As I blogged here a new firearms licencing system is in place in Western Australia.
Today I filled in the forms online, printed them, and took them with my club support letters and Firearm Serviceability Certificates into the Post Office.
I am applying for two category A firearms (a rifle and a shotgun) on the same application form - which is allowed (luckily as it's $66 for each application).
I thought I was going to have a problem when I handed the forms to the lady at the Post Office and she took one look at them and said "what are these?". Apparently she hadn't processed one before.
Between the two of us we managed to get through the process without too much confusion so now it's just a matter of waiting to see a) if they're approved and b) how long it takes.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Training is over for the year
Well today was the last day of training at the gun club for the year.
It was a HOT one ... not sure what the temperature got to, but I think it was around 40degC on the range.
We had scheduled a practical rifle and shotgun training session / shoot today. But unfortunately, and I think due to the weather, only three of the dozen or so trainees currently in the course turned up.
One of the "regular" shooters who has never done either practical rifle or practical shotgun decided to join the course for the day so we split into two groups.
I was helping one of the club members with the shotgun shoot. I had asked him to come along to the session as I'm not that comfortable with shotguns AND he has a pump action one :)
He ended up bringing three shotguns - a 20 gauge single barrel one, the 12 gauge pump action and a 12 gauge over/under. The Chief Instructor also had a 12 gauge semi-auto which we used as well.
The guys shot all four of the rifles on the range and everyone seemed to have a good time.
I think we will look at running a few more of these throughout the year on the training course as it is a good skill for the students to have.
It was a HOT one ... not sure what the temperature got to, but I think it was around 40degC on the range.
We had scheduled a practical rifle and shotgun training session / shoot today. But unfortunately, and I think due to the weather, only three of the dozen or so trainees currently in the course turned up.
One of the "regular" shooters who has never done either practical rifle or practical shotgun decided to join the course for the day so we split into two groups.
I was helping one of the club members with the shotgun shoot. I had asked him to come along to the session as I'm not that comfortable with shotguns AND he has a pump action one :)
He ended up bringing three shotguns - a 20 gauge single barrel one, the 12 gauge pump action and a 12 gauge over/under. The Chief Instructor also had a 12 gauge semi-auto which we used as well.
The guys shot all four of the rifles on the range and everyone seemed to have a good time.
I think we will look at running a few more of these throughout the year on the training course as it is a good skill for the students to have.
Proposed new LAW: Walk the dog or face time behind bars
From the news today we have:
Walk the dog or face time behind bars
PET owners could be punished for not walking their dogs, under radical new laws being proposed by the RSPCA.
Under the legislation, they would have to regularly exercise dogs, ensure animals are not kept chained up and give their pets adequate food and water.
If the proposal becomes law, dog and cat owners across Australia would face prosecution, fines of up to $12,000 fines for animal cruelty and magistrates could consider jail in extreme circumstances.
Dr Hugh Wirth, head of RSPCA Victoria, is one of four experts the Federal Department of Agriculture's welfare division has appointed to draft national animal welfare guidelines.
"The draft will tell people what they have to do rather than what they want to do," Dr Wirth said.
"The new standards would be regulatory, therefore a breach of the standards is a breach of the law."
The proposed new laws are designed to formalise the national code, which states dogs must be walked at least once a day.
Dr Wirth said jail sentences would not be handed out for a first offence, but it would something available for magistrates to consider.
"I would be amazed if a magistrate ordered jail time on the first offence, but, like every other offence under cruelty legislation, jail is an option," Dr Wirth said.
The proposed laws would be designed to help overcome the problems animal inspectors have had penalising bad owners. The working party is designed to create a national standard, but ultimately the laws would be have to be passed by State Governments.
Catherine and Mitch Wells said they would welcome laws to prosecute animal owners who did not exercise their pets.
They said exercising their much-loved "Diva" was part of the deal of owning a dog, and they said all pet owners should be made to regularly walk their animals.
"That's part of our responsibility of having dog," Mrs Well said.
The Newcastle couple gives their two-year-old English staffy at least 30 minutes "roaming time" each day at the local dog beach, and they say she thrives on it.
"Seeing her happy makes me happy," Mrs Wells said.
Mrs Wells said it distressed her to see larger dogs cooped up in yards, and barely ever let out to exercise.
"It's not fair to the dog," she said.
A spokesman for the federal Department of Agriculture said the working group was one of six set up to look at animal welfare.
"One of the goals of the Australian Animal Welfare Strategy is to develop national standards and guidelines for the care of different kinds of animals," the spokesman said.
"The states and territories are ultimately responsible for legislating for animal welfare, not the Commonwealth."
The draft is still in its early stages.
-------------------
It is interesting to read the comments which range from the "great idea" type to the "invasion of privacy" and "how can you police it anyway" brigade.
I don't have a dog but I am totally against more laws which impinge on the freedom of people because of ... the problems animal inspectors have had penalising bad owners.
Walk the dog or face time behind bars
PET owners could be punished for not walking their dogs, under radical new laws being proposed by the RSPCA.
Under the legislation, they would have to regularly exercise dogs, ensure animals are not kept chained up and give their pets adequate food and water.
If the proposal becomes law, dog and cat owners across Australia would face prosecution, fines of up to $12,000 fines for animal cruelty and magistrates could consider jail in extreme circumstances.
Dr Hugh Wirth, head of RSPCA Victoria, is one of four experts the Federal Department of Agriculture's welfare division has appointed to draft national animal welfare guidelines.
"The draft will tell people what they have to do rather than what they want to do," Dr Wirth said.
"The new standards would be regulatory, therefore a breach of the standards is a breach of the law."
The proposed new laws are designed to formalise the national code, which states dogs must be walked at least once a day.
Dr Wirth said jail sentences would not be handed out for a first offence, but it would something available for magistrates to consider.
"I would be amazed if a magistrate ordered jail time on the first offence, but, like every other offence under cruelty legislation, jail is an option," Dr Wirth said.
The proposed laws would be designed to help overcome the problems animal inspectors have had penalising bad owners. The working party is designed to create a national standard, but ultimately the laws would be have to be passed by State Governments.
Catherine and Mitch Wells said they would welcome laws to prosecute animal owners who did not exercise their pets.
They said exercising their much-loved "Diva" was part of the deal of owning a dog, and they said all pet owners should be made to regularly walk their animals.
"That's part of our responsibility of having dog," Mrs Well said.
The Newcastle couple gives their two-year-old English staffy at least 30 minutes "roaming time" each day at the local dog beach, and they say she thrives on it.
"Seeing her happy makes me happy," Mrs Wells said.
Mrs Wells said it distressed her to see larger dogs cooped up in yards, and barely ever let out to exercise.
"It's not fair to the dog," she said.
A spokesman for the federal Department of Agriculture said the working group was one of six set up to look at animal welfare.
"One of the goals of the Australian Animal Welfare Strategy is to develop national standards and guidelines for the care of different kinds of animals," the spokesman said.
"The states and territories are ultimately responsible for legislating for animal welfare, not the Commonwealth."
The draft is still in its early stages.
-------------------
It is interesting to read the comments which range from the "great idea" type to the "invasion of privacy" and "how can you police it anyway" brigade.
I don't have a dog but I am totally against more laws which impinge on the freedom of people because of ... the problems animal inspectors have had penalising bad owners.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Officer accidentally shoots himself in face
Well that's what the headline said anyway.
The story is:
Officer accidentally shoots himself in face
A NORTH Queensland senior constable has accidentally shot himself in the face.
The officer at the Bowen station was handling his revolver at the station's weapons clearance drum when it accidentally discharged around 2.30pm (AEST) today.
Fragments from the discharged bullet ricocheted and struck the officer in the face, inflicting superficial injuries.
Senior police will investigate how the accident occurred.
--------------------------
Accidents wlll happen but let's revive the four rules:
1. A gun is ALWAYS LOADED. Always.
2. Do not point the muzzle at anything you're not willing to destroy.
3. Keep your finger off the trigger until you have your target sighted in.
4. Be sure of your target and what's behind it, before you pull the trigger.
As we don't have the full details of the "accident" it's hard to say which rule(s) were broken, but I'm actually voting that they all were.
Revolvers aren't known for "discharging accidentally" and for the bullet to ricocheted the muzzle obviously wasn't pointing in a "safe" direction.
These four rules will only keep you safe if you follow them - ALWAYS!
The story is:
Officer accidentally shoots himself in face
A NORTH Queensland senior constable has accidentally shot himself in the face.
The officer at the Bowen station was handling his revolver at the station's weapons clearance drum when it accidentally discharged around 2.30pm (AEST) today.
Fragments from the discharged bullet ricocheted and struck the officer in the face, inflicting superficial injuries.
Senior police will investigate how the accident occurred.
--------------------------
Accidents wlll happen but let's revive the four rules:
1. A gun is ALWAYS LOADED. Always.
2. Do not point the muzzle at anything you're not willing to destroy.
3. Keep your finger off the trigger until you have your target sighted in.
4. Be sure of your target and what's behind it, before you pull the trigger.
As we don't have the full details of the "accident" it's hard to say which rule(s) were broken, but I'm actually voting that they all were.
Revolvers aren't known for "discharging accidentally" and for the bullet to ricocheted the muzzle obviously wasn't pointing in a "safe" direction.
These four rules will only keep you safe if you follow them - ALWAYS!
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Study: Pornography Doesn't Warp Sexuality
Now this is an interesting study ...
Are the effects of pornography negligible?
A Université de Montréal researcher, funded by the Interdisciplinary Research Center on Family Violence and Violence Against Women, has launched a new study to examine the effects of pornography on men. "We started our research seeking men in their twenties who had never consumed pornography. We couldn't find any," says Simon Louis Lajeunesse, a postdoctoral student and professor at the School of Social Work.
"The objective of my work is to observe the impact of pornography on the sexuality of men, and how it shapes their perception of men and women," says Lajeunesse. To do so, he has so far recruited and interviewed 20 heterosexual male university students who consume pornography.
"They shared their sexual history starting with their first contact with pornography, which was in early adolescence. Not one subject had a pathological sexuality. In fact, all of their sexual practices were quite conventional," says Lajeunesse.
The research concluded that 90 percent of pornography is consumed on the Internet, while 10 percent comes from video stores. On average, single men watch pornography three times a week for 40 minutes. Those who are in committed relationships watch it on average 1.7 times a week for 20 minutes.
Lajeunesse found most boys seek out pornographic material by the age of 10, when they are most sexually curious. However, they quickly discard what they don't like and find offensive. As adults, they will continue to look for content in tune with their image of sexuality. They also rarely consume pornography as a couple and always choose what they watch.
All test subjects said they supported gender equality and felt victimized by rhetoric demonizing pornography. "Pornography hasn't changed their perception of women or their relationship which they all want as harmonious and fulfilling as possible. Those who could not live out their fantasy in real life with their partner simply set aside the fantasy. The fantasy is broken in the real world and men don't want their partner to look like a porn star," says Lajeunesse.
Lajeunesse refutes the perverse effect often attributed to pornography. "Aggressors don't need pornography to be violent and addicts can be addicted to drugs, alcohol, gaming and asocial cases are pathological. If pornography had the impact that many claim it has, you would just have to show heterosexual films to a homosexual to change his sexual orientation."
Source: University of Montreal (news : web)
---------------------------
I was amused at this bit: "We started our research seeking men in their twenties who had never consumed pornography. We couldn't find any,"
Twenty subjects is a very small sample group I wonder if they will redo the study with a larger one?
Are the effects of pornography negligible?
A Université de Montréal researcher, funded by the Interdisciplinary Research Center on Family Violence and Violence Against Women, has launched a new study to examine the effects of pornography on men. "We started our research seeking men in their twenties who had never consumed pornography. We couldn't find any," says Simon Louis Lajeunesse, a postdoctoral student and professor at the School of Social Work.
"The objective of my work is to observe the impact of pornography on the sexuality of men, and how it shapes their perception of men and women," says Lajeunesse. To do so, he has so far recruited and interviewed 20 heterosexual male university students who consume pornography.
"They shared their sexual history starting with their first contact with pornography, which was in early adolescence. Not one subject had a pathological sexuality. In fact, all of their sexual practices were quite conventional," says Lajeunesse.
The research concluded that 90 percent of pornography is consumed on the Internet, while 10 percent comes from video stores. On average, single men watch pornography three times a week for 40 minutes. Those who are in committed relationships watch it on average 1.7 times a week for 20 minutes.
Lajeunesse found most boys seek out pornographic material by the age of 10, when they are most sexually curious. However, they quickly discard what they don't like and find offensive. As adults, they will continue to look for content in tune with their image of sexuality. They also rarely consume pornography as a couple and always choose what they watch.
All test subjects said they supported gender equality and felt victimized by rhetoric demonizing pornography. "Pornography hasn't changed their perception of women or their relationship which they all want as harmonious and fulfilling as possible. Those who could not live out their fantasy in real life with their partner simply set aside the fantasy. The fantasy is broken in the real world and men don't want their partner to look like a porn star," says Lajeunesse.
Lajeunesse refutes the perverse effect often attributed to pornography. "Aggressors don't need pornography to be violent and addicts can be addicted to drugs, alcohol, gaming and asocial cases are pathological. If pornography had the impact that many claim it has, you would just have to show heterosexual films to a homosexual to change his sexual orientation."
Source: University of Montreal (news : web)
---------------------------
I was amused at this bit: "We started our research seeking men in their twenties who had never consumed pornography. We couldn't find any,"
Twenty subjects is a very small sample group I wonder if they will redo the study with a larger one?
Men
Half tempted to put this into the "inane studies" category but not totally sure ... what do you think?
A bloke for all seasons
MEN behave like larrikins around the boys, "wit warriors" in mixed company and "fly guys" when they want to impress women, research shows.
They are also likely to use up to five different personas throughout their lifetime, the study by brand consultancy Added Value has found.
"A big finding was that masculinity is not singular... it's actually plural," said a director at Added Value, James Pike.
"In a nutshell, masculinity is the varied ways guys use to express themselves.
"Masculinity is an occasion for display and self-presentation for men, which varies from culture to culture, and from place to place and is constantly changing and shifting.
"We found that men play many different parts in any given occasion."
The two-stage study involved talking to experts and men aged between 18 and 29 about their perception of masculine.
"Masculinity is a performance," Mr Pike said.
"The better the performance, the more masculine guys will feel and appear."
The research found that the average male will use five personas throughout their life.
He said that most men adopted a contingency-based approach to the persona they used.
"A guy would maybe express his larrikin persona with the boys and with mixed company be more the wit warrior or the fly guy," Mr Pike said.
"It depends on whether he is looking to impress the ladies."
The top seven personas:
The good bloke: Down to earth, genuine, always know where they stand and holds family values. Examples of men who were seen to personify this are former tennis star Pat Rafter and cricketer Michael Clarke.
The larrikin: These are men who like to have a laugh and make playful wise cracks - think comedians Dave Hughes and Merrick and Rosso.
The wit warrior: These are men who use humour to reveal the truth and like to provoke and challenge. They are personified by comedy group The Chaser and Wil Anderson.
The fly guy: These are men who have confidence, creative flair and a sense of style. They tend to be into music and are exemplyfied by Jason Kay of band Jamiroquai and musician Daniels Johns.
Understated power: These are self-assured men who do not big-note themseves. They are cool, have hidden depth and respectful. Men who were seen to personify this were retired NRL player Hazem El Masri and actor Eric Bana.
The urban tribalist: These are men who stick to their to beliefs and striving for change from the ground up. The British artist Banksy is one example.
The lionheart: These were men who were physically strong and had emotional toughness. This tended to be associated with certain types of sports stars like NRL player Darren Lockyer and cyclist Lance Armstrong.
------
I like the sound of the urban triablist wonder who (or what) Banksy is?
Had a bit of a read of the wiki entry on him and wasn't impressed until I got to this bit ...
Statements by Banksy in Wall and Piece
“ We can’t do anything to change the world until capitalism crumbles. In the meantime we should all go shopping to console ourselves. ”
“ We don’t need any more heroes; we just need someone to take out the recycling. ”
“ When you go to an art gallery you are simply a tourist looking at the trophy cabinet of a few millionaires. ”
“ Sometimes I feel so sick at the state of the world I can’t even finish my second apple pie. ”
“ Think from outside the box, collapse the box and take a fucking knife to it. ”
“ Some people become cops because they want to make the world a better place. Some people become vandals because they want to make the world a better looking place. ”
“ If you want someone to be ignored, then build a life-size bronze statue of them and stick it in the middle of town. ”
“ People who should be shot: Fascist thugs, religious fundamentalists, people who write lists telling you who should be shot. ”
---------------
Not exactly my definition of an "urban tribalist" but amusing anyway.
A bloke for all seasons
MEN behave like larrikins around the boys, "wit warriors" in mixed company and "fly guys" when they want to impress women, research shows.
They are also likely to use up to five different personas throughout their lifetime, the study by brand consultancy Added Value has found.
"A big finding was that masculinity is not singular... it's actually plural," said a director at Added Value, James Pike.
"In a nutshell, masculinity is the varied ways guys use to express themselves.
"Masculinity is an occasion for display and self-presentation for men, which varies from culture to culture, and from place to place and is constantly changing and shifting.
"We found that men play many different parts in any given occasion."
The two-stage study involved talking to experts and men aged between 18 and 29 about their perception of masculine.
"Masculinity is a performance," Mr Pike said.
"The better the performance, the more masculine guys will feel and appear."
The research found that the average male will use five personas throughout their life.
He said that most men adopted a contingency-based approach to the persona they used.
"A guy would maybe express his larrikin persona with the boys and with mixed company be more the wit warrior or the fly guy," Mr Pike said.
"It depends on whether he is looking to impress the ladies."
The top seven personas:
The good bloke: Down to earth, genuine, always know where they stand and holds family values. Examples of men who were seen to personify this are former tennis star Pat Rafter and cricketer Michael Clarke.
The larrikin: These are men who like to have a laugh and make playful wise cracks - think comedians Dave Hughes and Merrick and Rosso.
The wit warrior: These are men who use humour to reveal the truth and like to provoke and challenge. They are personified by comedy group The Chaser and Wil Anderson.
The fly guy: These are men who have confidence, creative flair and a sense of style. They tend to be into music and are exemplyfied by Jason Kay of band Jamiroquai and musician Daniels Johns.
Understated power: These are self-assured men who do not big-note themseves. They are cool, have hidden depth and respectful. Men who were seen to personify this were retired NRL player Hazem El Masri and actor Eric Bana.
The urban tribalist: These are men who stick to their to beliefs and striving for change from the ground up. The British artist Banksy is one example.
The lionheart: These were men who were physically strong and had emotional toughness. This tended to be associated with certain types of sports stars like NRL player Darren Lockyer and cyclist Lance Armstrong.
------
I like the sound of the urban triablist wonder who (or what) Banksy is?
Had a bit of a read of the wiki entry on him and wasn't impressed until I got to this bit ...
Statements by Banksy in Wall and Piece
“ We can’t do anything to change the world until capitalism crumbles. In the meantime we should all go shopping to console ourselves. ”
“ We don’t need any more heroes; we just need someone to take out the recycling. ”
“ When you go to an art gallery you are simply a tourist looking at the trophy cabinet of a few millionaires. ”
“ Sometimes I feel so sick at the state of the world I can’t even finish my second apple pie. ”
“ Think from outside the box, collapse the box and take a fucking knife to it. ”
“ Some people become cops because they want to make the world a better place. Some people become vandals because they want to make the world a better looking place. ”
“ If you want someone to be ignored, then build a life-size bronze statue of them and stick it in the middle of town. ”
“ People who should be shot: Fascist thugs, religious fundamentalists, people who write lists telling you who should be shot. ”
---------------
Not exactly my definition of an "urban tribalist" but amusing anyway.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)