Toubabou

Well, curiosity may have killed the cat, but I still was motivated to check out Tyler Dumstorf’s web page at MySpace.com. Many news stories have mentioned that he confessed to shooting the two officers on that page. Well, none of them have mentioned that this freshman in high school was listed as being 22 on MySpace.

I don’t believe that government intervention can help in a situation like this, but I do wonder how many incidents it will take before parents and schools ban MySpace from their computers. Without working age verification, none of MySpace’s supposed protections for young people actually work. The children who are most at risk are the most likely to circumvent the feeble verification methods in use at MySpace.

I expect that those who jump the gun have already dashed off to say that I’m blaming MySpace for the shooting. No, don’t be silly. I am saying that, completely unrelated to the shooting, MySpace does not properly protect young people.

No Looking Backwards: What’s In Your Nightstand?

Okay, so I guess I got tagged with this. My nightstand is a small fire-proof safe from Menards. I forget the brand. It has a key, but the key only turns if you also unlock the electronic keypad.

In the safe are about 190 rounds of 9mm and .38/.357 and about 550 rounds of .22LR. 35 of the 9mm rounds are loaded into 3 magazines. I don’t have speed-loaders for the 38 yet.

On top of the nightstand are my lamp (which I made in shop class in 1980-ish) my digital clock (which is of unknown, but really old, origin) and a messy pile of books and magazines. If I’m sleeping, my cell phone is there, too. Current book is The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam and the Crusades, by Robert Spencer. Magazines range from World Magazine to America’s First Freedom, by way of The Limbaugh Letter and Sail. There might occasionally be a Mac|Life or one of diverse Linux mags there, too.

The guns that go with the ammo are in a different safe, and technically not on/in the nightstand.

So, what do you keep in your nightstand? You’re tagged, now.