11/13/2022 - BLOG COMMENTS are again allowed and are moderated to exclude only the bots, advertisements, racial / ethnic pejoratives, and embedded links. I'll attempt to honor Chicago's historical "Bughouse Square" concept of free-speech and open debate --- spanning the curve from the far-left to the far-right. /JZ
Blogging to you from the Northeastern Badlands of The County of Lake, in the state currently known as Fatmanistan, DEEP DEEP DEEP DEEP DEEP inside the heartland of the Banana Republic formerly known as the USA, WELCOME TO THE NEXT CHAPTER! WARNING! ALL FORMS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ARE ADDICTIVE; EXCESSIVE USE MAY LEAD TO MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS, REDUCED JOB PRODUCTIVITY, INSOMNIA, SOCIAL ALIENATION, GENITAL ULCERS, BLINDNESS, POLITICAL EROTICISM, AND / OR DEVIANT FUNAMBULISM. NOTICE: NO GUNS OR AMMUNITION ARE FOR SALE VIA THIS BLOG. (No, I will not trade my Colt Python for some lubricious adventures with your trophy wife and a future first-round draft pick.) CAVEAT: This blog is not suitable for viewing while at work, while inside a public library, while inside any public or private school, or while inside any public or private restroom. Do not view this blog while driving a motor vehicle or while piloting an aircraft. Viewing this blog may be illegal inside the EU, NYC, Chicago, Seattle, and other parts of the Third World. THIS BLOG CONTAINS (albeit often very childish) ADULT-CONTENT. DISCLAIMER: This blog is a hobby, it is not a livelihood. Even though much of what I blog about relates to firearms collecting and recreational shooting, I am not an expert (by any measure) on any facet of guns, shooting, hunting, or personal defense. Entries at this blog are akin to good old-fashioned campfire chats or post hunt bourbon-fueled barroom-bluster; I offer no opinion on what you should or should not purchase, or what you should be using or doing. What does or does not work for me could be rugged-country-miles away from your tastes and your needs. All products, places, and miscellany that I review for this blog are purchased / rented / leased at retail price by me. I do not accept payment, gifts, discounts, freebies, products on loan, distilled spirits, recreational pharmaceuticals, plea-bargains, probation, parole, Papal Blessings, Presidential Pardons, or sexual favors for doing any review or blog post. TRACKING COOKIES: Google et al stick tracking cookies on everybody. If you are online, you are being spied on via one method or another, for one reason or another; 'nuff said. You may be able to minimize your online DNA residue by using Tor and Duck Duck Go. Vive la liberté! Vive all y'all! Ante omnia armari. To each of you, thanks for stopping by!

Sunday, September 28, 2014

Another Prepper Experiment: Coffee made from five-year-old coffee grounds.




Yep, this unopened can was two years on the larder shelf before hitting the “best before date” and then it sat for another three years after that.  How is the smell and taste of the coffee brewed from these grounds?

Opened on September 18, 2014, the initial aroma of the grounds seemed to match that of a fresh can.  IMHO, the early taste and aroma of the brewed coffee was surprisingly acceptable.  In the ten days since opening, the brewed coffee has no aroma to speak of and there now is a noticeable stale taste.  But hey, during my lifetime I’ve had coffee that was much worse; if we were five years into an apocalypse, I’ll bet I could muster a few paying customers. 

We’ll finish using up the contents of this can, but, short of TEOTWAWKI, I see no compelling reason for us to ever repeat this experience.

EDIT: I have been experimenting with nuking the grounds in the microwave (in a dish, not in a paper filter) for short lengths of time before brewing; it seems to blunt most of the stale flavor.



Below are some raw links on keeping coffee.







Saturday, September 27, 2014

It is once again Cub Scout POPCORN time!



The drive is on and I ordered $50 $70 of goodies (should last us about one year EDIT: more Scouts were canvasing the store exits so I bought some Caramel Corn for the Wife).

There is a special place in my heart for Scouting.


Monday, September 22, 2014

Instruction Sheet for Ken Null’s SMZ (Smertch) Shoulder Holster



Ken Null does a much better job describing how this holster works than I can.  I scanned the primary side of the instruction sheet that came with the holster, but had to cut the resolution in order to get the file to a reasonable size for use on this blog.  You will likely have to zoomify it with your browser or make a copy for home use in order to read it.

BELOW is a copy-and-paste product description of the SMZ taken from Ken Null's Website.

"FACT. . . .

Very few individuals who purchase a conventional shoulder holster end up using it for very long. . . . Contrary to expectation, most shoulder holsters prove impractical. . . .too bulky, too heavy, too restrictive, in a word: uncomfortable. . . .

Designed initially for the CIA and other covert government agencies, this once restricted holsters is being offered to you, the highly trained professional, whose needs demand the very utmost in totally reliable, ultra concealable carry, the SMZ offers its user a combination of superior speed, comfort and weapon retention unparalleled in the industry.

Utilizing the very latest in rugged, spaceage synthetics, the SMZ is a holster you can live with, day after day. Its synthetic and stitchless construction will neither attract nor retain moisture thus providing a safe, worry free environment for your weapon’s finish and more importantly, its function. Further, its open muzzle design accommodates a variety of barrel lengths and/or the addition of a compensator or suppressor.

Dispensing entirely with the bulk and discomfort found in virtually every other shoulder system, the skeletonized SMZ provides total weapon security balanced with an error free, incredibly fast draw.

As in all our shoulder holsters, the SMZ utilizes the unique NULL tri-span suspension system which not only negates the weapon’s weight while not binding the wearer’s shoulders. . . .but also allows the weapon to maintain the same attitude as the body thus preventing the "give-away" signature of the weapon under the clothing that is common for all other types of shoulder harnesses. The weapon is easily presented from its secure position by a natural forward twist.

Available in white or black with matching harness colour.

Place the odds in your favor. . . .where they belong!

WARNING: DO NOT USE SMZ WITH SINGLE-ACTION AUTOMATICS IN COCKED AND LOCKED MODE OR WITH REVOLVERS HAVING LIGHT ACTIONS."






I first started using the SMZ back in early February of this year when I purchased one (white color) for use with my D-Frame Colt Revolvers (primarily the lightweight Colt Agent).  Since then I have purchased two more SMZ holsters, one (white color) for my J-Frame S&W Revolvers and one (black color) for my Walther PPK.  I guess that you might say that I find the SMZ agreeable.


The Ken Null SMZ has lineage going back to circa 1960s with Paris Theodore’s Seventrees, Ltd.

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Today is the last full day of Summer 2014

Most every moment of this spring and summer was a delight.  Many days, from early morning through the late evening, it was a sin to be indoors.




Tomorrow, September 22, autumn arrives sometime before the clock chimes at midnight.  The first full day of autumn is Tuesday, September 23.  There is always the promise of more nice days in the vestiges of this year, but we all know what the migrating birds and butterflies cannot keep secret; the best days of 2014 in the northern world lay alongside the shadows scattered behind us.







































Friday, September 19, 2014

A prepper tip: Too long on my shelf gave these noodles a strange plastic like taste.


This brand is one of my favorite survival staples, as well as being one of my favorite quickie-meals.  It is affordable, easy to store, and easy to prepare.   


I am a fair hand at rotating my food stock but every now and then I miss the “use by” target date by a wide margin.  These 10-cups were the remains of that brand in my larder.  I believe that two years over the “best if consumed by” date is past what my taste buds can accept.  Don’t get me wrong, if we were in an emergency with widespread food scarcity, I would find a way to make these remaining 10-cups of soup palatable.   We all hate to waste food, but I chose to give these the toss. 



Friday, September 12, 2014

Thank you North American Arms for the great service



Service is still par excellence with select U.S. corporations.

My early vintage (serial number begins with AA) NAA Guardian.32 ACP inappropriately dropped the mag recently (an old, well known issue with the mag release on the early AA and AB serial pistols), so I figured it was high time that I called the factory to arrange a fix.  Historically, this problem was experienced mostly with the extended-capacity mags, and mags with the finger extensions; I only use standard mags so it took years for me to experience an unintended mag drop.   I should have taken preventive action years ago, but I procrastinated. The fix is easy, painless, and free to the gun owner thanks to the generosity of North American Arms; they give you the needed part and even cover the postage.  

I called NAA Customer Service during the morning of Wednesday September 10, 2014 and the replacement magazine release was in my mailbox today, Friday September 12, 2014.  Faster than I could say “Thanks NAA!” and “Thanks U.S. Postal Service!” I had the old mag release out and the new one installed.

The new mag release does feel like it has a stronger spring and the pushbutton has more travel before the mag releases. 

EDIT:  Just how do you swap out the mag release on the NAA Guardian?  It is the same as swapping one on the Colt Government Model.





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