View From The Porch: 2026

Thursday, November 05, 2026

Wednesday, November 04, 2026

Tuesday, November 03, 2026

Tab Clearing...

After recent PLAN live fire exercises in the area, an object turned up on the beach in Papua New Guinea. The Chinese embassy said it was probably a wine bottle and nothing to worry about. (The object in question.)

Another warning that AI's financial rewards aren't being reaped by anybody but AI companies.

A defense contractor gave their personal AI agent access to sensitive Pentagon systems.

Update...

Still feeling ookie.

I'm gonna take some DayQuil, go vote, and crawl back into bed.

Monday, November 02, 2026

Ugh.

I am sick unto death.

Plus, it's been a weekend around here.

Sunday, November 01, 2026

1976 was the last year before General Motors downsized their full-size cars. This '76 Chevrolet Caprice Classic rode on a 121.5" wheelbase, stretched 222.9" bumper to bumper, and weighed over 4300 pounds. That's longer than a regular cab standard-bed Silverado and only a couple hundred pounds lighter.

Meme Dump!

Saturday, October 31, 2026

Meme Dump!

Friday, October 30, 2026

Gratuitous Gun Pr0n #269...

Here's a Beretta 80X Cheetah in .32ACP with all the trimmings from Langdon Tactical. It has a custom trigger job, with an overtravel stop installed in the frame and all the internal parts NP3 coated, and the resulting double-action trigger is like buttah. The gun's been lightly dehorned and the Holosun EPS Carry is direct milled to the slide rather than using an adapter plate.

It works great in the PHLster Skeleton, carried either strong-side or AIWB. (The flashlight is a Surefire EDCL2-T, with spare batteries in the Thyrm CellVault.)

I'm fixin' to shoot the bejeezus out of this thing.

Boldly Gone...

It's been a rough week for Starfleet, losing both Chekov and Picard in the space of a few days.

End-Of-Week Memes!

Thursday, October 29, 2026

Automotif DCXL...

Rubber bumpers at both ends, recessed rear window, and checkered flags on the fender rather than a "Stingray" badge mark this as a 1977 Chevrolet Corvette in Corvette Bright Yellow.

The hood badge proclaims the presence of the optional L82 performance engine, which was at something of a Malaise Era nadir for the '76-'77 model years, producing only 205 horsepower.

Snapped with a Nikon Zfc and Tamron 17-70mm f/2.8 zoom lens.

Meme Dump!

Wednesday, October 28, 2026

Midweek Meme Dump!

Tuesday, October 27, 2026

Tab Clearing...

A look at the border war between Thailand and Cambodia last year. tl;dr, the Royal Thai Air Force pretty much pwned the Cambodians.

Hairy Man Road: a Halloween tale

When your Wikipedia page gets deleted...

Meme Dump!

Monday, October 26, 2026

Automotif DCXXXIX...

Judging by the wheels, windshield and lack of a CHMSL ("center high-mounted stop lamp", aka the third brake light) this Guards Red Porsche 944 is a 1985 model, I think.

Snapped with a Nikon Zfc and a Tamron 17-70mm f/2.8 zoom lens.

Monday Morning Meme Dump!

Sunday, October 25, 2026

Gratuitous Gun Pr0n #268...

It's been a long time coming. Suppressors, as well as short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and AOWs are (at least for now) over-the-counter purchases from an FFL in Indiana. Walk into Indy Arms Co., do a NICS check*, and walk out with an AAC Ti-Rant 9S to screw on an FN 509 Tactical.

*Technically if I had an Indiana LTCH issued in the last five years rather than the lifetime permit I got back in '08, I wouldn't even have had to do the NICS check.

Not Paying Off?

It appears that the only sector of the economy seeing big gains from AI are AI companies. If you took the "Mag 7" AI companies out of the S&P 500, then the resulting S&P 493 isn't looking so hot.

Needless to say, some people are getting increasingly worried that things are getting kinda tulip bulb-y out there.