Saturday remarks

Saw 'World War Z' last night.  While it doesn't follow the book (the book is a series of interviews taken place after the zombie war with various people who were a part of it), it is still a very good movie.  5 out of 5 stars!

After Earth (2 out of 5 stars) has Will Smith and his son playing father and son in future sci-fi setting.  The premise of the movie is that Earth has been abandoned for a 1,000 years due to the attack of creatures called 'Ursa' (which is Latin for 'bear').  These creatures are completely blind but have a precise sense of smell.  They can smell the hormones that humans give off when they are afraid .  Will Smith's character has perfected the ability to hide his fear thus he is 'invisible' to the Ursa's and is able to dispatch them with a really cool weapon that can assume the shape of various types of blades.

Huh?  A thousand years into future, where we have perfected morphing bladed weapons, portable medial imaging technology and faster than light starships but we have forgotten how to make guns?!

From what I saw, a .50 caliber Barrett would make short work of these creatures.

Speaking of guns.

Arizona is what is called an open carry state, this means that you can carry a firearm in a holster that is plainly visible while in public.  Open carry has never been illegal in AZ and up until 1994 when concealed carry was enacted, it was the only way carry a firearm in public.  In 2010 the requirement to have concealed carry permit to carry concealed was removed.  This is called constitutional carry and Arizona is on of only 4 states that have it (the others are Alaska, Wyoming and Vermont).

I sometimes open carry even though I do have an AZ concealed carry permit.  In I open carry more often that I conceal carry.

People have two ways of dealing with each other: consent or force.  When I carry my gun openly, I am saying that you cannot force me to do anything, you can only convince me to do something.  I believe that people who are afraid of other people open carrying are not really afraid of the gun or the person carrying it, they are resentful of the fact that they can not force their will on the that person and that person is also ready and willing to take on the awesome responsibility for their life.

One could argue that concealed carry is better then open carry.  The gun is hidden and no one is going get upset or scared.  While this true, you also appear unarmed to any potential attackers.  When I carry openly, I am saying to any potential attacker, "Stay away from me, I am dangerous to you!"

I would rather avoid a conflict by open carrying than having drawn my gun from concealment after an attack on me has been initiated.