Friday Follies...

It's the end of the week and almost the end of the month.
Welcome to the official UNoffical end of Summer...Labor Day weekend.
The Hooiserland weather today will be us with mild temps until later on, when it climbs back into the lower 80s. And there's always a chance of rain later this afternoon into evening.
The rest of the weekend weather will be a toss-up, meaning that you'd best have an umbrella handy...you're gonna need one.
In the meantime, we've lots of ground to cover today, so grab that morning cup of your favorite drink, and let's get this show on the road...
*** First out of the field of dreams today is a "three-fer" homage to this month and all that happened (that no one seems to know about), otherwise know as "What the hell happened today, Bob?". I hope you found it all enlightening and educational.
AUGUST 29:
1758 – The first American Indian reservation is established, at Indian Mills, New Jersey.

1786 – Shays' Rebellion, an armed uprising of Massachusetts farmers, begins in response to high debt and tax burdens.

1831 – Michael Faraday discovers electromagnetic induction.
1885 – Gottlieb Daimler patents the world's first internal combustion motorcycle, the Reitwagen.

1898 – The Goodyear tire company is founded.
1922 – The first radio advertisement is broadcast on WEAF-AM in New York City.
1949 – Soviet atomic bomb project: The Soviet Union tests its first atomic bomb, known as First Lightning or Joe 1, at Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan.

1958 – United States Air Force Academy opens in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

2005 – Hurricane Katrina devastates much of the U.S. Gulf Coast from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle, killing an estimated 1,836 people and causing over $108 billion in damage.
NOTABLE BIRTHDAYS:

1632 – John Locke, English physician and philosopher (d. 1704)
1912 – Barry Sullivan, American actor and director (d. 1994)

1920 – Charlie Parker, American saxophonist and composer (d. 1955)

1923 – Richard Attenborough, English actor, director, and producer (d. 2014) (he just passed away this week, too...)

1924 – Dinah Washington, American singer and pianist (d. 1963)
1936 – John McCain, American captain and politician

1938 – Elliott Gould, American actor and producer
1958 – Michael Jackson, American singer-songwriter, producer, dancer, and actor (d. 2009)
And, it's Telugu Language Day in India...
AUGUST 30:

1967 – Thurgood Marshall is confirmed as the first African American Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
1984 – STS-41-D: The Space Shuttle Discovery takes off on its maiden voyage.

The "Widowmaker"

2003 – While being towed across the Barents Sea, the de-commissioned Russian submarine K-19 sinks, taking 9 of her crew and 800 kg of spent nuclear fuel with her.
NOTABLE BIRTHDAYS:
1797 – Mary Shelley, English author and playwright (d. 1851)
1896 – Raymond Massey, Canadian-American actor and playwright (d. 1983)

1908 – Fred MacMurray, American actor and singer (d. 1991)
1918 – Ted Williams, American baseball player and manager (d. 2002)
1924 – Geoffrey Beene, American fashion designer (d. 2004)

1944 – Tug McGraw, American baseball player (d. 2004)
1963 – Mark Strong, English actor

1972 – Cameron Diaz, American model and actress
And, it's the International Day of the Disappeared
AUGUST 31:

"We should go THAT way"

1803 – Lewis and Clark start their expedition to the west by leaving Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at 11 in the morning.
1864 – During the American Civil War, Union forces led by General William T. Sherman launch an assault on Atlanta, Georgia.

1895 – German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin patents his Navigable Balloon.
1943 – The USS Harmon, the first U.S. Navy ship to be named after a black person, is commissioned.

1997 – Diana, Princess of Wales, her companion Dodi Fayed and driver Henri Paul die in a car crash in Paris.
NOTABLE BIRTHDAYS:

12 – Caligula, Roman emperor (d. 41)
1870 – Maria Montessori, Italian physician and educator (d. 1952)
1897 – Fredric March, American actor (d. 1975)
1903 – Arthur Godfrey, American radio and television host (d. 1983)

"Admiral Nelson" from the 1960s

1914 – Richard Basehart, American actor (d. 1984)

Our Man Flint

1928 – James Coburn, American actor (d. 2002)
1949 – Richard Gere, American actor, singer, and producer
And, it's the Day of Solidarity and Freedom in Poland.
Now the month where "nothing happens" ends and YOU know so much more than you did before this month began, and you are also able to amaze your friends whenever the need arises.
Moving on...
*** I spoke earlier about how OUR corner has been "chosen" for a school bus stop, and how the kids meander all over the place. Also have parents standing in the middle of the damn street.

If it's not a mess picking the kids up...

Well, it's now ALSO a DROP-OFF after school, and that means people parking ON OUR PROPERTY...not a good thing.
And, naturally, during the "wait" for the FWCS bus, we have pre-schoolers all over the place, the "mommasitas" jaw-jacking (not much English), and our side street all but BLOCKED by such nonsense.

It's CERTAINLY a mess dropping them off.

I sent a rather stern email to the FWCS transportation dept, trying to tell them of potential traffic hazards, because too many people fail to slow for the YIELD sign, constantly speed, thump their car stereos (they couldn't hear an AMBULANCE if it came through), and so on.
There ARE other corners that could (and should) be used, and I have no idea WHY they chose ours this year, but I'm going to keep on plugging away, and see if we can't get this resolved...or (as I said in my email) the FWCS can PAY to have our lawn maintained every season that school is in session.
*** Next up, there is a story in today's J-G about the tragic accident at a shooting range that claimed hte life of an instructor out in AZ.
Here's the link to the article:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20140829/NEWS03/308299998/0/FRONTPAGE
The title is a tad misleading, but I know WHY they used it.
There are shooting ranges that specialize in allowing the public (for a good price) to shoot a FULL-AUTO weapon, such as a Thompson, AR, AK, UZI, and so on. And there is a market for such things, as people want to experience what it feels like to unload 30 rounds downrange in a couple seconds.
(fastest money you''ll EVER spend, BTW)
The problem with such venues is the AGE of some of the participants, such as the girl in the photo.

The girl is NOT "leaning" into the weapon.

She's only 9 years old, and in MY opinion, that's too young to handle full-auto weaponry.
She is the one who accidentally shot the instructor (also in the photo) when the UZI she was firing "jumped" sending one round into the head of the instructor.
There is no amount of "prep" to give anyone that can fully get them to understand what will happen when the trigger is squeezed.

The FORE-GRIP helps with muzzle flip

Now, the UZI is a short weapon, with a non-reciprocating bolt, but, without getting TOO technical, doesn't mean the weapon isn't prone to what is called "muzzle-flip"...it's notorious for it, in  fact, and that's why this is one of those weapons that you are instructed to "lean into" when firing in full-auto mode.
And don't expect all the rounds to be "on target" either...it's more like "spray and pray", because that's what it was designed for.
The stance of the girl indicates (to me) that she could not have been prepared for the muzzle flip...she wasn't leaning forward to help keep the barrel a lot more downrange.

Yeah, THAT'S the scene...

There's a scene in the James Bond movie Diamonds Are Forever, where Jill St. John fires a (Madsen) sub-machine gun on full-auto, and after the first couple rounds, the muzzle is way up and she's off balance (looked good in that bikini, too, I might add), but you get the idea...she had no idea what to expect either.
Perhaps that could be used in a training film...I dunno.
What I DO know is that it would be very rare for a 9-year old to have the motor skills required in order to safely rip off a 30 round mag in several seconds.

A LOT safer and a good teaching tool.

That's why you "break them in" with smaller caliber weapons FIRST. Hell, start them out with a CO2 BB pistol with a blow-back feature to acquaint them with what occurs during the cycling of the firearm.
Suffice it to say that there will some type of (age or size) restriction forthcoming at ALL ranges that allow full-auto weapons to be fired.
You can never have too much safety in this case, and even after that, there can always be that ONE occurrence that tells us we're not as safe as we should be. Sad to say, that/s one helluva learning experience whenever a fatality is involved.
*** Last back to the barn today...as I get older, I know life is getting shorter, and in some extreme cases, life is snuffed out long before it's time.
That's fate tapping someone on the shoulder, I guess.

Life is short enough without having it's brevity heightened through whatever befalls us.
I would say that every day allowed us is indeed...a gift, and this is one gift you shouldn't just unwrap and toss into some dusty corner.
And maybe...just maybe if some other people thought along similar lines, we COULD do away with a lot of the world's troubles.
Yeah, I know...that's a pipe dream, but at least when you dream, the price is ALWAYS right (free).
We can still hope, though, hmm?
DO have yourselves a very good Labor Day weekend.

Be well, make a difference to someone today, and as always...
Stay SAFE out there, America.
I'll see you here next month.