Memorial Day

Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.

The link above leads to an excellent article on Memorial Day.

Ugly Gun Sunday

I believe that when a craftsman puts his time and labor into a firearm, the end product is more than simply a product; it's an extension of the craftsman, a reflection of the sum of his experience, knowledge, and dedication.

And when someone engineers a weapon that is assembled from injection molded plastic and CNC/MIM/stamped metal, it's as much as a reflection of craftsmanship as the assembly of my Jeep's oil filter coming off the factory line.

It's probably very precise in its dimensions, and inexpensive relative to its quality, if quality means less maintenance or liklihood to crack, dent, rust, or change point of aim due to weather conditions.

But I'd never be able to pick it up and think about the craftsmen who labored for hours, turning out a weapon for a simple common soldier, or how those knicks, dents, and dings got there.

It's All Relative

Addressed to me in the parking lot of the local Mega-Lo Market today by an older gentleman:

"I don't believe I've ever seen an air conditioner strapped to a motorcycle before"

Response:

"Once you've seen three Egyptians with three large suitcases riding together on a 125cc through Cairo, it's not that impressive".

(Nope, no picture of those three guys. It's hard to take a good picture at 0200 in the AM at 60 mph, and if I were on the receiving end of a camera flash at night in that situation I'd be seriously pissed off at the guy with camera. Bike picture, however, is one of the many locally owned Egyptian bikes out and about, most of which were about that size. If you owned a 600cc, you were King Stud of the local bike scene.

Ugly Gun Sunday

A modified AK47 taken from an Iranian drug smuggler. Not only does he have craptastic taste in furniture, but he also managed to negate the one great quality of the AK: reliability. When you get rid of the buttstock and front sight, all that's left is the equivalent of an automatic Chief's Special with less accuracy than usual.

Thanks, I Think

My employer held a recognition event for employees who have completed their degrees in the semester. Which is nice enough, as employer events go.

Other than choosing "Send In The Clowns" as the piano music for the beginning of the event.


(side note: I don't have a clown phobia, but Pervo the Kreepy Klown above makes me more sympathetic to those who do. Ick.)

Ugly Gun Sunday

I think we can all see what's wrong with this: that scope mount doesn't leave any room for a bayonet lug.

Well Said.........

I'm in agreement.

Ugly Gun Sunday

Proving once again, if someone wants one bad enough, someone will provide one.

Shots From The Road

On one of my recent drills within my current unit, I noticed a historic building noted on my map (always looking for roads with riding potential, as where I live is 95% straight, level, East-West or North-South roads). A short hop on the bike, and there it was:

Recognize it?

How about now:

But it is missing something:

I had no idea this was within my home state; it was a pleasure to see a little bit of art history inspiration in person.Personally, I'm partial to this version.