In Case Anyone Was Wondering Why I Groan About Gun Shops in #Fuquay

Realco guns tied to 2,500 crimes in D.C. and Maryland:

Dixon's Glock was one of 86 guns sold by Realco that have been linked to homicide cases during the past 18 years, far outstripping the total from any other store in the region, a Washington Post investigation has found. Over that period, police have recovered more than 2,500 guns sold by the shop, including over 300 used in non-fatal shootings, assaults and robberies.

Fuquay's downtown Main St. is bookended by two gun shops. I have no confidence that any gun store operator is really passionately interested in preventing guns from getting in the hands of criminals. This may be due in part to my perception/stereotype of gun show owners as NRA Republicans with the typical twisted reading of the 2nd Amendment and accompanying anti-regulatory biases of that group. I could be wrong about that but the example in in the linked article enforces my belief that gun shops basically make it easy for criminals to get guns. You know who I think should carry handguns? Law enforcement. Full stop.

Professors Kramer and Newman Teach Arbitrage 101

The Economics of Seinfeld

Moffat's Sherlock: Psychopath or Sociopath?

Loved the new Sherlock. I couldn't watch with the attention I would've liked as I was trying to do some housework while it played, but one thing nagged at me, a line Sherlock utters to Anderson, the forensics guy, while Lestrade and Scotland Yard toss 221B. Sherlock quips, "I'm a high-functioning sociopath, not a psychopath. Do your homework." (I'm quoting from memory, those may not be the exact words.)

What's the difference?  Depends who you ask. Google "sociopath vs psychopath" and see if you can find two answers that don't contradict one another. It wasn't very clear to me; if I'd been scoring the Sherlock character using the traits associated with each, I think it would have been a mix of both.

Holmes and Watson via BBC

So, I'm curious what Sherlock ( and Moffat) have in mind as the definition of "high-functioning sociopath" (sounds a bit like they're associating the condition with autism, there's a whole 'nother spectrum of mental states it's not easy to get your arms around) because I'd like to understand whether Sherlock has an accurate self-diagnosis (in the context of the show's definition, as well as in the context of a real world definition) and whether the accuracy, or lack thereof, might be an indication of whether he's being deceptive or not.

If you are any kind of Holmes fan, I think you'll like it a quite a bit. The performances are strong and (I've studiously avoided spoilers) this first installment has set up an enjoyable new Holmesian universe.

Update: FriendFeed search is working again (yay!) so I can finally find and embed here the post where Soup added some insight:

Best Burger Claim Warrants Investigation

Char-grill Named Best Burger in NC, Top 51 in US by USA Today | New Raleigh:

(via New Raleigh)

Downtown Raleigh based Chargrill has been named best burger in North Carolina by a “group of local experts” at USA Today. In North Carolina, that expert is Elizabeth Wiegand, author of The New Blue Ridge Cookbook. Regardless of who the expert is, Chargrill definitely deserves the recognition. The Hillsborough Street location still has lots of charm and fabulous burgers, fries and milkshakes. There are few places in Downtown Raleigh that rival its authenticity.

I'm an Only Burger guy. Can Char-grill win me over? (Not that there can be only one, I'll still go to Red Robin sometimes, too.)

More Summitt v. Auriemma

Tennessee's Summitt Reaches A Low Point - Courant.com:

The fact the two don't like each other is an old story. The fact Tennessee unsuccessfully worked to expose Auriemma's program for recruiting violations isn't new either. What is new is Summitt calling out Connecticut by name.

I had called Summitt a coward for not doing exactly this in 2007, when she canceled the greatest team rivalry in women's sports. Summitt not only wouldn't say why she was killing the series, she refused to say she was the one behind it.

A year later, the 11 accusations surfaced after a Freedom of Information request by ESPN. Ten were rejected by the NCAA. The one that stuck in the 34-page document was a secondary violation. UConn made reservations for Maya Moore to take a tour of ESPN. A tour, by the way, that's open to the public. Summitt came off incredibly petty.

That should have been the end of it. But, no, Summitt went off Thursday. And when she was finished, she was no longer a coward or petty. She came off as a bitter … OK, Dave Solomon of the New Haven Register beat me to the word 'shrew.'

Petty, bitter, and shrew. Ouch. But if the orange pantsuit fits ...