Wednesday, October 7, 2015

American Mercenary is Pulling The Plug

No reason given, just a short, cryptic message.

Stop over and wish him well.

I just finished packing the Jeep, and I'm on my way.....

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Tuesday Already?

Time sure flies when you don't know what you're doin'!

Have to put my 2016 registration stickers on the Jeep, then head to the car wash, check my mail, and do a load of laundry in preparation for leaving Wednesday morning for Supras in Vegas!

I'm looking forward to meeting up with a bunch of my on-line friends from the celicasupra,com forum where I hang out.

Even though I didn't get Ms. Swan ready for the trip (I just have to learn how to organize my time better!), I've volunteered the Jeep to act as a support vehicle.

I'll get her there next year after I clean up the garage (again....) and get her inside to swap out all the worn-out parts for the huge stack of new stuff I have for her.

I'll be rebuilding the front and read suspensions with poly-graphite bushings, new KYB Gas-A-Just shocks and strut inserts, new springs that will drop the front a little over 1", and the rear about 3/4", and some new wheels and tires for her.

And I'll finally get the new carpet installed, the new stereo installed, and my short-throw shifter installed.

The stock Supra wheels for the Mark-II are 14x7, with a 225/60-14 tire, and you just can't get proper performance tires in that size anymore. The new rims are 16x8, and I'll be running something like a 265/40-16 tire. The rolling radius of the tires is the same as the OEM tires, so it won't change the overall gearing, or throw off the speedometer.

It sounds like a huge change, but with the correct offset rims, they fit right in there just fine, with plenty of clearance even considering the car will be lowered a bit.

So, go read the good folks in the sidebar, and I'm off running errands for the rest of the day!

Friday, October 2, 2015

Chris Mintz - HERO -

This gentleman stepped up to the plate, and put his life on the line to try and stop the madman in Oregon.

For this, he was shot SEVEN times.

Please kick in a few bucks if you can.


Thursday, October 1, 2015

School Shooting

Yes, I heard about it.

And again, the ONLY thing that will stop a bad guy with a gun, is a good guy with a gun.

The school has a strict no guns policy; even the "security" people are only allowed to carry Mace.

Busy Day on the Iowa.....

Spent yesterday on the Iowa helping the Grey Radio Gang in getting some of the original receivers and a transmitter running for a crew tour of the radio spaces next week.

I won't be there as I'll be attending the 5th annual "Supras in Vegas" car show, so I wanted to make sure things were good-to-go.

Didn't work......

We started having receive antenna problems right away (the ships uses separate antennas for receive and transmit), so we never got around to getting the "Aft Twin Whip" transmit antenna connected using the adapter I made up.



The picture was taken before we connected the feed lines to the antennas from the box mounted between them. In the picture below you can see the feeds coiled up on the box:



The box contains a Jennings vacuum variable capacitor, and a length of copper strap used to "tune" the reactance of the antenna to a know value so the antenna couplers located in the transmitter room can work with it.

These antennas, made by a Canadian company, are rated for 10kW continuous duty, so they'll just be loafing along with 1200 Watts. The large feedline coming out of the right hand side of the box is 3-1/8" Andrew Heliax which runs down to the transmitter room. The cable terminates in a flange type connector (I forget the Andrew designation...), and I had to fabricate an adapter to a Type-N connector so we could use a jumper to the output of the coupler.

Back to the receivers....

At first we thought we had dead receivers, then we thought the couplers were bad, then it looked intermittent, then everything started working again. I was busy doing some mechanical "fine tuning" on the adapter (no hammers, just a file and a caliper!), so I wasn't helping with the receivers.

Anyway......the receivers appear to be operating normally, and the GRG will connect the transmitter to a dummy load, and talk to the Ham Radio station we already have aboard.

Not the best, but at least it will show the tour group that we can get audio from the Red Phones, through the Coke machine, down to transmitter room, and on the reverse path, audio from the receivers, back through the Coke Machine, and on to the same Red Phone for the demonstration.

Monday, September 28, 2015

Two Old Men.......

Bill gives homage to the two remaining Dolittle's Raiders.

These men, and their comrades, fit the definition of brave.

God Bless them and keep them........



Coming Soon To A Neighborhood Near You....The Muslim Invasion!

Say what you will about Pat Condell, he pulls no punches, and tells it like he sees it.

And on this topic, he has very clear vision.

Listen carefully, folks. This is already happening here, albeit at a slower rate.

For now.......


Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Navajo Nation Pissed Off At 0bama

Along with about 60% of the rest of the US.

Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye again called on Obama and administration officials to declare the San Juan River a disaster zone.
In August, an EPA accident resulted in 3 million gallons of contaminated water flowing into the Animas River, which runs into the San Juan River. One-third of the Navajo Nation’s people rely on the Animus for water.
EPA officials have insisted the toxins have been diluted. But Begaye said he “doesn’t buy it.” He argues toxins are seeping into ranchers’ soil and threatening livestock and crops.
“There’s no way we can guarantee that the drinking water is safe,” he said.
“We are asking the Democratic Party to have President Obama declare the river a disaster area — and we haven’t gotten anything. Nothing,” he said. “The Democrats? I don’t know what happened. We basically are Democrats. We always vote Democrat. But it seems like they’ve just walked away. And we’re not hearing anything that’s of value to us from the Democrats.”

Complete story here. 

And make sure you continue past the story and read the comments.

Some true comedy gold, and some very sad truths, are there.

Hmmmm....could this be the first known instance of "Black man speaks with forked tongue"?

Tip of the hat to our friends at DaybyDay cartoons.

Duh.....Forgot What I Was Going To Post

Must be an after effect of stopping the Chantix......

Anyway....got a couple of posts I'm working on, including one on "Basic Soldering" that I'm doing for the Celica Supra guys.

Some of the WORST soldering I've ever seen has been on automotive stuff, so I'm rewriting a primer I've used in the past to help teach the guys over there what I know.

If I was a big-time prepper, I suppose I could call it "SHTF Soldering" or something clever......

Be back after I spray the weeds in the back yard........

Sunday, September 20, 2015

Another "eBay Sunday" in Progress

Still doing my "Shack Cleaning and Clearing" exercise in hopes of getting rid of some of the stuff I have that's never really going to see much, if any, use.

Last week only two of the four items I listed sold, and by the time you subtract the eBay seller's fees, and the PayPal fees for accepting the payments, AND the fact that shipping has gone up quite a bit (inflation? BigGov says "We don't gots no steeeenking inflation!"), I wound up LOSING about $12 on the two items.

Oh, well, I know they went to good homes, where they'll be used. I absolutely hate throwing out a perfectly serviceable item just because I have no use for it, so that takes some of the sting out of it, but I'm definitely going to have to adjust my flat-rate shipping to reflect the current reality.

Today I'll be listing a like-new-in-box ICom HT that I've never used, along with an older Heathkit electronic keyer, and some other obscure items of arcane electronic origins.

I'm charging/cycling the two battery packs I have for my Yaesu VX-6 that I bought some years ago, and rarely used. I'm going to dig through the garage this week to find the boxes and manuals for it. Having the original box can make a huge price difference when you list an item on eBay (I've seen 99% identical items go for a 30% price difference if the original boxes were included), and since I never throw away the original boxes, I should be in good shape.
 
Once I find them....

In that Black Hole that our garage has become....

AGAIN........

I'm going to keep my Kenwood TH-D72, but with the rise of $50 "throwaway" walkie-talkies, I'm not sure I can justify keeping a couple of $300 units just laying around.

The ICom I really want to sell, but if the little Yaesu unit doesn't go for at least $200, I'll just keep it. It's in a solid metal case, and is rated as "Submersible", and seeing as it's pretty small, would probably be a good back-up unit.

Friday, September 18, 2015

Trump Posts His Position on Gun Rights

Found this over at Mr. Codrea's place.

Here's the text, straight from Mr. Trump's campaign page.

He certainly isn't afraid of taking a stance against where the presstitutes, Intellectual Elites, Metrosexual "Males", and Effete Snobs stand.

Does he mean what he says? Will he actually follow through if he's elected?

I have no idea...............


PROTECTING OUR SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS WILL MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN

Donald J. Trump on the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
The Second Amendment to our Constitution is clear. The right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed upon. Period.

The Second Amendment guarantees a fundamental right that belongs to all law-abiding Americans. The Constitution doesn’t create that right – it ensures that the government can’t take it away. Our Founding Fathers knew, and our Supreme Court has upheld, that the Second Amendment’s purpose is to guarantee our right to defend ourselves and our families. This is about self-defense, plain and simple.

It’s been said that the Second Amendment is America’s first freedom. That’s because the Right to Keep and Bear Arms protects all our other rights. We are the only country in the world that has a Second Amendment. Protecting that freedom is imperative. Here’s how we will do that:

Enforce The Laws On The Books

We need to get serious about prosecuting violent criminals. The Obama administration’s record on that is abysmal. Violent crime in cities like Baltimore, Chicago and many others is out of control. Drug dealers and gang members are given a slap on the wrist and turned loose on the street. This needs to stop.

Several years ago there was a tremendous program in Richmond, Virginia called Project Exile. It said that if a violent felon uses a gun to commit a crime, you will be prosecuted in federal court and go to prison for five years – no parole or early release. Obama’s former Attorney General, Eric Holder, called that a “cookie cutter” program. That’s ridiculous. I call that program a success. Murders committed with guns in Richmond decreased by over 60% when Project Exile was in place – in the first two years of the program alone, 350 armed felons were taken off the street.

Why does that matter to law-abiding gun owners? Because they’re the ones who anti-gun politicians and the media blame when criminals misuse guns. We need to bring back and expand programs like Project Exile and get gang members and drug dealers off the street. When we do, crime will go down and our cities and communities will be safer places to live.

Here’s another important way to fight crime – empower law-abiding gun owners to defend themselves. Law enforcement is great, they do a tremendous job, but they can’t be everywhere all of the time. Our personal protection is ultimately up to us. That’s why I’m a gun owner, that’s why I have a concealed carry permit, and that’s why tens of millions of Americans have concealed carry permits as well. It’s just common sense. To make America great again, we’re going to go after criminals and put the law back on the side of the law-abiding.

Fix Our Broken Mental Health System

Let’s be clear about this. Our mental health system is broken. It needs to be fixed. Too many politicians have ignored this problem for too long.

All of the tragic mass murders that occurred in the past several years have something in common – there were red flags that were ignored. We can’t allow that to continue. We need to expand treatment programs, because most people with mental health problems aren’t violent, they just need help. But for those who are violent, a danger to themselves or others, we need to get them off the street before they can terrorize our communities. This is just common sense.

And why does this matter to law-abiding gun owners? Once again, because they get blamed by anti-gun politicians, gun control groups and the media for the acts of deranged madmen. When one of these tragedies occurs, we can count on two things: one, that opponents of gun rights will immediately exploit it to push their political agenda; and two, that none of their so-called “solutions” would have prevented the tragedy in the first place. They’ve even admitted it.

We need real solutions to address real problems. Not grandstanding or political agendas.

Defend The Rights of Law-Abiding Gun Owners

GUN AND MAGAZINE BANS. Gun and magazine bans are a total failure. That’s been proven every time it’s been tried. Opponents of gun rights try to come up with scary sounding phrases like “assault weapons”, “military-style weapons” and “high capacity magazines” to confuse people. What they’re really talking about are popular semi-automatic rifles and standard magazines that are owned by tens of millions of Americans. Law-abiding people should be allowed to own the firearm of their choice. The government has no business dictating what types of firearms good, honest people are allowed to own.

BACKGROUND CHECKS. There has been a national background check system in place since 1998. Every time a person buys a gun from a federally licensed gun dealer – which is the overwhelming majority of all gun purchases – they go through a federal background check. Study after study has shown that very few criminals are stupid enough to try and pass a background check – they get their guns from friends/family members or by stealing them. So the overwhelming majority of people who go through background checks are law-abiding gun owners. When the system was created, gun owners were promised that it would be instant, accurate and fair. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case today. Too many states are failing to put criminal and mental health records into the system – and it should go without saying that a system’s only going to be as effective as the records that are put into it. What we need to do is fix the system we have and make it work as intended. What we don’t need to do is expand a broken system.

NATIONAL RIGHT TO CARRY. The right of self-defense doesn’t stop at the end of your driveway. That’s why I have a concealed carry permit and why tens of millions of Americans do too. That permit should be valid in all 50 states. A driver’s license works in every state, so it’s common sense that a concealed carry permit should work in every state. If we can do that for driving – which is a privilege, not a right – then surely we can do that for concealed carry, which is a right, not a privilege.

MILITARY BASES AND RECRUITING CENTERS. Banning our military from carrying firearms on bases and at recruiting centers is ridiculous. We train our military how to safely and responsibly use firearms, but our current policies leave them defenseless. To make America great again, we need a strong military. To have a strong military, we need to allow them to defend themselves.

We Hit 'Em.......<i>Now What Happens?</i>

  Breaking story from Newsmax.....