Hobby Thread - January 31, 2026 [TRex]

Welcome hobbyists! Pull up a chair and sit a spell with the Horde in this little corner of the interweb. This is the mighty, mighty officially sanctioned Ace of Spades Hobby Thread. We gave the Ace of Spades Wheel of Hobbies (TM) a spin it landed on sea shells.

Best wishes to Morons in the midst of the current weather event. Feel free to check in with weather reports.

[Top photo: Tasmania]

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What are you hobbying?

As per usual Hobby Thread etiquette, keep this thread limited to hobbying. All (legal) hobbying is welcome. Discussion of current events, religion and politics can elsewhere. Pants are optional. As always, puns are welcome and encouraged.

Play nice. Don't be a troll and do not feed the trolls.

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Let's thing warm thoughts and talk sea shells. Like snowflakes, no two are exactly the same. They fuel the ultimate beach scavenger hunt. No matter how many you have or have seen, there always might be one more gem hidden in plain sight, just waiting to be discovered.

Where are your favorite shelling beaches?

What have been your favorite finds?

How do you display collected shells?

Share your stories of shelling!

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Where do seashells come from?

Shells are simply skeletons of animals, the remains of dead organisms. But unlike humans and most other animals, these mollusks, such as snails, clams, oysters and mussels, have an exoskeleton, meaning it's on the outside of their bodies.
The process of making a shell is known as biomineralization. How marine animals build their shells can vary greatly depending on the species, but all of these animals have special tissues to make their shells, just as humans have special tissues to grow and strengthen our bones.
Most marine animals form their shells from calcium carbonate, which is a tough mineral also found in limestone. Some sponges and microorganisms use another compound silica. There is also a group of brachiopods that build shells using calcium phosphate, which we use to build our bones, too.
More than 50,000 mollusk species live today on our planet, and most of them make shells. But each species makes a different shell. This accounts for the huge variety of shapes and sizes in the seashells you find on the beach.

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Shells of Sanibel and Captiva, Florida (click to embiggen):

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Sand dollar facts:

Living sand dollars are not white. They're usually brown, gray, or even have a purplish tint, with tiny, fuzzy spines covering their bodies.
They're related to starfish and are burrowing sea urchins.
Sand dollars eat using tiny hair-like structures called cilia, which move food particles to their mouth on the bottom side.
They can burrow into the sand to protect themselves from rough waters or predators.
Like tree rings, sand dollars' ages can be determined by counting the growth rings on their exoskeleton.
Sand dollars typically live for 6-10 years.

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Horde hobbying from PA Dutchman:

This is a Type 1 Chi-He medium tank from Fine Molds. Only 170 were built and all were kept on the home islands, mainly Kyushu, in anticipation of Operation Olympic. They were the first Japanese tank to include a radio as standard equipment and a mechanism to raise and lower the gun barrel.

Outstanding!

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Impressive. Pretty amazing that the guy still has all his fingers. I couldn't tell how the threads were added but maybe that's a trade secret.

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Did you miss the Hobby Thread last week? We did an wood carving and tools theme. The comments may be closed, but you can re-live the content.

Bonus content carryover:

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Notable comments from last week:

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Words of wisdom:

"Because despite all our troubles, when things are grim out in that wide round world of ours, that's when it's really important to have a good hobby." Posted by: tankascribe at June 22, 2024 07:41 PM (HWxAD).

***

If you have trouble finding something in the content or comments that resonates with you, contribute your own. Send thoughts, suggestions and photos of your hobbying to moronhobbies at protonmail dot com. Do mighty things.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 05:30 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Welcome Hobbiests

Posted by: Skip at January 31, 2026 05:30 PM (Ia/+0)

2 For beach fjnds, sharks teeth were the best. At Myrtle Beach shells are fairly easy to find

Posted by: Skip at January 31, 2026 05:33 PM (Ia/+0)

3 Oh look. Off in the distance. Natalie Wood!

Posted by: OrangeEnt at January 31, 2026 05:34 PM (uQesX)

4 Where are your favorite shelling beaches?

Normandy.

Posted by: Ike at January 31, 2026 05:35 PM (uQesX)

5 PA Dutchman great job on that Japanese tank, half expected a teenage girl Commander pop out

Posted by: Skip at January 31, 2026 05:36 PM (Ia/+0)

6 "She sells sea shells, by the sea shore . . ."

I hope she has another source of income. If she's at a sea shore, seems to me customers could pick up some themselves for free.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 31, 2026 05:37 PM (wzUl9)

7 Where are your favorite shelling beaches?

Normandy.
Posted by: Ike at January 31, 2026 05:35 PM (uQesX)
---
We can shut down the blog. We're done here.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at January 31, 2026 05:38 PM (ESVrU)

8 That's a lot of shells.

Posted by: Helena Handbasket at January 31, 2026 05:38 PM (ULPxl)

9 Skip, ha! Fine Molds does make a series of tanks based on Girls und Panzer.

Posted by: PA Dutchman at January 31, 2026 05:38 PM (h/O4U)

10 What's up with the white star on the front of the Chi-He tank?

Posted by: Mister Scott (Formerly GWS) at January 31, 2026 05:39 PM (0N4FZ)

11 I work in an office full of rockhounds. And Idaho is a great place for rockhounds. I have a feeling I will soon be a rockhound too.

Posted by: Pug Mahon, Rock 'n' Roll Martian at January 31, 2026 05:39 PM (0aYVJ)

12 Spots in the Appalachian mountains in Pa you can find shells, millions of year old of course, well the left over fossils at least

Posted by: Skip at January 31, 2026 05:40 PM (Ia/+0)

13 Shops along the MS Gulf Coast used to sell sand dollars. I haven't been out that way in a while. The last time I went, not too long after Hurricane Katrina, a lot of those shops had been wiped away. Almost certainly more have sprung up since.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 31, 2026 05:40 PM (wzUl9)

14 Back in the day, we'd vaca down in Sarasota, FL on Siesta Key. My dad was an avid shell collector and we'd make a few runs over to Sanibel Island.

Very cool.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at January 31, 2026 05:41 PM (jtM2q)

15 I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that the beach shown in the top photo doesn't exactly smell like a bed of roses.

Posted by: Orson at January 31, 2026 05:41 PM (dIske)

16 Mister Scott, the star designates Imperial Japanese Army and were usually gold or white. IJN vehicles sported an anchor instead.

Posted by: PA Dutchman at January 31, 2026 05:42 PM (h/O4U)

17 The sand dollars are from phylum Echinodermata.

Essentially, the entire phylum has 5-fold symmetry (as adults).

That has persisted since the Cambrian, over 500 million years ago.

God definitely ascribes to the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." school of thought.

Posted by: Pillage Idiot at January 31, 2026 05:42 PM (HlyYF)

18 The sand dollars remind me of the Legend of the Sand Dollar. First saw that as a kid in Rehoboth.

Posted by: PA Dutchman at January 31, 2026 05:43 PM (h/O4U)

19 Afternoon, TRex and Hobby Horde. Hobbying, or puttering? I am making a wall rack for some half-inch drive sockets, mounting on the garage wall above the workbench. Four feet of redwood one by three. Drilled shallow holes for most of the deep impact sockets; the remaining odd deep and and shallow impact sockets are going to have to sit on wood screws. Because drilling holes is tedious.

The restoration of Duane's '51 Studebaker 2-door proceeds apace. The bullet nose and front bumper, with splash panel, are now securely installed, and the front of the body looks nearly complete. All the glass is installed, and the windows that open, can be opened. New front springs are installed.

Back to the salt mines I go.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 31, 2026 05:44 PM (8zz6B)

20 PA Dutchman, your tank model looks very realistic, as if Dr. Cyclops had turned his shrinking ray on the Chi-He tank and reduced it to model size. In the last days of my own model-building career, I discovered how high quality Tamiya 1/35 scale tanks were -- the King Tiger and the West German Leopard were the ones I built. And that was decades ago. I can only presume the craft has gotten even better.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 31, 2026 05:44 PM (wzUl9)

21 Enjoyed the woodcarving video.

He's has a great bunch of power tools and workshop.

Posted by: BirdRockDoc at January 31, 2026 05:47 PM (PoaF2)

22 2 For beach fjnds, sharks teeth were the best. At Myrtle Beach shells are fairly easy to find

Posted by: Skip at January 31, 2026 05:33 PM

I grew up in Kansas, far, far away from any ocean beaches.

We also found shark's teeth in our youth ... weathering out of our Cretaceous chalk formations.

75 million years old, and look almost exactly like the ones you found on the beach!

Pelosi only wishes she aged that well.

Posted by: Pillage Idiot at January 31, 2026 05:48 PM (HlyYF)

23 Wolfus Aurelius, thank you! The tooling on kits is getting better and better. My understanding with Fine Molds is that they got the original schematics for Japanese armor, which helped them create some incredible kits. Tamiya kits are just amazing though and their customer service is really good. I lost a headlight to a Panzer II and they sent me several replacements free of charge.

Posted by: PA Dutchman at January 31, 2026 05:49 PM (h/O4U)

24 Mister Scott, the star designates Imperial Japanese Army and were usually gold or white. IJN vehicles sported an anchor instead.

Posted by: PA Dutchman at January 31, 2026 05:42 PM

I thought they were always yellow/gold not white.

Posted by: Mister Scott (Formerly GWS) at January 31, 2026 05:49 PM (0N4FZ)

25 My father was a skin diver at night inside the ref at Guam in the 1968-59s. He was stationed there before he was transferred to Japan.

He collected shells live. The snail innards he got rid of. I cringe a little because he collected a lot of shells.

He has a 6 foot high balsa wood and thin glass cabinet handmade in Japan to display a portion of his shells.

Lots of cone shells, cowries, spider shells, conchs, miter shells and more. In addition, he traded with a sailor in Cuba for a number of brightly colored Cuban land snails.

NotSoThoreau has seen the cabinet, still filled with shells, after moving from Japan to California, then Germany, back to California, over to Maryland, and now in Kansas.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at January 31, 2026 05:49 PM (u82oZ)

26 But if she sells them, she can pick and choose in off hours and then present a preprepared selection to busy people who do nkt have time to dig in the sand.

Plus, back in the day, people went to beaches in nice clothes. They probably did nkt want to get them dirty.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at January 31, 2026 05:52 PM (zZu0s)

27 Wolfus Aurelius, thank you! The tooling on kits is getting better and better. My understanding with Fine Molds is that they got the original schematics for Japanese armor, which helped them create some incredible kits. Tamiya kits are just amazing though and their customer service is really good. I lost a headlight to a Panzer II and they sent me several replacements free of charge.
Posted by: PA Dutchman at January 31, 2026

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I'd love to redo the King Tiger model. (Does Tamiya still make it?) But I have cats and no separate room, or space, to work on models away from them. I have a 1959 Pyro kit of a Cowpuncher figure with hat and saddle, marketed as the "Gil Favor of Rawhide" figure. But where to work on it?

A Japanese company model of a U-Boat would be super-neat, too.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 31, 2026 05:53 PM (wzUl9)

28 Plus, back in the day, people went to beaches in nice clothes. They probably did nkt want to get them dirty.
Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at January 31, 2026 05:52 PM (zZu0s)

But they still sat in the sand without a blanket.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at January 31, 2026 05:54 PM (uQesX)

29 Does commenting obsessively on AoSHQ count as a hobby?

Posted by: Bulg at January 31, 2026 05:54 PM (77rzZ)

30 Growing up, the variety of shells was my go-to science project, as I spun stories of the poisonous cone shells (the CIA investigated the venom) and the money cowries. 5,000 for a wife, and 10,000 for a cow in certain African nation. My story, and sticking to it.

One of the reasons I became a scientist was because of the shows on sea shells.

For Christmas I gave away a money cowrie each to two neighborhood girls. One a preschooler and the other in 1st Grade. They were thrilled.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at January 31, 2026 05:54 PM (u82oZ)

31 I think screws manufactured on an industrial scale usually have the threads rolled on, while smaller-scale operations use threading dies or single-point cutting.

I don't know where the cutoff point is where rolling becomes more economical. I do know that rolled threads are typically stronger than cut ones.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at January 31, 2026 05:54 PM (IG3/x)

32 We brought home seashells from Long Beach Island in 2004 that still decorate my succulent garden.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at January 31, 2026 05:54 PM (RIvkX)

33 But if she sells them, she can pick and choose in off hours and then present a preprepared selection to busy people who do nkt have time to dig in the sand.

Plus, back in the day, people went to beaches in nice clothes. They probably did nkt want to get them dirty.
Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at January 31, 2026

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Ah, a boutique in a niche market.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 31, 2026 05:54 PM (wzUl9)

34 Does commenting obsessively on AoSHQ count as a hobby?
Posted by: Bulg at January 31, 2026

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Yes.

No.

Maybe.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 31, 2026 05:55 PM (wzUl9)

35 30 One of the reasons I became a scientist was because of the shows on sea shells.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at January 31, 2026 05:54 PM
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Love this.

Posted by: TRex - exoskeleton dino at January 31, 2026 05:56 PM (IQ6Gq)

36 Tamiya does still make the King Tiger and I've seen a kit that includes a motorcycle and courier. I just saw the other day that the Tank Museum in Bovington, UK is starting a massive project to restore a King TIger.

Posted by: PA Dutchman at January 31, 2026 05:57 PM (h/O4U)

37 With luck and no snow storms I am going to Lancaster next Friday and Saturday for HMGS Cold Wars convention for miniature games

Posted by: Skip at January 31, 2026 05:58 PM (Ia/+0)

38 33 The use of “boutique” and “niche” in the same comment constitutes the use of too much French on the blog. Which is forbidden here, like math and the Metric System.

Posted by: Bulg at January 31, 2026 05:58 PM (77rzZ)

39 I will make an offer to the Horde. If you ask me, I will send you one of the shells in my Dad's collection.

The rest of the family is not interested, and after I go, all this will likely be trashed.

My email (in ROT-13) is: AnPyl_qbt@xfoebnqonaq.arg. Send a mailing address to this. And no Somalians can apply.

Just one shell. If this is a success, I may repeat it.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at January 31, 2026 05:59 PM (u82oZ)

40 Should be all clear, Skip. It looks like we may even break into the 30's!

Posted by: PA Dutchman at January 31, 2026 06:01 PM (h/O4U)

41 Shops along the MS Gulf Coast used to sell sand dollars.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius

How much are your clams?

Two clams apiece.

I'll take six.

(Old BC cartoon)

Posted by: Tonypete at January 31, 2026 06:01 PM (cYBz/)

42 One shell, only, Vasili.

Posted by: Bulg at January 31, 2026 06:02 PM (77rzZ)

43 Plus, back in the day, people went to beaches in nice clothes. They probably did nkt want to get them dirty.
Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at January 31, 2026
*
But they still sat in the sand without a blanket.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at January 31, 2026

***
When Miss Linda visited S. Korea in late 1999, she said local people went hiking in the parks wearing dress clothes. Reminds me of 1930s-40s British movies where men and women would wear tweed suits to walk on the moors.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 31, 2026 06:02 PM (wzUl9)

44 Seashells... yeah. Have the matched sides of a giant clamshell - about 2+ feet across. Heavy, too...

Have them displayed with some Japanese and Russian glass floats we picked up while living in Alaska...

Posted by: man at January 31, 2026 06:03 PM (XuXeR)

45 Heh … WX reports? Yoo choke, jess … ? There is but One Weather, and its Name is Cold. I can't name a single body part that's not approaching 32°F about now - and we're supposed to go lower. Need proof? Here's the forecast:

TONIGHT
Mostly cloudy with a chance of flurries. Cold with lows around 13. Northwest winds 10 to 15 mph.

SUNDAY
Partly sunny. Highs in the lower 30s. Northwest winds around 5 mph.

SUNDAY NIGHT
Mostly cloudy. Cold with lows around 19. South winds around 5 mph.

Posted by: Dr_No at January 31, 2026 06:03 PM (ayRl+)

46 In honor of our new state, I bought a Greenland spindle. It's basically a large bead whorl made of steatite. I don't know if they really used these but it will be fun to mess around with.

I can testify that Salty will never be able to move out of his house

Posted by: Notsothoreau at January 31, 2026 06:03 PM (+mUZM)

47 Do you know the way to Shell Beach?

Posted by: Obscure Dark City Reference at January 31, 2026 06:03 PM (ESVrU)

48 Tamiya does still make the King Tiger and I've seen a kit that includes a motorcycle and courier. I just saw the other day that the Tank Museum in Bovington, UK is starting a massive project to restore a King TIger.
Posted by: PA Dutchman at January 31, 2026

***
That sounds terrific and very tempting.

I'd love to do up a Land Rover or Toyota Land Cruiser, ca. 1950 or so, as a white hunter's vehicle in Kenya before the Mau Mau Emergency.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 31, 2026 06:05 PM (wzUl9)

49 Wolfus Aurelius

I want to wear a reproduction of a Victorian Dandy outfit, with a bowler hat. Then run into a store and ask what year it is. When told, I will yell 'It worked!" and dash out.

To pretend to go back in time, I guess I would need to look at the Pet Shop Boys outfits in some of their crazy video. Same line, however.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at January 31, 2026 06:05 PM (u82oZ)

50 @ 47 Do you know the way to Shell Beach?
__________________

No, but I can find Biloxi without a road map …

Posted by: Dr_No at January 31, 2026 06:06 PM (ayRl+)

51 Sort of craft-related. Little's favorite hoodie had its drawstring pulled out. I had an idea and threaded an old guitar string (I think it was the B) through the hoodie, attached the drawstring to one end, and pulled the whole thing through.

This is why I never throw anything out...

Posted by: Joe Kidd at January 31, 2026 06:07 PM (nbLIj)

52 There's always a few shells about the house, but we are more sea glass people, having been raised on New England's rockiest beeches.
Picture up top reminded me of Moonstone beach in RI.

Posted by: From about That Time at January 31, 2026 06:08 PM (sl73Y)

53 Grew tired of working in the garage workroom with it's concrete floors so I moved into the 3rd unfinished upstairs bedroom where we store our Christmas decorations and sundries. I have a large wooden table and extra lighting to work on crafts. I'm currently fashioning paper flowers using origami paper. Roses, daffodils, tulips, lavender and crocuses so far. They will be sold to raise money for our Altar Society.

Posted by: neverenoughcaffeine at January 31, 2026 06:09 PM (2NHgQ)

54 No but if you hum a few bars, I can fake it.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at January 31, 2026 06:09 PM (zZu0s)

55 Notsothoreau

Do you need large TravelPro luggage cases? Getting two of them ready to donate. My late wife had an amazing amount of luggage.

More that that. A grunch.

If you want one or both I could hold them aside and drop them off. These are basically new in box big luggage items.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at January 31, 2026 06:09 PM (u82oZ)

56 OrangeEnt

You need to send your Ike comment to Doof. It is clearly one of the best this entire week.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at January 31, 2026 06:11 PM (u82oZ)

57 Thought I saw snow Friday

Posted by: Skip at January 31, 2026 06:12 PM (Ia/+0)

58 To segue from the Pet Thread ... my sister had a dog that LOVED the beach. Jump in the water, try to take home half-rotted crab carcasses, etc. We were at Ruby Beach on the Pacific Coast which is not a great location for finding shells, but there were some interesting rocks. As we were looking around, picking up rocks, showing each other interesting rocks, the poor dog was sniffing like her very life depended on it. She *could not tell* what made a rock interesting! This was important! Everybody but her knew!

It was quite funny.

Posted by: Sabrina Chase at January 31, 2026 06:13 PM (aNX55)

59 I bought a fossilized clam once long ago. it weighs a half ounce. It doesn't look like much until you see the band of opal in the stone filling the shell.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at January 31, 2026 06:15 PM (qo38o)

60 @ 57 Thought I saw snow Friday
_________________________________

No, that was JOE Friday …

Posted by: Dr_No at January 31, 2026 06:17 PM (ayRl+)

61 Tamiya does still make the King Tiger and I've seen a kit that includes a motorcycle and courier. I just saw the other day that the Tank Museum in Bovington, UK is starting a massive project to restore a King TIger.

Posted by: PA Dutchman at January 31, 2026 05:57 PM

I picked up the Tamiya 1/16th RC King Tiger on a port visit to Hong Kong once back in the 80s. A buddy and I each bought one and we got it for about 1/2 the price we would have paid in our homeport of Yokosuka Japan. That thing was a beast to put together. It had individual track links and tons of metal parts. It was a blast to drive around when I finally got it done. Sadly it did not survive the move back to the US.

Posted by: Mister Scott (Formerly GWS) at January 31, 2026 06:19 PM (0N4FZ)

62 OrangeEnt

You need to send your Ike comment to Doof. It is clearly one of the best this entire week.
Posted by: NaCly Dog at January 31, 2026 06:11 PM (u82oZ)

Is that protocol, sending in your own comment to get a comment of the week? I thought I had some good zingers the last couple of weeks, but they weren't CoW.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at January 31, 2026 06:19 PM (uQesX)

63
Radar is still showing some little spots of snow around Lake City, FL. I saw that pop up earlier, and looked on X, and saw some videos of flurries falling around there.

The models are pushing the freeze line pretty damned close to Miami tonight, too. I'm seeing 30 - 32F around Pensacola. Orlando is 41F.

And I'm 19F. Snow has petered out. I figured about 6" here.

Posted by: publius, Rascally Mr. Miley (w6EFb) at January 31, 2026 06:20 PM (w6EFb)

64 OrangeEnt

Fine.

I will ask tRex to do it. He's an insider. He has clout.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at January 31, 2026 06:21 PM (u82oZ)

65 publius, Rascally Mr. Miley

Some Global warming would be nice now. And why does the Canadian government hate global warming?

Posted by: NaCly Dog at January 31, 2026 06:22 PM (u82oZ)

66 Hello frozen friends! You can find pretty shells on Gulf Shores. In fact today is a great day to do it because of the winds, however you will be an icicle for your efforts.

Posted by: Piper at January 31, 2026 06:24 PM (OoFl2)

67 I keep looking at RC Tanks, but do I need one?

Posted by: Skip at January 31, 2026 06:24 PM (Ia/+0)

68 64 I will ask tRex to do it. He's an insider. He has clout.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at January 31, 2026 06:21 PM
***
Handled.

Posted by: TRex - the first rule of COW is not to acknowledge COW at January 31, 2026 06:24 PM (IQ6Gq)

69 I keep looking at RC Tanks, but do I need one?

Posted by: Skip at January 31, 2026 06:24 PM

That's like asking if you need a new gun, of course you do.

Posted by: Mister Scott (Formerly GWS) at January 31, 2026 06:25 PM (0N4FZ)

70 Thanks, TRex.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at January 31, 2026 06:26 PM (u82oZ)

71 I'd like to try the British Mark VII from Tamiya someday. Looks like a fun kit and I've never built anything motorized.

Posted by: PA Dutchman at January 31, 2026 06:26 PM (h/O4U)

72 I bought a fossilized clam once long ago.
Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at January 31, 2026 06:15 PM (qo38o)

Was her name Mabel? Marge? Estelle?

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at January 31, 2026 06:26 PM (zZu0s)

73 I keep looking at RC Tanks, but do I need one?
Posted by: Skip at January 31, 2026 06:24 PM (Ia/+0)

I am doing the same thinking about motorcycles. Ewetub is a siren song.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at January 31, 2026 06:27 PM (zZu0s)

74 Aetius451AD

Mildred or Beulah.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at January 31, 2026 06:29 PM (u82oZ)

75 Meaningless yet somehow unimportant wondrement: Ever think how much less cool the Ju-87 'Stuka' (Sturzkampfflugzeug) would have been had it not been possessed of its spatted wheels … ?

Posted by: Dr_No at January 31, 2026 06:29 PM (ayRl+)

76 Mildred or Beulah.
Posted by: NaCly Dog at January 31, 2026 06:29 PM (u82oZ)

Astrid.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at January 31, 2026 06:29 PM (zZu0s)

77
It's close to freezing around Tallahassee, too. There is a chance, a slight chance of a few snowflakes in Tampa later on, too. They'll go wild over one snowflake. It's gonna be hitting freezing in Orlando around midnight, from the models.

Posted by: publius, Rascally Mr. Miley (w6EFb) at January 31, 2026 06:29 PM (w6EFb)

78 They will be sold to raise money for our Altar Society.
Posted by: neverenoughcaffeine

That's great!

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at January 31, 2026 06:30 PM (qo38o)

79 Rhonda. Aldetha(sp?)

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at January 31, 2026 06:30 PM (zZu0s)

80 This is a horrible photo... taken over a 20 years ago. But what you're looking at are GHQ "MicroArmor" miniatures used for wargaming.

Each one of the Sherman tanks will sit on a dime. Enlarge.

https://ibb.co/GXpsVQH

Posted by: Martini Farmer at January 31, 2026 06:31 PM (jtM2q)

81 Yeah but a gun is easier to talk yourself into

Posted by: Skip at January 31, 2026 06:31 PM (Ia/+0)

82 I will ask tRex to do it. He's an insider. He has clout.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at January 31, 2026 06:21 PM
***
Handled.
Posted by: TRex - the first rule of COW is not to acknowledge COW at January 31, 2026 06:24 PM (IQ6Gq)

(blushes)

Posted by: OrangeEnt at January 31, 2026 06:31 PM (uQesX)

83 Speaking of which , have yet to try my 1860 Colt replica

Posted by: Skip at January 31, 2026 06:32 PM (Ia/+0)

84 Despite my medical indisposition, I did see Friday’s Art.

Those were some tiny ‘uns. Bulg no likey.

Posted by: Bulg at January 31, 2026 06:32 PM (77rzZ)

85 What? no she sells sea shells by the seashore. Come on, people.

Posted by: Ben Had at January 31, 2026 06:32 PM (0KSrI)

86 Shells were such a fun part of my growing up on the beach. Some, like the snail shells, had some neat shapes and colors. If you were lucky you could find one that had split in half so you could see the chambers. Cool stuff when you're five or six. If you were really lucky you would find a sand dollar washed up in the shallows. Never saw a live one as they stayed deep but their shells might wash ashore. Finding neat looking shells in the shallows was safer for kids too little to go into deeper water. Must have been a relief for our parents.

The bigger clam shells, like quahogs, were more useful than just fun to look at. The surfaces could be painted and they were the right size to be used as a small ashtray. I think almost every house in town had a few for that purpose.

Posted by: JTB at January 31, 2026 06:32 PM (yTvNw)

87 I havent read the comments yet but in case no one has mentioned it yet, there is a beach by Casey Key FL where shark tooths end up for some reason . It's pretty cool . People go over it every morning for new ones.

Posted by: Big Alfredo at January 31, 2026 06:34 PM (8cPKb)

88 Carving dude is a beastmaster. I am in awe. Patience and vision and focus executed with precision. Nice.

Posted by: Rev. Wishbone at January 31, 2026 06:35 PM (oT7pT)

89 Pigs qua hogs give us delicious pork products.

Posted by: Bulg at January 31, 2026 06:35 PM (77rzZ)

90 Beside beach searching, body board is fun

Posted by: Skip at January 31, 2026 06:35 PM (Ia/+0)

91 Stone carvers and wood carvers see the finished project in the medium before the first cut.

Posted by: Ben Had at January 31, 2026 06:36 PM (0KSrI)

92 87 A lady at my former church grew up in Florida, and had a collection of shark teeth from the beaches.

Posted by: Bulg at January 31, 2026 06:37 PM (77rzZ)

93 @ 90 Beside beach searching, body board is fun
_______________________________________________

'Body board' sounds as if it could also have a 'dark side' …

Posted by: Dr_No at January 31, 2026 06:38 PM (ayRl+)

94 That one snake at the bottom? Poisonous?

Posted by: Eromero at January 31, 2026 06:39 PM (LHPAg)

95 The Body Board carefully examined Ms. Sweeney to ensure she qualified.

Posted by: Bulg at January 31, 2026 06:43 PM (77rzZ)

96 The best shelling was on a beach near Cairns, Australia. They were all so pretty and different. I keep them in a jar with sand from Myrtle Beach and a sea heart from Matagorda. Very different beaches, but they all have meaning to me.

Posted by: BarelyScaryMary at January 31, 2026 06:46 PM (lpTXP)

97 94 That one snake at the bottom? Poisonous?
Posted by: Eromero

that's VENOMous, cockboy

Posted by: Reddit at January 31, 2026 06:46 PM (gKWVE)

98 25 million years ago Florida was completely under water. The beach was halfway up in Georgia. You can find sharks teeth, sand dollars, and seashells in middle Georgia if you know where to look.

Posted by: fd at January 31, 2026 06:47 PM (vFG9F)

99 No, but thank you for asking! I have trunks, foot lockers and wardrobe trunks. That's my storage

Posted by: Notsothoreau at January 31, 2026 06:48 PM (+mUZM)

100 Made lots of sand sculpture at beach as well, no digital pictures of any

Posted by: Skip at January 31, 2026 06:48 PM (Ia/+0)

101 The sand dollars are from phylum Echinodermata.
Essentially, the entire phylum has 5-fold symmetry (as adults).
That has persisted since the Cambrian, over 500 million years ago.
God definitely ascribes to the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." school of thought.
Posted by: Pillage Idiot

DNA is a programming language. He is a apparently a big fan of "code reuse."

Posted by: mikeski at January 31, 2026 06:49 PM (VHUov)

102 fd, no possibility that those came from east of Georgia?

Posted by: Ben Had at January 31, 2026 06:49 PM (0KSrI)

103 We found a rock with a seashell fossil on our property in central TX. It was a cool find.

Posted by: BarelyScaryMary at January 31, 2026 06:50 PM (lpTXP)

104 95 Not only did she qualify, but Ms. Sweeney was named Chairman of the Body Board!

Posted by: Bulg at January 31, 2026 06:51 PM (77rzZ)

105 I don't recall anyone collecting shells as a hobby. Probably because they were so common in our area. Wonder if it was more popular in the middle of the country.

It was not unusual to have a conch shell picked up on a trip to Florida and brought back home. That was the kind of shell you could hold to your ear to 'hear the ocean'.

Posted by: JTB at January 31, 2026 06:51 PM (yTvNw)

106 "fd, no possibility that those came from east of Georgia?
Posted by: Ben Had"

Nope. There are Kaolin mines in middle Ga that are a result of the sediment along the ancient coastline. You can even find whale fossils there.

Posted by: fd at January 31, 2026 06:52 PM (vFG9F)

107 Barely ScaryMary, I have found one in gravel for the driveway.

Posted by: Ben Had at January 31, 2026 06:52 PM (0KSrI)

108 Nope. There are Kaolin mines in middle Ga that are a result of the sediment along the ancient coastline. You can even find whale fossils there.
Posted by: fd at January 31, 2026 06:52 PM (vFG9F)

Stop desecrating our family burial grounds!

Posted by: Stacey Abrams at January 31, 2026 06:54 PM (uQesX)

109 I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that the beach shown in the top photo doesn't exactly smell like a bed of roses.
Posted by: Orson
************
Surprisingly, there was no smell/odor at that beach. Kelvedon Beach, on the eastern side of Tasmania. Best part? Those perfect shells went down about 2-3 feet. Almost like someone dumped tons of perfect shells on the beach. And yes, many came home with us....

Posted by: The Grateful - Acta Non Verba at January 31, 2026 06:59 PM (IQ6Gq)

110 Not only did she qualify, but Ms. Sweeney was named Chairman of the Body Board!
Posted by: Bulg

Ironic, since she's not at all board-like.

Posted by: mikeski at January 31, 2026 06:59 PM (VHUov)

111 When I was growing up my family went to Neah Bay, Washington every summer. We camped on the beach on the Indian reservation. I still have sea shells I collected there.

One summer we found several glass balls of all sizes on the beach. One was as big as a bowling ball. They were hand blown of thick greenish blue glass.

These were floats used for fishing nets in Japan. They would get swept into a current during storms and could circle the Pacific Ocean for years before coming ashore.

Several years ago I gifted a small one that I still had to a lady from Japan who visited us. I love to think of it making that long journey across the ocean from Japan and then many, many years later being taken back there again.

Posted by: NancyB. at January 31, 2026 07:00 PM (jojaI)

112 *waves at The Grateful *

Posted by: Ben Had at January 31, 2026 07:00 PM (0KSrI)

113 103 We found a rock with a seashell fossil on our property in central TX. It was a cool find.
Posted by: BarelyScaryMary at January 31, 2026 06:50 PM (lpTXP)
I picked up one this morning under my shed.

Posted by: Eromero at January 31, 2026 07:03 PM (LHPAg)

114 97 94 That one snake at the bottom? Poisonous?
Posted by: Eromero

that's VENOMous, cockboy
Posted by: Reddit at January 31, 2026 06:46 PM (gKWVE)
Poisonous, venomous, whatever.

Posted by: Eromero at January 31, 2026 07:05 PM (LHPAg)

115
3D globe of Erf going back 750 million years ago.

You can see Florida underwater about 20 million years ago.

You would recognize the planet way back.

Posted by: publius, Rascally Mr. Miley (w6EFb) at January 31, 2026 07:06 PM (w6EFb)

116 Beaches from Delaware to Florida, if there's lots of shells wear shoes.

Posted by: Eromero at January 31, 2026 07:06 PM (LHPAg)

117 Today's hobby was doing the monthly computer backup.

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at January 31, 2026 07:08 PM (CHHv1)

118 A millenia later we get sea shells and shark teeth. A decade from now there will be trash from China and India.

Posted by: Ben Had at January 31, 2026 07:08 PM (0KSrI)

119 I saw the Pieta in person. Good lord that had to be hair raising to carve that. Its so intricate, and one wrong move turns it to junk.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at January 31, 2026 07:10 PM (snZF9)

120
Well, like a nut, I forgot to paste the link:
https://is.gd/la5Zks

Posted by: publius, Rascally Mr. Miley (w6EFb) at January 31, 2026 07:10 PM (w6EFb)

121 Berserker, that is a life memory.

Posted by: Ben Had at January 31, 2026 07:11 PM (0KSrI)

122
90 million years ago, Antarctica was at the poles, but the climate was temperate. We were in "Greenhouse Earth", no ice caps.

Life was thriving there. What's interesting is how that life adapted to the polar days and nights. Don't know if they understand much about that or not.

Posted by: publius, Rascally Mr. Miley (w6EFb) at January 31, 2026 07:12 PM (w6EFb)

123 A hobby thread on fossils and one on arrowheads would be cool. I've got a bunch of both I've collected over the years. I used to have a bunch of old bottles we dug out of old dumps too, but I gave most of those to a friend who is a serious collector. I did keep a couple of nice jugs.

Posted by: fd at January 31, 2026 07:12 PM (vFG9F)

124 I had a biology teacher in highschool who was into shells. He told us he paid around $200-250 for this one shell. Probably $750 in today's money. The class kinda thought he was nuts.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at January 31, 2026 07:13 PM (snZF9)

125 {Waving} at Ben Had. Hope you are doing well and staying warm.

Berserker, that is on my list, too.....

Posted by: The Grateful - Acta Non Verba at January 31, 2026 07:13 PM (IQ6Gq)

126 Cumberland Island, Georgia. National Park Service National Seashore. Visitation is limited, to the point there are long stretches of time with virtually no people. At least back in the day when I was there. I would drive down the beach on some days and it was almost impossible not to run over sand dollars. Loved that place.

20 degrees and light snow in Southside VA.

Posted by: Ex Rex Reeder at January 31, 2026 07:13 PM (MZ+PY)

127 In contrast to RC Cola, RC Tanks never really took off.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 31, 2026 07:15 PM (wzUl9)

128 Berserker, that is a life memory.

Posted by: Ben Had at January 31, 2026 07:11 PM (0KSrI)

Yeah, between that and the ancient dead pope they had on display a few feet away its a bit of an understatement. lol

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at January 31, 2026 07:15 PM (snZF9)

129 @103
We found a rock with a seashell fossil on our property in central TX.

When I was a kid back in the 60s I lived in the Dallas TX area.
There is a lake in Dallas called White Rock. Named after the white rocks in the area. These rocks had fossils of shells, lots of them. I remember people collecting them. Shells of an ancient sea. Really cool.

Posted by: Case at January 31, 2026 07:16 PM (E7+ue)

130 > 90 million years ago, Antarctica was at the poles, but the climate was temperate. We were in "Greenhouse Earth", no ice caps.

Life was thriving there. What's interesting is how that life adapted to the polar days and nights. Don't know if they understand much about that or not.
Posted by: publius, Rascally Mr. Miley (w6EFb) at January 31, 2026 07:12 PM (w6EFb)
-------------
The sun, our star... is variable, about every 11 years or so it waxes and wanes. Seems like that would be an important factor... but....

The sun is "the" most impactful source of weather on Earth.

IMO

Posted by: Martini Farmer at January 31, 2026 07:16 PM (jtM2q)

131 Winter storm Gianna. Are they going to start naming rain showers?

Posted by: neverenoughcaffeine at January 31, 2026 07:18 PM (2NHgQ)

132 The sun, our star... is variable, about every 11 years or so it waxes and wanes. Seems like that would be an important factor... but....

The sun is "the" most impactful source of weather on Earth.

IMO
Posted by: Martini Farmer at January 31, 2026

***
In one of his SF stories, Larry Niven stated the Sun was a three percent variable star. "Maybe it gets a little more variable, now and then."

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 31, 2026 07:19 PM (wzUl9)

133 Winter storm Gianna. Are they going to start naming rain showers?
---------
They name "wind events" and pollen outbreaks.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at January 31, 2026 07:19 PM (jtM2q)

134 Surprisingly, there was no smell/odor at that beach. Kelvedon Beach, on the eastern side of Tasmania. Best part? Those perfect shells went down about 2-3 feet. Almost like someone dumped tons of perfect shells on the beach. And yes, many came home with us....
Posted by: The Grateful - Acta Non Verba at January 31, 2026 06:59 PM (IQ6Gq)
_______________________

That absolutely surprises me. I don't collect shells, but once a summer I'll stop by Cape May, NJ and look for "sand diamonds" which are merely pieces of quartz that spent a couple thousand years moving down the local rivers before hitting the ocean. Highly polished and not exactly easy to find. So, it's a worthy treasure experience.

Posted by: Orson at January 31, 2026 07:20 PM (dIske)

135 Berserker, that is on my list, too.....

Posted by: The Grateful - Acta Non Verba at January 31, 2026 07:13 PM (IQ6Gq)

Definitely do it. Its more than just the Pieta, there is a shit ton of artistry around it. That whole place. You see these giant murals, so intricately painted, and then you find out its not paint at all, but little 1/4" squares of marble, perfectly cut, fitted, and chosen for color to make these scenes. Its completely mind blowing.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at January 31, 2026 07:21 PM (snZF9)

136 Out here, the early settlers didn't have a lot of trees. They did have limestone, so that made fence posts from that. They also used it for bricks. You can see fossils in it.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at January 31, 2026 07:22 PM (+mUZM)

137 Time to say thank you before the next act takes the Ace of Spades stage. As always, thanks for being here and playing along with our reindeer games.

See y'all in Club ONT later!

Posted by: TRex - cararra dino at January 31, 2026 07:22 PM (IQ6Gq)

138 Why don't they ever give storms names like "Le'Trezure" or "Travodka", or my recently acquired rap name "Emperor fd Murda a.k.a. Devious Ca".

Posted by: fd at January 31, 2026 07:24 PM (vFG9F)

139 I did keep a couple of nice jugs.
Posted by: fd at January 31, 2026 07:12 PM (vFG9F)

You too?

Posted by: Sydney Sweeney at January 31, 2026 07:25 PM (8zz6B)

140 Posted by: TRex

Thanks for all you do!

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at January 31, 2026 07:25 PM (qo38o)

141 TRex, thank you for all you do.

Posted by: Ben Had at January 31, 2026 07:25 PM (0KSrI)

142 Ancients used shells to make concrete I think

Posted by: Skip at January 31, 2026 07:26 PM (Ia/+0)

143 How the screw guy can possibly maintain all of that equipment is beyond me. Staggering.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at January 31, 2026 07:26 PM (XeU6L)

144 "You too?
Posted by: Sydney Sweeney"

The Horde never disappoints.

Posted by: fd at January 31, 2026 07:26 PM (vFG9F)

145 "Ancients used shells to make concrete I think
Posted by: Skip"

Burn them to make lime, I think.

Posted by: fd at January 31, 2026 07:27 PM (vFG9F)

146 I went to Sanibel one time in florida, back in the 80s. The whole beach seemed like it was more crushed shell than sand. That was amazing. The funnier thing was a discarded wash machine sitting by the shore line. It has a life preserver hanging over it. Not sure where it jumped ship, but there it was. I took a picture of it and stuck it in a photo album from the trip. I captioned it "it made it" lol

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at January 31, 2026 07:28 PM (snZF9)

147 143 How the screw guy can possibly maintain all of that equipment is beyond me. Staggering.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at January 31, 2026 07:26 PM
***
Yep. The same channel has a similar video of a Japanese paper clip factory. Similar set up, same question.

Posted by: TRex - shaped dino at January 31, 2026 07:28 PM (IQ6Gq)

148 Thank you AZ and Ben Had!

Posted by: TRex -hobbying dino at January 31, 2026 07:29 PM (IQ6Gq)

149 Antebellum 'Tabby' structures were/are common on the southeastern coast:

Antebellum oyster shell cement, commonly known as tabby (or "tabbi"), was a crucial construction material used along the coastal Southeast—specifically in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida—before the Civil War. It is a form of early concrete created by burning oyster shells to create lime, which was then mixed with water, sand, ash, and broken shells to form a strong, durable, and sustainable concrete-like substance.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at January 31, 2026 07:30 PM (XeU6L)

150 You can find places that still use shells in their sidewalk construction like some of the coastal towns of Brazil.

Posted by: Orson at January 31, 2026 07:31 PM (dIske)

151 145 "Ancients used shells to make concrete I think
Posted by: Skip"

Burn them to make lime, I think.
Posted by: fd at January 31, 2026 07:27 PM (vFG9F)

Marl. Part of southern agriculture for a while.

Posted by: Ex Rex Reeder at January 31, 2026 07:32 PM (MZ+PY)

152 How the screw guy can possibly maintain all of that equipment is beyond me. Staggering.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at January 31, 2026 07:26 PM (XeU6L)

Its insane. keeping the machines up and running, checking screw quality, loading the coils of raw material, etc. Unreal

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at January 31, 2026 07:33 PM (snZF9)

153 I enjoy looking for fossils in the limestone on the banks of the Trinity River. Easy to find lots of little echinoids, ancient sea urchins, and it’s fun to see that same star on the top as is present in today’s sea urchins.

Posted by: Tom Servo at January 31, 2026 07:34 PM (IUuBi)

154 I went to Sanibel one time in florida, back in the 80s. The whole beach seemed like it was more crushed shell than sand. That was amazing. The funnier thing was a discarded wash machine sitting by the shore line. It has a life preserver hanging over it. Not sure where it jumped ship, but there it was. I took a picture of it and stuck it in a photo album from the trip. I captioned it "it made it" lol
Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at January 31, 2026 07:28 PM (snZF9)

Florida has many beaches where the sand is composed entirely of shells, often tiny critters like diatoms and foraminifera. Not surprsing when you think about it. There is no granite from which quartz sand can erode from.

Rocks comprised entirely of shells are called "coquina" and that kind of rock can make an awesome petroleum reservoir.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 31, 2026 07:38 PM (8zz6B)

155 I have spent the day installing various Linux distros trying to settle on one to replace window 10.

This is me commenting from brave on mint.

Posted by: toby928(c) at January 31, 2026 07:40 PM (lrtx8)

156 "You too?
Posted by: Sydney Sweeney"

The Horde never disappoints.
Posted by: fd at January 31, 2026 07:26 PM (vFG9F)
---
If that were true, we'd only see amazing Art on the weekday Art Threads...

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at January 31, 2026 07:44 PM (ESVrU)

157 Only laterally related, but when I was a kid I would walk the banks of tidal creeks down in SC, looking for and finding indian pottery shards. Still have a sack of them. I have been meaning to send some to USC's anthropology dept. to have them dated. I expect some are ~3000 years old.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at January 31, 2026 07:45 PM (XeU6L)

158 Wanting to make jewelry out of the seashells we picked up on Jacksonville Beach when we got JT The Wonder Dog is how I got into resin jewelry-making. I knew how to make jewelry with beads, but this was a new experience. Now I make tons of resin stuff, and last month I made a seashell barrette. Arranging seashells is harder than it looks!

Posted by: pookysgirl, trying to keep crackers down at January 31, 2026 07:45 PM (Wt5PA)

159 I have spent the day installing various Linux distros trying to settle on one to replace window 10.

This is me commenting from brave on mint.
Posted by: toby928(
=====

Keep us informed. Sick of Windows.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at January 31, 2026 07:47 PM (XeU6L)

160 Florida has many beaches where the sand is composed entirely of shells, often tiny critters like diatoms and foraminifera. Not surprsing when you think about it. There is no granite from which quartz sand can erode from.

Rocks comprised entirely of shells are called "coquina" and that kind of rock can make an awesome petroleum reservoir.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 31, 2026 07:38 PM (8zz6B)

Well it definitely sucked walking on the beach with no shoes, I'll tell you that. Especially when you grew up near the jersey shore. It was like walking on glass. I heard that was gulf coast thing where florida was concerned.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at January 31, 2026 07:47 PM (snZF9)

161 A week for saying "quit fighting police or die"

GFY with your stupid algorithm Elon

Posted by: Fen at January 31, 2026 07:48 PM (ciYHQ)

162
Playing around with the 40w laser cutter, learning speed and power settings for different materials, and how to apply them for engraving to specific depths. Fun learning process.

Posted by: BifBewalski- at January 31, 2026 07:50 PM (QVmho)

163 "the first Japanese tank to include a mechanism to raise and lower the gun barrel."

What?

Posted by: Fen at January 31, 2026 07:54 PM (ciYHQ)

164 155 I have spent the day installing various Linux distros trying to settle on one to replace window 10.

This is me commenting from brave on mint.
Posted by: toby928(c)
=======
Have fun. Mint, Ubuntu LTS series, and to some degree Arch (rolling distro means sometimes some problems crop up) are the most supported because businesses use them. If you were European, then Suse is fine. Most of the rest of the pack are more enthusiast oriented and require more care and feeding to keep running.

The major issue with Linux is peripheral support although that is a helluva lot better than it used to be. Printers remain a sore spot so I would stick with Brother or Epson that have native linux drivers and expect no support if trouble happens.

AMD Radeon is better supported on Linux than NVidia on graphics while Intel is still a work in progress depending on the specific model of video cards.

Posted by: whig at January 31, 2026 07:55 PM (2swu2)

165 Playing around with the 40w laser cutter, learning speed and power settings for different materials, and how to apply them for engraving to specific depths. Fun learning process.
Posted by: BifBewalski

I'd be careful with the "tattoo" setting.

Posted by: mikeski at January 31, 2026 07:55 PM (VHUov)

166 "the first Japanese tank to include a mechanism to raise and lower the gun barrel."

The model not the actual tank?

Posted by: Fen at January 31, 2026 07:57 PM (ciYHQ)

167 I'd be careful with the "tattoo" setting.
Posted by: mikeski
======

Tooth Whitening and Lasik is tricky too.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at January 31, 2026 07:57 PM (XeU6L)

168 40 watt range?

Posted by: T800 at January 31, 2026 08:00 PM (lrtx8)

169 This week I thought I was done with a radio, but then noticed this particular one had a little LED that was supposed to be green when receiving, red when transmitting. A little bit of troubleshooting determined that only the green of the LED was dead. Which is actually kind of rare. So I went shopping.

Replacements were easy enough to find, even if not exact. But I had a choice of $13.00 for one, or $7.00 for 100. Anyways, new LED works great and I've got 99 spares now.

Posted by: Blanco Basura - Z28.310 at January 31, 2026 08:01 PM (lUFok)

170 "the first Japanese tank to include a mechanism to raise and lower the gun barrel."

The model not the actual tank?
Posted by: Fen

The actual tank. Wikipedia:

The gun did require the installation of elevation gear (on the earlier Type 97 the gunner had to physically move the gun up or down on his shoulder).

And you thought carrying your golf bag sucked.

Posted by: mikeski at January 31, 2026 08:04 PM (VHUov)

171 Keep us informed. Sick of Windows.
Posted by: Mike Hammer

What programs do you HAVE to run on Windows?

If none, especially Office 365 or Adobe Photoshop, etc., then Linux can be a good option. There are free office suites and GIMP is a decent Photoshop like program but some specific windows programs may not have an analogue.

WiNE can run a fair number of regular programs and Steam has become a go to for Linux gaming but not all programs on Windows will work. If they do, often you have to drop back a couple of editions for good support under Wine (not Steam which is fine for gaming up to date).

You can also dual boot but Microsux makes that a challenge sometimes. Dual booting means you choose which operating system to load for that day. Switching between them normally requires rebooting the computer.

On computers, the worst candidates for Linux are laptops as these often have proprietary drivers, etc. while desktops are pretty generic in its drivers so that a Linux distro picks up most of them upon install and puts the correct driver for them.

Laptops are best supported by Linux when made by corporate oriented companies like Dell or Lenovo, HP is a step behind those.

Posted by: whig at January 31, 2026 08:04 PM (2swu2)

172 Sanibel is still not quite back to 100% after that hurricane.
Too bad. That is when you get the best stuff washed up.

Posted by: Itinerant Alley Butcher at January 31, 2026 08:05 PM (/lPRQ)

173 Ah sand dollars. My Father found a sand dollar on a Galveston beach and gave it to me. I was 5 and had this strange worry that while wading in the surf I had been accidentally walking over sand dollars and crushing them. So... I placed the sand dollar on the ground and stepped on it to see if it felt the same, and accidentally crushed it. Father yelled some things at Mother about DNA testing lol.

Posted by: Fen at January 31, 2026 08:08 PM (ciYHQ)

174 Can you imagine, you give your kid a sand dollar and he's like "cool, lets crush it!" SMH poor Dad

Posted by: Fen at January 31, 2026 08:11 PM (ciYHQ)

175 "the gunner had to physically move the gun up or down on his shoulder"

on his shoulder... I bet the recoil was fun. I'm afraid to ask what they did for windage.

And we were surprise-attacked by these guys?

Posted by: Fen at January 31, 2026 08:16 PM (ciYHQ)

176 Love Captiva Island & hope to return someday.

We lived on the Atlantic side & found awesome shells after storms.I have a lot of shells that I let our grands paint or whatever they want to do...but special ones are mine on bookshelves.

One November I found a large spotted cowrie shell, rare.

There were sandbars that kept the shells from coming onto the beach intact. After one storm we even found fragile Angel Wings. I keep good ones and have since college and a trip to Kino Bay (large augars), Mexico. Found limpets in the UK.
I can spend hours sitting on a beach shell searching and finding treasures.

Similar to our farm and finding fossils and arrowheads. Some of the fossils were coral and sea worms? from when it was under water.Fossilized honeycombs.Petrified wood pieces.

My father's lake has at least 3 springs feeding into what was a swampy area. Choctaw tribes used to camp on a hill there, as we'd find many arrow heads in various stages of being made. My brother found a bowl on the creek for grinding corn, and a couple of spear heads.

The creek is the spillway for the lake, and a lot of fern & sandstone. I did not go there much without my snake killing brother.

Posted by: ChristyBlinkyTheGreat at January 31, 2026 09:59 PM (WONhk)

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