Tuesday, March 10, 2015

The rise to power continues...


Expect some action on this list likely before 2016.

Thursday, March 05, 2015

He lived long and prospered. Leonard Nimoy 1931 - 2015

I had a rough draft of Leonard Nimoy's obituary saved here for a while now, but I deleted it on Friday. Instead it was recommended to me that because thousands if not millions of people would be writing and paying tribute to him over the following few days, my own impression of the man would be lost in a sea of lists of his extraordinary accomplishments, artistry and impact on the human race. So instead I took my time until I could say what Leonard Nimoy meant to me.

Amongst other things Leonard Nimoy was a soldier, an actor, director, photographer and poet. To me he represented the face of Star Trek, even before I watched the show or embraced science fiction in general my teens. Leonard Nimoy's characterisation of Dr. Spock [that's not an error that's what I thought he was called] has such an impact it was literally all I knew about Star Trek before the time I began a passive-aggressive bullying campaign against Dave, a school-chum because he liked Star Trek and I often drew pictures of him with "Spock ears".

To negate the bullying Dave asked me to watch Star Trek: The Next Generation it first came on TV and see what I was mocking. So I did. The bullying stopped on Monday morning afterwards. Just over 12 months later I was wearing a Starfleet Uniform in public and people were calling me "Lt. Commander", I shit you not.

I needed a fix like a drug addict. So for about 26 weeks Dave who was now my pusher/supplier had to make me a video tape with three episodes of the Original Series on it so I could properly embrace all of Star Trek. Before long I had acquired enough knowledge to begin forming my own opinion and like all Star Trek fans, the arguments and differences of opinions surfaced, but now all in good fun.


He was never my favourite Character, but due entirely to Leonard Nimoy's performance I certainly was able to identify with Spock more than any other - he was very weird, says a lot of weird shit but once you get to know him and accept him he was a friend. That's also pretty much what I think about Star Trek as a whole and I've discovered it's also actually how more than one person has described ME.

"Of my friend, I can only say this: Of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, his was the most.... human" - Adm. James T. Kirk, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Wednesday, March 04, 2015

Hot porn right here, right now [SFW]

That's right, time for something new on the Bunker. PORN!

Well GUN-PORN [is there a better kind?]. Beretta revealed this sexy little piece at the IDEX (International Defence Exhibition and Conference) in Abu Dhabi last week, the Beretta APX - their their first full-size striker pistol.

The gorgeous 7.55-inch-long APX is a striker fired pistol built on a chassis system.  The just over 4.25 inch long barrel is cold-hammer forged with nitriding surface treatment on all the steel parts. Beretta describes the operation as semi-auto, tilting barrel locking system using a non-pre-cocked striker block.

The serialized stainless steel chassis is encased with a fiberglass reinforced polymer frame and this helps to reduce the weight. With an empty magazine loaded, the APX weighs about 26.8 ounces in the 9 mm versions and just over 26.8 ounces in the .40 S&W variant.

To accommodate different hand sizes, there are three sizes of removable backstraps and grips. Each option provides a different palm swell and length of pull for the user. For those wearing heavy gloves, the trigger guard opening is designed to make that possible. APX also features coarse slide serration making cocking with cumbersome gloves easier.

The trigger, designed to be flatter and wider than others in the striker-fired pistol space, has a pull weight of about 6 pounds. The trigger travel is 6 mm, with reset at 3.

The weapon has the standard 1913 Picatinny rail for accessory mounting. Sights will be a standard three-dot combat sight system with a unique mounting system. For one handed slide cycling, there’s a rear sight ninety-degree face. 

Fieldstripping and switching components should be super easy. Triggerless disassembly is one of the advantages of striker-fired pistols and the APX has enhanced safety with the ability to disassemble without pulling the trigger. There is a disconnector pin on the rear right side of the pistol under the breech.

Christmas is just over nine months away folks :)