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Situated on the top of a hill at 564 metres above sea level, Montalcino has preserved its charm of an untouched medieval village.Its territory, which is part of the Artistic, Natural and Cultural Park of the Val d'Orcia, is covered with vineyards (whose grapes produce prestigious wines) olive trees and woods consisting prevalently of holm oak trees. Its Latin name derivative, Ilex, is probably the origin of Mons Ilcinus (Montalcino). The most important permanent presence, which stands at a distance of three km from Montalcino, is found at the archeological site "Poggio della Civitella". Since 1993, seasonal excavation have brought to the light Etruscan ruins belonging to the Archaic and the Hellenistic period. During the VI century B.C the area contained a village and then a fortress composed of three series of walls presumably abandoned during the III century B.C.
The oldest document that mentions Montalcino is dated 715 A.C. It is signed by the Longobard King Liutprando. This document reports a dispute between the Bishop of Arezzo and the Bishop of Siena regarding the possession of some Parish churches in Montalcino. Yet another old document, dated 814, indicates the donation of territory of Montalcino from Ludovico il Pio to Abbazia of Sant'Antimo, a wonderful example of architecture, only 9 Km from Montalcino.
According to the legend, the Abbey was founded in an ancient votive chapel erected by Charlemagne in 781 and was later rebuilt between 1000 and 1118. This extraordinary example of Romanesque Lombard-French architecture made in onyx and alabaster reveals its exceptional in its apse externally formed by radial chapels along an internalambulatory and ist capitals ornamented whith geometrical floral motifs and animals figures: the representation of Daniele in the Lion den, recently attributed to the Master of Cabestany, stands out.
Named a City, then diocese in 1462 by Pope Pio II Piccolomini, Montalcino sustained historical moments of great tension due to the dispute between Frorence and Siena and over the dominance of territory. After Siena's surrender to the Medici family in 1555, exiled Siennese sought shelter in the power fortress of the town and founded the Republic of Siena in Montalcino which rule until 1559. From that time on, Montalcino would be subject to the rule of the grand Duchy of Tuscany.
Touring the city, it is possible to admire many medieval structures beginning with surrounding Wall with its gates and remains of some its towers, the City Hall (XIII century), the Porticos of Piazza del Popolo (with its arches from the XIV and XV century); the Cathedralin neo-classic style (built on a parish Church of the XI century); theSanctuary of the Madonna del Soccorso (erected in the XVII century on the site of a XV century church); Saint Egidio (also know as the Siennese Church, built in the XIV century); and the wonderful churches from 1300s, Saint Agostino (with frescos of the Siennese school of the XIV century) and Saint Francesco (whit the annex of Monastery which open to beautiful cloisters). This church still holds frescos from the 1500s by Vincenzo Tamagni the same artist responsible for the frescos in the old Studiolo, locaded in the complex of Spedale di Santa Maria della Croce (XIII century), presentily home of the City Hall.
Within the ancient rooms of S. Agostino's monastery is situated theMuseum of Montalcino, one of the most important collections of archeological, medieval and modern art in the district of Siena. The collection offers an almost complete view of this important Tuscan town's artistic production.
A fixed date in the life of Montalcino is the Festival of the Thrush which is celebrated on the last Sunday of October. The four Quarters of Montalcino – Borghetto, Pianello, Ruga and Travaglio – challenge each others in an archery competition that recall hunting wild boar in medieval times, while a long parede with magnificent costumes crosses the streets of the town accompanied by the traditional music and dance of the folk group Il Trescone.
What to drink:
A red D.O.C.G wine, Brunello is made by Sangiovese grapes only grown in the area around Montalcino. Five years from the harvest, it can be called Brunello, a limpid and brilliant wine with a lively garnet colour and with an intense, persistent, full and ethereal smell. A combination of the scents of brush lands, aromatic woods, small fruits, a light trace of vanilla and fruity jams can be detected in Brunello.
A red D.O.C wine, Rosso of Montalcino is made from Sangiovese grapes, only grown in the surrounding area. It is harmonic, elegant, sapid, not specially demanding but complementary with many foods. Rosso di Montalcino is brillant and limpid to the eyes, with a composite ruby red colour; to the olfactory senses it offers a fine intensity and fragrance in which the scents of small fresh fruit and light touch of cherry can be recognized.
From the variety Moscato Bianco, inside the territory of the Commune of Montalcino, the Moscadello D.O.C is produced in these varieties: Natural, Sparkling and Late Harvest. Moscadello pleasantly accompanying pastries and dry biscuits. It straw-yellow colour has an aroma of a well-balanced and fresh muscatel with some floral scents.SANT'ANTIMO Red and white D.O.C wine produced in the Municipal territory of Montalcino. This denomination makes it possible to classify Montalcino wines other than Brunello. It has extremely variable characteristics according to the different types.
Museum of Montalcino, Via Ricasoli 31
Tel. + 39 0577.846014; Tel/Fax + 39 0577.849331 www.prolocomontalcino.com www.museisenesi.org OpeningHours 10:00AM-1:00PM /2:00PM-5:50Pm (closed on monday– 25 December – 1 Jenuary) Ticket : € 4.50 full price – € 3,00 reduced rate, museum + fortress full price € 6,00 – museum + fortress redeced rate € 4.50
Museo of Brunello Loc. Podernovaccio Tel/Fax + 39 0577 846104
Museo of Glass Castello di Poggio alle Mura Tel/Fax + 39 0577 816001
Fortress Piazzale Fortezza Tel. + 39 0577 849211 Opening Hours: Winter Time 9:00AM – 6:00PM (closed on Monday); Summer Time9:00AM – 8:00PM Ticket: € 4,00 full price € 2,00 reduced rate
One of our top 5 city in Tuscany. Even if it is very touristic, you should spend some hours walking around this unique village!
To eat:
Abbey of Sant'Antimo
(Castelnuovo dell'Abate) TO BOOK THE VISIT: Tel. + 39 0577 835659 / 835550 Opening Hours: 10:30AM – 12:30PM / 3:00PM – 6:30PM from Monday to Saturday; 9:00AM – 10:30AM / 3:00PM – 6:00PM Sunday and Festivity.
Mass: 9:15AM from monday to saturday; 11:00AM on Sunday and Festivity. Gregorian Chant. Please click here for their website
The friars of Saint Antimo are happy to receive friends who speak English.
Visitors come not only for this beautiful abbey that is unique in all of Italy, but also to savour a moment of peace and spirituality. At Saint Antimo you can once again find the door to your heart.
One of the great private gardens of Italy, Tuscany"s La Foce"s "absolutely breathtaking" and "fabulous" gardens are open every Wednesday afternoon for guided tours beginning on the hour at 3,4,5 and 6 pm (April-October, in winter at 3 pm only). Admission: €10.
The beautiful wisteria arbor has by now burst into bloom. Also to be enjoyed are the splendid views over the Val d"Orcia and the iconic zigzag road that links farms to the villa. It was conceived for its practicality and beauty by La Foce owner Iris Origo and architect Cecil Pinsent. You can admire the use of travertine marble throughout the garden in the fountains, pathways and sculptures.


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That's what I'm going to call my friendly neighborhood chain "fabric" store for the rest of the year because that's all they have there now, fleece and holiday decorations.
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Fleece Navidad
3 comments:
Yesterday i was at Hancock and a lady had 3 carts full of fleece cuts. Today I was at Joann's and there were at least 40 people waiting for fleece to be cut.ReplyDelete
I guess that's why they keep stocking it by the ton!
LOL. Why SO MUCH fleece?ReplyDelete
Make sure you grab yourself a couple of lengths, Murphy's Law will guarantee that next year when you want some there won't be any on the shelves! ... JReplyDelete
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subset: commoncrawl


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Sunday, January 10, 2010
OKAY! One of the devoted followers of this blog -- Char -- has been dying to hear about the connection between missionaries and hyenas. I promised this story ages ago, so before leaving Africa, here it is. (Those who are at all squeamish should ignore this story and just stick with the pictures.)
Okay. So. Hyenas eat what's left of an animal after the meat's been consumed by lions and leopards and etcetera. In short, they eat the bones. As a result, their stools are hard and white from all the calcium. Hold that thought! Rhino ahead!
Right, so where were we? Oh yes, hyenas and missionaries. So, anyway,in the 19th century, British missionaries communicated with the locals through pictures: they drew the stories of Jesus on little blackboards that they took with them through the jungle. Well soon their chalk ran out and they couldn't very well head back to England for more. And it wasn't like there were any stores upriver. So what do you suppose they used instead? Yup.
It is all just too beautiful!
But all is well. I'm off on a snorkeling/writing trip to Cayo Largo. If the Internet is working, I'll post from the Caribbean. If not, I've scheduled a post with photos of me as a little kid with my pets, and also a series of "on the road" posts of an incredible trip my partner and I took to Argentina. It's got Buenos Aires, Evita's mausoleum, Iguazu Falls where they shot Indiana Jones, treacherous mountain excursions, and the Andes! And if I run out of fun stuff there, there'll be a post on some of exciting things that have happened me that I most remember -- like being alone in a mummy's tomb.
A rividerci,
Posted by Allan Stratton at 8:00 AM
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Additional Information
Product No. D-7783 Product Name
Synonym(s) Methylbenzene; Toluol Isotopic Enrichment 96 atom % D Formula
Structure Molecular Weight 93.15 CAS Number 4409-85-2 CAS Number 108-88-2 Shipping Hazards FLAMMABLE LIQUID Functional Groups Hydrocarbons - Other Aromatic Storage Conditions Store at room temperature Stability Stable if stored under recommended conditions (see section 7 of SDS). After three years, the compound should be re-analyzed for chemical purity before use. SDS D-7783.pdf Certificate of Analysis Search for Certificate of Analysis Print Page Print Product


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Alabama's unemployment rate has declined for the second month to 8.1 percent.
The state Department of Industrial Relations announced Friday that October's rate is down from a revised rate of 8.2 percent in September. Alabama's unemployment rate increased for four months during the late spring and summer, hitting 8.5 percent in August before declining for the last two months.
Nearly 9,000 more Alabama residents were working in October than in the prior month.
Counties with the lowest unemployment rates were Shelby at 5.4 percent, Coffee and Madison at 6.6 percent, and Lee and St. Clair at 6.7 percent. Counties with the highest rates were Wilcox at 17.6 percent, Bullock at 16.2 percent and Dallas at 14.8 percent.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.


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Every newborn baby indicates a lot to their parents, as well as whether it's the boy or perhaps a girl; they all have his/her own elegance and pleasure. To dress all of them like angels each and every mother really wants to make sure that the woman's baby appears perfect and delightful, who would like to see their baby or else? Fendi's newborn baby selection is very stunning and adorable that will match every child and every mother's flavor. When dressing up your baby you need to tend to gown them easy and elegant clothes to suit their own beauty as well as purity. For any baby girl; small dresses will always be your best and many beautiful, fragile and chic option, you may select from Fendi's collection this particular elegant flower dress, along with elasticated half masturbator sleeves and comprehensive with whitened feathering organized at random, this perfect little angels dress is extremely elegant and delightful where this suits everyday's heading outs and wedding events too, you can include to it this particular elegant and delightful gold/brown shoe and also the whole arranged and look of the baby girl is placed and ready to enter into the highlights. Printed gowns are also really elegant as well as girlish for all those tiny as well as small people; your young girl will look incredible and beautiful within this white crème gown with precious metal heart formed prints all around the dress by having an elasticated top, along with a lovely bend in the middle which makes it perfect little angels and beautiful for those day lengthy and also really comfortable on her for a sun-drenched day. With regard to windy chilly days; this particular white crème made of woll coat along with four control keys comes with a stunning hat additionally made of made of woll, and blend it with lovely made of woll footwear within brown. Each piece from Fendi style house is going to be amazing and delightful that will make an argument for those who don't be aware of real style styles.
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Why Horse Agility is great for you and your horse.....
Horse Agility is a discipline and internationally competitive sport in which horse and handler, both on foot, navigate a course of obstacles while focusing on clear communication and positive horsemanship - Les Kiger, USA Horse Agility Accredited Trainer
Horse Agility is great at keeping your horse fit physically and emotionally. As safety is a very large part of the training for Horse Agility it will help you and your horse to build a more confident relationship when working together.
- Horse Agility can help build a very close relationship with your horse.
- Horse Agility keeps your horse's mind working constructively.
- Horse Agility is a great way to meet like minded people who may think the same way about their horse's potential other than as a ridden horse.
- Because of the levels structure of the competitions there is always a new skill to learn and improve.
All horses and ponies can join in Horse Agility whether they are ridden or not in other competitions, they just need to be in good physical condition.
Everyone can join in Horse Agility - children and adults of all ages, fitness levels and ability, the people do the training the horse does most of the energetic bit!


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USA-Mexican Border 2006
Nogales, Arizona.USA.October 20, 2006..The main street in Nogales USA that leads to the port of entry. The city is divided between Nogales Mexico and Nogales USA. The fence extends for several miles in either direction off the port of entry - then there is little to stop people from crossing illegally. Nogales is flooded with Mexicans legal and illegal and is mostly a transit and shopping town.


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baby kate.
She is here.
Obviously she is here because I posted about KateMas Eve more than a week ago and no, I haven't been laying on an operating table since then. Close - just change operating table for my bed and add a few 100 well deserved bed sores. C-sections blow. I have a lot to say about them but not now.
Katie Girl is here. 9lbs, 10 oz and originally 19 3/4 inches long - just like Sam - and just like Sam she "grew" two inches by the next morning. She didn't actually grow two inches, more like finally stretched out. Apparently I make fat, stumpy babies who need a day to uncurl.
Kate is wonderful, and fantastic, and baby perfect delicious. We had a photographer at her birth so I'll share those pictures tomorrow. Tonight, I just wanted you to know she's here.
Never thought she'd be here or that she'd be this amazing. We are all (and I mean all - Sam too) just enchanted by her little presence.
File that one under Kate
5 comments:
congratulations! I have been obsessively refreshing my reader waiting for news (promise I'm not creepy :P)ReplyDelete
LOL! Ditto :) congrats congrats congrats!ReplyDelete
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This comment has been removed by the author.ReplyDelete
Baby Kate welcome to this crazy world :)ReplyDelete
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In intact (uncircumcised) males, phimosis is the impossibility or difficulty of fully exposing the glans ("head" of the penis). Phimosis is usually (though not always) caused by a foreskin opening that is too tight.
does it require MEDICAL INTERVENTION?
It depends. Depends on the individuals' age, and on the fact that phimosis may be either physiological or pathological. Sounds complicated? Dont't worry, start by answering the following question: who's got phimosis?
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I've got a place on the Trafalgar Square Plinth end of August. They've given me a prime time slot on a Saturday afternoon so I figure I should do something other than just sit there looking vaguely queasy.
I think it would be amusing to dress up as a pigeon and sit on the plinth. My plan so far is to make a large but light pigeon costume and then attach a small action man/barbie type doll to my cycle helmet, thereby reversing the pattern of the other plinth residents.
I'll chart the progress of this pigeon suit on this blog. This morning I ordered some hoola hoops to form the structure of the suit. It would have been nice to get all four sizes of readily available hoops and do a graduated shape, but that seemed a bit extravagant. I have ordered some small and medium hoops (45 and 75 cm). I decided 75cm was wide enough after a few minutes with a tape measure and a little wriggling - that should make me look quite large without stopping me sitting down.
I have some fabric that looks like chicken wire but is light and floppy. I'll sew the hoops to that so that I make a large crinoline structure that hangs from my shoulders rather than my waist. I can then sew a variety of feathers to this - anyone wanting to send me a feather from an A4 size bit of cloth please do so. The feathers need to be light but don't need to have any structure as the undercarriage will provide all the shape needed. They need to be able to cope with rain in case it is pouring down. I also want the suit to be ok if it is scorching hot, so the open structure of the mesh fabric will be useful.
I'll photograph progress as it happens....
well, best intentions to chart progress have fallen by the wayside as other more exciting things fill my time. It is now post-plinth day. I made my pigeon suit, and I mounted a model of Anthony Gormley's Iron Man statue on a cycle helmet and covered the helmet with Grey cloth. I stitched on eyes and mounted a beak, and at the last minute also attached a dragonfly I had made from knitted fine silver wire and machine embroidered vanishing fabric - just a whim, and only because I had to take down a craft exhibition on the Wednesday before the Saturday sitting.
When I tested the costume by sitting on a garden table and getting Rod to photograph me i thought I looked a lot like statues of the mature Queen Victoria, so I decided I needed an orb and scepter equivalent. This was an egg and a stick, of course. I made the egg by blowing up a balloon, tieing string around to give a basic non-slip structure and a handle, and then papier machieing it with strips of newspaper and pva glue. I didn't use pulp as that is yucky and a friend said she tried that and the stuff all fell off. It worked well, and I painted it with acrylic glue to make it a brownish colour.
We allowed extra time for the drive down in case there were traffic jams, but apart from a slowish bit as we passed Oxford, with a queue in the exit lane, the journey was great. Arriving, therefore, far too early, we had lunch in an Italian cafe and then caught a taxi to Trafalgar Square. The taxi-driver said I was his first plinther. He talked about several of the people he had seen do things, so it is clear that as the taxi's swirl around the roads they do notice what is going on on the plinth.
At the One&Other office I had to show my passport and driving licence to prove with a photo id and an address that I was who I was supposed to be. I had my bags searched. I had already been told I couldn't take on fire, glass or fire-arms, but was a bit surprised when reluctance or at least hesitation was shown over my stick that I was going to clutch. They didn't want anything that might fall through the net and hurt someone. I was then interviewed and photographed, first in my normal clothes (not that normal as I was wearing my amazing Physalis earrings by Nora Fok) and then in my costume. The interview was taped for the oral history project the Welcome Trust is running. I was asked all sorts of questions, not just about the plinth project. The only thing that flummoxed me was when I was asked for my view on art.
I was shown the cherry picker used to transport people to and from the plinth. They are lovely big green and yellow machines, gleaming and serviced every two days by the JCB staff. I then had a microphone put on me - I was surprised by this, thought in retrospect that was surprising in itself. I suppose I had thought the mics were built into the cameras. I hadn't intended to do anything but sit quietly, but once I was mic'ed (how on earth is that word spelt, everything looks odd) up I ran a commentary, and burbled on about anything that came into my head. If you watch the coverage you can see that the camera operator is paying attention, as the camera swivels to take in the topic of conversation.
Once up on the plinth everything seemed very peaceful. The square bustled with people, there were breakdancers in front of the national gallery, deckchairs full of people enjoying the sun, and general milling. I had worried that I would feel vertiginous, which is why I had planned a stationary activity, but I didn't notice that at all. The safety net probably stopped any of that - I thought it might not as it is horizontal below the level of the plinth, but it is very visible.
I had been warned that the guides in the open topped buses might shout out to me and I was just to ignore them. Only once called out, very politely, to ask if I was a pigeon, so I called back that I was. There are several trees between the road and the plinth where the buses paused, and I could see people craning to see properly.
Rod wandered around in the square below to tell people what I was doing if they seemed interested. He pointed out that I got a great cheer when I went up and when I left, which was lovely. One person has put a picture up on the&Other website through Flikr saying they didn't know what I represented and that I just sat there the whole time. I know some people would be bored by the way I just sat there, rather than doing some performance that engaged the passers by. If you watch the SkyTv show they really only like the ones that do a lot. However, Anthony Gormley himself said he was happy with the people that just used their time to sit there quietly, so I reckon that is ok. After all, the other plinth occupants in the square don't move at all.
Overall I would say it was a highly amusing event to participate in and I have no regrets about joining in. I wish I had realised my costume was caught on the stool so I didn't look like a proper round pigeon, and I wish I'd used some pins to stop the fabric blowing up ( quite and updraft on the plinth). It would also have been better to have spoken more clearly/had the mic in a different position, as the background noise in the square is very load, with the fountain, the sirens and the general traffic and people noise. We both had fun and Rod enjoyed being support staff for a change.


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The news: The incredible explosion of the unmanned Antares rocket on a Virginia launch pad this week was not as accidental as it looked.
According to CNN, a NASA official in the control room during the launch made a very gutsy judgment call to remotely detonate the rocket seconds into its planned launched from from the Wallops Flight Facility on Tuesday evening. Rather than risk the malfunctioning rocket continuing its ascent and possibly falling back to Earth in a populated area, Orbital Systems Corp. hit the self-destruct button
As the rocket took off with some 5,000 pounds of supplies and scientific equipment for the International Space Station, NASA officials spotted a malfunction both serious and visible enough to warrant the immediate activation of Antares' flight termination system. National Geographic's Brad Scriber writes that the flight safety officer and range safety officer tasked with deciding whether to detonate the rocket prematurely had to make the decision in mere seconds.
Retired astronaut Mark Kelly told CNN it was the correct decision, describing it as necessary to protect civilian lives. No one was injured during the incident.
The background: Scientists haven't yet determined the reason Antares malfunctioned so spectacularly, but have suggested the likely culprit was the rocket's inclusion of refurbished, archaic parts from the Soviet era. Space.com's Mike Wall writes:
Antares' first stage uses two AJ26 engines, which are refurbished variants of the NK-33 built by the Soviet Union for its ill-fated N-1 moon rocket during the height of the space race.
Some of the criticism long predates this week's accident. In 2012, for example, SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk said Antares "honestly sounds like the punchline to a joke."
"It uses Russian rocket engines that were made in the '60s," Musk told Wired magazine back then. "I don't mean their design is from the '60s — I mean they start with engines that were literally made in the '60s and, like, packed away in Siberia somewhere."
Similar incidents are actually quite common. USA Today reports that dozens of launch pad disasters have happened over the past 57 years, although most are not catastrophic failures resulting in the death of ground crew or astronauts.
Why you should care: The private Antares rocket's failure demonstrates that rocket science remains incredibly difficult, and private companies' spaceflight programs may be set back years. Orbital Systems Corp. is likely out of the space race as far as ISS supply contracts go, and cost-saving practices like relying on old Russian rocket technology may have to be abandoned. But the silver lining is that NASA and its missions have likely only been minimally set back, though it will take weeks to figure out just what went wrong on the launchpad.


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Where does one start? At the beginning is the usual answer but we look at it from a different perspective.
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Our training sessions are comprised of one hour sessions, once a week which are done in organized groups or one-to-one sessions. Clients are booked and billed according to the hours completed in a month.


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The Hunt for the Perfect Fishing Cottage
words of another satisfied Eastern Shore Buyer....
by Lisa Doricchi (as published in The Mariner: Beacon of the Bay)
If your winter was anything like mine, it was much too long a stretch to be full of glee. To improve this mindset, I considered purchasing a small fishing cottage in a desirable location. Interest rates are down and houses are plentiful at a good price.
We started our search in Florida after a good friend recommended a fishing hotspot in Sebastian, Florida on the Indian River. My primary research uncovered a vast number of fish species in this location and I became instantly intrigued. We looked at many properties, but somehow this place didn't capture my soul, especially after seeing the insurance rates and having to deal with the airport issues.
Our next target was Hatteras because of the beauty of the beaches and the great surf fishing. That is until we found out the real estate prices were way above our means. The thought of those pesky hurricanes always cropping up also made me a little more than nervous.
After researching a couple of other places only to find other shortcomings, desperation set in. I began asking questions through my anglers' network to determine where people would live to fish. I was surprised to hear the same general locale mentioned on several occasions. Perplexed and intrigued, the more I looked into it, the better it looked.
The eastern shore of Virginia is the place to be for fishing! The sea is on one side, and the bay is on the other. The drive is a little over 3 hours with no major tolls or bridges to cross. I thought to myself, well this place sounds too good to be true! Can't wait to see this piscatorial paradise and soon decided to go in search of the perfect fishing cottage.
I talked some friends into coming with us and we embarked on our first of many weekend trips. We stayed at the Fisherman's Lodge in Quinby, Virginia, on the seaside. Three of us shared one room at the reasonable cost of $68.50 a night. The main lodge includes a living room, kitchen, dining room and fireplace as well as an outdoor grill and refrigerator, all overlooking the seaside. In the morning, I watched the local waterman bring in 40,000 little neck clams on one small Carolina Skiff boat in mid-February. Evidently that is their daily winter haul and in the warmer season, the number often doubles. The waterman farm-raise their clam beds off of leased portions of the seaside on the Atlantic Ocean.
The area's lack of pollution probably stems from its lack of industry. Judging by what we saw along the highway, the primary industries appear to be chicken processing plants and tomato farms. But the majority of the area's workers are making a living from the water. The serenity of the barrier islands on the seaside protect the land from the crashing ocean waves and allow fisherman to catch their share in mostly shallow and protected waters. Some of the barrier islands are owned by the Nature conservancy and are preserved by some restrictions. Many artifacts wash ashore after storms and such things as sea glass, fossils, whale bones and conch shells can be found on a treasure hunt.
On the Chesapeake Bay side only a few miles in the opposite direction, there are a multitude of boat ramps and slips that offer good access to go fishing with low ramp fees. The average winter temperature is 51 degrees and thus the fishing can be good almost all year round.
We drove around town with our realtor Phyllis [Ward] who has an interesting background as a college instructor and documentary film maker. Her and her husband discovered the eastern shore and relocated from Washington, D.C. Phyllis is full of personality and humor, and has a multitude of interesting friends. In addition to introducing us to available properties, Phyllis went above and beyond the call of duty and also introduced us to a lot of special people during our stay. The first day we drove around various towns and ended up on a tree lined back road near the Machipongo River. We saw an elderly woman with a knit hat and gloves and noticed that she was pulling something out of a large bush. I asked Phyllis to slow up so that we could see what she was doing.
"Hi," I said cheerfully, "We're just out looking around at houses and wondered if you could recommend a place to get some local seafood?" The old woman turned around and I noticed her ruby red lipstick, gold earrings and bright rouge on her cheeks. She was dressed for a party in the middle of the day. She smiled at the delight of meeting new people and the sagging lines in her face placed her age in the mid 80s.
She sweetly replied, "You want seafood do you?" "Well," she smiled "You've come to the right place. We've got clams, we've got oysters, and we've got arseholes."
There was dead silence as we all looked at each other and finally I said, "Excuse me?"
She said again…"We've got clams, we've got oysters and we've got arseholes. You see, my first husband was a sunavabitch and my second one was an arsehole - -so you can have him too." Then she pulled a container of goldfish food out of the large bush and offered us a shot of whiskey.
Phyllis, quickly recognizing a personality that was far too interesting even for her eclectic tastes (and fearing perhaps the loss of a carload of prospective clients) quickly interrupted. "OK well, we gotta go now," she said and hit the gas pedal and sped away while our seat belts dug welts into our shoulders. My first thought was Love Canal gone awry in Virginia and wondered what might be in the drinking water. That was our first experience with the local color.
During the rest of our tour with Phyllis, we learned that a fixer upper can run from $45,000.00 to $85,000.00 - - but if you're not handy, there are some nicer homes in the $90,000.00 to $145,000.00 range, and some with a water view. Taxes are between $100.00 and $600.00 a year for a second home. Insurance costs are similarly priced.
Some of the numerous fish species include Flounder, Striped Bass, Bluefish, Red and Black Drum, Croakers, Dolphin, Tuna, Tilefish, Cobia, Spanish mackerel, Tautog and on occasion, Tarpon! Shellfish include conch, clams, oysters and crabs galore (and yes, the occasional arsehole).
Our love for this spot increased with each trip, and we were able to find a great fishing cottage on the bayside. The towns we liked best were a few miles apart so we ended up in the middle, a town called Painter, Virginia, which is a picturesque community with a ramp to the river and a scenic view. Painter is close to Onancock, which offers movie theatres and eclectic dining, and is not far from the seaside where we plan to dig for clams and catch flounder. Although we haven't moved into the house yet, it is a dream that certainly has come true!
The Fishing Cottage: On second thought....
The learning curve for fishing in a new place can be steep, especially if the locals are tight-lipped. In a previous article, I described my search for the perfect fishing cottage. After many sleepless nights spent pondering maintenance of another house in a far away land known as the eastern shore of Virginia, the promise of low taxes, inexpensive housing prices, and good fishing lured me to the Chesapeake Bay just west of the flounder capitol of Wachapreague. Along with the cottage, I found a little 13-foot 1972 classic Boston Whaler with a nice 4-stroke engine, and boy was I ready to fish. Or so I thought.
Unfortunately, a family illness coupled with 50-hour work weeks prevented frequent journeys south to find the fish. In our extended absence, the boat trailer sunk deeper into the mud in the back yard, the winds tore some siding off the house, and our tap water took on that distinctive rotten egg smell. Soon my thoughts of going south were sinking further into the mud than that boat trailer. In our rare trips to the cottage, the wind was always blowing like hell, and the lightning across the bay was more conducive to interior decorating than fishing.
More recently, however, fair weather prompted me to finally uncover the boat. I soon discovered that the lights weren't working and the bilge pump wasn't gurgling. Another trip spent painting and decorating the house I guess. It can't get any worse, right? Or so I thought. I dislodged the trailer from the mud and towed the boat to the local marine mechanic. I was hoping that not all the electronics were bad, maybe just a few switches? Sucking in some fresh air and holding it in my lungs and slowly breathing out is something I've learned in my Yoga class to deal with stress. I did this several times before walking in to meet the only outboard engine mechanic in town. After all, I was a female boat owner from out of town--easy prey for the ridiculously high cost of unnecessary boat maintenance. After discussing the minor electrical problems and an oil change, the mechanic said, "Well I'm guessing this is gonna cost around a hundred dollars." Pretty reasonable. Or so I thought.
A week later, the mechanic called and told me the boat was ready. When I asked for the final tally, he said, "it's gonna be around $230." Apparently they installed a bait and switch instead of a wire. When I asked for an explanation of the difference between the estimate and the actual cost, he evaded the question as much as he could. Instead, he talked about how other people have more severe problems because of the ethanol gas and how everything is getting gunked up in the carburetors, yada yada yada. I asked him if I had any problems with that and he said no, but that the wiring was fixed. I asked him if he replaced any wires or any switches and he came up with another diversionary approach: "Well down here on the Eastern Shore we can't hire full-time employees because of the lack of business so we hire out piecemeal to the bottom painters, the wiring guy and the engine mechanic, so whatever the wiring guy wrote up is what it is."
When I returned to the shop to pick up the boat and again asked for an explanation of what was done, he couldn't locate the work order and was distracted by several phone calls. I reflected on the situation and decided that if I continue to press the issue, I'm basically screwed. Not only have I not been fishing at all because of other dilemmas, but if I can't get a mechanic to work on the engine in the future, I'll never get out on the bay. And what good is a fishing cottage if you ain't fishing? People with broken boats can't afford to burn bridges. So, I turned 180 degrees and found myself being nice and actually joking with the guy instead of asking for a simple account of what they fixed on my boat.
On my way home I became disgusted with myself for not requesting line items or even a general invoice. But on the bright side, I had my cottage that I've waited my whole life to get and was finally taking my boat out on the water the next day with a picnic basket. Life was good again. Or so I thought.
Around noon the following day, I'm sitting in my boat that has conked out in the middle of the river and I'm rowing the boat back to shore. My mind was racing with thoughts of clever things I could say to the mechanic in front of his groupies when I towed the boat to the shop, but by the time I managed to reach the shore and get the boat back on the trailer, the shop was closed. So another day spent gardening, painting, refinishing furniture, everything but fishing. This whole fishing cottage idea was a bust.
But just when all seemed lost, my friend Skip Thomas called from Silver Beach, a community a few miles down the coast. After hearing my story (told in my typically less than calm way), he says very calmly, "Don't get discouraged, why don't you come fishing with me?" We left the half-finished furniture behind, met Skip at Morley's Wharf, and hopped in his old 1983 pleasure boat. I asked Skip if he really thought we could catch any fish and he looked at me like I was crazy. "Catch any fish? It's not a matter of how many fish you'll catch, it's a matter of how many different species you'll catch…you're on the Eastern Shore of Virginia!" So I'm looking at this creek which is about the size of the Sassafrass River on the upper Chesapeake Bay and chuckled at his optimism.
I baited my rod with bloodworms and right off the bat we caught close to a dozen croakers--those hardheaded little fighters really did a number on our light tackle. That was followed by three spot. The action was fast and fun. Using the spot for bait, did a couple of drifts, and the next thing I feel is tap, tap, tap and a hard pull and up next is Mr. Flounder, followed by yet another flounder. Ten minutes later, we've got 3 bluefish, followed shortly thereafter by two beautiful gray trout all in less than 2 hours of fishing. The Occohannock "creek" is calm, salty water about 3 minutes from a beautiful sandy beach with a clam farm right next to our drift pattern. We were in 3 feet of water drifting over an 11 foot drop off. My kind of fishing!
Well, I've got to get going. I have to call my outboard mechanic and take him out to dinner soon. I just can't wait to go back to that great little fishing cottage again!


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Doctoral student Michael Logan (left) makes a joint presenatation at the Strategic Multilayer Assessment Conference in Washington, D.C. with Amy Pate, Ph.D., research director of START, University of Maryland.
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Monday, July 24, 2006
Speedy service
Guess what I got today:
Eleven days ago, I mentioned here that I had just sent Nathan's Citori off to Carlson's Choke Tubes to have a set of interchangeable chokes added. The completed barrels and choke tubes were waiting for me when I got home from work today. Shipped on the 13th, received on the 19th, and back in my hands on the 24th. Fantastic turnaround. The package contained my bubble wrapped barrels with two tubes installed, four other tubes in their packages, the empty packages for the tubes in the barrels, two keychain universal wrenches, a universal speed wrench, a detailed receipt, and a stack of catalogs to be passed out to the students in my SCTP group.
After fondling the tubes for a while (the choke tubes for those of you with dirty minds), I broke out my calipers to see what I could learn about them. I had requested standard thickness tubes but had also given previous authorization to install thinwall tubes if they were required. I received thinwall tubes. It appears that the main reason for the thinwall tubes in this case probably wasn't the thickness of the barrels themselves but the separation between the barrels. The machined barrels still have plenty of material in the barrel wall, but the installed extended length tubes are close to each other. Really close. One piece of paper (.0045") will fit between them but two pieces of paper (.009") will not fit. Most importantly they seem to be parallel within my ability to measure. That's somewhat important. {big grin}
The tubes themselves are slightly longer than the Remington "Remchoke" tubes that I have for the SCTP 1100's. Where the Remington tubes are only marked with the common designation (imp cyl, mod, full) and only marked on the side of the tube, the Carlson chokes are marked with the actual restriction on the side and an abbreviated common designation on the visible portion of the tube. I like that......no more sticking a dime in the barrel to see what choke is installed.
The inside diameters of the tubes measured as follows:
- Skeet marked .725 measured .723
- Improved Cylinder marked .720 measured .719
- Modified marked .710 measured .709
- Improved Modified marked .705 measured .702
- Full marked .700 measured .697
- Extra Full marked .690 measured .689
The tubes appear to be well machined, with a beveled edge at the barrel/tube interface to prevent the wad from hanging up on the tube itself as it goes by. The notches in the forward end of the tubes (for the tube wrench) are rather sharp, but we're very careful and safety conscious when dealing with the muzzle of our guns anyway, aren't we? The machining in the barrels appears to be clean and sharp, with nicely cut threads and no burrs or chatter marks. So far everything indicates quality work done by competent professionals.
The only disappointment in the whole deal is the keychain style universal wrenches that were included with the package. These are the common "T" style wrench, but with a twist: instead of a square projection to stick into the tube these have a rounded projection. When combined with the thinwall tubes there just doesn't seem to be enough bearing surface to obtain a positive engagement. The first time I tried to use one of these it slipped, rounding off one of the notches on the improved modified tube and taking a chunk out of my knuckle. Both of the universal wrenches went in the bottom of the tool box for emergency use only.
universal wrench
The other wrench included with the package was much nicer. This was a universal speed wrench with a very different design. The wrench consists of a handle with a free-spinning knob, a thumbscrew, and a rubber covered threaded rod. When the thumbscrew is tightened the overall length of the threaded rod is reduced, making the rubber covering expand to fill the inside of the choke tube. One simply sticks the rubber rod into the tube, tightens the thumbscrew, and turns the handle. MUCH nicer than the other wrenches. My only concern with this design is the posibility that grit on the rubber may scratch the inside of the choke tube. This isn't a show stopper....anyone who can clean their shooting glasses should be able to keep the rubber on their choke tube wrench clean.
Overall I am very pleased with the service provided by Carlson's. They do quality work and the delivery time is simply amazing. What makes it even better is that the cost of the entire project (machining, 6 tubes, wrenches, and return shipping) was only $285.
Look for patterning results to be included with the continuing coverage of the Littleton shot maker saga.
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Final shot prep and initial testing
Before we cover the patterning, I want to step back a bit to the final finishing step in the shotmaking process. The shells I loaded last time were done with untreated shot. The bare metal oxidized to a pretty greyish blue color as it dried and had a somewhat grainy texture. My original intention was to split my first loaded batch into groups of finished and unfinished so that I could pattern the shot both ways and try to quantify the effects of surface finish on the pattern. It wasn't until I had half of my original supply loaded that I realized it needed to be split into thirds, not halves.......I had missed an important step in the finishing process that needed to be tested.
I was sitting in the garage, staring at the bucket of shot, lubricating my synapses with a bottle of RedHook ESB and a pastrami sandwich, trying to decide what the best way would be to apply a thin coating of graphite to the unfinished shot. We're eventually going to use a cement mixer to do large batches, but at the moment I didn't have a cement mixer handy. The most common method of small scale graphite application that I have seen mentioned on the web is to simply put the shot into a bucket, add a few poofs of graphite, and swirl the mix around until the shot is coated. That was way to simple for me.....there had to be a more complicated, time consuming, cumbersome, and expensive method available. My gaze wandered over the assorted equipment in my loading area and settled on my brass tumbler. Aha! A way to spend lots of time coating the shot and make a boatload of noise at the same time!
That was when I realized that there was an intermediate finishing step that I needed to test. By running the shot in the vibratory tumbler I would not only be coating it with graphite, I would be peening the shot as well........much like the old rock polishers that we had as kids. What would be the result of simply peening the shot in the tumbler without any graphite? Would it soften the edges and drip marks? What would happen to the coating of oxidation? Inquiring minds want to know..........
I divided my remaining shot into two groups and placed one batch into the tumbler without any additives. One hour later I had this:
The unfinished shot is on the left. The peening process actually did a fine job of polishing the shot. In fact, it did such a good job that I was tempted to skip the graphite process altogether. The oxidation had disappeared and was replaced with a black, shiny finish that looked exactly like factory produced shot. The next batch of shot was tumbled for an hour with two poofs of graphite. The shot from that batch had the same smooth, hard finish but wasn't nearly as shiny and left behind a slight graphite residue when handled. Both types flowed and rolled quite a bit more smoothly than the untreated shot. At this point I'm upset that I loaded as much of the unfinished shot as I did.
In my last post I mentioned that the pellet count and total weight thrown by my one ounce charge bar was lower with our homecast #7 3/4 shot than with factory #8. The same held true for 1 1/8 ounce loads. The average pellet count was 420, and the average weight was 470 grains - roughly 1 1/16 ounce. If we do go into mass production with this setup I will customize a bar just for this shot so that we get a full 1 1/8 ounce charge. For now, this is close enough.
Today at the range I fired 3 test patterns, two through my BT-99 and one with the modified barrel of Kathy's Citori. Nathan's gun is still at Carlson's, so it will have to wait until next time. My first shot with the BT was pulled to the right, so that pattern was set aside. It looked good, but was obviously off center and part of the pattern was missing off the side of the paper. The second shot was well centered, as was the shot with Kathy's Citori. Before everybody starts griping let me say that I know that one pattern does not constitute a thorough test. It's what I had time for and it at least will let me know if I should proceed or not.
Here is the pattern data for Kathy's gun, with the pattern results from Winchester factory loaded AA target shells as a comparison:
12 gauge Browning Citori, 28 inch "modified" choke, actual restriction .025
Winchester AA light target 2 3/4 dram, 1 1/8 ounce, #8 shot
total pellets: 460
total pellets impacting in a 30" circle at 40 yards: 303
pattern percentage: 66%
Reload, Winchester AA hull, Winchester 209 primer, 17.5 gr 700X, Winchester WAA12 wad
1 1/16 ounce # 7 3/4 homecast shot, peened and graphited
total pellets: 420
total pellets impacting in a 30" circle at 40 yards: 302
pattern percentage: 72%
With the BT-99 the results were even more interesting:
12 gauge Browning BT-99, 32 inch "improved modified" choke, actual restriction .030
Winchester AA light target 2 3/4 dram, 1 1/8 ounce, #8 shot
total pellets: 460
total pellets impacting in a 30" circle at 40 yards: 349
pattern percentage: 76%
Reload, Winchester AA hull, Winchester 209 primer, 17.5 gr 700X, Winchester WAA12 wad
1 1/16 ounce # 7 3/4 homecast shot, peened only
total pellets: 420 total
pellets impacting in a 30" circle at 40 yards: 376
pattern percentage: 89%
Yes, that really does say 89%. This is where that off-center pattern that I fired earlier comes back into play. I couldn't believe that I really had just produced an 89% pattern, so I went back and counted the pellet strikes in the off center pattern. Even with part of the pattern obviously off the paper it still came out with 360 pellet strikes or 86%.
I don't know why the pellet count in these patterns is so high. Perhaps the ungraphited shot is clumping in the barrel and not spreading out until farther downrange. Next weekend I'll do more testing with the graphited and un-graphited shot and try to duplicate these results. For now they are so far off the scale that I have a hard time believing that it is credible data..........except that I have the pattern paper sitting in front of me.
note - the big black dot is not a clump of pellet strikes....it's just a big black dot that was on the paper. There are 3 pellet strikes in the black dot.
Stay tuned folks, this is getting interesting!
Monday, July 17, 2006
Almost in production
Ok....time to edit this post and fill in the gaps. As I mentioned earlier here and here, my partners and I have acquired a Littleton shot maker. Last Sunday Greg and I fired up the machine for the second time to move the project farther ahead. It turns out to be a good thing that we are making small production runs with a trial setup rather than proceeding directly to the full production line, because each time we run the machine we are identifying and solving more issues related to shot making. Eventually we'll have all the bugs worked out and can move on to a permanent installation.
Last time I mentioned the lead muffins that we are using in the process but I didn't have a picture. For those of you who have a limited imagination, this is what they look like:
lead muffins
Even though I've been calling it the second run, this is actually our third attempt at producing shot. What I didn't detail in my last post was a failed attempt in cooling the antifreeze solution by adding water to it. The resulting 75/25 mix of antifreeze and water did not work well. The shot produced in this solution was.......well, I guess "broken" would be the best way to describe it. It looked like the pellets had shattered when they hit the coolant. It could be that the outer skin was flash cooling fast enough that the molten core caused the pellets to explode in the water, but I'm not enough of a metallurgist to know. All I know is that it didn't work worth a darn. That entire batch went back into the pot to be remelted and recast.
This time around we went back to a 100% antifreeze coolant solution and our "broken" shot problem disappeared. We also refinished the drop plate per the instructions. The first time around we didn't have any 600 grit sandpaper on hand and we attempted to make it work with only a 150 grit finish on the drop plate. For this session we started by sanding the plate with 180 grit paper, followed by 400 grit paper, then 600 grit paper. The difference in the final finish was quite noticeable and did in fact solve our puddling problems.
Note to self: follow the instructions first....it saves time.
Here's what the machine looks like when it's actually dropping shot. The little drops on the plate just above the antifreeze are blobs of lead rolling down the plate on their way to becoming shot.
production run
Two issues were identified during this run: First, one of our hot-torqued drippers began leaking again, and second, the heating element is not able to keep up with the demand for molten lead. Since the offending dripper has leaked during both production runs, I'm thinking that it probably needs to be removed, thoroughly cleaned and re-installed after refinishing the mounting surface on both sides. The dripper still works, it just drops a blob every few seconds in addition to the shot. This is what is producing the oversize chunks that appear in the next few pictures.
The melting rate of the unit is going to be a little more difficult to fix. We're running all of the molten lead through the drippers before the "fresh" lead at the top of the pan melts and replenishes the working puddle. We've experimented with placing the muffins in different spots around the pan hoping to find a "hot spot" but that didn't help. We still end up lifting the machine to halt production and waiting for the muffins to melt. This isn't by choice....the lead level actually gets low enough that the machine stops dripping. We may end up having to keep the dutch oven muffin casting process running during our shot making sessions just so that we can add a dipper of molten lead to the machine every once in a while. I'm sending a copy of these posts to Mike Burgess (the owner of the company), so perhaps he can offer some advice in this direction.
After about half an hour of production time (not including melting time), the temperature of our coolant had risen to 150 degrees and the coolant itself was beginning to steam. We shut everything down at this point and went inside for some grilled tri-tip beef that had been marinating for several days, fresh green beans and pine nuts flambe'ed in bourbon, linguini with alfredo sauce, and a wonderful Australian cabernet........followed by irish coffee for desert. By the time we finished the lead had hardened and both lead and antifreeze were at a "bare hands" safe temperature.
scooping out the ammo bucket after 30 minutes of production
We scooped the shot out of the ammo bucket and into a sieve using a ladle, washed it with Simple Green and rinsed it for several minutes in fresh water. Greg has two industrial stainless steel sinks in his garage as part of the beer making operation, so cleaning and rinsing the shot was quite simple. The sieve shown above has adjustable handles that expand to fit over the sides of the sink, leaving the sieve itself hanging in the middle. It's just a simple matter of grabbing the overhead water hose and spraying while stirring the shot.
In our final design we're planning on having several stacked, vibrating screens to sort the shot by size. For experimentation purposes, we drilled holes in two pie pans. The first pan was drilled with a 7/64" drill bit (.109") and was used to separate the big blobs from the leaking dripper and any shot bigger than a #7. Shaking the shot through this pan went very quickly and did a fine job of removing the unusable chunks from the mix. Once the leaking dripper is fixed I expect the amount of shot caught in this pan to drop to almost nil.
caught by the .109" sorting pan
The second pan was drilled with a 3/32" (.094") bit. Number 8 shot is supposed to be .090" and number 7 1/2 should be .095", so within the margin of error produced by hand drilling the holes this step should keep all of our usable shot "legal" for target shooting purposes. All of the sanctioning bodies for American clay target sports require #7 1/2 or smaller shot. The final sorting area will eventually be set up to sort the shot into 4 groups: bigger than 7 1/2, 7 1/2, 8, and smaller than 8. The 'smaller than 8' group was left in the mix this time....mostly because we didn't feel like drilling any more damn holes.
caught by the .094" sorting pan
Sifting the shot through this pan took quite a bit longer than the first pan because the holes kept getting plugged with shot. The shot retained by this pan would be fine for hunting, but we tossed it back into the melter.
The finish-sorted shot looked like this:
ready to shoot
I should point out that these pictures were taken of different batches at different times during the sort, so the ratio of rejects to good pieces that appears in the pictures is not accurate. We ended up with about 30 pounds of usable shot and a partial pie pan of rejects.
The shot that we are producing now averages out to be around #7 3/4........between # 7 1/2 and # 8. We haven't quite gotten the "round" thing down yet and are producing somewhat egg shaped shot with little dimples in them. I understand that the dimple is a normal thing and will not change the performance. The effectiveness of the egg shaped shot remains to be seen. I shot my first 100 straight using shot from a Littleton shot maker from a 23 yard handicap in 1987, and backed it up with a 97 from 24 1/2 yards later that same day. I'm not too worried about the performance, but Greg remains uncertain about it. Patterning and broken clays will tell the true story.
This evening I loaded two boxes of the new shot just to see how it works. This batch was left without graphite on purpose just to see what affect the graphite has on overall performance. I'll coat some of the shot with graphite tomorrow evening and load some comparison shells. The uncoated shot worked just fine through my Mec Sizemaster with no problems dropping and no evidence of clumping. Three shot drops were weighed and counted, producing the following results:
- shell 1 - 420.4 grains - 373 pieces
- shell 2 - 423.1 grains - 376 pieces
- shell 3 - 416.0 grains - 370 pieces
The shot bar used for this test was optimized to drop 435 grains (just a hair under 1 ounce) of #8 shot. Our shot is dropping a little light in overall weight, and the pellet count corresponds with the #7 3/4 size estimation. Number 8 should have 409 pellets per ounce and number 7 1/2 should have 345 pellets per ounce. The 6 pellet max variation between the three shells doesn't bother me at all for practice ammo, and I expect this variation to decrease as our production methods begin producing more consistently sized shot.
Patterning will commence on Sunday. Stay tuned!
Owha tafoo liam
Hence the title of this post. Just say it quickly and you'll figure it out.
The excuse this year is that the alternator in her van gave out. According to her, by the time she buys the alternator and has it installed, she just won't have enough money to bring the kids home. She called this evening to tell me that I had to buy the plane tickets. Again.
To be really truthful, this isn't much of a surprise. After being burned so many times in the past I would have been surprised if it had turned out the other way and she actually had managed to bring the kids home without any drama. At least this year she had the courtesy to give me enough advance notice that I could get the cheap plane tickets instead of the "oh crap, gotta travel tomorrow" tickets.
One thing makes it all worthwhile: the way Kathy and Nathan reacted when she told them. She told me about it when I called to inform her of their itinerary. Apparently, earlier today, before she called me, she told the kids that because of the alternator replacement she was going to have to cancel their trip to Six Flags, that she wouldn't be able to bring them home, that she wouldn't be able to get married in Oak Creek Canyon like she had planned, and that she was going to have to call me to ask for money for plane tickets. The kids didn't cry, they didn't yell, they didn't gripe at her, they weren't even angry...........................
They both laughed in her face.
I think perhaps they understand much more about what kind of person their mother really is than she gives them credit for.
PS: Do the math on everything that was cancelled due to the alternator going bad. Someone on the other side of the country doesn't add and subtract well. My children certainly do.
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Carlson's choke tubes part 1
Kathy has informed me in no uncertain terms that she thinks sporting clays is "just for fun" and that she would rather clean toilets at the bus station than shoot skeet. Trap is her game. Period. End of discussion. Therefore, the fixed chokes in her Citori (.025 and .035 restriction) are just fine for what she does.
Nathan, on the other hand, enjoys every shooting game imaginable. If it involves turning money into noise, he likes it. His Citori also has fixed chokes (.010 and .020 restriction), but for him that is too limiting. He needs more variety if he's going to shoot everything from skeet to long yardage trap handicap with the same shotgun.
That's how Carlson's choke tubes come into the picture. Carlson's has an excellent reputation and a lifetime warranty, plus their turnaround time is reputed to be lightning fast. I called this morning and had a very nice conversation with Scott. He answered all of my questions, asked a few questions of his own, and made a several recommendations, such as using their extended length sporting clays tubes instead of the standard flush tubes for target shooting. The machine work to thread Nathan's barrels for interchangeable tubes would be $175 with 3 tubes included in that price. Additional tubes would be $29.95 -- $5 lower than the advertised price on their web site. I don't know if this was a package deal or if he just felt sorry for me, but I didn't argue. In the end I ordered 6 choke tubes : Skeet 1 (.005), Improved Cylinder (.010), Modified (.020), Improved Modified (.025), Full (.030), and Extra Full (.040).
Scott says that the machine work will take about two days of shop time. I sent the barrels out today, so the machine work should be finished next week and I should have the barrels back well before the end of the month.
Stay tuned for a full report on the quality of Carlson's work and a full patterning report on the new tubes.
Sunday, July 09, 2006
OK....so maybe it didn't quite work out that way.
As I've mentioned before, I'm the lead coach for the Buckeye Sportsman Club youth SCTP team. One of our major challenges is the fact that we don't have an actual clay target range to practice on. We shoot at a rifle range using portable throwers, hay bales as trap houses, and shooting stations marked with spray paint on the dirt. We do have our own private section of the range, but it's just bare dirt....no amenities at all. The picture below pretty much says it all.
Things are beginning to change. One of our team parents donated his time and his tractor to level off our range a few weeks ago, and yesterday three of us started laying out trap fields. We began by driving a stake to signify the center of the trap machine and then measured 48 feet (16 yards) back from the stake to locate the center of the forward edge of station 3. Station 2 was located by using two intersecting lines - one line coming from the main stake and extending 48 feet towards the shooting line, and the other line coming from station 3 and extending 9 feet to the left. The other 16 yard stations were located using the same method, all keyed off of station 3.
The handicap stations were laid out by running a string line from the main stake to an additional stake driven about 30 yards uprange, touching the flags that were set to mark the 16 yard stations. A tape was then attached to the main stake and run to the secondary stake, again touching the 16 yard marking flag. More flags were set at 3 foot intervals moving uprange from the 16 yard marker.......rinse, lather, and repeat 4 times. At the end it looked like this:
field 1
Once the flags were all set we had to shoot a round on the new field....just to see how it worked, of course. I'm happy to say that I broke the very first target thrown from our soon-to-be Field #1.
We also took the opportunity to flag the stations for a second field in an as yet uncleared area to the left of Field 1. Field 2 is level, but needs to be cleared of some brush before we can proceed.
field 2
Next step: concrete forms. Stay tuned!
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Our Declaration
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America
When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred. to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
— John Hancock
New Hampshire:Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton
Massachusetts:John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry
Rhode Island:Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery
Connecticut:Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott
New York:William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris
New Jersey:Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark
Pennsylvania:Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross
Delaware:Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean
Maryland:Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Virginia:George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton
North Carolina:William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn
South Carolina:Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton
Georgia:Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton
Sunday, July 02, 2006
First try.....shotmaking
I'm short on time right now, but I'll be back later to edit this post and fill in more details.
tick tock, tick tock
Ok.....as with any bullet casting, the first step is to clean the lead. Actually, I take that back.....the first step is to sort the good lead from the junk. We're using wheelweights collected from local tire shops as our lead source. The used weights come to us in 5 gallon buckets, mixed with old lugnuts, used rubber valve stems, broken sockets, and a myriad of other metallic junk, including stick on wheel weights that contain selenium and cannot be used for casting.
After sorting the good wheelweights from the junk, the weights go into the melting pot.
Our melting pot is an old cast iron dutch oven mounted on a steel tripod with a large single propane burner underneath. This arrangement is rock solid even with over 100 pounds of lead in the dutch oven. It takes about half an hour to melt that much lead, but large batches will help keep our final product more consistent.
A couple of quick notes about safety: in the picture above, there is a bare hand adding lead to the pot. Before you start sending nasty grams, please also note that the stuff in the pot isn't liquid yet. As soon as the lead actually started to melt, we put on our safety gear: welding gauntlets, leather welding jackets, eye protection, and hats to prevent sweat from dripping into the pot. Some folks will also notice that the melting pot appears to be inside a building. It is. What doesn't show in the picture is the 5000 cfm evaporative cooler that is blowing behind us and sending all the fumes out the open door. We may look stupid, but we try real hard not to act that way.
This is the way we were dressed for the rest of the day:
The tripod is set so that the work is done just below waist level. Using long handled utensils (think barbeque tools), the operator doesn't have to stoop over and has a perfect view of the metal without having to ever place his face over the pot. The blue rack in the background of the picture above is similar to the one we're building for the shotmaker. This one happens to be for home brewing beer........30 gallons at a time. Another hobby for another time.
We cleaned and drossed the lead using the beeswax method. I've heard of using sawdust, but I've never tried it.
final dross
The shotmaker has a much smaller melting pan than our dutch oven, so we needed an intermediate step for the lead. This was accomplished by casting 2 pound lead muffins in old cupcake pans. A single batch of wheelweights in the dutch oven yeilded 60 of the 2 pound muffins. I didn't think to get a picture of the muffins, but hopefully your imagination is good enough for you to visualize what a lead cupcake would look like.
Here's a picture of our trial setup:
The shotmaker is on a table, the ammo can is full of Sierra antifreeze, and the bus tub is there to catch the overflow from the ammo can as the shot displaces the liquid. The ingots in the pan are some left over lead cast in a Lyman ingot mold. The operational theory of this setup is:
- the shotmaker is turned on
- the lead melts in the pan
- one operator carefully lifts the shotmaker up while a second operator removes the boards underneath
- the shotmaker is placed level on the table
- the molten lead flows down the sloped melting pan, out the drippers, rolls down the small ramp (hard to see in the picture), and is quenched in the antifreeze
That's how it's supposed to work.
Our first problem was encountered when we switched the unit on. Nothing happened. After verifying that we did indeed have power to the unit, a voltmeter was fetched and we took our new toy apart. A few minutes of poking around revealed a bad fuse holder - power went in but didn't come out. Greg reached into his grab bag for the necessary parts and had the unit rewired and powered up in less than 5 minutes. Not a big deal, but it is rather disappointing to have a $300 piece of equipment sidelined by a 50 cent fuse holder.
Our second and third issues showed up when we started actually producing shot: 3 of the drippers were leaking and one was puddling on the ramp. The leaking drippers were fixed by tightening them with the unit hot (they were installed cold). We were called to dinner before we could find a solution for the puddling dripper, so that is first on our agenda for our next session. The puddling dripper is what produced the large blobs in the picture below.
Even with the blobs from the wayward dripper, the first batch came out pretty well. The shot averages .095" (# 7 1/2) which is slightly larger than the .090" (# 8) that we wanted, but that is probably due to excess head pressure at the drippers since we had the pan full. As I recall, the melted lead is supposed to just touch the top of the drippers.....we were way past that. Our final production rack design includes a sorting station that consists of stacked seives to separate the shot into 4 groups:
- larger than # 7 1/2 -- remelt and recast
- # 7 1/2 -- my handicap loads
- #8 -- all other loads
- smaller than #8 -- remelt and recast
That's the true joy of casting your own projectiles....all your screwups can go back into the pot to be used again.
I haven't loaded any of the shot yet, but as soon as I do I'll post the pattern results.


text:
Sprinkles Cupcake ATM - Chicago
Sprinkles Cupcake ATM Chicago
For Sprinkles addicts on the go, swing by the Cupcake ATM! Conveniently located on our bakery's patio, the Cupcake ATM is continuously restocked day and night with a variety of freshly baked cupcake flavors!
50 east walton street
chicago, illinois 60611
between michigan & rush
1 block south of oak street
open 24 hours