Saying “hello, abandoned blog” seems kind of stupid when my post ratio is approximately one post every year and a half, so let’s just skip past that. Some notes:

• I went to Bass Pro Shops today, looking for a suitable holster for my Halloween costume. That store might just be the best reason I’ve found so far for Texas to exist at all. They are incredibly enthusiastic to throw a gun in your hand. No exaggeration; upon approaching the handgun counter, the gentleman behind it said “Well, howdy, tall feller! What can I put in your hand?”

  This is a line that is only appropriate at either gun shops or gay bathhouses.

  I’m actually a pretty big gun fan. I find them technically interesting – you get to hold, in a convenient, handheld package, the cumulative result of several thousand years of applied technological development. Plus, shooting is fun – you have to relax, concentrate, and zone out a bit to shoot well, which is oddly similar to coding…

  Anyway, I looked at a few M1911 pistols. There was a Taurus, which was attractive but cheaply made, and a Sig Sauer, which was far, far nicer. I was hoping to get a look at a Springfield Armory Mil-Spec and Smith and Wesson’s version, but no luck. Both of those are far closer to the original GI version, which strikes me as a good thing – why add rails and gizmos to a fantastic design that has survived since WWI…

• What’s also fun? Booze. Know where I’m never going to get any again? Dallas Liquor Store, located at 2121 Main St # 102, just past the new Main Street Garden park. When I went in, there were two homeless people sitting on crates INSIDE THE SHOP harassing customers (i.e. me). And the guy working there didn’t seem particularly bothered by this. FAIL.