Whole buncha new guns for ‘08:

22 Charger - a pistol version of the 10/22. Neat, though not really my thing. I’m sure the aftermarket will come up with lots of wild mods for these.

SR9 with blackened stainless slide - Melonite/Tenifer/carbonitriding is fast becoming the standard finish on modern hanguns, so it’s logical for Ruger to get on board. It’s slightly disappointing that they haven’t (yet) announced compact, .40 or .45 versions of the SR9.

.300 and .338 Ruger Compact Magnum cartridges - Yes, this is EXACTLY what the world needs; another .300 Magnum cartridge. With the selection currently limited to .300 Win Mag, .300 Weatherby, .300 H&H, .308 Norma Mag, .300 WSM, .300 SAUM, .300 Dakota, .300 Ultra Mag and a half-dozen others, I’m glad Ruger and Hornady stepped up to offer some real VARIETY.

The .338 version is slightly less silly, splitting the difference between the .338 Federal, .338-06 and .338 Win Mag. But really, that’s a pretty small niche to target. I predict we’ll see these new rounds fall by the wayside within 3-5 years.

50th Anniversary Bearcat - A pretty run-of-the-mill commemorative. Bearcats are cute little guns, though.

.480 Ruger Super Redhawk - Actually a reintroduction, this time with five-shot (instead of six-shot) cylinders. The six-shooter versions had problems with fired cases sticking in the chambers. In examining the problem, Ruger finally realized what custom gunsmiths discovered decades ago: the five shot geometry offers significant advantages for big-bore, high-pressure revolvers.

The five-shot cylinder does two important things: it puts more steel in between chambers, and it puts the bolt cuts BETWEEN chambers, rather than directly over them. That eliminates the weakest part of the cylinder; on revolvers like Colt SAAs in .45 Colt, the cylinder wall is almost paper-thin at the bolt cuts.

Note that Freedom Arms and gunsmiths like John Linebaugh have been doing this since at least the early ’80s; it took Ruger 25 years to catch on.

SP101 in .327 Federal - Another new cartridge of dubious value; Ruger and Hornady took the commercially-unsuccessful .32 H&R Mag, lengthened it by 1/8″ and put it in the SP101. Those who have been into guns for a while may recall that Ruger previously offered the SP101 in .32 H&R Mag but discontinued it several years back. I think history will repeat itself.

4″ Redhawks in .45 Colt - Hell yes. THIS I can get excited about. Ruger premiered the same gun in .44 Magnum last year and it got my attention, but I prefer the .45 over the .44 (It’s better because it’s one more!). As long as they don’t foul it up by adding a key lock, I WILL have one. I’ll also have to buy some proper grips for it, since those rubber things are just too ugly to live.

More coverage over at The Firearm Blog.

Not two days after I tell someone I’d like a Buckaroo Banzai poster for Christmas, I find out that Peter Weller just emceed a fundraiser for the Brady Bunch.

I haven’t been this disillusioned since I found out that animal crackers aren’t really made from animals.

Today’s Talk of the Nation will have a segment on Castle Doctrine laws.

Audio should be available at 6 PM ET here.

Since it’s NPR, you can guess which way they’re going to spin it…

Update: You can listen here. Some truly absurd comments here. My favorite:

Maybe I’d shoot, if I lived in fear, if I had a gun. But I’d shoot the foot~ to wound NOT KILL

I’m glad you don’t have a gun, then. If you’re justified to shoot at all you should be shooting to stop. Not to kill, not to wound, but to stop the threat.

Why didn’t any of you tell me that kittens can cry like babies?

The Venture Bros. Christmas special is on Adult Swim tonight at midnight:

Doctor Venture (after the Krampus licks Triana’s face): What kind of kinky christmas spirit is that?!

Doctor Orpheus: It is Germanic in origin.

And there’s a Venture Bros. Wiki now!

This is Clancy. He’s six weeks old and 1.6 pounds. He’s going to be living with me.

The vet wormed him today and gave him a dose of flea stuff (there weren’t any visible fleas, but he was a stray and we’re playing it safe). Otherwise, he’s healthy and happy. He goes back in two weeks for his first vaccinations. Rommel, my Dobe/GSD mix, is slowly coming to terms with the n00b. I predict they’ll eventually become friends.

Also official: my job. I picked up my ID badge, parking pass and keys today. I start after New Years.

And even more officialler: Grades are in. A, A+, A+, A+.

Things are looking up.

Yeah, I’m sure you’re all sick of cat stuff by now. Too bad.

I’m seriously thinking about keeping the little furball. I’m not really a cat person, but this one’s cool. And as GeorgeH pointed out, if he’s raised with a dog he might decide he IS a dog.

Just watching him change over the course of 36 hours was remarkable. He went from a trembling, starving, helpless critter to a happy, purring, highly affectionate poop factory. Little guy even knows to poop on the litter already.

So, cat owners: am I going to regret this later?

Today is Tea Party ‘07, a mass donation day for Ron Paul’s presidential campaign.

Donations can be made at RonPaul2008.com.

First, take it out for a nice Italian dinner…

Kitteh appears to have a penis and not a vagina. Which, if I recall correctly, makes him a boy. I’m going to rent Kindergarten Cop this afternoon, just to make sure.

The dog appears a bit jealous. He has an “outside bell” that he’s trained to ring when he wants to go out, and every time I start to play with the kitty he goes and rings his bell. Attention whore.

We have both input and output from the kitten. He’s much spunkier now that he’s warm, dry and well-fed. Friendly, too. When you hold him he makes a sound exactly like a vibrator. I’m thinking of calling him Dildo.

The 110-lb Doberman mix meets the 1-lb kitten.