Things to think about…

Posted on by July 7, 2013

Since I can’t leave well enough alone today…

1- I used to eat a lot of natural foods until I learned that most people die of natural causes.

2- There are two kinds of pedestrians . . . The quick and the dead.

3- Life is sexually transmitted.

4- Healthy is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.

5- The only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth.

6- Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing.

7- Have you noticed since everyone has a cell phone these days no one talks about seeing UFOs like they used to?

8- Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.

9- All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism.

10- In the 60’s, people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.

11- How is it one careless match can start a forest fire, but it takes a whole damn box to start a campfire?

12- Who was the first person to look at a cow and say, ‘I think I’ll squeeze these dangly things and drink whatever comes out’? Hmmmmm, How about eggs ? . . .

13- If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a song about him?

14- Why does your OB-GYN leave the room when you get undressed if they are going to look up there anyway?

15- If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables, then what is baby oil made from?

16- Do illiterate people get the full effect of Alphabet Soup?

17- Does pushing the elevator button more than once make it arrive faster?

18- Why doesn’t glue stick to the inside of the bottle?

Yeah I’m bored, came back to the hotel just to get away from the meeting at lunch… sigh…

Sage Advice???

Posted on by July 7, 2013

Or truisms… Take your choice!

As I hurtled through space, one thought kept crossing my mind – every part of this rocket was supplied by the lowest bidder.– John Glenn

When the white missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said ‘Let us pray.’ We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land. – Desmond Tutu

America is the only country where a significant proportion of the population believes that professional wrestling is real but the moon landing was faked. – David Letterman

I’m not a paranoid, deranged millionaire. God dammit, I’m a billionaire. – Howard Hughes

After the game, the King and the Pawn go into the same box. – Italian proverb

Men are like linoleum floors. Lay ’em right and you can walk all over them for thirty years. – Betsy Salkind

The only reason they say ‘Women and children first’ is to test the strength of the lifeboats. – Jean Kerr

I’ve been married to a communist and a fascist, neither would take out the garbage.– Zsa Zsa Gabor

You know you’re a redneck if your home has wheels and your car doesn’t. – Jeff Foxworthy

When a man opens a car door for his wife, it’s either a new car or a new wife.– Prince Philip

A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kickboxing.– Emo Philips.

Wood burns faster when you have to cut and chop it yourself.– Harrison Ford

The best cure for sea sickness, is to sit under a tree.– Spike Milligan

Lawyers believe a man is innocent until proven broke.– Robin Hall

Kill one man and you’re a murderer, kill a million and you’re a conqueror. – Jean Rostand.

Having more money doesn’t make you happier. I have 50 million dollars but I’m just as happy as when I had 48 million. – Arnold Schwarzenegger.

We are here on earth to do good unto others. What the others are here for, I have no idea. – W.H. Auden

In hotel rooms I worry. I can’t be the only guy who sits on the furniture naked. – Jonathan Katz

If life were fair Elvis would still be alive today and all the impersonators would be dead. – Johnny Carson

I don’t believe in astrology. I am a Sagittarius and we’re very skeptical. – Arthur C Clarke

Hollywood must be the only place on earth where you can be fired by a man wearing a Hawaiian shirt and a baseball cap. – Steve Martin

Home cooking. Where many a man thinks his wife is. – Jimmy Durante

America is so advanced that even the chairs are electric. – Doug Hamwell

The first piece of luggage on the carousel never belongs to anyone. – George Roberts

If God had intended us to fly he would have made it easier to get to the airport – Jonathan Winters

I have kleptomania, but when it gets bad, I take something for it. – Robert Benchley

Sorry…

Posted on by July 9, 2013

Truly a crap connection at the hotel, can’t even do work email, much less blog or comment.

If y’all don’t see anything for a day or two, its that I just can’t connect…

Posted from my iPhone.

The chicken plucker…

Posted on by July 7, 2013

Imagine, if you had to do it. Jesse was a chicken plucker. That’s right.

He stood on a line in a chicken factory and spent his days pulling the feathers off dead chickens so the rest of us wouldn’t have to. It wasn’t much of a job. But at the time, Jesse didn’t think he was much of a person.

His father was a brute of a man. His dad was actually thought to be mentally ill and treated Jesse rough all of his life. Jesse’s older brother wasn’t much better. He was always picking on Jesse and beating him up. Yes, Jesse grew up in a very rough home in West Virginia. Life was anything but easy.

And he thought life didn’t hold much hope for him. That’s why he was standing in this chicken line, doing a job that darn few people wanted. In addition to all the rough treatment at home, it seems that Jesse was always sick. Sometimes it was real physical illness, but way too often it was all in his head. He was a small child, skinny and meek,  that sure didn’t help the situation any.

When he started to school, he was the object of every Bully on the playground. He was a hypochondriac of the first order. For Jesse, tomorrow was not always  something he Looked forward to. But, he had dreams. He wanted to be a ventriloquist. He found books on ventriloquism. He practiced with sock puppets and saved his hard earned dollars until he could get a real ventriloquist dummy.

When he got old enough, he joined the military. And even though many of his hypochondriac symptoms persisted, the military did recognize his talents and put him in the entertainment corps. That was when his world changed, he gained confidence, he found that he had a talent for making people laugh, and laugh so hard they often had tears in their eyes.

Yes, little Jesse had found himself, you know, folks, the history books are full of people who overcame a handicap to go on and make a success of themselves, but Jesse is one of the few I know of who didn’t overcome it. Instead he used his paranoia to make a million dollars, and become one of the best-loved characters of all time in doing it!

Yes, that little paranoid hypochondriac, who transferred his nervousness into a successful career, still holds the record for the most Emmy’s given in a single category.

Who was Jesse???

Continue reading →

On the road again…

Posted on by July 7, 2013

Random military stuff for your Monday, this is the first week of sequestration, so on Friday and every Friday until the end of the FY only active duty military will be working. All DOD civilians will be on enforced time off without pay, along with numerous National Guard units…

Guess we better hope and pray we don’t need support on any given Friday…

secure building

 

my family

Popular expressions and their origins: 

Early aircraft’s throttles had a ball on the end of it, in order to go full throttle the pilot had to push the throttle all the way forward into the wall of the instrument panel. Hence “balls to the wall” for going very fast. And now you know, the rest of the story.
——–
During WWII , U.S. airplanes were armed with belts of bullets which they would shoot during dogfights and on strafing runs. These belts were folded into the wing compartments that fed their machine guns. These belts measure 27 feet and contained hundreds of rounds of bullets. Often times, the  pilots would return from their missions having expended all of their bullets on various targets. They would say, I gave them the whole nine yards,
——-
Did you know the saying “God willing and the creek don’t rise” was in reference to the Creek Indians and not a body of water? It was written by Benjamin Hawkins in the late 18th century. He was a politician and Indian diplomat. While in the south, Hawkins was requested by the President of the U.S. to return to Washington . In his response, he was said to write, “God willing and the Creek don’t rise.” Because he capitalized the word “Creek” it is deduced that he was referring to the Creek Indian tribe and not a body of water.

——-

In George Washington’s days, there were no cameras. One’s image was either sculpted or painted. Some paintings of George Washington showed him standing behind a desk with one arm behind his back while others showed both legs and both arms. Prices charged by painters were not based on how many people were to be painted, but how many ‘limbs,’ therefore painting them would cost the buyer more. Hence the expression, ‘Okay, but it’ll cost you an arm and a leg.’ (Artists know hands and arms are more difficult to paint.)

———-
In the late 1700’s, many houses consisted of a large room with only one chair.  Commonly, a long wide board folded down from the wall, and was used  for dining. The ‘head of the household’ always sat in the chair while  everyone else ate sitting on the floor. Occasionally a guest, who was usually a man, would be invited to sit in this chair during a meal. To sit in the chair meant you were important and in charge. They called the one sitting in the chair the ‘chair man.’ Today in business, we use the expression or title ‘Chairman’ or ‘Chairman of the Board.’
—–
In the heyday of sailing ships, all war ships and many freighters carried  iron cannons. Those cannons fired round iron cannon balls. It was  necessary to keep a good supply near the cannon. However, how to from rolling about the deck? The best storage method devised was a square-based pyramid with one ball on top, resting on four resting on nine, which rested on sixteen. Thus, a supply of 30 cannon balls could be stacked in a small area right next to the cannon. There was only one problem….how to prevent the bottom layer from sliding or rolling from under the others. The solution was a metal plate called a ‘Monkey’ with 16 round indentations. However, if this plate were made of iron, the iron balls would quickly rust to it. The solution to the rusting problem was to make ‘Brass Monkeys.’ Few landlubbers realize that brass contracts much more and much faster than iron when chilled.. Consequently, when the temperature dropped too far, the brass indentations would shrink so much that the iron cannonballs would come right off the monkey; Thus, it was quite literally, ‘Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey.’ (All this time, you thought that was an improper expression, didn’t you.)

I’m on the road again this week, so posting and commenting will be light…

Ummm, are the REALLY supposed to do that???

Posted on by July 6, 2013

Apparently the answer is yes… WOW!!!

He’s flying a Swift S-1, details HERE.

The only gliders “I” was familiar with would have come apart LONG before he’d finished that routine!!! And note the glide ratio, 30:1 That ain’t bad!

h/t JP

Another departure from NY…

Posted on by July 6, 2013

Hitting them in the pocketbook WILL get their attention, sooner or later…

Kahr is the latest to bail on NY, and sounds like MA will be next, as soon as they get the plants up…

Kahr® Firearms Group Plans Major Expansion in Pennsylvania

July 1, 2013

Pearl River, NY – Kahr Firearms Group is engaged in discussions with a development group representing Blooming Grove Township of Pike County Pennsylvania, to open a new manufacturing site and relocate the Kahr corporate office from New York to Pennsylvania. Kahr’s corporate offices are currently located in Rockland County in Pearl River, New York.

Kahr’s plans include the purchase of 620 acres of commercial real estate from the Pike County Industrial Park Development Group/Business Development Corporation. The first step in the multi-phased plan will begin with site preparation and office construction as early as late this year. This will be followed by the relocation of company corporate offices and the research and development department. In the second phase, manufacturing operations will be expanded to the Pike County location to meet the increasing demand for its Kahr Arms, Thompson, Auto-Ordnance, and Magnum Research product lines.

The Kahr Group of manufacturing plants, operating at full capacity, will continue production in their current locations in Worcester, MA and Pillager, MN.

“We are grateful for the warm welcome and the business opportunity extended by the Pike County Industrial Park Development Group/Business Development Corporation to expand our company and relocate its headquarters office,” stated VP of Sales and Marketing, Frank Harris. “The Pennsylvania group has demonstrated tremendous support of our operations and Kahr looks to move forward with the project without delay. It’s good for our business and also for other businesses in the area as we build a long-term mutually beneficial relationship with the community. We anticipate generating significant numbers of revenue and jobs for the local Northeastern Pennsylvania economy with the construction of facilities, expansion of manufacturing, and need for local vendors.”

And talking to a friend in CO, it appears there have been a lot of cancellations to planned hunts.  Interestingly, Colorado Outfitters Assn is adding a ‘new’ page to their website HERE…

One wonders???

Ruh Rho Scooby…

Posted on by July 6, 2013

It appears Fast and Furious is once again rearing it’s head…  Just as BO decides he needs to go to Old Mehico to talk to his new best friend down there…

From the LA Times-

WASHINGTON—A high-powered rifle lost in the ATF’s Fast and Furious controversy was used to kill a Mexican police chief in the state of Jalisco earlier this year, according to internal Department of Justice records, suggesting that weapons from the failed gun-tracking operation have now made it into the hands of violent drug cartels deep inside Mexico.

Luis Lucio Rosales Astorga, the police chief in the city of Hostotipaquillo, was shot to death Jan. 29 when gunmen intercepted his patrol car and opened fire. Also killed was one of his bodyguards. His wife and a second bodyguard were wounded.

/snip

The WASR used in Jalisco was purchased on Feb. 22, 2010, about three months into the Fast and Furious operation, by 26-year-old Jacob A. Montelongo of Phoenix. He later pleaded guilty to conspiracy, making false statements and smuggling goods from the United States and was sentenced to 41 months in prison.

Court records show Montelongo personally obtained at least 109 firearms during Fast and Furious. How the WASR ended up in the state of Jalisco, which is deep in central Mexico and includes the country’s second-largest metropolis, Guadalajara, remained unclear.

Read the whole thing HERE.

Not to say that I’m not a cynical SOB, but this is almost too convenient; to have F&F resurface now with all the other above the fold stories, almost makes me wonder if this is an attempt to knock the IRS and postponement of Obummercare off the front page…

Your thoughts?

Another tragedy…

Posted on by July 6, 2013

Just got this one… I just hope we didn’t have any military folks aboard…

KTVU.com

SFO — 

A plane crashed while landing at San Francisco International Airport Saturday morning after its tail came off while it was touching down on the runway.

According to a witness, around 11:20 a.m. the plane was just about to land — its landing gear had come down — when the tail of the plane came off.

After wobbling for a minute, the aircraft flipped upside down, coming to a stop on runway on it’s back.

The plane, reportedly a Boeing 777, was coming from South Korea, according to flight tracking information.

Truly sad, and makes one wonder about what is going on with Boeing aircraft, or whether this was contract maintenance done by the airline… NTSB is going to have their hands full with this one.

And SFO is going to be shut down for quite a while, possibly days depending on where and how the wreckage is positioned.

Thoughts and prayers…

Edit- Looks like a total failure at the aft pressure bulkhead… no tail looks like the whole tail separated cleanly AT the aft bulkhead. And further video looks like pieces of the tail are in the over-run along with a bunch of luggage strewn from the over-run to the touchdown area.  The fire is a curious part at this point…

Edit 2- Looks like everyone actually got off the airplane, and maybe limited to NO deaths… One can hope.  Also apparently never flipped over, hit hard (possible accelerated stall, tail hit first) collapsed the gear and skidded off the runway.

The Caliber Wars…

Posted on by July 6, 2013

The caliber wars…

9 40 45

L-R 9mm, .40, .45 Hollow Points

My perspective, for what that is worth.  This was what we did on INDEPENDENCE Day… And this is in response to a couple of emails and for my grandson.

I own guns in all three of the major calibers in the ‘war’, 9mm, .40 and .45; so I’m speaking from personal experience and knowledge based on my years of shooting these guns.

First the numbers games…

When you look at SAMMI pressures both the 9mm and .40 come in at 35,000 PSI and the .45 comes in at 21000 PSI; so right off the bat the 9mm and .40 are more ‘powerful’…

Next is size- 9mm is .355in (identical to .38 special and .380); .40 is .401 (stand alone), and the .45 is commonly considered to be .451 (copper jacket) or .452 if lead. In the bad old days, e.g. SAA it was a .454 diameter because they were all lead bullets and tolerances on barrels weren’t quite as good as they are today…  And some .45 rounds weighed up to 255gr.

Now lets look at bullet weight 9mm comes in a range of weights, 95, 115, 124 and 147gr choices and FMJ (round nose), hollow point and semi-wadcutter. Muzzle energy and velocities vary but 295-326FP and 950-1000FPS in normal power ranges; +P and +P+ an range up to 1500FPS.

.40 comes in 135, 155, 165, 180 and 200gr choices and FMJ (round nose), hollow point and semi-wadcutter. Muzzle energy and velocities for 180gr vary but 360-400FP and 950-1000FPS are the averages; +P and +P+ an range up to 1200FPS.

.45 comes in 165, 185, 200 and 230gr choices and FMJ (round nose), hollow point and semi-wadcutter. Muzzle energy and velocities vary but 230gr normally falls in the 352-404FP and 830-890FPS range (yes you can get higher velocities up to 1200FPS with +P and others)

With the different weights and FPS, you get a different ‘felt recoil’ for each round, again just taking the heavy rounds (Courtesy of Chuck Hawks fine work HERE)

You get the following-

Round                     Pistol Wt.     Recoil (FP)           Recoil (FPS)

9mm 147/1000FPS     2.0                4.6                           12.2

.40 180/1027FPS       1.5                10.4                          21.2

.45 230/850FPS         2.25                7.9                          15.0

Now common sense dictates the higher the number the ‘more’ the felt recoil…

BUT, that does not tell the whole story. Due to the powder loads, the felt recoil is sharply different between the three, and sometimes even within the same caliber. A ‘faster’ powder will exhibit a more pronounced felt recoil than a ‘slower’ powder. E.g. for you old farts that ever got any of the IAI 9mm “UZI marked” rounds back in the 80’s they had a VERY fast powder, and kicked like a mule out of a standard 9mm pistol. I never ran the chrono on them, but I’d swear they were up around the +P+ range for power, even though they were marked as ‘standard’ rounds.

Shooting the pistols below at the range with the 9mm/147gr, .40/200gr, and .45/230gr rounds yielded the following comments from me and a friend (9mm guy, doesn’t own a .40 or .45) that was also shooting that day.

DSC00154

L-R C&S 1911, Glock 22, BHP

Round comments as we fired them and I scribbled notes…

9mm/147gr-

Me- Easy to shoot, some muzzle flip not too pronounced (BHP), maintained control of the gun easily, back on target fairly quickly

Him- Didn’t bother him, felt comfortable, some muzzle flip, easy control, back on target quickly

.40/200gr-

Me- Sharp felt recoil more of a ‘snap’, quite a bit of muzzle flip (G22), louder, felt like gun twisted, slow back on target.

Him- Sharper recoil than 9mm, more muzzle flip seemed to be trying to ‘rotate’ gun, definite increase in time to get back on target and felt like regripping was necessary.

.45/230-

Me- Push rather than snap on recoil, nominal muzzle flip (all steel Colt CDR), easiest to control, back on target the quickest.

Him- Softest ‘felt recoil’ to him, big muzzle blast distracted from muzzle flip, less control than BHP, middle of the three getting back on target.

Here is a video we shot of recoil, starting with a 22/45, then BHP, then Glock 22, then .45 CDR, then Kahr P-9 for small carry 9mm reference.

recoil sequences

And here is the difference between a G17 (third Gen) and Kahr P-9 for grip size and width.  Smaller hands ‘may’ find the smaller pistol easier to control, even with the additional recoil.

DSC00157

So for what it’s worth, this is my foray into the caliber wars, and we all know for every ‘one shot stop’ out there, there are multiple ‘shot X-teen times and still fighting’, regardless of caliber.

Bottom line, IMHO, shoot what YOU are comfortable with and can afford (get as good a pistol as you can) in that caliber.  YOU are the final arbiter of the caliber best for you, not us…

Lastly, this old saw- “Bigger is better, but shot placement is EVERYTHING.”

Remember, Bobby Kennedy was murdered by a POS with a Iver Johnson revolver using .22 Shorts (unless you’re a conspiracy theorist, then it was a .38 by the security guard, or… or…).

YMMV, IANAL, Didn’t stay at a Holiday Inn, paid for my own damn ammo… yada, yada…

Edit- LL reminded me about wound channels vs. ballistics, here are two references for your perusal…

Excellent .pdf that gets to the bottom line of wound ballistics…

http://www.firearmstactical.com/pdf/fbi-hwfe.pdf

More numbers, covering all the handgun rounds out there…

http://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/handgun-stopping-power-page-2/