"I Saw Your Pampas Grass!" He Said Knowingly *Nudge Nudge Wink Wink*

"Sales of this exotic garden plant are plummeting because it’s a secret signal you are a SWINGER!"

Martyred By ISIS In Egypt

The last moments of the Coptic Christian martyrs of Minya:

According to several witnesses, in the case of the Minya attack everything seems to indicate that the Egyptian Copts who were killed on Friday — many of them children — died as objective martyrs of the Faith. After robbing the pilgrims of their money, their jewels and other precious effects, witnesses say the terrorists told them to apostatize and pronounce the Islamic profession of faith: the shahada. The captives, kneeling, categorically refused. According to reports, they were immediately shot in the neck, head, throat or chest.

Remember Them.

Gregg Allman, 1947-2017: R.I.P.

Story.

The hard-partying rocker very nearly made the Biblical three score and ten years.

Thanks for all the great music. Hope Duane's waiting at the gate for you when you arrive.

Yer Sick Burn of the Day

Shaun King, a white boy who pretends to be black, tried to call out Cleveland sheriff David Clarke for stolen valor on Twitter; Clarke fired back:

King is derisively called "Talcum X" on Twitter by his many enemies.

Knife: Sgian Dubh By Michael Z. Williamson

I received this particular knife during my blogging hiatus, it was made by Mil-SF author Michael Z. Williamson, whose most famous work, Freehold, features cutlery extensively:

Damascus steel blade, zebrawood handle, brass guard.

SC Serial Killer Pleads Guilty

He pleads guilty to murdering seven, kept a woman chained in a shipping container for months after murdering her boyfriend.

His victim said he boasted of killing more than 100 people. In a CBS interview, his mother defended him as "misunderstood."

h/t Instapundit.

Roman Sling Bullets With .44 Magnum Levels of Power

via Stars & Stripes.

But research published Wednesday in National Geographic showed a slingshot used by the Romans some 1,900 years ago had nearly the same stopping power as a .44 magnum.

They used it in the opening attack of a war with the restive tribes living among the hills of Burnswark, Scotland. That war dragged on for nearly two decades. Eventually, the Romans retreated to a fortified barrier they had built known as Hadrian's Wall.

The lead bullets were about 50 grams each. Strangely, about 10 percent of them contained small holes.

The confused researchers made replicas of several bullets, both holed and solid, and gave it to a trained slinger.

The solid ones flew at up to 100 miles per hour and could hit objects smaller than a human 130 yards away. Furthermore, they contained the stopping power of a .44 magnum, that gun Dirty Harry carried around specifically because it was so powerful.

"The biggest sling stones are very powerful — they could literally take off the top of your head," Reid told the Scientific American.

They also solved the mystery of why some had holes. Those weren't as effective as a weapon, but they produced "a weird banshee-like wail" as the wind whipped through and over the holes, Nicholson told National Geographic. The idea, he hypothesized, was to terrify the enemy with the noise during an attack, as a means of distracting them.

"So you are getting these unworldly, unnatural sounds that you have never heard before, and people are falling over on either side of you," Nicholson said.

The location and number of the bullets found suggested a long, pounding siege on a hillside. It's a tremendous thing to imagine, bullets raining down for hours while alien screams fill the air.

Death At the Back of the Boat

The back of a boat can be a "kill zone," as a tragedy at Lake Waccamaw, NC demonstrates.

I'd never heard of a carbon monoxide "kill zone" in the back of a boat before.

Half a BILLION Dollars?!

Meanwhile, over in Catawba County, NC, police have discovered an opium poppy field worth five hundred million dollars.

Just...dayum.

Aftershave Experiments

I like to try various aftershave products, in search of the "perfect" one that suits me. Once upon a time it was Old Spice Fresh Lime, in the transparent green bottle. The makers of Old Spice discontinued it (yes, there is a product made in India that purports to be Old Spice Fresh Lime, but it isn't). Royall Lyme from Bermuda is good, too, but far more expensive than the Old Spice was. In my Navy days I as fond of Stetson for special occasions, and Aqua Velva for daily work use. I still like Aqua Velva and Skin Bracer for work.

More recently I've been searching out other various concoctions. Ogallala makes a good line of bay rum aftershaves - - their Bay Rum with Lime & Peppercorns is my favorite, and their Bay Rum & Vanilla is a close second. J. Peterman's "1903" is a classy aftershave for dress-up occasions, and the price reflects this. It tends to be stronger than typical aftershave, so use it sparingly.

Which brings me to my latest experiment in scents, the old barber shop favorite Lucky Tiger, which I can't recall ever using before. It went out of fashion for years, but has experienced a recent renaissance with the wet-shaving craze. Other old brands such as Hai Karate can be found again, also.

I'll let you all know how it works out - - or doesn't.

It's the Small Stuff, Stupid

The things that Trump needs to focus on if he's going to be a successful president:

Give us back our:

Incandescent light bulbs

Old-fashioned gas cans that pour gasoline into gasoline tanks, and not onto the ground.

Gasoline without alcohol in it.

Coca-Cola without High Fructose Corn Syrup in it.

High-capacity toilet tanks that flush your entire turd in a single flush.

Shower heads without water saver restrictors.

A complimentary glass of water at all full-service restaurants.

A return of full-service gas pumps so you can, if you prefer, get your oil, wiper fluid, and tire pressure checked and topped off as necessary.

Wormsicles and Sun-Dried Raisinworms

The favorite snack of our neighborhood Red-Shouldered Hawks, who have a nest across the street in an oak tree. The hawks have been dining on the sun-dried earthworms in our yard today. During the coldest days of winter, when earthworms come out of the ground and freeze, the hawks dine on these 'wormsicles," also.

"The More We Drill, the More We Find"

Oil? No. Mummies.

Pres. Trump Will Light White House Blue To Honor Police

Story.

President Obama, of course, refused to do so.

Serpentarium Owner Allegedly Murdered By Wife

Dean Ripa, the owner of the Wilmington, NC Serpentarium, was shot to death over the weekend.

The Serpentarium is a nice attraction in downtown Wilmington, I've been there myself and seen Ripa at work. He's been as much a fixture on the Carolinas herpetology scene as Bill Haast or Ross Allen was in Florida.

Must Be Nice To Have Enough Money To Alienate Half Your Audience

Todd Rundgren becomes the first rock star or celebrity (that I am aware of) who has now publicly stated that Trump supporters are not welcome at his shows.

4Chan will see this as a challenge, of course.

Narwhal Tusks Serve As Cod Billy Clubs?

Video from the UK Telegraph.

Gainesville, Florida, Burger King, and the Whopper

"Gainesville, it turns out, is the actual ‘home of the Whopper’

My hometown. My sister and I attended Catholic school from 4th-8th grade, and every day after school my dad would pick us up, drive us to Burger King for takeout, and we'd eat in the car on the way home, which was 16 miles away in Melrose. Usually we'd be done eating by the time my dad stopped at a convenience store for a beer and a pack of cigarettes, so we'd get a bottle of Coke and a candy bar as dessert. In those earliest days Burger King still sold hot dogs (I guess they do again in some places now), and the employees wore those polyester gold-and-scarlet uniforms seen in the TV commercials.

Opening Lines of the Great American Novel, pt. 1

He was a man who had, as a boy, cultivated a habit of always looking at the ground, and often found money this way. As a man it saved him from snakebite on more than one occasion.

Unfortunately it didn't save him from the meteorite.