Notes for Monday – September 07, 2015

September 7th is the birthday of Richard Cole, born in 1915. Cole is one of just two living Doolittle Raiders. He was General Doolittle’s co-pilot. This is also the birthday of novelist Taylor Caldwell (born 1900 – August 30, 1985). Today is also the birthday of Dr. Ludwig Vorgrimler (born 1912 in Freiburg, Germany; died 1983). Vorgrimler was the designer of the Spanish CETME rifle, from which sprang a plethora of roller-lock descendants from HK, including the G3, HK21, and MP5. His bolt design was also copied by the Swiss for their excellent PE57 and SIG 510 rifles. (Although the …




Scot’s Product Review: Katadyn Pocket Water Filter

There is the rule of threes for survival, which says you can go three minutes without air before you’re dead, three days without water, and three weeks without food. That’s not exact science, of course, and there are variables. Someone in great shape can last longer, and a moderate climate will let you go longer without water. In my part of the world, it gets really hot in the summer, and I suspect three days might be optimistic. Luckily, down here in the southeast, it rains a lot, especially in the summer. There is also a lot of standing water, …




Pat Cascio’s Product Review: BearOps Rancor Folder

BearOps is a division of Bear & Son Cutlery and is an up and coming cutlery business. BearOps is producing tactical-types of cutlery, whereas, Bear & Son, produces some more traditional cutlery. When Tom Ables, who handles the PR from Bear, contacted me with a press release on the BearOps “Rancor” folder, I placed an order for one right away. The Rancor isn’t just a tactical folder; I also consider it a gentleman’s folder. Over the years, I’ve been accused of a lot of things but rarely has anyone, other than my own wife, called me a gentleman. Still, I …




Recipe of the Week: The Perfect Omelette

Dear Hugh, It has taken me 40 years to make the perfect omelette. Okay, okay, I’m slow. I know it already! The secret is to use a non-stick pan and plenty of butter rather than oil or margerine. Heat the pan and butter until hot (nearly smoking) and tip in the eggs beaten with a little salt. Any cheese, ham, onion, or herbs are added to the eggs and beaten up together. Stir a figure 8 twice, and leave it alone to cook. Slide out onto a plate folding it as you go. The pan can be wiped clean with …




Letter Re: Building a Simple Multiband Antenna That Works, by The Consultant

Hello Hugh, At the risk of setting off a flood of letters by Hams expounding the “best antenna ever,” I would like to offer an alternative to the off center fed dipole described by The Consultant. That’s a great antenna but did not fit my property or needs. After much searching and simulation of various antenna designs, I settled on the delta loop antenna. My delta loop works with low SWR (with tuner) on 80 through 6 meters, with the exception of 60 meters. It consists of 275 feet of THHN #12 gauge black insulated copper wire from the big …




Economics and Investing:

Inside Look At Silver Shortage With CEO Of US Mint’s Silver Eagle Blank Provider o o o When “Virtuous Debt” Turns Ferociously Vicious: The Mother Of All Corporate Margin Calls On Deck – A.L. o o o Education Debt Burdens Students, Economy; Elite Schools Lobby Against Proposal To Cap Graduate School Loans – PLC o o o Keep out Californians: How high home prices in California migrate into other states where Californians follow.




Odds ‘n Sods:

Read the Contract the Islamic State Group Is Forcing Christians to Sign in Syria – D.S. o o o Alert: Air traffic collision warning systems, locators, down off East Coast and 5 states until Oct. 1 – D.S. o o o NATO, Russia war games fuel risk of war, think tank warns – G.P. o o o Are mysterious shootings at cars in 6 states across America tied to Black Lives Matter? – G.L. o o o ‘Hillary’ replaces ‘Jesus’ in campaign rally song Among normal Americans, even if they are not Christian, replacing “Jesus” with “Hillary” rates at least …