my Linux laptop. Too bad for you, Garmin.
• Enlarging my collection of ebooks (now up to 1200+) and movies (178 and growing).
• Checking all my gear to make sure it's in good shape, like re-sealing the seams in my tent, that my assorted tie-downs aren't frayed, etc.
• I've got the basic non-perishable supplies topped off (i.e. alcohol for my stove, T.P., etc).
• I've got maps for the places I'm going (USGS, suitable for land navigation).
• All my assorted batteries are fully charged.
• Anything that can be damaged/destroyed by water is inside a watertight container.

And so on. It isn't anything major or bothersome, since I take care of my gear as I go along; what I'm doing now is mostly to kill time, actually.

One thing I have added to my gear is something called a KnotBone. It's something so simple and versatile that it actually impressed me -- particularly considering the price. I haven't gone all gung-ho with them, but I did buy a package of my own to give them a "real world" try.

Anyway, once I hit the road, I'll be posting as often as I can, with links to my GPS data and geotagged photos.

UPDATE 20110515: just using this update to see if I can include a link to a Google Earth file. The file is just the results of when I took my GPS data logger out for a test drive, and doesn't have any noteworthy significance.

Meh.

Windy season is still in effect (supposed to taper off by the end of the month, thankfully), which isn't as bad as the fact that Northern New Mexico is still getting mountain snow. My sleeping bag is only rated to 30F, so I'm not real wild about going camping in the wind AND snow (even with my surplus Army blanket for extra cover).

Guess it's going to be another couple of weeks (hopefully ONLY a couple of weeks) before I can get started.

Pride

Never, in my entire life, will I be as proud of being a Navy vet as I am right now -- knowing that it was Navy Seals that put an end to the reign of Osama bin Laden.

My only regret is that the chicken-shit, goat-fucking, pork-eating cocksucker couldn't be brought back  to be tried in a court of LAW, convicted, and executed publicly.