Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967

I HATE it when this happens~!

But the "Best Man" shoulda oughtta wiped the blade first. Ol' Steve said it was a major mess... kinda hard to clean cake icing out of a sword scabbard - 'specially when it wasn't discovered until some time later.

Can somebody give me a short tutorial on Scotch whisky...? I've never been a Scotch drinker. I first sampled the sauce maybe fifty years or so ago, and my first impression was that it was borderline horrid. Not sure what brand it was, but I suspect it was cheap - it instantly reminded me of water I'd sampled from a nasty alkaline spring in West Texas during my early teen years. Well, Sassparilla Kid's birthday was a couple weeks ago, and I decided to include a sample bottle of Scotch in his gift bag - he does enjoy a good rye on occasion, and I thought I might broaden his horizons. But I don't know beans about Scotch... so I bought him a bottle of 12-year old Macallan. Sitting around the firepit last night, he pulled the cork and we had a taste. "Whaddaya think, Son?" He smiled politely and said "Tastes like Scotch, Dad." My first sip gave me a slight shudder. But it did kinda grow on me, and I had a second snort. But I suspect that the Kid prefers rye. Meanwhile, I seem to recall that the characters in W.E.B. Griffin books like something called Famous Grouse. Hm. Okay...About ten years ago, after a day of shooting at the Fort Miller Annual, some fellas were sharing a flask. One of 'em offered me a swig, and proclaimed "It's Grouse!" Really? Okay ~ I'll try a taste. I did, and it was surprisingly palatable! Much better than that alkaline spring in West Texas! Mebbe I'll round up a bottle for Christmas. Meanwhile... any Scotch observations or opinions?? I know, I know... I shoulda oughtta asked here first!

I once worked with a Coast Guard lieutenant who told the story of cutting his wedding cake with the sword, then handing it to someone who immediately and dutifully put it away in it's scabbard. Icing and all.

''You mightn't happen to have a piece of cheese about you, now? No? Well, many's the long night I've dreamed of cheese—toasted, mostly...''

For my first semester at San Francisco State College I lived in Verducci Hall, the brand-new, 14-story dormitory. The old saying was that that roommates were issued with the furniture. I got a sofa-bed, desk, chair, wastebasket, and the Reverend Ivan Jacob Finman. Ivan was an Orthodox Jewish Buddhist Universal Life Church Reverend. For the then princely sum of twenty bucks he had gotten his official "Doctor of Divinity" certificate. He also dabbled in Hinduism and chanted "Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo…” over and over and over for hours at a time. The dude was a one-man culture shock for this Baptist country boy from West Texas.

When the ABS module went out on my '99 I just ignored it, since the brakes still worked. Figgered that up 'til then I'd been driving without ABS for forty years, in all sorts of adverse conditions. Back in the day they used to teach us how to use brakes. Having the ABS module go out bothered me about as much as if the hood ornament had fallen off. I know... I'm just a Luddite by nature. Come to think of it, though, I do wish they'd bring back hood ornaments.

Sweet~!

The po' li'l orphan... it was meant to be! Consider naming her "Annie~!"

Anyone watched any of this Prime series? Evidently started in 2017, but I just discovered it tonight. Without a doubt one of the most intense series I've encountered. Tin Star

I use "ICE_SURVEILLANCE" Kind of appropriate for these parts these days.

Good on ya, Rye~! 'Twas an act of kindness on your part....

Ya know what that reminded me of...? I learned too late that there's an old saying, "Never hang wallpaper with a spouse!" I did THAT just once, too. In an instant, the now-former-missus-Hardpan transformed from Nurse Jekyll to Ms Hyde... I lasted maybe five minutes, then remembered an urgent commitment elsewhere. Boy, was I lucky to escape!

I thought this one was - subtle, but funny in a whimsical sorta way!

Nope. Just the reg'lar "wire." 'Twarn't a political topic... just a bunch o' "know-it-alls" who thought they knew it all. Now, for what it's worth, I only ventured into the "political fire" twice, just to see what it was about. The first time out of curiosity... the second and last just to confirm that my eyes had not deceived me the first time. That place was NUTS!

Har~! Back about fourteen or fifteen years ago I posted that picture on the Wire. It seems there were a bunch of "cowboys" haranguing about rules interpretations and such, and a few of 'em were becoming real pills. (And as we all know, a "pill" is something hard to take! ) Sooo.... I posted a short message, Introducing Marshall Turk, and proposing the formation of a new sub-group in SASS ~ the Grand Old Brotherhood of Bunkhouse Lawyers, Esq, or G.O.B.B.L.E. Marshall Turk was to be the official Spokesturkey and mascot of the organization. Somehow I don't think the windbags appreciated it, but they at least shut up for a short spell.

Very cool! You might think about dressing the tip a mite to make it less tapered and more "parallel ground..." Or ask your 'smith buddy to do it.

I'm liking that big loop .45 with the 20" barrel. But I'm thinking the price is a mite dear for what it is...

Yours or the gun's, BMC? Heck, I'm always willing to add a caliber to "my" list!

Pawn shop?? Poor thing needs a home! Go back and rescue that li'l darlin'~!!

Dishes with intriguing names... you mean like cereal bowls??

Ya... I did the chamber cast many years ago; that and "Cartridges of the World" is how I determined the 10.5X47R. It's a neat old critter, probably brought back as a "war prize" by some GI (or Doughboy!), but not treated well.

Doc, you will be met with a wall of deflective arguments and fogging, both traits they learn early and well. After all, the fact that one of their "elected officials" does something illegal, unconstitutional, unethical and immoral flat out pales when compared to the Donald possibly having said something rude to one of them years ago.

Howdy, "Triple-T!" Huh! Seems the old box got full over the years! Okay, did a partial clean-out. I have a couple of "found" pieces. One was an ancient, Damascus antique (see above! ) that was found in a basement over fifty years ago by a dear friend's mom. Even though it was in a city that is definitely not known for being "fun friendly," the lady was an old Idaho farm girl. She kept it, later gave it to my friend, who later gave it to me. The second is an Arisaka Type 99 found on my aunt's garage roof by an 8-year old cousin about 1971. Bolt knob and firing pin assembly were missing, and it was rusted tight. Cousin's mom asked me to "get rid of it!" and I gladly accepted the assignment. Actually, I had no interest in a rusted solid old pile o' junk, but couldn't even give it away. So, I started a slow soak in solvents and DANG but it cleaned up nice! The rust was mostly caked on clay-like dirt; it still had about 95% of the original finish when I cleaned it up and the chrome lined bore shined like a mirror. Val Giannini of Val's Gun Shop in North Beach (San Francisco) sold me a bolt knob and firing pin with spring for five bucks, and I've enjoyed the heck out if ever since. Heck, it still has the Chrysanthemum!