I thought I was a dork because I spent all summer of my 14th year writing an Asteroids game clone in BASIC on my VIC-20. Well, I've got nothing on Dmitri Gaskin.

That's just scary.

Sarah Palin is famous for a lot of things. One of the things she's becoming known for, I think, is the stupendously ridiculous dumbass names she's bestowed on her precious snowflakes: Track, Trig, Bristol, Willow, and Piper. How precious is that? Don't you just want to eat them up?

Imagine Sarah Palin is your mother. After you've gotten over the horror of a life spent having to look at her suburbian clown-face your entire life, think more specifically: What would your name have been had she been your mother? What twee nonsense would you have had to put up with?

Well, wonder no more, because you can consult the Sarah Palin Baby Name Generator.

By the way, if you or you're loved one is due soon, you can hit reload over and over on that page and grab a whole huge load of retarded names from which to choose your baby's name. Having your kids ridiculed and beaten ceaselessly throughout their formative years will only serve to make them stronger, both mentally and physically. You could turn 'em into veritable moose-shootin' mountain children with the proper name! We know ladies are copying her hairstyle, glasses and all the rest of that. Why not go full-on Hockey Mom and name the little shaver Piccalilli or Turbo instead of Julie or Michael? They're sure to be the most special kids in all the world, and they really do deserve a name that fits the one-of-a-kind status they'll almost certainly achieve.

In case anyone was wondering, my name really should have been Stinger Assassin. I feel somehow cheated I wound up with plain, old "Bill". How boring is that?

I came across this video from a link on one of the gun boards.

Watch the first 60 seconds or so. See that loaded mag he takes out? Is there a round in the chamber? Does he check? Which way is he pointing the gun when he starts to take it apart?

First time I saw the video, I seriously though the gun was going to go off. I literally said "What?!" out loud when I saw him start to take it apart without looking in the chamber to make sure it wasn't loaded. That's firearms safety rule #1: Every gun is loaded. You must check the chamber when you unload it. You keep it pointed in a safe direction, you keep your finger away from the trigger and you check the chamber. Then you take it apart and clean it or whatever, once you know it's safe. And even when it's safe, and you know that it's safe, you treat it like it'll go off if you so much as look at it the wrong way.

I made a comment there asking him to please edit the video and add a part about checking the action. He deleted my comment and sent me a nasty message saying basically "hey captain asshole, you don't like my vid, don't watch... I know which guns of mine are loaded and which aren't". My point was that he's trying to help new gun owners (which is cool and I appreciate what he's trying to do), but by not checking the action, he's inviting people to follow along with him in a really unsafe way. Anyway, the dude took personally what I thought was a fairly innocuous comment.

So I replied, told him that if he wants to shoot himself in the face, that's his own business. I said that I think he's borderline negligent teaching people to handle firearms unsafely like that. His video is aimed at new gun owners, and he's got them started out on the wrong (and very unsafe) foot. I also told him that I, too, know which of my guns are loaded: they all are -- even after I unload them. You start off thinking that way, you keep thinking that way, you stay safe. Safety for him merits only a casual mention, an afterthought.

I just don't get it... it would have been quick and easy to impart a lot of basic gun safety into his otherwise helpful instructional video. Some kid is going to be watching that video while taking apart his dad's 1911 and there's going to be, at best, a hole in the ceiling. And that korn guy could have prevented it from happening to begin with if only he'd taken the 3 seconds to check the action after he removed the magazine. He's presenting himself as a teacher, yet he's teaching bad, bad things. That's completely irresponsible and in my opinion gives gun owners a bad name.

If you presume to teach people about guns you have a duty and an obligation to do it properly and safely. I wouldn't want someone's death or injury on my conscience. Apparently he feels differently. That's really sad and I hope nobody gets hurt following his advice.