Month: July 2023

Slim Pickings, Again

Bad News

Over the past few days, I have once again been struck by the paucity of decent news upon which to vent my spleen and/or make serious (or any) commentary thereon.

Cocaine in the White House?  Probably Hunter Biden’s, but given the foul menagerie of creatures that currently infest the place, I wouldn’t be surprised at whoever the actual bearer turns out to be.

Election 2024 candidates?  Too early, and whether Stumblin’ Joe ever gets to be the DemSoc candidate is of only minor interest.  There’ll be skullduggery a-plenty, whoever emerges as the eventual candidate.  As for the Republicans, I look on all the candidates except De Santis with growing horror, and Trump especially so.

The FBI/DOJ/IRS/FedGov in general?  Bunch of fucking power-hungry, corrupt assholes.  Their career prospects under the reign of World-Emperor Kim would be gallows fodder and soylent green ingredients.  All of them, without exception.

Good grief, when the most interesting news is that Red Bull F1 have reinstated bigmouth Oz driver Daniel Ricciardo in their Alpha Tauri second team, we’re all in trouble.  Otherwise, we’re left with the news that Boris Johnson’s equally-bigmouthed wife has popped yet another sprog… oh FFS, kill me now.

No wonder I prefer to read the Daily Mail, Sun, Star and Mirror from Over There.  At least they have boobies coverage / uncoverage.

Thank gawd for guns and cars, or I’d really have nothing to talk about.  See a couple of the posts below.

Pick Your Poison

Drive Time

So:  Ferrari V6 or Ferrari V8?  In an interesting rebuttal of an old myth about Enzo Ferrari, Hagerty’s Jason Cammisa pronounces a revelation.

However, the end of the “revelation” — just the last couple minutes of the video — has a side-by-side comparison of the sound made by the engines of the Dino 246 vs. that of the 308 as Cammisa takes each one along the same twisty mountain road.

As Longtime Readers know, I have a soft spot for the wonderful and curvy Dino 246 GT, the most beautiful car ever made:

…compared to a rather sour opinion of its successor, the flat-planed and wedgy Dino 308 GT4, which isn’t close to being beautiful:

However:  after listening to the two engines close together… I admit to a certain degree of confusion, because the V8 of the latter sounds absolutely glorious.

Put on some headphones, crank up the volume and see if you agree with me.

And yes:  a pox on whoever at Ferrari decided to do away with the manual gearbox.

Truth Spoken Here

Entertainment, Good Stuff

Here’s a brief video of a man speaking the absolute truth on the topic of slavery grievance:

Video Player

I should point out that this appeared on one of the reprehensible Piers Morgan’s TV shows, but as said asshole doesn’t say anything during the clip, that’s not important.  As for the actual comment:

The .410: A Discussion

The Gun Thing

While browsing through Steve Barnett’s foul and tempting website recently, I came across this exquisite little beauty:

…and it triggered, so to speak, this train of thought.

I have to admit that I’ve never understood the appeal of the .410 shotgun cartridge, other than the fact that it’s not a punisher like the 12ga. (For those who are unfamiliar with shotgun cartridges, here’s a good summary.)  Some pics, to illustrate what I’m talking about:

I know that many excellent shotgunners of my acquaintance (like Mr. Free Market) just love the little thing — Mr. FM actually calls .410 shooters “showoffs” because shooting clays with a .410 is akin to shooting at them with a .22LR* — and there is no argument that on terrestrial targets (e.g. rats and snakes) the .410 is absolute murder.  So as a “recreational” cartridge, I can see its appeal.

I have heard people say that the .410 is a fine “starter” cartridge for youngins, to get them into the swing of shotgunning without the recoil owies.

However, while the .410 is less of a shoulder-smasher than the 12ga, it nevertheless imparts recoil similar to that of a .30-30 rifle cartridge, so it’s no feather.

Please understand that this little discourse does not constitute a hit job on the .410 — anything but — but I have never seen much reason for its use other than as a recreational cartridge, like the .177 pellet.

And I am more than willing to be persuaded otherwise, by people who love the thing.

Of course, there is an alternative use for the .410, that of self-defense in a handgun like the Taurus Judge:


…which as an added bonus, can also chamber the wonderful .45 Colt/.45 Long Colt cartridge (for the purposes of this exercise, the .410 and .45 Colt are dimensionally interchangeable). Here’s a video of the Taurus Judge (executive summary:  meh).

Likewise there are “field” options like the Magnum Research BFR, similarly chambered:


…but even with the added muzzle velocity of the longer barrel, I can see little advantage to carrying such a piece out in the wilderness.  So, no.

But as a sporting or birdshooting cartridge out of a shotgun?  I call on my Readers for their input.  Because that Beretta S687 is simply crying out for a good home…

*I should add that Mr. FM’s favorite backyard activity at Free Market Towers is shooting crows with a .410 or .177 pellet gun.

Attention Biltong-Lovers

Food & Drink

Here’s a decent little video about making a decent piece of biltong.  The spices and mixes are exactly the same as mine (see below), and the only areas where we differ are that I make much bigger pieces so that the inside is much wetter than his (New Wife likes her biltong very wet), and I don’t use hot chili flakes (New Wife doesn’t like very hot foods).

At the end, the guy exclaims that he can eat biltong all day, like that’s something unusual.  If I leave it lying out on the cutting board, New Wife and I can gobble a stick a day, so I have to hide the damn stuff so that we forget about it.

Just remember that when you eat biltong, the dried meat expands in your stomach back to its original size.  I ration myself to about 8-12 slices per day.  Back in my Army days, I could make a stick last a week, and not lose a pound of weight.

I’m going to make some tomorrow.  It’s been a week already since the last lot, and the natives are getting restless.

Ingredients, per 1lb of raw meat:

  • 8 tbsp red wine vinegar/brown apple cider vinegar
  • 1.5-2 tbsp coarse (kosher) salt
  • 2 tsp coarse ground black pepper
  • 2-3 tbsp whole coriander seeds

 

News Roundup

Bad News

 

And in that train of thought:


...but as this was in Unarmed Britishland... and speaking of danger:

  … and: 
...”teens”.  Let’s play our “Guess The Unnamed Race” game, shall we?


...oooh, Insty’s being snarky, Insty is.

In Global Cooling Climate Warming Change© news:


...yeah, good luck implementing that plan in the United States.  Bring lots of ammo, replacements and body bags.

And from the Dept. Of Health:


...I just hope this study wasn’t sponsored by Jarlsberg.


...never mind Joe fucking Biden;  according to this theory, I’ve been suffering from dementia since I was 17.

Now for Woke Bullshit:


...keyword:  Fort Worth.  And as for the next item:


...I would have thought that plummeting congregation sizes would be more of a problem for his bishopness, but that’s the Anglicans for you.


...yep;  nothing says “modesty” like calling it a “hole”.


...you mean “bleeding-hole owners”?

In further Bonus Hole News:


...how many hours?  Dude... But what else was he to do?  You can’t whip the feral little shits anymore, so why are we surprised at riots?


...seems a little extreme, but then again, I bet it wasn’t the only reason he wanted to ditch her.

Time for INSIGNIFICA:

       

...thus proving that she really is a dirty whore.


...aaaah, have mercy.

Pics like these are not good for an old man like me.  But they’re a good way to end the News Roundup.