Friday, October 30, 2009

Weekend incoming!

The weekend's rolling in, and boy do I need it. Expect minimal posting.

First off, JayG gets quoted in the Boston Globe.

And in anticipation of the weekend, I'm gonna let Dierks convey my feelings...



I'll catch y'all on the other side.

Lokidude

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Oh! Yeah!

It's Thursday again, which means two things... First, Snarky has a picture up guaranteed to induce diabetic coma, or double your money back.

And second... Another edition of On Stage Thursday!


Chickenfoot "Oh Yeah" - A funny movie is a click away

Chickenfoot is awesome in so many different directions. First off, Sammy Hagar seems to have never lost the fun that is the soul of music. Satriani is a legend, a status he's earned over a timeline longer than my life. Chad Smith is the most underrated member of the group, but his work with Red Hot Chili Peppers more than speaks for itself. And then there's Michael Anthony. I've wanted to be as cool as the mighty Van Halen bassist since before I first picked up a bass. If I could be half as awesome at 50 as they are, I'd be farther than I could ever imagine.

Rock on.

Lokidude

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Squee!

SHE'S HERE!

Now pardon me, while I do a happy dance and unload her car.

Lokidude

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Pele Breakdances? Who Knew?



H/T to Salamander.

Lokidude

Arming the Privateers

Came across something today that's perfect for Stingray's Privateers. A real-life antique harpoon gun! Prepare to be boarded, you low-life Somali sea rats!

Thanks go out to my buddies over at The Gun Counter.

Yo ho!

Lokidude

Apologies and excitement

First, I'm sorry for the light blogging lately. Been a busy couple weeks. The light blogging is tied to the excitement, though. I've been making room for my fiance to move in this weekend. The dishes are all done, the living room and bathroom are cleared out and the place looks much less like a bachelor pad. All that's left is to haul a half-dozen boxes downstairs, and clean out the bedroom. I have roughly 30 hours. I can do this, so she can feel right at home when she gets here.

I can't wait.

Lokidude

Friday, October 16, 2009

Holy Cool, Batman!

I'm a geek. To say the least. So, this hit on my sitemeter made me squee like a fanboy, and I'm not ashamed to admit it!



NASA? How much cooler does it get?

Thanks Robb!

Lokidude

Blogroll updates!

Today, we have four additions to the blogroll for your reading pleasure. Coincidentally, all four of them happen to be members of the Conspiracy.

First we have Silver, daughter of Christina over at Lucrative Pain. Gamer chick, anime fan, and a clarinet player, she's an all-around cool kid.

Next up is Top of the Chain. Because, hey, he's got opposeable thumbs! A cool 2A fan, and just an all around good egg.

Next up is Earnest Truth at To Which I Replied... Pretty much like his name says, he tells the straight truth, with no sugarcoating on it. Put on your hockey pads and prepare for the truth.

Last, but in no way least, is Salamander over at Armed and Amphibious. A grand combination of snark and haiku, and just all around fun. Also, he dropped me a line to let me know he'd blogrolled me and request the add.

Yes, that's a hit from the Cluebat(tm), now with 50% LESS NERF! As I've said, I try to reciprocate the blogroll love, so if I'm on yours and haven't added you already, please drop me an email or leave a comment, and I'll be sure to add you with a quickness.

Now go, read what my friends have to say.

Lokidude

Five Rifles?

Gun Nuts Radio this week debated the Top 5 rifles of all time. In the spirit of the show, tonight, I'm putting up my list. This is list is in no particular order, because I really didn't want to go to that much effort. So, without further adieu, here's my list of the five most significant rifles in history.

Benjamin Tyler Henry's lever rifle. Lever guns are just cool, and this pretty much began lever guns as we know them today. It was also one of the earliest repeaters, and was said to be a gun you could "Load on Sunday and shoot all week long."

United States Rifle, Caliber .30, M1
The famed "M1 Garand." This rifle changed warfare forever. The Garand, chambered in the mighty .30-06, saw heavy use in World War II and the Korean Conflict, and limited use in Viet Nam, being replaced in service by it's mechanical descendant, the M-14 rifle. After WWII, in large part due to the Garand's effectiveness, no army went into war without a semi-automatic weapon in common service.

Lebel Model 1886 rifle The first rifle to successfully employ nitrocellulose-based smokeless powder, which is what is almost universally referred to today as "gunpowder." Before the Lebel, all cartridge arms used the same "black powder" as muzzleloading weapons. Smokeless powder represented a massive improvement in ammunition technology, allowing for much higher velocities for the same case capacities, granting much longer ranges and greater accuracy than was possible before.

Mauser Gewehr 98 The Mauser 98 is the action that inspired all controlled-round-feed bolt actions in use today. Basically, if you use a bolt-gun for hunting, it draws a large portion of its lineage from Paul Mauser's designs. Unlike earlier Mausers (such as my 1896 Argentine), which were cock-on-closing, the 98 cocks when opened, making for easier and smoother cycling. These rifles are still popular target guns today, and are not unheard of in hunting fields.

British Army Land Pattern Musket (Brown Bess) The famed Brown Bess musket served the British Army for over 100 years, and with all its variants, served for roughly 140 years, seeing action in over six major world conflicts (counting all the Napoleonic Wars as one). Not truly a "rifle," the Brown Bess was a smoothbore, but it is truly one of the most significant weapons of all time.

I'm also adding two other rifles that I consider less significant historically, but that are just too cool for school.

Krag-Jorgenson An action that's slicker than boiled owl snot. Magazine cutoff allowing single-loading of rounds, until a soldier needs to use his magazine for volume fire. A unique, side-loading magazine that actually works very well with gloves. What's not to love? Truly, these are beautiful rifles, both in form and function.

Dreyse Needle Rifle Called a "pinfire," the Dreyse rifle employed paper cartridges with a percussion cap at the base of the bullet. When the trigger was pulled, the firing pin punctured the base of the paper cartridge, through the powder, and impacted the percussion cap, which ignited the powder, from a forward position. This firing pattern actually is more efficient than modern systems, but modern brass cartridge casings offer other benefits that overpower the efficiency gains.

Because, as Caleb says, "Guns are fricken COOL!"

Lokidude

Thursday, October 15, 2009

We were wrapped up in our music, that's why we never saw...

I'm feelin a bit outlaw tonight, so you get this little gem...



I actually love the original Waylon Jennings version of this song just as much as the Hetfield version, and both are in high rotation on my iPod. But I seriously felt that the rougher sound of James's cut is just more my style.

Music knows no boundaries.

Lokidude

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

And the winner is....

Hey, 500 hits since I put up the SiteMeter! Cool beans!



You, Mr Firefox/XP user from Delray Beach, Florida, win the Kewpie Doll!
(not really, as I have no clue what in the hell a Kewpie Doll even is...)

And a special thanks to JayG for directing our lucky winner here today!

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Tragic

Prayers and love tonight go out to the members and family of the American Fork High School marching band. They took first place at the Pocatello marching competition, but suffered a terrible accident on the way home.

Damn. Just damn.

Lokidude

Friday, October 9, 2009

At least when Nobel shits himself...

he shits dynamite. And he's definitely shitting himself today.

In their latest effort to solidify their corruption and utter irrelevance, the Nobel committee awarded this year's Nobel Peace Prize to Barack Hussein Obama.

Now, personally, I think he hasn't done much in his entire life that's worthy of active commendation, much less in his current office. But the real kicker here is that nominations for this year's Prize had to be submitted no later than February 1, 2009. He's been given an award for a total of ten, count 'em, TEN days in office. He didn't have time to properly adjust the his chair in the Oval Office before that deadline.

That, or he got the award for being the Messiah, or at least not G.W. Bush.

It seems the roads to Hell and Oslo used the same paving contractor.

Lokidude

Brrrrrr

19 degrees and icy this morning on the drive to work.

Welcome to the tundra, kids.

Lokidude

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Meleanie Hain shot to death

The woman who gained national press attention as the "gun-toting soccer mom" was found dead in her home on Wednesday, the victim of an apparent murder-suicide. It appears at this time that her husband, a parole officer, was responsible for the shooting.

Breda has the best take I've yet found on the matter.

It's a shame to see a bright, articulate, loving mother taken from the world in such a terrible way. All of the condolences from everyone at the House of Dude go out to her family, especially to her children, who witnessed this horrible act. May they somehow find peace and calm in the midst of this hell.

Go hug someone you love.

Lokidude

Edit: No On Stage Thursday tonight. It just doesn't seem right. Maybe I'll make it up to you tomorrow.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

The pirates need better intelligence...

Or... "Holy cow, the French didn't immediately surrender? WTF?"

We learn today that our favorite misunderstood Somali seafarers were unfortunate enough to pick the wrong target. Instead of a cushy merchant ship, the fools tried to take the La Somme, a French Navy oiler. Not only did they not succeed in taking the vessel, but shockingly enough, the French gave chase and captured one of the pirate skiffs, and five of the pirates. No word on whether they exercised long-standing naval law and hung said brigands, or if they took the gentler approach of bringing them in for trial and rehabilitation.

Shockingly, tonight, I say Go Frogs!

Lokidude

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Moonlight

There's something truly unreal about driving under a Wyoming full moon.

Thank you, that is all.

Lokidude

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Goin Old School

Tonight, I was lacking inspiration, so I trolled some incredibly random music, and was hit by this utter retro gem.


Fishbone - Sunless Saturday (Official Music Video) - Free videos are just a click away

Ladies and Gentlemen, Fishbone! In the height of the grunge movement, these guys were keeping ska and reggae going as strong as ever. They had their biggest hit, and their greatest fame, at a time when everything on MTV was flannel and bad overdrive.

That's powerful.

Lokidude.