After about four years of using TextWrangler to write HTML/CSS and other basic code, I got tired of it this week and wanted to move to something a little hipper and, ideally, open-source. I wanted to install Apple's own Xcode program, but the damned thing takes up 2.37 gigs of hard drive space, which is more than I have free on my Mac. So I downloaded the highly-lauded yet daunting text editor called Vim, which takes up a grand total of 30 megabytes.
Vim is a modified version of vi, which is one of the classic editors for hardcore coders, hackers, and nerds. The other real classic is Emacs, but the OSX implementation of Emacs didn't really feel rad to me, so after consulting with my good friend and CERN physicist Grayson W, I turned to Vim.
At first, this looked like a really big mistake, because after I installed and opened Vim, I started typing and... nothing! I saw the cursor, but it wouldn't actually type! Looking around in the menus, I had no idea what to do. I got really frustrated and called Grayson again, who told me that Vim was a modal editor, which means that in order to add new lines to the document, you have to be in a mode called 'Insert.'
“Maybe you should stick to Emacs,” said Grayson.
He may be right. After all, technology is supposed to make work easier, not harder. Why should I waste time learning the complex operating methods of a text editor instead of creating new stuff? I don't have a really good answer for why I didn't give up right then, but I think it has something to do with my characteristic refusal to admit defeat and also an embarrassing but nonetheless real desire to feel like I 'fit in' with the hardcore-coder crowd.
So, I decided to give it a shot. I figured that I'd learn the commands better if I typed up a cheat sheet myself instead of just memorizing one that'd be typed already, so I watched a few YouTube video tutorials on Vim and wrote down the info they shared. Will I become proficient enough to be useful in a reasonably short time? Or will I languish and fail as I did when I tried to learn Linux administration ten years ago? To quote Michael Madsen in 'Kill Bill 2,' – “I guess we'll just...see, now, won't we?”
Vim is 'modal' - - In “normal mode,” you move around and make changes to the document In “insert mode,” you actively write code You can toggle these modes with the escape key, but : Instead of esc, you can use control-[ to toggle modes
Vim commands :
Move down : j Move up : k Move right : l Move left : h
Search : / [follow with search term] Find next instance of search term : * Find next occurrence of search term : n Find previous occurrence of search term : N Find a specific symbol to right : f [followed by symbol] Find a specific symbol to the left : F [followed by symbol] Find next instance of symbol : ; Find previous occurrence of symbol ; , Substitute : s [used like this : s/youwanttochangethis/tothis/g ← where g {global} is over entire document; to ignore case (lowercase / capital), use gi] Find an instance above cursor : #
Copy : y [“yank” - must qualify with a motion] Motions : Copy a whole line of text : yy ; can use any other command Paste a line of text : p Change a character : c [also requires a motion] Motions : w [whole word]; t and a character ['til, as in all characters through X] can use any other comand, like $
Range : [this is a range of text within the document] Entire document : %
Note that any command can be executed automatically multiple times by typing the desired number of executions (say, 10) and then the command – e.g., “10p” - this will paste a line ten times.
Undo : u Delete : d [wants a motion; Note : 'delete' functions like 'cut' – it puts whatever you delete into the clipboard] Delete whole line: dd [with cursor on line] Join lines : J Next / previous word or punctuation mark : w / b Next sentence : ) Previous sentence : ( Beginning of current line : 0 Home : ^ [shift + 6] End of current line : $ Page up : control + u Page down : control + d
Delete one word / punctuation mark to the left : dw Delete one word / punctuation mark to the right : db Delete one sentence : das Delete sentence to the left : d( Delete sentence to right : d) Delete one character : x or [delete key]
Insert before the cursor : i Insert after the cursor : a [“append text”] Insert at beginning of line : I Insert at end of line : A Insert below current line : o Insert above current line : O
in command mode : [Note! You must type a colon before any of these commands!] write / save file : w Open / edit file : e and type filepath e.g., c:/snakes/bats.html Reload current file : e! Quit the program : q Save and then quit : wq
Don't use the arrow keys in insert mode to navigate. Unless you're actively typing text, use noarmal mode.
Ever had a really great customer service experience with a technology company? Lord knows I haven't. That's why, for years, I didn't really care whether the blithering morpion on the other end of the line was located in Brooklyn, Botswana, or Bombay. I always just plain avoided dealing with customer service altogether. I figured that the level of service was uniformly awful and that, in fact, th' overall better math and science education in places like India (relative to the USA) would probably make for better tech service coming from those labor pools. I watched the comedy farce "Outsourced," whose sunny depiction of the workers at an Indian call center seemed to confirm my suspicion that all this anti-outsourcing noise was just a load a racist hooey.
Boy, was I wrong!
As those who follow th' Latewire will know, I work for a company that deals in computer hardware. One of the products we sell is recycled laptop batteries. We caught wind of a product recall issued by HP last year and then expanded just last month, as detailed in HP's link below :
and discovered that we had at least one potentially affected battery in our stock. Now, I don't know about you, but when one of our customers pays through the nose for a hard-to-find replacement item and pays $60 to ship it to a repair technician via next-day air cargo, they're not going to be happy if the damned thing catches fire or leaks hot battery gunk all over their low-slung techemo trousers. So with that in mind, I attempted to go through the automated recall-verification process on HP's website. This effort was stymied, however, because I didn't have the complete laptop computer on hand from which the potentially-affected battery was taken, and the site has the computer's serial number as a required field. Now, I'd already determined from HP's own listing of affected battery serial number series that the battery I had was likely a recalled unit. I didn't want to send this thing to some poor sucker only to have it burn his legs off, so I contacted HP's customer service via their online chat 'service.'
What I got was some poor bastard, 'Pavan Kuma R,' in India who spoke English perfectly well, but didn't give a flying @#$% about my actual problem, and instead kept inanely repeating the same infuriating obstruction as I attempted to get the situation sorted out. Despite the fact that this recall involves the battery, not the notebook computer as a whole, and despite the fact that the battery-serial-number check step on HP's website shows that the specific item I had is likely under recall, these soulless sons of lizards kept telling me that I needed the laptop serial number in order for them to tell me whether or not my battery was defective and potentially dangerous.
After I'd given up on 'Pavan,' who was less helpful than a pile of dead hamsters, I told him how I felt about the customer service experience and told him to pass my sentiments along to his supervisor. 'Pavan' then practically begged for me to stay on the line while he got his supervisor, who, he hinted, might be able to actually help me. I was short on time and in no mood for any more of this foolishness, so I said forget it, but then he was like 'oh please' and I said OK, five minutes.
Well, guess what? The supervisor, 'Satyanarayana Raju K' was not only equally as obstructive, but also actually more rude and annoying. This individual just parroted HP's bullfeathers policy back at me and jabbered confrontationally. In all, these barfbats wasted about 45 minutes of my time, and I ended up having to remove the battery from our stock anyway, to be on the safe side. That cost real dough.
Now, do I seriously think that these clownsnakes would have necessarily been more willing to help me if they'd been located in the USA? Not really. Maybe the stonewalling and parroting would have been reduced if they knew how to carry on a reasonable English convo instead of acting like monstrous automatons, but I doubt that I'd have been able to get anywhere with these goons even if they were from Duluth. The real failure here is that HP has designed their recall to protect only individual consumers, and to screw service providers and resellers, because HP has designs on monopolizing those industries as far as its own product is concerned. This attitude is BS, MSM, and dangerous. "Who cares if they have acid burns on their inner thighs, they didn't buy a new HP laptop, so they can FRY."
Bottom line : HP sucks gnat nads. Their customer service is jive turkey bait. And call center managers : don't train your @#$%ing people to waste my time and act like some damned robots. If that's how you're going to roll, at least get some real goddamn robots. Preferably with lasers.
I've attached the complete transcript of the exchange between me and HP's customer service demons below, in case you're a glutton for punishment. Read only in the presence of a bottle of Dewar's.
[Thursday, May 27, 2010 3:46 PM] -- Automatically generated message: A support specialist will be with you shortly. [Thursday, May 27, 2010 3:47 PM] -- Automatically generated message: You are now chatting with support specialist Pavan Kuma R. [Thursday, May 27, 2010 3:47 PM] -- Pavan Kuma R says: Welcome to HP Total Care for Notebook. My name is Pavan. Please give me a few moments while I review your problem description details.
NOTE: For security reasons, PLEASE DO NOT send credit card information via chat.
[Thursday, May 27, 2010 3:47 PM] -- Pavan Kuma R says: Hello hank
[Thursday, May 27, 2010 3:47 PM] -- hank latewire says: Hello Pavan [Thursday, May 27, 2010 3:48 PM] -- Pavan Kuma R says: How are you doing today [Thursday, May 27, 2010 3:48 PM] -- hank latewire says: Well, thanks, how are you? [Thursday, May 27, 2010 3:48 PM] -- Pavan Kuma R says: I am doing absolutely wonderful, thank you. [Thursday, May 27, 2010 3:48 PM] -- hank latewire says: Good to hear [Thursday, May 27, 2010 3:48 PM] -- hank latewire says: So how about this battery I have here? [Thursday, May 27, 2010 3:49 PM] -- Pavan Kuma R says: If I understand you correctly, you need to validate and check whether the battery of notebook is under any recall or not. Am I right? [Thursday, May 27, 2010 3:49 PM] -- hank latewire says: that's right [Thursday, May 27, 2010 3:50 PM] -- hank latewire says: that's rught [Thursday, May 27, 2010 3:50 PM] -- Pavan Kuma R says: I do understand your concern, I am here to help you in this regard. [Thursday, May 27, 2010 3:50 PM] -- Pavan Kuma R says: hank, you will find the product and serial number of the notebook at the bottom of the laptop on a white bar coded sticker preceded by p/n and s/n. [Thursday, May 27, 2010 3:51 PM] -- hank latewire says: I don't ahve the notebook handy -- that's why I couldn't proceed on the recall portion of the website [Thursday, May 27, 2010 3:51 PM] -- Pavan Kuma R says: Please check once and provide me the product and serial number to pull up notebook records. [Thursday, May 27, 2010 3:51 PM] -- hank latewire says: I have only the battery [Thursday, May 27, 2010 3:52 PM] -- hank latewire says: this chat interface lags badly, doesn't it? [Thursday, May 27, 2010 3:52 PM] -- Pavan Kuma R says: I regret to inform you that we need the product details to check with this. [Thursday, May 27, 2010 3:53 PM] -- Pavan Kuma R says: With out the product and serial number, we would not be able to check the notebook status in records. [Thursday, May 27, 2010 3:53 PM] -- hank latewire says: I have the battery in front of me here [Thursday, May 27, 2010 3:53 PM] -- hank latewire says: it's the battery that's potentially recalled, not the notebook [Thursday, May 27, 2010 3:53 PM] -- Pavan Kuma R says: I understand your concern and the inconvenience caused, but we need the Serial and Product Number to check with this. [Thursday, May 27, 2010 3:53 PM] -- hank latewire says: really [Thursday, May 27, 2010 3:54 PM] -- Pavan Kuma R says: hank, not complete notebooks battery are under recall only few notebooks battery are under recall. [Thursday, May 27, 2010 3:54 PM] -- hank latewire says: I have the product and serial number of the battery -- why do you need the notebook? [Thursday, May 27, 2010 3:55 PM] -- hank latewire says: right, and I want to know whether this particular battery is under recall [Thursday, May 27, 2010 3:55 PM] -- Pavan Kuma R says: Few notebooks with particular serial and product number has a battery recall. [Thursday, May 27, 2010 3:56 PM] -- Pavan Kuma R says: Hence to check whether the battery of the notebook is under recall or not we need the product details of notebook. [Thursday, May 27, 2010 3:56 PM] -- Pavan Kuma R says: For your help, here is the link with details to Locate the Notebook Product Number or Model Number:
[Thursday, May 27, 2010 3:56 PM] -- hank latewire says: the information on http://bpr/hpordercenter.com/hpbr/m14.aspx indicates that it's the battery bar code that determines recall status -- see for yourself [Thursday, May 27, 2010 3:57 PM] -- hank latewire says: http://bpr.hpordercenter.com/hpbr/m14.aspx that is [Thursday, May 27, 2010 3:58 PM] -- Pavan Kuma R says: I understand the situation. In the above link of battery recall we need to enter the Serial Number to check whether battery is under recall or not. [Thursday, May 27, 2010 3:59 PM] -- Pavan Kuma R says: With the serial and product number of notebook we would not be able to get the correct information regarding recall. [Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:00 PM] -- Pavan Kuma R says: I would love to help you with this, but I am sorry the data to check this cannot be retrieved without notebook details. [Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:01 PM] -- Pavan Kuma R says: If you have product and serial number of notebook, you can validate the whether battery is under recall or not at your end also. [Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:01 PM] -- Pavan Kuma R says: I apologize for any inconvenience this has caused. [Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:02 PM] -- hank latewire says: a bad battery is going to be bad no matter what notebook it's installed in -- this is a major customer service failure and potential safety hazard. Tell your supervisor that the situation is not acceptable. If this battery is deployed and causes damage or injury due to HP's inability to determine its recall status, there are some serious liability issues at play. [Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:02 PM] -- Pavan Kuma R says: hank, not all the notebooks battery are under recall. [Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:03 PM] -- Pavan Kuma R says: Only few notebook with particular serial number is under recall. [Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:03 PM] -- Pavan Kuma R says: To check this we need the details as it is mandatory. [Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:06 PM] -- hank latewire says: I understand perfectly that not all batteries are under recall - that's why I'm checking this one. I've printed this chat record. I recognize that this isn't your fault, it's HP's foolish policy decision. I want you to pass my dissatisfaction and concern to your supervisor so that HP can be made aware of this error in the design of their program and policy. [Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:08 PM] -- Pavan Kuma R says: Please be online for a while, my supervisor will be handling the chat to take your compliant. [Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:09 PM] -- Pavan Kuma R says: The chat would be transfer to floor supervisor with in few minutes. [Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:09 PM] -- hank latewire says: I don't have a whole lot of time here - we've already spent 20 minutes [Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:10 PM] -- hank latewire says: just have the supervisor review the chat -- if they wish to contact me, they can do so via email - hank [at ] latewire [dot] com [Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:10 PM] -- Pavan Kuma R says: hank, transferring the chat to supervisor would take few minutes. [Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:11 PM] -- Pavan Kuma R says: Your time and patience would be much more appreciated if you stay connected few minutes. [Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:12 PM] -- hank latewire says: OK, five minutes [Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:14 PM] -- Automatically generated message: You are now chatting with support specialist Satyanarayana Raju K. [Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:14 PM] -- hank latewire says: Hello [Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:14 PM] -- Satyanarayana Raju K says: Hello hank. [Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:14 PM] -- Satyanarayana Raju K says: My name is Satyanarayana Raju. [Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:14 PM] -- Satyanarayana Raju K says: I am the floor supervisor. [Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:15 PM] -- hank latewire says: Hello Satyanarayana [Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:15 PM] -- hank latewire says: have you reviewed the chat session between Pavan and I? [Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:15 PM] -- Satyanarayana Raju K says: Regarding the battery recall, it is not possible to validate the battery without the serial and product numbers of the notebook because battery recall is only for specific batteries which are shipped in few series notebooks like F700, DV6500, etc.. [Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:16 PM] -- Satyanarayana Raju K says: I have go through the chat, without the notebook information it is not possible to confirm whether the battery is covered under recall or not. [Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:17 PM] -- Satyanarayana Raju K says: Using the notebook serial number we will validate whether that perticular battery is shipped with the notebook series or not. If yes, then we will check whether the battery serial number/bar code comes under recall or not. [Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:18 PM] -- hank latewire says: that's what Pavan told me -- it doesn't make sense because a) we know what series this battery is from and b) the recall page at http://bpr.hpordercenter.com/hpbr/m14.aspx specifies battery serial number bar codes that may be affected, so it's clear that the information about which specific batteries are subject to recall is known [Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:18 PM] -- hank latewire says: this particular one, serial number 65035N7B7V5YDJ [Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:19 PM] -- hank latewire says: is listed uner the potentially recalled ones for the Presario V6000 series, etc, on the page I noted [Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:19 PM] -- Satyanarayana Raju K says: Without using the serial and product numbers of the notebook and series it is not possible to validate the battery. May I know how you have validated the battery? [Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:19 PM] -- hank latewire says: where it specifies that batteries with code 65035^^B7V^^^^ are potentially recalled [Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:20 PM] -- hank latewire says: I haven't validated the battery -- that is what I am attempting to do [Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:20 PM] -- Satyanarayana Raju K says: All the batteries are not affected in DV6000 series notebook. [Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:21 PM] -- hank latewire says: I understand that perfectly -- why can't you grasp that I'm trying to find out whether this particular battery, which I now have in my hand, is affected by the recall? [Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:21 PM] -- Satyanarayana Raju K says: Please get back to us with the notebook serial number and product number. Without the notebook, it is not possible to validate and replace the battery. [Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:22 PM] -- Satyanarayana Raju K says: The battery recall validation tool will work only when we enter the serial and product numbers of the notebook along with the bar code. [Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:22 PM] -- Satyanarayana Raju K says: There is no such option to directly validate the battery using bar code. [Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:25 PM] -- Satyanarayana Raju K says: Please get back to us with the notebook information so that we can check whether the battery is covered under recall or not. If yes, we will replace the battery. [Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:25 PM] -- Satyanarayana Raju K says: Is there anything else that I can assist you? [Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:26 PM] -- hank latewire says: you clearly haven't reviewed the chat between Pavan and myself, so I'll repeat : a defective battery is defective no matter what unit it's installed in. It's not the consumer's fault that your validation tool can't vet individual batteries. It's dangerous that you are unable to tell the consumer whether their battery is defective without the notebook serial number handy. It could lead to damage or injury. I want you to know that this experience has been very worrisome and frustrating, and perfectly typifies the kind of poor customer service that people often associate with HP and this type of customer service operation in general. I suggest that you pass this sentiment along. [Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:27 PM] -- hank latewire says: Good-bye [Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:27 PM] -- Satyanarayana Raju K says: To check whether the battery is defective or not, we have to validate the battery using the notebook information. Without validating the battery it is not possible to confirm whether it is defective or not. [Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:28 PM] -- Satyanarayana Raju K says: Without the serial and product numbers of the notebook, it is not possible to validate the battery. We do not have such option. [Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:30 PM] -- Automatically generated message: You are now chatting with support specialist Pavan Kuma R. [Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:30 PM] -- Pavan Kuma R says: Thank you for hank. [Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:30 PM] -- Pavan Kuma R says: Here is the reference number of current chat : 4574885
[Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:30 PM] -- Pavan Kuma R says: Is there anything else I can assist you with, today? (63,360)
This guy is Dr. Ken Lunde. He's the author of two groundbreaking books on the handling of ideographic languages (e.g., Japanese and Korean) in information processing, "Understanding Japanese Information Processing" (1993) and "CJKV Information Processing" (1999 and 2008 editions). [CJKV, by the way, stands for "Chinese Japanese Korean Vietnamese"] He works for Adobe and is kind of a big deal in the global infotech scene.
In addition to his landscape-altering work in that field, he's a notable collector and photographer of fine weapons. His photographic wallpaper of pistols is extremely popular, and his extensive collection of firearms and knives is the subject of endless slavering by gun buffs.
Dr. Lunde kindly granted us this one-of-a-kind email interview where we ask about everything from firearms to "Terminator : Salvation." This is an amazing window into one of the most intense minds on the planet -- check out Dr Lunde's Web site at http://LundeStudio.com for great photos and more info, and follow him on Twitter @Ken_Lunde . So read this interview and learn how to be far more awesome than you are now.
Here's the interview, presented in its entirety :
LW) For the benefit of our readers, what is CJKV information processing?
KL) In a nutshell, it is everything about how the languages that include ideographs (aka, Chinese characters) as part of their writing system are processed on computers or by digital means. Character sets and encodings are the fundamentals, because everything else depends on those two aspects.
LW) You're known as the authority on CJKV type and computer science. What first interested you in working on CJKV information processing?
KL) My interest began in the summer 1985, when I was deciding which non Indo-Eurpean language to study as part of the graduation requirements for a degree in linguistics. My choices boiled down to Japanese and Arabic. I spent time with both languages, and chose Japanese because I found it to be more challenging. Given the events that took place in subsequent years, combined with the fact that I was in the military at the time, I am glad that I chose Japanese over Arabic. Otherwise, I might still be taking sand out of my boots.
LW) Have you lived in East Asia for an extended period of time? If so, tell us about it.
KL) I have been in East Asia only for business trips, and only once or twice for a vacation. I have not lived there for any extended period. I have been to China once, South Korea twice, and Japan several times.
LW) This kind of work seems dauntingly difficult. Did you have to attain fluency in all four languages before starting this work?
KL) Of the languages in question, I have moderate fluency only in Japanese. I studied the simplified forms as used in China, and thus have rudimentary Chinese reading ability, but I cannot understand it when spoken, and cannot pronounce its words.
LW) What are the most significant challenges you face in your CJKV work?
KL) The most difficult challenge is keeping track of changes. Then again, if things stayed the same, that would be boring and stale. How we deal with challenges define us as a person. I see challenges as opportunities.
LW) Our rough understanding is that Chinese has thousands of characters. How is this handled with respect to input devices?
KL) Fundamentally, languages are spoken. The written form is simply a way to record spoken language. For this reason, the most intuitive way to input the thousands (actually, tens of thousands) of ideographs is by reading. Of course, many ideographs share the same reading, meaning that the user must often choose among several candidates. The longer the input string, meaning words that are composed of two or more ideographs, the lower the number of candidates. Modern input methods, such as those bundled with the OSes, handle this quite well.
LW) Is your work the first of its kind?
KL) Apparently it is. My first book, "Understanding Japanese Information Processing," was published in 1993. I have been told by many people that it changed the landscape, and enabled many companies to develop software for the East Asian markets. My next two books are best thought of as expanded and revised versions of that first work.
LW) On a scale of "pretty awesome" to "inexpressibly awesome," how would you rate your job at Adobe?
KL) I don't believe in such scales, but on a scale from 0 to 10, with 10 being the highest, I would rate my job as a solid 9, and possibly a 10.
- on photography :
^^ One of Lunde's beautiful photos -- this of a customized Colt Delta Elite in 10mm
LW) Your photography is remarkable for its inviting atmosphere and warm light. How do you achieve these effects?
KL) Practice. I found that I am my best critic. I discovered several years ago that photography is all about capturing or recording light, and the better one controls the lighting, the better the results. All other factors are not nearly as critical.
LW) Were you formally trained as a photographer?
KL) No. I leaned through trial and error, and my earlier days had lots of the latter.
LW) What equipment do you use to get your results?
KL) I use a Lowel three-light set for lighting. My camera for the past 1.5 years has been a Nikon D300. My preferred lens is the Nikkor 60mm Micro lens, which I have had for over seven years, and which has transcended four digital SLR bodies. For post-processing the photos, I have been using Adobe Photoshop Lightroom (aka, Adobe Lightroom) for about three years. I used Adobe Photoshop before that.
LW) What subjects apart from weapons do you most enjoy photographing?
KL) Nature, family, and friends.
[-on firearms, etc:]
LW) Your firearms collection is very well-curated. How did you first become interested in firearms?
KL) I was raised by my father to have a strong appreciate of and respect for firearms and other weapons. I see them as specialized tools, and nothing more. I appreciate the craftsmanship that is required to make functional weapons.
LW) Does living in California present special challenges for the firearms enthusiast?
KL) Definitely.
LW) You note on your site that 10mm is one of your favorite cartridges - it's one of ours as well. Why do you favor this cartridge, and what is your preferred loading?
KL) I favor the cartridge partly due to the Glock 20 being an excellent platform for this powerful cartridge. The Glock 20 is my hunting sidearm. I do not handload 10mm, but I do handload for all of the rifle cartridges that I use. There are plenty of quality 10mm loads available today.
LW) You have some wonderful Colt Delta Elites. Have you had any reliability or durability problems with that model?
KL) I have only one Colt Delta Elite, which has been highly customized. I have not had any issue with it. Although it is significantly heavier than the Glock 20, it has more felt recoil. As much as I appreciate the Colt Delta Elite, I prefer to use the Glock 20.
LW) Which weapon in your collection would be your preferred daily carry, and why?
KL) When I am out of state, generally for hunting, I tend to carry a Glock 20. I cannot carry in California. If I could carry in California, my EDC would be a Glock 33.
LW) What are some problems you see in firearms design and how would you improve them?
KL) I am a firm believer that there is no perfect firearm. But, there is an ideal firearm, and which one it is depends on the person who needs it. To be honest, I don't see any problems in firearm design, and most of the problems that arise tend to be the result of the nonsensical firearm laws that we have, either at the State or Federal level. The ten-round magazine capacity limit is a perfect example of this.
LW) Have you trained formally with firearms? If so, where?
KL) I have had very little training with firearms, and most of it has been while in the military. Starting at an early age, like studying a foreign language, has benefits in that you develop life-long skills. And, like any sport, it is all about practice, which includes mental preparation. Some people can mentally prepare themselves on their own, and some require formal training. Still, I would like to take more formal training, when I have more free time.
LW) Some of our readers find the trigger on the original Walther P99 to be impossible to get used to, that the pull is too long and insufficiently crisp. As someone who shoots both P99s and 1911s, how do you recommend that shooters new to the P99 get acclimated to that trigger?
KL) My best advice is to dry-fire the trigger to get accustomed to it. The AS (Anti-Stress) part of the trigger is what confuses most people. Becoming accustomed to the AS trigger overcomes this issue.
LW) What are some firearms you'd like to try or acquire in the coming year?
KL) At this point, I really have nothing on the immediate radar. The Kahr P380 intrigues me, as does the new Beretta Px4 Storm Compact. (The Beretta Px4 Storm Subcompact did nothing for me, and I never developed an interest in acquiring one.)
LW) What do you look for in a handgun? In a rifle?
KL) For a handgun, I look for quality and durability. For a rifle, I look for quality and accuracy. I didn't mention accuracy for a handgun, because most have comparable accuracy, and how it fits one's hand and how well one can control the trigger are greater influences in practical accuracy.
LW) Many people ask about firearms for home defense. Some experts say that a shotgun is the most appropriate home defense weapon, while others advocate for the handgun. What in your estimation is the most suitable firearm for home defense?
KL) A typical shotgun is a bit too large (long) for home defense. If you live in an NFA-friendly state, a shotgun-based AOW would be ideal for home defense. In the end, simply having an accessible weapon is half the battle in one's ability to defend their home from intruders.
LW) Some of your firearms have beautiful aftermarket finishes. Which among these finshes do you like best?
KL) Hard chrome. In fact, that's the only aftermarket finish on any of my firearms. Everything else is factory-applied.
LW) What is it about Del Fatti holsters that you like so well?
KL) The workmanship and attention to detail. I specifically like his ISP-SS holster with the Slotted Pad belt attachment. The holster is no bigger than it needs to be, and the Slotted Pad belt attachment protrudes very little.
LW) You also have many Busse knives. What attracts you to those items?
KL) I am attracted to Busse Combat knives due to their hard-use nature, and the fact that they hold an edge for a long time. Busse Combat also stands behind their knives. I also like other brands, such as Randall Made, Scott Cook, Chris Reeve, and others.
[- on hunting]
LW) What game do you enjoy hunting?
KL) I hunt prairie dogs with my dad, who is 74, in Spring or Summer, sometimes both. I hunt pronghorn antelope in Fall. I am interested in both because the shooting distances are generally long, usually 250 yards are further. Pronghorn antelope are also North America's fastest land mammal, so there is inherent challenge in hunting them.
LW) Where are some of your favorite locations to hunt?
KL) Wyoming and South Dakota.
LW) What arms and cartridges do you prefer to use while hunting?
KL) I favor .204 Ruger for prairie dogs, and have been using 6.5x55 SE for pronghorn antelope for the past four years. The rifles that I use are made by Cooper Arms, which is located in Montana.
[- on the arts]
LW) What music (genres / artists) do you like to listen to? What exactly is it about that music that resonates with you?
KL) I would have to say that my favorite artists are Tangerine Dream, Rush, and TCM.
LW) What visual art do you like?
KL) Photography.
LW) What are some of your favorite movies?
KL) I very much enjoyed "Avatar" and the new "Star Trek." Both resonated with me extraordinarily well.
LW) What foods do you enjoy? Do you prefer to cook at home or eat at restaurants?
KL) I like pastas, pizza, anything on the grill, and salads. We eat out very little, and do most of our cooking at home.
LW) What was the last book you read? Did you like it?
KL) I don't read much in terms of books or novels. Most of what I read tends to be reference manuals, where I read specific pages or chapters. I would say that I do more writing than reading. (In retrospect, I probably should have learned how to type.)
LW) Did you see "Terminator : Salvation?" Did you think it rocked?
KL) I enjoyed that movie, and while I thought it added to the "Terminator" story line, I felt that "Avatar" rocked much more.
[- Other topics :]
LW) What's your favorite comic strip?
KL) I really don't have any.
LW) What fiscal and monetary policies do you favor with regard to the USA?
KL) No comment.
LW) Do you believe that computer programming is an essential skill for all knowledge workers?
KL) Computer programming is skill for those who develop software. Most people wouldn't benefit from this, unless they need this skill, and can practice it. The ability to use a simpler scripting language can benefit a broader range of people.
LW) Do you have a garden /.grow your own food?
KL) Yes.
LW) What is the matter with kids these days?
KL) Of course, it depends on the kids. For those with issues, I am sure it is related to how their parents raised them. Instilling respect would go a long way to raising kids better.
LW) How should the balance between freedom and security be handled with respect to US domestic policy?
KL) No comment.
LW) What's the most effective pickup line?
KL) No comment.
LW) What do you think about the recent move to deep-six the NASA moon mission and greatly scale back public space exploration?
KL) Say, maybe it is NASA's way to acknowledge that we have been contacted by extraterrestrial life.
LW) In your opinion, does time exist as a fundamental feature of our universe, or is its apparently unstoppable arrow merely an artifact of consciousness? What is the nature of time?
KL) Time is clearly a constant and does not stop, but the nature of our existence makes its flow seem relative. And, our ability to preserve memories allows us to transcend the flow of time, relative to events that have already taken place.
LW) Do you believe reality is fundamentally deterministic or indeterminate / stochastic?
KL) Our reality is based on our perception of the universe, which is based on principles and rules. So, I would vote for the former.
LW) Do you play any musical instruments?
KL) I played percussion in high school. That's about it. I prefer to appreciate music, not create it.
LW) Do you think that the present educational system in the US is adequate?
KL) No educational system is adequate.
LW) Can folks contact you on Twitter? If so, what's your Twitter name?
KL) Of course. My Twitter name is ken_lunde. I am also on Facebook.
LW) Do you believe that humans will continue to exist after the Earth and our Sun are gone in a few billion years?
KL) Given our tendency toward self-destruction, probably not. Interestingly, I believe that humans and other life on this planet were engineered. In other words, something created us.
LW) Thanks very much for taking the time to answer some of our questions.
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