MacGyver

Is it just me or does anyone else feel like Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt when the walk into that barn at the end of Twister when they go into Cracker Barrel? I always feel like something is about to fall on my head.

The longer life goes on, the fewer chances you get to just pack up with the wife for a short vacation. Some of our Memphis folks can weigh in on the area, but a lot of the hotels downtown are dog friendly. Go have fun.

They probably patched that thing up and put it back out there the same afternoon

It's amazing how much we've learned about radiation safety in the last 50 years. It kind of makes you wonder what we're doing today that 50 years from now we'll look back and say, "we just didn't know any better." Cell phones come immediately to mind.

When I was a kid, one of my favorite things to do was to go with my grandfather to the jet base at Hartsfield where he was a pilot for Delta. He had helped Delta make the transition to the jet age, and as he was also a Colonel in the reserve, so it seemed like everyone knew him. He was completely non assuming and one of the most humble people I've ever known, but he might as well have been a celebrity around there. I used to love going into the machine shops down there where they actually made things in real time. It was amazing to see those guys weld wearing ties.

Plus, you can TIG weld in your Sunday clothes...

The Station Inn is an American treasure.

I've sort of come to the conclusion that lower Broadway is a chariacture of everything. Nothing you see there is authentic. I live about 7 miles from there and almost never go down there. Recently I took my kids to a birthday party that was happening at a restaurant down there. After walking down lower Broad, my six year old looked at me and said, "Dad, what was that place?"

How in the world in 2017 does a manufacturer design and build a production gun that fails a drop test? W. Edwards Deming must be rolling in his grave.

Yeah, I figured for the sake of this conversation if we're talking about mini-shells, single round changeovers and the like may be too much to digest. You're dead on, though. Getting the wrong round out of the gun to replace it with the right one is an act that takes a ton of practice. I'd be willing to guess most people have never even seen - much less considered how to do a slug changeover.

I've always been a fan of the Silver Pigeons. I've got an old Winchester 101 that breaks stuff pretty well, too.

This looks like a great event!

I fear we're entering a dark time for democracy the world over. Y'all pay attention. This stuff matters.

Good on them for actually supporting their customer. I can think of companies that I'd love to get that level of service from. Heck, I think of plenty of companies where I'd love to borrow a barrel nut wrench (I'm looking at you Knight's Armament.)

Cool. That review was funny. I bet loaning the customer a barrel wrench every time is a pain...

I'd spend some time on AliExpress. I'd be surprised if it doesn't yield answers. Are there no markings on the handguard anywhere? That's generally an indication of an airsoft part - as they're trying to keep from getting confiscated for infringement at customs.

Have you done a loose hand fitting of the nut on to the receiver to see if the threads match? I think you've got a cheap airsoft part. Your mileage may vary trying to put it on real steel.

That's a neat story, Doug. Having grown up outside of Tennessee, I missed Tennessee history in elementary school. What a mess.

I'd bet that if we played our cards right we could hit Central, the BBQ shop and Germantown Commissary all in one day. Somebody else is going to have to drive home, though...

Maybe we could carpool over there and at least get some Central Barbecue with Chucktshoes after it's done.

Man, just slap a sign on the house, put out a donation box and go ahead and make it a museum. I'd pay $10 to go see all that...

I used to try to carve out room for capital punishment in extreme cases where there was no shadow of doubt. But, that "shadow of doubt" is an interesting phrase. It's interesting how many of the exonerations I've read about left none at the time - after all to be convicted of a capital crime, that's the burden - you must convince a jury of 12 peers unanimously that there is no shadow of doubt. But then a witness recants. Or a witness comes forward to having been pressured to tell a particular version of a story in exchange for a deal. Or evidence is withheld. Or forensic or lab results are tainted. Or whatever... The list simply goes on and on. With all of that, I'm with Capbyrd that I simply do not trust my government to only apply the death penalty to perpetrators of heinous crimes. But, I'll also expand on the rest of my thought process a bit - as it's evolved over the years. As a person who believes that none of us are the worst versions of ourselves - that has to expand to believing that no one is only the product of worst thing they've ever done. Sometimes actions have immediate consequences. If you get shot by a homeowner as you threaten their family - well, sometimes big actions have big consequences. But, a redemptive and restorative philosophy of incarceration means that we seek justice - and realize that it may in fact take a long time. There are some people that should probably never be let out of jail. I'm sure there are some that would choose to be put to death as opposed to spending the rest of their natural life in prison. There are no easy answers. But, I'm convinced as a civil society that capital punishment shouldn't be a part of it.

Just a reminder to do like your mama taught you - and play nice. We can certainly disagree with one another - but doing so should follow the same rules as it would if it were to happen at the dinner table. Be respectful, be prepared to back up your arguments, and avoid personal attacks. Otherwise, don't be surprised when people quit inviting you to dinner...

Worth considering in this argument - though it could be a thread in it's own right. This article in the Times this morning mentions that of the 166 exonerations in 2016, 70 involved government or prosecutorial misconduct. The case cited involves Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich - regarding a case that set her on her upward trajectory politically... https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/08/01/magazine/she-was-convicted-of-killing-her-mother-prosecutors-withheld-the-evidence-that-would-have-freed-her.html?referer=https://t.co/mlRL0Wmk5v?amp=1

Forget the evidence that taking a case all the way from trial to death row to the execution chamber is way more expensive than maintaining a prisoner for life without parole. Forget the moral arguments - for or against the death penalty. With the exonerations we've seen over the last few years regarding new evidence, tainted forensics and dishonest prosecutions, I simply do not trust our government to kill people. Again, there are people who should almost certainly spend the rest of their days where they cannot do harm to the rest of the population. But, even in those cases I'd argue against the death penalty. At some point it's not about them - it's about us as a society.