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I keep seeing people writing annoying things like this (bold is mine)

I called the local chp office about [gun] transport laws
and the supervisor told me that basically I could either:
A: Put my unloaded gun in my trunk (locks not needed) and ammo in the cab.
B: Locked guns in the cab (no case) and ammo in the trunk. Yes, I can have the ammo stored in clips and mags.

“…and you’ll be ok“

My response:

To say that your ammunition must be stored in a different container from your firearm is incorrect. Here is the text from California Firearms Laws 2007 (local copy)

First, what defines a “loaded” firearm?

A firearm is deemed loaded when there is a live cartridge or shell in, or attached in any manner to, the firearm, including, but not limited to, the firing chamber, magazine, or clip thereof attached to the firearm. A muzzle-loading firearm is deemed loaded when it is capped or primed and has a powder charge and ball or shot in the barrel or cylinder. (Penal Code § 12031(g).)

For the purposes of Penal Code section 12023 (commission or attempted commission of a felony while armed with a loaded firearm), a firearm is deemed loaded when both the firearm and the unexpended ammunition capable of being discharged from the firearm are in the immediate possession of the same person.

Where may a firearm be stored in a vehicle?

Section 12025 (the part about it being an illegally concealed firearm) does not apply to or affect any of the following:
…
the firearm is within a motor vehicle and it is locked in the vehicle’s trunk or in a locked container in the vehicle other than the utility or glove compartment,

To be even more specific, let me refer you to the actual text of the law

12026.1.(a) Section 12025 shall not be construed to prohibit any citizen of the United States over the age of 18 years who resides or is temporarily within this state, and who is not within the excepted classes prescribed by Section 12021 or 12021.1 of this code or Section 8100 or 8103 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, from transporting or carrying any pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person, provided that the following applies to the firearm:
(1) The firearm is within a motor vehicle and it is locked in the vehicle’s trunk or in a locked container in the vehicle other than the utility or glove compartment.
(2) The firearm is carried by the person directly to or from any motor vehicle for any lawful purpose and, while carrying the firearm, the firearm is contained within a locked container.
(b) The provisions of this section do not prohibit or limit the otherwise lawful carrying or transportation of any pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person in accordance with this chapter.
(c) As used in this section, “locked container” means a secure container which is fully enclosed and locked by a padlock, key lock, combination lock, or similar locking device.

(If the above link doesn’t work, go here and do a search checking the “Penal” check and searching for “12026.1”)

You will notice that there is no mention of storing the firearm in a different container from the ammunition. So feel free to put your unloaded (the standard definition… no ammo in the gun) firearm in the same locked container as your loaded magazines. These two things can be loose in your trunk, or in a locked box in the passenger compartment; the glove compartment isn’t considered a locked box but something like a GunVault is.

Also note that the firearm must be unloaded because statute 12031 says that having a loaded firearm in most places is illegal. There’s a list of exceptions like your place of business and your legal residence but they are illegal on public streets, public places and many other places.

Charlotte asked me a silly question just a minute ago. “Can I leave my car here or will I get a ticket?” It was a silly question because she called me on the phone to ask. I am at home while she is downtown. Turns out, it wasn’t so silly. I answered her question first by asking where she was, performing a little clairvoyance and then saying, “Hmm, look behind you a few cars, in front of the Bebe store. I think there is a sign on a lamp post saying ‘commercial vehicles only’.

How did I know this? The new Google Maps Street View. Wow.

This weekend Charlotte and I went to the Chabot Gun Club. We shot a total of about 60 rounds through my new Beretta M9 pistol. We both had quite a lot of fun. And it was a beautiful drive. Now it sits, safely locked in a Gun Vault next to the bed.

I’m disappointed that I never got to fire the Keltec SU-16CA or the Bushmaster AR-15 I had previously owned. A few things conspired to make that happen.

• When moving to CA, I got the Keltec though I really wanted something smaller. Just as I was moving here, San Francisco was voting on, passing and then having struck down a handgun prohibition. I was interested in getting a handgun but decided on the Keltec in the interim. I almost got the Ruger Mini 14 but… didn’t.
• NJ has a ban on “assault weapons” so I couldn’t very well bring the AR-15 to the range when I lived there. It sat in storage for several years.
• In Boston I never felt a need to practice with the AR-15. Having it was enough insurance for me. I went to a range once and fired (one of) Trav’s AR-15s and confirmed that it is a very easy gun to navigate. I recall vividly at the indoor range that I kept hitting tight groups 1 1/2 inches below the bullseye. Eventually I figured it out. It’s an indoor range only about 50 yards long. The sight is 1 1/2 inches above the barrel. I was hitting exactly what I was aiming at. Had my target been at 200 or 300 yards, I would have put holes right in the center of the paper, but at 20 and 50 yards, the bullet is still rising. Of course I could eventually do better but 1 1/2 inches is plenty close enough for a start.

(PS. I photoshopped the serial # off my Beretta in the photo)

I didn’t get NEARLY enough time to play at Maker Faire. That said, here were my top picks from the event:

Computerized Etch-A-Sketch by Alan Nishioka

Interactive LED Coffee Table
They’re in Oakland. I should swing by and say hello to them some time. Evil Mad Scientist(also local) made the analog electronics to power the table.

Hey, FLG made the Maker Faire 2007 Poster :-)

At Maker Faire, Mark Pauline mentioned that he likes Hiller Pulse Jets.

From wikipedia, “Pulsejet engines are characterized by extreme simplicity, low cost of construction, poor fuel economy and very high noise levels”

I gotta build me one of those…

A year ago a friend told me that he liked and enjoyed the science of CSI Miami. I then watched a random episode (CSI Miami 425) and took notes…

CSI Miami 425

The scene opens. Several Hispanic men are relaxing outdoors. A man walks up with a machine gun with a 40 round magazine. He kills everyone with 80 rounds without reloading

While investigating the murders a few minutes later, “Jessop” a Miami police officer working with CSI sees a note sticking out of a partially open door. Without gloves, dusting for prints, photographing the scene or looking carefully at it, he takes the note out of the door, inadvertently setting off a grenade. Some time later, a CSI lady (wearing gloves and being far more careful) investigates the now-dead officer’s body….

Two CSI people talking a minute later, “I see guns [in the victims’ hands]. Why didn’t they fight back?”
“It was probably a surprise attack. Besides, [picking up a spent 7.62 mm cartridge] I don’t think a 9 mil would have worked against these.”
Huh? 9mm bullets do a perfectly fine job of killing people, thank you very much.

They found a guy with TNT on his hands at an airport with a fictitious scanner. It sniffed the amient air around the person. Actual machines use a swab from a person or object. (update: such machines are made. I learned something from CSI: Miami)

Horatio interviewed a suspect. Horatio is CSI but only a police officer would interrogate him.

“The marks on the casing were made by a Russian-made Grinkov”
A Grinkov is a Russian Olympic skater, not a rifle.
Though in my search for Russian dancers, I found a very interesting site on rifle forensics (http://www.firearmsid.com) (Update 10-18-09 John points out that a Krinkov is a real gun, see below!)

They tracked the bad guy “Diego” by the GPS in his phone. Horatio needed to call Diego to get a trace and then loses the trace when Diego hangs up. In fact, they didn’t need to keep Diego on the line; they could track him as long as his cell phone is turned on. Here is such a service in England (http://www.world-tracker.com/) A free service like this doesn’t exist in the US but the tech does.

They found shrink wrap that was previously wrapped around a box approximately 2′ x 2′ x 6′. Knowing that it was from a bad guy’s house that was an arms dealer, they made the (obvious(???)) conclusion that it had previously held a hand-held surface-to-air missile. Horatio must be a super-duper genius.

Realizing this, Horatio instantly realized that the only thing the bad guy might do with such a weapon is shoot down the next plane the bad guy spotted taking off from Miami airport. So Horatio jumps in his truck and drives directly to the only obvious spot where a person might shoot down a plane from (???). They confront one another and Horatio saves the day.

Phew. That was a lot of work.

Cool, my friend TJIC’s company, Smartflix.com is offering a chance at winning a free Sherline Lathe.

Lathe giveaway details

How do you enter to win? Just rent any metalworking video from SmartFlix between today and June 10th. Every video you rent is a whole ‘nother chance to win.
…
This lathe is an excellent choice for clockmakers, modelers or others who work on small parts. It is easily used where space is at a premium and can be stored on a closet shelf.

…And, last but not least, it’s the lathe that got the president of SmartFlix interested in metalworking, and led him to start the company!

The letter below from Chicken John is being circulated widely. Wide-eyed libertarian tendencies aside, I express skepticism that this situation can be resolved rationally given the part I highlighted below. That’s not to say Jim can’t pull something out of his sleeve. Heck, he’s been doing it for 5 years and rationality doesn’t have to enter into it because, after all, this is Berkeley.

(note, it’s long)

Continue reading ‘Shipyard Letter’ »

WP-Cache and Spam Karma had an incompatibility. It made it so that when you post a comment to my blog, there was a delay of an hour before you see the comment. Spam Karma 2.3 RC1 fixed that problem.

Hurray