Pic Of The Day

[Ibidem]

Nice work Ibidem - are you a gunsmith by trade, or was this a DIY home repair?

DIY; due to the age of the gun, I couldn't find an ejector online, the gunsmith said they couldn't get one, and their estimate was $100+.
I've done a very little bit of metalwork myself (as a hobby).
So I took it apart, looked at how it all fits together, and guessed that I could get it completed sooner if I started filing.

It seems the big thing is to do it in the right order: first get the metal to the right thickness, then cut/grind it to be just a little wider than needed, then take it to the drill press.
After drilling the hole, don't use a Dremel again: it could easily destroy a couple hours' work with a tiny slip.
A set of small files (aka needle files) is essential; I used flat, triangular, triangle one side, and crossing (oval or half round might work as well); a knife file would have been helpful.
The inside edge (the one you see, that the bolt goes over) in particular should be sanded as fine as possible; tiny scratches might be able to catch the bolt. Also, that edge and the shorter end of the ejector need to be particularly checked for fit.

[Fossil]

With reference to an owl's face and ears.

I read somewhere that owls' eyes are fixed in their heads. They can't move just their eyes to follow movement so they turn their whole head.

The ear holes are asymmetrical in the skull's facial 'disk', allowing the bird to cross-triangulate sound with more precision on the minute volume created by small rodents moving in near total darkness through the grass and leaves.

[neerajkolte]

More on Owl.

Owl has most silent flight of all the birds.
His wings are designed in such a way that they don't make a sound while flying, no matter how fast or slow he is flying.

- Neeraj.

[rokytnji]

@Ibidem, Nice craftsmanship from me also.

The action still works on this old rolling block in the bottom piece of the picture. But I would be afeared to fire it. It looks to be 45 .cal center fire cartridge from the 1800's.
The barrel is threaded and screws into the reciever. The flats on the barrel accept a wrench. Gun show dudes want it bad from me but think I do not know what it is worth.

So it is a wall hanger instead.
The other is a working side by side double barrel 32 .cal. Percussion cap.
I built that on from a Kit.

It is a saddle bag tool on the bike.For varmints.



Since Inuit was mentioned in a another thread (100% chance rain). I figured I'd throw this little know factoid out here.

[Fossil]

Fascinating old pistols. Is the side by side double barrel 32 .cal percussion cap's hand-grip mother-of-pearl? You built it from a kit? The two handguns makes me think of riverboats and gamblers playing poker for high stakes - I watched far too many westerns as a child! Sorry, my lack of knowledge regarding firearms. The UK is seriously strict.
As for the Kiviaq: are we all invited around for lunch? The same sort of process was desired for cormorants, whose green flesh was only considered reasonably edible after being buried for about six weeks. What a delightful culinary treat! Pass the sauce!

[rokytnji]

Is the side by side double barrel 32 .cal percussion cap's hand-grip mother-of-pearl?

No. Hard plastic.

You built it from a kit?

Yes. The kit came from here.
http://www.dixiegunworks.com/product_in ... 717j20d8v0

Little known fact about owning Black Powder firearms in the USA.

I have a felony conviction. Can I hunt with a black powder firearm in Texas?

The question brings up an interesting conflict between federal and Texas law. Federal law does not prohibit a person with a felony conviction from possessing an "antique firearm." Under 18 U.S.C. Sec. 921 (a)(16) an “antique firearm" is:

(A) any firearm (including any firearm with a matchlock, flintlock, percussion cap, or similar type of ignition system) manufactured in or before 1898; or
(B) any replica of any firearm described in subparagraph (A) if such replica—
(i) is not designed or redesigned for using rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition, or
(ii) uses rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition which is no longer manufactured in the United States and which is not readily available in the ordinary channels of commercial trade; or
(C) any muzzle loading rifle, muzzle loading shotgun, or muzzle loading pistol, which is designed to use black powder, or a black powder substitute, and which cannot use fixed ammunition. For purposes of this subparagraph, the term “antique firearm

[amigo]

"Pass the sauce!" I guess Mick's aborigine friend would say: Hmmm, needs more mustard.

[rokytnji]

Pretty Fish



Groupers

[Fossil]

Less than a month ago I travelled along to Gloucester Cathedral to view the Crucible2 art exhibition. http://www.crucible2.co.uk/
As always it was a visually intriguing mixture of styles and tastes, made even more interesting by two works by the controversial artist, Damien Hirst. Intrigued to know what all the fuss was about, I took along a camera and tripod. Entrance was free! Photographers were required to pay £3.00 for the right to picture both exhibits and the interior of the cathedral. Excellent value! Surprisingly, a lot of people were wandering around picturing the exhibits using mobile phones and disregarding the small charge. Considering the cost of upkeep and maintenance, it was little to pay.
All the pictures were taken either under daylight or tungsten settings, with the camera mounted on the tripod, long time exposures, using no flash whatsoever. The dark gunmetal black angel was also side-lit using a small LED torch as fill-in. The slight bluish smear on one angel image isn't a ghost caught on the hop, but a reflection from the slowly oscillating torch beam.
Incidentally for anyone who likes 'Harry Potter' -groan!- several scenes were filmed within the cathedral's cloisters.

[rokytnji]

That is too cool for school Fossil.

I like all those pieces a lot. I always figured the real supernatural caring belief system comes from the female, not the male.

EG; God and Angels are Female. Not Male.

BlueJay at it's finest

[Fossil]

@ rokytnji. I spent well over five hours walking around picturing all the exhibits - some hidden in very dark nooks and crannies. I agree with you, re; religion, the female was always the major source. Just take a look at some of the most ancient of cave sculptures, the pregnant form - always a mystery - the so-called 'Venus figurines'. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_figurines

That's a beautiful blue jay. We only have the European jay over here - although very attractive birds in their own right. Highly intelligent, too! As are most members of that Corvid group. One of my favourite factual bird books is, 'Ravens In Winter' by Bernd Heinrich. Describing field studies around Maine. Published by Barrie & Jenkins Ltd.

The blue jay background looks like lavender? And SO sophisticated - tea!

[greengeek]

EG; God and Angels are Female. Not Male.

I have always wondered why we males have nipples. That must indicate that the proto-humans were female surely? Whether we believe in evolution or creation, it's still a mystery why men have nipples. Looks like angels do too.

Love the pics Fossil - amazing works of art.

[amigo]

All foetuses are created equal -with the possibility of becoming either male or female. The differentiation occurs approximately 40 days after conception. If you look closely at your scrotum you'll see a line or seam down the middle -this is where your proto-vagina has been sealed over.

[greengeek]

A_a_a_a_a_a_r_r_r_g_h !!! My proto WHAT?????
Now I'm really freakin' out
Please - no pictures!!

[musher0]

A_a_a_a_a_a_r_r_r_g_h !!! My proto WHAT?????
Now I'm really freakin' out
Please - no pictures!!

Don't worry too much about it greengeek, sex has always created a lot of
troubles for a lot of species. (I'm sure you know this already!)

Imagine if humans could reproduce without sex, say, by mitosis or
budding instead: no more flirting, no more girlfriend/boyfriend nonsense,
no more love songs, no more marriages, no more mothers-in-law, no
more bull-moose banging each other's heads for a girl-moose.

Ahh, finally, peace in the world!!!

musher0
(All of the above said tongue-in-cheek, of course!)

[Galbi]

A_a_a_a_a_a_r_r_r_g_h !!! My proto WHAT?????
Now I'm really freakin' out
Please - no pictures!!

Want pictures?

Here is a detailed explanation of the process: http://goo.gl/M8PCp1

Saludos.

[Fossil]

@greengeek. It looked as though the angel's were created directly from life-model studies.

amigo. All foetuses are created equal -with the possibility of becoming either male or female. The differentiation occurs approximately 40 days after conception. If you look closely at your scrotum you'll see a line or seam down the middle -this is where your proto-vagina has been sealed over.

Ahhh.... but do you know the correlation to left or right-handedness? Hint: Orchids! Look up the base definition and the Greek meaning of a 'vessel' or 'container'. The word also alludes to testicles. So, next time you give your girlfriend, wife and/or other a bunch of these amazing flowers - beware the implications! Incidentally, they hybridize very readily (orchids, that is!) because they are of 'New Age' Eocene plants.

musher0 Imagine if humans could reproduce without sex, say, by mitosis or
budding instead: no more flirting, no more girlfriend/boyfriend nonsense,
no more love songs, no more marriages, no more mothers-in-law, no
more bull-moose banging each other's heads for a girl-moose.

Life would be so much easier if one was an aphid - they reproduce by parthenogenesis, or asexual reproduction. In other words, a clone, of a clone, of a clone. Give birth, start sucking away at the plant juices and almost immediately give birth - again! A true production line process!

[rokytnji]

Sleeping Owl

[Flash]

That would be a good picture to show around Halloween.

[Ibidem]

All foetuses are created equal -with the possibility of becoming either male or female. The differentiation occurs approximately 40 days after conception. If you look closely at your scrotum you'll see a line or seam down the middle -this is where your proto-vagina has been sealed over.

Differentiation may not occur till 40 days, but humans have XX-XY sex determination: the chromasome in the sperm that gets to the egg determines the sex (males are XY, females are XX).

Differentiation is the appearance of physical difference; determination is the cause.

Of course, other species have other mechanisms: many birds and insects have ZZ-ZW sex determination (females are ZW); grasshoppers are XX-XO (males have only one X, females have two); some Hymenoptera use haplodiploidy (an unfertilized egg becomes a male, while a fertilized one becomes female; this means that a single female will produce males, then mate with them, producing females); fruit flies rely on the ratio of X chromasomes to "autosomes"; other species have environmental sex determination (turtles, crocodiles, alligators, slipper limpets); and some plants use sex genes without having sex chromasomes.