monkeylizard

This one's lighter with some of the metal and wood cut away. Problem solved!

We were all very excited about this: https://comicbook.com/starwars/news/baby-yoda-build-a-bear-star-wars-plush/

I borrowed a very loud Craftsman genset from a friend after the 2010 flood for the first few days before power was restored. It was a lifesaver running fans, dehumidifiers, lights, and battery chargers. I bought a much quieter Honda EU6500is inverter after that and have never used it. I run it occasionally to keep it operational but that's it. My in-laws borrowed it once this past winter when their power was out for a couple of days. It worked great for them. Kept the TV, fridge, and lights running. I'll probably sell my 6500 at some point and get a 2000-3500w sized one like a Honda EU2000/2200 or a Generac iQ3500. That Generac is SUPER quiet (44 dBA) but at 109lbs. dry it's not the easiest thing to move around compared to the 47lb Honda which is pretty dang quiet (48 dBA) itself.

He also wrote one about a space elevator. Don't waste your time. The concept is mildly interesting, but it doesn't deserve a full novel.

Every major new technology is the play-thing of governments and/or the uber wealthy. These new private space companies are going to reduce the costs by a crap-ton. Remember about 20 years ago it was $20M to hitch a ride on a Soyuz to the ISS at a total cost of around $80M per launch (maybe the Russians still sell seats...don't know). I know it's not a trip to the ISS, but $200-400K gets you to space now on BO or VG. SpaceX cost to orbital flight is around $28M/flight vs the $80M/flight Soyuz. Give it another 20 years and we might be seeing space tourism attainable for more people than just billionaires. I'm glad to see BO and VG competing for the low orbit stuff and having plans to join SpaceX with higher launches and SpaceX planning for Mars.

I suspect "I've got my eye on you!" has been used more than once at family gatherings.

I have the Arlo also (Pro 2 version). It's easy to setup and included the free cloud storage which is nice. I got a 3-camera pack a few years ago on Black Friday at Costco. They have good resolution within about 8-10 feet (faces are clear). But beyond that, you can see everything happening within 20-30 yards just fine, but it doesn't have the detail to make out faces or license plates very well at any greater distance. In other words, I can see people walking by on the sidewalk, but unless they walk up on my porch I can't tell who it is. The newer cameras are probably better, but this suits my needs. Example. My front porch now with my car parked out front. I can see the car and it's clear, but can't read a plate.

Anyone besides me ever take their wheels off so they could clay-bar, polish, and wax the inside barrel? Here's the aforementioned 15 year old 200K+ miles Tribute. Not bad at all if I do say so myself.

You got me beat. I have a 2006 Mazda Tribute (rebadged Ford Escape) with the 3.0L V6. A hair over 200K. Besides regular maintenance (fluids, brakes, tires, plugs), I had to have a leaking midpipe in the exhaust replaced, but that's about it. A slight oil leak (like 1/2 qt every 5K miles or so) is the only problem.

Thanks, guys. Looks like $0.30 is a steal, and $0.50 is about the norm. That gives me something to work with. I may pick up a few boxes from AIM to get started, then keep an eye out for a better price per round on a bulk order.

Back before Covid, and the ammo price spike, what was .30 Carbine going for? I need some but I want to wait until prices are back to normal. I can be patient, but I don't know what the old normal was for this caliber.

Glad this came up as it's something I've been mulling over too. It's on the "maybe someday" list, but never hurts to get educated. I'm a but confused on the canisters. I know 40mm NATO for the size, but what's the best type for the most likely scenarios? It seems like you'd need different canisters for different types of gases/agents.

Freedom Day seemed like a good time to get this one cleaned up, so as promised here are some finished pics. I picked up 2 USGI 15-round mags wrapped in the wax paper from Brownell's. I'll keep them as they are and get some KCI mags for actual use. I'm waiting on ammo prices to get back to normal and I'll get some .30 Carbine and have some fun. The splotches on the wood were definitely some kind of mold or mildew (given the round clusters, I'm going with mold). Oderless Mineral Spirits wasn't doing anything on those, but it did cut the little bit of dried grease off easily. There wasn't much on it. It wasn't all gunked up the way a milsurp SKS usually is. Some are pics made as I disassembled so you'll still see some of the grease. I did have to resort to Simple Green for the mold. It took it off without damaging the finish, but the mold did leave behind some lighter splotches in the wood. I may go back over the stock with some Tung oil to help preserve the wood. The splotches are right where human sweat would have been most in contact with the wood. The left side of the cheek weld area, the underside of the grip where fingers would be grabbing, and a little out on the lower forearm where the support hand would be. I kind of like the discoloration it left behind because it tells the story of this rifle a little more. The metal is in great shape overall with only some very light rust marks on one side of the trigger group. The rifling is clean with sharp edges. I didn't disassemble the trigger group or the bolt. Both move freely and weren't crudded up so I just hit them with some cleaner and scrubbed what I could reach then added some oil. I tried to capture all the stamps for those of ya'll who nerd out over that sort of thing. The main stock, is stamped with an "H" by the mag well and a "3" along the front edge, both inside the stock and not visible when assembled. No markings in the upper hand guard. The bolt is marked "EM-Q" for Quality Hardware. There's a "5" at the rear of the the trigger assembly and "4" and smaller superscripted "3" towards the front. I didn't notice any other markings. There's a "W" on the hammer for Winchester. The usual ordinance bomb on the bottom of the trigger guard. The rear sight is marked "IR CO." for Inland or IBM. With the number on it, I think that makes it a post-war part so it was replaced at some point after the war. The barrel, as I mentioned above is an Underwood "3-43". The barrel spring retaining clip is marked "U". On the bottom of the barrel it's marked "PW ARMS REDMOND, WA" but that looks lasered on to me rather than stamped. I suspect it's the importer?

At least they got something right.