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While not a fan of Dale Earnhardt Junior...I do
recognize his vast popularity among the NASCAR
fans. He inherited his last name but not the driving
talent of his father. Dale Jr joined the Rick Hendrick
stable of drivers in 2008 after a family squabble forced
him out at Dale Earnhardt Incorporated, the team his
father established with the hope his son would be able
to keep it going. Since joining Rick Hendrick, Dale Jr
has NOT been the fireball success most fans had
expected,..but with such prominent drivers as Jeff
Gordon and Jimmy Johnson as teammates,..Dale Jr
has had to take a back-seat to the #24 and #48 when
it came to victories on the track. Next year Kasey Kahne
will join the team and drive the #5 car for Rick Hendrick.
When that happens, what does the future hold for NASCAR's
most popular driver?
His sponsors continue to line-up for Dale Jr,...wanting to
be a part of his popularity. This week the team of Dale Jr
unveiled a new paint job that will see the track for the first
time at the 2012 Daytona 500. The primary sponsors are the
National Guard and Pepsi's Mountain Dew. When they first
signed on as a sponsor, Mountain Dew was hoping for the
success they enjoyed in 1981 and 1982 when Darrell Waltrip
won the NASCAR Championship carrying their product on
the side of his car.
The Hanomag was a personnel carrier used
by the Germans in World War II. It's official
name is Schutzenpanzerwagen,...which
translates to 'carrier of grenadiers.' It entered
service in 1939 and was used right up to the
end of the war in 1945. The Hanomag had a
crew of two and could carry twelve squad
members. It tipped the scales at just over
eight and a half tons, was 19 feet long, 6 feet
10 inches wide, and just under 6 feet tall. The
half-track was powered by a Maybach 6-cylinder
gasoline engine putting out 100 horsepower.
Despite the weight, the Hanomag could reach
speeds in excess of 30mph, and had a range of
185 miles before needing re-fueling. It was a
definite utility vehicle for the Germans and was
offered up in 22 different variations over the years.
Over 15,000 of the Hanomags were built during
the war, but now only a few hundred are scattered
throughout the world in museums. Less than ten
are known to be in running condition. The Hanomag
was meant to enable panzergrenadiers (infantry) to
keep up with the armored units and provide ground
support, but there was never enough of them and
they had to make do with trucks.
This is my CZ75B that arrived today...I got the
call from the local gun range that ordered it for me.
I have a Walther PPK (James Bond's gun) in the
380 caliber, and also a Ruger Mark III target pistol
in 22 caliber. My PPK is an investment and has never
been fired, but I did want something a little stronger
than the 22 for home protection. I shopped a lot of
9mm pistols and almost bought a Beretta 92fs. That
is the pistol the U.S. military uses and it is a great
pistol.....But...
The CZ75B is carried by more police, security, and
military units than any other pistol in the world. That
is a strong statement!! The CZ75B weighs in at just
over two pounds...unloaded. If you are looking for
a daily carrying pistol, this one is not for you. The
magazine holds sixteen cartridges plus one in the
chamber for a total of seventeen. If you can't hit
something in that number of rounds you need to
invest in a shotgun. The CZ comes in several
different finishes...a satin-looking stainless steel,
a blue dye finish, a black polymer glossy finish, and
dull black finish like the one I ordered. The CZ is
available in Smith & Wesson 40 caliber or the more
common 9mm Luger caliber. The pistol comes with
a heavy coating of some kind of grease to keep it
operative if it is on the shelf a long time before being
purchased. I had mine field-stripped within five minutes of arriving home. I used some 'gun scrubber' by Birchwood and it cut the grease right off. The CZ
is an extremely well made pistol. It comes from the
Czech Republic, thus the CZ....It was first manufactured in 1975, thus the 75... A early problem
was corrected and ensuing models were called 'B'
models...thus CZ75B. Some will tell you the B is for
the firing pin block,...maybe! I liked it for its immediate feel like the legendary Browning High Power. I am a Vietnam Veteran and remember the Browning well. The slide of the CZ fits 'inside' the rails of the frame instead of the outside. The rails are also
longer than the Beretta, Walther, or Taurus models I
looked into. When you shake the CZ it is absolutely
quiet with no rattling noise from the parts inside. The
sights are fixed and non-adjustable, but being a home
defense weapon, I don't plan to use it for long distances. It has a good point & shoot feel. If you can
point your index finger at a target, this pistol will feel
natural for you. The CZ75B is both double-action and
single-action. The first round can be fired normally without pulling back the hammer and each succeeding
round will be fired single-action as the blow-back feature will automatically cock and reload the pistol.
The pistol comes in a hard-plastic case, with two magazines, two cleaning rods, a cable locking device, and an owners manual. If you are in the market for
a reliable handgun in the 9mm format, I strongly urge you to check out the CZ75B. I am a happy customer.
This is my latest model plane...It is a
Fokker DV-II... Unlike the DR-I, flown by
Manfred von Richthofen, this plane had two
wings (bi-plane) compared to the three wings
(tri-plane) of the Red Baron. The DV-II entered
service in 1917 and was immediately superior
to anything the allies had. The Fokker DV-II
had a wingspan of 29 feet and three inches,
was 22 feet and nine inches in length, and
powered by a 175 horsepower Mercedes in-line
engine. At this period of time the Spads and
Sopwith Camel aircraft of the allies had a flying
ceiling of 15,000 feet. The Fokker DV-II could
climb to 19,000 feet and dive down on opposing
aircraft. It was designed by Reinhold Platz and the
plane was such a success that manufacturing
plants in Holland and Hungry were re-tooled to
build Germany's newest and best plane. At war's
end almost 16,000 of the planes had been built.
Best of all, it was equipped with twin 7.92 Spandau
machine guns that were synchronized to fire through
the propeller, another first in technology. To this point
the machine guns had been mounted on the top wing
and fired down on opponents. The new positioning on
the fuselage allowed the pilot to see right down the
barrels of his guns.
This particular model has been painted in the
colors of German ace Ernst Udet, the second
highest scoring flyer of World War I. His 62
victories was only topped by his squadron
commander, Richthofen. Udet took over command
of the 'Flying Circus' squadron when Richthofen was killed and survived the war. Udet was consulted for
his aerial expertise throughout the 1920's and 1930's
but continuing battles with Herman Goring, commander of the Luftwaffe, and the Nazi Party in general, led him to commit suicide in 1941. He is
still regarded as a national hero in Germany.
In week number one the Dallas Cowboys
let a 14-point lead slip away in the fourth quarter
and lost to the New York Jets 27-24...
...but in week number two, it was the Cowboys
coming from behind to defeat San Francisco by
the same score,..27-24 in overtime.
The game will be remembered as the annointing
of Saint Tony... Dallas quarterback Tony Romo had
to shoulder a lot of criticism after a fumble and an
intercepted pass gave last weeks game to New York.
Against San Francisco, Romo was knocked out of the game with a fractured rib...BUT he returned late in the game to lead the team to a game-tying field goal, forcing an extra period. Dallas defensive co-ordinator
Rob Ryan's players kept the 49's corralled for the most part. Dallas wideout Miles Austin again proved he is one of the league's elite with a three touchdown performance...one where he laid-out just above ground level for the score. With the score tied 24-24 in overtime, the Dallas defense held San Francisco and when they got the ball they wasted little time. On the first play Romo caught the 49's concentrating on Austin too much and threw to Jesse Holley for a
77-yard play to the San Francisco 3... Dallas elected to kick the field goal on first down and departs the Bay area with a 27-24 win to even their record to 1-1 after
two weeks of the 2011 season.
Next up for the Cowboys will be a home game against the Washington Redskins next Monday night. The Redskins have won their first two games of the season.
