Posted on 09/23/2009 6:19:16 AM PDT by HairOfTheDog
Welcome to The Hobbit Hole!
Well the lemon balm is no slouch either...I’ve got it coming up all over the place. Maybe I should give them both the “planter box” treatment. Hehehe...
Teh Kittehs got a baby bird this afternoon.
Does the weather change quick in this area or what? I just turned on the A/C in the living room ‘cause Gypsy was looking a bit distressed....’Cuse me, I stopped to shut down the house and turn on all the mini-splits or I’ll be distressed tonight when I go to bed. It’s already blown pass the predicted high, and it’s only 2:00, eek!
I’ve got the AC on the thermostat but it hasn’t kicked on yet. Teh Kittehs are sacked out in thesunroom with the glass doors open. They look very happy.
I’m hoping to get a good deal of planting done before it rains again.
MrsEx is in Venice this month. Is that near you?
Welll... it’s on the gulf coast.... probably 9 hours from us! We’re Panhandlers!
Alas.
Loostrife is pretty and invulnerable. If I was planting a garden I’d plant it (but I’m probably too far south).
It's considered an invasive species in Virginia (purple loostrife)
Just stoppin' by to give a Sam update. I called Jr. to come home for Easter 'cause we didn't think Sam would make it until Jr. got home last week. Danged if that old dog didn't rally when he saw his boy.
He's still moving slow. But he's eating and doing better. Well enough that he's gone back to vacuuming under the dinner table.
Not Valerie says it'll be another roller coaster ride like we had with Nana (she made the comparison, not I).
Well hey. I’m glad Sam is having a good week. Not a fun emotional ride for you guys but.... is Jr coming back for the summer?
Yeah, he’s been back about a week. He’s working again for the baseball team. But had an interview yesterday for a ~really~ good job. We’re just waiting to hear.
Glad to hear Sam is doing better. OB & LSA
Glad to hear that Sam’s feeling better.
I’ve got gooseneck loosestrife and hairy loosestrife and the gooseneck is the more vigorous.
It looks like my blueberries are going to survive the attack of the lepus.
Since the purple iris have stopped blooming, the orange and yellow ones have come on line. Flowers are really fine this spring. Early blossoms on the blacklocust trees. Second and third areas of back yard have been turned, composted and seeded. Nice that we got some rain last night. OB
We got a little rain last night. I don’t have standing water in the yard so it must not have been much.
I had a first bloom of purple iris and then the yellow. Now I’ve got a second wave of purple starting to bloom. The yarrow is starting to bloom. I’ve got strawberries and blackberries coming.
OT, when you had your house sided and new windows installed last year, was it before or after the new EPA rules on lead? We’re having the last of our windows replaced, and we have
(a)cones and caution tape around the house,
(b) signs posted on the doors, in English and Spanish, Posted, Keep Out, Renovation Work in Progress, Authorized Personnel Only, No Eating, Drinking or Smoking on Premises. LOL.
(c) the windows to be removed have been taped in plastic to prevent lead dust leaking onto the premises
(d)the plants have been draped in plastic to contain the lead dust,
(e) plastic has been placed under every window inside and sticky mats put down to grab the lead dust off the worker’s shoes. Kansas requires 6ml plastic; Missouri 4ml plastic.
(f) pictures are being taken as documentation that these steps have been followed. Ks requires a four page form the homeowner has to sign attesting to procedures were followed. Missouri doesn’t have this requirement. Files to be kept seven years.
If these steps aren’t followed, it’s a $37,000 fine to the company and the homeowner.
We were told that Iowa has state regs in addition to the Federal ones and KS has some similar ones but not as bad as Iowa. Sheeeesh.
Guess which company has already been hit twice with fines? the 189 dollar window guys. One more fine and they lose their license in MO.
So they’ve been here over an hour and are just now being the real work.
Thank you, Obama
Must have been before...I didn’t have no steenkin’ warning cones.
Sir Ian, in wardrobe, on the set of The Hobbit, wearing 3D glasses.
Oh, yeaaaaaaahhhhh.
Seriesly, is PJ trying out some in-situ 3D tricks, like he did with "forced perspective"? IMHO, post-production 3D effects are about as welcome as "colorization" was.
I liked my H&K police trade-in P7PSP so much, I bought a "hand-picked, select" one just to serve as a safe queen, so I can take it out and admire it, while the other one works as my carry piece. The "new" one, built in 1985 rather than 1986, must have never left its plastic box all these years. Externally has 99%+ original finish, with absolutely no internal wear. I might have removed the official factory grease when I cleaned and lubed it.
The one on the left now has Trijicon sights, and the newer-style "flat" grips. After about 200 rounds, traces of wear are starting to appear on internal parts. I've probably put more rounds through it than the priginal owner ever did.
I'm still debating whether to even fire the new one. I did, however, order a set of walnut grips from the German company that made the fancy walnut grips for H&K's last-of-the-breed production run of 300.
One unexpected bonus was the 1980-marked magazine that was included with the new P7. The P7 was only in development in 1980, so this might be one used in that program. All production magazines have stamped markings, and no date. This one seems to be electro-etched, instead.
Just an added bonus for a weapon they don't-make-;ole-they-used-to, because they're not made at all, any more.
This is a major redesign that takes an open-bolt blowback SMG and turns it into a BATFE-legal closed-bolt semiauto handgun. All it took was a ground-up redesign of the lower receiver, and all-new internal parts. Surprisingly, the firing mechanism is a miniature version of the M1 Garand, which explains why I could get a 3.5lb trigger pull after a little tweaking with Nanolube.
This produced admirable results the first time on the range, although I replaced the cheap walnut "civilian" grips with some even cheaper military ones.
This was shot at the usual "social interaction" range of seven yards. It has no more recoil than a .22 handgun, but the sights, marked "75" and "150" are pure wishful thinking. I couldn't even hit the paper at 50 yards, which didn't surprise me.
However, this is one weapon where "spray and pray" is quite effective at close range. I could see something like this as a modern cavalry sidearm, to go along with a modern saber. Fortunately for horses, major powers no longer fight on horseback.
Aside from more appropriate grips, I hit some sites to buy more 20-round magazines ($20 each, cheap in today's world), and some (Czech) GI surplus holsters and cleaning kits. Assuming the worst when it comes to military surplus, I bought two of everything, and got one decent example out of it.
On the top row, the belt holster on the left was mildewed, but the one on the right cleaned up nicely. It's designed to wear on a belt, with a cross strap to help support the rather hefty weight, while still protecting the VZ61 with a ten-round magazine. Under the flap is a military acceptance stamp with a 1970-something date. Very solid and substantial.
The bottom row shows two "concealment" shoulder holsters. They're made of rather flimsy cowhide, rather than the pigskin used in the belt holster. All the elastic straps and clips indicate this holster was designed more for concealment, rather than shooting. Straps and flaps cover everything, and the magazine is kept in an internal pouch, rather than in the weapon, ready for use. Again, the one on the left is pretty ratty, while the other one is in decent shape, and cleaned up nicely. This is the first time in ages that I've tried to rejuvenate leather goods.
And in between is a complete GI cleaning kit, made by combining what was in two separate kits. Nothing special, but having it appeals to me sense of completeness, and "getting while the getting's good".
Here's the VZ61 (oh, BTW, "vz" is short for "vzor", Czech for "model". Slavic languages seem to have a shortage of vowels.) It's a lot more classy than the cheapo black Cordura-and-Velcro hip holster that came with it.
All told, an amazing little package that combines accuracy with easy shooting. Much easier to master than a "normal" handgun. As a SMG, it would be a deadly little item at close range. As is, it's still a blast to shoot.
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