peejman

Nice.  I'm not a fan of .40, but the XD is a fine pistol.

    Again, me too.    I'll admit the belt was a bit stiff at first but I figured out that since the belt is so stiff, it doesn't need to be so tight.  If you're the type that keeps your belt "squeeze your guts out" tight, then a stiff gun belt will definitely be uncomfortable.  Loosen it a notch or two and you might be happier. 

    Or have some sort of purification system available, or know how to make something like a solar still.  I have no idea if the common backpacking type filter systems would have done anything for the the chemical that was in the water.    It seems like there was a fairly simple solution...   Just go to point upstream of the chemical ingress point, fill some containers from the river, take them home and boil the water as needed.  I don't have any large containers for the sole purpose of holding drinking water, but I do have 20-25 gallons worth of 5 gallon buckets with lids that would serve the immediate purpose.  We've always got plenty of food.  We'd run out of milk for the kids, but that's an inconvenience more than anything.   Given that the chemical is still in the water and travelling down stream, we make have to think about it sooner rather than later.   I just read that the chemical is in the Ohio river and the Cincinnati water utility has closed their river water intake to prevent system contamination. 

  Ah.  Google has since made me somewhat informed as well.  Thanks.  :up:

  I'll be honest and say I don't know what "curved belly" means, but thanks for the measurements. 

  Yep.  Had mine for about 7 years.  Wear it every day. 

$10 if you're selling one.  Where should I send the money?   Otherwise what ^ he said.

    ... if it was manufactured in 1944. 

Nice pics.  What's the height of the blade from the edge to the back and how thick is the back of the blade?

OS   ;)       Come to think of it, there was a guy who walked all around town here for a while with a HUGE boombox on his shoulder with music blasting.  I can't remember his name at the moment.  He seemed pretty harmless but I have no idea what he did other than walk around with that boombox. 

That might explain the lack of info I've found elsewhere, thanks!

If I might hijack for a moment... Where would you recommend for a dual sport motorcycle camping and riding weekend?

  I have an acquaintance who's a federal marshal.  You'd be amazed at how quickly they can access all sorts of information about you, your family, your neighbors, etc. 

http://www.tngunowners.com/forums/topic/73067-motorcycle-guys-floorboards-with-compartment-for-firearms/

The "Sharpening" section here has several different types of strop... http://www.woodcarvers.com/PRODUCTS.htm Mine looks like this... The strop is 13" long and the leather is 7" long and 2" wide. The groove is there to help keep your knuckles out of the path of the blade, though I found it easier to sit it on a table rather than holding it. I used the compound per the instructions.... rub a little into the leather and have at it.

    Ah.  I'm 5'7" and have hit my head while touring subs.  At 6'3", I can see the problem you might have.  Ever find the guy who signed you up for sub duty and punch him in the nose?  :lol:               Sounds exactly like the strop I got...  http://www.woodcarvers.com/sh138.htm   Best I can tell, they're quite common.  Most of the "how to" youtube videos show that kind.  The old fashioned thick leather strop with no backing (barber shop type) don't appear to be as common and are much more expensive.  Thin leather glued to a board is cheaper and probably easier to use than a big piece of leather.

Was being a cook on a sub as interesting as it sounds? I'm completely serious. I've always been fascinated by subs.

Everything with SF. My agent is a long time family friend. Only had one claim and it was $12k storm damage to my house a few years ago. My rates have gone up a little, but not enough to get excited about. When he retires, which shouldn't be too much longer, I'll shop around. USAA is my immediate 2nd choice.

We switched from Verizon to Sprint due to Verizon's habitual shafting of existing customers.  Coverage and service is ok.  Not quite as good as Verizon out in the sticks, but not enough to matter to me. 

  If a dull knife is more dangerous, my in-laws kitchen is the most dangerous place I've ever been.    :lol:     I've used my pocket knife to cut stuff there before.  That said, a little heat solves a lot of problems.              Yep, the general area is still called Nawger Knob.  We've been to a few craft fairs there, but for whatever reason I've never gone in the wood carver's place.  Don't recall it even being there, which is a little worrisome.

My wife got me a strop for Christmas. She found it at a small woodworking place in Townsend, Smoky Mountain Woodcarvers. While I have never been in the place, my wife said it looked like he had at least one of every wood carving tool known to exist. My wife said he as a super nice guy and he also gave each of my boys a hand made wooden car and wouldn't accept payment. He just smiled and told them "merry Christmas". That alone means I'll be back at some point.   :up:    First off, I've never been good at sharpening knives. Free-handed, I can easily make a dull knife sharp as a spoon.  I bought a Smith's sharpening system a while back and after bunch of sharpening, I think I've gotten the hang of it. I could even shave a bit of hair off the back of my hand when finished, so I considered that success.   I started with my cheapo pocket knife which is my guinea pig for trying stuff, mostly because it was free and if I bugger it, oh well.    I presume the blade is made of one form or another of cheap stainless. The edge wasn't bad to begin with, but I touched it up with the fine diamond and the Arkansas stone just because. I'd watched a couple videos on youtube about how to strop a knife so I decided it was time to have a go....   Wow. :stunned:    Now I know how people get those beautifully polished edges I see in pictures. It was reasonably sharp when I started but what a difference! Instead of feeling like I was half scraping the hair off the back of my hand, it was actually cutting it off with little effort.   Encouraged by that success, I raided the kitchen knife drawer and went to work. While sharpening those, I discovered that stropping a thin-bladed kitchen knife isn't so easy. The cutting edge is so small that it was hard to see if I was holding it at the correct angle. I had to re-sharpen the first one twice before I got the angle right so I didn't dull it with the strop. I had to cut up some chicken for supper last night and those knives sliced that bird like butter.  :woohoo:   Now I may tackle a couple other kitchen knives that just aren't quite as sharp as they used to be.  :cool:

We have a blue heeler mix and what they said about the cattle dog breed is very true...   They're very smart and that tends to make them very stubborn.  They're a lot more work to deal with than a typical "people pleasing" breed like a lab.      In my experience, animal shelter people aren't especially reliable with regard to dog breeds.  It's hard to tell with puppies anyway. 

      I would assume that like lots of things, it's considered secondary enforcement.  If you run across a LEO in a bad mood, or do something silly and they decide to throw the book at you, it'll be on the list.   My guess is the cops in Maryland recognize you as a tourist and choose not to hassle you about it, unless you give them reason to hassle you. 

Welcome!

  I think this is the ticket.  I've also got a fixed blade with serrations.  Generally one puts MUCH more pressure on knife when cutting with serrations compared to a plain edge.  That seems to work a lot better with a bigger knife than a pocket folder.    I also sharpened my serrated knife over the weekend.  While it wasn't especially dull, it sharpened up easy enough with the diamond round file that came with my Smith's kit.  It'd be pretty tedious to do a long, fully serrated blade (like a kitchen knife), but it's not real difficult.