Over at IMAO

By the way, I got my first IMAO profit sharing bonus today. I was hoping for whiskey & smokes, but it turned out to be something slightly more utilitarian.

Posted by: Harvey at 08:02 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 42 words, total size 1 kb.

Blogson That 1 Guy of Drunken Wisdom has a computer again and promises to post something substantive eventually.

Bloggranddaughter VW Bug of One Happy Dog Speaks has the Karnival of Kidz posted. What impresses me most is that she only used the word "cute" three times.

Next week it's going to be at Whimsy Capricious, but the submission address is the same: Karnival.kidz -at- gmail.com

However, that's only for losers and the blogless. Cool people use the ultra-convenient, all-purpose Carnival entry form courtesy of Ferdy of Conservative Cat.

Carnival of Cordite got eaten by gremlins or some other AMC vehicle. Edition #10 will be up this Thursday (a week late). Peter, you can take the week off if you want, since I'm re-submitting last week's post. If you don't want, then I'll be happy to post anything you throw at me.

Posted by: Harvey at 07:51 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 147 words, total size 1 kb.

Friday Linky Stuff

Filthy Lie Round-up: Evil Glenn & Baseball

New Filthy Lie Assignment: What would you say to (or what questions would you ask) Evil Glenn if you met him at BlogNashville?

New Alliance Blogroll code (big smooch for Susie for completing this project)

Precision Guided Humor Assignment reminder: What new weapons will the military be deploying in the War on Terror? Is due by 9pm EDT Wednesday, April 27th. Late entries must be accompanied by a lame excuse.

Monday Linky Stuff.

Posted by: Harvey at 07:27 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 91 words, total size 1 kb.

Two years already.

My how time flies.

Here's a handy present for ya, Susie - naked man in a bottle (NSFW)

And for the guys: Susie's boobies.

Posted by: Harvey at 12:06 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 33 words, total size 1 kb.

1 Thank you Harv! Well, for the wishes--not for the Google bait...

Posted by: Susie at April 25, 2005 08:20 AM (IPJ6q)

2 I am stealing this from Dave Chappel...but I must say it. "Susie. you have great New York boobs!"

Posted by: ArmyWifeToddlerMom at April 25, 2005 10:24 AM (q1PUI)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

(Introduction)

If I could come back as anything
It would be as one of your tears.
How could I want more
Than to be conceived in your heart,
Born in your eye,
Live on your cheek,
And die on your lips.

(CAUTION: Romantics beware - comments may contain naughtiness)

Posted by: Harvey at 11:12 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
Post contains 55 words, total size 1 kb.

Bloggrandson Neonangel of Lyrical Coma is busy wrestling with the personal how & why of blogging. This is one of those times when I wish I had some wise grandfatherly advice to give, but in this case, I come up empty. All I can do is offer some ruminations on my own experience.

When I first started blogging I had no definite goal in mind. Some theories & notions, perhaps, but outside of some graffitti currency, I never knew what I was going to say from one day to the next. I hoped it would be something profound that other people would care about, but most of my thoughts were being expressed better by megabloggers, so even on good days I battled feelings of failure.

But I kept at it anyway - mostly to amuse myself. What I didn't realize at the time was that that was enough.

The magic of blogging is NOT that you'll make a big change in the entire world, it's that you'll make a small change in one other person, usually without intending to.

For example, what Neonangel wrote in his post wasn't deep or profound, but it was REAL. And that's enough. Because what happens from there is that one (or more) of his "2 readers" will see what he's written and say, "Wow. Someone else feels like that, too. I thought I was the only one. I don't feel so alone anymore."

And so it goes. Day by day, in isolated increments, blogging transfers his soul into pixels. And day by day, someone else reads it and doesn't feel alone. It's a slow thing. Painfully slow. And there are empty hours of futile struggle to be fought through. There will be times when it doesn't seem worth the effort. If you've never seriously considered deleting your entire blog at some point and calling it quits, you're not a real blogger. Yes, that includes me. On several occasions I've thought, "Screw this. F*** everybody. I've got nothing. I'm done."

However, within 24 hours of this thought, Bosco inevitably grabs my skull and shakes it like a maraca, giving me the choice to blog or go mad. Creativity - and, indeed, the urge (need) to blog itself - comes in cycles. Know this, and keep it in mind during the low points. You WILL rise again.

On the other hand, there is also the possibility that maybe blogging really ISN'T for you. That fact that you even took the time to start a blog indicates differently, but that's only an indication, not a guarantee. You have to be honest enough to ask yourself, "Should I have a blog?" and consider the possibiltiy that the answer might be "no".

But I don't think it is.

Because, Neonangel, you have talent as a writer. Your can put your thoughts and ideas into coherant paragraphs to express yourself. If you'll take a peek around at some of the blogs at the bottom of the Ecosystem, you'll see that gift you so blithely take for granted is fairly scarce. Don't discount its rarity or value.

Then again, maybe self doubt isn't the problem. Maybe it's doubting the good intentions of others. You're putting yourself out there on-line, baring your soul, naked and defenseless, and what if someone takes a shot at you?

I'll be honest. It's going to happen. Sooner or later, some troll is going to crap in your comments with crude personal invective. At that point you'll have to decide whether it's worth it to keep going. Chances are, you'll decide that one fool's uneducated opinion isn't worth giving up something that makes you happy, and you'll be a stronger, better person for the decision.

You may also find that good people will rally to your side in such a situation, and discover that you had more and better friends than you thought you did.

But you'll never find that out until it happens.

So I say keep going. What you'll discover along the way - about yourself and other people - will make the trip worthwhile.

Don't stop.

Posted by: Harvey at 11:08 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
Post contains 686 words, total size 4 kb.

More specifically, Susie of Practical Penumbra has nominated TNT of Smiling Dynamite as a possible new subject of the MuNu Empire over at Ellis Island.

If you're a Munuvian, give her a YAY!

If you're a geek, offer to do the move for her, because I know nothing about MT.

Speaking of Susie, stop by & help her figure out some impressive job titles for her theater employees, or simply LOL at the ones she's already posted.

And by the way, if I get f***ing flowers for "Administrative Professionals Day" again this year, *someone* is going to wind up on every f***ing porn-spam mailing list I can find.

Posted by: Harvey at 10:36 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 116 words, total size 1 kb.

Mike of Eat the Lettuce aptly describes how I feel as I stand in my little teller window.

5 seconds. Just click the link already.

Posted by: Harvey at 09:56 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
Post contains 41 words, total size 1 kb.

Party's over here.

Posted by: Harvey at 11:25 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 13 words, total size 1 kb.

(Introduction)

You know it's love when you want to keep holding hands even after they're sweaty.

(CAUTION: Romantics beware - comments may contain naughtiness)

Posted by: Harvey at 10:50 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
Post contains 30 words, total size 1 kb.

(click to enlarge)

America's newest weapon in the War on Terror: The 3rd Marine Magic Carpet Riding Teddy Bear Airwing

Posted by: Harvey at 10:48 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 26 words, total size 1 kb.

A Vietnam vet spit tobacco juice on Jane Fonda.

Gut reaction - YEAH!!!

Pause... Civilized portion of brain kicks in.

Assault isn't free speech.

BUT... as far as making a statement, I might have had some sympathy if he would've stood there afterwards & let himself be arrested.

He ran.

If he really believed what he was doing was right, he would've accepted the consequences without protest. An act of civil disobedience to point out that Jane Fonda is a lying bitch, a fraud, a traitor, and unworthy to walk the streets of America as a free woman when she should have been tried, convicted and hung for giving aid and comfort to the enemy during a time of war.

But he ran.

And Fonda gets to look magnanimous by not pressing charges.

So I will condemn the spitting incident, because it's illegal.

And pray that the next person to do it does it right.

Posted by: Harvey at 10:40 PM | Comments (12) | Add Comment
Post contains 163 words, total size 1 kb.

(A Guest Post by blogless Peter, for Carnival of Cordite)

Let's face it, few of us can really afford to shoot enough to really get absolutely confident in our skill. It's not just the ammunition costs, either. Range time is expensive and with gas costs it's even expensive driving to the range. Then when we get there, we find there are all kinds of restrictions on how we can shoot. Some ranges don't allow rapid fire, most will go into hysterics if we try to work on a draw, and Lord help you if you need to practice engaging a threat from behind.

There is an answer, actually more than one. Primer powered wax, rubber and plastic bullets. Someone who is already a handloader is at least partially set up to use these handy little wonders. Someone who isn't will need some tools and some supplies. Some you have around the house already - a small hammer, a drill - some you'll have to buy, and there are other things that can speed the process up.

The first thing we need is modified cartridge cases. Unless you are already set up to handload, start with new, unprimed cases. Otherwise it's hard to find something that is thin enough to go through the factory flash hole yet strong enough to knock the spent primer out. Most outfits sell cartridge cases by the hundred. A little later on I'll tell you where to buy them and the priming tool you'll need.

The first thing we must do is drill the primer flash hole a little larger with a three-sixteenth inch drill bit. You'll need to hold the cartridge case with a pair of pliers and work the drill with the other hand...it's really a job for two people unless you have three hands. Hold the case as close to the rim as possible with those pliers, the metal is thicker down there and you won't be as likely to smoosh it and make it so it won't chamber. Whatever you do, do NOT omit this step. For technical reasons, a primer - fired with no powder behind a normal-weight bullet - will back out of the case and tie up a revolver. In an autoloader it might come completely out and get stuck in the works. Just trust me on this. I have the technical information and I'm not afraid to use it, it would only take about two pages to explain it.

Now, go to the hardware store and buy a package of nails that are long enough to fit from the casemouth to below the primer, with room for your fingers to hold the nail. There are fancier ways to get spent primers out of a case, but they are also more expensive. A tackhammer and a nail will do the trick. If you don't have a tackhammer, pick one up while you're at the hardware store. A hint - tap the nail point a little blunt.

Now we are ready to buy a priming tool and decide what kind of a projectile to use. If your shootin' iron is one of the 9 mm or .38/.357 chamberings, you are in luck. You are just as lucky if you have a .44 or .45, since X-Ring Rubber Bullets are easy to load. They can be re-used until you lose them and - at less than ten bucks per fifty - they're cheap enough to where the wax bullets are more trouble than they're worth. You can buy those from the same place you get the priming tool, I like Midway USA. They have a web site, but if you are a beginner, use their 800 number. Midway's customer service reps are first class and will keep a beginner out of trouble. The least expensive priming tool is the Lee Autoprime, don't forget to order the shellholder. This month the Autoprime is running $10.59, the shellholders are $2.69. Order the cartridge cases too, at this time. Just ask for the cheapest they have in your cartridge. More expensive is the RCBS hand priming tool at $23.49. although it's also sturdier. It uses a different kind of shell holder, and they run about five bucks.

Do yourself a favor, buy those rubber bullets a hundred at a time, that's how primers come so that's the way you'll be loading.

It's simplicity itself, the loading process. Start with an unprimed new case, stick the bullet in. Then, follow the instructions on your priming tool and prime the case.

Now you are ready to shoot. Find an old square of carpet or a floor mat from a junk car and hang it on the inside of a large cardboard box. Don't use a big bath towel, especially if it's one of your wife's favorites. I'm still hearing about that mistake. Tape your target on the opposite side of the box and start shooting. Those bullets will stay in the box, at least until you've shot it up so much that they bounce through the holes in the front. Then it's time to change boxes.

Now, pick those bullets out of the box and you're ready to go again.

Take the shellholder out of the priming tool and place the fired cartridge case in it. Stick that nail we talked about earlier in through the flash hole and whack it with the tackhammer. Do I need to say that we don't use the good furniture for this? At least not without padding. It won't take very long at all to get real quick at this. With a little practice it doesn't take fifteen minutes to make a hundred rounds.

If you happen to shoot a cartridge that the X-Ring bullets won't fit, the problem is easy to solve. Go to the supermarket and buy a few blocks of canning wax and an inexpensive baking pan. A fairly small one, 12 X 12 is plenty big. Prepare the cartridge cases exactly the same way. Then put enough wax in the pan to where when it melts it's a little shorter than your case, this will be trial and error but it won't take too many tries before you have it figured out. What we want is to be able to push the case through like a cookie cutter. You want the wax bullet to be as long as the length of your cartridge case will allow, the accuracy is better that way.

I've never tried using a microwave, it may or may not work, I just use an oven at low heat. By low I mean as low as will melt the wax, no more than 250 degrees F. A little lower won't hurt. Don't go higher. Get it too hot the wax will boil and the gas can catch fire leaving you with hours and hours of happy fun scrubbing the black smoke residue. A cousin of mine did that very thing - he was in a hurry and set the oven on high to melt the wax faster, then the phone rang. That was over forty years ago, Aunt Eleanor still clouts him over the head for that every time she thinks of it. 'Course, she's in her eighties now so her clouts aren't quite so authoritative anymore. It would be a lot funnier except that she always gives me a couple of whacks for laughing about it. I swear that is the last thing the old gal will forget. She can't hardly remember my name or where she put her teeth but she remembers that mess in the kitchen. At least now she's got a walker instead of a cane... Oops, sorry for the digression.... Set the pan on a flat surface and after it solidifies - but is still warm and fairly soft - just push the cases in like a cookie cutter. Do this before you prime them, otherwise the compression of the air in the primed case will push them back out.

Now we prime the cases and we're ready to shoot. As you might guess, the wax bullets can be re-melted and re-used. A trick to really speed the process up is that if you can find one of those hard plastic inserts that come in some boxes of cartridges, you can sand it down to about a quarter inch or so thick and push the cases through all at once. If you have access to a belt sander this takes less than a minute. Dig 'round the trash can at your shooting range.

The accuracy of these wax and plastic bullets is simply amazing out to about twenty-five or thirty feet. The noise level is low enough that if we turn the stereo about halfway to where a teenaged kid turns it down to the first time you yell, nobody outside the garage will ever hear it.

There is no recoil, so they shoot low to the sights. Usually the gun starts recoiling while the bullet is still in the barrel, pushing the point of impact higher. It's not something to get exercised about - just set a target to aim at high, and the one you want to hit low by trial and error.

These loads are useful for learning your trigger and sighting but they are most useful for learning to shoot from the draw and from weapon-retention positions. There used to be a lot of would-be gunfighters with bad limps from being slow on the draw and quick on the trigger. These loads sting bad enough that they'll teach somebody to never do that again, but there will be no permanent damage. How well do they shoot? The late Bill Jordan - the guy that taught me about these loads - had a routine when he gave shooting exhibitions. He'd line up aspirin tablets seven yards away and draw. Shooting from the hip, he'd blow them all off. Then he'd do the same thing with saccharine tablets. He could draw and fire and hit those tiny tablets in two tenths of a second. He'd shoot playing cards from the same distance, edgewise and cut them in half. From the Hip. At seven yards.

It should be obvious that these loads will not work the action of an autoloader, the X-Ring bullets do feed from most, but not all, magazines. Wax bullets don't from very many, they are a single load affair for the self stuffers.

A matter of safety...ALWAYS wear eye protection when priming cases and while you are shooting those primer powered loads because they can bounce. I don't know that a ricochet would put out an eye, but I have had them bounce off bare skin, and they smart a bit. Short barreled guns may be loud enough to require hearing protection. If you get the tiniest bit of ringing in your ears, STOP and put on ear protection. Wouldn't hurt to start with ear protection, for that matter.

Some may get an idea that these loads might work better with just a little pinch of gunpowder. Bad idea. If a reader cares that much about why it's a bad idea, leave an E-Mail addy in the comments and I'll bore you to tears with all the reasons why.

One more safety note. If you are a handloader DO NOT GET THE MODIFIED CASES MIXED UP WITH YOUR CASES FOR FULL-CHARGE LOADS! The larger flash hole will increase the pressure, perhaps to catastrophic levels.

Now, there are a lot of other places besides Midway USA to buy the cases and priming tools, I am telling you beginners to use Midway because I know their people on the telephone are knowledgeable enough to talk you through the process where you'll have everything you need. Other outfits may be just as good that way, I just don't know that. Midway USA: 1-800-243-3220. It's not that difficult, really, you need the cartridge cases, and the priming tool, plus shellholder and the X-Ring bullets if they're available for your shootin' iron.

Unless you live fifteen miles outside of Resume Speed, Montana, don't buy your primers by mail order or online. Each shipment of primers has a $20.00 HazMat Fee, kind of defeats the purpose of cheap practice. Do shop around, if you live in an area with a choice of places to buy primers, the markup really varies from place to place. The brand makes a difference on price, too. The price tags on the various primer boxes in my gunroom range from $12.99 per thousand to $34.00 per thou for my rifle match primers, which for some strange reason I don't use for powering these loads. Do buy those primers by the thousand. Not only are they cheaper that way but you'll be amazed at how addictive these loads are and how fast you'll burn 'em up. If you are stuck with online or mail order than call the folks at Graf and Sons and be sure and buy your primers at the case price. Handgun primers are running $65.99 per 5,000 for the Magtech brand, plus Hazmat of $20.00 and $4.95 for shipping to the lower 48.

Their phone #? 1-800-531-2666. Remember, there is more than one size of primer, be sure and double check, take a cartridge case with you the first time.

Give these loads a try, you won't believe how much fun you're having for so little money. There just aren't many things that are more fun that we can do fully dressed and zipped up.

Posted by: Harvey at 06:31 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
Post contains 2272 words, total size 12 kb.

Bloggranddaughter VW Bug of One Happy Dog Speaks passed this e-mail along to me. If you've been having problems accessing your favorite Blogger sites because you get re-directed to the Blogger front page when you click the link, this note's for you:

Subject: Re: [#203155] My blog is being redirected to blogger.com (2nd note)

Hello,

We have fixed the problem that was occasionally redirecting BlogSpot blogs
to the Blogger.com homepage. If you still see this happening, please try
clearing your browser's cache and cookies and then reloading the BlogSpot
page in question. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Sincerely,
Blogger Support

Google REALLY needs to start dumping buckets of cash into this thing to get it up to speed.

Posted by: Harvey at 06:19 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
Post contains 135 words, total size 1 kb.

I added a direct link to Jeff's comment party at Oh-Dark Thirty to the Bad Example Family Blogrolling blogroll, since everyone's going to be headed there every day, anyhow.

Now naughty adventure is just one click away.

Also, the party was crashed by a bunch of crazies who got there from the Carnival of the Vanities.

The more, the merrier.

Looks like there's going to be a camel-roast, too.

Don't ask.

Just go.

Posted by: Harvey at 12:38 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 81 words, total size 1 kb.

*WHOOP! WHOOP! WHOOP!*

We interrupt your regular blog-reading to bring you this important news announcement:

Tammi got the job!

TNT just got off the phone with her, but can't blog about it because Blogger sucks.

*WHOOP! WHOOP! WHOOP!*

We now return you to your regular blog-reading, already in progress.

[a public service of That Thunder-Stealing Bastard Harvey. Copyright 2005. All rights reserved]

Posted by: Harvey at 12:32 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
Post contains 61 words, total size 1 kb.

Over at Drunken Wisdom

Posted by: Harvey at 07:12 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 42 words, total size 1 kb.

(Introduction)

Love has many meanings, but the only one that fits is you.

(CAUTION: Romantics beware - comments may contain naughtiness)

Posted by: Harvey at 11:51 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 27 words, total size 1 kb.

(click to enlarge)

[ONEIDA TRIBE OF INDIANS]

Today, the Oneida Tribe of Indians announced that it has purchased the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for $24 worth of beads and trinkets.

Posted by: Harvey at 11:49 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
Post contains 34 words, total size 1 kb.

Last year, I wrote a post about how to start blogging. At the beginning of it, I mentioned that I was inspired to write it because Jay Tea of Wizbang failed to give advice on blogging to someone who asked for it.

Turns out that the person who didn't get her advice at Wizbang found it here, used it, and has now become by latest blogdaughter.

Say howdy to Firstbrokenangel of AAFFLLAACCKK, who I'll just refer to as Angel, since it's shorter and I'm lazy.

I count Angel as a particularly bright feather in my cap, since she's been a comment... whatever the opposite of a troll is... since Al Gore invented the internet. Just try Googling "Firstbrokenangel" and you'll get over 100 hits. She's been EVERYWHERE.

And you know how I like girls who've been around ;-)

Let's take a look at my new baby, shall we?

Well, she didn't take my advice about the first post needing to suck, because she starts off with a very personal & gut-wrenching piece on the Terry Schaivo case. It's not an easy one to read.

There's a post asking for a little tech help. Don't worry Angel. Plenty of geek in the family.

Assorted news items: Lance Armstrong, Mussaoui, a cop killer, BTK, a missing prosecutor, some news from Iraq, remembering Oklahoma City.

Lots of Pope-blogging.

A very sweet thank-you note to me.

And most important of all...

She has LLAMAS! Real, live LLAMAS! Seriously! Freakin' LLAMAS!

We need pictures, darlin'.

See my post about ImageShack.

Now that that's done, Angel's first assignment is this: go visit your blogbrother Jeff's comment party & misbehave.

After that, Angel, you can pick up a Bad Example Family logo from this post, and you may, if you wish, blogroll the rest of the Bad Example family using the handy blogrolling javascript, although neither is a requirement.

Meanwhile you can look forward - with either anticipation or dread - to regular visits and comments from me.

Welcome home.

Posted by: Harvey at 11:14 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
Post contains 339 words, total size 4 kb.