Guns are not 100% effective; even if you regularly practice with your gun it can still jam or misfire.

The probability of a gun misfiring when well maintained and lubricated is very, very small. Occasionally, you'll get a dud round, but if you're buying quality, factory made ammo (Hornady, Federal, Remington, PMC, etc) the probability again is extremely low. Revolvers can misfire if it's a dud round, but revolvers can not jam. Double barreled shotguns can not jam. Pump action shotguns and Semi-Auto hand guns can jam (again, very, very, very rare if using quality ammo and the gun is clean, because if it's going to jam it'll jam after you've pulled the trigger and the next round gets caught...), but part of the practice is clearing jams quickly (hint: re-rack the slide -- hard, you won't break it. Beat it like it owes you money. The next round in the magazine will load.) You have to know your tool to use it effectively.

So what's quality ammo? Hornday, Remington, Federal, Winchester, PMC -- just stay away from the cheap, steel cased (always go for a brass casing) and in the case of a handgun, use a self defense round -- Hornady Critical Duty, Remington Golden Sabers, even Federal Hydra-shoks are an effective round. For self defense, I do not recommend full metal jacket round. FMJ's are for target practice and training at the range.

Either way I do see my height as being advantageous if I should need to attempt to defend myself or my family with a bat at home.

You are rolling the dice with your life unnecessarily with that plan. If an armed assailant breaks in, that bat -- even if it's a bad ass double walled DeMarini -- is no match for any kind of firearm, and you'd be taking the proverbial knife to a gunfight. You've got to watch out for yourself and your family.

Also, the latest trend in criminal activity is to bring a buddy or two -- I don't care how tall you are, even with a bat you're not going to be capable to defend yourself against two (or more) unarmed assailants, let alone armed ones.

For home defense, in my opinion the best defense is a pump-action shotgun -- specifically a 12 gauge. A 20 gauge may get the job done as well if you're worried about the recoil, but if you're holding it correctly the recoil should not bother you much. As an added benefit, the sound of that 12 gauge getting cocked may be enough to deter a criminal, but if it isn't, you're going to need the stopping power of a shotgun.

A 00 Buckshot shell has 8 pellets, and each pellet is roughly the size of a 9mm bullet. If you hit center mass, it'll be like the assailant taking 8 shots from a 9mm almost all at once (the pellets are loaded into the shell in 4 groups of 2, and exit the barrel thusly). Needless to say, it's devastating to a human body.

Take ownership of your own self-defense -- 911 doesn't respond fast enough.

Hopefully, you'll never need to use a gun to do more than put holes in paper (or water jugs, or watermelon, or even a tasty deer or warthog), but -- it will always be better to have a gun and never need it than need a gun once and not have it.

Unfortunately, I've been in a position where I needed my gun, and I thank God I didn't have to fire it, that the sight of it was enough to deter any future stupidity from the assailant.

If you want to talk self-defense any further, just ask. This is something I'm very passionate about and something I advocate every person do -- be prepared to defend themselves.

The only person I've seen have trouble with a 12 gauge shotgun is a 110 pound woman not holding the weapon correctly, and sadly youtube has no shortage of women with poor posture firing a 12 gauge (probably with a magnum load) and dealing with the recoil.

I doubt you, as a man, would have any trouble with it. As for the .45 -- the recoil is not unmanageable in my conceal carry weapon, but might be a little much for someone inexperienced. My full sized Glock 21, on the other hand, my wife fires with no problem and no trouble with the recoil.

The article says that most of the galaxies are moving apart, but the Local Group is moving closer. Why would the local group be different than the other galaxies? Are there other groups of galaxies that are seeing the same effect, or is the Local Group an anomaly?

The point of 2-factor auth is someone (like a criminal) can have one factor in their possession without it being any good. So with the SMS just being a form of "what you have" (it goes to your cell phone, and in theory only yours, and is time-limited to prevent re-use), an outside attacker would still have to gain the "what you know" or "what you are" factor (either your password/passcode or biometrics of some sort).

True, I wouldn't use SMS for highly classified document protection, but for most things SMS is just fine as a second factor.

And please tell us how you made that logical leap, calling me a racist for stating the objective truth that there is no such race as a "Palestinian", that they are Arabs. This is scientifically correct, so please tell me how I disparaged anyone on the basis of race.

* crickets *

Right. Just as I thought. Find a new crutch when you're losing an argument, asswipe.

Of course. The objective answer is the mythical "Palestinians" who are just Arabs with a different name.

I'm saying your concern about collateral damage is honorable, but your blame for it is entirely misplaced.

Hamas fired the first shot, does not respect cease fire agreements, does not control it's people...

So... fuck them. I hope Israel rounds up every terrorist over there and executes them.

Peace will only come when one side is victorious. I pray that the victor is Israel.

"Hey this risk to the lives of tens of thousands of people when Israel responds is okay, because these rockets we're about to fire are holy jihad. dirka dirka dirka!"

It might also make it much harder for Hamas to fire rockets in the dark.

I think that's changed in newer versions of Windows Server.

Think of Server 2008 as Vista for Servers: Lots of good ideas, but kicked out the door long before it was ready.
Server 2008 R2 is basically Windows 7 for Servers: Most of the things that were cut to get Vista out the door were finished, so it's actually a pretty good, solid OS. As part of that, many management things that were done through CMD in Server 2008 were moved into PowerShell. I *think* it was at this point that Server Core started supporting PowerShell, but in my world Server Core was always more of an "oh, that's kind of interesting" side note.

In the interest of completing my Server OS list above:
Server 2012 is like Windows 8: It had a few decent improvements under the hood, but with a UI designed by, but not fit for use by, a chimp on acid.

Anything newer than that I haven't used, but I have to believe after the debacle of Server 2012/Win 8, it can only get better again.

Exodus 22:2

“If a thief is caught breaking in at night and is struck a fatal blow, the defender is not guilty of bloodshed.

You don't know why a person is in your house when they shouldn't be. You life is not worth risking to find out if it's a drug addict looking to swipe DVD's to pawn or the newest border jumping MS-13 member or terrorist there to cause you harm.

Don't risk it.

Maybe my perspective is different since I have a wife and kids, but if someone is in my house illegally, I can only assume that there is a grave threat against my family, and I will drop the bastard. Center mass.

And maybe it's time to think about getting my first firearm.

First off -- abandon any idea of using rock salt -- pissing off an intruder is only going to get you killed.

Since you'd be new to firearm ownership, let me give you my armchair opinion.

Get a pump action 12 gauge shotgun, and a bunch of 00 buckshot. Hornady makes a gimmicky "Zombie Max" 12 gauge shell, and while it's gimmicky, Hornady makes some damn good ammo (I carry the critical defense hollowpoints in my everyday carry gun, a Springfield XDS chambered in .45 ACP). Don't waste time with bird shot, rock salt, or any other "less lethal" method.

As far as brands -- Remington, Mossberg -- won't go wrong with either one of those.

Finally, buy a box of cheap #8 birdshot and head to a range. One common misconception of a shotgun is that you don't have to aim it, it's a "room broom" -- and that notion is complete horseshit. Yes, the shot will expand but that pattern, especially indoors, and with 8 pellets (00 buck) it's not going to expand that much as to preclude you from aiming it.

Now -- some armchair "experts" will tell you never to cock it as a warning. I disagree with this -- one of my best friends is an officer, and she told me that 95% of the time, cocking a shotgun is enough and you don't have to pull the trigger -- and the other 5% of the time, you're going to have to pull the trigger because the assailant is going to kill everyone in the house.

If you'd rather have a handgun -- get a Glock in .45 ACP, with the highest magazine capacity that your moonbat idiot leaders in Kaliforniastan will let you have. I have a Glock 21 in .45 ACP, and let me tell you -- it's a nail driver. Extremely accurate at the range, and I get a 3 inch grouping at 50 yards with it.

But whatever you get -- practice, practice, practice. And have fun. No such thing as a bad day at the range. Keep the gun clean and the ammo dry and it will last you for decades.

I fly once or twice a year, I'd prefer to be seated first, get comfortable, and not have to worry about everyone else (and not fight for overhead space). In business or first class, people can easily get by you if they are in your row and you were first. I don't think I'm in the miniroty there, as most first class and airline club members seem to enjoy being first. First class and business seats are also more comfortable than anything in the boarding area, and you often start getting service immediately.

Look up "Server Core." I'm not certain if it has an SSH server by default, but MSFT has done an incredible amount of work in recent years to allow everything to be managed through PowerShell.