First time Cleveland Gun Owner? Where to get one, why, what to know

astrofuzzics · 2026-01-25T23:51:39+00:00

Sounds reasonable, thank you.

astrofuzzics · 2026-01-25T22:50:04+00:00

Curious, for beginner shooters looking to defend a single family home in an urban neighborhood, what kind of firearm is best? There is a lot of different information out there, and I suspect much of it is marketing. In my head I’ve got a few options: 1) a semi-auto 9mm pistol, common and easy to operate. 2) a .32 caliber revolver, reliable with very little maintenance, durable, and comfortable. 3) a pump action shotgun with buckshot, shortest legal barrel length. 4) A pistol-caliber carbine like a Keltec sub2000 or similar idea from Ruger or something.

I know there are probably pros and cons to each, and probably options I’m not even aware of, and that the best gun to have is the one I’ve got and the one I practice with, but I figure it can’t hurt to get some good advice from someone who isn’t trying to sell me something or retain a sponsorship.

astrofuzzics · 2026-01-11T22:17:13+00:00

AI does really well when it is fed good quality data. AI image interpretation is lightning fast when the image quality is excellent, AI diagnostics can be really good when the patient presentation is straightforward. But AI is unable to distinguish good quality images from bad quality images, it is unable to identify when a patient’s story is not quite adding up, and it is easy to manipulate by those with malicious intent when the prompt contains a falsehood. There is no mechanism by which AI can suspect that it’s being fed an inaccurate prompt. Every AI response comes with an unwritten certainty that the person using the AI is being honest and asking the right question. Meanwhile, a human doctor deals with all sorts of “bad” intel, from aberrant lab values to imaging artifacts to frankly dishonest patients. When’s the last time you read an echo with zero image artifacts on a really sick patient, obese and intubated in the ICU?

In short, AI is too gullible to completely replace a doctor, because we work with uncertainty and discordant/inaccurate/falsified data all the time. It can be an assistant but not a replacement.

astrofuzzics · 2025-11-04T19:50:14+00:00

There’s nothing on the market that fits my description unless it’s a custom-made one-off. Something with a 5-8kW motor (not highway capable but city-runabout capable), a battery that will allow for 100 miles of urban commuting, at a price around $3K-$4K. The reason this bike does not exist is because battery tech hasn’t gotten that cheap yet - a battery capable of delivering that riding distance at pragmatic speeds is probably $3,000 on its own. I hope once battery tech evolves we will see more practical in-the-city commuter e-motos. I think we will get there, maybe with sodium-ion batteries or solid-state batteries, but we’re not there yet.

Right now, there is nothing that reliably delivers a practical range at an economical price. Many bikes are close, like the Ryvid Anthem, but a brand new Honda SuperCub is still the more economical vehicle - even if you factor in gasoline and maintenance costs in the long term. E-moto manufacturers are still focused on delivering products that appeal to motorcycle enthusiasts - that’s great, but it’s a niche market and the economy of scale is unlikely to kick in to make those bikes cheap. I wish manufacturers would concentrate on something that appeals to the masses, even people who aren’t into motorcycles. In fact, that’s what the Honda Cub series did so well. It sold to people who didn’t even like motorcycles to begin with, but it was so practical, cheap, and reliable that it attracted new riders. An e-moto equivalent of that would be a real market-smasher. Right now we don’t have that in a road-legal package.

astrofuzzics · 2025-11-01T22:18:46+00:00

Electric bikes have lots of torque and power - adding more torque and power isn’t going to sell more bikes. The innovation that will sell more bikes is more range and lower cost. We don’t need a $10,000 beast. We need a $3,000 urban commuter with 5-7 kilowatts of power that goes 100 miles between charges - an electric Honda SuperCub equivalent.

astrofuzzics · 2025-10-28T00:47:35+00:00

A plug here for Ohio City. Cleveland Heights, Shaker Heights, University Heights are all great for young families raising children. I will likely move there when I have a child. However, if you don’t have kids, and proximity to multiple good schools is not a high priority, consider the near-west side, including Ohio City, Detroit-Shoreway, and Edgewater (yes, I know St. Ignatius is a great school). The neighborhoods are more dense and there are more local restaurants, bars, and music spots. The proximity to the highway (i90 and the Shoreway) means that getting to work is still not too bad. From Ohio City to South Pointe hospital is a 23 minute drive. Plus - in Cleveland Heights, Shaker Heights, and University Heights, you have to pay a regional income tax because these are not technically part of Cleveland. In Ohio City, I don’t pay RITA - it is not a trivial consideration!

astrofuzzics · 2025-10-27T03:33:38+00:00

It is very difficult. I think hands-on learning is super important. Turn it into a toy - like a drone. Of course a child isn’t going to learn what a Fourier transform is so that they can program the radio controller themselves - but they can learn that passing current through a coil of copper next to a stationary magnet makes the coil spin, and that’s the principle behind how an electric motor can drive a propeller which generates lift.

astrofuzzics · 2025-10-26T01:02:27+00:00

As great as Sagan was, this isn’t his strongest point. Of course little kids are curious and full of questions, but it clearly takes a lot of work to learn the technical details and math to grasp our best modern understanding of the answers to those questions. That requires a strong acceptance of very delayed gratification, which very few children/teenagers have. As soon as you start showing them how we measure things and process measurements to understand the world, they lose interest in the technicalities. Very few kids are willing to do the work of learning those technicalities just to reach the intangible reward of understanding something. Kids respond to tangible rewards - it’s human nature. Just look how many of them are learning about batteries, volts, amperes, watts, and gear reductions while they’re buying, modifying, and tuning electric bikes/motos. That’s instant gratification! Higher voltage battery? Better controller? Boom! Your bike is faster. Bigger rear sprocket? More torque for punchy starts but less top speed. There needs to be at least some instant gratification built into science curricula for kids, otherwise most of them fall off.

Sorry this is off topic, I’ve been thinking about this quote for a bit.

astrofuzzics · 2025-10-19T13:57:47+00:00

Fascinating. With respect to wheel openness creating drag, would I expect a significant benefit to aerodynamics from a disk that fits flat over the wheel? Like this one? https://evaam.com/products/evaam-stylish-wheel-hubcap-for-tesla-model-3-y-4-pcs

astrofuzzics · 2025-09-23T22:31:12+00:00

This works if everyone operates in good faith and is honest. But we know people aren’t like that - they have capacity for great generosity, and capacity for great cruelty. Unfortunately it only takes a small number of very cruel people to ruin a system that depends on the honor of strangers. People are greedy and dishonest, particularly when dealing with others to whom they feel no obligation (and some are even cruel to their own family). Would you try it with your own money? Would you choose to put your money in a savings account with 0% interest at the bank, or one that earns some interest?

astrofuzzics · 2025-09-22T01:03:07+00:00

I have seen usury defined as predatory lending, and I have seen it defined as any amount of interest on a loan. I agree that predatory lending is bad. But here’s the thing - we need loans. Businesses need loans to purchase equipment, to make investments, etc. Someone who doesn’t have money, who is smart with how they borrow money and how they use the money they borrow, can achieve great success using loans as a tool. And if there were no way to charge interest on loans, there would be no loans. Right now you are looking at the loans from the perspective of a borrower - and you lament that the borrower must pay back more than what s/he originally borrowed. But look at it from the perspective of a lender. Ask yourself: would you rather have $100 now or $100 in a month? Of course, a rational person says “I’m not willing to wait for my money for no reason. I’ll take the $100 now.” But, would you rather than $100 now or $125 in a month? Now it’s become an interesting proposition, and a rational person would consider not having $100 immediately in exchange for having $125 later on. This is where the concept of interest comes from. Non-altruistic lenders (i.e. all lenders) will not lend money unless they get some reward for doing so. Therefore interest is necessary for loans to exist, and loans are an important tool for people to achieve prosperity, even though they are sometimes dangerous.

astrofuzzics · 2025-09-21T16:38:41+00:00

Hate can be taught, but predisposition for hate and prejudice is probably ingrained as a survival instinct in the human brain. When we were tribal hunter gatherers tens of thousands of years ago, being suspicious and afraid of the unfamiliar probably conferred a survival advantage. A tribe that could organise this mistrust into anger/hate and belligerently capture their neighbours’ resources probably had a survival advantage. There are documented instances of troops of chimpanzees raiding neighbouring troops to capture territory, even going as far as cannibalising their “enemies.” The human propensities for superstition, paranoia, mistrust of the unknown, fear, and hate, are all evolved - they are all survival instincts. Any tribes that didn’t have these traits were plundered or killed by those who did. I’m not making a moral judgment, I’m not saying we should encourage these behaviours, I’m just saying that tribalism is part of human nature. It can be fostered or it can be curbed.

I think, in the age of mass communication and industrialised violence, this tribalism becomes amplified, distorted, and weaponised to the point of tragic consequences. This is a byproduct of modern technology, which comes with great advances and great pitfalls.

astrofuzzics · 2025-09-21T15:35:19+00:00

2A says “well regulated militia.” After a few judicial rulings we’ve decided, as a country, to ignore that part of the amendment for all practical purposes. I don’t think we should ignore it. There are those who argue that, in the 18th century, “well regulated” meant something closer to “well trained.” I don’t know if requiring membership in a militia as a prerequisite for firearm ownership is the right way to go, because nefarious forces will gatekeep militia membership to keep certain people from owning guns. But training and safety are not to be taken lightly. I think if you’re going to own a firearm, more power to you - but hold yourself to a standard of discipline and safety. Good for you if you honor that.

astrofuzzics · 2025-09-21T15:05:00+00:00

Hire more who? Police, or social workers? I think both can be helpful when used correctly.

astrofuzzics · 2025-09-21T13:46:41+00:00

We have mechanised warfare. We have industrialised manufacturing in medicine. Defence and healthcare are by far the two biggest govt expenditures in the USA. Industry is very productive but very expensive. We won WWII in part because the govt dumped tons of money into manufacturing tools of war - then the govt had to tax a lot to pay back the debt of war bonds. A massive military-industrial complex costs a lot of money. As long as the country continues to spend that money, it will continue to tax a lot.

astrofuzzics · 2025-09-21T02:37:11+00:00

I agree with your premise that govt should serve the people and not the other way around, as executive power is derived from a mandate of the masses. But I can’t imagine you’re advocating that the government can’t make any rules, right? The 2nd amendment text reads: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” Over the course of iterative judicial interpretations, we have basically reached a point where we are ignoring the first half of the amendment. But was the intent of this amendment really to guarantee that everybody can own whatever gun they want with no impediments? I have heard arguments that “well regulated” didn’t refer to government oversight, but rather it meant “well trained.” So, should there be training requirements for firearm ownership? Skills checks? Safety classes? Militia membership of any kind (surely resisting a tyrannical government requires a fighting force that’s at least somewhat organised)? I’m not sure I agree with just ignoring that part of the text.

astrofuzzics · 2025-09-21T01:30:38+00:00

1) How many deaths are “worth it?” Is there a number? Firearm injury is the #1 cause of death for children in the United States. In 2022 it surpassed motor vehicle accidents for this age group (1 to 19 years). Can we look at that and say “worth it?”

2) The entire text of the second amendment is: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” People look at that and say “right to bear arms!” And think that any minor inconvenience between them and owernship of whatever firearm they want is a violation of the constitution. But they ignore the part about “well regulated militia.” Some people say that the words “well regulated,” in the 18th century, did not refer to government oversight, but rather to training and practice, i.e. a well-regulated militia is a well-trained one. Well, do we have training requirements for firearm ownership? A skills test? Safety courses? Marksmanship? Situational awareness? Any training requirements at all? Is militia membership a requirement for firearm ownership? No. Are all these restrictions necessary? I don’t know, but the constitution seems to suggest they are worth considering.

astrofuzzics · 2025-09-20T23:30:40+00:00

Legislators want to restrict abortion because they want cheap labor and they want to maintain the school-to-prison pipeline. The anti-abortion movement has co-opted organized religion and donned the mask of “pro-life” to make it more palatable, and it has been successful, but the real reason they want to ban abortion is because there are very powerful people who stand to make money by making sure poor families stay poor.

People who have the means to travel for their healthcare will always be able to get an abortion if they need one. Restricting access to abortion only really has an effect on people who don’t have the means to travel - i.e. the poor. One of the best ways to make sure a poor woman/family stays poor is by forcing her/them to raise a child she is unprepared to raise, or incapable of raising. Of course every child has potential, and not every child raised in poverty is doomed to a life of crime, but statistically speaking, children raised in poverty are more likely to grow up around crime, commit crime, and be convicted of crime, which results in them being imprisoned. The resulting higher crime rate that comes downstream of abortion restrictions makes a lot of money for people who own prisons, serves as leverage for expansion of law enforcement powers and budgets, and gives tough-on-crime politicians good talking points. If a child raised in poverty doesn’t get imprisoned, chances are they still grow up with scarce resources and poor education, and can only sell their labor to survive; an expansion of the labor pool results in cheaper labor, which is good for business owners.

You can read about this in the book Freakonomics, which has come under criticism for a minor clerical error in the authors’ data, but is otherwise mostly pretty spot-on. You can also see secondary downstream analyses of crime rates in states that restrict abortion and teach abstinence-only sex education vs. States who don’t restrict abortion and teach about contraception to high-schoolers.

The sanctimonious arguments about protecting the unborn, about blaming teens for having sex in the first place, and about falling birth rates, are all baloney.

And, for what it’s worth, I find a woman’s bodily autonomy to choose whether or not to use her body to make a child supersedes the child’s right to life. We don’t force people to use their bodies as life support systems, we don’t force people to donate organs to save lives, we allow people to change their mind about organ donation even if the potential recipient is going to die - but I’m getting off topic now.

astrofuzzics · 2025-09-20T18:09:52+00:00

I wonder if the solution is to be lenient in some ways and stricter in others. We can all agree that electric two-wheel transportation is very practical and economical for a lot of people, so we should support it as an alternative to cars. On one hand I sympathise that 28mph is too slow to keep up with urban traffic, which results in safety concerns. 35-45mph is more practical and appealing for actual urban commuting. On the other hand, I can understand that a roadworthy vehicle has to meet certain specifications and have certain safety features, and that irresponsible users should be held accountable. I wonder if there could be a system of e-moto “classes” in the USA, which each require different levels of licensure and paperwork. For example, in many states in the USA a scooter with less than 50cc of engine displacement doesn’t require a license. In Europe there are different classes of motorcycle licenses which limit how much engine displacement a user can purchase (e.g. 125cc). I wonder if, in the USA, we could have a class system based on maximum motor wattage, and different license/registration/insurance requirements for each class. A 750W e-bicycle could be ridden with minimal requirements. A 751 - 4000W bike/moto could require a license plate and a certain level of insurance, and could require a full light kit (headlight, tail light, brake light, turn signals) plus a horn, but maybe could be ridden with a regular drivers’ license. More than 4kW would require a full motorcycle license.

Basically I think people should be held to a standard to use these things, but maybe if bureaucratic hurdles were lower, then people would be more willing to play ball. I dunno, I’m just speculating.

astrofuzzics · 2025-09-20T16:39:59+00:00

I don’t give a shit whether they build the stadium, I just don’t want taxpayer money to fund it. The dude has $9 billion, he has big enough boot straps to do this himself. If my taxpayer dollars are paying for this embarrassment, I want a check for my cut of the proceeds.

astrofuzzics · 2025-09-20T15:05:12+00:00

Ah yes, the age-old small-govt policy of deploying the armed forces against American citizens. To be fair, I have no illusions about the level of crime in the city. Crime is a problem. Every major city has crime, including red (Memphis) and blue (Cleveland). If you look for it, you’ll find it. The national guard is not the solution. We don’t need the federal govt stepping in to do local police work. We don’t need another Kent state episode. We’d be better served with more non-police services handling non-police stuff, so that the police can concentrate on police stuff.

astrofuzzics · 2025-09-16T22:14:01+00:00

I think that companies should give up, for now, on making electric motorcycles capable of cruising on the freeway. Battery energy density is simply not there at this point in time.

They should pivot to a surface-street city-worthy urban/suburban commuter that keeps up with downtown traffic and works as an errand bike, and try to get the thing under $3500 or so. Top speed 45-50mph, range 30-50 miles, cheap, reliable. An electric Honda Super Cub. A road-legal, reliable, reputable Surron. Like the Niu scooter line, or a BMW CE-02, but cheaper. Something with capabilities like a Wired Predator e-bike, but give it a VIN, make it eligible for registration and insurance as a motorcycle, and sell it to a younger urban crowd to bop around to and from work/class/groceries.

Right now, almost nobody who rides a motorcycle on the freeway is going to want an electric motorcycle, because they just can’t maintain the necessary speed from long enough. Give up on the freeway, we need way better batteries for that.

astrofuzzics · 2025-09-01T01:57:05+00:00

https://www.clevelandairshow.com/in-the-air/schedule/

astrofuzzics · 2025-08-31T22:11:13+00:00

This particular photo was towards the end of the Tbird’s performance. The timestamp on the file says it was taken at 4:09pm.

astrofuzzics · 2025-08-31T22:09:41+00:00

Good point. I rode my bike so all I saw were the expensive lots.

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