Breda and Bonnie are starting up their new Internet radio show tonight!

Breda is all aflutter, but she and Bonnie have done this before and done it very well.  I think they are going to rock, and won’t even break a sweat doing it!

Go on over to their sites and give them some encouragement, and then listen in.

H/T to Boquisucio over Argghhh! for this.


This young lady takes high powered ammunition, mixes it with a little paint, and makes high art.

Even without her sales pitch, I’d buy this for the mancave.  Definitely be a good conversation piece.

Since just about every other blog out there is doing it, here’s a computer generated analysis of my writing:

I write like
David Foster Wallace

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

I have gone to several conferences with your organization, and taken several classes with you all.  I read your website daily, and get several information feeds from you about updates to your technology field.  I have also taken part in several webcasts with you, but never again.

You see, your webcasts are, for the most part, put on by software and hardware vendors.  I don’t care about that, since you go out of your way to make sure the webcasts are informative and not just dressed-up sales pitches.  The information given out is almost always very well done, interesting, and applicable.

But since I have to give my contact information when I register for the webcast, the vendors then know who I am and how to get in touch with me.  A few days after the webcast, my phone starts ringing with sales calls, and my email fills up with invitations to demo whatever product they are pushing.

I come to your organization for knowledge and information.  I understand that you all cannot just put on these presentations without some consideration to the economic part of the industry.  However, I do not wish to be subjected to two weeks of unsolicited emails and phone calls in exchange for a 45 minute webcast on securing Linux and Solaris.

I will continue to attend your conferences and webcasts that are not put on by vendors, and I look forward to taking as much training from you as my company will pay for.

But I will no longer be attending webcasts that you allow a software or hardware vendor to create.  My time and my attention are better spent doing the job that I apply your information to than answering the phone and trying to politely tell a salesman to never call me again.

I live in Kentucky.  I am not from Kentucky.

Those of you who follow my meandering thoughts are familiar with the trevails of my minivan.  Basically, it’s gone through four starters in the past three years. 

I put the latest starter in a month or so ago, and it still didn’t want to crank.  I could hear the starter whirring, but it wouldn’t crank the engine.  I’ve been trying to find time to work on it, and using my truck through the summer.  It hasn’t been too bad, but not having air conditioning in the truck this summer has sucked the zub kabir.

Last night while chatting with some friends, I mentioned that I was going to take the inspection port off the flywheel and check it for broken teeth.  Several people suggested that I re-check the electrical connections.

This morning, I crawled under the beast and rechecked all of the connections.  All of the bolts and nuts were on tight, so I started feeling around for the inspection port to check the flywheel.  While I had my hand up in there, something sharp and pointy stabbed my finger.  I twisted my head around to look, and there I found that the neutral wire coming off of the starter was coming apart at the crimp to the connector.  I took the connector off the starter, opened the crimp and re-connected the wire to it a little bit farther up the wire. 

After re-connecting the wire and re-checking that all the other electrical connections were tight, I reconnected the battery and tried the key in the ignition.  After a moment of cranking, she fired right up!

Wai, Newbius, and Agripa, I owe each of you a bottle of Kentucky’s Finest if we ever meet face to face!

Remember, according to my maintenance sergeant at Huachuca, all equipment is never “right”.   It is in one of these states:

1. Broken
2. Fixed
3. F***ed

Now the van is fixed, when I was afraid that the flywheel was broken, and it was f***ed.  Hopefully it will stay fixed for a long long time. 

As a bonus, my Redneck Score is down by 10 points.  No more non-working vehicles up on blocks in the driveway!

A friend of mine forwarded this picture to me.  It was taken recently at Bowman Field here in Louisville.

By the painting on the rear of the fuselage and the tail, I’m guessing it’s a U.S. aircraft of Vietnam War vintage.

He asked me if I recognized it, and I didn’t.  Since I love a challenge, I started pouring over websites that listed U.S aircraft from that era.  I’ve found a few things that are close, but nothing definite.

Here’s all I know:  It appears to be a single engine, straight wing jet aircraft.  I’m about 85% sure on the straight wing, but if it’s swept wing, it’s pretty gradual.  There are what appear to be auxiliary fuel tanks on the end of the wings.  The wings sit just at the bottom edge of the fuselage, with engine intakes just to the front of and above the wing.  There is possibly another intake above and to the rear of the canopy.

Like I said, nothing I can find is a perfect match for this photo.  Closest thing I can find is the A-37 Dragonfly/T-37 Tweetybird.  But on those two, the shape of the tail and the fuselage are not quite right, so unless it’s a variant, that’s not right.  So, I’m stumped.

So, all of you aircraft guys out there.  Any ideas on what this is?

I need to extend an apology to anyone who was within earshot of Case de Oso this morning around 7:30.  Apparently my sing-along rendition of Prince’s “Kiss”, which the local radio station obligingly played just as I was getting into the shower, scared the cats and unnerved the 11 year old. 

Hey, can I help it if I can hit the high notes while I’m in the shower and have a voice that carries?

Girlie Bear and I got up bright and early today and went down to the public shooting range at Taylorsville Lake WMA.  We go fishing not far from there, so I knew the general area.  But I’m glad I looked at a map to find the road that goes back to the shooting range.  There is a sign on the main road pointing the way, but if you’re not looking for it, you’ll probably miss it.

The range itself is very nice.  It was built last year, and is still in excellent condition.  There are 6 shooting positions, each one centered on a target set at a known distance, ranging from 10 to 50 yards.  The range is bench shooting only, through tubes, so no practicing your sitting, standing, or kneeling fire.  You provide your own targets, but must use the designated target stands provided by the range.  It’s great for practicing or training, but pistol shooting would be pretty boring, in my opinion. No shotgunning is allowed at all, although they have enough land set aside to set up a skeet or trap range in the future.

Overall, it’s a very nice range.  The minuses I’ve already listed, but it has a lot of plusses.  Number one is the cost.  It’s free to the public, so my hunting and fishing license fees help to pay for it.   Also, there is no range safety officer.  You’re on your own honor to be safe, although there is a sign stating that the area is under camera surveillance.  When it’s just a couple of people shooting, that works really well.  If I went there when it was crowded, I’d want to get to know the other shooters before I went downrange without having an RSO to watch them.  Additionally, the location of the range is closer to my home than Knob Creek, which is a big plus.  KCR is a great time every time, but it’s a schlep to get there and back.  This range was only about 25 minutes from my driveway. 

Today, Girlie Bear and I shot .22’s.  She had her single shot Rossi, and I was breaking in the new 10/22.  We concentrated on trigger squeeze and follow through.  Over time, her technique on the trigger got better, and I introduced her to dime and washer exercises.  We’ll keep working on it and go back to the range in a couple of weeks.

I put about 100 rounds down the barrel of the 10/22, and my groups weren’t too bad.  I tried adjusting the rear sight to bring my groups into the center of my target, but the factory sights require the loosening of two small screws, moving the sight, and tightening the screws.  Not very easy to do on the range.  I got some advice on better sights, and am intrigued by the TechSights 10/22 sets.  They seem to be modeled on the M16A2 peep sights that I’m familiar with.  Those might make a nice addition to this little rifle.

We had a great morning.  Many thanks to Kentucky Fish and Wildlife for the new shooty place!

Half a dozen Dunkin Donuts Munchkin doughnut holes, when placed in a toilet, will indeed float.  And when flushed, will plug said toilet better than anything BP has come up with.

This PSA brought to you by BooBoo Bear, who reminds you that the terrible two’s aren’t permanent, and little boys are made cute as a self-defense mechanism.