Wednesday, May 31, 2006
My daughter asked about hiking the Appalachian Trail. So I decided to do a test run last Friday during the rain. We did it on the Barnstable conservation area last Friday. It rained, the food was bad, the ground was hard, and it was fun.
Friday, May 26, 2006
Monday, May 22, 2006
Ethanol
I contribute to Wikipedia, and stumbled across ethanol. This is the soy bean stuff you hear about on the news. Brazil is the leader in the use for automotive alternatives when it comes to ethanol. I am happy to hear alternatives.
So this is what I have gathered for facts;
- You need more Ethanol then gas to go the same distance
- It cost more (it uses a tremendous amount of expensive fossil fuel to make)
- It can not use a gas pipeline due to the amount of condensation it picks up
However;
- It burns allot cleaner then gas
- We are not dependent on OPEC, just someone else
Why not allow drilling offshore? What about Alaska?
So this is what I have gathered for facts;
- You need more Ethanol then gas to go the same distance
- It cost more (it uses a tremendous amount of expensive fossil fuel to make)
- It can not use a gas pipeline due to the amount of condensation it picks up
However;
- It burns allot cleaner then gas
- We are not dependent on OPEC, just someone else
Why not allow drilling offshore? What about Alaska?
Summer of Debt
$7k right now. I have never been in debt before (other then car and home loans) and this is depressing. But 7k is not bad. I plan on paying this off before October.
Saturday, May 20, 2006
My Explorist is screwed
Took me a while to figure this bugger out. My Explorist GPS was not acurate. So I decided to do a firmware upgrade. This stopped at 17% and then said "Press Enter to configure NAND" and no BASEMAP. I fixed it after about 2 hours.
This is for Explorist GPS's
First do this..
- remove SD Card
- switch the unit on
- press NAV + PWR button (goes into hidden menu)
- select menu 95
- select format, press enter
Now do the Firmware
- Make sure your battery is on 1/2 or more.
- Go to here
UPDATE; if the previous site is down, go to here OR here. Sign in and go there download the .exe file that matches your GPS unit. Rename the .exe file to .zip and extract the firmware from there.
- Download firmware and firmware_usb for your unit. (USB0002.CMD and USB0002.DAT)
- Copy the USB0002.DAT file to internal memory disk. (USBTRANS folder)
- Let it transfer. If it crashed your screwed! (look for some serial cable fix)
- Copy to USBTRANS folder the USB0002.CMD file.
- "SOFTWARE UPLOAD MODE ACTIVE" Should apear. If not If not - open USB0002.CMD with any text editor and change there "FROMHOST012" to "FROMHOST012NOCHECK".
- LEAVE IT ALONE UNTIL DONE
Then do this...
- Download the BASEMAP.MGI from here
- Install this file in the BackGround Maps directory on the internal Memory
Easy huh?
UPDATE (June 25, 2007)
I have been overwhelmed with e-mails and comments on this blog post. I am very happy I helped out alot of people. Another link here.
Buy me a shot! Maybe even two :)
CLICK ON THE SHOT GLASS!
Glad to Help, thanks very much!
This is for Explorist GPS's
First do this..
- remove SD Card
- switch the unit on
- press NAV + PWR button (goes into hidden menu)
- select menu 95
- select format, press enter
Now do the Firmware
- Make sure your battery is on 1/2 or more.
- Go to here
UPDATE; if the previous site is down, go to here OR here. Sign in and go there download the .exe file that matches your GPS unit. Rename the .exe file to .zip and extract the firmware from there.
- Download firmware and firmware_usb for your unit. (USB0002.CMD and USB0002.DAT)
- Copy the USB0002.DAT file to internal memory disk. (USBTRANS folder)
- Let it transfer. If it crashed your screwed! (look for some serial cable fix)
- Copy to USBTRANS folder the USB0002.CMD file.
- "SOFTWARE UPLOAD MODE ACTIVE" Should apear. If not If not - open USB0002.CMD with any text editor and change there "FROMHOST012" to "FROMHOST012NOCHECK".
- LEAVE IT ALONE UNTIL DONE
Then do this...
- Download the BASEMAP.MGI from here
- Install this file in the BackGround Maps directory on the internal Memory
Easy huh?
UPDATE (June 25, 2007)
I have been overwhelmed with e-mails and comments on this blog post. I am very happy I helped out alot of people. Another link here.
Buy me a shot! Maybe even two :)
CLICK ON THE SHOT GLASS!
Glad to Help, thanks very much!
Friday, May 19, 2006
Let us old people go into Combat
Saw this today on a forum...
You can't be older than 35 to join the military.
They've got the whole thing backwards. Instead of sending 18-year-olds off to fight, they ought to take us old guys. You shouldn't be able to join until you're at least 35.
Researchers say 18-year-olds think about sex every 10 seconds. Old guys only think about sex a couple of times a day, leaving us more than 28,000 additional seconds per day to concentrate on the enemy.
Young guys haven't lived long enough to be cranky, a cranky soldier is a dangerous soldier! If we can't kill the enemy we'll complain them into submission.
"My back hurts!" "I'm hungry!" "Where's the remote control?"
An 18-year-old hasn't had a legal beer yet and you shouldn't go to war until you're at least old enough to legally drink. An average old guy, on the other hand, has consumed 126,000 gallons of beer by the time he's 35 and a jaunt through the desert heat with a backpack and M-60 would do wonders for the old beer belly.
An 18-year-old doesn't like to get up before 10 a.m. Old guys get up early every morning to pee.
If old guys are captured we couldn't spill the beans because we'd probably forget where we put them. In fact, name, rank, and serial number would be a real brainteaser.
Boot camp would actually be easier for old guys. We're used to getting screamed and yelled at.
We actually like soft food.
We've also developed a deep appreciation for guns and rifles. We like them almost better than naps.
They could lighten up on the obstacle course however. I've been in combat and I didn't see a single 20-foot wall with rope hanging over the side, nor did I ever do any pushups after completing basic training. I can hear the Drill Sergeant now, "Get down and give me...er...one."
And the running part is kind of a waste of energy. I've never seen anyone outrun a bullet.
An 18-year-old has the whole world ahead of him. He's still learning to shave, to actually carry on a conversation, and to wear pants without the top of his butt crack showing and his boxer shorts sticking out. He's still hasn't figured out that a pierced tongue catches food particles, and that a 400-watt speaker in the back seat of a Honda Accord can rupture an eardrum.
All great reasons to keep our sons at home to learn a little more about life before sending them off to possible death.
Let us old guys track down those dirty rotten cowards who attacked our hearts on September 11. The last thing the enemy would want to see right now is a couple of million old geezers with attitudes.
You can't be older than 35 to join the military.
They've got the whole thing backwards. Instead of sending 18-year-olds off to fight, they ought to take us old guys. You shouldn't be able to join until you're at least 35.
Researchers say 18-year-olds think about sex every 10 seconds. Old guys only think about sex a couple of times a day, leaving us more than 28,000 additional seconds per day to concentrate on the enemy.
Young guys haven't lived long enough to be cranky, a cranky soldier is a dangerous soldier! If we can't kill the enemy we'll complain them into submission.
"My back hurts!" "I'm hungry!" "Where's the remote control?"
An 18-year-old hasn't had a legal beer yet and you shouldn't go to war until you're at least old enough to legally drink. An average old guy, on the other hand, has consumed 126,000 gallons of beer by the time he's 35 and a jaunt through the desert heat with a backpack and M-60 would do wonders for the old beer belly.
An 18-year-old doesn't like to get up before 10 a.m. Old guys get up early every morning to pee.
If old guys are captured we couldn't spill the beans because we'd probably forget where we put them. In fact, name, rank, and serial number would be a real brainteaser.
Boot camp would actually be easier for old guys. We're used to getting screamed and yelled at.
We actually like soft food.
We've also developed a deep appreciation for guns and rifles. We like them almost better than naps.
They could lighten up on the obstacle course however. I've been in combat and I didn't see a single 20-foot wall with rope hanging over the side, nor did I ever do any pushups after completing basic training. I can hear the Drill Sergeant now, "Get down and give me...er...one."
And the running part is kind of a waste of energy. I've never seen anyone outrun a bullet.
An 18-year-old has the whole world ahead of him. He's still learning to shave, to actually carry on a conversation, and to wear pants without the top of his butt crack showing and his boxer shorts sticking out. He's still hasn't figured out that a pierced tongue catches food particles, and that a 400-watt speaker in the back seat of a Honda Accord can rupture an eardrum.
All great reasons to keep our sons at home to learn a little more about life before sending them off to possible death.
Let us old guys track down those dirty rotten cowards who attacked our hearts on September 11. The last thing the enemy would want to see right now is a couple of million old geezers with attitudes.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Carcano
I am currently looking for some Carcano ammo in 6.52m x 52m FMJ 160 grain. I plan on going to the Barnstable range and hit a standard target three times. It will be 100 yards and under 5.6 seconds. This is not a reenactment, but solid proof in my mind that there is no conspiracy in this case.
True Cartoon
True Cartoon
Sunday, May 14, 2006
GPS
I got a GPS last weekend and I have been playing around with it all week. I found this site and its helping me get use to it.
I am trying to make plans on a New England overnight hike, and maybe one in the Fall out west.
I am trying to make plans on a New England overnight hike, and maybe one in the Fall out west.
AK47 Build
I am about 60% done with my AK build from scratch. It has been more difficult then I originally thought. I plan on gold plating the receiver and barrel. I am also looking for volunteers to fire off the first round at the Barnstable range.





