The end of winter is in sight

Pitchers and catchers report today.

R.I.P. Daryle Singletary

Damn.

I’m shocked and saddened to hear that Daryle Singletary has passed away. He was a true country voice and his talent will be sorely missed. Praying for Daryle’s friends and family. https://t.co/ETYofzufCC

— Travis Tritt (@Travistritt) February 12, 2018

Just got word that Daryle Singletary has passed away.
Rest in peace Buddy, you sang country like country should be sung.

— Charlie Daniels (@CharlieDaniels) February 12, 2018

What Travis said.  And Charlie.  This was real country music, for real country music fans.  46 is too young by decades.  Damn.

... and then patriotism spontaneously broke out

Yes, it was in Fly Over Country.  Why do you ask?

But man, what a moment.

Get offa my lawn, punk

Operation Paper Cut - A Brigid Guest Post

With two feet of fresh snow outside, I can't go out and play with my usual toys, so I'm going to have to find something else to entertain me today.

I know, I can make some paper airplanes!

But first, a little practice with a Scottish Drone.

Then on to American fighter technology, soon ready for takeoff.

Which, after crashing in Iran during a CIA mission, was reverse engineered by the Iranians to make an exact duplicate.

You all be safe out there!
- Brigid

The Olympics are more exciting than I had thought

Seen on Facebook by the Queen Of The World.

Sergei Rachmaninoff - Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini

You know this music - it is perhaps the most famous romantic music used in film scores.  You've heard this a lot, in movie after movie.  It will start out unfamiliar, but just after 15:00 into this performance you will find yourself humming along.

Rachmaninoff was born in 19th century Russia but had to leave with his family after the revolution, settling in the United States.  He was initially known more as a concert pianist - his famously large hands combined with a precise playing style made him popular on the touring circuit.  This actually consumed much of his time, and he had relatively few compositions.  This is one of his most successful, although it had a rather unbelievably cool reception at first.

Critics - what are ya going to do?

The world is not going to hell

In some ways, it's getting a lot better.  Malaria deaths are down almost 50% in 15 years:

Of course, you won't see this in the news because it doesn't reinforce any of the following:

• The world is going to hell
• Russia! Russia! Russia!
• Republicans are the worst
• Donald Trump is the only thing worse than a Republican

So okay, then.  Sure would be nice to have a news media that you can trust for actual, you know, reporting what's going on in the world that's important.

Dick Curless - A Tombstone Every Mile

I'm tired of winter.  Wolfgang needs his walks and so out we go, but I'm ready for it to warm up.

This feeling always hits around this time of year, and has for as long as I can remember.  I grew up in Maine, where winter sometimes seems to last until June, and we'd all get "Cabin Fever" back then even as a kid.  I wasn't the only one.

Maine native Dick Curless hit #5 on the country charts with this, back in 1965.  It's about a particularly dangerous stretch of road in northern Maine - Aroostook County, ground zero of Maine potato farming - and the danger faced by the truckers hauling the crop to Boston Town.

Strangely, I don't remember this from when I was a kid.  The song must have been pretty big up in Maine, I'd think.



A Tombstone Every Mile (Songwriter: Dan Fulkerson)

All you big and burly men who roll the trucks along
Better listen, you'll be thankful when you hear my song
You have really got it made, if you're haulin' goods
Anyplace on earth but those Hainesville Woods 

It's a stretch of road up north in Maine
That's never, ever, ever seen a smile
If they buried all the truckers lost in them Woods
There'd be a tombstone every mile
Count 'em off, there'd be a tombstone every mile 

When you're loaded with potatoes and you're headed down
You've gotta drive the Woods to get to Boston town
When it's winter up in Maine, better check it over twice
That Hainesville road is just a ribbon of ice 

It's a stretch of road up north in Maine
That's never, ever, ever seen a smile
If they buried all the truckers lost in them Woods
There'd be a tombstone every mile
Count 'em off, there'd be a tombstone every mile 

When you're talkin' to a trucker that's been haulin' goods
Down that stretch of road in Maine they call the Hainesville Woods
He'll tell you that dying and goin' down below
Won't be half as bad as driving on that road of ice and snow 

It's a stretch of road up north in Maine
That's never, ever, ever seen a smile
If they buried all the truckers lost in them Woods
There'd be a tombstone every mile
Count 'em off, there'd be a tombstone every mile

Tired of winter yet?

Me, too.

Found at By Other Means.

Literal Man takes things literally

pic.twitter.com/kgp21rJI9M

— Sal the Agorist (@SallyMayweather) February 8, 2018

Want

Glen Filthie has been on a roll lately, posting about a recent range day and the best chain saw tree felling of all time.  But then he puts the cherry on top by posting this:

This is Canada's (and pretty much the British Commonwealth) response to America's Springfield Trapdoor rifle. Unlike the Springfield's 45-7 cartridge, the Martini Henry is chambered in the long obsolete 577/450.

There has been a resurgence of long dead American blackpowder guns and even I have a much loved Remington rolling block single shot. My arch enemies at the rod and gun club all have Sharps and Springfields and we have a ball with them. The old British guns? They are still deader n' a dodo.

Or are they?

Man, oh, man.  Do want.  Of course, that's not new:

[The definition of impractical is] an 1883 Martini-Henry Mark III, seen today at the Gun Show.  It was "only" $500, and ammo for it is insanely expensive at $139/20 rounds (!!!).  It is centerfire so you can reload - and would want to at that price.  Boy, howdy.

Reading Glen's post reminded me of Kim du Toit's Gratuitous Gun Pictures, which captured my love affair with old rifles.  The history is the attraction, not the practicality, and Kim's writing brought that out superbly.  You want practical, get you an evil black rifle chambered for the poodle shooter.  Me, I keep coming back to the Old School ones that billow clouds of history with each trigger squeeze.

Rifles like the Martini-Henry:

The battle of Roarke's Drift ended in a blaze of Martini-Henry smoke as 156 desperate British soldiers showed what fortified positions and brass cartridges could accomplish against thousands of attackers armed with spear and shield. 

Valor was present in overwhelming numbers on both sides that day.  Eleven Victoria Crosses were awarded for deeds performed that day.  In that day the VC was not awarded posthumously, and so the count would have been higher had the battle occurred after the reign of the Widow of Windsor. This was the highest number of those awards  - purchased with blood, really - by a single Regiment in a single action in the history of the British Army.  The final assault was immortalized in the 1964 film Zulu.

To me, there's no black plastic that remotely offers that whiff of history.  Sure, they're entirely practical, and I'd want one in a SHTF situation.  But I'd love a Martini in the gun safe.  No AR pattern rifle ever inspired this:

Tam explains the back story of the picture.  It's worth a read.  Like I said, no AR pattern rifle would inspire something like this.

Glen writes in his post about how the cartridge is obsolete and so you'd not only want to reload, but to cast your own bullets.  Fortunately, co-blogger ASM826 has some pretty serious skills in that respect.  "Practical" is for ARs; those of us enamored of the older fare must needs adjust.  Practical isn't the point, remember.

But the history, ah the history.  Kim is back blogging, and I'd love to see him resurrect his Gun Pic List.  After all, he became famous as "the worst blogger on the Internet" (as defined by moonbats) for this (among other Double Plus Ungood writings).  It would certainly épater les bourgeois once again.  Not that he'd ever want to do that.  And maybe he'd write about old school beauties like this again.

Want.

The Future is not stupid

Chris Lynch posted the most awesome picture to ever grace Al Gore's most excellent Information Superhighway:

Well played, Tesla.  Well played.



Suddenly, the future is not stupid.  At least for a moment.

Blogroll update

I don't know how I have gone all this time without linking to Miguel at Gun Free Zone, but that's fixed now.  I imagine he's a regular read for most of you, but if not he should be.

And he now has an SSL certificate so your browsing is protected.  Still has that New Certificate Smell and everything!

It seems that your house is filled with yummy snacks

Hat tip: Rick, via email.

LOL

Classic Musky. 😂 pic.twitter.com/gGhg1PwvCz

— You Had One Job (@_youhadonejob1) February 7, 2018

Why Everyone Needs a Lathe - A Brigid Guest Post

For the techno-geeks out there.  This was a little something put together for Partner in Grime, sort of an early anniversary gift a while back.

Yes, it's a pen.  But it's not a pen you can buy from a store. There are a few on sale via Etsy for top dollar,  but wouldn't it be better (and appeal to the Scot in you) to present one made for less money AND the pride of presenting something hand crafted?

Look closely, that is real circuit board. You can even see little resister valves as you turn it around!

You just need to know someone with a metal lathe (hmmm. . have I seen a lathe anywhere around here?)

The kit, from Woodcraft of Indianapolis was easy, no blank cutting, drilling or gluing, simply square the end of the acrylic bank, mount on your mandrel with bushings and start turning (use Wall Street II Tropical Island bushings, they don't come with the kit).  As in any lasting relationship, you want to go SLOW.  Like your wit, keep the tools sharp and keep that initial pressure light.  Think PMS. NO, not that kind, but the Polymethyl-Methacrylate Sensitive kind.  You WILL want to take your time with the lathe.

The actual ink was replaced with a Parker assembly (a bit better quality than the kit one) and it works great, no skipping, with a heavy, expensive look and feel to it.

With patience and basic shop tools, you can make a gift that even the coolest geek would love.  They are sold out on this design but at the Indy store and the Downer's Grove one nearer to where we live but they still have a bunch of really cool ones.

Why users hate security, part XCIII

*Facepalm*

Unusual traffic

I'm not sure what's brought all the visitors from the University of Kentucky.  Lexington is the Queen Of The World's home town, and she has many family there.  I'm not sure just which post has you interested, but welcome and Go Wildcats!

HA HA HA HA HA!

What's better than Tide Pods?

Damn, that's funny.