Archive for the ‘Bagatelle’ Category

My latest batch of million dollar ideas.

Monday, March 18th, 2024

1. I figure this one will hold up until the estate of Frank Herbert sues me. But then again, with a sufficiently good lawyer, I’m sure we can argue a parody exemption on this one:

Seven Habits of Highly Effective Fremen.

So far, I’ve got three. I’m thinking of recruiting a collaborator to help me flesh out the book a little.

  1. Walk without rhythm, to avoid attracting the worm.
  2. Never turn your back to the opposition.
  3. Don’t get high on your own (spice) supply.

(Yes, I did see “Dune Part 2” yesterday. Why do you ask?)

2. This one may be more of a $100,000 idea than a million dollar one, as there may be geographic limitations:

Vicious Australian Animal as a Service. (VAAaaS).

For s small fee to cover animal wrangling, packaging, shipping, and our profit, we’ll send a vicious Australian animal to your “favorite” person in the world. Message optional. We’ll maintain anonymity, and you can pay in cryptocurrency.

Let’s face it. Wouldn’t you love to send that “special person” who’s been acting like a rude (word that rhymes with “glass bowl”) a box jellyfish? Or a Sydney funnel-web spider? It sends a pretty clear message, and seems to me to be much more effective than a box of fecal matter.

There may be some issues with shipping marine life, like the box jellyfish or blue-ringed octopus, but spiders should be relatively easy. It would just be a small matter of finding animal wranglers and appropriate packaging. And lawyers.

We’d probably operate on a sliding scale, based on the size of the animal. Spiders and snakes should be small and easy to ship, while koalas and drop bears would be more expensive, as they would require special handling and packaging.

(I do have some morals. For that reason, VAAaaS will not ship Tasmanian devils, as they are endangered.)

Quote of the day.

Tuesday, February 27th, 2024

I know this should be a local story, and for some reason it has become an international one.

But I can’t tell a lie: I get a kick out of this.

Scotland police were even called to the scene, the event shut down and parents said their children were in tears. All the event lacked was a man in top hat telling customers: “You get nothing! You lose! Good day, sir!”

Bonus points:

Entertainment trivia.

Thursday, January 4th, 2024

My beloved and indulgent family gave me a copy of Surely You Can’t Be Serious: The True Story of Airplane! for Christmas. I think part of the motivation for this (other than it being on my wish list) is that everyone in my family wants to borrow it when I’m done. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Fun fact I’ve learned from the book, which I did not know previously. Remember “Gunderson”?

Whatever happened to that guy? Would you believe he went on to bigger things?

(more…)

Crazy horse people update.

Tuesday, January 2nd, 2024

Crazy horse woman took a plea.

Tatyana Remley, 43, pleaded guilty on Thursday to a count of solicitation to commit murder stemming from an attempt to hire a person to kill her husband, Mark Remley. She also pleaded guilty to having a loaded, concealed gun that wasn’t registered to her, according to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office.

As part of the plea, she’s taken a stipulated sentence of three years and eight months, but it isn’t clear to me if she has a chance at parole or some other form of early release.

Christmas Eve gun crankery.

Sunday, December 24th, 2023

A short one for you. My book buddy in the Association sent me scans from a 1928 Smith and Wesson catalog, along with a scan of a letter from the great Walter Roper. This was a very nice Christmas present, and one I can’t thank him enough for.

You will find each of our arms fully described in the catalog we are enclosing but we want you to ask any questions you may wish about either guns or ammunition, as it will be a real pleasure to help you select a revolver.

The past was another country.

I don’t want to reproduce the whole thing, as I’m not sure about the copyright status and I don’t want to make my book buddy mad. However, I thought people might find this one page interesting, and I think it qualifies as fair use. Keep in mind, this is 1928 data.

Endorsed.

Saturday, December 23rd, 2023

I would not have expected to find a swell Christmas story on the Revolver Guy blog.

A swell Christmas story from the Revolver Guy blog.

Puppies!

Thursday, December 21st, 2023

Over the weekend, we got into a discussion: why are bullpup rifles called “bullpups”?

(more…)

Quote of the day.

Monday, December 11th, 2023

I am saying don’t avoid things that delight you.

–McThag

(So, about that Super Redhawk in .22 Hornet…)

Random question.

Friday, December 1st, 2023

This is prompted by an email I got from Kino Lorber about their current sale. (Not an affiliate link.)

One of the things they have on sale is “Goldengirl“, a movie I remember from the 1980s but never saw. Check out that cast: James Coburn! Robert Culp! Harry Guardino! Michael Lerner! And Susan Anton, who I also remember from the 1980s but never saw.

I got curious about the plot and went over to Wikipedia, which describes “Goldengirl” as a “American drama sci-fi sports film“.

Which got me to racking my brain. Perhaps I am getting senile, but: how many sci-fi sports films are there? “Goldengirl” and “Rollerball” are really the only two I can think of. (I don’t know that I’d call “Field of Dreams” sci-fi, though I think there’s a strong argument for it being fantasy.)

Gentle readers, what sci-fi sports films am I missing that will cause me to slap my forehead and say “Of course! How could I have forgotten about that one!”

Bagatelle (#97)

Thursday, November 2nd, 2023

Shot (click to embiggen):

(It’s the “inspirational sign” clearly labeled “inspirational sign” that gets me.)

Chaser:

“It’s Not A Crack House, It’s A Crack Home”.

Quick random thought.

Monday, October 23rd, 2023

Prompted by this:

Connor Stalions, the suspended Michigan staffer at the center of the NCAA’s sign-stealing probe, purchased tickets in his own name for more than 30 games over the past three years at 11 different Big Ten schools, sources at 11 different league schools told ESPN.

And this, from McThag:

For someone who did what he did in the military for so long, you’d think he’d have internalized some fucking OPSEC and COMSEC.

(Related to this.)

I wrapped up the “What you gonna do when you get out of jail?…” series, and it doesn’t look like we’re going back to those days anytime soon. But hand to God, I swear I am considering reviving it for a special limited engagement, collecting videos on the subjects of OPSEC and COMSEC. Seems like too many people don’t understand basic rules, like “don’t buy stuff under your own name”, “pay CASH”, and “don’t brag about your clever scheme to evade the law in email”.

Cheez Louise, I never served in the military or in the intelligence apparatus, but apparently I have more sense than some of these people. And that scares me.

I’m just a poor, dumb white boy from Hampden…

Thursday, October 5th, 2023

“There is a real danger with bringing fecal matter into the U.S.,” said LaFonda D. Sutton-Burke, CBP Director, Field Operations-Chicago Field Office, in a statement.