Rob Boudrie

It's going to be tough when there is such a clear conflict between what the constitution requires and the "desired" public policy.

My prediction: The take a pass on the case, leaving the gun ban overturned in DC, but not affecting other jurisdictions where bans are based on "state's rights". This would seem to be the only way out for the court where the disconnect between that the constitution requires, and the "desired outcome" of increased government power, are in such clear conflict.

Just be sure she doesn't explain the meaning of the second amendment to students until she has received tenure, professional status, or whatever they call the job security threshold in your state that prevents discretionary non-renewal of employment.

The alises are IPSC aliases, for the international classification system (ICS). They are accessible on the USPSA site through a cooperative arragement with IPSC.

I got the hard sell from a bank on the debit card - it was interesting watching the "non answer" when I asked "If there is an unauthorized charge on the debit card, will you refund all bounced check fee as well as indemnify me for any bounced check fees imposed by third parties which we caused by your permitting an unauthorized withdrawl?" Same bank tried to convince me on-line banking was safe. They did not have an answer when I asked "what about that term in the customer agreement you want me to sign where I state that any use of my password, however obtained, is agreed by me to be authorized usage?"

Take their current domain name, add "sucks" before the ".com", register it and get low cost web hosting to explain the issue. Soon enough, it will show up on google searches when people start looking for them. I once had a company (not in the gun business) fail to return my calls for three weeks. I called the company and told the person who kept taking messages with no action "Tell you president this is what will happen on the internet tonite. He has one hour to have someone call me or my plan goes into action. Got that written down? Thanks. It's your move - my next action won't be another phone call to you, as this is your last chance to call me before I start building a website." It took 20 minutes to get a call back, and 48 hours to get my problem that had been festering for weeks resolved.

My wife told me the only way I would get a second dog to keep my first dog company (here's the current dog: www.fsguns.com/images/simon.jpg) would be to find a Mini Schnauzer. It's a good thing I made it to the local sectional this year, since there was a "mini schanuzers for sale" sign posted by the side of the road on the way home. I put my name in before the dog was born, and even convinced the seller to leave the tail attached (all his littermates had their tails docked). It seems strange people would want their dogs detailed, but I hear it's common with that breed.

My HP 2015dn definitely has a chip that counts pages. I thought it shutdown the printing when it reached 0, since the cartridge didn't finish by slowly going bad - it just stopped working. I found some references on the net that claim the chip on this cartridge gives an advisory note only - I'll check more carefully next time. The refill kit came with a new chip and the XL quantity of toner, so I ended up with a cartridge showing 7000 pages left when I check the status screen and full to the brim with toner. Refill kits are more like 1/4 to 1/3 for many printers. Where they really shine is with newer cartridge models that have not been around long enough for places like www.lasermonks.com to have refills available.

If you want something else to really hate, just Google for info on the failed Lexmark case. The short version: Lexmark brought legal action alleging that refilling toner cartridges and resetting or replacing the "killer chip" so that they would work in Lexmark printers was a violation of DMCA (Google for that as well if you don't recognize it). Another Lexmark trick was selling shrink wrap terms that stated the buyer agreed to return the cartridge to Lexmark (and concurrently selling higher prices versions without the license term) to prevent theft through re-use.

USPSA does not yet have the source, but Peter has expressed a willingness to make it happen. We still need to come up with a description of what conditions would allow USPSA to distribute the software directly. We do have direct access to his programmer, so there are two contact points down under that have the source. The first thing I would do if USPSA gets the source is set up a development environment as source code is useless until you prove you can build the product from it . As to "if you know the language" - I never saw Powerbuilder before USPSA sent me the source. It took 4 days to get to the point where I was able to modify it and add features. I'm no expert at Powerbuilder, but starting in an unknown to me language was not a major obstacle. ps: The Palm scoring program is written in "C". The trick is leadnign the build environment, dealing with the APIs, and the separately built PC resident DLL used for transfer of data.

I used www.tonerrefillkits.com - this is cheaper than a remanufactured cartridge, since it's just a bottle of toner, a plug for the hole you melt to get fill access, and a new killer chip. You need to buy their soldering iron tool once (a soldering iron with a custom curring fixture on the front, which is really jus a 1/2" copper pipe end cap with sharpened edges that heats up) the first time you fill, and each cartridge is good for 3 or 4 fills. This is also an excellent option for the new printers where there are not yet enough used cartridges to support a refurb market.

The short firing pin is the giveaway - you do have that feature. The screw is inside the firing pin channel (the firing pin runs through it). Use a T handled 1/8" allen wrench if you wish to remove it.

I hate the HP toner scam. I have a really nice laser printer with a 3500 print rated cartridge. Guess what? When it hits exactly 3500 pages, the cartridge shuts off to prevent me stealing by using the leftover toner to print more pages. Fortunately, I was able to buy an after market drill and fill kit that included a replacement for the killer chip. The entire concept still sucks though.

Competitor registration originates in EzWinScore and transfers to the Palms. Stages designs originate in the Palms and transfer to EzWinScore (You will need to change the "classifier" setting on a stage in EzWinScore if you have defined a classifier in the Palm). The reason the stages start in the Palm is that the Palm has more stage detail - a stage of 3 targets with 2 hits each is not the same as one with 2 targets of 3 hits each from the Palm perspective, but it is the same from EzWinScore's point of view.

Try going to any other retailer and saying: "There is a product I wish to buy, but the vendor deals only with retailers. I realize you sell the same or similar products. I would like to use your services to have the product shipped to your store and pay you a fee that is substantially less than your usual margin on that type of product to handle the transfer of the product to me" and see how far you get.

This is not correct. When you transfer scores from the Palm, you are not transferring registration data. The way walk-ins are handled is as follows: 1. Create walk-ins in EzWinScore when creating a match. An EzWinScore allows you do to this in batches of 10 (easier than doing it manually). You will transfer the entire registration list to the Palm before starting the match. (stage designs are entered on the Palm, and transferred to EzWinScore) 2. When you have a Walk-in competitor, change their name in EzWinScore ONLY. Use that competitor number on the Palm (the automatically created ones have names like "Walking Z234", etc. but it can be any name you wish) when you score the competitor. 3. When the data is synced from the Palms, only scores and times are transferred, not names. The score from competitor 123 in the Palm is transferred to competitor 123 in EzWinScore, etc. Walk-ins are very easy to handle as long as you have the "placeholder" competitors defined. At the conclusion of the match, you can use an EzWinScore feature that will delete all competitors for whom no scores have been entered on any stage (which makes it very easy to remove the no-shows, and the walkin placeholders that were not used). Rob

Squads form EzWinScore do get transferred to the Palms. The local matches (40-90 shooters) at the local club don't use the squadding feature in the Palm. We write the shooting order on a target with competitor numbers and leave that with the range bags at each stage. The RO uses the "select competitor bu number" feature. This allows match staff to register people and transfer the registrations to the Palm while the squads are forming. Generally the prepared Palms arrive shortlybefore the squads are fully in place.

Is there any reason you still need to use Excell, now that EzWinScore has integrated support for transfer with the Palms?

This is not a problem. The Palms are used for DATA COLLECTION. The correctness of the division in the Palm is irrelevant, since the division for the competitor stored in EzWinScore is the one used for preparation of results. Ditto for power factor. I'll have to check to see if the lastest update transfers SS, but it really isn't necessary.

Getting machines wet or dropping them is bad (but the screens can be operated through baggies). We've been using them at local matches at the Harvard, MA club all year without paper backup and have yet to toss a stage due to Palm failure. The 2008 rulebook will allow this procedure at Level I matches, but requires a paper log of times and hits (totals only) at Level II and Level III matches. There are no known interface problems. EzWinScore now has "native integration", which means you do not have to go through a 10 step (approx) process with MS/Access. Three gun is also supported. I'm trying to get Peter to publish a clear and simple to understand cost structure and both cost level, and confusion as to what the cost actually is, have impeded acceptance. You need one per squad, a master and a spare - but, since the IIIxe is about $35 on ebay (yes, I know ebay sucks because they refuse to expose themselves to contingency fee litigation by selling gun parts) I recommend keeping a couple of spares.

Precision Delta makes a "long loaded" 40 specifically for SxI and Para guns.

Newer Glocks have a 15 degree cut the ejection port and extractor - older ones are a 90 degrees or 0 degrees, depending on which axis you use as your point of reference. New style extractors will work in these old glocks without modification, but there will be a cosmetic mismatch. Glock retrofits the 15 degree cut only to the Glock 21 - it's considered unnecessary on other mode Glocks. They also recontour the ridge in the middle center of the underside of the slide. Although these changed reduce the corrosion resistance in these areas, they are necessary to bring these older Glock 21's "up to spec" and, fortunately, the upgrade service including the machine work and installation of the new style extractor is provided by Glock at no charge.

I am aware of a couple of cases where there were deaths at a shooting range - in both cases, it was a heart attack, not a ballistically induced subcutaneous aperture, that caused the demise. Although it makes sense to prepare for every emergency, the unique issues specific to firing ranges should not blind organizers to the other sorts of medical emergencies that present an unavoidable risk. If you're into covering the contingencies with every imaginable tool, an AED would be useful. I don't have double blind peer reviewed statistical studies to prove it, however, my guess is that you are more likely to have a life threating medical incident at a USPSA match due to non-firearms related causes that from shootings.

UPS will not accept a HazMat shipment unless you have "hazardous shipper" contract with them which, among other things, means you agree to cover any cost of a Hazmat cleanup from any incident which occurs during shipping, even it it's the fault of UPS.

So if someone screwes you over on a paypal sale, all you have to do is buy something else form them and enter a comment like "Thanks for the ammo - this armor piercing stuff worked even better than I expected" when making payment in the Paypal system.