Would you like a free book?

Do you remember that little book I wrote a little while back and that I put on Amazon? Well, it is still on Amazon and it is going to be available for free download up until midnight or so. Here is a link to it if you want to check it out-

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FA5PKJQ

Let's do an experiment and test some fire starters, shall we?

Yes, let's do so. It's been a while since we have done an experiment, so we shall. But these are not your ordinary, garden-variety fire starters. These are ultra modern, high-tech, man-made and mass-produced fire starters. See?

Here we have from left to right, Cheese Puffs, Tostitos, barbecue potato chips, and Fritos scoops. You may have seen a survival show on television that showed how Fritos are burnable. You may have heard whispers and rumors of the same. You may have not, and are now scratching your head and asking yourself if such a thing is indeed possible. You may not care at all and have already switched channels. If you do care, read on.

Here we are in our scientific testing laboratory, with our guinea pigs all laid out in a row in the same order. From left to right we have a Cheese Puff, a Tostito, a barbecue potato chip, and a Frito Scoop. All of our test subjects appeared to be in good working order and eager for the testing to begin.

All right. Let's light them up!

 

As you can see in this photo, most of the test subjects are now producing flame, some more than others. The cheese puff proved to be a bit obstinate and was difficult to light. And once ignited, it did not stay that way for more than 10 or 15 seconds at a time. The Tostito seems to be burning happily away, the potato chip a bit less so, and the Frito is putting off a cheerful amount of light.

 

 

A couple of minutes into the experiment, tragedy struck. As you can see in this photo, the Tostito has nearly extinguished itself as has the potato chip. They were not completely used up, they just went out. The Cheese Puff is still a fire, but only because we had reignited it multiple times. The Frito continues to blaze away, happy as can be.

We reignited the Tostito and it burned for another minute or so. We lit the other side of the potato chip and it also burned for a little bit.  The Frito continued to burn, all by itself.

Everyone likes to see the aftermath of scientific tests, so for your entertainment here is a blurry photo of the charred carcasses of the test subjects.

Now that the testing procedures are complete, what have we learned from this little experiment?

1. Cheese Puffs do not make good fire starters and are best used for their intended purposes .

2.Tostitos make for a fairly good firestarter, as long as you give them the proper attention.

3. Barbecue potato chips do not make particularly good fire starters, but they do happen to be quite tasty.

4. Fritos scoops are useful little creatures, serving multiple purposes.  Not only may you ingest them just as they are,  you may also scoop up delicious tidbits inside them before popping them into your mouth, and if you must, they make a good firestarter.   They light easily and the first one burned for approximately 4 minutes.  This was considered an impressive feat, so the experiment was conducted again and this time it lasted for three minutes.

 

 Folks the lesson here is that if you need a fire, try burning your food.

 

 

 

 

 

The Handiest Flashlight You Will Ever Own?

This very well could be it. Made by Blackfire, it's called the Clamp Light. And it happens to be very cleverly named, mainly because you can clamp this little sucker just about anywhere. And just where might I want to clamp it, you may be asking yourself? Well, you can clamp it onto a chair, kind of like this-

You can clamp it onto a gate, like this-

You can clamp it onto a cabinet, a door, a curtain, a tree branch or a ladder. Hell, you could probably clamp it onto a Kitty cat or even your wife's foot, as long as you get them drunk or let them fall asleep before you make the attempt.

 Here it is clamped onto a kitchen cabinet, lighting up the area beneath the sink. Woud that not come in handy for plumbing jobs?

And it even stands up, like this-

And this-

But wait, there's more. It has a swivel head that is able to swivel in 2 different directions.

It can swivel up and down, and at the same time, you can twist it sideways. You can pretty much point it in any direction that you wish.

 You can put this thing just about anywhere and point it just about everywhere that might need to be lit up.

Pretty handy dandy, if you ask me. The only flashlight I can think of that might be more versatile is a headlamp, but with those you always have to be looking at the thing you are lighting up. This flashlight might even be better than a headlamp.

It uses 3 AAA batteries , a Cree led and it puts out 100 lumens, fairly bright for just an average around the house flashlight. And it's supposed to put out 7 hours  of maximum light, then gradually fade away. We've had it for a year or so and used it a fair amount and it is still ticking along. I would recommend it. And if there is a handyman type in your life, he would probably benefit from having one of these. Christmas is coming up you know,  maybe you should get him one. Better yet, get him a gun. Even better than that, get him both.


Here is a little video that shows what all you can do with one of these.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBj6ECA3q5k


And no, I have nothing to do with this company or product. Just trying to relay some information that might make your life a little easier.

A Holster for the Sheriff

The Sheriff was looking a little lonely. He needed a companion. A mate. Some things are just like that, they need something else to complete them, to make them whole. Some things just go together, like peas and carrots, sunshine and bikinis, spring break and beer, boys and girls. They just belong together and when they are separate, it just don't look right. So I got online and started searching for a companion for the Sheriff. This is the prettiest mate that I could find.

It's a necklace holster, designed to be worn around the neck. That's why it's called a necklace holster. I found it on eBay by a seller named joe'scustomleather. And it's a nice little holster. Made of good materials, the workmanship is good also. It's a fairly simple little holster, put your pistol in it, and snap it down and it is going to stay put.

In case you have forgotten, here is what the North American arms Sheriff looks like. Doesn't he look rather pitiful and sort of lonely, lying there all by himself? Let's see what we can do to make him happy.

 

There. Doesn't he look happier now? The gun fits in the holster tightly, you have to really  shove it into the holster in order to snap it down. . This is good,  because it will probably loosen up slightly as it breaks in.  Snug as a bug in his new home, he is not coming out of there, not unless someone unsnaps him and pulls him out.

 

But now I'm wondering........ what if you were out in the woods walking around, and you stumbled upon something that needed to be shot and you shot it 5 times. What then? You would have an empty gun and be out in the deep, dark woods defenseless? What if there were some way to carry some ammo with you?

 

 

Something like this perhaps? Yes, something like that. It came from eBay also, a tiny leather bag. Did anyone ever tell you that there are one or 2 neat things to be found on eBay? Did anyone ever tell you that you can find anything in the world on eBay? Well, if they didn't, you can.. This seems to be a nice little match with the revolver and the holster.. We punched a hole in it so that we can hang it on the necklace.

Here's what it looks like with all 3 of them together.

 

 

 

North American arms Sheriff, holster by joescustomleather, and a small ammo pouch. This is what it looks like hanging on your chest. and it's in a pretty handy location, I think. What else could you need?  Add a small pocket knife and a fire steel in the ammo pouch and you are good to go. The Sheriff is happy.

 

 

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. The ammo pouch will hold over 50 rounds, probably 75 or so, but I certainly wouldn't want that much weight hanging around my neck, that would get noticeable after a while. so we have about 20 rounds in it.. Hopefully that will be enough to enable us to shoot. and kill anything that. needs to be shot with a 22.

My book has been published

Here is the link, if you wish to check it out-

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FA5PKJQ


Like I said, it is a Western e-book. I signed up for the Kindle Select Program and that means that Amazon has it exclusively for three months.  After that I can upload it to Smash Words and they will make it available at Barnes & Noble, , iTunes,, the Sony store, and a few others, I think.
.There is not just a whole lot of action until about chapter 5, that's when it really get started.. But check it out if you wish., and if you read it and like it, please leave a review.

I have written a book!

Yes I have. Don't ask me how it happened, or why or anything else, but I have a novel that I'm getting ready to publish on Amazon as an e-book. It is a Western, set in 1875 and it will be the very first thing I have ever published. So I hope it goes well. Let me tell you, though, formatting something to put on Amazon or Smash Words is a royal pain. I've been working on it on and off for two weeks now, and I think it's finally ready. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

Recoil Reducing Shotgun Stock

One of my relatives purchased a Mossberg 500 and he did not like the stock that was on it. He wanted it to be more tacticool. So he got to looking around on the Internet and found a stock that he liked. It is made by Phoenix Technology and it is cool. Just how cool is it?

It is this cool. Not only does he like its looks, he likes the fact that it stores extra ammo, and he also likes the fact that it has a built-in recoil reduction system. It has a spring inside and when you fire the gun, the spring flexes and absorbs some of the recoil. He told me that he figured it reduced the recoil by maybe 10 or 15%, and he hopes that it works even a little better after it gets broken in, maybe a couple of hundred rounds through it.

Here is a video of another guy that has one, he talks about the recoil reducing capability.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JkySFE8_s0

These two photos will further demonstrate its coolness. . Not only is it cool looking and it reduces recoil in a cool way, it is so cool that it is adjustable.  In this picture the stock is extended all the way out.

 

 

And in this photo the stock is collapsed as far as it will go. How cool is that?

 

 Not only does it look cool, it acts cool, and is adjustable so that people of differing arm lengths can shoot it and look cool, it is so cool that you can remove the stock and have only the pistol grip to hang onto as you shoot. Of course, you will not hit anything shooting it like that, but who cares? You will look so cool shooting it that if there is a bad guy in the area, he will immediately toss his weapon to the ground, begin weeping and beg you to take him to jail.

 

Here is one more photo, just to overwhelm you with the coolness of the entire gun.

 

 It cost him around $80 or so, it installed easily and it fits well. I watched him put 50 rounds or so through it and it seems to work just fine.  He is a happy camper and is ready to hang out with all of the utmost tacticoolest mall ninjas.

 

 

38 Special Glow-In-The-Dark Necklace

So I was looking around on YouTube the other day and I came across something I thought was interesting. I saw a guy using glow-in-the-dark powder and epoxy to make a knife handle. I got started thinking and before you know it, I was on eBay ordering glow-in-the-dark powder. We mixed it up and put it to good use and here is our first project.

Can you tell what it is? It is a 38 special case filled with glow-in-the-dark epoxy. I know that is a little lopsided looking, but that is because we did not possess a 38 caliber bullet mold. Therefore we could not manufacture a precise, well fitted, perfect looking epoxy bullet to put in the case. We had to make the bullet oversized and then grind it down on the sander to resemble a real bullet. It looks fairly good, I think. And we also drilled a bunch of holes in to the case so that it would glow even better in the darkness. We added a leather thong so that we could use it as a necklace and we called it good.

Here's what it looks like after it has been charged up for a couple of minutes with a really powerful flashlight. I think it's pretty cool. And I also think that all of my nieces and nephews are going to like it and we will probably be making more of these. Hopefully with practice they will come out looking even better than this lopsided one.

 

The Art of Communication

In these modern times that we live in, most people seem to be entirely too busy. People are either on their cell phones, on their computers, watching TV or driving back and forth to work, family get-togethers, sporting events or something else. Done in moderation, all of these things are good but when it consumes your whole day and evening, something has to give. I fear that people are losing their ability to actually communicate effectively with others. That one-on-one interaction is important and it seems to be all too rare nowadays. This is an unfortunate situation and steps need to be taken to correct this problem. We decided to see what we can do to rectify it.

Can anyone tell me what this is? Go on, guess. Then guess again. Think about it for a minute and see if you can figure out what it is. You have seen one of these before, haven't you? Just in case you haven't, I will go ahead and tell you what it is so that you may be enlightened  and confused no more.

 

 It is a state-of-the-art, high-tech, communication device.

 

Huh?

 

A communication device? Is it some sort of antenna? An extraterrestrial satellite link? A teleportation portal that can beam up Scotty, Capt. Kirk and Lieut. O'Hara ? Because it looks to me like it's just a giant stick with some yellow tubing hanging off of it.  What on earth are you talking about it being a communication device? How in the world is it supposed to work?

 

Well, I'm going to tell you. Do you remember those old  TV commercials for long-distance phone service? The commercials that said to reach out and touch someone? That is exactly what this communication device is designed for, to reach out and touch someone. This particular reach-out-and- toucher is located at a lake we frequently go to and it is conveniently placed near the water's edge. This a strategic location carefully chosen to maximize our effective range and it enables us to broadcast our message to the greatest possible audience.

Every worthwhile invention in the history of mankind has a name and we call our communication device a SplatCom. It consists  of two parts, a frame and a launcher and it works sort of like this.

Here we have a communication specialist demonstrating the  usage of our device.  It is a simple device really, operating on long known principles of physics.  Although a college degree will be helpful, and a masters or a doctorate is even more beneficial, it is not mandatory if you wish to learn how to operate this machine.  With patience and careful instruction, even the most intellectually challenged can be trained to communicate with it effectively .

 

 

 So just how does it work?  First you place a water balloon, a rock, an ostrich egg, an apple, a horse turd, a squirrel, your neighbors cat, or some other suitable projectile into the black pouch of our device. Then you pull back on the launcher, aim it at your target audience and release.  Simple as that.

 

Hmmmm. That is all well and good I suppose but ............................. how do you consider this communication?

 

What?  Are you daft?  Perhaps a better question would be, how is this not communication?  We can reach out to anyone in the immediate vicinity and get our point across. Very quickly, I might add.

 

 If our area were to be invaded by a horde of fishing boats, a couple of projectiles launched across their bow would let them know immediately that they need to vacate the premises and find a different place to fish.  Neighbors are easily kept at bay, giving us plenty of room to spread out our stuff along the beach.  Stray dogs are no problem, no match at all for a high velocity projectile of any kind.  After one shot they will learn that they need to leave you alone. But the reason the SplatCom was invented in the first place, the main reason was to communicate with the leeches of society, the lowest on the totem pole, the defiler's of the water, the scum of the scum bucket. Yes, you know who I'm talking about.  Precisely. I'm talking about those irritating souls riding SeaDoos or jet skis.

 

 Are these noisy machines fun to ride? Yep. Can they go anywhere?  Just about. Are they fast? Of course.  When it is not you out there on the water but others who are riding them, is the noise maddening, infuriating and just irritating enough that you want to go  choke the life out of those driving them? Most definitely. With  our device,  you can rid yourself of those pesky little waterborne dwarfs and avoid the jail sentence associated with whacking them.  A water balloon launched directly into the head, chest, groin or butt area will have them seeking other environments in short order, leaving you at peace with the world.  If it is your own offspring out there on the watersquirting devices, the same water balloon launched at a more sedate velocity will get their attention and then you can yell at them that lunch is ready, that it is time for their nap, that there is a shark directly behind them about to eat them, that there is a waterspout headed your way, or that they need to drive across the lake and get you some more beer. Using our device, the ways of communicating are many, the messages you wish to send infinite.

 

 

Do you know who this is? I hope that somebody does , because we don't. Not for sure, anyway. We found him alongside the road or in a dumpster or in a parking lot or something and we decided to call him Pedro.  Even the lowliest peon like Pedro can be trained to use our communicator in the appropriate fashion .

 

 See? Although he possesses a limited knowledge of the English language and gets his point across mostly through  a complex combination of sign language, grunts and farts, Pedro is eager to communicate with others. He displays a natural affinity for our device and is able to spread his message with ease. 

 

 

 So, now that you are aware of all the possibilities and all of the good that can come from effective communicating, you are eager to construct your own communication device, aren't you?  And you are eager to know just how we went about it, are you not? All right, at the risk of violating our national security, I will tell you the secret to our device, the brain that controls our invention.  The secret ingredient to our device is a water balloon slingshot.  The one that we are using is designed to be used by three people, one on each side holding it and the third person pulling back on it to launch the balloons. That is a much too complicated process and a complete waste of manpower.  There simply had to be a better way. So we persuaded a nearby tree to donate a giant sling shot,  used hose clamps to fasten it in a vertical position onto a piece of angle iron that is welded onto the framework surrounding a large chunk of concrete, and now we have a water balloon launcher that requires only one person to operate.   That leaves  more little kidlets free so that they can be out in the water swimming or riding jet skis, having fun  and providing targets of opportunity at the same time.  That is what I call a win-win situation.