Trading Movies And Fun In The Sun

Nana and Will pose on the patio swing. You gotta get these shots when you can. If Will thinks you are taking to many he will not turn his face towards you.


This is Newbie, he also dropped by the Old Homestead today with his brother Will and their mother.


Will again, his mother brought along some kind of chocolate chip, nut filled muffin cupcakes. Whatever they are technically, Will made sure he got his. He seldom passes up any food of this type. He may skip over his broccoli but not this stuff. It's probably a skill he got from his Nana called Dessert First.


All of the grand boys love balls. Any kind, super balls, tennis balls, soccer balls or just plain balls. It seems to be a literal part of their being. The only thing that distracted Newbie from his ball was his brother Will.


The entire time Will was playing on this ball, Newbie could not take his eyes off of him. Newbie was totally impressed, if he could only walk he would have had that ball. I tried to get a shot of Will bouncing off of the ball because his mom was sort of dribbling him.

Here we have Newbie driving the little plastic chair around on the patio. He is moving the chair but it only goes in little arcs because he has not figured out the "left foot, right foot, repeat" thing as of yet.


Newbie working on the indoor track. He is really still working on the "left knee, right knee, repeat" thing. We think our rug might not be as soft as his home rug but then again we have more rug than tile which is the opposite of his home.

Will is another movie person. Every time he comes for a visit he borrows some movies. Usually he also wants to watch a movie as soon as he gets here. But, since he likes to be outside so much he never watches the whole movie. Whenever he brings back the ones he has, he can check out some more. He also loves popcorn and a drink with his movie.


Last but not least we have a shot of one of Nana's orchids from the patio.

A .40 Caliber Mystery

Shown here from left to right are 9x19mm NATO, .40 S&W and .45 ACP cartridges.

This is a Blazer 40 S&W round which was fired in my Glock 22. The shot did not feel right so I unloaded and benched the pistol so I could track down my "brass." When I picked it up from the floor it looked strange but it took me a few seconds to figure out why. The first thing I noticed is the extraction groove does not exist anymore. T

Then I noticed that about 1/3 of the way along the case moving away from the primer was a small swelling. This is a 40 S&W round that was cycled through a .40 caliber Glock 22. It is not a 9mm round. It was a factory loaded aluminum cased Blazer round. The visible scratches on the case are most likely from carrying the case in my pocket.

Another shot of the case.

As you can see the extraction groove is gone. Fro this angle the sidewall of the case looks straight.

I inspected my Glock before reusing and I could find no problem with the pistol. The brass .40 caliber ammo I used afterwards all functioned normally. I will no longer use any aluminum cased ammunition in any of my Glocks.

If anyone has had any similar experiences, I would be interested to hear about it.


Updated on 10/22/08:

Some nice folks on the Gunboards Forum at: http://forums.gunboards.com/
were kind enough to suggest I contact Blazer with my pictures and questions. Here is their response:

The Old Salt: what you discovered was a rare incident of the case missing the "head-turn operation" during case making. In this instance it is not a matter of the extractor groove not "existing anymore", there never was an extractor groove on the case. Since the round was fired in a Glock and it has a rectangular firing pin, look to see if the bulge in the case matches with the feed-ramp in the barrel i.e. 6 o'clock or 12 o'clock when looking at the rectangular firing pin mark on the primer. That would be my guess as to the reason for the bulge. The disconnector on the Glock should keep it from firing when the slide is not "in-battery" a safety feature built into the gun.

Pressure and velocity from the round should equal that of the other rounds in the box as they would have all been loaded at the same time, no safety issue.

Since the cartridge headspaces on the case mouth it went into the chamber properly. What I find interesting is there must have been enough lip on the back of the case that the extractor was able to hook the case and extract it. Had that not happened, the next round would not have been able to feed as the case would have remained in the chamber blocking feeding of the next round.

Sorry for the problem, does that explain what and how it happened?


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Larry The Cable Guy Says, According To MY E-mail:

A day without sunshine is like night.

On the other hand, you have different fingers.

42.7 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot.

99 percent of lawyers give the rest a bad name.

Remember, half the people you know are below average.

He who laughs last thinks slowest.

Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.

The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese in the trap.

Support bacteria. They're the only culture some people have.

A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.

Change is inevitable, except from vending machines.

If you think nobody cares, try missing a couple of payments.

How many of you believe in psycho-kinesis? Raise my hand.

OK, so what's the speed of dark?

When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.

Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now.

How much deeper would the ocean be without sponges?

Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

What happens if you get scared half to death, twice?

Why do psychics have to ask you your name?

Inside every older person is a younger person wondering, 'What the heck happened?'

Just remember -- if the world didn't suck, we would all fall off.

Light travels faster than sound...that's why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

Life isn't like a box of chocolates. It's more like a jar of jalapenos. What you do today, might burn your butt tomorrow.

The Irish Gang Visits

After our cruise, the local grandchildren could not wait to get out here and see their Nana and Cheez. So the persuaded their Mom to bring them out for an afternoon at Nana and Cheez's place. Here are some pictures from that visit.

Newbie has now found his legs. He has started to pull himself up in his crib to the standing position. He also can now change his location as he sees fit. Notice his head is up. You can't see from the picture but his eyes are following his brothers who are running around with a ball.

Here is Will with a ball. He doesn't care what kind of ball it is. Give it to him and turn him loose in the backyard. Kick, catch, run or dribble....no mater to him.

Running and expending energy is where it's at. Here are Gus and Will flopping in the grass after a hard workout. Boys love flopping in the grass.

Balls also have other uses when you have that wore out feeling.


Here is Newbie up and ready to roll. He can't catch his brothers yet but I predict he probably will walk fairly early. He has lots of desire to get into the herd.

Another shot of Gus rolling in the grass.



Will is also flopped out flat in the grass.



Being no fool, Newbie has persuaded the Nana to give him a bath in the sink. He doesn't want anything to do with the dreaded grass itch.

Been Cruisin, Key West, Cozumel And Belize City

Last week the Blushing Bride and the Old Salt went cruising on the Royal Carribean Enchantment of the Seas. We departed from Ft Lauderdale on a rainy day for five days of fun and relaxation.




Before you do much of anything on a cruise, there is the mandatory life boat drill. These are our cabin life jackets waiting for us to spring into action.















As we left Port Everglades, I got a photo of the United States Coast Guard in action. They escorted us out of port and appeared to be maintaining a watch on the port entrance.




My Blushing Bride as always is ready for adventure. She is a seafaring gal. Here she is on our stateroom lanai checking our departure.




Enchantment of the Seas, moored alongside in Key West, FL. As you can see she overpowers the neighborhood when in town.




This is a peek into Key West from the ship. The red building is the old US Customs House. It's now a museum.




This is some of the artwork outside the museum. The suitcases at the base of the statues are about four feet tall.




Part of the old US Navy Base. I didn't get a chance to see who is running it now.




The entrance to the Mel Fisher Treasure Museum. The place to see and learn about the treasure along Florida's coast and those who have hunted it.




This is Ft Zachary Taylor, an active military fort from 1859 through 1947. It is now a Florida State Park.




The next stop was Cozumel, Mexico. Another alongside the pier. On this trip we only had to tender once in at Belize City, Belize.

















I like this shot alongside the water in the Cozumel shopping area. It was very pretty but the sun in both Key west and Cozumel was very hot.

















We were accompanied on the trip by our Ryan and Jenn. Actually, they planned the trip and we went along with them. We had a great time with them.




This is Mike and Nina, they were also traveling with Ryan and Jenn. As you may have guessed the last two pictures were taken in McDonalds in downtown Cozumel.




The final proof. The Blushing Bride and the Old Salt with Ronald McDonald in Cozumel. I went for the bathroom, but I gotta admit my love for McDonalds has been pretty much a lifelong affair.




Here is an interesting sculpture found along the waterfront. Cozumel is very much a diving destination for those who scuba or snorkel.




This is a local working the pier for some cash. He appeared to be completely covered with some type of silver paint. He stood vey still like a statue and only spoke or moved whenever someone was in range to be startled. As you can see he did startle the young lady passing him. He had a can at his feet labeled tips.

















In Belize, we went cave tubing. A group of tubers connect together and with a guide they float through two caves while riding truck tubes. The pictures are a little fuzzy. I tried a new underwater digital camera, a VuPoint DC-WPC-ST531T-VP 5MP, but the shutter lag was really poor. It was impossible to hold the camera steady with the shutter lag so long. I can't recommend that camera. I returned it, felt bad cause I had hoped to use it for kayaking.





It was dark in the cave so everyone was issued little headlamps so they could see. You can see the lights and the line in this photo.




This shot shows the top of the cave. Periodically they would point out a bat tucked up into the ceiling of the cave, such as the one shown here.




This is a shot of the cave exit.

















A photo of some of the trip survivors.




The Blushing Bride and the Old Salt finished the trip in great spirits. This trip was really worth the money, although some folks on the trip admitted to being uncomfortable with the dark plus any unknowns in the water.





Formal Night on the cruise for the Old Salt and his Blushing Bride

"Fair Winds And Following Seas" To The Last Survivor HMS Hood

Royal Navy Lt. Ted Briggs, retired, the last survivor of the World War II sinking of British battle cruiser HMS Hood, has died at the age of 85.

Briggs was one of only three seamen among the 1,418-strong crew to survive an attack by the German battleship Bismarck on May 24, 1941. A salvo from the Bismarck hit the Hood during the Battle of the Denmark Strait and the magazine exploded, tearing the ship in half. It sank within three minutes.

Briggs, an 18-year-old signalman, later described how he had been sucked under by the sinking ship before being propelled to the surface, where he saw HMS Hood disappearing below the waves.

"I turned and swam as best I could in water 4 inches thick with oil and managed to get on one of the small rafts she carried, of which there were a large number floating around," he wrote in an account posted on the HMS Hood Association's Web site. "When I turned again she had gone and there was a fire on the water where her bows had been."

Briggs said he saw two other survivors, Midshipman William Dundas and Able Seaman Bob Tilburn, on rafts nearby. "There was not another soul to be seen," he wrote.

The trio were picked up by a British destroyer three hours later.

In 2001, the wreckage of the Hood was found, almost 10,000 feet below the ocean's surface between Greenland and Iceland. Briggs helped lay a plaque on the underwater wreckage, which was designated an official war grave by the British government.

Briggs used to say 'I was not a hero, I was a survivor,'"

Briggs retired on 2 February 1973 with the rank of lieutenant. In the year he retired, at the Queen's Birthday Honours he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE).

HMS Hood, sunk in battle on May 24, 1941 by the KMS Bismark

Sky Bean

The youngest grand boy was over this morning. He is almost seven months old and is getting up on his hands and knees. He is very interested in anything going on around him. Since he is the youngest of three boys there is always something going on around.


He can low crawl all over or roll into where he can't crawl. The on your knee crawl seems to be a bit of a problem. If you look at the pictures you can detect he has moved but he it seems he can only go backwards. But that does not stop him from trying.

My prediction is he will walk early. He does not want to be left out and his older brothers are doing stuff, regardless of what it is, he wants to do.

A great recipe for early participation.

Crappo, The Hornworm

A few weeks ago we found another hornworm trashing the tomato plants. They are somewhat of a multi-fisted eater, if there is such a thing. Kinda like me with barbequed pork and french fries.

Anyhow it was decided that this particular hornworm would be placed in a old pickle jar and transported for some of the grandboys to view; kind of a nature thing you know. All of the other hornworms suffered some sort of instantaneous demise.

Originally the hornworm was placed in an old pickle jar with a large handful of tomato plant stalks with many leaves. By the next morning the stalks were bare and the hornworm was on the bottom of a doo-doo filled jar.

Well Nana cleaned out the jar and was getting ready to refill it with some more tomato plant chow. While cleaning the jar, she had left the hornworm, now named Crappo, on the entry-way sidewalk. By the time the jar was cleaned, Crappo was gone, but was located in a few minutes busily burrowing into the dirt next to the sidewalk.

Here was a clue, so a few handfuls of dirt were placed in the bottom of the jar. By the next morning Crappo was buried in the dirt. His outer layer turned a dark brown and no more action was forthcoming for a few (no one kept track) weeks.



Crappo manged to get about 99.9% out of the pupae sheath but that's where he gave up the ghost. Though Crappo's story did not end well the grandboys now have captured some hornworms of their own. Hopefully they will fare better with theirs, named ChewBacca and Master Yoda.

New Rule, Not B-Out Me

My blushing bride and I went to see The Mummy, Tomb of the Dragon Emperor this weekend. It is your basic Brenden Fraser adventure flick, sorta, kinda like "George Of The Jungle" does Indiana Jones. However, a hot bag of lightly salted and buttered popcorn with a large diet soda can turn many movies (even some chick flicks) into an afternoon of bliss. We liked it.

After returning home, blushing bride was telling the four year old grandson in North Carolina how good the movie was when he told her that in the future, we were not allowed to go B-Out (without) him. It seems that he was highly disappointed his grandparents went B-Out him.

This Is What Happens When Your Mother Is An English Major

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The English Major's Son

Practices for Hamlet in the bathtub.



"That skull had a tongue in it, and could sing once..."

Posted by DadaMama at 08:24 PM in Superbaby | Permalink

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The Old Salt is going to have to work real hard with this lad.