L-8 Hours and Counting.....

Tonight's launch of Intelsat-21 will be available for viewing at the Intelsat website.

I spent 14 hours over on the Launch Platform yesterday getting antennas aligned and working through some "issues" we had.

They've NEVER "problems", even though they are, but rather "issues".

I'm sure you all know the drill!

Enjoy the launch if you're up that late!

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Firefly

Since we've been delayed 24 hours, I've been watching the Blu-Ray discs of "Firefly".

I watched "Serenity" a couple of months ago, and now I wished I would have waited until I'd watched the series.

It was a stunningly good series, and highly underrated while it was being aired.

I just finished the first disc, having watched the first 5 episodes, and I'm up to where River has finally stated speaking to the other crew members. I particularly liked the way she "charmed" Badger.

And sweet little Kaylee has started showing some open signs of her infatuation with Simon.

I've had these discs for a couple of years, and just now got around to watching them.

I don't believe I wated so long to watch such a well-made series.

We've Arrived......

At the launch site, that is.

We're starting L-3 operations so I'll be pretty busy the next few days.

Launch is set for August 17th at 2356PDT.

More info can be found at the Intelsat website.

CUL!

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Obama Whines Michelle Doesn’t Collect Salary As First Lady

Good Lord above!

What doesn't this poser of a "president" want now?
Isn't it enough this POS has almost single-handedly destroyed the American economy, put our great grandchildren in hock, and made a laughingstock out of us?

If we don't get this unprintable piece of SHIT out of office, along with a good chunk of his crooked, communist cronies in November, our beloved Country is surely doomed.

To borrow a phrase from wirecutter:

FUCK OBAMA!

Read about it here, at Freedom Outpost.

RCBS "Rock Chucker" Ordered

I received an email from Midway that I had some special "Birthday Deal" pricing available, so I looked over what they had for relaoding gear, and then ordered the Rock Chucker kit, and some accessories.

I bought three die kits, in 45ACP, 357 Magnum, and 30-30 Winchester, some "decapping pins", an internal/external deburring tool, and a primer pocket cleaner.

The total, with shipping and an NRA "Round Up" contribution, came to $430.

I'm sure I'll be spending more, as I'd like to get a digital scale, sets of dies for 30-06, 308, and 40S&W, and probably other things that I'm sure I'm going to need!

AND I'll need some case cleaning supplies, too.

What do you guys use for cleaning your cases? One of the tumbler/vibrator types with various media, or do you do the "wet" cleaning with commercial cleaning solutions like I've read about? I'd think the tumbler/vibrator types would be easier, as you don't have to worry about flushing out any chemicals from the cleaned cases, and then drying them.

So, I still haven't gone over the $600 self-imposed "limit" I told my sweet little wife I'd hold myself to.

And I'm studiously reading the "ABCs of Reloading", and the "Modern reloading" books I brought with me.

I doubt if I'll ever try to work up "special" or "match" loads on my own. I'd rather just stick with the published loads, and use this gear to get my shooting costs down to where I can go out more often. The ammo cost isn't a big factor now, but that could change at any time.

Hmm.....probably ought to start looking at getting some primers and powder, too......

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ouch, Ouch, OUCH!

OOPS.....had a minor accident today at work.

It's been drizzling out here, and when I was outside, coming back from an equipment space with no inside access, I slipped and fell.

Now, I'm *always* careful onboard, and even when we're tied up at the dock back at our Home Port, I use BOTH handrails when traversing the stairs, or 'ladders' in ship-speak.

I was two steps from the bottom, holding both rails, when my feet went out from under me.

BOOM! All 200 pounds of me came crashing down on a wet, steel deck, from about three feet in the air.

I landed on my right hip, just aft, and bit below, of the big pelvic bone. Took me a couple of seconds to realize HOLY SHIT, I'M ON THE DECK! and get my bearings again.

Two marine crew members came over, helped me up, and asked if I wanted to go up to the hospital. I shook myself a bit, and decided nothing was broken, so I told them no, and in a bit of a daze, went back to the EGSE room where I normally work.

My at-sea Manager (a good guy) was there, and after I told what had happened, he sent me to our Safety guy to file a report. The Safety guy wrote everything down, inspected my shoes to make sure they were "approved" (they're non-skid) and said going to the ship's Doctor was my call, but he recommended it.

So, back up to the 3rd bridge deck, and into our little hospital. I talked to the Doctor, and then he gave me an exam, and asked a bunch of questions. At this point, it doesn't look like I broke anything (I've broken stuff before, and believe me, I would have been screaming bloody murder while laying on the deck when this happened!), but I have a huge bump (pardon me, "Hematoma" in med-speak) on my hip almost the size of my fist, and he says I'm going to have one doozie of a bruise in a few days.

Now since we're scheduled to launch on the 17th, that means I have to go over to the platform on the 16th to set up a bunch of equipment. Thankfully I get to go on the helicopter, and the helipad is on the same level as our equipment shelter. The only problem at this time is I have to climb a ladder carrying my tool bag up to the top of the shelter, and if I'm not limber enough to do it...............

For now, I'm just going to take it easy, and try and keep somewhat mobile, because if I sit down for more than about 15 minutes, it's kinda hard to get back up.

And I haven't told my dear wife yet........

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Decisions, Decisions.....30-06, or 308?

Well, I'm about *this close* to ordering an M1 Garand from the CMP.

I'm going to get one of their "CMP Select" grades, that's pretty much been remanufactured, with new wood, but one naggling little choice remains.....

Do I order one in "period correct" 30-06, or go with the more "modern" 308?

I've read up on the ballistics of both, and while they're fairly similar, they each have their strengths and weaknesses.

My thinking is that if/when the Schumer hits the fan, 308 might be a tad easier to come by than 30-06.

What say you?

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Out At Sea Again....Light Posting For A While

I'm out here to support boosting another up for Intelsat, so I have to be careful what I post.

I'll try and get a few things up over the next couple of weeks.

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Three More To Go....

WELL....my lovely wife and I sat down and went over our finances, how much I'll get from S.S., and the pensions I'll get from three previous employers, and we decided I can retire next year.
I'll still do some consulting work, and since clients I had before my current employer called me back a year ago April are still
calling me asking if I can do some work for them, I think we'll be just fine.The "Three More To Go" title relates to the fact that I'll only have three more launch campaigns to go on before my "R-Day".
I'm leaving Sunday morning for the current mission, then there's one around the end of November, and one more in late January/early February.
After that, they have NOTHING on the manifest, and the grapevine indicates nothing in sight, either.
Who knows, I might get laid-off again before I **officially** make my plans known, in which case I'll take unemployment for as long as I can get it.
I have several opinions about why they don't have customers lined up, but I'll save those for next August.
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Why Gun Control Made Aurora Shooting Inevitable

There's a very good article over at the California Political Review website about the shootings in Aurora.
The writer doesn't own a gun, but he supports our Second Amendment rights.
Give it a read, I think you'll find it very good.

Beginner's Reloading Advice?

I'm seriously thinking about getting started in reloading. I'm pretty sure I understand the basics, having helped my best buddy do it many times before I moved out here to Kaliforniastan in 1980, but I'm also sure things have change a LOT since 1980!

SO......I'm calling on my friends out here to suggest

1. Some good beginners books about it
2. Some good quality equipment; press, dies, scales, et al
3. Sage advice about how to do it, and store my supplies, safely.

I know a LOT of you have far more experience in this than I do, so if you had it to do over again, where would you change things, and what "rookie" mistakes did you make?

I promise I won't laugh.

God knows I've made plenty of rookie mistakes in most things I did when I was young and first learning about whatever new endeavor struck my fancy.

Now that I'm older, I ask and read anything I can find before I dive headlong into things!
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