The Hobbit Hole XXXVIII - There and Back Again!

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

Well I guess we could develop a list of everyone who ever posted to a HH thread, but that would take too much effort for me, anyhow.

[HairOfTheDog]

I guess my goal would be to hope to gather all those who have formed friendships here to maybe go there. We know who those people are. Maybe it wouldn’t work and be as lively and dynamic as this place was...

But it might give us a place to not lose touch with each other. Talk of the movie would just be a bonus. Actual Hobbit news will be few and far between for at least the next year.

If what you want is FR... then we should leave it at FR.

[JenB]

It’s sad that things move on and change. I’m glad to have a lot of you guys on Facebook but it’s not the same. Still, I’m not sure I have room for another forum; I’m here often enough I really ought to be more active at HH posting.

[Corin Stormhands]

Well, like I said above, the main thing is that we don’t lose touch with each other. I stop by here most days, mainly just to check this thread.

We’ve done this before, but maybe we just need a central place to keep the contact info for the key players. That way when the FRapture happens and people start disappearing, we’ll be able to find one another.

[LSAggie]

We’re sorry to hear about your Mom’s illness but relieved to hear that she’s on the mend and ready to go home, being a spirited patient may help her get an early release date. OB & LSA

[LSAggie]

We’ll listen for the horn and watch for the beacon. OB & LSA

[JenB]

Not a bad idea. I figure that for Talon and me, like g’nad, you can just watch the headlines for stories about shootouts with overbearing government officials.

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

Legolas is the son of the King of the Wood Elves, and is hundreds of years old, so this makes sense.
Deadline.com: Orlando to reprise Legolas in ‘Hobbit’
“ http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2010/12/08/41248-deadline-com-orlando-to-reprise-legolas-in-hobbit/ “

[Overtaxed]

Well I guess we could develop a list of everyone who ever posted to a HH thread, but that would take too much effort for me, anyhow.

I bet Bear could do it.

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

‘I bet Bear could do it.’

Bear can do anything, if he has the time, and comes around here these days.

[HairOfTheDog]

That’s good news :~)

[LSAggie]

Storm coming in. I had to fill up the birdbaths three times today, the birds were trying to get their feathers fluffed up.

I noticed we had one or two Carolina wrens. They are so cute but they shouldn’t be this far north (fret), they need to stay where the winters aren’t so severe.

[g'nad]

We probably could do with a new Hobbit Hole thread for a new Hobbit movie!

I think that would be appropriate...

[g'nad]

Victuals and the Gaffer’s homebrew should bring those stragglers in!

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm... victuals an' homebrew...

[g'nad]

we’re battening down the hatches here... we won’t get it as bad as you’uns...

[Overtaxed]

Hmmm.....global warming birds?

I need to make a run for cat food and litter.

[300winmag]

being a spirited patient may help her get an early release date. OB & LSA

The nursing home staff is praying extra-hard for her quick recovery, trust me.

[300winmag]

This isn't Saturday Night Gun Pron, but then again it's not night yet, and this isn't a gun. What it is is a picture of a Wicked Laser S3 Arctic 1 watt blue Class 4 laser.

It has one watt of blue laser output, compared to the ordinary .5 milliwatt beam of a red or green laser, or 2000x more powerful. The entire body of the laser is a black anodized heat sink. The underside has a mode switch that controls the three LEDs on the top side, and it is used to enter the unlock code, and select the beam feature. A regular pushbutton on the rear turns the beam on. Once the beam is turned off, you have to go through the entire unlock series again to turn it on. This particular picture comes from their site, and is shot with dry ice to give some idea of the beam.

Here's another view of one, taken by another user.

I have spent only a few minutes playing with it in the basement, so far. There is no way I'd risk arrest by shining it outdoors, day or night. Between a 20% safety lens and a low-power setting, output can be varied from .5mW (like a commercial pointer) to the full 1W.

It was like my time on the grenade range. Everything seemed cool until the instructor said, "pull the pin". SAY WHAT???? "After you pull the pin, Mr. Grenade is no longer your friend."

At 50 feet, the beam starts to scorch wood immediately, and after about 10 seconds you can see smoke coming from the wood. I haven't yet tried to set anything afire, bust balloons, or anything else.

Base price is $300, for now, and is 1000 times cheaper than the bench lasers available prior to this. It's also the first hand-held laser in this power range, because it uses a "common" blue laser used in high-end laser projection systems for large theaters and auditoriums. Blue lasers are far more inefficient than red or green, so they have to generate a much more powerful beam to match the brightness of red and green in a projector.

There's a big stink about this particular laser, just like with the all-plastic undetectable Glock. Even though it has an FDA approval, some of these lasers are turned back to Hong Kong at some US ports of entry, while at others they're let through. Mine must have come through an "other". Their web site has the following warning: *Supplies are extremely limited as voluntary and regulatory restrictions increase the difficulty to purchase Class IV portable lasers.

Also, since he works with a 1000 watt laser at Georgia Tech, I took my nephew's advice, and bought a $265 set of laser safety goggles to go along with the $295 laser. It's a whole lot cheaper than a new set of eyes.

[Overtaxed]

Ya know those sedum heads that I brought indoors after thesidingguys trampled the plants? They had little baby sedums growing from them!

[LSAggie]

Yep, wind’s a mite brisk, wind chill is single digits. Gypsy is unamused. Got our cord of oak & hickory laid in and stacked, we’re ready. OB