Rob Boudrie

I found an extra gun in my bag at the end of a match once. Fortunately, I was able to track down the owner who had a very similar looking gun bag that was short a gun.

Stop by the Dillon factory - the showroom's neat, the people are absolutely wonderful and if you get really lucky they'll give you a tour of Mike's hanger.

One of the local shooters started the "mine's bigger" game at our weekly practice, but the game ended when one regular started showing up with his Cerbu. It's a basic single shot bolt action 50BMG, serial # 6xx, with a very simple design and an AR style trigger group. But, it's a 50, and loads of fun. The owner seems to think it is impolite to charge for ammo - I really wish he would let people pay him for the fodder - I fear he will get tired of bringing it out.

It's been a really interesting night on the server. I found a couple of strange problems: (1) The server was hung when I tried to get on this morning - it responded to a "ping" but nothing else. I power cycled the box using the remote power strip control provided by our ISP and it came up. (2) One file in the "mailman" subsystem was replaced with something completely different, which broke the mailing list system. I have no idea how this happened, and the file that replaced it would not convey any advantage to a hacker. (3) A couple of the MySQL tables, including the classification table, had an internal problem with the key structure. The analysis and repair utility fixed this in short order, and I ran diagnostics on all other tables on the server just in case. This sort of problem can occur when a system is unexpectedly and uncleanly shut down. I'm not sure what happened, but I'll be paying close attention to the server for a few days (it anything happens tomorrow AM, it will have to wait until about 2PM since I'm going to a match in the morning). Most importantly, no credit card data is stored on, or transitions through, the USPSA.ORG server, so even if this was a hacker, our member's credit card numbers are not endangered.

The server hosting company is currently resolving a server problem, and the database went down during this process. I will be checking the system regularly tonite to make sure it it working properly, however, there may be temporary outages.

Pickup truck, under the shooter, engine running and transmission engaged during the course of fire. Due to the complexities of keeping things identical for mulitple shooters, we do not do this at our Area Championship, but is has been done successfully at sectional matches with great success. ----------------- A more unique prop is the swingset Square Deal Sportsmen built a few years ago which used a swing with a 4x8 foot steel platform, and room for props, shooter, range officer, seat and table on the swing. Add a couple of swinging targets, and you have three axis movement - fore/aft and up/down from the platform and left/right from the swingers. This reminded me of college mechanics courses, except that nobody was asking me to calculate moments of intertia. (ooops... just noticed IDPA in the title - this was USPSA - oh well, the props may be worth leaving in the thread)

The area 7 championship is nearly full. I spoke to the match director tonite, and there is "wiggle room" on Friday if we are technically "full" (there is room for one more squad, and some of the staff will probably shoot on Thursday), but Sat/Sun openings will only be added if there are cancellations - see www.uspsa.org/squadding -------------- Now, on to nerd stuff. We will have the Clubhouse Area Network available at Area 7 again this year. We will be using Palm scoring, and posting results to an internal network on a regular basis throughout the day (there may not be interim posts on Friday since the stats crew will be shooting, but we will have results up almost immediately thereafter). If you don't want to wait for access to one of the systems we will have set up for shooters in the clubhouse, or want to browse scores at length, feel free to bring your own wireless laptop (b or g), and look for the website "http://match.a7" which will resolve within the local network. [ MySql/Perl/Php source code available on request if anyone wants to try setting this up at other matches ] Rob

It's down, but coming up now. This one is purely my goof - I thought the window in which I ran the "init 0" command was attached to one of my Linux boxes at home. I was wrong about that . The reboot is now in progress. This was not a crash, so no data was lost.

BCC - Before Columbia Conference ACC - After Columbia Conference

SSL - Secure Sockets Layer - this is the encryption protocol used for secure web pages (those which begin "https:" instead of "http") SSH - Secure Shell - This allows you to log into a server using an encrypted connection/ SCP - Secure Copy - Allows you to put and get files to the server using a secure connection. The security of SSL and SSH can be reduced if you use FTP (unsecure) to maintain the content at your site instead of an encrypted communication such as SCP.

Nope - has nothing to do with Christianity.

Perhaps the calendar should be renamed to BCC and ACC. Let's see who is first to figure these out.

It's amazing how common it is for webmasters to maintain a secure site using FTP utilizing the same password which can be used to obtain access to the credit card data. The worst I ever saw was a site which offered "secure e-commerce services" for vendors - they accepted encrypted customer orders and then forwarded them, including credit card number , via unencrypted email, to the vendor for processing. If you want to have fun with a supposedly "secure" vendor, you can always ask: - Do you have any ports other than 80 and 443 open on your server? - Do you ever use Telnet to access your system? - Do you ever use FTP to access your system? If you do so, is the password you use via Telnet and/or FTP separate and distinct from the one used to access credit card info? - What procedures do you use to keep up to date on security patches? In general, the Amazons and Schwabs of this world tend to be pretty good at this sort of thing (not perfect - pretty good). The on-line vendor who is likley to offer only the illusion of security is the one which uses a canned package without understanding the more subtle issues. USPSA does not even pretend to have the time to set up a secure server - we subcontract that aspect of our operation to companies that specialize in that sort of thing. (But, I could have easily set up a site as secure as 90+% of the small business e-commerce sites which are now out there)

Ok, I'll add my peeve: Companies that think they are secure becuase the offer a SSL (https:) connection, but don't: - Close down other ports on the server - Maintain the site via FTP, and insecurely transmit the root password - Allow a non-secure connection to access the credit card entry page - Don't "harden" servers with credit card info and then - Pretend they have a secure sight, and try to impress you with the strength of the encryption algorithm. This is sort of like a safe company talking about how tough their door is while offering minimal resistance to entry through the side door to the safe.

I picked up 5 more registrations at the PO box today. This looks like it is going to be a record turnout for an Area 7 Championship, and will almost certainly sellout all weekend slots.

I'm not disagreeing with the CFR hazmat definitions. What I was trying to say is that "ORM-D, Cartridges, Small Arms" does not trigger the UPS requirements for Hazmat treatment (Hazmat surcharge on each shipping; shipment accepted from contract hazmat shipper only). Powder, Primers, and various other items do trigger these requirements. Definitions can very depending on the context. Here in Massachusetts, a rifle is not a firearm; a can of pepper spray is ammunition; and a handgun frame without other parts is not a firearm if you are looking at state law. Adding to the definition confusion, the MA license to posess a low capacity rifle is called a "Firearms ID Card", even though such a weapon is not a firearm. Go figure. Looking at Federal definitions gets a different answer. This state is so messed up they'd probably pull my plate as obscene if they knew what it stood for .

I thought this was a SHOOTING FORUM. Why then do some of our lady members list icons of the gun control movement on their dream list?

Erik You're lucky or crafty ... maybe both. What I found on Big Brown's web page under Hazardous Goods said they will only accept HazMat shippments from clients with contracts for that type of service and they will not accept them from individuals or at the routine "UPS Stores". I prefer to use FedEx ... Even so, some interesting (?) new regulations went into effect 1 Jan 05. If they start enforcing them, we're all going to have some problems! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Loaded ammo is not "hazmat" according to UPS tarriffs (although separate powder and primers are). UPS depots should take it, but "pack and sends", including the ubuquitous "UPS "Store" (formerly "Mailboxes etc.") will not. One of the reasons for the "contract shipper only" requirement on hazmat is an onerous contract - if the shipment leaks or causes damage, the shipper agrees to pay all costs of cleanup without limitation of any kind, even if UPS is clearly at fault for the spill. I got this info from a business owner who would not use UPS to ship hazmat because of these terms.

I picked up 11 new applications from the PO box on the way to work this morning. It looks like a record Area 7 turnout, and weekend slots will almost certainly be a sellout. Rob

We at an all time high in terms of the number of individuals with currently active memberships. When I was a HQ two weeks ago, the number was just tiny bit under 15,000 - I wouldn't be surprised if it's already hit the 15,000 mark.

Dillon used to supply those little blue tabs with the presses - I think they were discontinued.

Telephone poles are often run along property lines. My guess is that these are large cement washers places around the base of the poles to prevent vegitation from growing right next to the poles or perhaps to prevent animals from digging there. If the line of poles was subsequently removed, they would have used a large pole grabber, and not dug up the washers. This is just a guess ... I don't know if such washers are used in setting telephone poles. One thing I would suggest is to check the location of these items. If they were evenly spaced it would be additional evidence to support this theory.

The big limitations with Dell refurbs: 1. The "unconditional return period" is shorter. It's normally 21 days (used to be 30), and is only 14 on refurbs. 2. Refurbs are sold "as is". You can buy other stuff to add to them, but you can't change the config (for example, change a 200gb drive to a 250gb drive and pay the difference, or pay the delta to upgrade XP Home to XP Pro). I think you're even stuck with the original service plan which was originally sold with the system. Other than that, I have never heard of someone having a problem with a Dell refurb. I think they are mostly "changed my mind" returns. Also, "refurbng'" includes Dell resetting the system to the original "out of the box" software state. If you find a good deal on one, go for it!!

It does not appear that we will be able to have direct ammo shipment available in time for the 2005 nationals

I believe that the "one year only" on the 1050 has always been the written word. I very much doubt that Dillon would ever go back on any written promise as they are an honorable company. The matter of "verbally assuring" that the policy would "never be enforced on a home user" was probably a flaw in customer service training - or perhaps the concept of actually enforcing it was never anticipated. I ordered a few very small parts for my 1050 by phone and was told "No, we will not send these for free." BUT.... they were excellent about sending out a free replacement when they sent an incorrect part (the sent a regular allen bolt instead of a shoulder bolt). More imporant to me than "free or not" is that I can get any obscure part replaced quickly and reliably. If you think that's the norm, just try calling any of the major firearms companies and saying "I'd like to order a firing pin and extractor. Will those ship today, or will I have to wait until tomorrow for the shipment to go out?"