Theoreticians vs. Engineers…


There was this male theoretical PHD, on a cruise ship in the Caribbean for the first time. It was wonderful, the experience of his life. He was being waited on hand an foot. But, it did not last. A Hurricane came up unexpectedly. The ship went down almost instantly. 

The man found himself, he knew not how, swept up on the shore of an island. There was nothing else anywhere to be seen. No person, no supplies, nothing. The man looked around. There were some bananas and coconuts, but that was it. He was desperate, and forlorn, but decided to make the best of it. So for the next four months he ate bananas, drank coconut juice and mostly looked to the sea mightily for a ship to come to his rescue. 

One day, as he was lying on the beech stroking his beard and looking for a ship, he spotted movement out of the corner of his eye. Could it be true, was it a ship? No, from around the corner of the island came this rowboat. In it was the most gorgeous woman he had ever seen, or at least seen in 4 months. She was tall, 
tanned, and her blond hair flowing in the sea breeze gave her an almost ethereal quality. She spotted him also as he was waving and yelling and screaming to get her attention. She rowed her boat towards him. 

In disbelief, he asked, “Where did you come from? How did you get here”?  She said, “I rowed from the other side of the island. I landed on this island when my cruise ship sank”. “Amazing”, he said, “I didn’t know anyone else had survived. How many of you are there? Where, did you get the rowboat? You must have been really lucky to have a rowboat wash-up with you?” “It is only me”, she said, “and the rowboat didn’t wash up, nothing else did.”  “Well then”, said the man, “how did you get the rowboat?” 

I made the rowboat out of raw material that I found on the island, replied the woman. The oars were whittled from Gum tree branches, I wove the bottom from Palm branches, and the sides and stern came from a Eucalyptus tree”. “But, but, asked the man, what about tools and hardware, how did you do that?” 

Oh, no problem, replied the woman, on the south side of the island there is a very unusual strata of alluvial rock exposed. I found that If I fired it to a certain temperature in my kiln, it melted into forgeable ductile iron. I used that for tools, and used the tools to make the hardware. But, enough of that, she said. Where do you live?” 

 At last the man was forced to confess that he had been sleeping on the beach. “Well, let’s row over to my place, she said.” So they both got into the rowboat and left for her side of island. The woman easily rowed them around to a wharf that led to the approach to her place. She tied up the rowboat with a beautifully woven hemp rope. They walked up a stone walk and around a Palm tree, there stood an exquisite bungalow painted in blue and white. “It’s not much, she said, but I call it home. Sit down please, would you like to have a drink?” 

“No, said the man, one more coconut juice and I will puke.” “It won’t be coconut juice, the woman replied, I have a still, how about a Pina Colada? Trying to hide his continued amazement, the man accepted, and they sat down on her couch to talk. After a while, and they had exchanged their stories, the woman asked, “Tell me, have you always had a beard?” 

“No”, the man replied, “I was clean shaven all of my life, and even on the cruise ship”.  “Well if you would like to shave, there is a man’s razor upstairs in the cabinet in the bathroom.” So, the man, no longer questioning anything, went upstairs to the bath room. There in the cabinet was a razor made from a bone handle, two shells honed to a hollow ground edge were fastened on to its end inside of a swivel mechanism. The man shaved, showered and went back down stairs.. 

“You look great, said the woman, I think I will go up and slip into something more comfortable.” So she did. And, the man continued to sip his Pina Colada. After a short time, the woman returned wearing fig leafs strategically positioned and smelling faintly of gardenia. “Tell me, she asked, we have both been out here for a very long time with no companionship. You know what I mean. Have you been lonely, is there anything that you really miss? Something that all men and woman need. Something that it would be really nice to have right now.” 

“Yes there is, the man replied, as he moved closer to the woman while fixing a winsome gaze upon her, “Tell me … Do you happen to have an Internet connection?” 

"Some" Things NEVER Change…

This one came over the transom from the mil-email net…

Funny, but truer than most want to admit. If you’ve ever tried to get someone decorated… Well, lets just say you’ll recognize parts of this…


The True Story
(By Colonel W C Hall, printed in the British Army Journal January 1953.)

Rome, II Calends, April CCCLX
SUBJECT: Recommendation for Senate Medal of Honor 
TO: Department of War, Republic of Rome 
I. Recommend Caius Horatius, Captain of Foot, CMCMXIV, for the Senate Medal of Honor. 
II. Captain Horatius has served XVI years, all honorable. 
III. On the II day of March, during the attack on the city by Lars Porsena of Clausium and his Tuscan Army of CMX men, Captain Horatius, with Sergeant Sporius Laritus and Corporal Julius Herminius, held the entire Tuscan army at the far end of the bridge, until the structure could be destroyed, thereby saving the city. 
IV. Captain Horatius did valiantly fight and kill one Major Picus of Clausium in individual combat. 
V. The exemplary courage and the outstanding leadership of Captain Horatius are in the highest tradition of the Roman Army. 
________________________________________
JULIUS ANTINOUS, 
Commander, II Foot Legion 
Ist, Ind, AG IV Calends, April CCCLX 
TO: G-III 
For comment. 
________________________________________
G.C.
IInd Ind, G-III IX Calends, May CCC 
TO: G-II 
I. For comment and forwarding. 
II. Change end of paragraph III from “saving the city” to “lessened the effectiveness of the enemy attack.” The Roman Army was well dispersed tactically; the reserve has not been committed. The phrase as written might be construed to cast aspersions on our fine army. 
III. Change paragraph V from “outstanding leadership” to read “commendable initiative.” Captain Horatius’s command was II men, only I/IV of a squad. 
________________________________________
J.D.
IIId Ind, G-II II Ides, June CCCLX 
TO: G-I 
I. Omit strength of Tuscan forces in paragraph III. This information is classified. 
II. A report evaluated as B-II states that the officer was a Captain Picus of Tifernum. Recommend change to “an officer of the enemy forces.” 
________________________________________
J.H.
IVth Ind, G-I IX Ides, January CCCLXI 
TO: JAG 
I. Full name is Caius Claudius Horatius. 
II. Change service from XVI to XV years. One year in Romulus Chapter BPOE, has been given credit for military service in error. 
________________________________________
E.J.
Vth Ind, JAG II, February CCCLXI 
TO: AG 
I. The Porsena raid was not during wartime; the temple of Janus was closed. 
II. The action against the Porsena raid, ipso facto, was a police action. 
III. The Senate Medal of Honor cannot be awarded in peacetime (AB/CVIII-XXV, paragraph XII, C). 
IV. Suggest consideration for Soldier’s Medal. 
________________________________________
P.B.
VIth Ind, AF IV Calends, April CCCLXI 
TO: G-I 
Concur in paragraph IV, Vth Ind. 
________________________________________
L.J.
VIIth Ind, G-I I May CCCLXI 
TO: AG 
Soldier’s medal is given for saving lives; suggest star of bronze as appropriate. 
________________________________________
E.J.
VIIIth Ind, JAG II Calends, June CCCLXI 
TO: JAG 
>For opinion. 
________________________________________
G.C.
IXth Ind, JAG II Calends, September CCCLXI 
I. XVIII months have elapsed since event described in basic letter. Star of bronze cannot be awarded after XV months have elapsed. 
II. Officer is eligible for Papyrus Scroll with Metal Pendant. 
________________________________________
P.B.
X Ind, AG I Calends, October CCCLXI 
TO: G-I 
For draft of citation for Papyrus Scroll with Metal Pendant. 
________________________________________
P.B.
XI Ind, G-I III Calends, October CCCLXI 
TO: G-II 
I. Do not concur. 
II. Our currently fine relations with Tuscany would suffer and current delicate negotiations might be jeopardized if publicity were given to Captain Horatius’ actions at this time. 
________________________________________
T.J.
XII Ind, G-II VI November CCCLXI 
TO: G-I 
A report rated D-IV, partially verified, states that Lars Porsena is very sensitive about the Horatius affair. 
________________________________________
E.T.
XIIIth Ind, G-I X November CCCLXI 
TO: AG 
I. In view of information contained in preceding XI and XIII the endorsements, you will prepare immediate orders of Captain C. C. Horatius to one of our overseas stations (remote). 
II. His attention will be directed to paragraph XII, POM, which prohibits interviews or conversations with newsmen prior to arrival at final destination. 
L.T. 
________________________________________

Rome II Calends, I April CCCLXII
SUBJECT: Survey, Report of, Department of War 
TO: Captain Caius Caius Horatius, III Legion, V Phalanx, APO XIX, C/O Postmaster, Rome. 
I. Your statements concerning the loss of your shield and sword in the Tiber River of III March CCCLX have been carefully considered. 
II. It is admitted that you were briefly in action against certain unfriendly elements on that day. However, Sergeant Lartius and Corporal Herminius were in the same action and did not lose any government property. 
III. The Finance Officer has been directed to reduce your next pay by II-I/IV talents (I-III/IV talents cost on each sword, officers; III/IV talent cost of one each shield, M-II). 
IV. You are enjoined and admonished to pay strict attention to conservation of government funds and property. The budget must be balanced next year. 
H. MARCUS AURELIUS 
Lieutenant of Horse 
Survey Officer 


Fun, Food, Friends…

I FINALLY got a few days off, and got the hell outta Dodge for a couple of days…

Got a chance to kinda sorta decompress, and strangely got asked if I was bored!  Trust me, I’ll TAKE boredom anyday…

Met up with LawDog, Phlegmmy, Michael and Jennifer, AEPilot Jim, and Johnny and Holly for some range time and FOOD!!! Oh man was there food…

Blew the hell outta the diet…

As you may have read, had a less than pleasant experience with Academy, but that was really the only bad part of the downtime.

We did get to the range, and there was quite the selection of .22s to play with!


Three Ruger 22/45s and a S&W Model 617. All four hold 10 shots,and the 617 is ‘almost’ cheating… There is NO recoil due to the weight. And yes, the 22/45 on the right has a flash hider on it 🙂


This was just one of the targets, and no we’re not really that bad a shot.  We didn’t want to change targets so we started picking other points after we wore the center out; head, bottom, and then the ‘little’ target in the upper left.   Not too bad for well over 100 rounds… at 10 yards…

And Jim had his Garand there and we were dinging steel at 325 yards, although none of us knocked the water bottle off the top of the frame (not for lack of trying).  20+ kts of wind and open sights DO make it a bit of a challenge…

And there was FOOD… Brisket, Calamari, beans, Mac and Cheese, munchies, etc… 

Thoughts and Prayers needed…

Appears there was a major accident in Midland, TX an hour or so ago. Train hit a trailer carrying wounded vets, wifes/girlfriends.  4 dead, 17 injured, 10 critically…

Story HERE

A flatbed 18-wheeler truck was reportedly carrying 24 veterans and their families for the “Hunt for Heroes” parade in Midland when it was hit by a train.
“Show of Support” president and founder Terry Johnson tells the Midland Reporter-Telegram that a Union Pacific train slammed into a trailer that was on its way to the wounded veterans event about 5 p.m. Thursday.
He says there are “multiple, multiple” injuries and organizers still are trying to account for everyone.
Union Pacific spokesman Tom Lange says the eastbound train was sounding its horn before it hit the float Thursday as it approached a railroad crossing in Midland. He says the crossing gate and lights were working at the time.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/11/15/train-reportedly-crashes-into-trailer-during-texas-veterans-parade/#ixzz2CLTWbTgP


Damn, just damn…

 

Redneck Engineer Exam…


A little humor to offset all the BS going on… 🙂

1. Calculate the smallest limb diameter on a persimmon tree that will support a 10 pound possum.

2. Which of the following cars will rust out the quickest when placed on blocks in your front yard? 66 Ford Fairlane, 69 Chevrolet Chevelle, 65 Pontiac GTO.

3. If your uncle builds a still that operates at a capacity of 20 gallons of shine per hour, how many car radiators are necessary to condense the product?

4. A pulpwood cutter has a chain saw that operates at 2700 rpm. The density of the pine trees in a plot to be harvested is 470 per acre. The plot is 2.3 acres in size. The average tree diameter
is 14 inches. How many Budweiser Tallboys will it take to cut the trees?

5. If every old refrigerator in the state vented a charge of R-12 simultaneously, what would be the decrease in the ozone layer?

6. A front porch is constructed of 2×8 pine on 24-inch centers with a field rock foundation. The span is 8 feet and the porch length is 16 feet. The porch floor is 1 inch rough sawn pine. When the porch collapses, how many hound dogs will be killed?

7. A man owns a Tennessee house and 3.7 acres of land in a hollow with an average slope of 15%. The man has 5 children. Can each of the children place a mobile home on the man’s land?

8. A 2-ton pulpwood truck is overloaded and proceeding 900 yards down a steep grade on a secondary road at 45 mph. The brakes fail. Given the average traffic loading of secondary roads, what are the chances that it will strike a vehicle that has a muffler?

9. A coal mine operates a NFPA Class 1, Division 2 Hazardous Area. The mine employs 120 miners per shift. A gas warning is issued at the beginning of the 3rd shift. How many cartons of
unfiltered Camels will be smoked during the shift?

10. At a reduction in gene pool variability rate of 7.5% per generation, how long will it take a town that has been bypassed by the interstate to breed a country-western singer?

Support the NRA through CFC!!!

If you’re “voluntold” you have to donate to CFC, there is now another set of options…

Support the NRA!

You can show your support for your Second Amendment rights through your Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) contributions. The CFC provides federal employees – both military and civilian – the opportunity to make charitable contributions through their local CFC offices. Your gift can be a one-time contribution or a pledge for a specified amount per pay period. The choice is yours.
Currently, it is open enrollment season for CFC designations.  Make your charitable contribution today, to one or both of the following programs.
  • The NRA Foundation – CFC# 11872
    • The Foundation supports programs within the NRA, law enforcement, and other community-based agencies that foster firearms safety and education, constitutional education, and wildlife conservation management.
  • NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund – CFC# 10006
    • The Fund asserts and defends the human, civil, and constitutional rights of law-abiding Americans to keep and bear arms through precedent-setting litigation and education programs.

Worth thinking about… Just sayin…

Down Memory Lane…

This video is from 1988, a friend of mine was flying the bird during this flight demo at the airshow.  The high speed pass is right at 400 kts, and the low speed pass is 120 kts, and the opening climb is at 6000 feet per minute!  FUN!!!

Sadly they cut off the end of the tape where the P-3 turned in, bowed to the crowd, then backed into it’s parking space…  Let’s see one of the hot shot fighter pilots do THAT! 🙂


Oh yeah, the powers that be only let him shut down 2 engines, they’d actually practiced shutting down three for that one pass…

WWP "Spin", too little, too late…

From the WWP Facebook page HERE

Regarding the question of donations and events, we do permit fundraisers that are shooting- and gun-related, such as gun raffles, shooting competitions, etc., and we’re incredibly appreciative of those who are willing to give their time to host or participate in an event. Likewise, we gratefully accept donations from companies and individuals connected with the gun industry.

As indicated above, we know that hunting and shooting sporting events can be very therapeutic for many of the Wounded Warriors we serve, and we’re happy to work with the community to make these types of events available to our Alumni. Hunting and shooting sport enthusiasts are an incredibly supportive and generous community, and we’ve been honored by how often folks have opened their land and homes, and volunteered their time to make these types of events possible for our Alumni. We’re so sorry if it seemed that we didn’t appreciate that support with our confusing communication of a business decision. It certainly wasn’t our intention!

I hope this post provides some clarity and helps answer some questions. We welcome the opportunity to have a warrior on Gun Talk Radio to discuss how hunting or events of the like have supported their recovery. We responded too quickly to his request and should have delved a bit deeper.

Note the “WE PERMIT”… (underline/italic mine)

Well, too bad, so sad, but you’ve been outed for what your group really believes, and there is no stuffing that genie back in the bottle…

Recommended alternatives-

Texas Honor Ride 

Soldier’s Angels

Task Force Dagger

Patriot Guard 

Airborne Angel Cadets of Texas 

Honoring American Veterans Afield (HAVA)

Nuff said…


Knowing THAT Guy…

Keads post HERE reminded me of a couple of funny car parts stories…

The first took place in probably 1967 or 68.  My Grandpa was a mechanic for 50+ years, and even after retirement had a little one horse garage attached to the house.  One Saturday,  this Jag 120 comes spitting/sputtering into the driveway, and this guy hops out wanting to use the phone.  


Grandpa asked him what was wrong, and the guy is pissed about the car not running right.  

Grandpa says he’ll take a look at it, and promptly opens the hood, takes one whiff and tells the guy his carbs are screwed up.  Turns out the guy is from Dallas, and needs to get back there, and he’s NOT happy.

Grandpa tells him he can probably fix it, the guy dubiously agrees, and Grandpa goes and gets a set of tools, pulls both side draft SU carbs, takes them in and promptly disassembles both of them.  The guy goes nuts, saying he’ll never get them back together!!!

Grandpa just looks at the guy, and he goes back and sits in his car, while Grandpa unlocks a tool chest and pulls out  two complete rebuild kits and metering rods for an SU!!!

He even had the dashpot oil!  He rebuilt both carbs in about 20 minutes with the correct metering rods, re-aligned the throttle rods, and put them back on the car in under an hour.  The car purred like a kitten and the guy was amazed!  He was almost trembling when he asked Grandpa how much he owed, and I seem to remember Grandpa saying $25.  The guy about fell out!!! He’d apparently paid over $100 two weeks prior to fix the carbs!

The second story took place in 1995 on the Hot Rod Power Tour.   A few of us jumped on one leg of the tour down through NC/SC.  


One of the cars on that leg was a 1939 Packard, and at the SC stop the driver limped in with a bad upper ball joint…

He was panicked, as he didn’t think there was any way to get it fixed without a LONG truck ride back to Virginia.  One of the volunteers said he knew a guy, and don’t do anything till he got back.  About a half hour later, he comes back and behind him is a beat up old 1953 3/4 Chevy pickup. Out climbs an old guy in bib overalls, a gimme hat and a cigar…

He walks over, kicks the tire, and says nope you need BOTH ball joints, gets down on his knees and says, AND tie rod ends too…

The driver is not happy to hear that either.  The old guy says gimme a little bit, gets in his truck and leaves.  About an hour later he’s back; drags out a jack, jack stands, a BIG hammer and a torch.

The driver’s now going snake s**t, “What are you doing?” etc…

The old guy takes his cigar out, spits, and says in a typical SC drawl, “Well, you DO want it fixed, right?”

The driver wants to know HOW he’s going to fix it, the old guy says with the parts in the truck, looking at the guy like he’s an idiot.  Of course the driver wants to know HOW does he know the parts will fit, and the old guy says, “Well, they’re for a 1939 Packard, isn’t that what this IS?”

He proceeded to replace the ball joints, the tie rod ends, and re-align the front wheels with a string, didn’t overcharge the driver, got in his truck and left…  

I asked the volunteer how he’d pulled it off, and he said, “Well, I know that ol boy and he works on a LOT of classic cars and I figured if anybody had the parts he would, and he did…

Yep, knowing THAT guy helps… 🙂



YGTBSM!!!

Go read THIS at An Ordinary Texan… You will NOT believe it…

Wounded Warrior Project rejects gun-owners, gun-dealers, gun-manufacturers.

Talk about hypocrisy…  I think we need to find another group to support.  Just sayin…

Found one- Soldier’s Angels!