Having the right stuff is the difference between joy and misery.

Its easy to walk into Home Depot or Lowes and drop a bundle on the latest 18v(or higher) Li-ion drill from Milwaukee or Dewalt and not be disappointed, but those units are heavy. One mondo drill isn't always the best for all situations.

I have a few cordless drills, and I find myself grabbing an old 9.6v Dewalt as often as the new Milwaukee 18v Li-ion.

The Dewalt DW926 model 9.6v drill is the perfect tool for light/medium household use. Its got enough oomph to put quite a few 1/4" holes through wood, its got nice clutch, feels good in your hand, and is much more durable than cheap 9.6v drills, or anything from harbor freight. IOW - its not going to fall apart on you if you flog it hard.

I picked mine up used at a pawn shop maybe 7 years ago. I bought a couple of new batteries and its still going strong. Its outlived several crappy low end Black & Decker models, and some harbor freight junk. The grip is small enough that you don't need a hand with Michael Jordan's wingspan to hold it either. Some of the no-name Chinese junk is real bad in this regard.

The old DW926 has also shown enough market endurance that the aftermarket has even developed compatible 9.6v NiMH battery packs for it that won't bust your wallet. There's an old Makita 9.6v drill that's been around for about 20 year that people don't let go too.

When the batteries for something are still available 10 or 20 years after its introduction, you got a classic, not a fad.

Here's another handy thing to have -- a right angle driver. The Milwaukee one is pricy, but nice. Walmart has a Black and Decker angle driver for under $15. The first time you use it, it will have paid for itself in saved frustration, busted knuckles, and not bleeding all over shit.

OK, enough with the drilly, now a cutty recommendation:

This Milwaukee 18v Li-ion cordless sawzall KICKS ASS. I've used this thing to chop down 8" diameter trees. The batteries last a LONG time, and its got enough oomph to really power through some heavy stuff. If you put a long demolition or pruning blade on it, you can do some serious tree and brush trimming in the yard with it.

The only downside to that Milwaukee unit is its heavy and beefy which makes it a bit hard to "one hand" when you're on an extension ladder up in a tree reaching out. I have an old beat up 14v Black & Decker sawzall I use when weight is a factor.

For a cheap piece of junk, the B & D 14v sawzall is pretty damned good. I've been flogging mine for many years now, the plunger bearing is shot and wobbles, the black rubber grip trims fell off, but it keeps going.

If you can find one used for a few bucks, and want a light weight sawzall buy it. The 14v batteries for it are still available. Its endurance and power are nothing like the Milwaukee, but its the right tool where weight matters.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 07:22 AM | Comments (102)
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You know the drill, gaming below more...

Posted by: Gang of Gaming Morons! at 02:42 PM | Comments (156)
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There's been a refinery explosion Michigan. Since Michigan is a Democrat state, obviously sequester cuts were to blame.

[UPDATE]
Bonus 9/11 conspiracy theory:

The 9/11 plane landing gear remains may have been placed intentionally...lowered by rope.

"The odds of it entering that space at exactly that angle that would permit it to squeeze in there ... it had to come in at almost precisely the right angle," says a police spokesman, per the New York Times. Investigators are considering the possibility that it was deliberately stuck in the spot, CNN reports.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 03:59 PM | Comments (426)
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No.

Posted by: JohnE. at 03:30 AM | Comments (392)
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For conspicuous gallantry in action in Korea near Sokso-Ri, 12 March 1952.

Army medic Womack has a medical center at Ft. Bragg named after him. PFC Bryant Homer Womack, 14th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division sacrificed his life to administer aid to fallen soldiers during a hot firefight in March of 1952. His courage and devotion to duty was recognized and awarded the nation's highest honor for bravery in combat.

Pfc. Womack distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy. Pfc. Womack was the only medical aid man attached to a night combat patrol when sudden contact with a numerically superior enemy produced numerous casualties. Pfc. Womack went immediately to their aid, although this necessitated exposing himself to a devastating hail of enemy fire, during which he was seriously wounded. Refusing medical aid for himself, he continued moving among his comrades to administer aid. While he was aiding 1 man, he was again struck by enemy mortar fire, this time suffering the loss of his right arm. Although he knew the consequences should immediate aid not be administered, he still refused aid and insisted that all efforts be made for the benefit of others that were wounded. Although unable to perform the task himself, he remained on the scene and directed others in first aid techniques. The last man to withdraw, he walked until he collapsed from loss of blood, and died a few minutes later while being carried by his comrades. The extraordinary heroism, outstanding courage, and unswerving devotion to his duties displayed by Pfc. Womack reflect the utmost distinction upon himself and uphold the esteemed traditions of the U.S. Army.

His memory will be honored tomorrow at Lebanon United Methodist Church in Mill Spring North Carolina.

God bless his memory and comfort his family.

Like Michener said in his novel of the Korean War, "Where do we get such men?"

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 03:13 PM | Comments (60)
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This topic deserves someone such as Ace to do it justice, but I do think it worthy of discussion.

Tom Brokaw says "No thanks" to White House Correspondents Dinner (WHCD) and in the process blames Lindsay Lohan for the decline of, what, the dignity of the event. (?)

Today's journalists are not content to report the story, they want to be part of it. By inviting celebrities to attend the WHCD they get to up the ante and live vicariously through the celebrity of their guests which, this year, includes Nicole Kidman and Ashley "Puffy Face" Judd.

Other journalists argue that Brokaw has it wrong. "It's a fun event" they say. New Yorker editor David Remnick defends "Look at what we publish." he adds "Does it seem like it corrupts us?" (Serious, you guys)

Brokaw asks, "What kind of image do we present to the rest of the country?"

Well, I for one wonder...

Isn't it a little late to be asking that question?

What do you think?

(Open thread)

Posted by: Open Blogger at 02:36 PM | Comments (151)
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"This is Candy Crowley reporting from the Obama White House."

Good morning morons and moronettes and welcome to the wanna-be samizdat Sunday Morning Book Thread here at the award-winning AoSHQ.

In the comments section, last week, Captain Hate opined this concerning a book he read about the partitioning of Pakistan:

Reading this certainly points out the carnage that people endured (shocking that the rock worshipers have been such disruptive murdering pieces of shit) and also what a fucking weirdo Gandhi was in ways that the entertainment/education fuckheads have sanitized.

The good captain is completely right about Mahatma Gandhi. He was a weirdo and his image really has been completely scrubbed down and sanitized. Of course, the definitive book about Gandhi that all the morons should read is The Gandhi Nobody Knows by Richard Grenier, a conservative stalwart who unfortunately passed away some years ago. It is an expansion of the article he wrote for Commentary Magazine in March of 1983 as a response to David Attenborough's blockbuster movie Gandhi. The movie is a thickly hagiographic depiction of Gandhi's life that Grenier knew to be pure propaganda.

Attenborough sounds like your typical guilt-ridden western liberal who is uncomfortable with having ancestors who have bequeathed him a decent, well-ordered country while others have made a total mess of theirs.

From Grenier I learned that:

--About one third of the production budget for the movie Gandhi was provided by the government of India.

--The topic Gandhi wrote most about in his letters (many volumes of which are still extant) is not what you would think, world peace or human rights or anything like that, but rather, enemas.

(There are certain aspects of Hindu culture that are rather unsavory, including this, which is an example of what Arthur Koestler has referred to as "the deification of filth". Of course, I'm a racist for pointing this out.)

If you're serious about this topic, buy the book and you won't be disappointed. But I would encourage everyone to read the original Commentary magazine article, if for no reason than I think it is an example of really fine writing. Commentary has always had high standards for the quality of its writing, and this is no exception.

Actually, I thought Grenier's book would be out of print. Gandhi has long since been assumed into the modern pantheon of secular saints, so I'm surprised there is still a dissenting voice.

And speaking of important books written by deceased conservative authors that stand athwart the dominant liberal paradigm, I feel that I should offer up another book that I've mentioned here before: It Didn't Start With Watergate by Victor Lasky. He extensively documents how every 'dirty trick' and illegal activity that Nixon supposedly ordered, including wire-tapping, illegal contributions, use of government agencies to harass political enemies, etc., were all carried out relentlessly and enthusiastically by previous (Democratic) administrations, Truman, JFK, and the wildly corrupt LBJ, with nary a peep from our guardians in the mainstream press. But when it was Nixon, whom the press hated with the heat of a thousand suns, it all suddenly became A National Crisis and A Constitutional Crisis and The Worst Thing That Ever Happened In The History of the U.S. And this despite the fact that the Watergate committee admitted that they had no impeachable evidence.

The left incessantly yammers about 'speaking truth to power', but all that really means is 'saying stuff we like.' It's actually books like these that speak truth to power, real truth to real power. Especially the book by Lasky. In any discussion about Watergate, the evidence presented in that book should be front and center (or, at least a little to the right). But no, it's all 'The evil Nixon wiped his butt with the Constitution, ordered break-ins, and he would've gotten away with it if it hadn't been for those two fearless truth-tellers Woodward and Bernstein, who saved the republic." Yes, that's the way the story is told, and it's a damned shame, because it's mostly false.

Note that Woodward and Bernstein are also firmly ensconced in the liberal pantheon of gods and heroes.

more...

Posted by: Open Blogger at 06:37 AM | Comments (234)
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via more...

Posted by: CDR M at 05:53 PM | Comments (821)
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If you haven't bothered to take a look at the ringed planet yet, tonight it will be at it's most obvious, thanks to it's closest approach to earth. Quick finder map below along with a few objects discussed in the Wednesday astronomy threads. more...

Posted by: CAC at 12:30 PM | Comments (181)
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I read this woser of an article last night.

One giant leap for mankind: £13bn Iter project makes breakthrough in quest for nuclear fusion, a solution to climate change and an age of clean, unlimited energy

It may be the most ambitious scientific venture ever: a global collaboration to create an unlimited supply of clean, cheap energy. And this week it took a crucial step forward. Steve Connor reports

Big shakes, huh?

This morning I read Doc Zero's debunking of it.

The "breakthrough" is that they got final approval for pouring the reinforced concrete blanket. After thousands of words extolling the benefits of nuclear fusion, and relating the long history of the Iter project, we're finally given a timeline that doesn't even mention the year 2013 at all. The last significant event on the timeline was 2005, when the Iter site was chosen; the next notable event will come in either 2021 or 2022, when the first infusion of ionized gas is scheduled. Electricity will not be produced until sometime in the 2030s, and power from the plant won't be commercially available until sometime in the 2050s.

One discounts claims made in advertisments because one understands, naturally, that a business is attempting to create hype for its product.

The media shouldn't be hyping Iter -- this newspaper reporter doesn't own a share of Iter, after all. So one might expect him to offer a straight accounting of the subject matter. He doesn't seem to have a vested interest in Iter, so one isn't on defense as regards exaggerated claims.

But of course the whole of the media has an interest in hyping the shit out of every article they publish, just to grab interest and sell ad-space.

I realize this is a little obvious but I always seem to forget it. I tend to focus on the most obvious bias -- politically-oriented bias, shilling for a party or a policy -- and forget the basic bias of any writer to Get His Stuff Read.

Even though I do that myself.

So here's the accurate, straight version of the headline:

$20 Billion Multi-Government Project Begins Pouring Some Concrete After 10 Years of Planning

Which is slightly less likely to be linked by a blog or in an email.

The project itself may be exciting, but the recent news of it? Not so much. I also imagine this is an easy article to write -- every time a trivial step is taken in the project, one can trumpet a "breakthrough," and then just regurgitate all the previously-written stuff about the goal of the project, which itself does not change, thus being an easy evergreen article capable of many deployments.

"Churnalism:" Weft-Cut Loop tells me that Watts Up With That has coined a term for this fashion of journalism, the re-writing and re-purposing the same damn article with the most trivial of "new" newshooks (such as the breakthrough of successfully mixing and pouring concrete).

They call it "churnalism."

Posted by: Ace at 10:04 AM | Comments (545)
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