Open house

Posted on May 21, 2012 by KG

It’s raining here! First rain in more than three weeks.

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77 Responses to Open house

  1. kowtow says:
    May 21, 2012 at 19:21

    Interesting piece from the UK Daily Telegraph. I love the comment stream.

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/9276543/Europe-finally-awakes-from-its-utopian-dream.html

  2. The Filthy Engineer says:
    May 21, 2012 at 19:22

    Us Brits will send you some of ours. We’ve got too much of the stuff.

    • KG says:
      May 21, 2012 at 19:25

      :lol: Why thanks, injuneer! But come the wet season, we’ll have rain like you wouldn’t believe…I’ve seen 300mm in just a few hours in Queensland.
      But at least ours is warm. ;-)

      • The Gantt Guy says:
        May 21, 2012 at 19:28

        Hmmm…300mm of warm rain. Not something of which to boast, friend.

        Tourism Qld advert: “Queensland in the wet season. You’ll drown, but it’ll feel like a nice bath”

        • KG says:
          May 21, 2012 at 19:32

          :mrgreen: As Joh Bjelke-Pieterson used to say:
          “don’t you worry about that”. Warm rain is just fine–along with the bugs and crocodiles and frogs and closed roads and allthe rest of it.
          We love it up here. :whoop

  3. KG says:
    May 21, 2012 at 19:29

    “The EU is going to have to admit sooner or later that this fantasy has run its course.”
    You bet. The EUSSR is more a bureaucratic than a political construct and it’s an absolutely perfect illustration of why bureaucrats should never be trusted with anything more complex than rubber-stamping dog licences.

  4. Andrei says:
    May 21, 2012 at 19:30

    Prediction – NATO “peacekeepers” in Greece before the end of next year.

    • KG says:
      May 21, 2012 at 19:33

      Now that will be interesting Andrei. The Greek people don’t take kindly to invaders.

  6. KG says:
    May 21, 2012 at 20:35

    :gunner :gunner :gunner :gunner :gunner :gunner
    Oh YESSS!! I have to see that movie. :lol:
    My preferred rifle is the Marlin 444–1.5 tons of muzzle energy :mrgreen: ….but Gecko thinks it’s a little too much for out here.
    Who cares? You can never have too much gun.

    • The Gantt Guy says:
      May 21, 2012 at 20:45

      Exactly. How else would you stop a stampeding rhino? With a little .357 pea shooter?

      • Darin says:
        May 21, 2012 at 23:47

        http://youtu.be/XWzvm1_cSJ4

        It ain’t big until the muzzle flash sets off car alarms :twisted:

        • KG says:
          May 21, 2012 at 23:59

          Quite so. :popcorn
          One of the problems here is the price of ammo, but I figure investing in some reloading gear will fix that.
          Maybe then I can build my dream .338… :twisted:

          • Darin says:
            May 22, 2012 at 04:47

            That’s one thing keeping me out of a .50cal rifle.$4/round means not much target practice :shock:

            Speaking of re-loading,this guy has de-priming figured out.Hard to tell where he’s from by the accent :grin:

            http://youtu.be/FskNx4UBZvc

            • KG says:
              May 22, 2012 at 04:55

              Thanks for the link, I’ll go take a look in a minute.
              Another thing about reloading is the fact we can only buy .357 pistol ammo here. Reloading would allow me to give it some extra boogie. :grin:

  7. KG says:
    May 21, 2012 at 20:53

    There could be a savage wallaby on steroids lurking around. Besides, a big wild boar takes some stopping and they grow seriously big out here.
    But really, we just want something for plinking cans and the occasional hunting trip.

  8. KG says:
    May 21, 2012 at 21:09

    An interesting post over at Francis Porretto’s place:
    What It Means To Be At War
    http://bastionofliberty.blogspot.co.nz/2012/05/what-it-means-to-be-at-war.html

    • Oddvar says:
      May 21, 2012 at 22:48

      How serious are you with your commentary on Porretto’s post?

      • KG says:
        May 21, 2012 at 23:30

        Very.

      • The Gantt Guy says:
        May 22, 2012 at 06:47

        It seems a perfectly logical comment. The zombie indoctri-bots will always outnumber patriots. They have since time began. Even the (first) American Revolution only included a small number of all colonists. The only way for patriots to win against a much larger force of unthinking robots is to take out the leaders of the robot forces. In the modern west, that means many of the political and cultural elite.

        Hypothetically speaking, were push to come to shove, of course.

        • KG says:
          May 22, 2012 at 06:56

          I’m trying to put some kind of post together about a hypothetical uprising in a hypothetical country suffering under the (hypothetical) tyrant’s boot, Gantt. ;-)

    • Darin says:
      May 21, 2012 at 23:41

      Perfectly sensible,it was the Continental Army and Militia during the Revolutionary War that invented the art of Guerrilla warfare.Worked brilliantly against the British.

  9. KG says:
    May 21, 2012 at 23:31

    Welcome, Oddvar.
    Knowing nothing about you, you surely don’t expect me to answer that?

  10. KG says:
    May 22, 2012 at 04:37

    ‪Wallace & Gromit_ The Curse of the Were-Rabbit‬
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-edXkt2djY

  11. KG says:
    May 22, 2012 at 04:38

    Darin, how much do you know about the manufacturing techniques used to make the first rifled barrels?

    • Darin says:
      May 22, 2012 at 10:29

      Volumes,what would you like to know?

      • KG says:
        May 22, 2012 at 10:54

        As much as you can be bothered telling. :smile: No detail is too trivial.The sources I’ve checked kind of skim over the details.

        • Darin says:
          May 22, 2012 at 13:23

          It’s pretty much an art form as it is a science,much has been written down about the process,but still more can only be explained by witnessing it as it happens.It’s heavy into the old world master/apprentice relationship.
          On the North American continent the smiths would start with a strip of wrought iron maybe 3-4 inches wide.They would heat it to 1400-1600 degrees F and fold the strip lengthwise into a U-shape.The U-shaped piece would then be heated to welding heat 2200-2400 degrees F (bright yellow).It would be sprinkled with powdered Borax used as a fluxing agent.The purpose of the flux was to increase the fluidity of the iron oxides in the weld area so when the weld was made the oxides(contaminants) would squirt out as the metal was hammered completing the weld.

          They would fold and weld the strip several times each time removing impurities from the iron.Once they were happy with the quality and condition of the iron they would forge it once more into whats called a Skelp.A Skelp is simply a strip of Iron that has been forged so the center of the strip is thicker than the edges for the length of the strip.
          Once the Skelp was ready,it would be heated first to forging heat,forged into a U-shape again and then the middle of the Skelp’s length would be brought back up to welding heat.Once at welding heat,more flux was added and the Skelp was placed into a Swage block(a type of Anvil with all sorts of half-round and V-shaped notches in it) the Apprentice would take a length of round rod which was previously forged round and straight to a diameter slightly smaller than the finished bore of the barrel.The rod is kept cool with water throughout the process.It would be placed in the bottom of the U,in the section which was heated to welding heat and then a short,maybe 1″ section at a time would be wrapped over-lapped the rod and lap-welded .They had to be sure that the rod was in place just long enough to complete the weld,but not so long that it would heat up and stick in the work.
          The rod would be withdrawn and the process repeated until the whole length of the barrel blank was formed.The welding would begin in the middle of the Skelp and continued out from the center to each end.The end product of this was essentially a hollow bar.The next step was forging the barrel into an Octagonal shape and trimming the length.The length of a Flintlock rifle barrel could be anywhere from 28″ for a youth’s gun to 60″ or better for a full bore hunting or sniping rifle.Calibers would range anywhere from .28 all the way up to .75″

          Once the blank was finished it was time for boring and rifling.The Boring frame consisted of two wooden rails with a sliding wooden carriage on one end and a spindle and flywheel crank on the other.The barrel was mounted into the carriage and held on center with wooden wedges.The bit which was a length of wrought iron rod,was tipped with a small tip of steel for the cutting edge and the first five to six inches were formed into a crude spiral to help pull cuttings away from the area being bored.The Master would crank the spindle/bit and the Apprentice would clear the cuttings from the bit and reset the boring operation after each cleaning.Cutting force was supplied by means of a simple weight and chain.It would take several hours to bore and size one barrel with several different bits being used.The final bit was a rod with one end forged square and hardened.One corner of the bit was the cutting edge,the opposite corner was fitted with a hardwood shim.The shim when oiled would act as a bearing while the tools edge would scrape the last light cuts from the bore.As one novelist of the period said-“the bit produced cuttings as fine as Face powder”This was the final boring/sizing/finishing of the still blank barrel.

          Next came Rifling.A machine similar to the boring machine was made,also of Wood,except the rotary spindle was replaced by a Cylinder and Guide.The Cylinder was a long cylinder of Wood with a series(usually 7) spiral grooves carved in.The Guide was block of wood for the Cylinder to pass through that included a tooth to engage one of the grooves in the Cylinder.The Rifling rod was usually made from Hardwood,most times Hickory sapwood.One end connected to the end of the Cylinder and the other was fitted with a small toothed cutter or scraper.
          In use the Rifling rod was pushed through the barrel clear out the end,the toothed cutter was then gently lifted and a small sliver of wood packing was placed underneath to raise the tooth slightly.Once raised the rod was withdrawn,the tooth in the guide engaging the Cylinder would cause the rod to rotate as it was withdrawn and the tooth would begin scraping the first rifle groove in the barrel.It would be pulled all the way through,then the Cylinder would be indexed over one groove and the process repeated until all seven grooves had each received one pass.At that point the cutter would be raised again and the process repeated.

          Here’s a couple vids showing the basic forging and drilling operations-
          http://youtu.be/dw4o-GDVU_I

          http://youtu.be/wqovJrSsza8

          Rifling guide-
          http://youtu.be/jX0Gj7ZXeGc

          And White Tail Deer hunting with Flintlocks-
          http://youtu.be/A18oFF45vzU

          • KG says:
            May 22, 2012 at 14:20

            Thank you! That’s the best explanation I’ve seen yet. :smile:
            The ingenuity and patience involved just blows my mind.
            I’ll save that for something I have in mind for sometime in the future.

            • KG says:
              May 22, 2012 at 14:41

              Good links! I’m looking at Sten guns right now, too. Crude, but………… :twisted:

              • Darin says:
                May 22, 2012 at 15:11

                Look up the Grease Gun,even simpler,but 600 rounds per minute of .45acp ain’t nothing to sneeze at.

                • KG says:
                  May 22, 2012 at 15:35

                  Will do. The attraction of the Sten is it uses 9mm, which is a whole lot cheaper.

            • Darin says:
              May 22, 2012 at 15:03

              No problem KG,if you ever get a chance to get hold of them the Foxfire series of books is highly recommended.

              They run volumes 1-8 IIRC.They were written and put together by a group of High School students here back in the 70’s.They wanted to interview the men and women of the Appalachian mountains and record their unique way of life before it slipped away.
              Here is a link to the first book in PDF.It’s a fairly big book,most of them are 350 pages plus.Volume 5 is very interesting if you can find it.Features black powder making,rifle making and related topics along with a good many pictures.The books over almost all aspects of living off the land and doing things the old way.
              As I once told a friend who immigrated here from Austria it is difficult to understand the American mindset without first understanding the men and women of the Appalachian mountains.Their way of life is unique.

              http://www.outpost-of-freedom.com/library/FoxfireVol1.pdf

              • KG says:
                May 22, 2012 at 15:34

                Terrific! Thanks Darin. Despite the jokes about the Appalachian people, the more I read the more respect I have for them.

  12. Tom says:
    May 22, 2012 at 06:59

    Letter in yesterdays Herald, “Maori enrich New Zealand and the World”.Nuff said.

    • The Gantt Guy says:
      May 22, 2012 at 07:03

      All backed up with stats and figures showing how the historical practices of (for example) using the shrunken heads of slain slaves as currency enriches the world (I suppose its value is at least based on something tangible, not like today’s dollars), or using daughters as a source of protein might somehow be beneficial (perhaps they could sell it as a kind of population control?). Or how modern practices of rent-seeking on the basis of imagined grievances somehow improves the economy? Or how the whole boondoggle is pushing 50,000 productive kiwis to flee each year, to be replaced by a similar number of medieval death-cultists?

  13. Katie says:
    May 22, 2012 at 07:06

    Yesterday it was 90, today it is 60. Tomorrow it is suppose to be 70. What the hell is going on?

    :wtf :wtf

    • The Gantt Guy says:
      May 22, 2012 at 07:09

      Oh boo HOO. I get 61, 61, 63, 55, 54.

      And all rain, all the time. I’ll trade you my two 61s for your 90.

      • The Gantt Guy says:
        May 22, 2012 at 07:13

        Hang on a sec. Even 90 isn’t exactly warm. Nah, keep yours and I’ll keep mine. At least I know we’re on our way to spring time here.

        • KG says:
          May 22, 2012 at 07:14

          29 30 24 17 20 21 (c) here

          • The Gantt Guy says:
            May 22, 2012 at 07:18

            Yes alright. Beautiful one day, perfect the next. Isn’t that how the saying goes?

            And just a little more so since Captain Bligh was cut loose.

            • KG says:
              May 22, 2012 at 07:28

              Certainly there’s a different mood about the place, Gantt. I can’t wait for that wipeout to be repeated at the federal level.
              :grin:

              • The Gantt Guy says:
                May 22, 2012 at 07:39

                Did you see the poll the other day? Not one single Labor MP would be returned in Qld. Not even favorite son Kevvie!

      • KG says:
        May 22, 2012 at 07:46

        “And all rain, all the time.”
        Didn’t Tim Flannery say it was never going to rain again?
        Anyway, serves ya right for hanging out in the People’s Democratic Republic of Victoria. :twisted:

        • The Gantt Guy says:
          May 22, 2012 at 07:51

          No he didn’t, and please don’t twist the prophecies of Gaia’s Prophet Most High (couldn’t HE used Winston Smith and the rectification department right about now!). What The Grand Mufti of the Movement said was that the little rain which does fall wont fill our dams and river systems.

          Never ever ever again would the dams be filled.

          http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GNfhyi94VU

          Oops.

      • Katie says:
        May 22, 2012 at 12:27

        Granted. I love 60s…hate 90 with high humidity.

  14. KG says:
    May 22, 2012 at 07:42

    Great stuff. :whoop Of course, when hard times come it will all be Abbott’s fault–never mind that Labor pissed away a large surplus as well as doing their best to cripple the most productive sectors of the economy, so the Coalition inherits a poisoned chalice.

  15. The Gantt Guy says:
    May 22, 2012 at 08:13

    Another area in which NZ can claim “world first” status: declaring defeat in Afghanistan…

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/6963271/NZ-troops-out-of-Afghanistan-a-year-early

  16. KG says:
    May 22, 2012 at 08:23

    Bloody shameful. But the whole episode is shameful–going to “war” on the basis of “nation building” and under insanely restrictive ROE’s was never going to work. Especially in that place.
    The Taliban will be back stronger than ever and I just hope they knock that asshole Karzai off first.

    • The Gantt Guy says:
      May 22, 2012 at 09:21

      The ROE are deliberately constructed to guarantee the allied forces could never secure victory.

      Someone seemed to forget that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for *his* country.

      So much for holding on to him by the nose and kicking him in the arse!

  17. KG says:
    May 22, 2012 at 09:28

    It’s a thing of the past, Gantt. Which is why this will be a festering low-level conflict for the forseeable future.

    • The Gantt Guy says:
      May 22, 2012 at 09:32

      It’s a great shame that by being too afraid to shoot the one woman the terrorist is hiding behind, the cowards in command condemn another 100 women to a life of misery at the terrorist’s hand.

  18. KG says:
    May 22, 2012 at 11:08

    This, for me, sums up so much that’s wrong with NZ right now.
    The story: ‘Meridian Energy will not proceed with the controversial Mokihinui dam project on the West Coast.’
    the headline: ‘West Coast dam reprieve’

    Lack of progress, lack of a needed dam, is flagged as a “reprieve” FFS!

    • The Gantt Guy says:
      May 22, 2012 at 11:17

      310 – 360 gigawatts of power. I wonder if those same nimbys will be complaining when the brown-outs start.

      I see terrorist organizations the green party and forest & bird are congratulating meridian energy. That’s some endorsement!

      And finally, the project was proposed by Meridian Energy, which is state-owned, and therefore taxpayer funded. It was opposed by the Department of Comsefvation which is a taxpayer funded government department. So remind me, who picks up the tab for this? 5 years of wrangling. It cost how much?

      • KG says:
        May 22, 2012 at 11:23

        Great leadership, eh? I wonder how Keyman Adolf will spin this? Or will he be silent?

  19. Ciaron says:
    May 22, 2012 at 13:20

    I suspect our less than savory commentors are taking an interest in what is said here. Today, I’ve been quoted on a comment made here on one of the Breivik threads some months ago. Taken out of context to be sure, but unnerving none the less when the other persons motives are unclear.

    • The Gantt Guy says:
      May 22, 2012 at 13:23

      Yup, me too. Our friend Sludge, in the very few places he’s still welcome, constantly snipes (/pun) at me for comments on the Brievik threads. I don’t mind, actually. It’s good for Sludge to read CR. maybe some day the ring of progressive flab around its brain will give way and some understanding of the world will seep through.

      In the meantime, Sludge, why don’t you take up the suggestion I made over at Keeping Stock and put a gun in your mouth?

      • KG says:
        May 22, 2012 at 16:04

        Screw ’em. If the socialist kiddies can’t handle adults talking in the real world, that’s their problem. We don’t self-censor here. (and of course, forcing conservatives to do that is one of their objectives, even if they don’t process it that way in their reptilian “brains”).
        And they don’t unnerve me, Ciaron–I’ve wiped more sentient life-forms from the soles of my boots. :twisted:

  20. WebWrat says:
    May 22, 2012 at 15:55

    The Zimmerman case disintegrates

    http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=51638

  21. KG says:
    May 22, 2012 at 16:36

    The left’s war on the traditional family never stops. Take a look at this disgusting piece of propaganda:
    http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/i_think_i_see_a_dad_but_hes_wearing_a_skirt/

    • Kris K says:
      May 22, 2012 at 17:01

      That’s not a family! It’s a couple of dykes abusing innocent children and screwing them up for the rest of their lives!

      Leftist low-life wouldn’t recognise a moral or principle if their miserable lives depended on it!

  22. WebWrat says:
    May 22, 2012 at 17:06

    What is it with these Pakis/Indians that keep ringing and asking if you have a computer? Had 2 today … one even knew my name.

    I usually say, “I don’t want to be conned today thank you, now fuck off!” then hang up.

    What are they after?

    I could string them along and find out for myself, but I can’t be buggered.

  23. KG says:
    May 22, 2012 at 17:21

    People often don’t realise that when they sign up for “loyalty discounts” and so forth that those lists and personal details are often on-sold, legally or otherwise. I’ve noticed an increasing tendency for shops to ask for personal details to enter into their computer systems even when paying cash for an item. They’re usually taken aback when we refuse to provide them. One young lady even told me she couldn’t sell me the goods unless I gave her my name, date of birth and contact details! (it was for a $49 printer).

    • Ciaron says:
      May 23, 2012 at 05:14

      Charles U. Farly, or George Eugene Thomas Francis-Drake
      69 Main Street
      Whatevertownyou’rein.
      Ph: the number of the local brothel, pizza joint, supermarket, chinese takeaway…