Month: December 2011

39 Years Ago Today…

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Eugene Cernan left the last of these in the lunar soil:

I was ten years old.

We also left behind six American flags, six lunar module descent stages, three lunar rovers zero-emission electric vehicles, three retroreflective laser targets, the crashed remains of six ascent stages and five Saturn S-IVB third stages (what, you thought we left them in lunar orbit?), along with tools and trash and other miscellaneous and sundry items, including a two golf balls.

And 39 years later, we don’t have the capability of going back, much less the will.

Video!

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Capitalist Pig and Mz. VRWC attended last Sunday’s Bowling Pin shoot and took some video.  They sent me some of it, and most of it has me in it, shooting.  This one, for example, is Major and I’m shooting my Kimber:

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That’s me in the center, if you couldn’t tell.  This was early, before it warmed up.

Here’s the Minor semi-final, with Mz. VRWC on the right and Jim Burnett on the left.  This one was tight, but in the video replay it’s obvious that Mz. VRWC won by a fraction of a second:

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Here’s one where having those extra two rounds in the Smith 327 made the difference.  That’s me on the right:

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Here’s one where having the extra two rounds were no help at all:

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And, finally, the one class that I seem to do very well in – .22 rimfire:

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That’s Capitalist Pig in the center. Thanks for the video!

Next match is January 8.  Hope to see you there!

Quote of the Day – Mark Steyn Edition

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From his NRO piece Statist Delusions:

Europeans have assured their citizens of cradle-to-grave welfare since the end of the Second World War. This may or may not be an admirable notion, but, both economically and demographically, the bill has come due. Greece is being bailed out by Germany in order to save the eurozone but to do so requires the help of the IMF, which is principally funded by the United States. The entire Western world resembles the English parlor game “Pass the Parcel,” in which a gift wrapped in multiple layers of gaudy paper is passed around until the music stops and a lucky child removes the final wrapping from the shrunken gift to discover his small gift. Except that, in this case, underneath all the bulky layers, there is no there there: Broke nations are being bailed out by a broke transnational organization bankrolled by a broke superpower in order to save a broke currency. Good luck with that.

That’s it in a nutshell.

Match Report – Bowling Pins 12/11

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Well, my plans for Revolver Domination didn’t pan out too well.

It was a chilly morning, but at least this time it wasn’t raining.  Ten people showed up, four of us with revolvers, all but one with .22’s.  A bunch of regulars didn’t make it, but several new shooters did, and one couple, the lovely and talented Capitalist Pig and his wife Mz. VRWC drove down from Phoenix to make the match.  Once again, EUropellet shooters outnumbered those of us who prefer God’s Pistol Caliber as designed by John Moses Browning (PBUH).  And, once again, we had a variety of winners.

John Higgins once again took Minor with his EAA Witness.  His son Travis took Revolver with his Python and unerring aim.  (I have to work on the “unerring aim” part.  Eight shots don’t help if four of them are misses.)  I took .22 rimfire again with my MkII Target, and Jim Burnett with his Clark Custom 1911 pin gun took Major and then beat John Higgins with his Witness to be overall match winner.  9mm is not always faster!

Capitalist Pig and Mz. VRWC shot some video, so I might get a chance to post that in a day or so.

The match started on time at 0820, and we were all finished by 1100.  I think it’s safe to say that everyone had a good time.  A big thanks to everyone who helped to set pins and tear down after the match.

Safety Tip of the Day: Electricity and Acetylene do not Mix

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Found this via a trade publication:  How to Turn Your FJ Inside Out

The story:

So my time almost came to an end this morning… im very lucky to be alive.

First of all, GO HUG YOUR WIFE/HUBBY and tell them you love them.

i had an acetylene bottle in my truck, the valve was bumped so slightly and over night the truck filled with the gas. i noticed the smell, and opened the doors to air out the truck. i drove the truck out of the garage to get some more air movement. i went to roll the pass side window down and as soon as i touched the power windows. BAM. with me in the truck. i lost all hearing out of my right ear and got a scratch on the back of my head. all things considering, im alive.

so now ive got the question out to toyota about a 2012 TT. 125 to canada only, 15 in standard. i want a standard…

pictures tell 1000 words.

dont take any minutes or seconds you have for granted… it may be your last…

peace everyone,

Apparently he lost the ability to use the SHIFT key, too.  More (and bigger) pictures at the link.

Just, DAMN!

Remember “Anagnorisis and Peripeteia”?

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That’s the post I wrote about Mike Rowe’s TED speech about his work on Dirty Jobs.  Mike discussed in that video one of the Dirty Jobs episodes in which he worked on a farm castrating lambs.  It’s a relatively graphic, funny, and interesting video, but the key part was where he talked about castrating lambs . . . with his teeth.

Turns out, that might not be such a great idea.

Weird what you stumble across on the web…