The first of our Gerbera Daisies opened this week. These are red, but Gerberas can come in a variety of colors like white, pink, yellow and orange. The center of the flower is sometimes black. Often the same flower can have petals of several different colors. They get their name from the German naturalist Traugott Gerber.

Gerbera is also an important commercial flower. It is the fifth most used cut flower in the world (after rose, carnation, chrysanthemum, and tulip). It has approximately 30 species in the wild, extending to South America, Africa and tropical Asia.

There are several more buds ready to open on this plant. I just love springtime!

Click on the image above for a larger picture.

Now that we’ve had a taste of vacationing in a motorhome, we’re anxious to try it again. This spring, we’re going to head down to Phoenix to attend the Second Amendment Blog Bash and the NRA Convention. On the way, we plan to camp at a couple of scenic places.

While we enjoyed our winter cruise, we had a bottleneck of sorts with computer access. At home, we’re used to each having a computer connected to our local network with internet access. On the road, we had to share our one laptop. Neither of us had enough time to do our usual ‘thing’ - blogging and reading the other blogs.

So, to correct that, we ordered a new Dell Mini 9 for me to use - both on the road, and when we’re on the patio swing when the weather is nice. I look forward to getting the new toy!

Oh! Did I mention it’s PINK!

From the Tennessee GOP:

Sort of funny and sad at the same time. Via Jonah Goldberg at The Corner.

Really - and for only 3½ million bucks.

But it’s got provenance. Flown in by Raul Castro, being one of it’s notable (?) historical claims.

I believe that I know the person selling this car on eBay. Years ago, I worked in the same laboratory with Carl, whose wife, Marilyn ran a car parts business out of their garage. In connection with the garage operation, they collected a few rare and interesting vehicles, such as the Italian Isetta, among others. I lost touch with them before they acquired the Aerocar in 1981.

I taught Carl to fly in the 1970’s and used to spend a lot of time with them at that time. Maybe I’ll register and bid on the car just to open that nostalgic door.

Check out this Aerocar video.

I found a pretty good article about this on wired.com. Here’s an excerpt from the December, 2008 article:

Just six Aerocars were ever built, and they did fly when they were built. Marilyn Felling bought Aerocar No. 2 more than 25 years ago, but never restored it. She insists it has been examined by a mechanic and could be made airworthy in a few hours. Of course, N103D hasn’t flown since the Ford Administration, so that may be optimistic.

Still — how cool would it be to own a flying car that’ll do 60 mph on the highway and 110 in the air? Just think of the joy you’d feel. And if you can’t think of enough good reasons to own it, the folks at aerocarforsale.com have spelled them out for you.

You can pick one up “for inclusion in your private collection.” Or if you’re feeling philanthropic, buy one “for a donation to your favorite museum.” Maybe your kids or grandkids would appreciate it “as a legacy for the heirs of your estate. “Our favorite is the promise of “a 1031 property exchange,” though we have no idea what that means.

Despite all those perfectly rational benefits, after two years the Aerocar still hasn’t attracted a buyer and Mrs. Felling turned to eBay. We know gas is getting cheaper, but we’re not so sure about her decision to keep the “Buy it now” option at her original price of $3.5 million. There’s a “Best offer” option, but as of Monday morning, no one had made one.

Now showing on the patio: two red Icelandic poppies. Click image for full-size.

This nice piece of eye-candy is illegal in California UNLESS OWNED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT.

This morning I read a post over at Ballseye’s Boomers where Glenn asks the question, “Is It Something In The Water?” He quotes a soft-headed Californian who wonders “why gun locks couldn’t be enforced in the city – forcing gang members to lock their guns in order to transport them“. My reaction is basically in agreement with Glenn’s observation that people in California are getting more indoctrination than education in the terrible school system here.

That, and the worst (and most ridiculous) gun laws in the USA, none of which make Californians safer. Consider the following generic restrictions on arms in this state; you will probably find most of them laughable:

The Roberti-Roos Assault Weapons Control Act of 1989, its subsequent augmentation in 1999, and the .50 Caliber BMG Regulation Act of 2004 has led to many restrictions on semi-automatic firearms. In addition to a lengthy list of specific firearms that are banned by name, the following firearms are banned by characteristic:

1. A semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that has the capacity to accept a detachable magazine and any one of the following:
• A pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon.
• A thumbhole stock.
• A folding or telescoping stock.
• A grenade launcher or flare launcher.
• A flash suppressor.
• A forward pistol grip.
2. A semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that has a fixed magazine with the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds.
3. A semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that has an overall length of less than 30 inches [762 mm].
4. A semiautomatic pistol that has the capacity to accept a detachable magazine and any one of the following:
• A threaded barrel, capable of accepting a flash suppressor, forward handgrip, or silencer.
• A second handgrip
• A shroud that is attached to, or partially or completely encircles, the barrel that allows the bearer to fire the weapon without burning his or her hand, except a slide that encloses the barrel.
• The capacity to accept a detachable magazine at some location outside of the pistol grip.
5. A semiautomatic pistol with a fixed magazine that has the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds.
6. A semiautomatic shotgun that has both of the following:
• A folding or telescoping stock.
• A pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon, thumbhole stock, or vertical handgrip.
7. A semiautomatic shotgun that has the ability to accept a detachable magazine.
8. Any shotgun with a revolving cylinder.

We headed for the range today, for our regular target practice and ‘recoil therapy.’ as Robb puts it. The gunography consisted of Damsel’s Warthog .45, S&W 908s 9mm, S&W 686 .357 and her 20 gauge Remington 870 ‘youth model’ shotgun. I brought my Glock 30 .45, Glock26 9mm and my 12 gauge Remington 870 full-sized shotgun.

Damsel received the parts to restore her Warthog during the week and she gave it a test drive today. She will make her second follow-up report on the Warthog in a separate post. Suffice it to say that the ‘Hawg was OK and she put about 100 rounds through it. She shoots ten of those are in the video above.

Our outing today was pleasant. We didn’t try to push any envelopes or make any spectacular shots. It was just a good, healthy shoot, intended to be fun.

We got this view of the El Tovar Hotel while standing near the famous Lookout Studio at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. The hotel is about a quarter of a mile away on the next point extending into the Canyon. I took this picture in December while on our winter vacation - it was cold, too, about 13 degrees F. or so. Click on the image to enlarge.

A few weeks ago, I bought some ranunculus for the planters on the front porch. This one was particularly beautiful in the morning sun. Click for larger image.

The parts to replace the ailing recoil spring and plug arrived last night. Today, I installed the new parts in the Warthog - it’s good to have a complete gun again!

I took some pictures of the old and new parts together and of the slide after installing the new spring. In the upper left panel, note the compression of the old outer spring when next to the new one. Upper right, you can see the wear to the finish on the old spring plug. The lower right is a close up of both flanges note the broken flange on the right (old) one. Finally, the new spring got installed in the slide after a little struggle - it took a lot more force to get it in place.

This is follow-up (1) with follow-up (2) to come after we take her to the range Sunday.

Planet Gore posted this funny photo of a global warming protest.

One of the more egregious figures in the Obamination White House is Thief-of-Staff Rahm Emanuel. In Congress, Emanuel earned an “F” rating from NRA, and while working in the Clinton Administration, he was known as the “point man on gun control.” He is an avowed enemy of the Second Amendment and will wield enormous power in the battle for the future of our firearm freedoms.

With the economy in crisis, this opportunity isn’t lost on the new president and his team. “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste,” Emanuel told a Wall Street Journal conference of top corporate chief executives. He elaborated: “Things that we had postponed for too long, that were long-term, are now immediate and must be dealt with. This crisis provides the opportunity for us to do things that you could not do before.”

Emanuel says these things as he thumbs his nose at the American Public.

Roll your mouse over Emanuel’s picture to see what the Ghost of President Ronald Reagan thinks of Rahm Thumb’s gesture.