My video digitizer is not working right. The audio is messed up. But here is the video anyway. At least you can see the big clouds of dirt. There was one attempt that failed to detonate when we didn’t have a “detonator target” on top of the main charge and I tried to shoot into the top portion of the milk jugs. Also, I think there was one blast on the first rock we didn’t video tape.
Category Archives: Home Life
Little rocks from big rocks and explosives
The complete collection of pictures for this adventure is here. Below is just a sample.
I got up about 6:00 this morning, took Xenia to her drivers ed class by 7:00 and was on my way to the farm. A little after 10:00 I had all my gear gathered up from the Taj Mahal and met my brothers at the house. We went to a field they had been removing rocks from for several days. There were two rocks that couldn’t be dug out with the equipment they had. Below is rock number one from the “back side”:
Rock number one from the “front side”:
The rock appeared to be directly connected to the earth’s crust. It also poked just above the surface of the dirt (prior to their digging with the back hoe and cat). We put one of my improvised shaped charges on top of it and got back 93 yards to shoot it. Here is a picture of the charge all ready for detonation by rifle fire:
The results were disappointing. It removed a small “cap” off the right side and showed just a hint of a crack basically down the middle. But not enough to brag about much. We hit it again in the same spot with the same type of charge. The crack got a little wider. We tried a different approach. A “water hammer”:
The detonating target for my rifle is on top. In the middle is about two pounds of HE in a thin rectangle. On the bottom is about two pounds of water in a thin rectangle. The thought was that the HE would accelerate the water into the crack and force it open further. The results were, again, disappointing:
We came back after lunch with more explosives and tried two milk jugs (about 10 pounds of HE) with rocks and water around the sides to help confine the charge. This yielded a significant break in the top side of the rock which we easily exploited with a large bar:
We put about five pounds of HE under this rock and another five pounds on top of that but still in the crack. Around that we packed dirt and water jugs:
This pulverized it:
We went on to Rock two. Having learned our lesson we packed about 20 pounds of HE in the side of it next to the bedrock and put dirt and water jugs all around it. It took four of the 4″ square detonator targets stacked on top of each other to reach a height we could see it from our shooting position:
I’ve never set off a 20 pound boomer before. In fact the 10 pound boomers a little earlier were a new record for me. We got back what seemed to be a reasonable distance which according to the laser range finder was 127 yards. I fired and clods of dirt (sure glad we didn’t put rocks around it!) landed behind us and off to the side of us. It had the desired effect on the rock however:
Video was taken as well. I’ll get that digitized and up before long.
Blunt instrument number five
I just pushed the “Send” button on another FOIA request to Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. This one will probably cause some people to mess their pants and perhaps lose their jobs. And that’s even if I don’t lift a finger from now on. The unfortunate part is that the people most directly in the path of this particular “instrument” are the one’s least responsible. It could cost PNNL a lot of money to deal with the implications of this. And that doesn’t count the embarrassment, loss of confidence, and potential loss of business they will suffer with their customers. Their best course of action at this point is to give up protecting the people that committed the felonies in the process of terminating my employment at PNNL. Things will be much more pleasant for everyone, except the felons, if they “see the light”.
I checked on the status of two of the other “blunt instruments” (there are five total now) that are working their way toward them. I don’t have anything to report yet although I expected I something before now. This latest one I will be able to report on in no more than two weeks.
I shot clay pigeons for the first time
Lyle (at UltiMAK) and many others have been wanting me to shoot clay pigeons with them for a long time. I can only think of one time, probably 12 years ago, when I have even seen people do it live rather than in some video. Lots of friends shoot sporting clays and trap, but I’ve never been to the range with them despite lots of invitations. It just wasn’t that interesting to me. I’m not interested in shooting birds for food. And my shooting activities are not intended to be entirely recreational. But Lyle got me out to the range yesterday. I brought my SAIGA-12, ammo, and some clay pigeons Ry gave me along with another pile that Lyle had. It sometimes took three shots but I got the first ten or so. As I got tired it got more difficult and I started missing. And when I tried doubles I couldn’t even hit one of them. But I went through probably 100 rounds and 50 targets. It was fun.
Now tell me what the practical aspect of it is for me.
Pistol Postal Match results
Mr. Completely has the results posted. I discussed my entries here. In the over 4″ barrel class I came in 4th and 6th with the .22LR and .40S&W. Overall I was 5th and 7th. If there had been a center fire category I would have been number 1 in both overall and in the over 4″ barrel class. I had a score of 407/500 even after loosing a possible 10 points because I fired only four instead of five rounds on one target (or I suppose it is possible I had a “perfect double”–but not likely). The next closest score with a center-fire handgun was a 383/500.
Pistol Postal Match entry
Xenia’s John (I love calling her boyfriend, John, that. The triple meaning and all.) and I went to the range this afternoon and I shot Mr. Completely’s Postal Match #2 with two different calibers. .22LR and .40 S&W. Both were in the Long Barrel class. Click on each of the pictures for a full resolution view.
203/250 212/250
Total score for the .22LR 415/500.
205/250 202/250
Total score for the .40S&W 407/500. It should have been at least another five points higher but I only put four holes in the center target of the offhand target instead of five. I didn’t notice it until I got home and it was way past dark.
Not great, but I’m not unhappy with my results either.
Shooting results
The results of the rifle postal match have been reported now. I received this certificate:
Click on the picture for the full sized version. Also note that Analog Kid at softgreenglow.com also got a perfect score but apparently didn’t put himself in the running because he is running the match.
The results from my last pistol match are posted on the Lewiston Pistol Club site. I did rather mediocre when shooting against the clock but when we did the man-on-man portion of the event I did much better. It’s all about adrenaline management.
Gone for the weekend
Once again Barb and I are leaving the Huffman-Scott “compound and arsenal” in the hands of one of our adult children with a couple of dogs taking the point position. Xenia is going with us this time so if I don’t find an Internet connection there won’t be a “Quote of the day” or anything else on my blog tomorrow. I’ll be back on Monday.
Quote of the day–Barbara Scott
Joe, you’re the gift that just keeps on giving.
Barb Scott
September 1, 2005
On Pacific Northwest National Laboratory “reconsidering” it’s initial refusal to comply with Privacy Act and Freedom of Information Act requests for personnel file information on her husband, Joe Huffman. Their “reconsideration” might have had something to do with certain “encouragement” Joe had been giving them via various “channels”.
Reconsideration
At 16:39 this afternoon I received a call from the person responsible for handling my FOIA/Privacy-Act information requests at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. He said they had “reconsidered” my request for the rest of my personal file (or “Field File” as they prefer to call it) and it will go into the mail tomorrow.
Gee, I wonder what it was that caused them to “reconsider”? I can only think of four different “blunt instruments” they might have seen coming their way that might have caused an “attitude adjustment” on their part. I’ll be checking on three of those “blunt instruments” tomorrow to see if any of them had something to do with it. If all goes as planned I’ll be able to share most of the results with everyone here sometime next week.
Barb had a rather apropos quip when she heard the news. It will be the quote of the day tomorrow.
Following the moving van
Actually it was a small U-Haul truck. They used the “shuttle” because the big moving van couldn’t make it into the confines of where Ry used to live. They called at 9:00 this morning to gain access to Ry’s old home. I had the key as Ry now lives in the Seattle area working for Microsoft.
On Saturday I helped Ry prepare for the move by taking my Astrovan over and hauling things to the dump. Ry’s main objective was to get out of town before Barb could see all the stuff I set aside to bring home, then find and kill him. But since she and Xenia were at yard sales all morning I figured Ry was safe. And besides, a lot of that stuff is going to friends and relatives of mine that I’m certain will be pleased to get it. Ry, his kids, and I worked all day Saturday to get things ready for the move. It was a small place but there was a lot of stuff to do. I left before it was quite all done. Then later Ry stopped by pick up a few rounds of linked .50 BMG ammo and to say good-bye before his drive back to the Seattle area.
Yesterday Xenia and I went over to do some cleaning. More cleaning needs to be done now that the stuff is moved out and we’ll get it done before the end of the month so Ry doesn’t have to pay another months rent on the place.
The movers arrived, called me for access and I was over there in 15 minutes. It would have been only 10 but one of the dogs “marked” one of my shoes I was going to put on. I pointed out the stuff to be moved and the room to stay out of because it contained my garbage can, vacuum cleaner, and a few cleaning supplies. There wasn’t much there and it was all packed and the small truck was rolling into town to the moving van by about 11:45. I followed the truck into town from Ry’s place. A sadness washed over me as I watched the truck drive away with the last of Ry’s belongings. At Mountain View Road I turned south and they turned north. I went on to UltiMAK to dump off the stuff Ry was giving to them and they headed towards the other side of town and the moving van that would deliver Ry’s belongs to him–340 miles away. I’m chatting on-line with him right now as I write this but I’ll miss the talks until the early morning light in my living room and the impromptu trips to the range with my chemistry set to try out a new Boomershoot mix.
Heavy sigh… closure.
IPSC results posted
I have the results posted from the August 7th Lewiston Pistol Club match. As I stated before I came in 4th overall. Acceptable–considering the lack of recent practice.
Anniversary weekend
About 18:30 on August 19th (Friday night) Barb and I decided to go to the B-23 bomber that crash landed on Loon Lake and slid into the forest in 1943 for our 29th wedding anniversary. We threw some stuff in the Jeep and drove to Riggins expecting to find a motel in either Whitebird or Riggins. There were none. The fire fighters had taken what the tourist hadn’t. We ended up finding an open spot in a campground just off the Salmon river about 12:30 AM on Saturday morning and slept in the Jeep. After waking at about 6:30 we drove about 50 miles, mostly on one-lane roads, to Chinook campground. We hiked ten miles round trip from Chinook Campground to the crash site and back to replace a missing geocache (B-23). Barb had not been there before and was very impressed with the site. The pictures are here.
On the way out we figured we should go through McCall to improve our chances of finding a motel. We arrived back at the Jeep about 18:00 tired and sore. From the Chinook Campground it took us only an hour to reach McCall. Again, the motels were all full except for a luxury suite for $225/night. We drove to New Meadows. Again, all full. We called several motels in Grangeville. Again, all full. We drove north, dirty, tired, and getting hungry. At Pinehurst we found a motel with a Vacancy sign. We rang the bell and waited, and waited. Finally a man appeared to tell us his “No” sign was broken. We drove to Riggins and found a motel with two rooms available. We were thrilled! We showered and went to dinner. It was about 20:40 when we walked into the restaurant. Except for the cook and the waitress we had the place entirely to ourselves. Riggins appears to close up early on Saturday nights. It was great food and we went to bed tired and very happy. It was a great day in the woods and one of our best anniversaries yet.
Do I get bonus points for shooting in the dark?
Analog Kid at Random Nuclear Strikes is putting on the rifle postal match I am participating in. Here is my entry, 100 yards, .300 Winchester Magnum, Blackhills Match ammo. Except for the sighter target you can see a higher resolution version by clicking on the image.
Temperature was 74 F, indicated altitude of 2300 feet above sea level and my calculator said to use a sight angle of 3.75 MOA. I took two sighter shots and figured it was good enough:
Two sighter shots.
After the first shot on the real target (below, ball #1) I started aiming at the bottom of the circle which contained the number.
Completed target.
The shots on balls 10 through 15 were done by the light of my van headlights. It was about 20:15 when I fired my last shot and getting very dark:
IPSC results
The results from the ISPC match I shot last Sunday are in. I’ll get them posted on the Lewiston Pistol Club website soon. I came in 4th out of 10 which is in the top half. I’m pretty pleased considering the lack of practice. I did best in the clasifier (DVC: Vis = Power) and came in second–four Pepper Poppers and two IPSC targets at 10 (?) yards. I shot all the steel and got all “A’s” on the paper (eight shots total) in 5.37 seconds for a hit factor of 7.4488.
Xenia and milk
I meant to post this story the night (two days ago) it happened but I got distracted and then forgot. I sometimes give Xenia a bad time about being a klutz, which she isn’t really. But there have been a couple of incidents with milk and then the time she walked into a support post in the grocery store that might lead one to think otherwise. She tells the milk stories. This last time I ended up taking a quick shower and changing all my clothes–from my socks to my shirt. Everyone else at the table escaped every drop.
Serenity trailer 2 and Stargate SG-1
My son James and I have been eagerly awaiting the release of Serenity–now scheduled for September 30th. There is a new trailer out.
In the meantime we have been watching Stargate SG-1 on DVD. We finished up season one a couple days ago and just finished something like episode 10 on season two. I saw Stargate in the theater years ago and wasn’t all that impressed. It just didn’t deliver on the potential for some reason. When James brought home the series I was skeptical but the first couple of episodes got things straightened out pretty good and other than the one glaring problem of everyone speaking English throughout the universe it’s pretty good. We are enjoying it.
Xenia’s cloud pictures
Wow! Another guy I worked for is in the news
When I went to work for Microsoft, on contract, back in ’95 I wrote video drivers for Direct X. My friend Eric Engstrom did the hiring but it was for a position where I reported to Craig Eisler. As I posted yesterday Eric just sold his most recent company, Wildseed, to AOL. I didn’t know it, but one of the people involved in the sale at AOL was–Craig Eisler. Details here but the interesting portion to me is this:
Even before the deal, the ties between Wildseed and AOL were clear. AOL, based in Dulles, Va., recently appointed Craig Eisler to the position of AOL Wireless general manager and senior vice president.
And if you want to know even more about these characters read the book Renegades of the Empire. It’s a fascinating book, but then I was there for it and saw things from the inside looking out. And the stories in the book that you might think were too wild be to true have actually been distorted in such a way to make them more tame than they really were. In reality there were far more wild stories to be told such as when I reported a serious bug I had found to Craig and he kicked a hole in the wall. Or the motorcycle peeling out in the hallway–melting a hole in the carpet. Or the “less than legal” fireworks display on the Microsoft campus (I had NOTHING to do with that! This is readily determined from the fact there were no windows broken, no craters, and no mushroom shaped clouds). Or one morning about 2:00 AM hearing, in the next hallway over, cursing, pounding, and what sounded like the tinkling of shattered glass (it was the falling keys from the keyboard Craig was pounding against desk). Or when the “man with a gun” showed up to visit his ex-girlfriend in a different building Craig decided my office was a good place to visit–never mind that it was against the rules for anyone to have a gun on campus and there was little I could have done to protect anyone from someone with a gun.
I even have a Craig Eisler quote in my quote database:
NO! END OF DISCUSSION! SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!!
Craig Eisler
Microsoft Software Development Lead
August 1995
(Yelling at a contract programmer who wanted to add hundreds of lines of new code to a project after a code freeze and wouldn’t take “no” for an answer).
And no, I wasn’t the programmer he was yelling at.
And another quote from that same era:
I would have gone postal… but I didn’t have enough ammo.
Josh Baker
August 26, 1996
Explaining why he decided to take a two week vacation in Greece.
He said that in a manner which could have been taken as a joke, but it also could have been taken as something other than a joke. I had been to the range with Josh and his shooting skills were not particularly good but they don’t need to be if you are just going to be blasting away at “fish in a barrel”. About two weeks after Josh returned from vacation he was fired–I was at a state of high alert for a month or so until I knew he had found another job.
Yes, there was a lot of stress there in those days but I thrive on stress and my first few years at Microsoft were among the happiest and most exciting of my time in corporate America.
Connection lost
Yeah. I know. My blog and nearly all my websites went down a little after 7:00 PDT. It was the connection my ISP has with Sprint. I’m on the same side of the break as my websites so I can update as desired but only about half the people in Moscow Idaho can view them. Heavy sigh… at least my income (my wife just went off to her second day of work at her new job) isn’t dependent on having connectivity like some people.
Update: From my ISP:
9:42 update. A fiber optic cable is cut between here and Potlatch.
We came back online about 11:15.