Teppy and Barb - good points! (so to speak)

Better to buy a cheap knife for people-stabbin' needs.

One of the things that really stuck in my brain on reading Helter Skelter was one of the Manson women had a knife with a broken handle - she complained at how much it hurt her hand when she stabbed someone and the blade hit bone.

So make sure your cheap, people-stabbin' knife has a good handle.

edit 'cuz "stabbin'" has two B's....

BWAH, Tommy!

Were you perhaps on a death panel?

Not yet. But a woman needs career goals.

I think he still collects nuts, bolts, wires, and other metal things he can sneak. He says they are for the robot he's going to build.

More proof that Leif is made of awesome.

A self-reparing battlefield zombie robot? Hey, the military says they aren't going to do it. It's Leif or North Korea as long as Joe is tied up with that transporter.

Leif is getting older every day, MM needs to get the world taking over thing done before Leif can beat him to it. He's already starting to like strategy based computer games.

I too have a pair of maglites, one by the bed and one right where I can grab it in my car.

I have a gun. It's in a safe. The safe is hidden. We never ever ever mention it around Mal. If he suspected there was a gun in the house, he'd go looking, and he'd probably figure out how to defeat the three levels of security.

When he's old enough, I'll take him target shooting, and teach him gun safety. And I still won't tell him I own a gun.

This is the best I can manage to square my background of "raised by Quakers" and "raised in NM where everyone has guns."

I've already taught him to flip off the NRA headquarters every time we drive by it. From, you know, below the level of the dashboard so they don't shoot us.

One should have a universally comprehensive batch of pictogram cards on hand so that you may still engage in conversation with guests who do not speak your language.

I'm stealing this idea...oddly, this happens a LOT to me.

I've already taught him to flip off the NRA headquarters every time we drive by it. From, you know, below the level of the dashboard so they don't shoot us.

Seriously loving Raq right now.

One should have a universally comprehensive batch of pictogram cards on hand so that you may still engage in conversation with guests who do not speak your language.

I'm stealing this idea...oddly, this happens a LOT to me.

They sell these in travel stores. They are more oriented toward travel, but they are pretty comprehensive.

I've already taught him to flip off the NRA headquarters every time we drive by it.

I just shake my fist and growl. I used to know their General Counsel. He was CRAZY. Fun guy, but insane.

I have a lot of friends with guns -- smart, thoughtful, careful, liberal people who happen to like shooting them. I have no problem with the idea that there are a lot of good and reasonable gun owners. And I personally hate the things from somewhere at or perhaps beyond the Teppy end of the bench, and would happily see every last one on earth melted down into a giant steaming pile o' slag.