New Home Fun...

New stove and fridge are due tonight, so that's a plus.  Had the chimney guy in last week to look at things (figured it'd be a good call to make before actually lighting a fire in the living room...)

Turns out it was a good call.  I guess nobody told the former owner what a "rain cap" is, and why it is insanely important to a chimney.  If you don't know, it'll let all the rain and snow come down, getting the inside nice and wet, and when it freezes up here in the north, the ice cracks apart all the mortar holding the firebricks in place.  Loose a brick, and it's like having a blowtorch going against the structural bricks.  Good times.

Thankfully the structure is still fine, so all we need is a stainless alloy liner dropped in.  Price is per linier foot, so for the first time (of what I'm sure will be more than a few) I'm glad it's a short ranch style house.  Still $1200 that could have gone to the bathrooms or kitchen rebuilds, had somebody simply stuck a little piece of metal up on the roof.  On a positive note, we will be required to burn "a 2-log fire" every day until the mortar and insulation cures.

Jumping the Badged Shark

Tru-Spec launched their line of uniforms in the new "MultiCam Black" today, a pattern that Crye says "The MultiCam Black™ pattern was developed to meet the unique requirements of law enforcement officers operating in high-risk environments. It projects a distinctly authoritative presence appropriate for domestic operations. MultiCam Black™ is designed to complement an officer’s existing equipment and present a sharp, professional image for top-tier law enforcement units."

This may come as a surprise to some, since I know there's a certain amount of stereotypes in the gun blog circles about LEOs, and as some long-time readers may know, that's kind of my civilian job.  So here's the rub: While the pattern does look pretty cool, I don't really see the legitimacy of it, especially in an LE environment.  It really is a pure "I want to look cool" product, as it has no concealment abilities, making it pretty useless for SWAT Snipers or Drug Enforcement guys busting grows out in the woods, and camo makes no difference for dynamic entry teams.  (And in my opinion, if you're going for some sort of "psychological edge," I'd think Kryptek Typhon would be the better option.)

All in all, if you want and need camo, get an effective camo.  Otherwise solid black with big white lettering is going to look plenty professional, and clearly identify who you are, and that's more important than looking cool.