I see the moon

The moon guitar, that is. This is a yueqin - a Chinese lute. It's a modern version. Traditionally, it is strung with 4 strings. Right now, mine only has 3. I have it tuned to some weird tuning, and have used it on some of my recordings as "ambiance". Virtuosos on this instrument are tryly amazing...

It's Fossil Friday #3!

These are assorted shark teeth from Calvert Cliffs, MD. These are a dime a dozen, or cheaper, in the surf zone of this area of the Chesapeake Bay (although the guy at the entrance of one park in the area is happily selling them for a buck apiece). If you go, stay away from the cliffs from which these fossils and others erode - they are unstable and could collapse. I recommend getting in the water when it's relatively clear and snorkeling the 1 - 2 foot trough within 10 feet of shore - for some reason these teeth accumulate there and they are visible due to their high contrast against the sand and shells.

Semi-auto delight!

Smith & Wesson 4506 (.45 ACP). Stainless steel with skateboard grip tape on the grips (my addition). Fast, accurate, comfortable to shoot, and hella easy to field strip. Get one while you still can.

Type of trailer for moving surf boats

Another nautical photo I rescued from oblivion. It's a surf launch at the old Cape Henlopen Coast Guard Station taken in 1937. The words LEWES and U.S. COAST GUARD are visible on the boat (click on picture for higher resolution). Looks to me like the tire's a bit dug in on this one. I imagine the NCO on the right thinking "Dammit - how'd that ever happen? The procedure doesn't cover this." and the enlisted swab on the left (cooly dragging on a butt) thinking "What the hell did you expect, dumbass. It's sand."

Tiny little folder

This is a little Schrade folding knife in stainless steel. Its another minimalist design like the CRKT KISS in the Dark. This is a sharp, no-nonsense little blade, and a pack of two was only about $10.00. I got a few. This one resides on my key chain. Another lives on the zipper pull of my kayak PFD - always in ready reach in case of entanglement. Another in my tackle box. Another in my day planner pocket. You can read about my apparent fanaticism about knives in the field in this post.

BTW, I seldom fly, so TSA hang ups about knives do not concern me, and the one on my keychain has gone through several checkpoints at secured industrial facilities without notice.

Copper post card

Again, I'm no stamp collector of philatist, but this is a pretty cool, USPS-legal post card that was published by the Air Force during Operation Desert Shield. This was the 1990 build up of American forces in Saudi Arabia following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. At the time (as I recall), everyone feared that Iraq (under Saddam Hussein) would push on through Kuwait into S.A.

This was the precursor to our involvement in the "Gulf War" (the first one) called "Operation Desert Storm". To many, Iraq's aggression leading up to this conflict has been long overshadowed by the current war in the region - ostensibly against "terror". Whatever - Saddam had to go. This piece is a nice callback to what he was really up to in 1990 - and thugs like him never learn.

"That makes you...chart man."

This is a 1927 chart book for the "Inside Route" from New York to Key West. We now call most of this route the "Intercoastal Waterway". It has a whole section of beautifully rendered charts in the back (see upper photo) as well as nice descriptions of hazards, landmarks, and points of interest in the text. Having spent some time on the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays, the Atlantic Ocean off of Delaware, and New York, this book is priceless for showing all of the myriad things that have changed about these waters, as well as those things that stayed the same. I've been thinking about matting and framing some of the charts - that's how pretty they are - but the sizes are all weird (a 48" x 8" chart makes for an odd and expensive frame).

By the way, the quote in the Title Block is from Pirates of the Caribbean III - At World's End. I like those campy movies despite...everything.