Today I spent most of the day at a trap awards banquet. Grandson and I arrived at about 8:50 and found that no one but the chairman and his son were there, setting up tables. We pitched in, then opened the field and set up the microphones and such.
I noted that we didn't have sign up sheets for the various types of trap we normally shoot, so I printed a few, and set them out.
I helped run the trap field most of the day, although I couldn't shoot myself due to some surgery on my right cheek. I'll have more to report on that soon, I'm building a shotgun I can shoot without putting the stock to my face.
Food was served at about 3:30, and most excellent BBQ chicken and pulled pork it was, with a selection of dressings for salad, a decent macaroni salad, and good if not unusual baked beans. The whole thing was made from scratch, not pulled from cans, and there was a raspberry chipotle BBQ sauce for the pulled pork which was outstanding. I took home a "doggie bag" of pork and sauce for lunch Monday.
I felt good about helping, I was trap chairman for 22 years and know how much work it is even with good help, but I was sad that I couldn't shoot, missed winning in my class (AA), and missed being in the top ten overall by one bird over ten matches. I would normally say "next year," but I'm not sure how well I'll shoot without using a conventional stock and firm contact, the holographic sight is a fine thing in theory. Time will tell.
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Monday, September 17, 2012
Little quirks of insurance policies
I just found out that some insurance policies will pay for lab grown spray-on skin if you have major burns to your face, but if you lose part of your face to cancer they pay for a skin graft from your buttocks or neck. Wonder what the thinking on that is.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Wine and Apples
Yesterday I went to the Wine and Apple Festival at the Altamont Fairgrounds in Altamont NY. In addition to the wine tasting and buying there was a lot of apple (the round fruit) related stuff, both edible and items made from all things apple. There was the usual collection of craft vendors, spanning the spectrum from works of art and useful items like cutting boards to cheap crud to give as gifts to people you don't really care about. There was a lot of jewelry, spices, marinades, rubs, sauces, decorative dishes and platters on which to serve, and signs for your kitchen wall from funny and wise to trite and rude.
The only thing I can say about the wines is that if you think of NY City as "New York" you need to look at a map. Most of the state is farm country, horse breeding and training, huge dairies, vegetable farms, vineyards from Long Island to the Adirondack Mountains, hop farms, wineries, small cheese making operations, microbreweries, and two of the four major national brands of "Greek Style" yogurt. In short other than a few large cities an agricultural state, where lovers of locally made food and drink can choose from the offerings of hundreds of small craft producers who can compete only by the quality of their products.
Almost too much of a good thing
I went with my kids who share similar taste in wine to my own, which favors dry or semi-dry wines, will enjoy fairly sweet wines with tons of fruit flavor, and doesn't find overpowering oak character from barrel aging to be a substitute for the flavor of the grapes. With that in mind we quickly isolated a number of wines from grapes grown within 150 miles of Altamont, and bought our winter stash of wines. Not surprisingly we found that we had rather a lot of wine to take back with us, and regretted not bringing some means of transporting it more easily that carrying it. Next year we will bring a small cart to take back our haul, this year I prevailed on two maintenance guys in a golf cart to give the wine a ride to the gate while I trotted behind.
High and low points
The unexpected high point was finding a really hot hot sauce with pretty good flavor. Hot is easy, flavor is not. As always, due to the large number of vineyards and hundreds of micro climates in New York, there was a lot more variation between products than is typical in states were the wineries are national and the climate more uniform. And because we have a lot of variation from year to year in weather (last year tropical storms and flooding this year drought) we do tend to buy more of a wine we like, because next year it may be totally different.
The low points for me were seeing jewelry which I would have bought for my late wife, and later while putting wine in the cellar finding the champagne we were saving for our 50th. If you live long enough you will find that not all your memories are happy ones, comes with not having a boring life.
The only thing I can say about the wines is that if you think of NY City as "New York" you need to look at a map. Most of the state is farm country, horse breeding and training, huge dairies, vegetable farms, vineyards from Long Island to the Adirondack Mountains, hop farms, wineries, small cheese making operations, microbreweries, and two of the four major national brands of "Greek Style" yogurt. In short other than a few large cities an agricultural state, where lovers of locally made food and drink can choose from the offerings of hundreds of small craft producers who can compete only by the quality of their products.
Almost too much of a good thing
I went with my kids who share similar taste in wine to my own, which favors dry or semi-dry wines, will enjoy fairly sweet wines with tons of fruit flavor, and doesn't find overpowering oak character from barrel aging to be a substitute for the flavor of the grapes. With that in mind we quickly isolated a number of wines from grapes grown within 150 miles of Altamont, and bought our winter stash of wines. Not surprisingly we found that we had rather a lot of wine to take back with us, and regretted not bringing some means of transporting it more easily that carrying it. Next year we will bring a small cart to take back our haul, this year I prevailed on two maintenance guys in a golf cart to give the wine a ride to the gate while I trotted behind.
High and low points
The unexpected high point was finding a really hot hot sauce with pretty good flavor. Hot is easy, flavor is not. As always, due to the large number of vineyards and hundreds of micro climates in New York, there was a lot more variation between products than is typical in states were the wineries are national and the climate more uniform. And because we have a lot of variation from year to year in weather (last year tropical storms and flooding this year drought) we do tend to buy more of a wine we like, because next year it may be totally different.
The low points for me were seeing jewelry which I would have bought for my late wife, and later while putting wine in the cellar finding the champagne we were saving for our 50th. If you live long enough you will find that not all your memories are happy ones, comes with not having a boring life.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Significant days this week
For the first time in my memory Election Day isn't on a Tuesday. Being New York, it was felt that having it on 9-11 would distract the attention from the anniversary memorials, and therefore it was moved. All in all a good thing, and to some extent the politicians restricted their campaigning, although how much was typical "let the PAC do it today" and how much was real.
Also for the first time I'm not voting in the primary, because I'm now an independent. After years of watching politics get worse and worse, I finally decided that I didn't want my name associated with any of the local parties. Tough choice, and I may regret it, but for the moment I feel releived that I no longer pretend to be part of a party which stopped paying even lip service to what I wanted and believed.
9-11
Very sad, I was working near NY City on that day, and my wife called and said a plane had hit the tower. I went down to the cafeteria where there was a big TV, and watched the second plane hit. Then I called home again and had a long talk with my wife about contingencies, and went back only to see the towers fall. I was in a room with people who were watching their families die before their eyes.
Drug Takeback Day
Twice every year the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) sponsors a "Drug Takeback" day, during which unwanted medications can be returned to be disposed of properly. This year it's on Sept 29th, and relevant details are on the Takeback website. Hope people find it useful.
Also for the first time I'm not voting in the primary, because I'm now an independent. After years of watching politics get worse and worse, I finally decided that I didn't want my name associated with any of the local parties. Tough choice, and I may regret it, but for the moment I feel releived that I no longer pretend to be part of a party which stopped paying even lip service to what I wanted and believed.
9-11
Very sad, I was working near NY City on that day, and my wife called and said a plane had hit the tower. I went down to the cafeteria where there was a big TV, and watched the second plane hit. Then I called home again and had a long talk with my wife about contingencies, and went back only to see the towers fall. I was in a room with people who were watching their families die before their eyes.
Drug Takeback Day
Twice every year the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) sponsors a "Drug Takeback" day, during which unwanted medications can be returned to be disposed of properly. This year it's on Sept 29th, and relevant details are on the Takeback website. Hope people find it useful.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Doing things the hard way
I was looking through some photos I took around Belfast ME on Penobscot Bay, some manually generated stereo pairs and some panorama shots I took "the hard way" because none of the cameras I have with built-in panorama have good lenses and resolution. Doing one panorama and one stereo pair took me almost three hours, although I did learn some things about GIMP I didn't know.
End result pleases me, and I'm sending them off to a professional photo printing service because doing them on a printer doesn't satisfy me, either. These may become Christmas presents for those of my family who went with me, and nothing but the best I can do is good enough.
In the end, "Perfect is the enemy of good enough," and I keep that in mind, but some times good enough isn't. Like the old Hallmark commercial, "when you care enough to send the very best."
End result pleases me, and I'm sending them off to a professional photo printing service because doing them on a printer doesn't satisfy me, either. These may become Christmas presents for those of my family who went with me, and nothing but the best I can do is good enough.
In the end, "Perfect is the enemy of good enough," and I keep that in mind, but some times good enough isn't. Like the old Hallmark commercial, "when you care enough to send the very best."
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
RIP Bill Moggridge, Inventor of the Laptop Computer
I know it's popular to attribute an invention to whoever makes the most money from an idea, but the actual inventor of the laptop computer was an industrial designer named Bill Moggridge. The Grid Compass, released in 1982, was the first laptop, and is credited as such in the Smithsonian collection. The display was color, sort of, yellow characters on a black background, and a $8150 price tag which would be about $19,000 2012 dollars. Given the state of the art at that time, with most "portable" computers about the weight of a sewing machine, the price was not an obstacle for business people and technocrats, one flew into space in 1985 aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery.
Wow, typing that makes me realize just how OLD the shuttle was.
Moggridge went on to write several very good books on industrial design, among them Designing Media, which was just published in 2010.
So thank you Bill Moggridge, and thank you Grid, for not patenting and trademarking the idea, so that we didn't have to carry sewing machines for the 17 years. In a broken patent system where the most obvious old ideas are patentable doing nothing was the right thing for the consumer for sure.
Constant value calculation from Measuring Worth.
Wow, typing that makes me realize just how OLD the shuttle was.
Moggridge went on to write several very good books on industrial design, among them Designing Media, which was just published in 2010.
So thank you Bill Moggridge, and thank you Grid, for not patenting and trademarking the idea, so that we didn't have to carry sewing machines for the 17 years. In a broken patent system where the most obvious old ideas are patentable doing nothing was the right thing for the consumer for sure.
Constant value calculation from Measuring Worth.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Drug side effects of the odd kind
I had some surgery yesterday, and was given some pain killer (hydrocodone) for it. I don't like to take pain killers, so I didn't until about 10pm to try an get some sleep. Now I have tinnitus (ringing in the ears) as a result of some decades of target shooting, and other than having a dead spot at one narrow band of frequencies it isn't much of an issue.
Much to my surprise, about 30 minutes after I took hydrocodone I noticed that I was listening to the TV at a much lower level than I normally do. I hit the mute button and found that the tinnitus was almost entirely gone. Somehow I doubt that this will become a standard therapy, but I did take another about 5am, and the phenomenon was replicated.
I probably won't repeat the test, I'm feeling better today.
Much to my surprise, about 30 minutes after I took hydrocodone I noticed that I was listening to the TV at a much lower level than I normally do. I hit the mute button and found that the tinnitus was almost entirely gone. Somehow I doubt that this will become a standard therapy, but I did take another about 5am, and the phenomenon was replicated.
I probably won't repeat the test, I'm feeling better today.
Sunday, September 2, 2012
How great to find an honest car dealer
I was in central coastal Maine for a few days, and noted a noise coming from my right rear wheel. Looking for a Ford dealer in the area, I found Quirk Ford in Belfast. I called for an appointment, and brought the car in. After diagnosis there was a problem found with the wheel bearing, the single use seal over the bearing needed to be replaced, and there was a broken part in the emergency brake mechanism. I got an estimate of about $600, and parts would have to be brought in next day.
When I picked up the car I was delighted to find that that the bill was much less, because the broken part for the emergency brake system was in a mechanics tool box and they were able to avoid buying the whole kit to fix the problem. They could have charged me the full estimate and I would not have ever known, but they saved me a bunch of money and earned my trust. They also warned me of a weak battery, and I believe that their load test indicates weakenss. But being an old mechanic, I use the old "if it will start in sub-zero weather with the headlights on, the battery is good enough" test, and the factory store for Interstate batteries is just down the road from my home, so I do not pay retail list for batteries.
So a big +1 to Quirk Ford in Belfast, where you get honest service. Thanks, guys!
When I picked up the car I was delighted to find that that the bill was much less, because the broken part for the emergency brake system was in a mechanics tool box and they were able to avoid buying the whole kit to fix the problem. They could have charged me the full estimate and I would not have ever known, but they saved me a bunch of money and earned my trust. They also warned me of a weak battery, and I believe that their load test indicates weakenss. But being an old mechanic, I use the old "if it will start in sub-zero weather with the headlights on, the battery is good enough" test, and the factory store for Interstate batteries is just down the road from my home, so I do not pay retail list for batteries.
So a big +1 to Quirk Ford in Belfast, where you get honest service. Thanks, guys!
Monday, August 27, 2012
Some poker losses are more painful than others
Tonight I got beat at hold-em, with aces full of jacks by aces full of kings. It really annoyed me (as well as costing me some money), and in retrospect it works like this:
Note: after my first bet there were only two of us in the pot, so there was no large pot relative to the bets.
- I had my hand on the flop
- There was no possible better hand using the flop
- I bet vigorously to protect my hand and drive out those who might have had an ace with a king or queen.
- I continued to protect the hand, making it expensive to chase
- There was only one caller to the first bet
- The king came up on the last card
Note: after my first bet there were only two of us in the pot, so there was no large pot relative to the bets.
Friday, August 24, 2012
More anti-gun hysteria in NYC
The news coverage of the shooting in NYC today is so biased as to be fiction. It seems that a disgruntled worker returned to his former workplace and shot his former office mate, with whom he had a long history of disagreement and reportedly legal actions. The former worker shot his coworker, then left. There was no indication that any further violence was planned.
A construction worker followed the shooter and alerted police of his location. At that point there was no obvious threat of violence, the gunman was leaving the scene quietly, probably headed for his car.
When the police arrived they confronted the shooter, who then reached for his gun. The police opened fire, killing the gunman and wounding nine innocent bystanders. No witness has indicated that the gunman fired, and the body markers which were visible on TV appeared to be all people behind the gunman. It is interesting that the CNN coverage reported 14 total shots fired, without commenting on the size of the police magazines. They did note that the gunman had a "45 with an eight shot magazine" and that the police "prevented further violence." The gunman had his gun away and was leaving quietly, I'd like to see how that gets spun. It is interesting that Mitt Romney appeared immediately on TV to thank the officers for their service and bravery.
I don't want to jump to conclusions without the full facts, but it would seem that the police could have followed the shooter until he reached a location more suitable for a confrontation. With his gun out of sight and having already refrained from shooting anyone else, there does not seem to have been a need to confront the shooter, even if it meant he might escape. This was not an act of terror by the gunman, it was a very personal killing of one man, and provoking a gunfight on a crowded street should have been avoided if at all possible. The fact that the bystanders were behind the gunman may have led into the immediate police summary which concluded "some of the victims might have been hit by police bullets." Sounds so much better than "shot by police," doesn't it?
This is just the latest in a series of incidents where multiple officers fired many shots, most of which missed their intended target, and each of which resembled a panicked "shoot until the gun is empty." barrage rather than the two shot "tap-tap and evaluate" taught to most upstate police. The Amadou Diallo shooting, the groom and wedding party shot multiple times in their car at a bachelor party, and now this poorly aimed barrage at a non-threatening suspect using a crowd of bystanders as a backstop.
Mayor Bloomberg, if you want "more and better gun control," stop harassing the disarmed law abiding citizens and start with you own police force!
A construction worker followed the shooter and alerted police of his location. At that point there was no obvious threat of violence, the gunman was leaving the scene quietly, probably headed for his car.
When the police arrived they confronted the shooter, who then reached for his gun. The police opened fire, killing the gunman and wounding nine innocent bystanders. No witness has indicated that the gunman fired, and the body markers which were visible on TV appeared to be all people behind the gunman. It is interesting that the CNN coverage reported 14 total shots fired, without commenting on the size of the police magazines. They did note that the gunman had a "45 with an eight shot magazine" and that the police "prevented further violence." The gunman had his gun away and was leaving quietly, I'd like to see how that gets spun. It is interesting that Mitt Romney appeared immediately on TV to thank the officers for their service and bravery.
I don't want to jump to conclusions without the full facts, but it would seem that the police could have followed the shooter until he reached a location more suitable for a confrontation. With his gun out of sight and having already refrained from shooting anyone else, there does not seem to have been a need to confront the shooter, even if it meant he might escape. This was not an act of terror by the gunman, it was a very personal killing of one man, and provoking a gunfight on a crowded street should have been avoided if at all possible. The fact that the bystanders were behind the gunman may have led into the immediate police summary which concluded "some of the victims might have been hit by police bullets." Sounds so much better than "shot by police," doesn't it?
This is just the latest in a series of incidents where multiple officers fired many shots, most of which missed their intended target, and each of which resembled a panicked "shoot until the gun is empty." barrage rather than the two shot "tap-tap and evaluate" taught to most upstate police. The Amadou Diallo shooting, the groom and wedding party shot multiple times in their car at a bachelor party, and now this poorly aimed barrage at a non-threatening suspect using a crowd of bystanders as a backstop.
Mayor Bloomberg, if you want "more and better gun control," stop harassing the disarmed law abiding citizens and start with you own police force!
JBIG images
I discovered years ago that there is a lossless image format called JBIG. It's used in fax messages, and while it can be used with color images, the common use is with bilevel (aka black and white) images. When saving a scan of a document, book page, or anything else which is (or originally was) b/w, using JBIG will save about 30-50% in space over other lossless image formats, such as PNG or GIF. That makes a big difference when you have a lot of data to preserve, or transmit.
There are tools to convert images to and from JBIG, I usually use one called cjpeg although there are others..
There are tools to convert images to and from JBIG, I usually use one called cjpeg although there are others..
Thursday, August 23, 2012
A Dark Night in Munich
You can see how it look below, being held to a light because it's way too dark to appreciate without transmitted light from behind.
The aroma is fantastic, I took a good sniff and got a rush of malt, with just a tinge of hops and alcohol, and I have to say this was one of the most inviting brews I have tried in a long time. Then I took that first sip and found a pretty good replica of the Dubel samples I've tried after good reviews from European tasters.
Hops on the tip of the tongue, aggressive malt at the back of the throat. Lovely aroma just doesn't seem strong enough to survive the action in the mouth. I am not a big fan of the Dunkel style,which is just a matter of taste and not a fault of the brew. To my taste this is a fine example of a Dunkel which tastes just as it should for this style. Note: I don't dislike Dunkel style, but my evenings seem to end with an IPA most of the time.
Trivia note, it seems that my great grandfather was postmaster of Munich about the time of the civil war in the US. Later two of his sons came to America together to make a new life, had an argument, and never spoke again. My mother told me it was just like them, whatever that means.
Food parings: Goes pretty well with chili or chaddar (plain or on rye crackers). Did not try with a real meal.
Invitation: if you have ideas for good food pairings with Dunkel, please leave me a comment, I have a few left.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
New battery tech changes the game
Scientists in Korea have invented a way to recharge batteries up to 100 times faster than existing Li-ion batteries.
From hand tools to cars, faster charging batteries would be a significant selling point. From the description of this technology, it is possible that faster charging will be paired with higher discharge rates, allowing better response to short heavy loads. It doesn't appear that this technology will improve capacity or lower cost however, so the market impact may be limited to markets already using batteries, rather than penetrating into new markets.
I had hoped that ultracapacitors would move into this market space, being cheaper and lighter, and inherently fast to charge and supportive of high discharge rates when needed. That hasn't happened, and I'm not really sure if this is due to the recession making companies reluctant to invest in new tech and advertizing to show it to the public, or if there's some engineering issue which is holding the conversion back.
From hand tools to cars, faster charging batteries would be a significant selling point. From the description of this technology, it is possible that faster charging will be paired with higher discharge rates, allowing better response to short heavy loads. It doesn't appear that this technology will improve capacity or lower cost however, so the market impact may be limited to markets already using batteries, rather than penetrating into new markets.
I had hoped that ultracapacitors would move into this market space, being cheaper and lighter, and inherently fast to charge and supportive of high discharge rates when needed. That hasn't happened, and I'm not really sure if this is due to the recession making companies reluctant to invest in new tech and advertizing to show it to the public, or if there's some engineering issue which is holding the conversion back.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Self defense against cat humor
Why do I lock the bathroom door when I'm the only one home? Because two of my cats can open the unlocked door, and they think it great fun to sneak in and pounce to the top of the toilet and then flip the seat down.
Stephanie Plum rdies again
While I was waiting for my car inspection I finished #17 in the Stephanie Plum mystery (or humor) series. While the premise is getting a bit old, it still contained a number of laugh out loud passages and stories. The sex is getting more frequent and graphic, but this is no Fifty Shades of Gray, it started at them "then we turned off the light" level. Stephanie is getting marginally more competent at what she does, but the theme is still "barely capable bounty hunter ekes out a living with the help of luck and her friends."
If you haven't ever read on of these, they really are funny, the characters are consistent from book to book, and they do evolve over time, although slowly. If you can picture some of the scenes in the book they are seriously funny, although unlikely. Like many women with liberal arts degrees Stephanie is doing something she would rather not, just to have a job, and as is often true in that case, she's not really all that good at it. The fact that there even is a book 17 should tell you that people really do enjoy these books, and for pure entertainment they are closer to the Marx Brothers than the Three Stooges, ie. not really dumb.
If you haven't ever read on of these, they really are funny, the characters are consistent from book to book, and they do evolve over time, although slowly. If you can picture some of the scenes in the book they are seriously funny, although unlikely. Like many women with liberal arts degrees Stephanie is doing something she would rather not, just to have a job, and as is often true in that case, she's not really all that good at it. The fact that there even is a book 17 should tell you that people really do enjoy these books, and for pure entertainment they are closer to the Marx Brothers than the Three Stooges, ie. not really dumb.
Monday, August 20, 2012
Trap at a new club, representing a new club
Yesterday my grandson Scott and I went to the A.R. Shooting Club to represent Elsmere at a trap shoot. My summer league shot at Elsmere a few times this summer to fill in dates, and I really like the facilities, mainly the 300 yard rifle range. My usual club is hemmed in by development, and has only a 100 yard range, now closed to handguns. As a future member on the waiting list, I could represent them, and did. I shout 49/50, and was moderately happy with the result.
The rural clubs north of NY City are on lovely winding roads, perfect for two gentlemen adventures to travel briskly in a sports car. Unfortunately the driveways into these clubs are not smooth beautiful roads, but typically unimproved paths on rock filled dirt, far better suited to a truck, 4x4, or at least something with more ground clearance than the size of the rocks hunting my oil pan. We took the old Explorer, and had a good time.
My grandson shares my love of following small roads which go in the right general direction of our destination. They often lead to exciting views, decrepit buildings, and sometimes outstanding fishing spots. He also shares my habit of not returning by the same path I took to get where I am, so knowing the back roads has become a shared pleasure.
The rural clubs north of NY City are on lovely winding roads, perfect for two gentlemen adventures to travel briskly in a sports car. Unfortunately the driveways into these clubs are not smooth beautiful roads, but typically unimproved paths on rock filled dirt, far better suited to a truck, 4x4, or at least something with more ground clearance than the size of the rocks hunting my oil pan. We took the old Explorer, and had a good time.
My grandson shares my love of following small roads which go in the right general direction of our destination. They often lead to exciting views, decrepit buildings, and sometimes outstanding fishing spots. He also shares my habit of not returning by the same path I took to get where I am, so knowing the back roads has become a shared pleasure.
A new approach to sharing my thoughts
After looking at what I was doing with blogs, my Halfway Point blog started almost 30 years ago as a mailing list, my Beer Blog which has run for six years or so but has degenerated to beer reviews for the most part, several other blogs, I decided to just post here, and use the label feature to let people read all of it or only the parts they find interesting.
So this is a compendium of what interests me, from the mundane to the burning issues, science, politics, and of course beer. Welcome to a peek at what I found interesting as it happens.
So this is a compendium of what interests me, from the mundane to the burning issues, science, politics, and of course beer. Welcome to a peek at what I found interesting as it happens.
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