“Wolverine” posted a guest article over at Bison bro’s blog yesterday about people ripping blog authors “a new one” after they write. Decent post, sounded like a lot of venting. Ironic is that Creekmore also posted a similar note on the subject a few days ago.
My thoughts: blogging (for most blogs) is like public service work. It’s a virtually thankless job that everyone and their brother thinks they can do better. Double that if your blog is information based. Meanwhile you continue tossing stuff out there for the masses while trolls trash you daily. If you’re lucky, good, and persistent, you might make a little money at it. But if you blog daily, which anyone that finds success must do, the line between fun and work begins to blur. At that point you begin thinking, “maybe making only spare change is a good thing. I’m free to drop this at any time. All I have to do is post ‘goodbye’.”
Of course, there are plenty of others that do appreciate your work, and, if they need something you’re selling or promoting, will think of you when they need the goods.
But in any case . . . . . . . .
Ka - BLOOOOOM!
Yowzer! That’s a “blast resistant modular structure” being tested at Fort Polk Louisiana. Check the source of this pic and the article referenced right here.
What’s this all about? The University of Maine’s “Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center” recently unveiled a new 12′x20′ building made of specially coated wood. This material was created at the request of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Ayuh, it’s blast resistant WOOD! The coating over the wood creates a reaction similar to steel, whereby the wood bends instead of breaking into splinters.
It’s not clear what exactly is in that coating, but this could have significant applications for troops and . . . survival house home construction! It’s pretty wild, actually. While I doubt the “coating” has any affect on a .50 BMG busting through, the explosive security features are obvious - cutting edge stuff. Now every survival ninja in Maine is hoping this product catches on so that we can like . . . get some jobs and stuff in the state . . . you know, until they export production to China.
- Ranger Man
BTW: Maybe someone can help me with this. I have a big pile of what I call “plastic tubes” that are octagonal in shape (for easy stacking), about 4′ high, about 8″ in diameter, gray in color, and have a plastic cap that screws on and off. I seem to remember seeing them at Army Navy surplus stores in the past.
They’re all stored at my father’s house and every now and then he says, “Hey, you gonna take these things?” They were salvaged years ago when I was a kid, and my response has always been, “Yeah, don’t throw those out.” Of course, I’ve never been eager to bring them to my house, because I haven’t found a use for them. I’ve heard of people filling them with sand before and putting them in the back of a truck for weight during winter, but . . . . two questions:
1) does anyone know what I’m talking about? I can’t find them on the internet, and I don’t have a post to pic; and
2) what are/were they used for?
10 responses so far ↓
1 Greg // Feb 25, 2008 at 7:44 am
Ranger Man - Just a wild guess as I’ve been all Army since ‘66 - without having seen them, could they have been used to store bags of powder for the deck guns? At any rate, if they look worth a damn for storage, especially underground storage, even if they need a little assistance with the job, I’d be thinking about using them. 48″ X 8″ will hold a fairly long battle rifle, a bunch of ‘battlepacks’ of ammo… whatever. Sounds like a valuable score to me. Greg
2 Gobots // Feb 25, 2008 at 8:56 am
My son is in the navy and we thought they might be used for the same thing (5″ guns) … are they water tight?
3 Been around // Feb 25, 2008 at 9:06 am
Those sound like Bouy boxes that the navy used for sonar bouys.Great for buring stuff in the back 40.
4 oldman in the boonies // Feb 25, 2008 at 9:22 am
I agree with Greg. I would be using or selling them as direct burial vaults for what ever you think you want to bury . I would toss some Silica moisture absorbers in or coat metal with cosmoline( grease) (showing my age). Bury them deep and remember where (lol)
5 the texan // Feb 25, 2008 at 9:31 am
sounds like containers used for atomic waste. (justkidding)
6 Ranger Man // Feb 25, 2008 at 9:52 am
Hmm, these all sound like plausible uses. I think Navy use would make sense as I belive they are watertight and designed for a wet environment. I googled some of the key terms listed in the comments, though, and couldn’t find a “that’s it!” page or image.
Underground storage was a thought that crossed my mind. When I go to my parent’s next I’ll snap an image of them, or maybe I’ll have them bring them up if they’re visiting next.
7 dan in michigan // Feb 25, 2008 at 11:53 am
They are sono-bouy containers. Used by the Navy for aerial dropped sensors. Look to see if they are stamped “lofar” or “difar” or “motorola”. They can be used to bury stuff but not as rugged as PVC.
8 Ranger Man // Feb 25, 2008 at 12:05 pm
You guys are awesome, found it!
http://windom.cybox.com/blogger/2005/05/identify-this-mystery-trash-object.html
It has six sides, not eight, and the opening is smaller than 8″, but underground storage seems like a logical use.
Now I can bury my piles of gold coins! (yeah, right)
Thanks!
9 Ron // Feb 25, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Ranger Man, yes blogging is a thankless job indeed. Or so it seems when unappreciative readers slam you.
But remember all the people you are helping - whether you know it or not there are many who have learned something from what you write.
Keep up the good work!
10 ryan // Feb 25, 2008 at 3:27 pm
Tis thankless. The line tween fun and work also gets muddled.
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