Just pining for the fjords

... it's been a busy spring. Lots of work, work is busy enough that I don't have the capacity to brain a few sentences here and there into a complete post, and when I'm home I spend time with family, not staring at a laptop. It's mostly been a conscious choice - there's too much life to live outside.

Summer is rapidly descending on us in flyover land, and I'm already making vacation plans left and right. Texas, New York, Colorado... and if I can snag a long weekend somewhere in there I'm going to try for a few nights of camping a bit more locally.

I haven't been shooting in months, which is starting to grind my gears a bit. I'll have to make some time for the range shortly and knock some of the dust off... not to mention putting a few rounds through three (!) new-to-me pistols that haven't been out yet.

Several of my friends and tribe are off in Louisville for the NRA Expo. I hope they're having a good time - I know we did in Pittsburgh, which was the first and only time I met some of youse clowns. Looking forward to the pictures and floor reports with tastes of what's coming. (The Shield .45 has my attention for the moment.)

Thoughts and prayers with Brussels this morning

Multiple explosions in Brussels, Belgium this morning. Reportedly two at the airport, and a third at a metro station. Some reports of a third device, undetonated, located at the airport.

Listening to Sky News quietly in the background, and they are being refreshingly honest about the inability to secure places like airport check-in lanes and metro stations. It's an unfortunate truth: a determined and dedicated attacker can not be stopped with zero casualties.

Question: If Johnny Jihad wants to strap on a Semtex vest and wander in to your local airport, at what point is he going to be detected? What if it's a NY subway station? Ever seen Grand Central or Penn Station at rush hour? A ballgame?

Where does the security begin? When you arrive at an airport, think about the usual course of events:
- park the car, wait for the bus to the terminal
- ride the bus with 5-20 strangers and their luggage
- enter the terminal for check-in, stand in line with 20-200 strangers and their luggage
- stand in line for Security Theater with dozens or hundreds of strangers and their carry-on

There is no good answer.