Hot hot hot

Random list of hot sauces and peppers and their Scoville Heat Unit (SHU) ratings. For the record, I have been sprayed with pepper spray rated at 1 million, 2 million, and 5.1 million SHU, and they all thoroughly suck. Misery is misery.

Scoville Heat Units Chilli Pepper

16,000,000 Pure capsaicin and Dihydrocapsaicin
16,000,000 Blair's 16 Million Reserve, from Gardner Resources, Inc.
16,000,000 Blair's 6 A.M., from Gardner Resources, Inc.
13,500,000 Blair's 2005 Halloween Reserve from Gardner Resources Inc.
9,100,000 Nordihydrocapsaicin
8,600,000 Homodihydrocapsaicin and Homocapsaicin
7,100,000 The Source, from Original Juan Specialty Foods
5,500,000 Blair's 5 A.M., from Gardner Resources Inc. - No Longer available
5,300,000 Police grade Pepper spray
4,000,000 Mad Dog 44 Magnum Pepper Extract, from Ashley Food Company, Inc.
4,000,000 Blair's 4 A.M., from Gardner Resources Inc. - No Longer available
2,000,000 Common Pepper spray
1,500,000 - 2,000,000 Blair's 3 A.M., from Gardner Resources Inc.
1,500,000 Da' Bomb The Final Answer, from Original Juan Specialty Food
1,100,000 Blair's Jersey Death from Gardner Resources Inc.
1,001,304 Naga-Bih Jolokia pepper
1,000,000 Cool Million Pepper Extract, from the Poison Pepper Co.
1,000,000 1 Million Scoville Pepper Extract, from Ashley Food Company, Inc.
923,000 The Dorset Naga Pepper, from Peppers by Post
855,000 (reported) The Naga Jolokia pepper (Capsicum frutescens), not confirmed
800,000 Satan's Blood, from Sauce Crafters Inc.
700,000 The Slap Heard Around the World, from Tiguana Flats
600,000 - 900,000 Blair's 2 A.M., from Gardner Resources, Inc.
600,000 Mad Dog 357 with Bullet Keychain, from Ashley Food Company
550,000 Blair's Mega Death Sauce, from Gardner Resources, Inc.
500,000 - 750,000 Dave's Insanity Private Reserve, from Dave's Gourmet (estimated) 500,000 Pure Cap, from Garden Row Foods
400,000 - 500,000 Spontaneous Combustion Powder, from Southwest Specialty Foods Inc. 357,000 Mad Dog 357 Hot Sauce, from Ashley Food Company
350,000 - 577,000 Red Savina habanero (Capsicum chinense Jacquin)
350,000 Marie Sharp's Belizian Heat, from Marie Sharp's Fine Foods, Ltd.
283,000 Blair's Possible Side Effects, from Gardner Resources, Inc.
250,000 Vicious Viper, from CaJohns Fiery Foods
250,000 Dave's Ultimate Insanity Sauce, from Dave's Gourmet (estimated)
234,000 Da' Bomb Ground Zero, from Original Juan Specialty Foods
225,000 You can't Handle this Hot Sauce, from Peppers
225,000 Not Cool Chocolate Habanero from Bahama Specialty Foods, Inc.
180,000 Dave's Insanity Sauce, from Dave's Gourmet (estimated)
175,000 Predator Great White Shark, from Peppers
150,000 Mad Dog Inferno Reserve, from Ashley Food Company
125,000 Crazy Jerry's Mustard Gas, from Crazy Jerry's, Inc.
119,700 Da' Bomb Beyond Insanity, from Original Juan Specialty Food
100,000 - 350,000 Habanero (Capsicum chinense Jacquin)
100,000 - 325,000 Scotch bonnet (Capsicum chinense)
100,000 - 225,000 Birds Eye pepper
100,000 - 200,000 Jamaican Hot pepper
100,000 - 125,000 Carolina Cayenne pepper
95,000 - 110,000 Bahamian pepper
90,000 Mad Dog Inferno, from Ashley Food Company
85,000 - 115,000 Tabiche pepper
75,000 - 80,000 Red Amazon Pepper
75,000 Chile-Today Red Amazon Powder, from Chile Today-Hot Tamale
50,000 - 100,000 Thai pepper (Capsicum annuum)
50,000 - 100,000 Chiltepin pepper
49,250 Blair's After Death Sauce, from Gardner Resources, Inc.
40,000 - 58,000 Piquin pepper
40,000 - 50,000 Super Chile pepper
40,000 - 50,000 Santaka pepper
33,390 Endorphin Rush Beyond Hot Sauce, from Garden Row Foods
30,000 - 49,999 Lottie's Original Barbados Red Hot, from Lottie's Island Flavours
30,000 - 50,000 Cayenne pepper (Capsicum baccatum and Capsicum frutescens)
30,000 - 50,000 Tabasco pepper (Capsicum frutescens)
15,000 - 30,000 de Arbol pepper
15,000 - 29,999 Lottie's Traditional Barbados Yellow, from Lottie's Island Flavours
12,000 - 30,000 Manzano pepper
11,600 El Yucateco XXXtra Hot Habanero, from El Yucateco Salsas Y Condimentos S.A. de C.V. 11,000 Crazy Jerry's Brain Damage, from Crazy Jerry's, Inc.
8,910 El Yucateco Green Chile Habanero, from El Yucateco Salsas Y Condimentos S.A. de C.V. 7,000 - 8,000 TABASCO® brand Habanero Pepper Sauce, from McIlhenny Company
6,000 - 23,000 Serrano pepper
5,790 El Yucateco Red Chile Habanero, from El Yucateco Salsas Y Condimentos S.A. de C.V. 5,000 - 10,000 Hot Wax pepper
5,000 - 10,000 Chipotle, a Jalapeño pepper that has been smoked.
3,600 Cholula Hot Sauce, from Casa Cuervo S.A. de C.V.
3,400 El Yucateco Chipotle Hot Sauce, from El Yucateco Salsas Y Condimentos S.A. de C.V. 2,500 - 8,000 Santaka pepper
2,500 - 5,000 Jalapeño (Capsicum annuum)
2,500 - 5,000 Guajilla pepper 2,500 - 5,000 Original TABASCO® brand Pepper Sauce, from McIlhenny Company
2,085 FRANK'S® REDHOT® XTRA Hot, from Reckitt Benckiser Inc.
1,500 - 2,500 TABASCO® brand Chipotle Pepper Sauce, from McIlhenny Company
1,200 - 2,400 TABASCO® brand Garlic Pepper Sauce, from McIlhenny Company
1,500 - 2,500 Rocotilla pepper
1,000 - 2,000 Passila pepper
1,000 - 2,000 Ancho pepper
1,000 - 2,000 Poblano pepper 747 Texas Pete®, from T.W. Garner Food Co.
700 - 1,000 Coronado pepper
600 - 1,200 TABASCO® brand Green Pepper Sauce, from McIlhenny Company
500 - 2,500 Anaheim pepper
500 - 1,000 New Mexico pepper
450 FRANK'S® REDHOT® Original, from Reckitt Benckiser Inc.
400 - 700 Santa Fe Grande pepper
100 - 600 TABASCO® brand SWEET & Spicy Pepper Sauce, from McIlhenny Company
100 - 500 Pepperoncini, pepper (also known as Tuscan peppers, sweet Italian peppers, and golden Greek peppers.
100 - 500 Pimento
0 Sweet Bell pepper

Lucinda Roy's new book hits the shelves

I'm heading over to the book-mart to grab this after work today.

In the interest of full disclosure, Dr Roy was my wife's course advisor for a while at Tech more than a decade ago, and I consider her a friend. Dr Roy's opinions and thoughts matter to me, and I am really interested in what she has to say.

Surprisingly little press coverage on it today.

http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/199576

http://lucindaroy.net/

Owie of the day

Back story:

Honduran soldier shooting 1982-vintage .50BMG machine gun ammunition in a Barret M82A1. This of course violates a major rule of firearms safety, ie don't shoot $0.10 ammunition in a $9,000 gun.

All is well until the 7th round in the magazine. Dude pulls the trigger, gets a muffled pop.


Hang fire. Primer goes off, powder fizzles away.


Soldier waits what he thinks is long enough, then reaches up, grabs the charging handle, and yanks it backwards to clear the round out.


Not quite long enough. With the bolt about an inch of battery, the powder decides it's time to go bang.


Bad things subsequently happen.


This just makes my wallet hurt looking at it.


On the plus side, the scope is probably still in great shape. If Barret didn't make their rifles like the proverbial tank, there'd probably be a headless Honduran at the end of that story.

RIP, my friend

Mike Haynes was a friend of a friend, someone who I never met directly but about whom I had heard enough that I almost felt like I knew him. Veteran, husband, and father.

Mike was on duty as a Montana Highway Patrol Trooper on March 23rd when his cruiser was hit head-on by a drunk driver. Mike was hurt badly and spent four tough days in the hospital before passing away yesterday.

Rest in Peace, Mike. You've done well in your time on earth, we'll take it from here.

http://www.odmp.org/officer/19885-trooper-mike-haynes

Tales of the dork side

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008836592_webspeed10m.html

Speeding driver tells State Patrol he was rushing to bid on eBay
By Sara Jean Green Seattle Times staff reporter

So maybe it's not an exact case of life imitating art, but a Fall City man may have been channeling the character played by Steve Carrell in the 2005 film, "The 40 Year Old Virgin."

In the film, Carrell plays a socially-challenged, middle-aged man who falls in love with a woman who makes a mint selling his collection of actionfigures on eBay. According to the State patrol, action figures and eBay also figure in the arrest of James Garrett Monday night on suspicion of reckless driving.

Just after 9 p.m., a State Patrol trooper patrolling Interstate 90 saw a speeding 2004 Volkswagen R32 passing other vehicles in the express lane inthe Mount Baker Tunnel. As the Volkswagen came out of the tunnel, the trooper clocked it going 110 mph as it continued across the floating bridge.

With the trooper behind him, the driver eventually pulled over on Mercer Island.The driver, who was identified as Garrett, told the trooper he had to get home to Fall City because he was late bidding on a coveted item and eBay was about to close the auction, said Trooper Dan McDonald, a spokesman for the State Patrol in Bellevue.

According to McDonald, Garrett "didn't say what he was bidding on but the trooper said his car was filled with Star Wars stuff."Garett's car was impounded — with all his Star Wars collectibles inside —and Garrett was booked into the King County Jail on suspicion of reckless driving.

Sara Jean Green: 206-515-5654 or sgreen@seattletimes.com

Dichotomy of the day

The short version: a Florida book store customer puts a book on chimpanzees in the middle of a display featuring President Obama, and snaps a picture. Predictable outrage ensues.

http://www.inquisitr.com/19550/barnes-and-noble-obama-display/

OK, folks, I will acknowledge a few things here. First, I voted for John McCain in 2008 and am not a big fan of the current occupant of the White House. Second, even as non-PC and insensitive as I am, I know putting primates in something like that is generally in very poor taste.

Two thoughts:
1. Between 2001 and 2009, it was perfectly acceptable, and encouraged by the mass media, to call President Bush every name in the book, simian labels included. The President changes, through a peaceful democratic process that is the envy of the world, and suddenly it's heresy?
2. When the misguided B&N founder caterwauls about charging the prankster with a federal hate crime, exactly which one is he referring to? I find it hugely ironic that a company that literally makes its money on the First Amendment would suddenly desire to persecute someone for exercising that same protected right.

Lighten up and get over yourselves. Books-A-Million it is.

Why I like Garands

Swiped 3rd hand from somewhere on the internet.

Get one here: http://www.thecmp.org/m1garand.htm
-------------------

Why I like Garands

It satisfies the eyes. It looks warm, robust, serious, and capable. It looks like victory, freedom and liberation. It looks friendly. It does not look evil. It does not look delicate. It does not look cheap.

It satisfies the ears. The clocklike schnick when you pull the bolt back. The warning click as you shove home another 8 round clip. The massive solid slam as the bolt rams another round into the chamber. The deep throated bark of the muzzle as you fire away. The final Ka-Ting as the empty clip is ejected. The horrifying scream of agony as the guy four benches down learns never to hesitate when removing his thumb from a freshly loaded clip.

It satisfies the touch. The warm sculpted wood. The curve of the stock.The curl of the bolt lug. The take-up of the trigger. The robust, solid, yet unsharp push of the kick.

It satisfies the soul. It is the defender of liberty. It is the champion of victory. It is the guarantor of freedom. It will not be used to rob banks. No terrorist will unleash it on a crowd of unarmed victims. No gangster will use it to shoot little girls while missing his imagined gangster enemies. It is the good guy's weapon.

It is just the ticket to liberate a country. It opens the doors of concentration camps. It saves people from tyranny. It topples dictators. It squashes fascists. It pushes communists behind their walls. It defends the homeland. It provides for the common defense. It is necessary for the security of a free state. It brings joy to women and children as they fire it. It strikes fear in the hearts of those that oppose freedom. It makes friends at the shooting range.

It reminds us of the cost of freedom. Its lavish expense is appropriately justified. It is your duty as an American to own one. Get one now. Buy ammo. Use it. Never mind the price, find the best one you can. You have no excuse. The time is now!!!!!!

Progress

Worked on the 1903 this week. As mentioned earlier, I'm going to leave the metal as is, but clean the stock up.

First off, degrease it. When the 1903 first left the factory, the stock wasn't finished. Instead it was dunked in cosmoline, a brownish petroleum-based goo that's a close cousin to vaseline. Cosmoline is one of the most widely used and despised preservatives, and as much as gun owners may hate it, the very reason that their prized rifle isn't a pile of sawdust and rust.


Thankfully, and unlike a Russian Moisin-Nagant my dad picked up last year, the 1903 only has a light coating. The metal was easy enough to degrease, half an hour and a healthy splashing of bore cleaner took it all of. The stock, on the other hand, needs some work.

First, out comes the action. Slide the handguard band up, pop out the handguard, then remove three screws. Below, the action and stock. The handguard band and barrel band have both slid back towards the 1903's famously complicated rear sight. You can also start to see some of the wood grain on stock near the wrist.







The upper handguard has several very prominent cracks running longitudinally, and in all honesty I'm a little worried about cracking it all the way through. Caution, as they say, is the order of the day.




Next, off with the butt plate, held on with two sizeable wood screws. Notice the Remington stamp on the rear sling swivel.




There's several schools of thought on cosmoline removal. One goes for heat, another advocates chemical stripping, and another favors elbow grease and soap.


I'm using a combination of the three. More next time.

RIP, Paul Harvey

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,502645,00.html

America's loss, dead at age 90. No more, "Stand by for news!".

1903

In mid-November 2008, I ordered a 1903 Springfield from the Civilian Marksmanship Program http://www.odcmp.com/. Two and a half months later, I got home from work to see a FedEx door tag on my screen door.



I jumped back in the truck, scooted to the FedEx hub in town, and picked it up.



Later that evening, once I had stopped jumping up and down in excitement I opened it.



Molly, my Boston Terrier, wonders what the fuss is all about.








I cut open the box, and here it is. CMP, bless their collective hearts, packs rifles in very sturdy cardboard boxes with waffle foam. Also included are the requisite paperwork and manuals, and a range safety flag (the yellow thing in the corner).

Close up of the receiver. It's a MarkI, which is a 1903 modified to take the Pedersen device (more on that later). Forgive my paranoia and blotting out the last part of the serial number. I would have preferred a straight 1903 without the modification, but that's all that CMP had in stock at the time and I'm somewhat impatient. Functionally a 1903 and 1903 MarkI are identical, and in all honesty the Pedersen cut-out is a neat historical side note. More on that later.

Later on, I'll detail my efforts to refinish the stock. The metal is staying as is, but the stock is getting a little cleaning up.

Heartbreak anew

For no particular reason, I present four different versions of Don Gibson's classic country tune, "Sea of Heartbreak".

First, the original studio tune, with a photo montage of Gibson added.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4bo4ByFhLM

Next, a Johnny Cash remake. Can't talk country music without referencing The Man in Black.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZAS5ciRTe4

For a more modern tint, Jimmy Buffet's version. A little too mellow and beachy for my taste, but I like Jimmy Buffet's music, so here it is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzE-se5VYAU

Finally, the opening montage from the Clint Eastwood classic "Heartbreak Ridge". This is where most, including me, first heard this song. The clip of the Korean child crying at about 3:20 is one of the most haunting war images of all time. I've often wondered what happened to that little one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kugsk-4N9NE

Another thing to notice in the last clip, particularly for small arms afficianados, is the carbine at 2:04. Notice the lack of bayonet lug on the barrel. The main thing that separates the M1 carbine from the M2 carbine is the full-automatic capability in of the M2, and wartime maintenance frequently turns weapons into mix&match frankenguns so there's no way to tell whether the carbine there is a M1 or M2. Several years back I traded emails with one of the weapons experts at Leatherneck magazine, and was told on good authority that the US Marine Corps didn't get bayonet lugs on their carbines until 1947 at the earliest, so it's very possible that the retrofitting effort hadn't caught up to the soldier or Marine (can't tell from the clip) by the time the initial movie reel was made.

Also notice the 30 round magazines at 0:51, 0:59, 1:15 and other parts of the clip, as well as the full-auto fire (M2) in the latter two spots.

Oh deer

Did something last night that I hadn't done in a while. I worked a wreck involving one car and a deer. Fairly simple to reconstruct - car coming down a hill, deer crossing the road, and a very bad ending for the deer courtesy of the car's front end. Fairly simple on my end as well, just check on the driver, call for a tow truck as needed (not in this case), mark the deer for the streets truck to pick up, scribble some notes, and then it's off to the next one.

In any crash, officers have to estimate damage amounts. This is half guesstimation and half simple knowledge of cars and construction. A fence, or bumper, or door panel...all fairly straight forward to verify. When in doubt, call an autobody shop, or browse a Blue Book or hardware catalog.

What always struck me is that we're required to assign monetary value and ownership to deer. At the risk of getting overly philosophical, who really owns a deer? Anyone? Personally I have my opinions, but I don't think DMV would take kindly to me writing "God" on a FR300. Instead, we mark the owner as "Virginia Departmant of Game and Inland Fisheries", aka the state wild game department with a cost of $800.

$800?

Where'd they get that?

In the legal sense, keeping the monetary value associated to something breathing (versus a fencepost) under $1000 also keeps it misdemeanor level and avoiding further hairsplitting. I can almost picture the lawyers splitting the animal kinggdom up between felony level animals and misdemeanor animals. As a hunter, I have no desire whatever to get into any sort of animal rights argument with anyone. You think what you want to, I'll think what I want to, and we can still get along just fine.

$800? That seems so....arbitrary.

I'll have to work that one out a little.

release the inner geek

As technically simple as blogspot is, it is still taking me a while to master some of the features...like hotlinking. I hotlinked the four videos in the previous post just now, so enjoy.

videos of the week

Jake Owen's classic song "Starting With Me", played in Roanoke, Virginia, barely a month after the Virginia Tech shootings in 2007. Great performance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUFkW4BOrgo

Same song, done as a studio video. The audio quality is better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6uk6W3TVPU

Miranda Lambert's "Gunpowder and Lead". Nothing like a homicidal Texas hottie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCd8Ig9RLqY

More Miranda Lambert, only showing her sensitive side.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eEG3T5mjLQ

Back at it

After a year and a half off, GardenCop is back at it.

Upcoming blog topics:
- my 1903 Springfield that I just got from CMP
- Virginia and local budget idiocy
- winter blahs
- no football on TV
- and most importantly, the upcoming garden season