Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967

Golden Gate Park in San Francisco...?

BTDT...! 🙄 Close to 50 years ago ~ came home from work one evening to find a happy and proud Brittany sitting in a living room ankle deep in bite-size balls of foam. And a wholly defalted sofa. 🫤

Also a convicted child molester. Pardoned by Jimmy Carter in the last hours of his presdency, in a move described as "perhaps the only [pardon] in U.S. history wiping away a conviction for a sexual offense against a child." He later expressed sincere regrets, and eventually was recognized for signifcant humantarian works, including Congressional recognition. And of course, much apprecated for hs music.

That was my initial thought - but then, I wondered if that was realistic. So I googled the question, and got this response: "A very small percentage, usually less than 1%, of a city's fire hydrants can be opened at once without significantly impacting water pressure and potentially causing disruptions to the water supply; the exact percentage depends on the city's water system design and capacity, but it's generally considered unwise to open more than a handful at the same time." A couple of related links: Fire Hydrants and Water Flow Those suckers pass a LOT of water! News Report on Water Supply "LADWP and city leaders faced criticism by some residents, who blamed planning and the city's infrastructure for failing to support firefighting efforts. Some also claimed on social media that officials had refused or failed to fill the tanks..." However: "...Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Erik Scott said the LADWP proactively filled all available water storage tanks before the fires began. He said that 'extreme demand' caused the tanks to be refilled at a slower rate, which affected the supply to some hydrants..." "Janisse Quiñones, chief executive and chief engineer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, said at a Wednesday press conference that all three 1-million-gallon water tanks in the area ran dry by 3 a.m., reducing water pressure for fire hydrants at higher elevations... We had a tremendous demand on our system in the Palisades. We pushed the system to the extreme," Quiñones said. "Four times the normal demand was seen for 15 hours straight, which lowered our water pressure." I don't know how many hydrants are in Pacific Palisades alone, but if it covers more than 22 square miles, there's gotta be a bunch of 'em.

I'm wondering - could any city or community's fire suppression system function if all the hydrants are tapped at the same time? Is it a shortage of water, or of pumping/delivery capacity? Was the system ever designed to handle this level of demand? Is it even possible?

Ahh you guys...! Joe's right; traditionally poaching the eggs is a drag. But egg poachers are simple to use. Actually, I just use a skillet and recycled tuna cans (cheating, but more to come!) Put the eggs in the cans, in the hot water bath. Fish out the cans with a tongs when done. Perfect size and shape! And as far as the hollandaise... well... still cheating, but Aunt Penny's ain't bad! The whole process is quick and yummy ~ heck, I've surprised folk with this breakfast in deer camp. Just don't tell anyone you "cheated."

The downside is... just like with anything else that shoots, getting ammunition for this in california would be problematic. Actually, more difficult than anything else south of .50 BMG. 'Cept, mebbe for San Francisco's Chinatown just before Chinese New Year. Which is coming up...!

Huh! Amazon has 'em! Just do a search for "Firecracker Cannon" and bunches of 'em pop up - some as low as twenty bucks!

Dunno if this has been shared here before or not, but what the heck ~ I want one!

"The Air Force eventually reimbursed the Greggs for their losses, but the settlement was insufficient to rebuild." Reckon it coulda put a kink in the O club budget....

What Deacon sez. Pre-64 Winchester Model 94's are, if I had to use a single descriptive word, elegant. Especially the long-barreled rifle versions, in my not-so-humble opinion. In 1964, they essentially became cheaper but generally functional knock-offs. In '64, Winchester stopped machining the receivers and other small parts of the Model 94 from solid steel billet. Instead, they used sintered steel for the receivers, stamped sheet metal for the cartridge lifter, and hollow steel roll pins in the action. Although just as strong, the sintered steel will not take a traditional blueing. Rather, an alternate "black oxide" multi-step process was used. Overall, cheaper and initally looked good, but does not wear like the traditional finish. Also extremely difficult to repair - "touch-up" blueing will not work; might as well just hit it with a Sharpie and live with it. In 1978 I set out to buy a new '94 for my kid brother. I literally went to a bunch of gun shops and handled maybe three dozen 94's. Consistently, they were loose, rattled when shaken, the wood was as plain as "bunk bed frames." But I finally found the pearl in the bag of marbles ~ one that was solid, did not rattle, and actually had a nicely grained stock. Bought it; my son now has it. Accurate enough (my Marlin is more accurate!), still looks fine, but it admittedly does have a few Sharpie touch-up applications. When the employee-run U S Repeating Arms Corp (USRAC) assumed production 1982, they continued using sintered receivers. But when Belgian arms maker FN Herstal took over in '92 (USRAC filed for bankruptcy in '89), they switched to CNC machining and quality began to return. Ninety-fours have been produced in Japan by Miroku since 2010; quality is considered to be quite good. However, there is still some residual resentment levied on the "lawyer safeties." And by the way... good condition pre-64's are indeed nice. And pricy! One could almost buy three new Ruger Marlins for the price of a really good vintage Winchester. 1952 Production 1970's Production Miroku

Eyesa, here ya go. https://www.ebay.com/itm/291730225465

Well presented, Professor Dave! Following the "guidelines," I've done quite well with cast boolits outta my Marlin 336 - with and without gas checks. And folks I know with Micro-Groove .444 Marlin and .45-70. And my '94 .357. Oh... and of course my 39A. Others mileage may vary, but I've never had any issues with the "M-G."

Well, I'll admit up front that I'm somewhat jaded ~ I actually like Marlins. That said, it's been my observation over the the last fifty plus years that the Micro-Groove rifling is pretty much disliked by mostly people who don't shoot rifles with Micro-Groove rifling. As posted on another site:

Well... On the subject of Micro-Groove rifling (sometimes irreverently but humorously called "Micro-Scratch" by some), it actually works quite well with correctly sized cast-alloy bullets loaded for proper velocities. In my experience even less lead fouling than with "normal" type rifling. Very accurate. Produced for some fifty years, from their introduction in the 1950's until Remington took over Marlin production in 2007. On THAT subject, the "Remlins" have a less-than-stellar rep. Some of the earlier Remington produced Marlins indeed were atrocious; however, throughout their run, many (probably most) were quite acceptable. I gave my son a '95 Cowboy that was every bit as good in construction, fit and finish, and performance as any JM. Now, when I selected it, I did pass on a couple of others in the store that were less pristine in the "f&f" department - but I suspect they probably worked well. And the Ruger produced Marlins are reputed to be the best ever. Also not Micro-Groove. Again, I have both Winchesters and Marlins. And again, I like 'em both, but find the Marlin to be the smoother action - a single sweep of the lever; the Winchester is essentially a "two-stage" lever swing. And I never needed a book or video to disassemble a Marlin; pretty intuitive. Might be recommended for a Winchester; more complex and with more parts. Here's a good comparison article, entertaining and worth reading: https://www.fieldandstream.com/guns/winchester-model-94-vs-marlin-336