Posts by Gman

Quote from Iron

You know why Baptists don't have sex? It's too much like dancing.

My pop's favorite Methodist joke is similar (our family is all Free Methodist, save one Catholic) - Why don't Free Methodists have sex standing up? It could lead to dancing...

Quote from storch

Well I have to tell you your knives are considerably better than mine at holding an edge. Mine are a bit more springy.

I like your knives.

The 6 knives I've gotten from Dannes have the same properties as yours Storch in terms of both taking and holding an edge. I have 9 different stones, 4 of Spyderco's excellent stones and a bunch of other random ones, and I picked up Ken Onion's work sharp belt sharpener machine with its various attachments including the blade grinding attachment which everyone swears is the best one to use for that system. The 5" USN fighting knife I put an edge on with both stones and the belt machine, using 6 belts of varying grit right down to a strop belt - mirror edge, and it's eye popping sharp, shaves hair off your arm at the slightest pressure and touch.

I've used it a fair bit too, and it's amazing how great that edge has stood up, it's as sharp as it was when I finished stropping it.

2 of the Clinch Picks Dannes made me were so sharp out of the shipping box that I haven't even bothered putting my own edge on them, there is literally no point. The 3rd pick I did "just cuz", not because it needed it, and I only used the fine and ultra fine Spyderco stones on it, something to do while 1/2 watching movies. It's like a mini lightsaber now, both top and bottom edges are nuts.

Quote from storch

We didn't adopt him. He just moved in. The dad was a womanizer the mom a poor sick woman. Dad came home mom shot him then herself. Kid was with his grandmother where he was mostly anyway. He was a classmate with my son because she lived across the lake from us and they used that address to get him at better school. That same year we began homeschooling utilizing the Abecka system. The two boys would canoe from our house to his gmaws and back. Gmaw died in 2011. They were twenty or twenty one. They are meals at one place or the other depending who made steak or burgers. They both attended the same dojo on our dime.

It was no burden. They've grown apart but he still visits and calls.

He's a good man and a great dad.

Sorry, I meant to put "adopted" in brackets, as in more like "taken in", sorry about that. Very cool posts Storch, I dig it. If I had happened to have had kids, considering how effed up our school systems are here (complete leftist bullshit in nearly all of them), I'd have homeschooled too.

Quote from storch

A friend of my kid who had a tragic home life moved into our home in his eighth grade. He's not my son but calls me Dad and the celt mom. Joined the USMC straight out of highschool. He spent two years teaching hand to hand at Parris Island then school then six years working on AH-1Z.

He works for a helo company out here.

He loves those aircraft

That's a great story to share Storch, you and your wife should be very proud of both what you did, and what your adopted son has done with his life. My grandparents on my dad's side did similar things, took in kids who needed help, at least a couple, plus their own 10 children. More solid people need to be in the business of helping out kids in trouble.

I love the AH1 too, I can't wait for the module to come out in DCS for it as well.

Quite a few defense blogs/sites have been covering the Spike NLOS since its started being used on US Army AH64s. Not sure if that's a Brit or Israeli, or even US Apache in that pic GScholz. Good stuff, the Spike is a serious fuck you weapon, huge range. The US Army tested it just a few months ago from the E model AH64s, and got hits at 32,000 meters. That's pretty insane considering the range of the Hellfires, which is still very good.

Quote from AH-1G

The hoser red air contractor is now flying F-16A models acquired from Israel. One of the a/c was used in the raid on the Iraqi nuclear reactor site.

https://www.thedrive.com/the-w…-jet-has-taken-to-the-sky

A friend of mine from back in high school, retired from the RCAF fairly recently, and worked for this Top Aces and another private testing company too after he retired. He had 3000+ hours in the CF188 Hornet, Gripen, F16 (USAF exchange), and Superhornet (USN exchange). Also graduated from Empire test pilot school, and has flown 50+ types total, including 7 different NATO fighters (3 or 4 of them at Empire school IIRC). Also had several hundred hours combat time. Top Aces is based here in Canada, and there are several other pretty switched on companies doing this, some with Mirage variants, and a pile of other retired/etc fighters and trainers. Pretty cool beans.

Top Aces has modified A4N Skyhawks, they put AESA radars in that little nose, and have a hopped up engine as well. That'd be an awesome aircraft to fly IMO. Alpha Jets, some sort of Biz Jet, and the F16s now make up a pretty capable little fleet.

Quote from storch

The very best of the mark. The Orenda 10 to 14 Canadair Sabres were the best day fighters of that generation

Canada also built under license the best version of the F5 fighter too (until the F20 came along obviously). The Canadair CF5 variant was widely considered the best version of that generation of F5s. I grew up for a few years on a base that operated them, had a lot of family friends that flew it. Great little jet. One of the private military jet companies that does red air contract stuff even picked up 4 or 5 of them and a bunch of extra engines/parts back in 2013 and still flies them I think.

Quote from storch

Bedford Incident is a great bit of cold war film.

Wow, haven't seen that in years either. Found a good 1080p blu ray version of it today, going to watch it tonight.

I talked to Virpil by email early this AM about a couple of the cams I wanted to get, they told me I was number 3 on the list for the collective pre order controls - I'd completely lucked out and checked their website which I hadn't been on in a few weeks, and saw the pre order and jumped right on it. Pretty happy, other than the newest throttles I've always been in the middle or end of the pack, and had to wait.

Just hope their mount system works out. Anyone know of a really narrow sort of "cart" almost type of thing, that I could mount the collective on, and then slide that up close to my chair, instead of mounting it right ON the chair? I can't really find anything online that suits this purpose.

I too started "Loudermilk" a few months back, I stalled out a few eps into season 2, but I'm going to resume it shortly myself. Shades of "Office Space" from Ron Livingston for sure, but standing on its own I thought season 1 was great.

Quote from GScholz

"Fire Birds" -- Low rent Top Gun for rotorheads.

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Hah, I'd forgotten about that film, needs a rewatch for sure.

"I am the greatest!"

"I am the GREATEST!!"

"I AM THE GREATEST!!!!"

I wasn't lucky enough to get in on the alpha/whatever team for the Virpil helo stuff, so I'm waiting like everyone else, but I agree completely - hot damn does this stuff look good. I love flying helos so much, every time I do it I ask myself why I don't fly helos in this sim more. I spend 99 percent of my R/C time flying mid size electric helos, so I'm going to push up my DCS helo time a lot this year, especially once this new gear shows up.

Only down side is that my niece and nephews are going to what to use the shit out of them too, which means buying at least one other set. I do know that Virpil has some other grip attachments coming out too, some US versions. Can't WAIT.

I sent in the specs to my DX Racer seats when they asked me to, so I'm hoping the mounts attach easy enough to them. Virpil and VKB have made great stuff, so I'm hopeful the collective gear works as well as the rest of their products so far.

Very nice Lazs. Always have liked that blue one you got from the first pics. Some kitchen stuff will be my next order as well.

I just got 3 knives in last night from Dannes, one with the rubber/rubberized handle he made for one of the Clinch Picks he built me. They are so fantastic, pictures truly don't do them justice (ya ya I know, everyone always says this). The sheathes he made me are fantastic too, having soft/supple leather instead of kydex on my belt at the front horizontally has already made a big difference. The quality of the work across the board is worth every cent. I'm going to post a short review of them in a new thread, and probably grab some of the knives from my collection too and review/show some of them as well, maybe in small groups of 30 or so at a time. I just got a couple new Medfords, a Shirogorov, and some Hoback knives to show, this week as well.

Dannes knives are really, really great, I hope more guys on this forum and everywhere else will be able to help support his work, the Clinch Picks he has left over are probably the most effective small defense knife you can carry, particularly while seated in a car - everywhere else too -, a place where we all spend a majority of our time when out in public.

Most interesting thing about ED/DCS update today is that Virpil has put up its collective controls up for pre order. I pre ordered one set today, with the discount they offered for the higher end collective control, grip, and chair/base mount, it was $550 euros after shipping charge (10 % discount given, not bad at all). I've been waiting for this, big time. With the Apache coming, the AH1 Cobra coming, Hind, and a new Kamov version 3, it's going to be a great year for helicopters in DCS.

Quote

14 May 2021 Dear Fighter Pilots, Partners and Friends, We have returned to work following our May Day and Victory in Europe (VE) Day holidays. We are back at full power on all fronts, and bug fixing is in full swing in the run up to delivering a Stable DCS World 2.7. We are also expanding our dedicated avionics division, tasked with accelerating our capabilities and speed of avionics development. A huge update for DCS: F/A-18C Hornet is in the works that should be released later in May. This will include new features such as the AGM-84H SLAM-ER, RAID Single Target Track (STT) Mode and 1Look RAID Mode, new smaller flares, Offset Aim Points (OAP), and updated HOTAS functions. We have fixed Air-to-Air and Air-to-Ground radar issues as well. The ATFLIR and Litening Targeting Pod bugs have also been fixed, as well as a bug in Couple Autopilot mode. We are pleased to report that DCS: Ka-50 Black Shark 3 is progressing well, and the exterior model is close to final and ready for texturing. We are currently working on improvements to the gun model and Igla implementation, as well as the advanced onboard defense system that includes the ability to display missile threats on the ABRIS. We are thrilled to announce a new range of helicopter hardware from Virpil Controls. Check them out below as they prepare to release the long awaited Collective Controller lineup. Thank you for your passion and support. Yours sincerely, Eagle Dynamics Team Mariana Islands Open Beta release coming soon It is with great excitement to inform you that DCS: Mariana Islands is getting close to an Open Beta release. Ka-50 Black Shark 3 Development Report We would like to share our progress on DCS: Ka-50 Black Shark 3. As you can see the 2A42 30mm cannon model is undergoing a substantial update and when completed will boast a new algorithm, soundscape, and enhanced animations. We look forward to sharing more information with you soon. Two new pylons for Air-To-Air missiles that have been added to the wingtips. This brings the total number of hardpoints to six. The ABRIS We are currently finalising development of the Abris Missile Warning System, and as seen in the above image in which two missiles are detected. The closer threat is considered the dangerous one, and it is marked with a flashing circle. Virpil Controls New hardware coming “Helicopter pilots both new and old can rejoice as the VPC Rotor TCS Base, VPC Rotor TCS Plus Base and VPC SharKa-50 Grip are now waiting to get into VPCockpits around the world and start a new era of helicopter sim piloting. Happy Flying!” - VIRPIL Controls Team. VPC Rotor TCS and Rotor TCS Plus Collective Base At the core of the collective controller lineup is the VPC Rotor TCS and Rotor TCS Plus collective bases. These bases feature a metal cam-based mechanism with adjustable clutch. Included are 3 swappable cams to limit the travel of the collective, and a clutch system which can be adjusted on the fly to suit any pilot! The VPC Rotor TCS Plus adds an additional twist throttle axis which features an idle detent stop, engine idle bypass button and idle restrictor switch. VPC SharKa-50 Collective Grip The first collective grip in the lineup is the VPC SharKa-50. This grip is inspired by the collective controls found on the venerable Ka-50 “Black Shark” helicopter. With this, the aim is to mimic the feeling of a real collective grip in your hands! Featuring a metal handle with rubberised grip, you can immediately feel this means business! The grip is equipped with a wide range of inputs to satisfy any helicopter pilot: 2 x 8-way Hats (+ Push) 1 x 2-way Switch (+ Push) 3 x 3-way Toggles (ON-OFF-ON) 3 x Push Buttons VPC Collective Chair Mount Adapter Collective controls pose an interesting challenge as due to their unique nature it can prove difficult to conveniently mount them in a number of setups. The design team has worked to create an accessible controller setup for anyone wishing to jump into the exciting world of helicopter piloting. With the Collective Chair Mount Adapter, you can mount the VPC Rotor TCS Bases to a range of standard office chair setups. Keep your eyes on the VIRPIL Controls official channels for full details on release and pre-ordering information later this week. Thank you again for your passion and support, Yours sincerely, Eagle Dynamics Team

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Quote from Airhead

How many of you guys would consider pooling all our money and buying a Caribbean island?? We could all live there- but unfortunately we'd all go feral within a week and build doo doo huts to live in and worship crabs and shoot arrows at anyone who tries to stop at our island.

The second week we'd go full primitave and have human sacrifice. By week three we'd be full on Lord Of The Flies.

I'm on the email list for the SeaSteading community. They already have a deal with a nation to build a sea steading city just offshore enough to qualify as outside territorial waters or whatever. A new country as it were, which can set its own laws, tax rates, etc. Cool idea I thought, and paid in a jsmall deposit and signed up years ago, no idea if I'll ever do it, but again, I do like their idea.

Google Joe Quirk, Airhead, and sign up for the info update emails, it's right up your alley of what you described here, and they've come a long way very quickly from when I signed up in 2016.

This is the first really important email they sent me after signing up, the details are near the bottom. There is a ton of info on their website, people will be able to buy a place, or even rent one long term on the island homestead, and it should start building in a few years if all goes well according to them.

Quote

Under the high patronage of the President of French Polynesia, Mr. Eduard Fritch – join the gathering of the first seasteaders in paradise this May, 2017

Dear , ------ Would you like to be among THE FIRST selected to attend the inaugural gathering and field trip to the world’s first seasteading pilot site in French Polynesia? To join us, please briefly share the reasons for your interest by filling out this form. We will reply to your application as quickly as possible with more information about how to reserve space for you and your travel companions.* This is your chance to join fellow Seasteaders (technologists, researchers, entrepreneurs, innovators, and trailblazers) from around the world and Polynesia who are interested in collaborating on the development of floating islands within the special governing framework established on the Polynesian seas. Discounted Field Trip Package** rates start at $2,800, and include round trip flights to Tahiti from Los Angeles, four nights at a local luxury hotel, selected meals, lagoon and island tours, networking, celebrations and a reception with President Fritch. All packages are fully customizable to adjust to extended travel plans in French Polynesia for you and your companions. Unfortunately space is limited. We look forward to hearing from you! Incredibly excited about this, Randy Randolph Hencken Executive Director; The Seasteading Institute *Bring a friend. Significant others, family, and friends are encouraged to join us ... after all we are creating a new society. **The Seasteading Institute has put together package rates which are competitive with retail travel to French Polynesia. Per person base price is based on double occupancy and travel from Los Angeles. Single occupancy is available for a slightly higher cost. We are working with Air Tahiti Nui, which has direct flights to Papeete from Los Angeles, Paris, Auckland and Tokyo. Flights from Aukland will be less expensive than from Los Angeles; flights from Paris will be more expensive than flights from Los Angeles.

Copyright © 2017 The Seasteading Institute, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted to join our mailing list. Our mailing address is: The Seasteading InstitutePO Box 7775 #30495 San Francisco, CA 94120

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I'm going to get our regular unlead and diesel fuel cells at the farm topped off just in case this isn't the only attack, and fuel shortages spread continent wide. We have 2 vehicles that take premium only, I've got a bunch of octane booster, and filled both cars today (again, being paranoid probably, but better full than empty should shortages spread). Have a few 25 liter cans filled with premium too.

Seeing the lines at the Eastern USA gas stations - some are pretty crazy right now. Hope you guys that live in the area can get gas.

I took a spin last year on a $2k USD ebike from a builder close to my pop's place, Biktrix. It had a motor that was unlocked to 1000w and would peak out around 1500 he told me, and with the higher end battery option that it had installed was good for 35mph indicated on the speed thing with max power assist on. You could even just hit the throttle button and not pedal at all like a lazy bastard and it would do 30 to 32 mph on its own, and could for over 25 miles the shop owner told us.

Bike was heavy as hell though, IIRC it was over 80 lbs due to the motor, battery, and oversize fat bike tires. Great off road or in snow though I bet, but I'd never get used to that weight.

Nice bikes Razer, CannonDale and Trek make good bikes. I have a Kona but it's getting up there in years, close to 10 years old now, might get a new one this year.

Redwing, that looks SICK. That's one thing I've never owned but is on the bucket list, a side by side 4 seater, and that one is badass.

MurderFace, Stephen Coonts always writes a good book, I haven't read that one either, and it's going on the list.