RECCE ROOM

My friend, Lefty, has a blog entry that pops up frequently enough, called "Words." In these posts, he shares a number of words and their meanings. Typically, these words are "off the beaten path." My goal is to know in advance 50% of them or more. Sometimes I do. Sometimes I do not. Lefty's most recent such post , a couple of words caught my attention. Here they are, along with a brief summary of why they stood out. bilbo (n.) — a sword used in former times, noted for the temper and elasticity of its blade This word I knew from before. I don’t know when I first learned its meaning. However, in 10th grade, I read The Hobbit. Now, we all know that one of the main characters in The Hobbit is Bilbo Baggins. As several friends and I were sitting outside English class one day before it started, we discussed what we were reading. A friend—whose name escapes me at the moment—learned I was reading The Hobbit , and we got to talking. I wondered aloud why Bilbo’s nam...

Abstract For decades, many shooters (especially those with military backgrounds) have leaned heavily on the so-called 25/300 zero for the AR-15 platform. It’s often treated as gospel: zero at 25 meters and you’re supposedly good to go at 300. But there’s a major problem with this belief:  it’s not true. The math, the ballistics, and even the original doctrine don’t support the way people are still applying this zero today. And if you’re relying on it for practical shooting, you're probably holding wrong at every range between zero and 400 yards. Where it started Let’s start with the military roots of this zero. Back when the U.S. Army standardized the 25-meter zero, soldiers were instructed to use a special “Z” setting on their rear sight drum; and this setting was specifically designed to account for the extremely close zero distance. That Z setting wasn't just a convenience; it was essential for syncing up the trajectory at longer ranges. Fast forward to civilian applicati...

This author recently came across a review of Valor Ridge . For the record, this author has taken two classes at Valor Ridge, and it is a highly recommended resource for great training!  The purpose of this post, however, is to point out a flaw. NOT a flaw in Valor Ridge, Reid Henrichs, or the material being taught in the class. A flaw in the logic behind the instruction. There are a great many people that believe any ol' rifle and any bulk ammo can stack shots at 100 yards. This simply is not the case.  What is the reality? A great many guns, when paired with off the shelf ammo, are around 4 Minute of Angle performers. That means a 4" group at 100 yards. Naturally, some are better, and some are not that precise. For a class like the one linked above, the AR-15 rifle, shooting 55-grain ammo, would be the standard. And that is a 4 MOA setup. Worthy of note, there was also an AK shooter mentioned in the review. An AK with standard ammo is usually about a 6 MOA setup.  It is...

Some notable obituaries from my family's history, that predate this blog: Uncle Alvin Howell Uncle Gene Howell Grandfather Austin Howell passed in February of 1985. Obituary not available. 

Obituary for Kathleen Jones ... "Aunt Kathy."  This is where I was yesterday. 

Continuing on with observations on the job market. This was found on Reddit. As is often the case, the entirety of the article is repeated here, in case the original post is deleted for whatever reason.  10 Lies I was taught about work: 1. Do well in school, work hard, apply yourself and you will have a successful career. 2. White collar work is more elevated, important, respectable and lucrative than blue collar work. 3. Get in with a good company, stay there for years and you’ll be fine. 4. Your performance review is extremely important, and staying on your manager’s good side is one of your top priorities. 5. People much smarter than you have spent countless hours thinking through and analyzing company decisions and processes so if there’s a policy or initiative you don’t agree with, keep in mind that you don’t have the perspective those higher up executives do. 6. Once you have a job, you should commit fully to that job and stop thinking about the world outside ...

On a bustling Sunday afternoon—the very weekend Avengers: Endgame exploded onto screens—a tight-knit group of friends and family gathered at a packed movie theater. Among them was our Hero, a dad known for his booming voice from years of commanding attention on the firing range, and his son, alongside a handful of his son’s closest friends, the “peeps.” With his wife and daughter still en route, our Hero and the crew snagged a cluster of seats, staking their claim like generals before the battle. As the chatter buzzed and the lights lingered bright, our Hero sensed an opportunity for a bit of theatrical mischief. Spurred on by the peeps to do something funny that would also be embarrassing for the son, a decision was made.  Before the previews could even roll, he rose like a Shakespearean actor taking center stage, arms spread wide in a grand gesture. Then, with a voice trained to carry over open fields and echo through shooting ranges, he bellowed, “Am I the only one here who i...

Durham’s Shame: A City Refuses to Pay for Its Mistake The city of Durham has found itself at the center of a troubling legal and moral scandal. After a wrongful conviction that cost an innocent man decades of his life, the city has now refused to honor a $6 million court-ordered verdict in his favor. Instead of owning up to its responsibility, Durham has doubled down on denial and legal maneuvering. The result is a stunning display of injustice, fiscal irresponsibility, and betrayal of public trust. The Wrongful Conviction of Darryl Howard The case centers on Darryl Howard, a man who was wrongfully convicted of second-degree murder after a Durham police officer, Darrell Dowdy, fabricated evidence to secure a conviction. Howard spent years behind bars for a crime he did not commit. On appeal, new evidence—including DNA—proved his innocence and revealed the misconduct that led to his imprisonment. This should have been a straightforward case of the system correcting itself. Instead, Du...

There is a popular meme of late: "if not friend, why friend shaped?" Well, this one is not even friend shaped.  More on the person known as Marc Victor, from Attorneys on Retainer.  This author has said some very pointed things about Victor  and AoR in the past. The video linked above confirms some of these things.  What say you? 

  Why You Don’t Owe a Two-Week Notice Anymore A reader writes: "I like your take on what you call 'Wacky Hiring Practices.' So, how about the employee? What’s your take on workers ghosting jobs or leaving without a two-week notice?" Great question. Let’s dig in. Two Weeks Was Built for a Different Era There was a time when people worked 35 or 40 years for one company, then retired with a pension and a gold watch. That era is over. Today, the smartest way to move up—financially or professionally—is to change jobs every 2–5 years. Loyalty doesn’t pay like it used to. And given how common toxic jobs and managers are, sticking around too long can actually hurt your career. The two-week notice tradition came from an age when companies viewed employees as people, not “resources.” Managers knew how to lead, not just bark orders. And when someone left, companies had the time and willingness to train a replacement. In that world, giving notice made sense. In this one? N...

When Companies Cancel Jobs After Interviews: What’s Really Going On? If you’ve ever spent weeks going through multiple interviews—only to be told the role you were chasing has been canceled—you’re not alone. It happens far more often than people think. Companies invest time, resources, and attention into the hiring process, only to abruptly pull the plug. Sometimes they say the position was eliminated. Other times it’s “on hold.” Whatever the phrasing, the end result is the same: you wasted your time. This frustrating pattern isn’t just poor communication—it reveals something deeper about how many organizations approach hiring. In most cases, it’s not that the candidates weren’t good enough. It’s that the company never figured out what they really needed. Below are three common—and costly—reasons why jobs get canceled after interviews. The Search for a Unicorn Many companies start the hiring process with an impossible wishlist. They want one person to do the job of three, with ten ye...

A friend sent this author this link . From the link: This job market is absolutely wild. I was introduced to the [ceo] of a startup through a mutual contact. He was enthusiastic. He chased after me. He asked me to complete an assessment. I did. Carefully. On time. Then I had two interviews. One of which made me feel like I was already being welcomed to the team. The other felt more like an interrogation. Still, I held out hope. And then… silence. No update. No rejection. Nothing. I didn’t apply cold. They came to me. And now, after all that effort, I feel like I just got used, like my time, my energy, and my hope were just absorbed into some vague maybe-pipeline with no intention of follow-through. I honestly don’t even want the job anymore. I just want to understand why. You dont like it when candidates ghost you so why would it be ok for you to do it? Why pull someone in, make them work, and then talk to multiple people, only to completely disappear? [Inbalance] of power in your fav...