TripleDigitRide

Academy Sports + Outdoors is one of my favorites.

Huge thunder and lightning. Tons of rain. Power outage.

Hold down the "Alt" key and then press the numbers 0 1 6 9. ©

True. I was referring to the 4", service models. The 4.5" XDM .45 has roughly twices as much slide length past the frame. This was the same issue I had with the XDM .40 I purchased. As a personal preference, I simply couldn't get used to it.

Interstate 95 in New Jersey is nicknamed the “Iron Pipeline” because it is a popular route for criminals smuggling firearms from the South. “Operation Iron Pipeline” is an anti-gun initiative named for the nickname for Interstate 95.

I only wish the slide and frame were closer to the same length, like the XD's.

Catch This: Hundreds Of Grenades Shipped To Clam Plant - Boston News Story - WCVB Boston NEW BEDFORD, Mass. -- It's not unusual for East Coast fishermen to find grenades and other old munitions in their traps, but rarely do they find 126 at once. Workers at the Fair Tide Shellfish plant were stunned Friday to find the World War II era grenades as they began to process a load of clams that had been dredged up off Long Island and shipped to New Bedford for processing. Some of the vintage grenades had pins-- others did not-- but all were potentially dangerous. "Come to find out, based on what the Navy said, they were live. They were loaded for bear so to speak," said Tom Slaughter of Fair Tide Shellfish. There were entire cases of grenades still intact in their original wooden crates, covered in black muck from decades spent in deep waters. "We thought they were like big chunks of black coal, the kind used in old ships. When one broke open, we found all the grenades inside. The cases were encompassed in black coal-like marine life," said Slaughter. The plant was evacuated and the State Police Bomb Squad and the U.S. Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal team moved in. They moved the grenades out in a dump truck full of sand. The slow procession made its way to a nearby jetty, where experts set up an isolated, controlled site to detonate the old munitions. The grenades were detonated safely in a spectacular blast at about 7:30 p.m. The shockwave from the blast was felt over a mile away, but there were no injuries.

Just heard the first claps of thunder in the distance.

Welcome back! Enjoy your stay!

FOXNews.com - Homeless 'Hero' Ignored While Dying on NYC Street A heroic homeless man, stabbed after saving a Queens woman from a knife-wielding attacker, lay dying in a pool of blood for more than an hour as nearly 25 people indifferently strolled past him, a shocking surveillance video obtained by the New York Post reveals. Some of the passers-by paused to stare at Hugo Alfredo Tale-Yax last Sunday morning and others leaned down to look at his face. He had jumped to the aid of a woman attacked on 144th Street at 88th Road in Jamaica, Queens, at 5:40 a.m., was stabbed several times in the chest and collapsed as he chased his assailant. In the wake of the bloodshed, a man came out of a nearby building and chillingly took a cellphone photo of the victim before leaving. And in several instances, pairs of people gawked at Tale-Yax without doing anything. Later, another man stopped, leaned over and vigorously shook Tale-Yax’s body. After lifting the victim’s head and body to reveal a pool of blood, he also walked off. Not until some 15 minutes after he was shaken by the pedestrian -- more than an hour and 20 minutes after the victim collapsed -- did firefighters finally arrive and discover that Tale-Yax, 31, had died. Firefighters were responding to a 911 call of a non-life-threatening injury at 7:23 a.m. when they found his body.

Most Wal-Mart stores have a vision center. I guess you're still allowed to carry there.

I'm more than a little bummed because the forecast has put a halt to the Mid-Tenn TGO Motorcycle Ride that was scheduled for today. I know they're calling for some rough weather, but as I look out my window at this moment, it looks beautiful out there. Any of you to the west / southwest seeing any bad weather yet?

What forums would you recommend?

Wine crackers. That's what they're for. http://www.ewinebarn.com/store/otc_wine_crackers

peaceful parenting: Article Asks: "Are Infant Foreskins the New Botox?" Unless you have young sons, you might not be aware that circumcision is on a downward trend, and that the anti-circumcision lobby is gaining ground. Not your problem? Well, it turns out that this issue is suddenly of relevance to everyone: Foreskins are the latest tool in the fight against aging, and we're going to need a constant fresh supply! Developed by a biomedical company, "Vavelta" is a clear liquid, made from millions of microscopic new skin cells cultured from babies' foreskins, which is then injected into the skin to treat wrinkles, sun damage, and scars. The clinical trials, which took place in London using "material" from a US hospital, have just been completed and reportedly show the technique to be "astonishingly effective." So there's a minor "ick" factor. But what's that compared to injecting your face with deadly poison or cow skin, or indeed to (gulp) actually aging?

Waterfront? Drive-thru service?

Watchdogs: Temple for Ted Kennedy built with pork - BostonHerald.com The amount of taxpayer money being funneled to a Dorchester shrine to the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy has ballooned to $38 million and could rise to at least $68 million this year, infuriating watchdog groups who insist the project should be privately funded. With $38.3 million in federal earmarks already secured for the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, Sen. John F. Kerry and Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Malden) have in recent days tapped the government for $30 million more in the next budget. The new taxpayer-funded total would cover the full $60 million estimated cost of building the project, adjacent to John F. Kennedy Presidential Library at Columbia Point. And it would put the public on the hook for nearly half the project’s $150 million target. “If the Kennedy family wants to honor the family they should find a way to fund it themselves,†said David E. Williams of Citizens Against Government Waste, a Washington nonprofit group. “They should be looking for private funding,†he said. “They’re using federal taxpayers as the funder of first resort. We need to be the funder of last resort.†Williams and other critics called it “ridiculous†and an “egregious waste†that supporters want to siphon $28.9 million of the funding from the Defense Department budget alone. Nearly $19 million of that is already signed into law. “It’s hard to fathom the defense-related portion of this project,†said Steve Ellis, a vice president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, a fiscal watchdog group. Tax subsidy defended Peter Meade, president of the planned institute, defended the use of tax dollars and the defense money, saying the project would include programs geared for children of active military personnel. “That’s where Congress chose to do it, and we’re grateful to them for it,†Meade said. Markey and Kerry also defended the project’s growing cost, saying it could draw tourists to Boston. Both declined to respond to criticism of earmarks for the center. The institute “will serve as a national resource, helping Americans learn more about the Senate’s vital place in our democratic system and the historic leading role that the late Senator Kennedy played during his decades of outstanding service to Massachusetts and to the nation,†Markey spokesman Daniel Reilly said in a statement. It will be “an invaluable resource for citizens from the commonwealth to California,†he said. A Kerry spokeswoman said in a statement that the institute will bring “knowledge and good citizenship to thousands of young people†and that Kerry is “proud that he worked with his colleagues last year to help make it a reality.†Williams said their support for the project equated with support for pork-type spending. “Markey and Kerry understand that Kennedy is a beloved figure in Massachusetts and that it is sacrilege to speak ill of this,†he said. “But it’s still pork-barrel spending and not something federal taxpayers should be paying for.†The institute, to be built adjacent to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum near the University of Massachusetts at Boston campus, “will be dedicated to educating the public, students, teachers, new senators and Senate staff about the role and importance of the Senate,†according to its Web site, emkinstitute.org. Taxpayer watchdog Ellis compared the institute to presidential libraries, which generally are privately funded. “Considering the interest and affection for Sen. Kennedy, this could be independently funded and doesn’t need to be getting taxpayer dollars,†he said. Meade said the center will not be a library but an “educational institute that’s a part of UMass-Boston.†He added: “Those kinds of organizations receive public money regularly.†He said he is “mindful of budget problems†at the federal level, and agreed it is “somewhat unusual†for a project affiliated with a state university to seek private money at all. He said in an e-mail that the institute has secured $45 million in private donations and pledges. He did not respond to an e-mail asking how much of that was in hand. He said most of the funding would come from private donors, but declined to say what the public-private split would be. Construction in October The institute will house Kennedy’s papers and memorabilia from more than four decades in the Senate. It will include a museum, reception area, library and classrooms, according to its Web site. It will host mock Senate sessions and programs for high school and college students and incoming senators and their staffs. Meade said plans are being finalized and renderings are not being made available to the public. Construction is to begin in October and take two and a half years, he said. The project has gotten $38.3 million in federal earmarks in less than two years, according to data compiled by LegiStorm, a nonpartisan group that tracks congressional spending information. That figure includes $5.81 million that Kerry and five other senators backed in the fiscal 2009 education budget. Two federal spending bills passed in December, one for defense and the other for education, included another $32.5 million for the institute. Kerry and Markey were among the members of Congress who requested those funds. Kerry seeks even more Kerry requested an additional $10 million late last week, his spokeswoman, Brigid O’Rourke, said in an e-mail Friday afternoon. Markey made his most recent requests on March 20, according to two letters he wrote to the chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations. The first $10 million would come from the defense appropriations bill, the second $10 million from the spending bill for the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education, a Markey spokesman confirmed in an e-mail. Markey’s letters say the money “would be used for program development†and in support of “the primary goal†of the institute - “to improve civics education and engagement in this country.†Williams criticized the vague description of how the millions would be spent. “The lack of information is typical,†he said. “There is no detail about project phases or what the money goes toward. The point is to get the ball rolling and to move the project down the road one more step.†In many cases, initial funding pays for architectural planning or research, Williams said. “They get it started and hope it gets far enough down the road that they can’t stop the funding,†he said. Added Ellis: “Will this be a long-term commitment? Every year, will we be giving $10 million?†Ellis blasted the slipping of earmarks for the project into two bills where they can be easily hidden. “It’s a really big bill,†he said of the Department of Defense budget. “$10 million does not stick out in Defense.†“This earmark has nothing to do with defending the country,†said Williams. Lt. Cmdr. Kathleen Kesler, a Defense Department spokeswoman, refused to comment. Submitting a request as large as those sought for the Kennedy Institute doesn’t mean a member of Congress will get the full amount. However, Ellis suggested it is more likely to be filled than other requests, because it “pulls at the heartstrings because it’s for the late senator.â€

Police Radio Prankster Endangering Lives - NewsChannel 5.com - Nashville, Tennessee - By Brent Frazier COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Police officers are not laughing at a practical jokester whose phantom voice has cropped up at least six different times. The department's upper level managers confirm the man is already responsible for getting the wrong person arrested. They fear someone is going to get hurt. Derek Hawkins, 25, of Cookeville, was a passenger in a car that was stopped just before 2 a.m. on February 4. Cookeville officers reviewed both Hawkins's and the driver's criminal pasts. Cookeville Police admit Hawkins was handcuffed, albeit briefly and detained for no reason. Officers in the field were told via radio that Hawkins was wanted out of Overton County, on a warrant for violating probation. "He said ‘no, you're crazy. I've never been in any trouble in Overton County. I don't go to Overton County," said Debbie Lee, Hawkins's mother. Derek Hawkins died the following day in an unrelated scenario. His mother found him dead on the couch in the early morning hours, and she is currently awaiting autopsy results. Meantime, the circumstances that got Hawkins falsely arrested are concerning to Cookeville police. "Clearly, this has to be someone who has access to a two-way radio and has our frequency enabled on that device," said Captain Nathan Honeycutt, public information officer for the Cookeville Police Department. Honeycutt admitted pinpointing the suspect will be challenging. Dispatchers see nothing identifiable when an officer radios in, and police said tower tracking is useless, since all police radio traffic filters in and out of one central spot. He also admitted the person might be in possession of a stolen police radio. Honeycutt said difficulty will not stop investigators from pursuing the suspect and criminal charges. He said the man behind the phantom voice is breaking not only state law, but federal law. Cookeville police have also implemented a radio reprogramming of base station radios, the department's repeater and mobile and portable radios the officers use in the field. Honeycutt said the roughly $2,000 maintenance should lessen the chance of an unauthorized radio transmission. Derek Hawkins's mother wants the prankster caught and arrested. "He needs to sit behind the bars to see how funny it really is," said Debbie.

I found this website full of strange news stories. Thought I'd share with those who may be interested. http://jailface.com/

FOXNews.com - Air Force's X-37B Space Plane Takes Off For Mystery Mission The United States Air Force's secretive X-37B robotic space plane blasted off from Florida late Thursday on a mystery mission shrouded in secrecy for the U.S. military. The unmanned military Orbital Test Vehicle 1 (OTV-1) – also known as the X-37B – lifted off at 7:52 p.m. EDT (2352 GMT) atop an Atlas 5 rocket on a mission that is expected to take months testing new spacecraft technologies. The X-37B is a reusable robotic space plane built by Boeing Phantom Works. Its mission is being carried out under the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office with participation by NASA. Key objectives of the space plane's first flight include demonstration and validation of guidance, navigation and control systems – including a "do-it-itself" autonomous re-entry and landing at California's Vandenberg Air Force Base with neighboring Edwards Air Force Base as a backup. The X-37B is the first vehicle since NASA's space shuttles with the ability to return experiments to Earth for further inspection and analysis, Air Force officials said. "This is a new way for the Air Force to conduct on-orbit experiments," explained Gary Payton, Air Force deputy under secretary for space programs, during a Tuesday press teleconference. The designed maximum on-orbit duration for the X-37B is 270 days, Payton said. "In all honesty, we don't know when it's coming back for sure. It depends on the progress that we make with the on-orbit demonstrations," he added. Thursday's launch capped a long road to orbit for the X-37B spacecraft. NASA initially began the project in 1999 and later transferred it to the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) in 2004 due to a lack of funding. The Air Force stepped in 2006 to take over the project. Tight-lipped affair Circling the Earth, the X-37B space plane has a full agenda of shaking out new technologies including advanced guidance, navigation and control. Once the vehicle's payload bay doors open to space, power is provided by a deployable array of gallium arsenide solar cells coupled with lithium-ion batteries. But after that action item is checked off, what else the X-37B will do becomes a tight-lipped affair. "Actual on-orbit activities we do classify...for the experimental payloads that are on-orbit with the X-37," Payton said. There's enough payload room, he added as example, to house a couple of small satellites in the range of a few hundred kilograms each. Given the X-37B's secretive duties, some analysts contend that the mission is provocative, perhaps fanning the flames for war in space. "Truthfully, I don't know how this could be called 'weaponization' of space," Payton said. "Fundamentally, it's an updated version of the space shuttle kind of activities in space," he added, a new vehicle that could potentially help the Air Force do its space missions better. Perhaps a key show and tell feature of the X-37B is its self-guided entry and landing in California. In the event the vehicle strays off course as it swoops down over the Pacific Ocean, the space plane is outfitted with a destruct mechanism. The X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle 1 was built by Boeing in Seal Beach, Calif. It is about 29 feet (9 meters) long and has a wingspan of just over 14 feet (4 meters) across. It stands just over 9 1/2 feet (3 meters) tall and weighs nearly 11,000 pounds (about 5,000 kg). This SPACE.com X-37B graphic illustrates some details of the space plane and its relative size. The Air Force has already ordered a second X-37B, presumably the Orbital Test Vehicle 2, which is slated to launch in 2011. But that mission, and any new flights of this first vehicle, hinge on the performance during orbital and landing maneuvers, Air Force officials have said. Tale of the V-tail The X-37B carries two short vertical stabilizers in the back rather than one vertical as seen on the shuttle orbiter. There were several reasons for the V-tail 'ruddervators'...a high-tech wordsmithing of rudder and elevator, explained Angie Blair, an Air Force spokeswoman for the project. For one, the short V-tails provide better packaging within the 5 meter in diameter Atlas 5 fairing than a single, taller vertical stabilizer, she said. Secondly, the more forward wing location of the X-37B enables the V-tails to be very effective in the high angle of attack, hypersonic portion of the entry trajectory. That reduces the amount of reaction control system propellant needed for trim and control of the craft, Blair said. As the craft draws a bead on its landing locale, a speed brake will be employed. "A split ruddervators/speed brake like the space shuttle is not feasible in a small vehicle like the OTV," Blair noted. Aerodynamic testing and other studies, she said, led to the vehicle's upper center line speed brake and V-tail ruddervators as the best performing system solutions for the X-37B. Readiness for re-flight En route to the runway, new thermal protection systems will be evaluated. So too will be avionics, high temperature structures and seals, conformal reusable insulation, as well as lightweight electromechanical flight systems. Even after touching down, the X-37B is to yield insight into fast turnaround, operation and maintenance. The craft does carry some vehicle health monitoring subsystems to speed its readiness for re-flight, Payton told SPACE.com. "If these technologies on the vehicle prove to be as good as we currently estimate, it will make our access to space more responsive, perhaps cheaper, and push us in the vector of being able to react to warfighter needs more quickly," Payton concluded.

Yeah, it's not looking good. If this weekend is a wash, plan for the following weekend (Saturday, May 1, 2010). I understand this will likely prevent some from making it, but I think it's the best option at this time. The year is still young, so hoefully we can make another attempt at a ride with more advance notice.

Yummy!