Books. Bikes. Boomsticks.
“I only regret that I have but one face to palm for my country.”
Tuesday, May 31, 2022
The valkyries ride even longer...
Lights, Camera, Inaction
Monday, May 30, 2022
Sunday, May 29, 2022
Automotif CCCIII...
Like I've said, sit there at the corner of 54th & College long enough and sooner or later one of everything will drive by. Sometimes two of everything, like this 1922 Model T Runabout and 1923 Model T Touring!
Saturday, May 28, 2022
Automotif CCCII...
1970 Coupe de Ville, shot with a Nikon D800 & 24-120mm f/4 |
So, taking pictures of cars and filing them away in my little Facebook photo albums is my borderline-on-the-spectrum happy place. Some people go trainspotting, others stand around at airports and record aircraft tail numbers, I have my car photo albums, which I usually update every morning with the previous day's take.
What amuses me is when I post a picture of a car like this and someone gets all assmad because this dude didn't dress his Barbie doll the way the commenter would have dressed it if it were his.
Bro, nobody appointed me or you to be the fun police. Does it look like homie loves his ride and is having a good time? Yes. Yes it does. So why don't you make like the cartoon girl in that Disney movie, and "Let it go! Let it Go!"?
Friday, May 27, 2022
Who watches the watchers?
Law enforcement officers are investigating whether a retired federal agent had about 30 minutes advance notice of a white supremacist's plans to murder Black people at a Buffalo supermarket, two law enforcement officials told The Buffalo News.Then again, given the sordid history at some agencies, it isn't entirely shocking.
Authorities believe the former agent – believed to be from Texas – was one of at least six individuals who regularly communicated with accused gunman Payton Gendron in an online chat room where racist hatred was discussed, the two officials said.
Thursday, May 26, 2022
The Long and Winding Road
Wednesday, May 25, 2022
So it turns out...
Statistically this seems to be the most common discovery after the breathless media claims of "tactical vest" and "body armor"; the Buffalo kook was an anomaly in actually wearing plates.
Besides, even loaded spare mags in a chest rig make pretty good defense against pistol bullets, especially slow fat ones like .45ACP and .44Spl.
...especially if dude is using an AK with much more robust mags. |
All the Little Angels Rise Up
Never forget the Glorious Revolution of the Twenty-Fifth of May, and the people's struggle for justice, freedom, reasonably-priced love, and a hard-boiled egg.
Unplanned walkabout...
My appointment was at the public lieberry at 42nd & College at 1130. The weather was lovely, so I walked to the 54th Street Red Line stop, arriving at five minutes after eleven, only to watch the southbound bus pull away just before I arrived.
"No problem," I think, "The buses run every 10-15minutes."
*glance at station monitor, which informs me the next southbound bus is 37 minutes out*
"Well, shit. I can walk to 42nd Street in 37 minutes."
So I did.
The bus, of course, whooshed past just as I was walking up to the library door.
Fault Lines
Because if you wanted to quickly turn 'Murica into something between Belfast in the Eighties and Sarajevo in the Nineties, that'd be the hot ticket.
— Tamara K. (@TamSlick) May 25, 2022
Tuesday, May 24, 2022
Project Deuce-Deuce
Monday, May 23, 2022
Automotif CCCI...
Sunday, May 22, 2022
Pop Culture Blender
Nodding off while MeTV is running on a Saturday evening makes for great dreams.
— Tamara K. (@TamSlick) May 22, 2022
I mean, if Adam West's Batman showing up on the bridge of Shatner's Enterprise is your thing, at least.
Holy photon torpedoes, Batman!
Biff! Pow! Two to beam up!
Saturday, May 21, 2022
Automotif CCC...
Friday, May 20, 2022
Beauty and the Birds
I first noticed the flocks of pigeons swooping and swirling above Brooklyn during my long walks back in the 2000’s. I immediately knew they were beautiful, I just didn’t know they were art. Well, art as most people experience it. Not as something to put in a gallery, but as something to elevate life above the mundane. Beauty for beauty’s sake, not for fame or money.Do yourself a favor and RTWT.
Recognizing them as art took a little more time.
He called the ball on that one...
I'll admit it. Coming out as a Republican as soon as he knew the harassment story would hit the press is a masterful move. The man can spot marks. https://t.co/HsMhFqEr1n
— Aubrey Gilleran (@AubreyGilleran) May 20, 2022
Chaser:
The same BS they tried on Trump...this is Musk's "Stormy Daniels" moment...https://t.co/Mhin4C3wh5
— RD Carrington (@rdcarrington) May 20, 2022
Be Careful What You Wish For
People sometimes rub the legislative lamp and make a wish without thinking through the perverse ways that the genie of government might grant it. https://t.co/xh2abUPKBz
— Tamara K. (@TamSlick) May 19, 2022
Thursday, May 19, 2022
Return of the Savage
But are you really armed?
Automotif CCXCIX...
Wednesday, May 18, 2022
Tuesday, May 17, 2022
From elsewhere...
"Russia’s military BS, its inflated readiness and pencilwhipped training & inspections, deceived the worst targets possible: their own high command.
It’s pretty obvious that Russia thought they would pin the bulk of the Ukrainian army’s best units in the Donbas and trap it with a double envelopment, preventing it from pulling back to reinforce the capital, which would be seized by a coup de main striking south from Byelorussia linking up with the airhead at Hostomel.
All very Shock & Awe. Very lighting warfare and deep battle. And literally none of it came true because it was all wishcasting based on undertrained troops and fantasyland readiness reports."
Monday, May 16, 2022
QotD: I Hadn’t Thought Of That Edition
"When you think of it, a connoisseur is someone who likes almost nothing of something."
-Mike Johnston, The Online Photographer
.
"I hate these filthy neutrals, Kif."
Switzerland's fabled neutral status is about to face its biggest test in decades, with the defense ministry tilting closer to Western military powers in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine https://t.co/LG6GPb6mZK pic.twitter.com/zHgKKhSx2p
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 16, 2022
I don't get...
Sunday, May 15, 2022
Dead Man's Curve
"I was cruisin' in my Sting Ray late one night..."
"When an XK-E pulled up on my right..."
"He rolled down the window of his shiny new Jag..."
"And challenged me then and there to a drag
I said, "You're on, buddy, my mill's runnin' fine
Let's come off the line now, at Sunset and Vine
But I'll throw you one better if you've got the nerve
Let's race all the way
To Dead Man's Curve"
Dead Man's Curve, it's no place to play
Dead Man's Curve, you best keep away
Dead Man's Curve, I can hear 'em say
Won't come back from Dead Man's Curve
The street was deserted late Friday night
We were buggin' each other while we sat out the light
We both popped the clutch when the light turned green
You should of heard the whine from my screamin' machine
I flew past LaBrea, Schwab's, and Crescent Heights
And all the Jag could see were my six tail lights..."
Clicking to embiggenate will get lots of detail. Shot with a 36MP Nikon D800, you can practically read the tag on the driver's shirt. |
Saturday, May 14, 2022
Automotif CCXCVII...
Thursday, May 12, 2022
Speaking of baby formula...
Bad U.S. policy surely didn’t cause the infant formula crisis, but it just as surely made the situation worse than it needed to be. Trade barriers and poorly designed welfare policies helped create a brittle system dominated by a few domestic players—a system that might muddle through in the good times but one that crumbles in the face of a serious shock and struggles to recover thereafter. Meanwhile, American consumers (here, babies and their already frazzled parents) are left in the lurch, and world-class foreign producers can’t help much because they lack the necessary paperwork and financial incentives or because past U.S. policies have discouraged them from setting up official distribution channels or new facilities to serve the American market.Oh, government! Is there anything you can't make worse?
Idiotic Sloganeering
"$40B on Ukraine when there's a shortage of baby food here at home!"
— Tamara K. (@TamSlick) May 12, 2022
As though we were somehow keeping Raytheon producing guided missiles instead of its normal output of infant formula.
Wednesday, May 11, 2022
Real Talk
A Baughman ramp-type front sight does nothing to make drawing a handgun slower or more snag-prone. Its presence does nothing to make a revolver harder to "point-shoot", if that's the sort of thing you like to do for some reason.
Removing the front sight has literally no advantage except a marketing one, for signaling to the cluefulness-challenged.
With a dab of nail polish (or, if you want to be bougie about it, luminescent sight paint) and, hey presto! Your simple Baughman combat ramp is now a hi-viz front sight! |
I LOL'ed...
People believe Twitter is the real world. They therefore believe that Elon Musk is buying the world.
— Abe Greenwald (@AbeGreenwald) April 14, 2022
Yeah, pretty much what this dude said.
I fully support the policy of providing Ukraine with intelligence to aid in its fight, including intelligence that leads to the infliction of painful defeats on Russian forces. It's also a good thing for Russia to know that we've played a significant role in enabling Ukraine to defend itself.Vlad's already running the story that Russia's actually dealing with NATO mercenaries in Ukraine. Reckless talk by insiders like this, who are basically trying to impress journos with how much they know, just bolsters his own story while closing face-saving off ramps.
But it is a very bad thing for this information to be public knowledge. I don't blame the journalists who've reported it. If high-ranking, trustworthy government officials reveal newsworthy information to a reporter, it's usually considered acceptable to publish it. I blame the officials — especially since the Biden administration has made clear that it has not authorized the disclosures. This is a person or group of people showing off to journalists about their role in hurting Russia. That's extremely reckless and could well lead to an exceptionally dangerous escalation of the conflict that ends up with the U.S. and NATO being draw into a direct military confrontation with Russia.
Tuesday, May 10, 2022
King of the Beasts
Olympus E-600 & the magical Zuiko 150mm f/2 |
Monday, May 09, 2022
I needed that...
Truth in Labeling?
Sunday, May 08, 2022
Malaise
Automotif CCXCVI...
Nikon D700 & 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6 VR |
De-badged and repainted, with an aftermarket grille, my Chevy-fu is too weak to tell whether this '72 coupe is an Impala or a Caprice.
Friday, May 06, 2022
Automotif CCXCV...
I'm no Caddy expert, but I think this is an '86 Sedan de Ville.
Second year of the smaller front-wheel-drive de Villes, still with the throttle body fuel injected 249cid (4.1L) HT-4100 V8, putting out 135 net bhp.
Hit or Missile
President Donald J. Trump in 2020 asked Mark T. Esper, his defense secretary, about the possibility of launching missiles into Mexico to “destroy the drug labs” and wipe out the cartels, maintaining that the United States’ involvement in a strike against its southern neighbor could be kept secret, Mr. Esper recounts in his upcoming memoir.I don't know where a layperson like Trump would have gotten the idea that we can just launch missiles from drones to eliminate problems in countries we aren't at war with. What a wack notion.
Now, the idea that we could do it in a large neighboring country and then try and claim it wasn't us was a little silly. "Uh, sir, this isn't like bullshitting Manhattan real estate appraisers."
People are acting like he got the idea from that Clancy novel, as though Trump had actually read a book, let alone a 700-pager with words like "geosynchronous" and "laser designator" rather than "Jane", "Spot", and "run".
The whole alleged plan ignores the first rule of U.S. drone strikes, which isn't "Make sure the target is covered by the AUMF and on the disposition matrix", but rather "Make sure the target's in a weedy little country who can't do shit about it."
"Sir, the Yemeni ambassador is on line five. He sounds pissed."
"Take a message. Tell him I'll have someone get back to him."
.
Thursday, May 05, 2022
Dial Tone
Wednesday, May 04, 2022
Forest, Trees
My best friend’s sister’s boyfriend’s brother’s girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who’s going with the girl who saw a clerk leaking to Politico at 31 Flavors last night. I guess it’s pretty serious. https://t.co/UpUxd3Y1jZ
— Tamara K. (@TamSlick) May 4, 2022
Tuesday, May 03, 2022
Bang for the Buck
If it's your very first camera purchase, I personally suggest going with a cheaper camera body and a more expensive lens. This goes for both film and digital shooters. If you're getting used to taking pictures, you're much more likely to enjoy the photos you can take with a wide-aperture prime lens or a well-built zoom. With a cheap lens, you may be stifling your creativity with stale image quality before even giving yourself the chance to get excited.Reading this today made for interesting timing, as I was on the phone with David Merrill yesterday and he made the comment that one should "date your bodies but marry your lenses", which is also pretty much my view on the topic. Heck, part of the reason I'm shooting full-frame Canon DSLRs for work these days was that a reader got me the hookup on an EF 70-200mm f/2.8L; I literally got the lens and started shopping for cameras on which to mount it.
With the 2X teleconverter, it's a 140-400mm f/5.6... |
Crowdsourcing Conspiracies
While Jones-style theorizing "engages in a sort of detective work," write political scientists Nancy L. Rosenblum and Russell Muirhead in A Lot of People Are Saying: The New Conspiracism and the Assault on Democracy, the "new conspiracism is something different. There is no punctilious demand for proofs, no exhaustive amassing of evidence, no dots revealed to form a pattern, no close examination of the operators plotting in the shadows. The new conspiracism dispenses with the burden of explanation. Instead, we have innuendo and verbal gesture ... conspiracy without the theory."You can RTWT here.
In place of theory, however, is community. Conspiracism now is a group project — we see this clearly with QAnon — and the success of Libs of TikTok reflects that shift.
Nine out of ten dentists advocate flossing for healthy teeth.
— Tamara K. (@TamSlick) May 3, 2022
The tenth is doing the Rogan/Jones/Carlson circuit to push back against the propaganda of Big Floss and hawk his organic anti-cavity pills.
Automotif CCXCIV...
Here's a '67 Cadillac de Ville ragtop in Baroque Gold.
Its power is supplied by a 429cid (7,030cc) 4bbl carbureted V8 putting out 340 SAE gross horsepower, so probably something like 255 in modern net bhp terms.
Here also is a '16-'18 Cadillac CT6 in Black Raven.
Its power is provided by a 3.0L (182cid) twin-turbo DOHC V6 putting out 404 SAE net horsepower, which probably would have been advertised as a nice round 500 gross back in 1967.
.
The CT6 is a big sedan by current standards... it's Caddy's flagship car, after all ...but it's still twenty inches shorter and six hundred pounds lighter.
Monday, May 02, 2022
Change My Mind...
Compromises all the way down...
Sunday, May 01, 2022
Pew! Pew! Pew!
An establishing shot for a blog post later today. I needed a subject to photograph at different focal lengths from different distances and while I was going through some boxes in the attic I found this little dude*...
This was with the EOS 5DS & EF 100mm f/2.8L IS Macro, which is not one of the cameras or lenses involved, but was handy.
A little consistency, maybe?
So let me tell you all the ways Musk is an idiot in this irresponsible and factually incorrect statement. 1. In terms of mechanism of action, Wellbutrin is literally just a much weaker version of adderall 1/ pic.twitter.com/20uqh0VAOv
— Michael Tichy (@MichaelTichyNP) April 30, 2022