28 May 2012

Memorial Day

To all my brothers in arms


past present and future


I remember you

27 May 2012

Lake Wheeler Car Show

I have a co-worker that has been working on a Mustang since I have known him, almost 7 years now. It is finally done and he entered it in a car show this weekend. Of course I had to get pictures.




I didn't remember him saying it was a Mach 1 so I was kind of surprised to see that it was. It is powered by the original 351 motor. It looked absolutely fantastic, he did a great job on it.

There were a lot of nice cars at the show, one of the more interesting ones I saw was this Chevy coupe pickup. I had no idea such things existed, the owner said there were only a handful left in existence and this is the only one on the East Coast.




Not all of the nice cars were in the show. I saw this original 68 California Special in the parking lot, so of course I had to get a picture.

 And of course I had to take a picture of the Baja, just because.


Afterwards I headed out to Lexington, South Carolina  for a meet-up with the Mustang Forums-Carolina Chapter crew. Any day I get to drive the convertible with the top down is a good one.

24 May 2012

QOTD

Freedom is dangerous. Freedom is Life.

Lost Days

So yesterday morning I went to a shooting.

No, not that kind of a shooting. The kind where a camera crew comes out and films while you do something - in this case, a car show - in the background so the stars of the show can do what they do. Don't ask, I signed a non-disclosure agreement, but I'll surely let you know where and when to see my little Firefly in all her blazing red glory - if they even use that footage - when they tell me.
Side note...reality shows aren't real? Seriously? Another illusion shattered...next thing you'll tell me is TV wrestling isn't real either...

Having worked all night the night before I was a bit sleepy when I finally got home yesterday afternoon. I went and had a bit of shut-eye and woke up a few hours ago. Good thing the world didn't end yesterday evening or I'd have missed it.

And if you are in the Carolinas and have a hankering for a nice classic automobile you should really check out
East Coast Classic Cars. I saw an early 70's convertible in blue with silver Mach 1 stripes there that I would love to add to the collection, if I were well set up enough to have a collection.

The first pic is a Triumph TR-10 pickup. There is also a sedan, a station wagon and a delivery van. The owner of this little truck has the other three as well. Very interesting collection to say the least.

The last picture is for Brigid.

22 May 2012

One Step Closer

The county assessors office has informed me that the value of my home has now increased another 14.15% over and above last year's increase, a value which should be reflected in next year's tax bill.

At this rate I should be one of the evil hated rich in no time at all.

20 May 2012

Relocation

Markos has moved.

Same great writing, different web address.

Suicide Is Painless

If you want to off yourself I'm fully supportive of your right to do so, providing you do it in such a way as to not cause harm (physical or financial, emotional trauma is something you have to deal with on your own) to others.  Pick a nice out of the way place (the high desert comes to mind, or maybe the deep woods) where no one is going to bother you and have at it.

Leave the FMJ's at home, get you a nice hollowpoint, and center mass is a good way to go. That way if you flub the first shot you can bleed out before you change your mind. Ropes work OK too, as long as you tie off to a high enough branch where you can't touch the ground (or other branches) before you get to the end of your rope, but pills are sort of slow and razor blades are exquisitely painful, so I've heard. Jumping is no good either, the human body can sometimes absorb a surprising amount of trauma and due to the resulting full paralysis it's unlikely you will get a second chance.*

If you are using pills or razors you're probably not serious about the whole undertaking anyway, so it's best to just check yourself in and save the fuss and bother of paying for the 9-1-1 call. Not to mention, the middlemen will very likely appreciate being left out in this instance. Howsomever, if you do decide to make a call as you down that Ambien don't get all butt-hurt when you wake up tied down in the psych ward. (If that was your intention all along be sure to call someone who cares, otherwise it may not work out the way you had it planned.) You want to check out, go in the middle of the night without warning. That way there isn't anyone around to stop you. Otherwise, it isn't much of a call for help if no one picks up the phone, is it?

Don't expect me to feel sorry for you either, cause I'm not the guy who's going to agree with the idea that you getting hauled off to be fitted for a hug-me jacket is exactly like little girls getting stuffed into gas chambers. They'll eventually let you out of the rubber room, not so much from the ovens.

EDIT: In other words, what he said.

*Note for the intellectually impaired, this is not a primer for taking yourself out. I assume no responsibility for your actions, successful or not.

What I Did On My Spring Vacation

(Hey Subaru...about that endorsement deal? Whaddayasay?)








I also cleaned up Pop's computer and got half of his garage cleaned out, a single layer on the trailer. I think I can probably get the rest using just the little trucklet when I bring Youngest Son down for the summer in a couple of months.

And now that I'm no longer on the laptop/cell card, I can actually comment on some of the blogs that I visit. Also, back to work tonight, so there's that as well.

17 May 2012

A Day At The Beach

It was cloudy and spit rain a few times on us, but we had a good time anyway.

Grandson saved these two critters from the birds, he put them back on the sand and covered them with the shell after he was done showing them off.

Tomorrow I head back north. I think I'll try to find another route other than I-95. Pulling that trailer on the interstate just doesn't sound like my idea of fun.

13 May 2012

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers in my life; my three daughters and my own Mother.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you mothers in my magic elf box.

Love the ones that are here, miss the ones that are gone, give thanks for them all.

12 May 2012

Finish Line

Thanks Caroll. It was one hell of a ride.

(I had to put a picture of the Dodges. Everyone else is doing Fords.)

11 May 2012

Travels

In Jacksonville, on the cell card, which means bandwidth is for crap. Posting when I have a good connection.

I can read the blogs but I can't post comments. In the meantime all is well. Special note to Stephen, hope that everything works out for the best, too bad I didn't check in with you earlier (before I left this morning) because I just pulled an empty trailer from NC to FL. Maybe I could have saved you a trip.

10 May 2012

Reload

Now that I have the hunting course under my belt I'd like to see if I can go slay Bambi or maybe one of his lesser cousins. (On a side note, it always amuses me to hear girls called Bambi when Bambi was a buck. Maybe it's the huge rack? But I digress...)

I have two bolt-action rifles that would be suitable for hunting, the Mosin and the Arisaka. I can buy soft-point rounds suitable for hunting for either rifle, but for the sake of discussion let's go with the Arisaka. I didn't run the numbers for the Mosin but I figure they will probably end out about the same. I have enough FMJ for the Mosin to supply the average Russian peasant through the next world war, but no rounds suitable for hunting so I'd either have to buy or load rounds for it as well.

A box of Hornady 140gr soft-point 6.5x50 Japanese will run about $1.40/round from Grafs, that's about as low as it gets for hunting rounds. Hornady 129gr SST's run about $1.45 and the Norma Alaska 156gr runs about $1.60 per round.  I can get target rounds (FMJ), not suitable for hunting, for about $1.15 per round. Any way you slice it, that's over a buck a round (which, along with its tendency to shoot high, explains why I don't shoot it much).

Reloading with the cheapest brass (PRVI) and 139gr soft-point bullets (also PRVI), along with the primer and 6 lbs of powder, which should load 1000 rounds at 40 grains per round with enough left over to cause serious damage if it isn't stored properly, will average out to about 47.5 cents per round for 4000 rounds (using the brass 4x), a savings of about 92 cents a round, over $3600 for all 4000 rounds. (All prices from the Grafs catalog, which is the one I have on hand. I'm sure if I scour the interwebs I can find prices higher and lower than what I have here.)

Likelihood of me shooting 4000 rounds through a pre-WW1 Japanese rifle approaches null, so if I only purchase 500 rounds of the brass and reload it 4x each it will still average to about 48 cents per round and save me a bit over $1800 for 2000 rounds. If I only reload it twice it ends up being about 60.5 cents per round, saving me $790 for 1000 rounds. Worst case scenario, if I get all new brass for 1000 rounds and only reload it once it averages out to around 83 cents per round, which still saves me $570 for the first thousand rounds.

How much is a reloading setup again?

UPDATE: I can get 150 grain SPBT PRVI ammo for the Mosin at $15.59/box of 20 which is about $0.78/round. The cheapest reload ends up being 59.7 cents/round for 4000 rounds - again, not likely that I'm going to put 4000 rounds through the Mosin, so if I buy 1000 brass and reload once it ends up being 91 cents per round - cheaper to buy than reload. If I buy 500 brass and reload twice it is 71 cents a round for 1000 rounds for a total savings of $70, and if I reload it four times it is 59.3 cents per round for 2000 rounds for a total savings of $374. The only way I do better than break even is to reload more ammo than I will likely ever use.

I think I'll just buy the Mosin's ammo.

09 May 2012

On The Agenda

Today it's raining and is expected to do so all day and night. We could use the rain, but tomorrow is supposed to be nice and sunny again. I have an appointment to take the 'stang in for a good cleaning, the last time it was washed we did it right here, with our well water, and didn't get it dried off so now it has water spots.

This morning as I was walking the dog I saw a single rose on the bush in Laura's grove. It's the first rose ever from that particular plant and there is only the one, not even any buds anywhere else. Plenty of leaves so I knew the plant was healthy, but it's good to finally see a rose - even if it's just the one.

On Friday I will load the boys up in the Scooby, attach the trailer, and then we're off to Florida to help Pop clean out his garage. We'll get some beach time as well, I will drive the AWD Subaru out on the beach where I won't the Mustang.

I had to take some vacation or lose it. I so rarely take time off that I won't know what to do with myself, but I'm sure something will come up.

Laura's Garden

05 May 2012

Eeny, Meeny, Miney, Meme

From Aggie Sith, who got it from The Real Dave, 11 things about me:

#1– Book or movie, and why?

Books. I don't really watch much TV and I can buy a book once and read it as many times as I wish instead of paying for a movie every time I want to see it. Besides, if I get tired I can put the book down and come back to it later. Can't really do that with a movie. And plus, they haven't put this kind of awesome in a movie. Yet.

#2– Real book, or e-book?

Real book. I haven't sprung for an E-reader yet. Maybe one day, but not today.

#3– Funniest thing you’ve done in the past five years?

uh...

#4– Do you put yourself in the books you read/write, or the movies you watch?

Sometimes, but not always.

#5– How would your best friend describe you?

He says I'm a wimp because I put a recoil pad on the Mosin I bought from him. Meh.

#6– Favorite kind of car and why?

You have to ask?

#7– Would your choice of party be a catered meal, or a barbeque out back?

BBQ, hands down.

#8– What is your favorite season and why?

Summer. Goes along with that whole convertible thing.

#9– What specific lesson have you learned: spiritual, educational, occupational?

The only person that gets hurt by your hate is yourself.

#10– Besides writing (for the blog, or otherwise), what’s your favorite thing to do when you get some extra time?

Drive!

#11– What is one place you can be found at least once a week?

Work. Bleh.

Another Defenseless Victim Zone


You gotta be kidding me!


Note to management...check your target audience, adjust accordingly.

Cars n Coffee


Cars N Coffee at Brier Creek Commons in Raleigh started out as a Porsche meeting every Saturday. Somehow other car enthusiasts found out about it and decided that they should join in the fun on the first Saturday of every month. No one is quite sure when it started, but now it has become self-aware and, in the words of one Porsche club member, "I'm not sure if we could shut it down if we wanted to."


They get everything from old American beaters


to high-dollar foreign exotics


and everything in between

 


 















including a Porsche or two.

They even get a few motorcycles in.



























It's always a fun time and always something different to see.


MOTM Video


The video was shot on NC28, known as Moonshiner 28. Youngest Son was holding the camera on the dash and then the video was stabilized, which explains the way the foreground moves around. Enjoy!

My pics of the Mustangs on the Mountain event can be found here.

Off to Cars n Coffee at Brier Creek Commons this morning.

04 May 2012

Earwig of the Day



HT: Erin

Today

is my younger (but not little, he hasn't been my little brother in quite some time now) brother's birthday.

When I left him a message on the book of faces I saw that someone else had said "May the Forth be with you." and I didn't know what it meant.

Oh. I see now.

Happy Birthday Brother!

What Was Once

Is again.

Who da'?

Sneaking around in the back there...who can that be?

It was a pretty good weekend.

See the black car with the red stripes? Vote for him here.

03 May 2012

Ouch, Part 2

Had a tooth pulled today and a bone graft where the tooth used to be.

It sucks.

Thatisall.

The Perfect Country And Western Song

He got runned over by a danged old traiiiiiiin....

Sorry. That's just what I thought of when I read Tam's description.

First Rose

Three years ago yesterday Mother In Law left us. Pop still putters around in the last house they lived in together. I have some time off this month, I am going down to help him clean the garage out. He's making noises about moving again. We will see if he does.

One year and a month, to the day, her daughter followed her into that great beyond. She got to see the roses before she went. Every year the roses come, and every year I can hear her delightedly say "The roses are blooming!"

This is the first rose of the year.