The Hobbit Hole XXXII - Sweet is the sound of falling rain

The Freeper Hobbit Hole Blog ^ | December 1, 2006

[Ramius]

To everything there is a season...

Still at da areoport. Flight appears to be a little delayed.

[sip]

Oh, darn.

[TalonDJ]

Kinda wet here too. Big'o heatwave, got up to thirty. Now we are expecting a big snow tonight and tomorrow morning.

[Ramius]

Tried a new thing today. Since I'm gone for two weeks and didn't really want to leave the Jeep at the airport that long... plus the cost would have been pretty high...

I got one of those town cars to pick me up. I like it. Not a full-on limo, and not the shared-shuttle. I've never liked using the shuttle since you always end up making some kind of milk-run there and back and it takes forever. But the town car setup was pretty sweet. They pick ya up and take ya straight there. When I get back there's supposed to be the guy standing there at baggage claim with my name on a sign. So, we'll see. For this length of stay, it'll be considerably cheaper than airport parking.

Anyway...

[ecurbh]

I bet Jack could have gotten it started.

[Rose in RoseBear]

Gentlebeings, I found something y'all may also find interesting.

Michael Yon, embed reporter par excellance, takes pictures of all the weapons caches he runs across. He's run across a mystery weapon lately, and he's wondering if anyone can identify it.

Check it out here, at http://www.drudgereport.com/flash2.htm. It's also on Michael Yon's site (www.michaelyon-online.com), but apparently interest in this picture has bogged down his server. Drudge's infrastructure is more robust.

It's apparently a puzzler ...

[HairOfTheDog]

When I get back there's supposed to be the guy standing there at baggage claim with my name on a sign.

Gee... I've always thought it would be fun to go up to one of those guys and say "I'm Ramius"... (Seinfeld did it)

[HairOfTheDog]

Well... Jack would probably use one of those things Rose just found...

[Corin Stormhands]

We've gone from major snow event to major ice event to...maybe rain.

I understand that we're right on that line between freezing and not. And since I live south of the river, even moreso.

But, they honestly have no clue what kind of weather we're going to get.

How'mI s'posed to believe they can predict global warming 50 years from now when they don't know for sure what's going to happen in the next 50 hours...

I'm just askin'

[JenB]

We're gonna get a hundred and seventy feet of snow and die. Or not.

[Corin Stormhands]

I'm more likely to die in the "bread, milk, toilet paper" traffic.

Speaking of traffic, it's time to go get in it.

later

[JenB]

Gah... I have to make a dog food run. I think we're ok on tp and we don't do milk or bread, so...

[Ramius]

I saw that thread... if it wasn't Mister Yon, I'd say it was some kind of gag. But he lends a certain credibility to the question. I don't recognize it, but I'm not an expert on weapons-round-the-world, either.

There had better be an extendable tube that comes out the back of that thing, or that shoulder stock placement doesn't make any sense. Whoever fired it would be jumping in the nearest lake to put out the fire on their back. In fact, a shoulder stock doesn't make a great deal of sense anyway, given that over-the-shoulder launchers are generally recoiless anyway and often don't have any stock at all.

The presence of a shoulder stock implies that there is recoil and that fire does not shoot out the back. The scope implies some precision, and that the weapon is line-of-sight. I'd be tempted to think of some kind of grenade launcher than anything else. Not rockets... no blast shield in front.

It would be a distictly unpleasant way to lauch mortars.

So... Beats me. Mister Mag? Any help here?

[TalonDJ]

Pretty much the same conclusion as I came too. That looks like a COTs scope which is odd. My guess was some kind of home brew but it looks too well painted for improv work.

[Rose in RoseBear]

<snicker>This part-time housewife/part-time software consultant gig has its benefits ... not the least of which is time to gad about the Internet and find curios ...

[RosieCotton]

Even Gidget lost all hope.

LOL!

[Lil'freeper]

I think that is my ultimate career goal: part-time housewife and part-time consultant. That would be divine.

[300winmag]

The sheen makes me think it's all plastic. The scope is probably not more than 4x, and doesn't have a big objective lens.

My SWAG is that this is a semi-disposable ripoff of the German Armbrust which is a short-range, silent (until the warhead goes off) anti-tank weapon. It uses the same captive-piston design used in silenced M79 and 12 ga ammunition developed during Vietnam. In this case, the main component of the weapon is a heavy-walled steel tube. The propellant is sandwhiched between two heavy steel caps, which push the projectile out the front, and a countermass out the back, making it recoilless. A heavy steel ring on each end stops the caps, and traps the hot gas inside.

The countermass is a bundle of soft plastic strips that weigh the same as the projectile. There is no noise (actually, more like a pistol shot), no smoke or flame, and you only need a couple of feet of safe area to your back. Great for ambushes from buildings.

US Special Forces have a limited supply of these specialized weapons.

That's my SWAG. The modest rifle-type scope, for me, rules out both an RPG or manpad weapon, since it would be inappropriate for either. The seeming plastic construction makes it just a holder for something else. I don't think there are missing pieces to make the thing longer.

A peek at what the ammunition is would answer all the questions.

[Overtaxed]

It's nasty raw out there! A good time to curl up with a hot cuppa something and a good book.

[Ramius]

A peek at what the ammunition is would answer all the questions.

Roger that. I still can't get past the shoulder stock on the thing. Notice in the example you posted... no stock. It doesn't make any sense. The presence of a shoulder stock implies that there is some recoil... which doesn't make any sense given the assumed types of weapon it might be.

dunno. But now gotta go find an airplane. I'll tune in later tonight.

Later, folkses...

[LSAggie]

I've been making Lidia's Minestrone Soup this afternoon; lots of veggies, beans, and I'll add the pasta after OB comes home. Doesn't look like it's going to be pleasant for the next couple of days, does it?