Subdeacon Joe

Ingenious field-expedient damage control saved the U.S. Navy’s old flagship in the closing hours of World War II. On the night of August 12, 1945, just three days before the cessation of hostilities, a low-flying Japanese torpedo bomber evaded radar pickets at Buckner Bay, Okinawa, and launched a single torpedo into the stern quarter of USS Pennsylvania (BB-38). The detonation blew a massive 30-foot breach below the waterline, devastating the steering gear flat, flooding the aft machinery spaces, and killing 20 crewmen. With the stern settling rapidly under thousands of tons of seawater, damage control parties executed a famous piece of improvised salvage engineering: routing high-capacity submersible pump hoses up through the Barbette of Turret #4 and out through the muzzles of its triple 14-inch/45 caliber guns. By discharging floodwaters through the elevated gun barrels, technicians dewatered lower compartments without opening watertight hatches or compromising critical transverse bulkheads. Stabilized over six days of round-the-clock pumping, Pennsylvania was towed by fleet tugs to Guam, where salvage technicians in Floating Drydock ABSD-6 welded a massive steel patch over her blasted stern. Cleared to make the 5,000-mile voyage to Puget Sound under her own power using only two operating propeller shafts, the crippled battleship suffered another catastrophic mechanical failure en route. Severe thrust-alignment stresses on the damaged stern caused the starboard shaft to fracture at the strut; the violent vibration threatened to tear the patch off the hull, forcing shipwrights to cut the trailing shaft and let it drop to the ocean floor. Pennsylvania limped into port on a single remaining propeller, a remarkable testament to structural durability and seamanship. Deemed economically unviable for permanent wartime restoration, the veteran dreadnought was assigned to Operation Crossroads in 1946, surviving both nuclear air and underwater detonations at Bikini Atoll before being scuttled off Kwajalein in 1948.

Bastille Day?

Darn it.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1347966377090035/?mibextid=9drbnH&s=yWDuG2&fs=e

I especially like the training requirements. Various elements keep shutting down ranges and preventing new ones from being built, but now those same elements are requiring training and testing at the facilities they are eliminating m

Both. But predominantly "down the spine."

Should be titled "Life After Fifty"

Most of the problem is that in California all private party transfers have to go throa FFL. Which means paperwork, time, and fees. Many gun stores won't buy used firearms because of paperwork and liability, they will put them on consignment and charge about 25%. But that involves multiple trips to the shop, paperwork, and fees. Gun stores won't buy off-roster handguns because they can't sell them. That Buckmark Alpo mentioned might not be a specific model on the roster. Some Buckmarks are on it, some aren't. Could be put up for a consignment sale, which means time, trips, fees,and no telling if it will sell at all.

Oh, yeah. But there's a huge backlog. The ophthalmologist os trying to expedite it to 6 months rather than a year. My old insurance kept sending me to places that didn't actually do the surgery, and the surgery outfits didn't take that insurance. I got frustrated and gave up. Switched to Kaiser this year. They do the whole package.

Contacts don't do anything for cataracts. When I went in for whatever measurements they need before surgery the tech said, "I know you won't see thus light with your right eye, so look here with your left." My glasses have the left lens ground for long and middle distances, so reading is a challenge.

Hey! That's one i turned in!

Cataracts and small phone screen. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Nope. Those are actually useful because many societies use ir as fertilizer.

Here's most of the press release: 10/3/2026 - 3:09 PM PDT Santa Rosa Police Department Gun Buyback Collects 583 Firearms The Santa Rosa Police Department, in partnership with the Santa Rosa Police Foundation, successfully hosted a community Gun Buyback on Saturday, October 3, 2026, at the Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Building. Community participation was significant, with 583 firearms voluntarily surrendered during the event, including: 198 handguns 353 long guns 17 assault weapons 15 ghost guns The event provided community members with a safe, anonymous, and convenient way to voluntarily dispose of firearms they no longer wanted. No identification was required, and no questions were asked regarding the origin of firearms surrendered through the program. Chief John Cregan said, “As Chief of Police, I have made it a priority to reduce gun violence in our community, and I strongly believe that this strategy must be broader than just making arrests. Gun buyback programs are an opportunity to safely dispose of unwanted firearms that are often vulnerable to being stolen or accessed by individuals in a mental health crisis seeking to harm themselves. “The Santa Rosa Police Department continues to lead the way in holistic strategies focused on prevention, intervention, and education. Together, as a community, we can truly make a difference. Today, these partnerships resulted in removing 583 firearms from our streets, including 17 assault weapons and 15 ghost guns. This is a true win for our community.” The Santa Rosa Police Foundation partnered with the Police Department to support and fund the event as part of its ongoing commitment to public safety and community well-being. No City of Santa Rosa or other public funds were used to compensate participants. As a nonprofit organization supporting the Santa Rosa Police Department, the Foundation provides resources, funding, and community partnerships that support public safety programs and initiatives benefiting the Santa Rosa community. The Santa Rosa Police Department thanks the community members who participated in the Gun Buyback, the Santa Rosa Police Foundation for its partnership and financial support, and the employees and volunteers whose efforts helped make the event safe and successful. Gun buyback programs are one component of the Department’s broader approach to gun violence prevention, intervention, education, and enforcement, while also providing residents with a responsible option for disposing of unwanted firearms. More information about the Santa Rosa Police Foundation and the programs it supports is available at: https://santarosapolicefoundation.org/ The photographs in the email, naturally the one actually showing in the email is te o e of the eeevvvviiillll assault weapons ADDED: And spooky ghost gunnnnzzzz. Then the the others as attachments

Per ChatGPT Looking at the whole kit, I think it is a small dual-function LED flashlight/work light. The giveaway is the context and construction: The long white rectangular window on the side is characteristic of a COB-style work light, designed to illuminate broadly rather than project a beam. The button on the side would switch the light modes. The small opening in the silver end is consistent with the conventional forward-facing LED. There is already a separate, more conventional black cylindrical flashlight immediately to its right. The black object farther right is clearly the tactical pen. The kit also contains the usual cheap survival-kit assortment: paracord bracelet, compass, multitool card, wire saw, fire starter, rain poncho, etc. And this particular assortment is very much in the ecosystem of the inexpensive "survival kit" products that advertise combinations of a tactical flashlight, tactical pen, compass, paracord bracelet, wire saw, multitool card and rain poncho. �

They were supposed to be functional here, and in spite of the things that needed fixing on the rifle and the pistol i could make them fire. The revolver, even though needing finish on the metal and grips was fully functional. They didn't even pretend to cycle the action ms, other than open them and to check the guns were clear

Kinda smoky.

Looks like piece of tape.

Oh! If it had been paid with tax dollars...that's a REFUND!

This is great! https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dd-HQQiJ6a5/?stkn=M2I4Z2g0aHJoMzdo

I was surprised that it was cash. And $150 or more. "If God didn't want them shoen, He wouldn't have made them sheep." The guy ahead of me was an old fart and the officers must have unloaded 13 or 14 guns. Probably doesn't hunt anymore, his kids or grandkids don't want them. So this was a quick and easy way to dispose of them. If it had been gift cards I wouldn't have done it. Those usually are $50 and for stores i don't use.

Took me a while to see it too. I kept wondering how it managed to cycle back like that.

As I said in the OP