2/3/10

So I get a page a little while ago from the Blackberry guru here at the railroad. “Where,” he asked, “does that secret door by the elevators go?” I knew the door of which he spoke so I told him, “Up to the ceiling of the Dance Floor across which one travels to reach my office.” he said he might give it a try and see where it led him. I told him to, “C’mon up.” A few minutes later, I decided he’d probably gotten lost on the ceiling and went to look for him. I found him just as he came out the door onto the ceiling. I led him to my office. We laughed about the lunacy of the route and hung out for a bit. Yes, there is a point and I'm getting to it. Somehow, we got to talking about micro-cars. I played him the BBC “Top Gear” episode where Jeremy Clarkson drove the Guiness Book of World Records “Smallest Production Car of all Time,” a Peel P-50. We laughed about that the whole time. Of course every time I watch that episode, I want a Peel P-50. I think I might have to build myself a micro-car some time. We'll see. Speaking of micro, I'll now tell the story of going to the gun range on Sunday. I pull up to the range and pop the magazine out of Kurt Corto. I rack the slide to remove the bullet from the chamber and it goes flying somewhere in Ms. Clio. I have no clue where it went. I shrug it off and round up the rest of my stuff. I go and sign in and am called to the main counter. Before the guy will check my gun, he calls another dude over. “That ‘shoot through’ holster,” he tells me, “is illegal.” He makes me take the gun out of it before he’ll let me on the range. I think, “Whatever, I'll just pop it back in when I get out there.” Of course I won't have the zip tie on the trigger guard to prevent muzzle rise so I'm debating the merit of even shooting. I go in anyway. I blast through all but nineteen rounds, leaving six for each magazine and one for the chamber. I'm all over the target but I think he’s sufficiently dead. When I step out to pay, the dude has a copy of the BATFE rules pertaining to that holster. I read them a few times and decide while there might be room for interpretation, it is better to be safe than sorry. “Well,” I tell him as I hand it over, “throw that some-bitch in the trash then.” I'd rather be out the money I paid for the thing than get in trouble with the law for carrying it. “Ignorance of the law is no excuse” after all, especially when I HAVE been informed of its illegality. Now, this is going to sound like justification after the fact, and perhaps there is some truth to that, but I've always had a few issues with that holster. One was the aforementioned muzzle rise I may or may not have fixed with the zip tie. Another is the fact that the holster does not cover and protect the muzzle of the gun. Anything from my pocket can get all up in that thang. No, I think tossing away a few bucks was not the worst thing that could have happened to me. So, now I'm back to carrying Kurt Corto in the pocket holster I bought for it originally. No big whoop. Well, that story didn't take nearly as long as I'd hoped... Oh, y'all are still here? Sorry, I got distracted and walked away from the computer for a bit. Dog with a puffy tail, you know? OK, so while I was away, I went ahead and ordered a muzzle brake and vertical forward grip for the Saiga. Yes, I am in fact dumb, thank you for noticing. One of these days I might actually get a chance to shoost the thing. OK, so I was thinking about that micro-car idea when it hit me, “Hey dumb ass, you already have a mini-car in the Honduh N600!” Sure, it isn't a micro-car, but it is pretty dog gone small. OK, it probably is a micro-car by anyone else’s standards, but I still consider a Datsun 1200 to be “Normal Sized.” In fact, I almost consider The Seven to be a normal sized car, and it is downright teeny-tiny, realistically speaking. Oh yeah, there’s another one I own that Juan might consider a micro-car. I guess I don't need to build another. Well, not until I'm done with some of these other cars. Hmm, I wonder how fast that lawn mower engine/transaxle thing I built back in the Kennedale shop would make a Peel P-50 replica sort of thing go. I wonder what the rules are for registering a “surface street only,” “not for highway use,” “personal neighborhood transport,” “golf cart” sort of car. I'd think if it were capable of 35 miles per hour or so, it ought to be licensable. Yes, I am in fact still thinking about a sub-micro-car. I really, REALLY want one. Oh snap! I just remembered I have those really bad ass 10” aluminum wheels which came with the N600! I almost HAVE to build a micro-car around those! Should those last few sentences have been in all caps? I mean, in my head those were really excited outbursts. Oh well, whatever. Anyhoo, I've been away from the desk again for the last few hours so I think I've just about said all I'm going to say today. I'll see if I can come up with more for y'all tomorrow.