Jimro

FC, The large part of why drug development happens in the US is because of graduate students. The NIH (the FedGov) gives research grants (that means taxpayer dollars) to universities who are looking for treatments for diseases. Once a promising drug is identified by a research group a Pharmaceutical Company will try to buy the patent to the molecule. Once BigPharma owns the patent for the molecule, the clock is ticking to bring the drug to market. The patent only guarantees a monopoly for seven years. This is why BigPharma lets research universities do initial drug development on the taxpayer dime, because it is more profitable than doing their own research. The only positive role that BigPharma plays in drug development is what is called "Phase 3 Clinical Trials". These are the massive double blind against placebo drug tests that are required for FDA approval. Remember that these trials don't prove that a new drug is better than ANYTHING BUT A PLACEBO. As a result there are VERY few drug trials that actually compare different drugs to treat the same condition. One vivid exception to this rule was the GOVERNMENT FUNDED ALLHAT (Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial) that compared four blood pressure medicines. All four of the drugs studied in ALLHAT are effective in lowering blood pressure. The study tried to find which was the best choice for starting treatment. Results show that diuretics work best to both lower blood pressure and prevent stroke and some forms of heart disease, including heart attack and heart failure. The newer drugs studied were a calcium channel blocker, an angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, and an alpha-adrenergic blocker. Study of the alpha-adrenergic blocker was stopped early: Compared with those on the diuretic, those on the alpha-adrenergic blocker had substantially more cardiovascular problems, especially hospitalizations for heart failure. To put is more simply, a generic water pill that cost pennies a dose was more effective and safer than a new on patent drug. We may develop a lot of NEW drugs, but we don't spend a lot of time and effort figuring out if the new drugs are actually better than older drugs. Remember what I wrote earlier about drugs being classified by the biochemical pathway that they disrupt, the vast majority of "new" drugs are not acting on a new biochemical pathway, they are just doing the same thing that an older drug does but with an on patent (and therefore more profitable) chemical formula. The bottom line is that BigPharma is raping the taxpayer and the consumer, and advertising directly to the public to drum up demand for drugs of unknown effectiveness (remember that they just have to be better than a placebo) compared to generics, and sending drug reps directly to your doctors office trying to give him/her a financial incentive to prescribe on patent drugs. My wife told me that with my degree I could make a lot of money as a drug rep, but I cannot do that job BECAUSE I know what is really going on. The number one job requirement for a drug rep isn't a biochem degree, it is attractiveness. This is why college CHEERLEADERS are the number one target for BigPharma recruiters. Jimro

AzRedneck, Most drugs are classified into families based on the biochemical pathway that they interrupt. A lot of "new" drugs don't offer any new therapies for Doctors but are simply "me too" drugs that do the same thing as older drugs, but they cost more because they are on patent. For example Prilosec and Nexium. The only difference is that Nexium is chirally pure instead of being a 50/50 mix of enantiomers. They have the exact same effect on the body, but Nexium costs more because it is on patent. Don't get my started on the beta blockers and NSAIDs. Formularies are used in the US as well, and they make a lot of sense in keeping healthcare costs down. The US is one of two industrialized countries that allows drug companies to advertise directly to the consumer. If you knew how much of your medication cost went to advertising you would want to tar and feather the board of directors for Merck, Lilly, etc. The advertisements keep patients asking for "New" drugs because the patient has been lead to believe that "new" is better than "old". I talked to my Father about this, he works for the City of Tacoma and has really good insurance with a minimal co-pay for medication. His on patent prescription for Protonix was still costing the insurance company almost three hundred dollars a month. I explained to him that there were generics available that worked on the exact same biochemical pathway (proton pump inhibition). His co-pay went to single digits, the insurance companies payment went to low double digits, and that is good for everybody except the drug company. Most doctors have a basic understanding of biochemistry, but very few specialize in drug pathways (mainly toxicologists and endocrinologists. and most don't have the time to properly counsel patients about medications other than dosage. A normal family practitioner will have to see more than 30 patients a day just to break even. There is a lot wrong with how we practice medicine in the US, but the fixes are relatively simple (stop drug companies from advertising to the public, tort reform caps on pain and suffering to keep insurance premiums down, drug formularies used to keep cost down) and it doesn't require nationalization along the Canadian or UK model. Jimro

One of the things that keeps Canadian medications cheaper than American medications is not that they are generic, it is that the entire Canadian Healthcare System uses it's collective bargaining power to get lower prices from pharmacuetical companies. Here in the States the VA is allowed to collectively bargain the same as GM's healthcare program and all other private insurers. On the flipside the bastards in Congress keep giving in to the Big Pharma lobby so that Medicare/Medicaid CANNOT collectively bargain. Which is why the $4 medications from WalMart are only 4 bucks, collective bargaining power. Jimro

the "Security Agreement"'s in place in Iraq and Afghanistan it is going to be tough slogging from here on out. The rules of engagement under NATO are pretty lame, and our "allies" have put restrictions even on those. In Iraq it was the other way around, we could use allied troops in ways that US troops couldn't be used. War may be hell, but politics is a b!tch. Jimro

I'll try to make sure my plague booster is up to date. Jimro

My brigade has been on the deployment list for a while. I'm still hoping that we go to Afghanistan, since the brigade has been to Iraq twice and has a lot of combat tested leadership when the fighting was rough. On the flip side one of our sister brigades has never deployed and has already got the WARNO for Afghanistan. The only reason is that they already have an NTC date which is about five weeks ahead of ours. NATO really screwed up the security situation in Afghanistan. It is going to take some serious firepower to back up the operations needed to dropkick the insurgency back into obscurity. Jimro

The handle is original. Jimro

The roaring twenties were tempered by the Great Depression and WWII. It seems another generation has the War on Terror and the current economic crisis. Unfortunately for a true tempering to strengthen the spines of Americans it would require much more deprivation than a simple economic downturn and a war fought by volunteers. It would require a downfall of the current system of welfare government and a breakdown of social services. Jimro

Could be a virus, could just be a disk failure. Is there any other symptoms, like a "rattling" sound? If so that indicates imminent disk failure. Jimro

Wait longer between shots to let the barrel cool. Jimro

Buying the cable modem makes sense if you aren't planning on moving. Some cable modems have more user settable features than others, some have better thermal management than others. If you just want internet access and don't need to set a lot of ports or whatnot, renting is probably the better option. Jimro

Sounds like you are using European brass, the rim is slightly larger and slightly thicker than American brass. Normally this wouldn't be a problem but it sounds like you have a bolt and extractor claw that are on the small end of the acceptable tolerances. Before you do anything else, take the bolt from the action and slip a 30-06/308 brass under claw on the bolt face and compare how it fits compared to the 6.5x55. If you notice a difference you might need to shave a little off of the ring of the bolt face or a little off of the inside of the claw, depending on where the brass is binding, if it is binding at all. Or you could just use American brass. If the brass isn't binding, then your feeding problem is with the rails and feedramp. This is usually the culprit. Hope this helps. Jimro

Patton's revolvers were ivory handled. If the author couldn't get that fact right how the heck can he get the rest right? Jimro

The 6.5 Carcano got a reputation for crappy accuracy because handloaders used .264 diameter bullets instead of .268 diameter bullets. Jimro

True, when someone brakes rapidly while turning that can happen. But if things are that slick then chains aren't guaranteed to help either. Jimro

On a four wheel drive the rational for putting them on the front is this: That big heavy engine puts a lot of downward pressure on the front tires, leading to better grip when chains are applied, and when braking roughly 60% of braking power comes from the front tires. Jimro

If we're lucky in life we get to pass on a little wisdom, a couple laughs, and some good memories. Fritz was lucky, and so are we. Jimro

FC, you know slaves can't quit! You could probably do very well for yourself in the civilian market. But, you are a senior officer stationed in Hawaii. Life can't be too bad. Whenever I think life is reaching a low I just remember that I could be pumping raw sewage in Greenland. Jimro

I've had z1r do some metalwork for me. Highly recommend. http://www.mccabeguns.com/ Jimro

I refuse to be a victim. Our generation has no claim to "downtrodden" or even "vulnerable". Even our poor watch television and can drive a car. Jimro

Welcome home, are you back at Ft. Irwin? I'm interested in that 6.5x55 magazine fed Garand, it looks like a real winner. Jimro

Thanks! If you have a 338-06 then you already have a "one gun solution". I got lucky, dies for 9.3x62 from RCBS were only 30 bucks new from midwayusa.com Just picked up 50 Speer Hot Pour 270 grain bullets, expensive little buggers, but they were the only thing that sportsmans warehouse had in stock. Jimro

I've been looking at two 6.5x55's one set up for my wife and one setup for long range shooting. The wife's rifle is the tough one from a build standpoint, heavy enough so that there isn't any recoil, light enough so that she can pack it all day. her rifle would get a moderate handload built for accuracy. The high BC and SD bullets in the 6.5 bore retain velocity/energy and penetrate really well even with a fairly sedate load, and it doesn't take much to kill a deer. A target rifle is an easy build, just big and heavy. I figure some hotter handloads in 6.5x55 will be able to get out to 1K with about 10 to 15 MOA less than a 308 pushing a 175 SMK. The goal would get a high BC bullet like a 140 gr Berger VLD out the muzzle between 2750 (est 35 moa to 1K and upper end of 260 REM performance) and 2950 (est 29.5 moa to 1k and in the realm of 6.5x284 performance) fps in a SUB MOA load. A longer barrel would help so I could keep the pressure down while burning up all the IMR 7828 to get good velocity. I can only get away with this because of the safety of the m98 action. Jimro

Got to the range today. The 9.3x62 is more of a push than a sharp kick from my rifle, the barrel being a little longer and a little heavier really helps. Hotter loads than commercial Prvi Partizan will probably increase the recoil factor, so I'm going to try some 270 gr Speer hot pour bullets. pictures of rifle here http://randomthoughtsandguns.blogspot.com/...08/mausers.html Now I've got the itch to put together a Twede.... Jimro

Corporal is a way for us to turn an E4 into an NCO for when we need an NCO. Specialist is the highest automatic promotion. In some Military Occupational Specialties the promotion point cutoff scores are so high that Corporal is the highest rank they can attain without changing jobs. We used to have Specialist ranks all the way up to E6, but then we also used to have the "Technical Sergeant" ranks. Jimro