EP says" Never Bring a Knife to a Gunfight."

I guess he got riled over that pic with his belly button showin'. Y'all just try and fergit that image of the pregnant man in overalls. I figure you've been clawin' out your minds eye over it anyhow.

It's On !

Vox and EP are gettin' set up to butt heads over the Reformation. EP already has his initial position up here.

I have warned told EP to not let Vox get him pissed off as that wil lock his brain up, and I told Vox that he would be required to refrain from soccer gamesmanship, i.e. scratching, hair pulling, and shrieking "bitch!".

Perhaps some fur will fly....

EP, send me a pic without your belly shining.

Redneck Truck For Sale on Ebay !

Larry The Cable Guy has put up his truck for sale for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Men's Holiday

A little something popped into my mailbox the other day from Roli. Thought I'd share.

Mark your calendar.

Spread the word.....


Every 14th of February you get the chance to display your fondness for your
wife or girlfriend by showering her with gifts, flowers, dinner, shows and
any other baubles that women find romantic.

Secretly...guys feel left out. That's right...left out.

There's no special holiday for the ladies to show their appreciation for the
men in their life. Men as a whole are either too proud or just too
embarrassed to admit it.

This is why a new holiday has been created.

March 20th is now officially 'Steak, Blow job & Shut the F#$* Up Day.'

Simple, effective and self-explanatory...this holiday has been created so
your ladies can have a day to show your man just how much you love him.

No cards, no flowers, no special nights on the town the name of the holiday
explains it all...
just a steak, a BJ & shut your mouth for the rest of the day! That's it!

This twin pairing of Valentine's Day and Steak, Blow job & Shut the F#$* Up
Day will usher in a new age of love, as men everywhere will try that much
harder in February to ensure a more memorable March! It's like a perpetual
love machine.

The word is already spreading, but as with any new idea, it needs a little
push to start the ball rolling.
So spread the word, and help bring love and peace to this crazy world.

MK Ultra: Myth or Reality

The stars are aligned and the stage is being set for the next president and our democratic congress to start in on gun owners. Looks like this is part of the US conforming to UN type globalist standards. You and me, we're to go to work, pay taxes, and bend over for those in charge without being scarily armed. We need to be controlled for our own good. We are on the path folks.

First a chicago mall shooting.
Then a St Louis City Council meeting ends in a blood bath.
Now we hear a fella was on his way to shoot up the Superbowl over some city council issues.
Update: Another shooting in Gun-Free illinois! On a Gun-Free super ultra safe campus


The thing that everyone is going to miss is that the city council shooting is what we have the second amendment for. Somebody with a little political power lookin' to give a fella a rough time should be lookin' over his shoulder.

The chicago thing must be a complete fabrication; everyone knows chicago has a gun ban.

I bet the St Louis City Council meeting has a sign on the front door prohibiting firearms from the building, so that is obviously a fabrication, too.

Obama and Hillary are gonna need political cover to get on the anti-gun bandwagon to secure their nominations.

Update:
Seems Mr. Thornton did have a beef with the St. Louis city council.

He has spoke on it as best he could in the courts, and they denied all rights to the access of protection and he took it upon himself to go to war and end the issue,” Gerald Thornton said.

Video Link here.

The reporter, toward the end of the piece, says she wants to know if there weren't any metal detectors at the door or anyone "checking for guns". What an idiotic bimbo! Dude shot a cop first thing in the parking lot you moron! What the hell does she think metal detectors do? Set off the freeze ray or maybe the killer intent on murder and mayhem will simply wait after the alarm sounds for the police to cart him off to jail?! I can hear it now, "I came to kill everyone inside, but that metal detector stopped me in my tracks. It's illegal to bring a gun into city hall, you know."

If Only the Japanese had Invaded

We could have let them keep Berkeley.

"It's a symbol, but there are consequences to symbols," he said. "A lot of people think we're anti-Marine, but there's a difference between the warriors and the war. This is an attempt to clarify that."

These sonsofbitches hate anything to do with the military all the way down to each individual mother's son be he Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, or Coast Guard. As usual, they got a little outa hand listening to each other in an echo chamber and in their enthusiasm to make themselves feel superior to the unwashed portions of this country the odor of some of excrement they spew leaked out into the clean air. They are covering this shit as fast as they can like a cat in a litter box.

"I still oppose the Marines recruiting in Berkeley because it's one way of protesting this wasteful war," she said. "Our military policy is a shambles. But we're not in opposition to the Marines; we oppose the policy that directs the Marines."

They just forgot to add, "But we support the troops!" to the end of their little protest. These are scum not fit to shine the boots of a man willing, right or wrong, to offer his life for his neighbors.

I say we offer this shithole to Japan in fair exchange for the base we have there. Not that they would be dumb enough to take it...

Anyone think California independence is a good idea? Maybe we could get them to declare war on Texas....

Balls Like a Prize Angus Bull.

Here's the link to the page.

Get your horsey fix here:

Meet Ranger, Lilly, Abigail, and Gracie.



This breed is called Gypsy Vanner. They are bred by Gypsies (duh) to pull their wagons and are a compact, though powerful, draft horse. The people taking the video are the owners, they would say "parents", and the video is taken on their farm. These are their first horses and I still don't understand what made them pick Vanners, but they are learning rapidly, caring concientiously for their Gypsies, and continually upgrading their facilities (I expect to be working in a heated/air conditioned barn soon!), and absolutely spoiling the shit out of these critters.



They imported two pregnant mares and had foals within a couple months. Both foals arrived as healthy fillies, but within a few months one of the mares succumbed to a previously undiscovered digestive injury. These folks were absolutely heartbroken, but they got busy bottle feeding the orphan and caring for her. She is doing great and gets lots of extra attention! (spoiled rotten)



The latest edition to the herd is a gelding named Ranger. He is a show winner and, to my eye, the best looking of the bunch.

Japanese Delicacy

Some friends of mine were relating their latest trip to Japan. They are a quite nice couple and the husband and I share interests in bourbon, cigars, horses, and firearms. Given our common interest in fine tobacco he was anxious to tell me about a wonderful cigar bar in Tokyo.

He related that the bar was set up much like an old English gentleman's club where fine bourbon and cigars are served and where quite a production is made when a cigar is brought to the table. The cigar is presented to the gentleman to inspect. The waiter then cuts it in the fashion specified and proceeds to light it over a burner. Once it is lit the smoke is wafted about the table for everyone's approval. Upon meeting approval, the cigar is presented to the gentleman along with his chosen drink. Then for the piece de resistance a covered silver dish is presented and, with a flourish, uncovered to reveal a serving of cashews and..........



a small stack of pringles potato chips.

Jamie is Crying

I guess Y'all heard Australian actor Heath Ledger of the movie BrokeinBackside Mountain fame offed himself. Not many have much sympathy for a spoiled rich actor with the world at his doorstep becoming depressed. I say it often and will say it again; Some folks are just too stupid to survive.

The comments I have been seeing are sick and damned hillarious, even on serious sites.

A few of my faves:

6:35 PM killerbee Says:
I guess he finally got over Jake.

6:34 PM Mr Streisand Says:
Thank God another Hollyweird liberal taken from the gene pool.

6:31 PM Heath's Mom Says:
Hi!

I'm Heath's Mom. Please bury my son Heath bleep up on Brokeback Mountain. It'll make a hell of a tourist attraction and will help keep the money coming in.
Thanks!

6:23 PM Brad Renfro Says:
Hey Heath,
I've got some good stuff if you want to party. This dope will send you out of this world!
C-ya!
Brad

6:20 PM Mel Gibson Says:
I enjoyed working with him in The Patriot, and he was like a real son to me. In fact, I gave him his first beer.

6:16 PM J. Gyllenhaal Says:
Dear Heath,
I know you feel guilty for porking me in the balloon knot. But it was in the script so I'm okay with it.
Regards,
Jake G.

It is interesting to note most comments are, "OMG!" Folks actually took the time to submit that as a comment.

Another Take on the Tennessee TransAm Trail

These fellas just distributed this video of their adventures in Tennessee along the TransAm Trail. I recognize a lot of the terrain from a couple of trips of my own down it. "Oh Shit!" hill makes an appearance on the terrain map, though they called it "Aw Shit!" hill. And it looks like no one bit the dust in Slick Creek....

Will winter never end????




Notice no one is smoking - it's illegal in Tennessee now, even outdoors. Commies.

Hey! Old Man! It Ain't 1960 Anymore

So much of the knowledge most of us have picked up at the range, hangin' out out the gun store, bullshittin' online has been passed down from generation to generation. The grizzled old hunter is full of tales of prowess with that most American of tools: The Rifle.

Now, these oldsters have lived through the fanfare, frenzy, and hype of the introduction of many a hot-shit new cartridge. Some have even tried a thing or two. Some made legends whose name not only lives on the cartridges they pioneered but is applied to cartridges modified in similar fashion 50 years later. Most watched from the sidelines while other brave souls reached for the brass ring of better, faster, more accurate, more effective, more destructive perfection.

Listen to the Old Men who are still around to tell tales of deeds done and daring do, but do not fail to leaven that download at the first available opportunity to insure it still pertains to the rifles and cartridges bearing the improvements in applied technology available to us today. In many ways there is nothing new under the sun, in other ways what was once so is so no more.

We have all heard of the 220 swift burning the throats out guns it was chambered in, of the impossibility of spinning a long small caliber bullet hard enough to stabilize without having it disintegrate as it exits the barrel, how "Old Slab Sides" (1911 model pistol )is inherently inaccurate and those new .40's have bullets so short they tumble, those plastic guns just don't hold up.

Now that 220 will still self destruct with heavy use of hot loads, but the rest of that stuff is pure steamin' bull shit. Feel free to call call 'em on it.

Case in point; Those fast calibers spinning themselves apart:

These bullets are all running over 4000 feet per second, some over 4400. Thats Mach 4 people.



Hey! Old Man! It ain't 1960 anymore!

If Where the Red Fern Grows makes you sad....

You should see this.

Ingenious Execution: The Kel-tec SU-16

First of all, I have to give credit where credit is due: Nathan had nothing whatsoever to do with discovering or researching this rifle.

Now that's out of the way, let's take a look at what we have here:

The Kel-tec SU-16 is a gas operated semi-automatic rifle chambered for the 5.56mm NATO. It blends an AR-15 type locking bolt, the ability to use AR-15/M16 milspec magazines, an under-folder stock, integral bipod, and receiver mounted picitinny rail, with a clean operating AK47 type gas operating system. This rifle comes in 6 variants "A" - 18 inch barrel, "B" - Shorty "A" model, "C" - Threaded barrel and the only model that will fire with the stock folded, "CA" - Legal in , "D" - Short barreled rifle and NFA regulated, and PLR-16 - Pistol version. The variant we are concerned with here is the "C" model. The attraction being the threaded barrel and the ability to fire folded.


Y'all can look up and ponder the many and various features of this particular rifle on your own time. Suffice it to say it has the potential to be and Interesting Gun. That potential is only realized if the rifle in question is accurate, for as none other than Col. Townsend Whelen himself said, "Only accurate guns are interesting".

We shall see...




I removed the rifle from the box, unfolded the stock, deployed the bipod and began the task of familiarizing myself with its operation. "Break Free" oil was applied anywhere I could get a wear indication or scuff to show itself after working the various mechanisms by hand. The receiver of this gun is some sort of plastic and normally these types of weapon benefit more from graphite grease for lubricant than oil, but it remained to be seen how dirty this rifle operated so I stuck with the light oil for now.

Normally, I consider range testing a waste of time with open sights, especially in a high velocity caliber, so I grabbed the scope off the .454 (pay attention, you willl see this again) and pressed it into service with a set of see-thru rings onto the SU-16's receiver mounted picitinny rail. I bore sighted it the old fashioned way, loaded up, and headed for the range.

Procedure:
I like to observe both the accuracy of a rifle and it precision while sighting it in. I fire into a 25 yd target, adjusting to the desired point of aim in small increments. Yeah I see the flyer. It was colder'n a witches titty in... well, in....January.

On to a 50yd target. I like to shoot pairs and tripets within about five seconds of each other as I make adjustments, cooling the barrel between the strings. Sure, it can be done with single shots, but you can't observe the effect of a quick cold to hot barrel temperature transition and it's effect on point of impact. The SU-16 is impressive so far.

I had been noticing the reticle on the long eye relief pistol scope seemed to be rotating clockwise ever so slightly, so I dug out the allen wrench and snugged everything up. I figured given the shitty weather I would stick with the slight rotation and finish up at least able to measure a 100 yd group even though point of impact was screwed.

I loaded the ten round clip to capacity and began work on the 100 yd target. Somewhere around the third round I could see the reticle was rotating further so I went on and finished the magazine to at least complete a feed function test. You can see the string of holes running up the left side of the target as the reticle gave out completely. This is the third scope which has fell victim to the .454 Casull. Shit.



I hated to leave without some 100 yd results so I said "WTF" and pulled the scope and ran a boresnake down the barrel. I loaded three rounds, settled in behind the gun, squinted my old eyes, settled my breathing, slowed my heart, my focus narrowed to that tiny little needle Kel-tec placed on top of the front sight post of this rig. As the rest of the world fell away I began squeezing tighter and tighter.... The result:


The gun mags and most others figure that's a .75 inch (3/4") group reporting the range of error from the center of the group. I call that a 1.5 inch group since I'm not lookin' to sell any guns for advertisers and it's always best to report what you measure, not what you figure, whenever possible. Keeps things clearer, and it never hurts in the gun store or at the range to under-report your results. Makes it easier to beat a fella out of a cold brew.

Conclusion:
Kel-tec has done with the SU-16 what folks expected from Ruger with it's mini-14 POS. I'll hear no more small diameter barrel excuses for the Ruger. They are makin' shit and sellin' it for shinola. Hell this little honey even has the boys over at AR15.COM diggin' their panties out of their ass crack.
Kel-tec's attention to detail, proven technology design, and innovation have yielded
an Interesting Gun.

Throughout this test no malfunction whatsoever appeared. This is important because though only accurate guns are interesting, only reliable guns are worth keeping. I think Colonel Whelen would approve.

****Look Here Y'all****
I did not post this as an invitation to mini-14 bashing, even though I did start it. A lot of folks bought them with high hopes when they were the only game in town and are suffering for it, no sense in beatin' them up.

The SU-16 is being criticized at AR15.com because it has an activation rod (a la AK47). Never mind that the AK is the standard for reliability the world over.....

Kalifornia

California is preparing to exert control over private home thermostats.

In the old Soviet Union, The Central Committee had decreed that the furnace in apartment buildings could not be started until a certain date each year. Weather was irrelevant, the government said so.


The soviets are no longer around for this populace to fear but their ideology is pervasive, so modern US Committees and Apparatchiks are free to follow in their footsteps without threat of ideological association with an obviously oppressive power.

Those who are a familiar with the Soviet system will recognize the following:

"If you can control rotating outages by letting everyone in the state share the pain," he said, "there's a lot less pain to go around."

Paraphrased Soviet verison : If there is misery to be had, spread it among the poor. For they are accustomed to misery and better able to tolerate it.

One must bear in mind everyone in the soviet union was poor but those in charge.

More From The Road

I started this little trip to explore a particular road. The idea of following a single (historically) major road to where it leads has always seemed like a good way to discover some of those wonderfully quirky things, good food, striking vista, and interesting people that are part and parcel of a worthwhile motorcycle trip.

The kind of road I'm talkin' about was once the interstate of yesteryear and though often through traffic has decreased since its heyday the relatively small communities the old road served are still there. Some of these towns have withered down to a lonely post office. Others have found life's blood in the form of a touristy recreation area (lake or natural feature). There are still some based around the same industry that caused folks to congregate there in the first place. Out west there is usually a grain silo or stockyard in the middle of many a square mile of row crops or pasture, around these parts it's mines and saw mills.

I chose Highway 127 to celebrate this little God given winter respite not because it's particularly significant around these parts, as many others (231, 431) were more traveled, but because a bypassed loop of it runs right in front of my house. The most interesting things are often right in front of you.

Enough of that.

I woke to the sound of construction crews renovating the rooms around mine, showered and DID NOT shave. Brewed some motel room-gourmet coffee (not so bad), checked on the promise the Weather Channel had made to me for three warm days in January (starting to welsh already) and loaded the bike for the day's travels.




First things first - check out and go see Fall Creek Falls. The state park is crisscrossed by winding wooded roads and has a campground filtered in amongst the pine trees. I noticed a "mountainbike" path (paved) that was motorcycle prohibited, heh heh.... I rolled upon a herd of fat deer and lost a really good shot fumbling around looking for the camera. You can still see 'em though.
Fall Creek Falls is at the end of a short walk from a parking area and I imagine someone about shit himself when he stumbled upon it. Looks like the floor of the world just drops out.

I headed out of the park on TN 30 which is a really nice piece of motorcycle nirvana encompassing elevation changes with tight smooth curves banked just so. It was a little damp in spots so I had to pick my fun spots with care. I selected "third", determined it to suffice, and lost myself to the harmony of two wheels singing on pavement to the glory of an uncelebrated civil engineer. As often happens at these times, the road will show you something you didn't expect to see....


The Sequatchie Valley hove into view over the top of a rising right hand curve out of nowhere. Immediately my attention shifted to the view as I found myself rolling down the side of Walden Ridge while eyeballing an almost artificial looking scene a couple miles across to the Cumberland Plateau escarpment which looked like a 600 foot wall from where I was. The switchbacks descending the ridge began in earnest immediately. For those who don't know - Switchbacks are proof that God loves a motorcycle rider.

At the valley floor and back on US 127 McDonald's provided the morning's breakfast where an elderly couple informed me there had been no snow this year in the mountains. I told 'em we had a 1/2" snowfall so far and they seemed to reconsider their earlier statement. It seems a "snowfall" in the mountains of east Tennessee is usually significant. Since we were speaking the same language now they allowed as they might have had a couple of "dustings" so far.

The Valley provided cell phone service so I was able to check in with those who's responsibility it would be to locate my carcass in the event of some motorcycle mishap in the mountains and call up the weather forecast to refine the direction and duration of my impromptu adventure.

I had half a mind to head on into Alabama and thence to Birmingham to see the Barber Motorsports Museum by following US127 down the Saquatchie Valley through its confluence with US27. The weather God's forbade this by rushing gale force winds, horizontal rain, and tornadoes toward my geographical location. I could feel my window of opportunity closing down.

Fair enough. The glass is half full, no? I had missed a goodly portion of 127 on the way down in the dark so I took this as an opportunity to run north see and it in the daylight.

Turns out Alvin York lived just off of my street down in Pall Mall, Tn. Small world ain't it? Me and Sgt. York connected by an old wagon trail through time. What a world.

I passed a "theme" junkyard, an authorized MoonPie dealer, and some pretty spectacular scenery. I'm sure I missed alot whizzing by. For instance, There were three Ron Paul signs along the route and a plethora of "yard tractors" and I think I will use them as background to help document a future trip. Take a look:

On the Road Less Traveled Again

What more can a fella ask for in terms of blessings when a January day arrives with the mercury above the 60's? And what kinda fella would neglect such a gift from God by hiding in the house? Not this kind. Not by a long shot.

I called Little Bro to see if he could get free. Nope, Nate couldn't go; something about a broken nail..... Maybe next time. Y'all pray for the boy. It's like he's in jail or somethin'. I'll ride for us both and I'll try to take some pictures this time.

There was some business to tend to this mornin' so I didn't get on the road 'til after noon, but the sun was out, the road was clear and damned near deserted and I wanted to see where that road goes. It goes South, of course, and it goes twisty, and smooth.

Stopped at a Sonic in Hustonville on the way down and was accosted by BMW lusting 9to5'ers (been there, been that) and giggly tip-mining-rollerskating curb girls. You can tell how cool the kiddies think your bike is by the number of cherries you get in your Cherry-Limeade. I only drew three this time, but the brothers "C" have drawn a high of six at one particular Sonic in Woodbury Tennessee. Of course, we rode sportbikes exclusively then and the kiddies always rate those higher.

Further on down the road, I crossed Wolf Creek Damn where major repair is underway. They seem to be working around the clock. Cumberland Lake is a pitiful sight.


I have ended up in a place called Fall Creek Falls State Park in the hills of central Tennessee. The claim to fame is its 256 foot waterfall! Can't wait to see it in the daylight! The roads in and around the park are magnificent. The roads on the way down here have been scenic and just crooked enough to make it fun without too much effort. Mostly rolling hills with ever steeper slopes as I came south. The grass is still green, though the trees are bare. There are leaves on the ground like it's only now settling into Fall. Gotta love global warming. Give me some more increased solar activity, Baby! I have had one hell of a day. I love my GS.

The lodge is nice. and empty. cheap in the off-season. wifi access, obviously.

Tomorrow I go to check out the Motorcycle Ranch in Pikeville, Tn. I might even sleep in a TeePee.....

From the road less traveled,
Later 'Tater.

I Must Be Missing Something...

GM is looking to build self driving cars. Setting aside the fact that no one will by their junk by the time this technology matures, it is interesting to note that the folks "behind the wheel" driving this technology forward are beyond a doubt some of the technically brightest minds around. Even though they can be complete dumbasses.

Thrun said a key benefit of the technology eventually will be safer roads and reducing the roughly 42,000 U.S. traffic deaths that occur annually—95 percent of which he said are caused by human mistakes.

"We might be able to cut those numbers down by a factor of 50 percent," Thrun said. "Just imagine all the funerals that won't take place."

I guess those folks saved by the computer cars will just live forever!

The Cult of GS

Bear in mind this is a full grown, 100+ horse, all day comfy, canyon carving, 100 mph cruising motorcylce.
The Evil Twin (pun intended) comes standard:


Note to the stubby legged (Nate!) - watch the end sequence and you will see Charlie doin' a triple one cheek stop. That's someone who's really determined to ride an Adventure.

Gary's Hot Pants

The discussion at hand is on the achievement of spacesuit like environmental control for the motorcyclist. The tried and true method is to use high resistance wire for a heating element throughout the garments worn by the rider, but Gary has an interesting take on the whole problem which would probably in the end be more comfortable, allow for defrogging the visor, and ramp up the geek factor about 1000 times.

Why not just harness the heat from the pipes? A heatbox fabricated from a cylinder of some sort placed over a section of the exhaust pipe and ducted through flexible hose into a small junction box which could be equipped with a small dc fan of some sort. The hose from the "junction box" could lead into a jacket fitted with a small connector on the bottom seam which would allow access to the interior of the garment. Some sort of small diameter tubing or piping could be used to flow the heat wherever needed.
Gary | Email | Homepage | 01.03.08 - 3:35 am |

Honda Goldwings and Kawasaki Concours have used a passive version of this for years placing the rider at the mercy of mother nature's capricious fancy and Sir Isaac Newton's laws to mix warm and ambient air in whatever temperature and ratio happen to occur.

A "boxer" type motor ("pancake" for you non-German speaking types) lends itself well to this type of setup as the "jugs" and exhaust headers are out in the airstream ready to be tapped. A system utilizing this air stream would be ideal in the following ways:

1) Airflow increases with speed as does heat production and rider heat requirement.
2) Positive pressure within garments would work to prohibit cold air infiltration.
3) Ducted air would eliminate fogged visor in all conditions.

Initially, the problems I see are as follows:

1) Materials have to be used that can withstand the temperature; that of the heated air passing through them and at the physical connection to the part upstream and therefore hotter.
2) Lightwieght and low bulk distribution throughout the garment attached. Perhaps not that big a deal as heat will naturally pass from the leading surfaces to the following.
3) Flexibilty of attachment must allow rider mobility in the "cockpit" to control motorcyle, mount and dismount,easily.