Tried my hand at some sauce.

2 cups apple cider vinegar
2 tbs brown sugar
1 tbs ketchup
1 1/2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1 tbs petes hot sauce
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoon mustard
Pinch of paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder

Bring to boil and then refrigerate




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I wish I had not been spending money lately.  This would be in my possession.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/351453508846

http://thebrigade.com/2015/07/09/russias-unprecedented-monster-aircraft-ship

Interesting piece of soviet junk

Any of you reloaders of 5.56, Powder Valley has H335 powder and various .224 projectiles in stock.

I just ordered another 24lbs of H335 and 3000 projectiles.

Still no Varget to be had, unfortunately.

Aside from the oft quoted mantra, that Gun Control is hitting what you aim at, I wanted to seriously open up to factual data and other points of view and discuss Gun Control in a rational fact based manner.

I believe that the founding fathers knew and had experienced first hand the oppressive yoke of government.  The 2nd amendment is clearly meant for the individual and not a militia, and it is intended to be the one thing that stands between us and a tyrannical government.  Not only does the constitution illustrate this, but period writings of the founding fathers, and history tells us as much.

I believe that history has shown the utter and complete failure of laws intended to deter law breakers.

Mexico: Strict gun control laws.  Some of the worst gun violence in the world from drug cartels with full auto weapons and other military hardware.

Chicago, DC, LA, Detroit:  Worst gun violence in the US despite strictest gun laws.


The examples of the lack of correlation between gun laws and violence is well documented here:

http://www.gunfacts.info/gun-control-myths/guns-in-other-countries/

GB confiscated weapons in 1977 and gun violence has escalated greatly since.

Switzerland requires every home to own a military rifle and ammo....and has one of the lowest crime rates.

It should be noted that all the mass murders with a firearm of late, happened in locations that guns were prohibited.  Schools, colleges, movie theaters, etc.

Don't see much in the way of mass murders at gun shows, gun shops, shooting ranges, etc.  Coincidence?  I think not.

Someone please offer some alternate views on gun control that would be effective in stopping gun violence.

About those evil guns
By Kevin McCullough, OneNewsNow.com October 6, 2015 11:52 am

Barack Obama chose to ignore this last week when he politicized the shooting in Oregon: None of the shootings that he cited took place in a right-to-carry zone – in fact, all of them took place in "gun-free zones."

The lying President of the United States said this: "We know that the states with the most gun laws tend to have the fewest gun deaths. So the notion that gun laws don't work, or just will make it harder for law-abiding citizens and criminals will still get their guns is not born out by the evidence."

Right…

Only in the mind of Barack Obama.

Would the President like to attempt some fifth-grade-level research?

Special Headline: Guess Who’s About To Go Bankrupt in America will Shock you

Here's 15 states with the strictest gun laws (in order): California, New Jersey, Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Rhode Island, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Carolina, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington.

Roseburg is in Oregon. Columbine and Aurora shootings both occurred in Colorado. California – the number-one most restrictive gun law state – is home to four of the top 30 "murder capitals." New Jersey is home to the most murderous city in the U.S. in addition to holding three of the top 30 "murder capitals." Massachusetts' sitting duck population made the Boston terror incident more likely. Connecticut was home to the Newtown tragedy. Maryland's Baltimore ranks number 11 on the top 30. Illinois, which has some of the most restrictive laws, saw Chicago top 500 murders per year in 2008 and 2012. Pennsylvania sees contributors Philadelphia and Chester both contributing to the top 30. And Michigan occupies three of the top seven top 30 slots this year, and held four of the top six last year.

The President was either fudging the numbers, or just flat making stuff up. He might have even been hiding behind the qualifier "tend to have."

Whatever his motivation, he was full of poppycock.

And his views are dangerous.

The truth is the more that President Obama pushes for civilian disarming, the further he goes from preventing violent crime.

In one of the earliest modern cases of "open carry," Kennesaw, Georgia – a well-known suburb of Atlanta – put "open carry" into effect in 1982. In one year, violent crime was reduced 82 percent from before the law was changed; and a full decade later, crime was still 72 percent lower than in 1981. In 2014 Quinnipiac University published the results of an exhaustive study that indicated that states that restrict concealed carry laws experience dramatically higher gun-related murder rates.

Dare we even bring up the fact that Texas this year passed a law, in effect now, that is dropping the rate of violent crime on its university campuses because it allows properly registered and certified students who already own guns to carry them on the college campus as well? In fact, be sure to check back with them in June to see what happened to the rates of campus rape, sexual assault, and petty armed burglary. But need we also remind everyone reading that the mass shooting that never occurred – the one regarding Pamela Gellar, 300 persons gathered to view cartoons of Mohammed, and two armed Muslims who drove up with the intent to slaughter everyone in attendance – was only thwarted because of legally armed citizens who held those terrorists instantly accountable?

Did the President even know that the nine states with the lowest violent crime are all right-to-carry states? Does he know that law-abiding gun owners use guns some two million times per year in stopping violent crime?

This weekend I – like many of you – suffered the ignorant and uninformed in our social media feeds, many of them kvetching about why something "can't be done" to stop the continuation of these violent outbursts. Perhaps like you, I was a bit dismayed at how out-of-touch leftists are in understanding the simple basics.

Something can be done: put simply, introduce character and accountability.

The one thing the President didn't mention in the aftermath of Roseburg is this. None of the shootings that he cited, none of the shootings from Columbine to Newtown to Aurora to Virginia Tech – NOT A ONE OF THEM – took place in a right-to-carry zone. All of them – ALL OF THEM – took place in "gun-free zones."

One researcher discovered through interviewing convicted felons over the last decade that a criminal is 57 percent more likely not to follow through on a criminal impulse if they merely believe a lawful gun owner is present. The same researcher found that a crime is less likely to occur if the criminal sees the presence of lawful gun-owners. The mere sight of the law-abiding gun deters more than any other impetus tested.

The bigger problem in my heart and mind is the President's blatant moral failure on the issue. When as much data exists, to willfully mislead the American people to believe the very opposite of what it demonstrates is itself gravely immoral – and some would make the case, even murderous.

It's actually quite true: the best thing to stop bad guys with guns is for good guys to have more guns.

The killer in Roseburg, whose name history should forget, had no character and he feared no accountability. When those who have character enforce accountability, the President's solution will be found.

So I order up two iPhone 6S pluses with 128G and they offer $200 credit to turn in a smart phone.

So I have 2 iPhone 4s laying in a drawer one with a broken screen. I says to myself "self , a screen costs $20 and I can turn that into $200

I've cracked one open to replace a battery but the screen requires a complete disassembly of all components except the buttons on the side of the case.

It took 2 hours but it works and I only lost 1 of the tiniest screws.  Even with my readers I could barely see these little screws.  Those little Chinese people must have really good eyesight and small hands.






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Always looking and thinking about a decommissioned military vehicle.

At the place where I store my RV, there is a guy with what I believe to be a M923 (drop sides)

According to the owner:

Its a 1985 with 16,000 miles, 100 hours on the engine.  Completely rebuilt by the military in 2010.  Street legal and he is the second owner (the first was the Airforce).

I looked it over today.  It looks really clean with only a few leaks (more like weeping) Top looked new on the cab and rear.  Tires looked new.

He wants $14,800, which is about what I see LMTV going for at auction.  Many M923s sell for $10,000 so I'd have to understand what makes this one worth more.

So the question is: I've been looking at the LMTVs, which makes the better vehicle? The M923 or the LMTV? 

Which is easier to work on/get parts?
I assume the 1985 is an A1 and not an A2? and has the naturally aspirated 14 litre cummins??. Pros/Cons over the 8.3L turbo in the A2 versions?

Wonder if the wife would get mad.....

https://www.armsunlimited.com/L3-Insight-LWTS-Light-Weapon-Thermal-Sight-p/twb-001-a3.htm

So in my construction thread, the potato gun came up so I thought I'd post a little write up.

18inches of 4 inche PVC schedule 80 and 48 inches of 2 inch schedule 40.  Connect them with a 4 to 2 reducer and on the back end connect a 4inch drain cleanout with the screw in cap.

For an igniter system I use a battery powered (AA) piezo electric BBQ ignitor.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LJO5K2E?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00

I then use aluminum pop rivets and sharpen the ends,  I drill 1/8 inch holes in the body of the 4 inch PVC about 1 inch apart and angled slightly towards each other so that when the rivet end is inserted into the hole from the inside, the sharped ends are within about 1/8 inch of each other to create the spark gap.  I use expoxy to hold them in place

then I solder the leads from the BBQ igniter to each and attach the ignitor to the pipe.

I also sharpen the leading edge of the 2 inch pipe so the forcing the potato in cuts away the excess.

Using a stick or broom handle, push the potato to the bottom of the 2 inch pipe.

Open the end cap and spray a slight burst of starting fluid or a couple of bursts of hairsrpay, etc.  Screw the lid on and aim carefully.  Hit the ignitor and have fun!

Its time we call a spade a spade (no intentional double entendre).

I've had it with race baiting politicians stirring up the low information voters to keep them worrying about the white man instead of the financial plantation they want to keep them on by handing them welfare in exchange for a 98% democrat voting record.  I'm tired of standing in line behind someone driving a new Escalade but with 2 piles of groceries; those that qualify for the EBT card purchase and those that don't. And then watching those same people run off at the mouth about how they "deserve" more or how we "owe them" something.

Guess what?  America is the land of opportunity.  The right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  Not the right to happiness and free loading because of something that happend to your ancestors hundreds of years ago.  I don't see masses of Asian and Indian immigrants with 5 generations on welfare.  You know what I see??  I see them working 2-3 jobs and learning English, putting their kids through school and watching them become business leaders, lawyers, and doctors.  Why can't you do it???  I'll tell you why. Laziness, a lack of work ethic and a huge sense of entitlement because of the load of crap shoveled at you by the so called black leaders in this country.

You want welfare?  How about this?  Each month on the first of the month, the government trucks will roll up and drop you off a 50lb bag of beans and a 50lb bag of rice along with some government cheese.  No EBT.  You can have a vegetable voucher to go to your local store and its only good for fruits and veggies to supplement your beans and rice.

And each quarter you must pass a drug screening.  I'm not providing crap for you if your a dope head.  You can go live under a bridge and ruin your life without my assistance.

Oh, and as for the police and the white man being the biggest problem faced by blacks:  Black lives only matter when killed by a white cop.  Dozens of black kids and young adults murdered in Chicago are just the way it is when they are murdered by other blacks.  This means you, Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Eric Holder, Quanell X, Louis Farakan and Obama and the rest.  You all cry out thinly veiled (and in Farakan's case not veiled at all) calls for violence against non black and police and then condemn the police when they aren't "doing enough" to stop murder in Baltimore, other crime ridden black neighborhoods.

You want to know what racism really is???  Its lowering standards of conduct and behavior and excusing bad behavior.  Admitting that blacks are incapable of living and performing to socially acceptable norms.  THAT'S what is racist.

Dammit, stop blaming others.  Its your own communities lack of morals, ethics, and parenting that is the reason for abject poverty, crime and violence.  76% of black children born to single moms?  Think it makes you a man to be a "baby daddy"?  No it makes you an amoral animal contributing to the further destruction of your community.

Think it's the police's fault?  Think again.  You weren't raised with enough sense to know you DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO RESIST ARREST.  Get it?  You resist arrest and you should be beat down and choked if necessary to comply.  Hands Up Don't Shoot?  Really?  I just wish Officer Darren Wilson had been a better shot and put that thug Mike Brown down with one shot to the occular cavity.

You want a race war in America?  You damn well better be careful what you wish for because the silent majority is not going to tolerate much more of your crap.  We're working too hard for what we have to have the government take more of it and hand it to a worthless bunch of entitlement rats who just demand more and then rob and loot and kill at the first sign of some excuse provided by the poverty pimps in this country.

You want respect?  Earn it.  Get off your ass and get a job, obey the law, start a real family.


drops mike.....

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Wow.  Our boys continue to save "their" arses. I only hope they inflicted some behavior modification on him while they were detaining him.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/21/europe/france-train-shooting/


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So this will make it into the BOL build but since I am methodically progressing there in logic and time order I thought I would post this here in the interim.

I am adding on to the existing shop until I can justify the 40x60.  So I'm adding a lean to on to the back of the shop for the tractor and garden equipment and adding a new door to the short side of the shop.  So I need to extend the roof line and roof, add R panel to match, cut out existing posts and purlin, frame a new door etc.

I'm learning to appreciate the logic and molecularity of the metal building components.  Open channel for the sides, supporting 8 inch purlin, R panel, eaves, jamb trim, etc.  The purlin clips really were a neat piece that I didn't know what they were.

Here are some shots. I cut out and re-framed the end wall to accommodate a 10 ft wide roll up and then extended the rear roof line with open C channel and 3 inch pipe concreted into the ground.

I have to go back this coming week and figure out how to hoist 30 ft purlin by myself and weld them in place to attach roof panels and side panels.

I learned this thing called peri menopause. I put a window unit in the master bedroom of our weekend house. Keep the central on 72 and then run the bedroom down to 63. She thinks I'm a hero


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If you were in an EOTWAWKI situation and you had to leave your house with only one weapon, what would it be and why?

Forget alternate scenarios, just roll with this,, what would it be?

I'll start.  I'd take the Wilson combat 870. Reliable easy to find ammo for, makes mince meat out of zombies.  Wife can operate.


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My oldest, my 11 year old daughter, had her first period this weekend. It hit me that there is no stopping her growing into a woman.   I won't say I cried, but I sure thought about it.

I realized that I have to up my parenting game. And pray. Pray hard
So now, to start cleaning a few weapons...


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Today was a great day. We went to Royal Gorge park and did the tourist stuff. Walked the bridge, rode the gondola and then took the zip line from the south to the north side over the gorge. I videod it and as soon as the phone recharges I'll get it up to you tube and link it here.

My daughters were bummed they didn't meet the 100lb minimum so I promised to bring them back in a year to do it with them.

Mommy was MIA. No likey heights.

Nothing like a good adrenaline rush to remind you to live.


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And an update on the LB7 transmission drama. As you know it was built by Calvins 3 years ago and only has 7,000 miles on it.

Drove home from the weekend place and it ran fine for 130 miles at 75mph. Getting off the freeway and pulling up to the light it would not move when the light turned green. I was able to get it to barely move by revving it and I limped it the 1/2 mile to the house. No movement to speak of forward but reverse was solid and fine. (remember that)
A buddy with really expensive software (read actual Allison software) helped me scan it and we got a solenoid C error code. We dropped the pan and tested the solenoid and the manifold pressure switch while we were at it. Bought a solenoid and pressure switch at the dealer.

Dealer swears the old pressure switch that has 6 pressure switches has been superceded with a newer model (found on the 2004+ year models) and even though it only has 4 switches it is the correct switch and will work with no programming.

Install the parts and it throws different codes??? Moves forward but in limp mode and has reverse. I forget which codes, but they didn't seem to make much sense. So we assumed it might be the internal wiring harness which was original and the wires were pretty brittle. Amazon to the rescue.

Drop the pan again and install the harness...no dice. Same codes and still in limp mode (4th and reverse)

So we start questioning whether the newer pressure switch manifold is correct. Some googlefu and we find articles saying, "yes" its the right part and then we call an "expert" at Stewart and Stevenson who says yes, right part, but TCM needs to be reprogrammed.

Since I still have the old manifold pressure switch and we never really determined that was part of the original problem, we decide to reinstall the original PSM. Drop the pan again (did I mention I'm getting really good at this by now???) and install the old PSM.

Fire it up and no codes! Yippe!....but wait. I now have no reverse, no codes and it drives normal in all forward gears. NUTS!

Start running the diagnostics....looking for TCM connector pins out of whack, 30 pin harness connector on the transmission, etc. Nothing abnormal. It can only be the TCM, the connections in the harness, or the PSM.

So I order another PSM off Amazon and this time make sure it is not the new superceded part, but the original 6 switch style.

Comes off the big brown truck and, you guessed it, I drop the pan again. Did I mention I can get that thing off like a NASCAR tire change?? The fact that its got a 12 inch lift and I don't have to do anything other than roll under it helps.

Install the new PSM, and all of a sudden....it runs normally. Reverse and all forward gears. At this point I'm clueless as to why, and what fixed it, but that was a lot of drama chasing gremlins.

At this point, I really believe there is something not right about using the updated PSM on the older transmissions. No one can explain why, but once I changed it out, the codes went away and the reverse gear came back.

I'm not sure what to think about this.  It seems to be a sweet little package and I already have multiple NFA items but it would be cool to have one that doesn't require a stamp if its true.

Any thoughts on this, either from practicality or legality?  Yes, its $1400 but its cool

http://www.blackacestactical.com/

Also working on plans for a 40x60 metal building. Starting with the concrete.

I understand that its all about uniform load bearing subgrade, subbase and base.

I have a spot picked out and need to remove a few small trees and one or two 18-24inch trees and bring in some fill/base

So once I clear the trees and remove the stumps,

1. compact all the disturbed soil (or should I till and then compact ALL the soil?)
2. bring in sub base about 3-4 inches and compact
3. bring in fine base and compact
4. 1/2 rebar on 16 inch center

questions -

will using a dozer to compact the  ground be sufficient?
when buying sub base and base, what are the industry terms and specs I need to look for when buying these fills?
Are beams absolutely necessary or is a 6 inch slab sufficient?

Would I save much by doing all the prep and forming myself and just hiring labor to finish the concrete when I have the trucks deliver? or will I be on the wrong side of the cost benefit curve ? 

Am I missing anthing?  Remember I'm in a frost free area in Texas.

Thanks

Quiet as a mouse fart




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I know some of you may be more experienced in construction than me.

I'm wanting to build a 16x24 wood framed building on my weekend place to use inititally as a dedicated reloading/gun smithing room.  I want to build it well so that later, if I decide to convert it to a Casita ( mexican word for little house) with an efficiency kitchen and bath with a loft for guests, I can.

For that reason I want to make sure I build a decent foundation.  I've been researching on the webz and can't quite decide how to go.

I don't want a slab - makes adding plumbing later too hard and any settling would require too much work.

Looking for design help.

I thought about 3 glue lam beams the long way on 4x6 treated posts sunk in concrete, with a 2x6x16 footers over the top leaving 8ft span, which could be on 24 inch centers to give me 20psf load rating for #2 yellow pine.  I would then use 1 1/4 subfloor plywood.

Keep in mind this is South Texas so there is no freeze/thaw concern with depth of footings.

1.  Is this a good plan?  If so, what size glu lam and spacing on the footings for a 24ft beam to support this building.
2. Is there a simpler cheaper way to acheive the same result?

The building will have either 10 or 12 ft stud walls, 6/12 pitch roof.  Metal roof and hardiplank finish with a loft area in the back 8 ft of the building.

I made a potato cannon for the kids, but the wife likes it more than them! 

Love the woosh!  Set the potato about 600-700 feet

I ready for the zombie apocalypse.


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Well,  I decided that I needed to learn to ascend and rappel.  For personal enjoyment and for climbing and felling trees, antenna towers, etc.

So I ordered a harness, ascenders, ropes, and stuff today.  I will share my learning experiences here.  I hope that its not updated from a hospital bed, or worse, but it will be what it will be.

Stay tuned.