Via MetaFi, a collection of modern interpretations of classic art at Tor.
My favourites?
and 
Go to the Tor page for more, and comparison with the originals.
wrm
A bunch of old cranks.
A colleague told me they’d be doing a run today, so we went off to Kalk Bay for breakfast (Waffles. With ice cream. And ice cream coffee. My poor sinuses) to watch them come past.
They couldn’t have chosen a nicer day for their drive (through Muizenberg and Kalk Bay via Cape Point to Scarborough for lunch).
1901 Benz Ideal, co-piloted by my colleague Harvey.
Wolseley. Number plate says “1905” but this website* calls it a 1902.
They tell me this is the only remaining 1905 De Dietrich. Gorgeous big four cylinder engine which barely ticks over at Muizenberg / Fish Hoek Main Road speed.
The only known surviving Nordenfelt car, a 1907 model. Nordenfelt is better known for its multiple-barrel machine gun, a predecessor of the Maxim.
* Evil website. They have a 1971 Citroen Safari for sale. Don’t tell my father. Hell, don’t tell me, I’m sorely tempted. Oh, and a 1961 Mercedes Ponton. Don’t tell my brother.
Freedom Arms 454 Casull
For a brief time, this was my 100th gun… but I sold a couple since.
I had to go to the range (and quite a number of trips are still required) to get the lights and speaker wiring sorted for the 2012 Silhouette World Championships. The fellow I bought the gun from was also going to be there, and since I don’t have the license yet, I asked him to take the gun so I could play with it (“Gun control”. Hate it or hate it, it’s a pain in the arse. I paid for the gun, it’s mine, but I have to wait six months to a year or whatever before I can legally possess it).
I was shooting a fairly mild 45 Colt load, 255 grain SWC over 10 grains of S221, which is somewhat like HS-6 or HS-7. I think it’s good for around 1100 fps.
Despite the massive front sight, the gun is shooting high. We need to raise the front sight by about four or five millimeters. And it needs a hood to keep the sunlight off.
(Eye protection: yea, I know. I wore glasses for almost forty years, but recently had Lasik, and I still forget I’m not wearing glasses by default. My bad).
Jeremy’s on the ball
The South African Weather Services Amendment Bill will see citizens issuing any “severe weather or pollution-related warning” without written permission from the South African Weather Service, facing a multi-million rand fine and a possible 10 years imprisonment.
(Click on the pic to see Jerm’s page)
The fisherman and the snake
There’s a story about a fisherman running low on bait and! He spots a snake! With a frog in its mouth!
So he grabs the snake, shakes it over the bait box ’till it drops the frog, now he’s stuck with an angry snake in his hand.
After thinking about this he grabs his bottle of whisky, pulls the cork with his teeth, and pours a dram or two down the snake’s throat, releases the snake.
Ten minutes later something taps on his foot… yes, the snake, with another frog.
And I’m telling you this because why Misty came in with a gecko, we took the gecko, gave him a fishy.
Second time it happened, we joked about the fisherman.
Third time it happened, we stopped joking about it.
Hang on, gotta go, cat just came in with something in his mouth…
Range time
So, having successfully retrieved a bundle of toys, a trip to the range was indicated.
Top left, Star BS, next to it my 22 Llama XV that I’ve had for a while, below them a horribly gold-plated Star PD (45 ACP) that actually shoots really well, to the right of that an Astra Constable at the bottom and a Constable II at the top with a Star M30PK between them. Then two 22 target pistols, a Star FR at the bottom and an Astra TS-22 above. North of that an Astra 7000, also in 22 LR. The two revolvers are both 38 Special, a Llama Martial (top) and an Astra Cadix.
These will all at some stage make their way into the Gundex.
Every year is getting shorter…
… never seem to find the time.
From The New Yorker, via Give Me Something to Read, via MetaFilter, this fascinating article on how we process the world around us, and why, perhaps, years seem to fly by more quickly as we get older.
“This explains why we think that time speeds up when we grow older,” Eagleman said—why childhood summers seem to go on forever, while old age slips by while we’re dozing. The more familiar the world becomes, the less information your brain writes down, and the more quickly time seems to pass.
For me, 2011 was quite eventful. We survived a trip to the USA with two teenagers, I got a whole bunch of gun licences, and I even managed to get some work done on the house.
Not great, but not bad.
Satsuma
My mother-in-law bought this vase from Maurits Lammers Antiques close to Rademacher’s outside George. She was told that it’s Satsuma, but not knowing anything about pottery I don’t know whether this is the case or whether it’s authentic (the price seems to suggest it’s probably not).
Well, it doesn’t say “Japan” anywhere, which suggests it might be original, but it also doesn’t have the cross-in-circle on the bottom, so…
Anyways, I’ve asked the nice people over at MetaFi, so answers will undoubtedly be found :-)
The View From Our Porch*
Knysna Heads. We’re off to purchase a substantial quantity of the fine produce of the Mitchell’s Brewing Company. Oh, and maybe some food.
* Apologies to Tamara.