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I’ve been by that place many times- it is, indeed, on a lonely street (although just off the main drag). I have to admit that I was shocked to see that they are still running machines off a line shaft- even most antique machines have been refitted with electric motors, as the belting is very dangerous. It was nice to see them using a metal shaper, though- very slow and outmoded tool, but sometimes just the thing for a one-off project.

I tried watching it, and was even more disgusted with the racist portrayal of the token black astronaut. I gave up about the time they came to Earth and encountered the gang.

Personally, I would rather see him on the Supreme Court. Although it would not be unprecedented for a former president to be appointed a supreme...

Annie Oakley is one of my daughter’s heroines- mine, too, for that matter! The kid has done research on her life, and is seriously thinking of dressing up as her for Halloween this year. Oh, and she’s shooting pretty well, too (she’s twelve).

Fracking is an environmentally harmless process- don’t believe the legacy media- they are just stirring up excitement.
As a consolation, though, there is *lots* of *big* *noisy* machinery involved in getting to that point! Drilling rigs run 24 hours, and don’t (can’t) stop until they are done making the hole!

The stock and removeable magazines work together- they will not work with a regular Mosin stock.

Serious question from someone totally ignorant of these MNs. Are they actually worth $150? I have read some horror stories. Then again, some seem to like them.

Yes. Yes they are! The Mosin-Nagant is inexpensive, yet rugged, reliable, and capable of surprising accuracy. It can also be fed pretty economically with surplus ammo (which is still very available, I believe).

Several companies and individuals make scope mounts for them- I recently found www.mojosights.com, which makes peep sights for a variety of surplus rifles. I intend to mount a set of these on my Mosin, which should give me a rifle capable of hitting a man-sized target out to 400 yards (at least).

Hurry up and send me my new stock!

I’ve not read the article yet, but I’ve long thought of Angry Birds as the perfect Conservative video game.

Woo Hoo, Indeed! Sure did miss the site the last few days! Otoh, I had time to get the wife’s birthday present finished up before her birthday was over :) Silver linings, and all that :)

Oops, mean’t uncle on the brake. I am a terrible proof reader before I post.

I was gonna say :) I'm currently trying to get on with a big drilling company, myself. The job I've had for the last twelve years has gone to pot, and a good friend is a tool pusher (I didn't ask him to, but he put in a good word for me). Not that I really want to go back to roughnecking- but I figure that if I'm gonna work like a farm animal twelve hours a day, I should get paid a decent wage for it!

You must live in East Texas- here in Central Texas, the summers are Hot, long and *dry* :)

You must live in East Texas- here in Central Texas, the summers are Hot, long and *dry* :)

Here in Texas, a few years ago I was doing physical therapy. My therapist was chatting with her intern (both were from other states, the intern more recently arrived). They were discussing what it was like for them living in Texas- after a bit, the therapist says “So- have you gotten used to people opening doors for you yet?”. I could not have been more shocked!

That was a shooting event, at a range, not a gun show. The press just called it a gun show because then they could claim that a little boy had been shot at a gun show.

Appallingly bad judgement was shown by every adult involved in letting that boy shoot that gun- but he was the one who paid the price for it.

A zip-gun would cost less to make, wonder if anyone has realized that yet? Turn in 10-$500 in groceries.

I've heard of at least one guy doing just that!

I have many, but one of my favorites for 20 years was a Puma White Hunter which I lost several years ago after field dressing a deer. I thought about replacing it a while back and was a bit shocked at the price now.

I made knives as a hobby during high school (mostly putting handles on purchased blades). My dad gave me his old White Hunter (with a broken tip). I removed the stag handles and replaced them with kingwood, then (like a stupid teenager), sold it. Fast forward twenty-odd years, one evening at a consignment auction house they put a couple of knives on the table, and one looked familiar...

I was able to buy that knife back, and it's now in my desk drawer, and never leaving my possession again! I saw one at a gun show last year- I, too was shocked at the price!

In this particular case, I’m surprised by the number of anti-gun comments in a west Texas newspaper.

Sadly, we do have a number of such people among us here. One is a Facebook friend of mine, just down the street a bit. Whenever she posts some anti-gun silliness, I want to point out that she is safe living alone in her very nice house *because* she is in the middle of a sea of gun owners, and violent criminals know what would happen to them here. In this case, though I have to keep it mild- my child and her grandchildren are extremely close.

I’ve got the solution. Take some of Archie Bunker’s advice and apply it universally. Regarding the airline hijacking problems back in the 70’s Archie had this to say:

“All you gotta do is arm all your passengers,” he offered. “And then your airlines, they wouldn’t have to search the passengers on the ground no more, they just pass out the pistols at the beginning of the trip, and they just pick them up at the end! Case closed.”

Everybody laughed at this but is rings true to me. It is proven that more guns stop crime.

I agree with this in principal- my idea is to install tazers in a locked compartment in the back of every seat, that can be made to open with a command from the cockpit. Include operating instructions in the pre-flight briefing, and Bob's yer uncle!

Annie Oakley was an amazing woman in many ways- including personally teaching thousands of other women to shoot. I suggested to my 11 year old daughter she dress up as Annie for Halloween next year, and she was thrilled with the idea :)

I’ve been in the vending business for twelve years- they will end up with no vending machines at all (unless they actually pay someone to have them in there, just to save face). A vending company can’t make a profit trying to sell things that nobody will buy.
We’ve tried to sell this stuff at various times over the years, and ninety percent or more of it just sits there and goes out of date.
I cringe every time someone asks me “why don’t you put some healthy stuff in there?”. My reply is always the same- I have to make a living!

I’m currently reading Olsen’s “Exploring JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit”. It’s quite good, and surprisingly entertaining.

Surely you don’t expect to see a perfect parallel to historic events- the main point here is that Islam is a threat. It doesn’t have to be a *military* threat to be dangerous.

Orson Scott card is one of my favorite Science Fiction writers, and I occasionally go to his website to check out his "Uncle Orson Reviews Everything" columns. I went to re-read his comments on Ann Romney's address at the RNC, and found this. It's a fairly long piece in which he discusses the parallels between late 30's England (and the menace of Hitlerian Germany), and the Obama administration (and the menace of Islam).

Inarra or Kaylee ???

That's not nearly as clear-cut a choice! Inarra and Kaylee are both useful, personable, and beautiful women who would be pleasant to be around (and not in competition with each other- not a minor point!).

While the above describes Mary Ann, Ginger is extremely self-centered and high-maintenance. That's what makes it a clear choice.

My father browbeat the army into sending him to flight school in the late 50’s (he lined up a civilian job, and threatened to resign if he wasn’t sent to flight school). Late 50’s, early 60’s, the Army required it’s pilots to qualify in both fixed-wing and helicopters, so he did both. He always claimed to be the first instrument qualified helicopter pilot in the Arny. Lot’s of great stories about flight schools, and the instructors. He wrote a bit of a memoir a few years before his death- all quite interesting.
Dad was a very calm individual- obviously spent most of his flight time in airplanes :).

the prettiest girls, by average, in my world travels: California Girls Florida Girls North Carolina Girls Thailand Girls (30 years ago) Dutch Polish (immigrants to my home state) Hispanic , mostly South American or Puerto Rican more than Mexican or Central American

All around the world- and you never made it to Texas! What a shame :)

My late father was partial to Necco wafers (as am I, for that matter). Many a Christmas he would receive an entire box from one of us.
Here’s an interesting bit of trivia- according to an American Heritage article I read some years ago, Necco Wafers are the oldest continuously manufactured product in the country!

Every now and then some actor does something to remind us that there are still some decent people in Hollywood! I have to say that my opinion of Ron Perlman just shot way up!

This is the best thing I've seen in the news all day! I almost fell out of my chair laughing at the beauty of this!

I’ve done it before, and I’ve been doing it again lately to build up some cash reserves. It’s actually an interesting process- the cash paid is based on your weight- larger people like me can provide more plasma, and thus are paid more. It also takes us longer to donate. New donors usually get paid more for a certain period.

The old two-bag process is long gone- the donor is hooked up to a single machine that handles the entire process. A human being is involved only at the beginning and end- ie, to stick the needle, then remove it. Great care is still taken to keep up with your identity, but there is absolutely no chance of receiving someone else’s blood.

If you are afraid of needles, don’t go- they use a pretty big one, and it is visible the whole time. If you get cold easily, take a blanket or jacket. And I highly recommend taking a book- you will not be able to talk on your cell phone, and the ringer has to be turned off (the techs have to be able to hear noises that the machines make). Oh, and no sleeping- bad idea with a big needle in your arm.

The outfit here locally no longer gives out cash- they issue you a prepaid card, and put your money on it every time.

Congratulations to all of you! My wife and two of her sisters were adopted, and we are big fans of adoption in our family!

Bimbo Bakeries also bought Mrs Bairds bakery, one of the best tasting regional breads anywhere. So far they haven’t messed with the formula much.

They've seriously messed up the pastries. I'm in the vending biz- before Bimbo took over, we were getting pastries with a 30 day shelf life (we buy them outright- we do not get credit for stales). Now we're lucky if they have two weeks on them. Sometimes they bring us pastry with the same date on it two weeks in a row.

They've also totally screwed the pooch on the fried pies- they used to be made here in Texas- now they are having them made by some outfit in Pennsylvania. Usually I'm all for Pennsylvania Dutch cooking, but these guys have no idea how to make fried pies- especially the lemon ones!

Incidentally, is anyone ELSE tired of the inevitable destroy New York scenes in these movies?

That's inevitable with Marvel stories- they are all written and edited by New Yorkers, with their "New York City is the center of the universe" point of view.

Clicked on the thread just to see how long it took before this popped up :)

Many years ago, I had a ditzy landlady, who had a really stupid dog. A couple of years after I moved, I saw in the paper that she had been camping with her dog, and it was attacked by a bobcat (I think). She fought it off with a slipper!

Wow! I never get my wife Mother’s day gifts- and she knows where all my guns are! (not to mention her own gun!). Lucky I’ve lived this long, I guess...

(because I’m good to my wife *every day*, not just on arbitrarily designated dates, that’s why!).

I saw the Avengers Movie with some family on Mother's Day.

When Captain America was looking for his "outfit" he went to a museum and found the Stars and Stripes on display. He got it and said - "This is not as popular as it once was!"

When the Good Guys joined to fight evil - they could not be stopped.

At the end when the evil one was exiled to a space platform - he said - "We can never take their freedom when they join together to resist".

The Avengers is a great movie- that from a movie hater, former comic book fanboy (but never Marvel Zombie!). That being said, we didn't see the same movie- can't argue with your "message" points, but the scenes you mention just aren't in the movie.

Did anybody else notice that the bad guy aliens were simply engaging in pointless terrorism, and not planned military action? Militarily, they'd have been much better off establishing a defensible beachhead in, say, North Korea- emerging over New York City was just stupid. Of course, Marvel comics have always been written by New Yorkers, with their provincial "New York Is The Whole World" viewpoint- but still!

At the end of the movie where she was walking away from the camera...? I had to bite tongue as I was with my sons.

Totally agree! I'm so sick of having women built like men presented as being attractive... I was with my wife- fortunately, she wasn't interested in marrying a eunuch, so I didn't have to bite my tongue :)

But I will nitpick one idea, having an aircraft carrier floating in the sky was stupid stupid stupid, too vulnerable and everything should have been anchored to the deck, looked cruelly cool though but still a stupid idea.

This was one of the things I was referring to that I had to ignore- it's only in there because it's the traditional Shield headquarters in the comics.

The wife and I went to see this last night. I hate most movies, because they are just so stupid- nobody acts like real people. There was some of that in this one, but little enough that I was able to put it aside and enjoy the movie.
I highly recommend this one!
And imho, the Hulk has the best line in the movie- without saying a word!

Leonard Pitts is a professional racist. He *has* to write about this- it’s only surprising if it’s taken him this long to get to it. Pitts doesn’t just filter everything through his “blackness”- he’s every bit the race pimp that Jackson and Sharpton are- he just prefers to keep a lower profile.

Those are snappers in the tanks- they are a pest species, and can be quite dangerous. Everybody shoots them. I once saw one in the middle of a road near a lake that was big enough to be a traffic hazard- and two teenage girls standing right by it wanting to help it. I pulled up and told them to get away from the thing before they lost some fingers or toes- and then called the cops to get animal control out there and dispose of the thing.

This article is about a box turtle- they are a harmless, helpful species, and nobody shoots them. In fact, if I see one in the road, I’ll pull over and put it off the road.

My late father was an Army officer, retired in 1972. He told me that the second they showed those documents on the screen, he knew that they were fakes.

Thanks, Scutter, and everybody else- that website you posted gave me the info I was looking for. I have to say that the prospect looks good, and I’m going to apply. The salary looks good, and I like a challenging job that will keep me busy and thinking (my wife says I’m a workaholic- if I’m not at work, I’m usually working in my shop).

Thanks for the info- I admit, it hadn’t occurred to me to look for such a website.
I am employed now- in my twelfth year at the job, and in no danger of losing it. However, I’ve lost a lot of business (and commissions) through no fault of my own, and the company doesn’t seem concerned with building their business anymore. Because of all this, it’s gotten to the point that I just can’t meet my expenses at this job anymore, so I’m in the market for something else. I *am* being picky- I’ve already turned down a job that I probably would have loved, because it just didn’t pay enough.

FR is the best place to go to find out anything :)

I’ve got one. Why are very light blond haired children called tow heads? Anyone have an answer because I certainly don’t know.

As it happens, I can provide this one! I figured it out while reading up on the making of bowstrings. It turns out that "tow" is a name for a grade of linen fibers. I'm sure it's a low grade, as we still call burlap bags "towsacks" around here.

I spoke to him about the time all of this was going on (he had the table on the opposite corner to mine at the Fredericksburg gun show a few weeks ago). I heard him mention to someone that he’d had a death threats- and he told me that with all the people calling him up, he’d have to rent the local civic center to give his class! (that last part seemed a bit tongue-in-cheek).

What building are they having it in?

All it says is Gillespie County Fairgrounds- I'm sure there'll be plenty of signs!

I'm gonna have a couple of tables there, and was hoping to run into some Freepers while there (I live in the Abilene area). I'll be the guy with a big poster of Obama holding a flaming Earth in his hand (it's the cover graphic for a book my brother wrote and self-published). Be sure to come by if you are there!