Lawmakers from both parties have devoted nearly half a billion dollars in taxpayer money over the past two years to build improved versions of the 70-ton Abrams.
But senior Army officials have said repeatedly, "No thanks."
More
video games and profound thoughts
Sunday, April 28, 2013
NPR: Army Says No To More Tanks, But Congress Insists
WASHINGTON (AP) — Built to dominate the enemy in combat, the Army's hulking Abrams tank is proving equally hard to beat in a budget battle.
Lawmakers from both parties have devoted nearly half a billion dollars in taxpayer money over the past two years to build improved versions of the 70-ton Abrams.
But senior Army officials have said repeatedly, "No thanks."
More
Lawmakers from both parties have devoted nearly half a billion dollars in taxpayer money over the past two years to build improved versions of the 70-ton Abrams.
But senior Army officials have said repeatedly, "No thanks."
More
Saturday, April 27, 2013
/queue REM
Disclaimer: I have no problem with World of Tanks at all, any part of it, no matter what. Honestly, I do not. Except paying to win, stats-only focus, clan wars, sprem, m3lee, kv-5, hills, rocks, trees, flags, ponds, birds, crumbly houses and a total lack of women....
"This one goes out to the one I love...."
Or, more precisely:
"This one goes out to the lemmings I love...."
'Who tf you talkin about fkd? You mean the lemmings that all go the same direction at map start?'
Nope, not at all. I'm talking about those who say, "The KV-5 sucks!" back when it was cool to say the KV-5 sucks. Then, when unicorn x plays it, they go "The KV-5 rules!"
I'm talking about those who only watch replays of unicorns who sell theyselves and they (sry, I do street talk lots 'they' is hip ... comic sans, not so hip...) replays on the forums. I'm talking about those who hate arty just to hate arty cuz the rest of the _cool_ forumers hate arty cuz unicorn1, unicorn2 & unicorn3 hates arty. Or they hate german tanks just to hate german tanks, afterall, u1, u2 and u3 hates german tanks, or must be in clan x and must platoon with player y and must pat the back of dude z on the forums, and disrespect the rest....
And when clan x (it was x right? I lost my lettering) gets beat by clan y, we'll follow clan y, and when the m3lee is proved good by player z, we'll suddenly stop hating the m3lee <-- mebe, if player z can pull off that thar win rate!!! (stats!).
Really ... /cocks-head-rolls-eyes
Really?! Realy really?
Come close now, got some words .. c.loser .. ever closer than that.
THINK FOR YOURSELF!!!!!!!!!!
This is a recent email I sent to my nephew who asked some life quesitons. It applies:
Preserving sense of self is important. Failure at it will happen. Mark only the successes.
I watched this doc on military channel where a ww2 vet from pacific theater told the story of how all the other troops were pulling the teeth out of the dead Japanese soldiers for the gold. He decided he was going to do it too. An older guy saw him and before he could get really into it the guy subtly talked him out of it. "I wouldn't do it if I were you" he told him and said other stuff that made him think. Made him realize it was ok to be different than the rest.
Sadly, we are designed to be lemmings, follow the crowd. Some of us fight this, look at things differently.
Don't let anyone tell you what career to have, or what girl to marry, or what stuff to watch. Don't rebel to rebel, but don't conform either. Draw from the lemmings what good they can offer, then look for something they missed <-- they miss lots. Sometimes, it's fun to just be different and piss them off. Every revolutionary worth their salt said "fuckoff" to the status quo....
In our religion, politics and vid games, most of us just follow the herd, and preach to those who also don't do the same.
rage against the dying of the light....
And now, let me be clear. Let me use an example. This is just an example. This is just an example of how people think, how I think, and what makes me go "WTF?!?!?!"
A. the great-unwashed (those with purple stats mostly and then, all those without purple stats that follow the purple stats guys) hate arty. tl;dr: hate arty.
B. the subjects of A above devote their lives to this game (in some form or fashion. I know I do to an extent. I.e., I play almost daily, for well over 2 years now -- I was 5,000something member of beta <-- big deal right?!).
C. the makers of said game -- World of Tanks mind you -- put arty in the game.
D. we will hate those who play arty (aka, "the players") who did not make arty, who did not put arty in the game, who did not design arty, who had no say over the existence of arty, who simply play it and stuff and stuff and stuff.
^do you see how batshitstupidfuckingstupidcrazy this is?
Socrates would _not_ fucking respect your asses for this. You would _not_ be his disciple.
The lack of proper logic here breaks my brain. The lack of motivation to understand philosophical first prinicples, prime rules, source causes and thermodynamics, breaks me to pieces. It kills me. I am now dead (good! we hate you fkd!).
Raging on the forums about people playing arty in light of the above (of _the_ above) is equivalent to posting your political views on facebook, for those who have, by now, unfollowed you for it. It is incalculably an inefficient means of affecting the change you want -- no more arty.
If you want to effect/affect/prefect government, do you:
A. post it on facebook.
B. rage online in reddit.com
C. write your local politician/show up at a rally/knock door-to-door?
YOU DO FUCKING C!!!
The Ron Paul example:
For years, I've had these younger friends constantly telling about Ron Paul.
Alert!!! Politics coming!!!
Yes, I now support and like Ron Paul (yes, he is retired from his office in the U.S. Senate). These guys sent me emails, spammed me with his thoughts and speeches, etc. I rolled my eyes, didn't care.
Then, one day, on my own, I caught something he said. I went, "hey, you know, that makes perfect sense." Then, I caught something else he said and I went, "hey!" again.
Before long, I loved him. The guy was spot on. I became a believer.
Ron Paul was different, not a lemming-following, anti-"The Man", etc.
I couldn't wait to go vote for him in the last presidential election, in the primary for my state.
I went, I voted, I told.
I couldn't wait to tell my friends -- these guys who put bumper stickers on their cars, make his banner their banner, make "Ron Paul" their face book cover photo, email sig, etc. -- I talk to them. Get ready for it....
THEY ... DID ... NOT ... GET ... OFF ... THEY .. SORRY ... ASSES .. AND ... GO ... VOTE ... FOR ... RON ... PAUL .. WHEN ... IT ... REALLY ... REALLY ... REALLY ... MATTERED!!!!!!
/whimper-voice-now
i mean, honestly, they didn't. i was like mel gibson (as william wallace, braveheart y'know) after he realized robert the bruce had betrayed him. i asked why. they said they were busy. forgot. didn't register ... i ... i ... i was devastated....
/end-whimper-voice
I could not believe it. I was floored.
After that primary, there would be no other, in history, chance to do anything about ever getting Ron Paul in office, ever, ever, never, ever, neverland peter pan....
I realized. I understood. They were sacks of shit. It was easy to make him a sig, or a cover photo. It felt good to spam those who didn't want it with the shit, but when it came to work that wouldn't get an immediate response/reply/epeen/flame (i.e., internet shit), they were like a shit popsicle <-- fucking worthless.
And so, I say, to all you lemmings of World of Tanks who never miss:
A. a chance to flame someone who likes a german tank.
B. a chance to flame those who make the mistake of revealing they play arty.
C. a chance to praise a unicorn and hate a 'baddy'
^think for your everloving motherfucking selves. Get off your fucking asses and make a support ticket about arty, or email a dev, or support a competitor game, or play a scout, or post an intelligent response in the official sticky on arty put there by a mod, or actually try that arty out or that german tank out or that KV-5 out ... BEFORE YOU LEARN IT ACTUALLY ISN'T SO BAD AFTER ALL BY SOMEONE ELSE'S REVEALING!!!
Devoting your lives to a game with a key part you hate, placing your precious time on this earth in the hands of devs that you should doubt over that key part (that _you_ -- not me -- don't like) THEN trolling pubbies with hate is equivalent to supporting Ron Paul when it suits you, when easy, yet not voting, not doing dick for him when it couints.
"But fkd, aren't you just raging cuz you devoted yourself to complete the entire german tree waaaaay tf back, and it hurts your feelings when made fun of for this? And aren't you just bitter cuz your stats are _not_ purple? you are _not_ in a unicorn clan? Aren't you just a female bleeding tween legs and out of tampons?..."
Totally. Entirely. Surely and yes.
...but I'm still right....
-fkd
"This one goes out to the one I love...."
Or, more precisely:
"This one goes out to the lemmings I love...."
 |
| man, I was asuch a _huge_ fucking REM fan |
'Who tf you talkin about fkd? You mean the lemmings that all go the same direction at map start?'
Nope, not at all. I'm talking about those who say, "The KV-5 sucks!" back when it was cool to say the KV-5 sucks. Then, when unicorn x plays it, they go "The KV-5 rules!"
 |
| the ass of a KV-5 ... kiss that ass! |
I'm talking about those who only watch replays of unicorns who sell theyselves and they (sry, I do street talk lots 'they' is hip ... comic sans, not so hip...) replays on the forums. I'm talking about those who hate arty just to hate arty cuz the rest of the _cool_ forumers hate arty cuz unicorn1, unicorn2 & unicorn3 hates arty. Or they hate german tanks just to hate german tanks, afterall, u1, u2 and u3 hates german tanks, or must be in clan x and must platoon with player y and must pat the back of dude z on the forums, and disrespect the rest....
And when clan x (it was x right? I lost my lettering) gets beat by clan y, we'll follow clan y, and when the m3lee is proved good by player z, we'll suddenly stop hating the m3lee <-- mebe, if player z can pull off that thar win rate!!! (stats!).
Really ... /cocks-head-rolls-eyes
Really?! Realy really?
Come close now, got some words .. c.loser .. ever closer than that.
THINK FOR YOURSELF!!!!!!!!!!
This is a recent email I sent to my nephew who asked some life quesitons. It applies:
Preserving sense of self is important. Failure at it will happen. Mark only the successes.
I watched this doc on military channel where a ww2 vet from pacific theater told the story of how all the other troops were pulling the teeth out of the dead Japanese soldiers for the gold. He decided he was going to do it too. An older guy saw him and before he could get really into it the guy subtly talked him out of it. "I wouldn't do it if I were you" he told him and said other stuff that made him think. Made him realize it was ok to be different than the rest.
Sadly, we are designed to be lemmings, follow the crowd. Some of us fight this, look at things differently.
Don't let anyone tell you what career to have, or what girl to marry, or what stuff to watch. Don't rebel to rebel, but don't conform either. Draw from the lemmings what good they can offer, then look for something they missed <-- they miss lots. Sometimes, it's fun to just be different and piss them off. Every revolutionary worth their salt said "fuckoff" to the status quo....
In our religion, politics and vid games, most of us just follow the herd, and preach to those who also don't do the same.
rage against the dying of the light....
And now, let me be clear. Let me use an example. This is just an example. This is just an example of how people think, how I think, and what makes me go "WTF?!?!?!"
A. the great-unwashed (those with purple stats mostly and then, all those without purple stats that follow the purple stats guys) hate arty. tl;dr: hate arty.
B. the subjects of A above devote their lives to this game (in some form or fashion. I know I do to an extent. I.e., I play almost daily, for well over 2 years now -- I was 5,000something member of beta <-- big deal right?!).
C. the makers of said game -- World of Tanks mind you -- put arty in the game.
D. we will hate those who play arty (aka, "the players") who did not make arty, who did not put arty in the game, who did not design arty, who had no say over the existence of arty, who simply play it and stuff and stuff and stuff.
^do you see how batshitstupidfuckingstupidcrazy this is?
Socrates would _not_ fucking respect your asses for this. You would _not_ be his disciple.
The lack of proper logic here breaks my brain. The lack of motivation to understand philosophical first prinicples, prime rules, source causes and thermodynamics, breaks me to pieces. It kills me. I am now dead (good! we hate you fkd!).
Raging on the forums about people playing arty in light of the above (of _the_ above) is equivalent to posting your political views on facebook, for those who have, by now, unfollowed you for it. It is incalculably an inefficient means of affecting the change you want -- no more arty.
If you want to effect/affect/prefect government, do you:
A. post it on facebook.
B. rage online in reddit.com
C. write your local politician/show up at a rally/knock door-to-door?
YOU DO FUCKING C!!!
The Ron Paul example:
For years, I've had these younger friends constantly telling about Ron Paul.
Alert!!! Politics coming!!!
Yes, I now support and like Ron Paul (yes, he is retired from his office in the U.S. Senate). These guys sent me emails, spammed me with his thoughts and speeches, etc. I rolled my eyes, didn't care.
Then, one day, on my own, I caught something he said. I went, "hey, you know, that makes perfect sense." Then, I caught something else he said and I went, "hey!" again.
Before long, I loved him. The guy was spot on. I became a believer.
Ron Paul was different, not a lemming-following, anti-"The Man", etc.
I couldn't wait to go vote for him in the last presidential election, in the primary for my state.
I went, I voted, I told.
I couldn't wait to tell my friends -- these guys who put bumper stickers on their cars, make his banner their banner, make "Ron Paul" their face book cover photo, email sig, etc. -- I talk to them. Get ready for it....
THEY ... DID ... NOT ... GET ... OFF ... THEY .. SORRY ... ASSES .. AND ... GO ... VOTE ... FOR ... RON ... PAUL .. WHEN ... IT ... REALLY ... REALLY ... REALLY ... MATTERED!!!!!!
/whimper-voice-now
i mean, honestly, they didn't. i was like mel gibson (as william wallace, braveheart y'know) after he realized robert the bruce had betrayed him. i asked why. they said they were busy. forgot. didn't register ... i ... i ... i was devastated....
/end-whimper-voice
 |
| fkd as William Wallace (i know i know, sessy) |
I could not believe it. I was floored.
After that primary, there would be no other, in history, chance to do anything about ever getting Ron Paul in office, ever, ever, never, ever, neverland peter pan....
 |
| this is honest to god the _only_ peterpan related image I could find |
I realized. I understood. They were sacks of shit. It was easy to make him a sig, or a cover photo. It felt good to spam those who didn't want it with the shit, but when it came to work that wouldn't get an immediate response/reply/epeen/flame (i.e., internet shit), they were like a shit popsicle <-- fucking worthless.
And so, I say, to all you lemmings of World of Tanks who never miss:
A. a chance to flame someone who likes a german tank.
B. a chance to flame those who make the mistake of revealing they play arty.
C. a chance to praise a unicorn and hate a 'baddy'
^think for your everloving motherfucking selves. Get off your fucking asses and make a support ticket about arty, or email a dev, or support a competitor game, or play a scout, or post an intelligent response in the official sticky on arty put there by a mod, or actually try that arty out or that german tank out or that KV-5 out ... BEFORE YOU LEARN IT ACTUALLY ISN'T SO BAD AFTER ALL BY SOMEONE ELSE'S REVEALING!!!
Devoting your lives to a game with a key part you hate, placing your precious time on this earth in the hands of devs that you should doubt over that key part (that _you_ -- not me -- don't like) THEN trolling pubbies with hate is equivalent to supporting Ron Paul when it suits you, when easy, yet not voting, not doing dick for him when it couints.
"But fkd, aren't you just raging cuz you devoted yourself to complete the entire german tree waaaaay tf back, and it hurts your feelings when made fun of for this? And aren't you just bitter cuz your stats are _not_ purple? you are _not_ in a unicorn clan? Aren't you just a female bleeding tween legs and out of tampons?..."
Totally. Entirely. Surely and yes.
...but I'm still right....
-fkd
Friday, April 26, 2013
Friday, April 5, 2013
World of Tanks: How To Get Gold and Silver Cheap
Everyone likes a deal. Finding ways to get gold and silver (credits) in World of Tanks is something every tanker spends at least some amount of time looking for. We all want gold and silver cheap or better yet, free! Although I cannot offer much on the "free" part, I can hopefully do a bit toward the cheap part. Read on....
I hit ebay.com a bit ago, and purchased several of these "World of Tanks With $30.00 In Pack Value-Items" for about $16. The first one I tried to get was even cheaper, but no buy-out. Someone out bid me, and I quickly let them have it.
I kept searching and found another seller that was doing "buy it now" and I did. I got 3 total.
A few days later, and having spent around $50, I got the 3 installs. All I wanted was the codes for the "$30 of in-game items"! The packages were all sealed (per description in the sale), so this did away with the, "what if these codes are already used?" concern.
My last concern was: what if an account can only use one of these-type codes? But each was different. I had a few friends lined up to share the codes with in case using the first would nullify the rest. It did not. All 3 worked!
Each code provided me with:
All of this for a grand total in gold value of 6500. At the gift shop, it would normally cost $29.95 to get 6500 worth of gold.
So, for about $16, I did indeed get about $30 worth of in-game stuff. Times 3 means that for $50, I got nearly $100 worth of stuff.
But had these things been bought with a gold purchase made at $6.95, the savings is even greater.
Keep in mind, as you spend more real dollars for gold, you get more gold. I did this math way back:
I hope all of my math here is correct. If not, let me know.
I am not trying to get anyone to give WG money. If you enjoy paying totally for free, then mo' powa'. I myself like the perks gold brings, but I work hard to do it at a bargain.
And yes, you can wait for such things as garage slots to go on sale for half price (150 instead of 300 gold).
And also, part of this meant selling the T2 Light that came with the bonus codes. If you keep that, you'll make less. (I already had it).
Finally, if you are in a pro clan doing clan wars, then you might be laughing at the thought of some people paying real $ for gold, but most of us are not, and we play more leisurely.
Last of all, I took the time ask WG and World of Tanks Support if it was ok to buy these installs and use the codes. I knew it was, but wanted to be safe. (I mostly asked in order to safely blog about it). Here is their response:
Dear Player,
I prefer, "Playa!"
We apologize for the delayed reply.
Our official payment methods are through our Get Gold page: https://worldoftanks.com/personal/payment/ or through Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/World-of-Tanks-Game-Connect/dp/B008B2VOEK
Having said that, you are free to purchase the disk with the bonus code from eBay, but we would like to warn you that the code may already be redeemed by the reseller and if that is the case we would not be able to offer any compensation.
Best Regards,
Billing Support Specialist
http://support.worldoftanks.com
I honestly did not know about the Amazon Game Connect site. I thought I would break down what you can buy there and the worth in gold if you: sell the tank, price the credits (silver), garage slot, etc.:
Ram-II <-- sells for 350,000 credits. That’s 88 gold (rounded up)
Garage slot: <-- 300 gold
1500 gold <-- 1500 gold
50,000 credits <-- 125 gold
^So that's 2013 worth of gold for $20.... I think my ebay find was much more lucrative. (I just noticed the amount of gold is 2013 and that's also the year we're in rofl! ¬_¬)
I mean, at $29.95 prices at "Get Gold" page, that's not even $10 worth, and you paid $20!!!
In any event, I hope all my info and math are correct and that I may have helped some of you to at least get the resources you need to pwn at World of Tanks!
-fkd
 |
| goooooooooold!!! |
I hit ebay.com a bit ago, and purchased several of these "World of Tanks With $30.00 In Pack Value-Items" for about $16. The first one I tried to get was even cheaper, but no buy-out. Someone out bid me, and I quickly let them have it.
I kept searching and found another seller that was doing "buy it now" and I did. I got 3 total.
A few days later, and having spent around $50, I got the 3 installs. All I wanted was the codes for the "$30 of in-game items"! The packages were all sealed (per description in the sale), so this did away with the, "what if these codes are already used?" concern.
My last concern was: what if an account can only use one of these-type codes? But each was different. I had a few friends lined up to share the codes with in case using the first would nullify the rest. It did not. All 3 worked!
Each code provided me with:
- 2550 in gold <-- 2550 gold duh!
- Garage slot <-- 300 gold non-special price
- 1,050,000 credits (silver) <-- this would normally cost 2625 in gold, and partially required selling the T2 Light that came with it
- 7 day premium account <-- normally, 1250 gold
All of this for a grand total in gold value of 6500. At the gift shop, it would normally cost $29.95 to get 6500 worth of gold.
 |
| This image is redundant, but I felt it time for an image of something |
So, for about $16, I did indeed get about $30 worth of in-game stuff. Times 3 means that for $50, I got nearly $100 worth of stuff.
But had these things been bought with a gold purchase made at $6.95, the savings is even greater.
Keep in mind, as you spend more real dollars for gold, you get more gold. I did this math way back:
- At $6.95 you pay $1 for 179.86 gold (1,250 gold)
- At $14.95 you pay $1 for 200.7 gold (3,000 gold)
- At $29.95 you pay $1 for 217 gold (6,500 gold)
- At $49.95 you pay $1 for 240.24 gold (12,000 gold)
- At $99.95 you pay $1 for 250.13 gold (25,000 gold)
I hope all of my math here is correct. If not, let me know.
I am not trying to get anyone to give WG money. If you enjoy paying totally for free, then mo' powa'. I myself like the perks gold brings, but I work hard to do it at a bargain.
And yes, you can wait for such things as garage slots to go on sale for half price (150 instead of 300 gold).
And also, part of this meant selling the T2 Light that came with the bonus codes. If you keep that, you'll make less. (I already had it).
Finally, if you are in a pro clan doing clan wars, then you might be laughing at the thought of some people paying real $ for gold, but most of us are not, and we play more leisurely.
Last of all, I took the time ask WG and World of Tanks Support if it was ok to buy these installs and use the codes. I knew it was, but wanted to be safe. (I mostly asked in order to safely blog about it). Here is their response:
Dear Player,
I prefer, "Playa!"
We apologize for the delayed reply.
Our official payment methods are through our Get Gold page: https://worldoftanks.com/personal/payment/ or through Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/World-of-Tanks-Game-Connect/dp/B008B2VOEK
Having said that, you are free to purchase the disk with the bonus code from eBay, but we would like to warn you that the code may already be redeemed by the reseller and if that is the case we would not be able to offer any compensation.
Best Regards,
Billing Support Specialist
http://support.worldoftanks.com
I honestly did not know about the Amazon Game Connect site. I thought I would break down what you can buy there and the worth in gold if you: sell the tank, price the credits (silver), garage slot, etc.:
Ram-II <-- sells for 350,000 credits. That’s 88 gold (rounded up)
Garage slot: <-- 300 gold
1500 gold <-- 1500 gold
50,000 credits <-- 125 gold
^So that's 2013 worth of gold for $20.... I think my ebay find was much more lucrative. (I just noticed the amount of gold is 2013 and that's also the year we're in rofl! ¬_¬)
I mean, at $29.95 prices at "Get Gold" page, that's not even $10 worth, and you paid $20!!!
 |
| What "Get Gold" _may_ look like |
In any event, I hope all my info and math are correct and that I may have helped some of you to at least get the resources you need to pwn at World of Tanks!
-fkd
 |
| Thar's tanks in them thar golds |
Thursday, April 4, 2013
fkd's Theory of Creation
I do believe in god, and I think god is a woman. It's the only plausible explanation for the universe and existence.
I came to this conclusion after many years of relationships with women. Only a woman would do everything to make a man happy, and then play passive aggressive "tests" with him, much to his total unawareness that it's going on. You see, I believe the entire Genesis story of the garden and the snake and the apple and the man and woman are totally true. These are real events.
See, god, a woman, makes the garden, makes Adam, makes everything. But Adam ain't happy. And god, she gets pissed cuz Adam should only want her. This is the perfect setup for a woman to have a man in. Adam has no friends. He can't go out. He has no hobbies. God gets to make all this for him. Friends? Ok, here's some animals. Hobbies? Ok, well, here's some fruit trees to look after. But he still ain't happy, cuz no guy is ever going to be happy being totally controlled like that, and so, we get the first ever game-playing in history.
God's like, "ok, fine. I'll make him another woman, just to test him and see/prove that he loves me more." So, she makes Eve. The problem is, Eve had a vagina, and that's like, way fun when it's going on. Oh man is Adam happy now. And Eve and god are all, glaring at each other at times across the room with that female, "nice dress" stuff, and god, the more powerful woman, brings it to a head. "I'll make a tree that if they eat it they'll eventually die and stuff, but Adam will choose me cuz, deep down, whether Eve has a vagina or not, Adam _really_ loves me more." Oh, and Eve picks up on it quick. God and Eve know what's going on, but of course, Adam, don't -- the first sucker on earth.
So Eve is like, "game on biatch!" She eats the apple. God is giddy. "Oh boy oh boy! Now, Adam will not, cuz he _really_ loves me more, and that chick'll be gone, and then it'll be back to just me and Adam." Well, we all know what happens. The first sucker on earth picks hot and new over old and busted, and thus, we are where we are today.
So you see, Stephen Hawking was close, just not close enough. I really think this it the best foundation for creationism and science. This is like, the Sophocles of it all if you will -- the Sun Tzu. We need to start with women as the original cause for the imperfection that lead to gravity, dark matter, dark energy, religion, wars, etc. This is all extremely logical....
(PS: please don't tell my wife I wrote this, thx)
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Restoring The Thompson Center Arms .54 Caliber Cap Lock Rifle: Part 2
Go here for Part 1
Update: the "whatsinthisthing" wadding compartment turned out to be empty. I had seriously hoped for something left behind in it by my Dad. He was good at over-preparing and/or hiding supplies or things he might need in some emergency, but not this time. I made a reddit thread on it here.
Here's the video of the opening of the brass-door "secret compartment" and/or, where you kept wadding and stuff normally on this type of muzzleloder:
/end-update
Dossier (or whatever):
The ancient camo tape has continued to make my life hell. I literally cannot get it off my hands with soap and will prolly have to try gas from my lawnmower jug. I had a couple of moments of frustration where I was like, "Dad!!!... Why?!?!" My pants are now all gluey too from where I put it in my lap whilst working on it.
The glue has, in various places, turned into chalky cement and pure superglue-ectoplasm in other places.
The gun is now fully broke down, besides more tape on the great back stock, which is where most of it is (I said 'f*ck it' and just began working on the screws and parts).
At one point, I felt a zen come over me, as part after part freed. It seemed I knew where to tap, where to look for another screw, etc. (e.g., I figured the little "set screw" under trigger need not be removed to remove trigger plate and mechanism ... indeed, it did not).
The Barrel:
The barrel had perplexed me. I have no manual, no docs and no experience breaking-down a TCA .54 cap lock muzzleloader. After removing the heavy barrel-pin, the barrel would not release with some effort. I thought surely it was: A. held in with some hidden screw, B. some how pressed in (needing vice and press/pressure to release) and/or, epoxied some how. Negative. Believe it or not, Dad had apparently simply removed it, lapped the tape over the wood stock, then it back. The horribad camo tape had nicely, over time, naturally epoxied the gd barrel to the stock. Today, I tried a few more times and with more strength, and it suddenly lifted 45 degrees upwards. A bit more movement toward 90 degrees and I could see the fat hook part that affixes it to the main housing, and it came right out!
http://www.reddit.com/r/whatsinthisthing
***COULD MY DAD HAVE LEFT SOMETHING IN THE WADDING COMPARTMENT****
The rear wadding compartment -- a brass, decorative door -- is still fully covered in camo tape. I have hopes my Dad left a message for me in it. He camoed this thing some 20+ years ago. I'm sure the theory of reality will win: i.e., don't get your hopes up, but still. It would be awesome (miss my Dad lots).
PS removing the ornate, brass, trigger guard revealed a bright-yellow heavy-plastic sliver with plainly-visible serial number.
I've gotten great feedback on the wot forums:
Update: the "whatsinthisthing" wadding compartment turned out to be empty. I had seriously hoped for something left behind in it by my Dad. He was good at over-preparing and/or hiding supplies or things he might need in some emergency, but not this time. I made a reddit thread on it here.
Here's the video of the opening of the brass-door "secret compartment" and/or, where you kept wadding and stuff normally on this type of muzzleloder:
/end-update
Dossier (or whatever):
The ancient camo tape has continued to make my life hell. I literally cannot get it off my hands with soap and will prolly have to try gas from my lawnmower jug. I had a couple of moments of frustration where I was like, "Dad!!!... Why?!?!" My pants are now all gluey too from where I put it in my lap whilst working on it.
The glue has, in various places, turned into chalky cement and pure superglue-ectoplasm in other places.
The gun is now fully broke down, besides more tape on the great back stock, which is where most of it is (I said 'f*ck it' and just began working on the screws and parts).
At one point, I felt a zen come over me, as part after part freed. It seemed I knew where to tap, where to look for another screw, etc. (e.g., I figured the little "set screw" under trigger need not be removed to remove trigger plate and mechanism ... indeed, it did not).
The Barrel:
The barrel had perplexed me. I have no manual, no docs and no experience breaking-down a TCA .54 cap lock muzzleloader. After removing the heavy barrel-pin, the barrel would not release with some effort. I thought surely it was: A. held in with some hidden screw, B. some how pressed in (needing vice and press/pressure to release) and/or, epoxied some how. Negative. Believe it or not, Dad had apparently simply removed it, lapped the tape over the wood stock, then it back. The horribad camo tape had nicely, over time, naturally epoxied the gd barrel to the stock. Today, I tried a few more times and with more strength, and it suddenly lifted 45 degrees upwards. A bit more movement toward 90 degrees and I could see the fat hook part that affixes it to the main housing, and it came right out!
http://www.reddit.com/r/whatsinthisthing
***COULD MY DAD HAVE LEFT SOMETHING IN THE WADDING COMPARTMENT****
 |
| ^This wadding compartment has been sealed for over 20 years |
PS removing the ornate, brass, trigger guard revealed a bright-yellow heavy-plastic sliver with plainly-visible serial number.
 |
| Found the serial number! (call me paranoid, blacked it out) |
I've gotten great feedback on the wot forums:
 |
| This is how the barrel "hooks" to the main housing |
 |
| In this pic and the next you can see the rust plainly, sorta like shag carpet.... |
