Wednesday, May 31, 2017
Gun Porn - Colt 1903 (.32 ACP), Colt 1908 (.25 ACP)
Years ago, on a whim, I bought a used Colt .25 acp like the one below, and learned that it's an very well made little shooter, and fun to boot, although it takes maximum concentration to shoot it accurately.
Tuesday, May 30, 2017
Monday, May 29, 2017
Andrew Garcia, mountain man
Andrew Garcia, born in El Paso, and moved north to Montana in 1876 and became a mountain man. He wrote down his story in his later years which was published as "Tough Trip Through Paradise."
Garcia served as a herder and packer for the U.S. Army in Montana in the Yellowstone and Musselshell country, working for Colonel Samuel D. Sturgis "Boys in Blue" out of Fort Ellis from 1876-1878. He was present during the Nez Perce War. The book begins in 1878, when Garcia left his job with the army to go into business with a man named Beaver Tom, trapping beaver and trading for buffalo robes. While trading with members of the Pend d'Oreilles tribe, Garcia met and married a Nez Perce woman known among the Pend d’Oreille as In-who-lise ('Broken Tooth'; her original name, Kot-kot-hy-hih, means White Feather), who had been with Chief Joseph's tribe when they ran from the U.S. Cavalry. The book includes Garcia’s reproduction of her firsthand account of the final engagement with 7th Infantry at the Battle of the Big Hole.
Sunday, May 28, 2017
Offbeat but fun. Dr. Irving Finkel, one of the few living humans who can sight read cuneiform letters, plays the Royal Game of Ur, which was first played 45OO years ago.
A crazy, wild haired professor for sure, who deciphered the rules from a cuneiform tablet, vs. a clean cut young youtuber Tom Scott. Very fun to watch.
Via The History Blog
Via The History Blog
Your good news of the day. "We are operating at full capacity and looking for additional staffing at some of our plants," said Aaron Scott.
The fracking boom benefits support industries, and brings decent jobs back to middle America.
Rising demand for sand is a result of more wells being fracked and more sand being used per well. Analysts indicated the number of frac wells in the U.S. now totals 10,600, up 28 percent from last year but still well below the 19,790 wells in 2014.
Rising demand for sand is a result of more wells being fracked and more sand being used per well. Analysts indicated the number of frac wells in the U.S. now totals 10,600, up 28 percent from last year but still well below the 19,790 wells in 2014.
“We are running pretty much full time, back to 24 hours a day,” said Sharon Masek, manager of mine planning and industrial relations for Superior Silica Sands in Wisconsin. “We’re pretty much back to our peak levels of employment.”
That means employment at Superior Silica’s five mines in Barron and Chippewa counties has reached close to 200, up from about 70 last year when two of the facilities operated part time and two were completely shut down, Masek said. The company, based in Fort Worth, Texas, is seeking to further boost its western Wisconsin workforce in the coming weeks.
The buzz of activity is refreshing after a tough 2016.
“It’s great,” Masek said. “I love coming to work in the morning when there are trucks all over the place and it’s tough to find a place to park.”
A-10 elephant walk
Aircraft from the 23rd Wing conducted a surge exercise May 22, 2017, at Moody Air Force Base, Ga. The exercise demonstrated the wing's ability to rapidly deploy combat ready forces across the globe. The 23rd Wing maintains and operates A-10C Thunderbolt IIs, HH-60G Pave Hawks, and HC-130J Combat King II aircraft for precision attack, personnel recovery and combat support worldwide. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Ryan Callaghan)
Saturday, May 27, 2017
Trip to Nevada
Mrs. CW, me and the youngest daughter took off on a whim to visit a yarn shop Mrs. CW likes in Minden, Nevada. That was the excuse, and we did buy some yarn for future projects, but the real fun was the drive over Carson Pass and into the great state of Nevada.
Still some snow over the top, but a whole lot has melted at middle elevations This is at Silver Lake, and virtually the whole reservoir is still frozen over, as is Caples Lake a bit further up the road.
This marmot wasn't frozen at all. He was out sunning on the rocks and visiting curiously with folks who stopped.
After the yarn splurge, it was over to JT's Basque restaurant for roast lamb and Picon Punches. Yum!
On the way back through Washoe Valley, the daughter leaned out the truck's window and took a few images.
A big tree in the middle of a lush pasture with the Sierra behind.
The range jumps up precipitously here, looking like a wall of rock and snow.
Weird, on the way over the top, there was a stretch of highway 88 that was smoking like a volcano. I suspect it got wet from the melting snow and then heated by the sun, causing the fog. Strange in the middle of the day.
I also had the chance to fill the truck's tank with sweet, delicious Nevada gas, which is significantly less expensive than the California alternative. I love the small gesture of cheating Jerry Brown and the Democrats of a tiny bit of tax revenue. Nevada seems an eden of freedom in comparison.
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