On Wednesday, Google launched Android Beta, a program designed to give developers (and other Android obsessives) a look at what’s next for the world’s most popular mobile operating system. For now, that means people can use the program to try Android N, the newest (and unreleased) version of Android.
There are blogs, books, and endless YouTube videos dedicated to re-purposing office supplies into everything but productivity tools. But with this 3D-printed plastic tube you can easily turn a thumbtack, a few sticky notes, and your office’s cork board into a game of darts.
Royal Salute is one of those curious blended whiskies that everyone seems to know about, but no one ever seems to drink. I’ve oddly never sampled a dram from the porcelain (not glass!) flagon, which calls the Strathisla distillery its home.
Beyond the decanter, all expressions of Royal Salute have a gimmick, and a pretty good one: Even though most Royal Salute expressions don’t carry an age statement, no spirit in any Royal Salute bottling is less than 21 years of age. That’s right: Royal Salute 21 is the entry level whisky.
This new release, Royal Salute The Eternal Reserve, is actually the second whisky up the ladder. Here’s what’s inside:
Royal Salute has selected rare and precious whiskies with an exceptionally long finish to blend and marry together in 88 casks to form the inaugural batch. Using a unique process called Circular Blending, Royal Salute has committed to including this original blend in each subsequent The Eternal Reserve release for decades to come.
Each time a new batch is unveiled, half of the blend will be re-casked in the Royal Salute Vault to conserve the precious liquid created in 2015. Thus, the original blend is forever preserved by this perpetual re-circulation – creating a smooth, voluptuous whisky that justifies its original name: uisge beatha (the water of life).
So, for those doing the math, this is going to be a solera release, and this is the first edition. From here on out, every Eternal Reserve bottling (which the company says should be an annual release) will have a little bit of this 2015 release in it… just less and less each year.
So, let’s give the inaugural bottling of The Eternal Reserve a spin, shall we?
Malty, classic blended Scotch notes feature on the nose, plus notes of roasted nuts, a bit of citrus, some mushroom, and some wood influence. On the tongue, more of the same, backed up with a bit of coconut, some graham cracker, and notes of canned pears and baked apples. The finish echoes a bit of that mushroom, impressively lingering with an almost musky, slightly smoky character. All in all, it adds a little nuance to an otherwise well-crafted and enjoyable spirit.
80 proof.
A- / $180 / royalsalute.com
The post Review: Royal Salute The Eternal Reserve Blended Whisky appeared first on Drinkhacker.
What goes into preparing a spacecraft for a cargo run to the space station? Take a peek behind the scenes with this gallery of photos from preparing the Cygnus spacecraft for its first cargo run since the last attempt ended in explosion last year.
The LWRC R.E.P.R. 20-inch rifle, right side.
Sometimes visceral reactions are surprisingly on-target.
About a month ago, I stopped by my FFL to pick up an LWRC R.E.P.R. A couple of other folks were there finishing up a gun purchase, so I opened the R.E.P.R. box while I was waiting. The contents immediately became the center of attention. The other customer asked to check out my new loaner toy and, manipulating the bolt, he remarked, “It’s like butter cream!” I’m not exactly sure what butter cream is, but I would have to agree. When someone works the action on the LWRC R.E.P.R., they immediately smile. It’s as smooth as silk, or maybe as smooth as butter cream.
LWRC R.E.P.R. 20-inch barrel, left side.
The R.E.P.R. (pronounced “reaper” as in the grim type) is called the Rapid Engagement Precision Rifle. You have to admit that R.E.P.R. sounds much more badass, right? R.E.P.R.’s are all about .308 / 7.62x51mm, so they’re as serious as the name implies. You can get them with either 16” or longer 20” barrels more suitable for longer range duty. The uppers are swappable, so you can easily move between configurations. As they’re sold separately, I requested the 20-inch barrel version, because, well, faster bullets!
The LWRC flip up sights are outstanding.
We’ll take a detailed tour, but for now, just know that the LWRC R.E.P.R. is a gas piston gun, with some custom tweaks. From a design goal perspective, the apparent overriding imperative is to make this a reliability boss. Yes, it’s accurate enough and feels like “butter cream”, but I suspect the LWRC team is only truly satisfied when it will run in any environment.
I spent some time at the Cambridge, MD factory and learned more about LWRC’s design goals for the R.E.P.R. product line. They’re after the top of the market and make guns for folks who want the very best in terms of attention to detail and overall product quality. It shows, both in the attitudes of the people and finicky inspection processes at all stages of manufacture, assembly, and finish.
The spiral-fluted barrel reduces weight by 20% and speeds rate of cooling.
At the risk of making a poor analogy, consider different market segments for cars. Some customers simply want a vehicle that will get them to work and back, and don’t value anything beyond that. That group would be perfectly happy with a $15,000 or $20,000 car that gets them from point A to point B. Others value, and will pay for, the total luxury experience. Whether they buy a BMW, Mercedes, or Aston Martin, they’re paying top dollar for all the subtle quality features. There’s something satisfying about that sweet and soft “click” when closing a door on one of these vehicles. If you’re the type that values quality engineering both seen and unseen, then LWRC rifles might be for you.
The non-reciprocating bolt handle doubles as a forward assist.
From the front, you’ll first see an A-2 style birdcage flash hider. Nothing fancy here, so I assume the LWRC folks know buyers are going to instantly customize the muzzle with their brake, flash hider, or suppressor of choice.
The 20-inch barrel is spiral fluted, and gorgeous. While it looks exceptionally cool, the real purpose is to create more surface area for faster cooling during rapid fire. It’s cold hammer forged with a 1:10 twist rate.
The bolt carrier and bolt are nickel-boron coated. They’re easy to clean, although they don’t get very dirty in the first place. The coating also includes built-in lubricity.
The front hand guard is 12.5 inches long and is modular, allowing you to add rail segments anywhere along its length at the 3, 6, and 9 o’clock positions. The top of the hand guard rail is a seamless continuation of the receiver’s Picatinny section.
The upper and lower receiver of my sample rifle were both Cerakoted in a flat dark earth color. The quality of the finishing job is stellar.
Bolt catch and release controls are on both sides of the receiver. As the bolt handle is on the left, I found it easier to operate the bolt catch to hold open using the right side control. I still found myself using the bolt release on the left side using my support hand.
This Lightning Review is long overdue for a rather under-appreciated product. Quite a bit ago, Case Cruzer sent me one of their Magwell Handgun Case 4 Pack – Shooting Range Pro Series designed specifically for competition shooters on the go. The notable feature a widened bottom of the magwell to be able to accept competition-oriented handguns […]
The post Lightning Review: Case Cruzer Magwell 4 Handgun Case – A Beast of a Case appeared first on The Firearm Blog.
We used to think that technology was about devices. We were wrong. Those feeble plastic and glass exoskeletons are nowhere near as important as the batteries that power them. Which is why the race to a better battery is fueled by insane hype—threaded with genuine innovation.
Left-Hand version of Savage Arms Law Enforcement 10 FCP SR Rifle
Savage likes lefties. In fact, Savage Arms now makes left-handed versions of 18 of its most popular rifles. On the Ammoland.com website, Savage Arms Marketing Director Bill Dermody talks about Savage’s commitment to left-handed shooters. Dermody says: “Whether it’s a bigger gun, faster gun or one that fulfills a specific customer need, we strive be the leader in specialty guns”. Here are highlights from the interview:
Why Southpaws Should Shoot Left-Handed Guns
Dermody: Research reports more than 10 percent of Americans are left-handed. For lefties, having a left-handed bolt gun is extremely important because it allows a fast follow-up shot. A shooter’s support hand never has to leave the forend, or their cheek leave the stock, while their trigger hand operates the bolt. Also, having the action open on the left side makes for easier loading with your left hand, and hot spent cases never fly across your face.
Savage’s Left-Handed Product Line
Dermody: [We offer] 18 left-handed rifle models. We have left-handed options available throughout our product line including big game, law enforcement, target competition and predator hunting. We also offer left-handed slug shotguns and bolt-action and semi-auto rimfire rifles. To quickly see all our left-handed options, open the Gun Finder tool on our website (savagearms.com) and select “left” in the search function.
Product Release Policy — Left-hand Versions follow Right-hand Releases
Dermody: When we release a new firearm it’s usually only in a right-handed model, but oftentimes we introduce the left-handed version in the years that follow.
Left-Hand version of Savage Arms Mark II BTVLSS rimfire rifle.
Products for Left-Eye Dominant Shooters
Dermody: The right-handed, left-eye-dominant customer is interesting. When a right-handed person switches the gun to their left shoulder and uses their dominant eye to aim, they are often more accurate. Most brand new shooters test their eyes to see which shoulder they should learn to shoot from, which is great. However, it’s not uncommon for us to hear about shooters and hunters, those with years of shooting experience, deciding to sell their right-handed guns and buy a left-handed one, especially bolt-action firearms. These folks are shooting more accurately and getting more satisfaction at the range and on their hunts when using a left-handed gun.
This video shows how to determine eye dominance (left or right):
Savage Factory Can Easily Switch to Left-Hand Products
Dermody: We are set up to changeover our machines to efficiently build left-handed parts for our rifles. This allows us to manufacture small batches of left-handed guns whenever we need them, without labor-intensive and time-consuming expenses, and without messing up our planned production schedule. It’s just one of those things we are better equipped to do than most of our competitors.
To read the complete interview, visit Ammoland.com. Statements by Bill Dermody reproduced under Creative Commons License: Attribution.
Outstanding news, fellow workers! The comrades at Gawker Media voted in favor of forming a union yesterday, the first of its kind in the online news world! Now we shall all partake in the glorious sharing of universal rights, press cars, sexual partners and break room snacks! (I think that’s what all this was about, anyway.)
Originally published at VolkStudio Blog. You can comment here or there.
Keltec CMR30 with Primary Arms 4x prismatic scope.
Battle Rifle Company (BRC) announced the company is manufacturing a new rifle called the BR4 Paratrooper. The new rifle combines a carbine length rifle with a PDW-style stock. SBR versions will also be made. As with other PDW-type stocks on the market, the bolt carrier group and buffer assembly have been significantly modified. Features of […]
The post Battle Rifle Company BR4 Paratrooper Rifle appeared first on The Firearm Blog.
So, I may have gone a bit overboard and filmed more video at this upcoming Julia auction than I actually had time to publish before the auction takes place (but there were so many amazing guns there!). One way I am going to cheat my way out of the dilemma is to post two videos today. They are both on fantastically rare Webley & Scott automatic pistols, so I figure they will go together pretty well.
First up, a Model 1904. This was basically the first working automatic pistol made by Webley (there was a 1903 toolroom experiment, but it didn’t really work). Like all the Webley automatic that would follow, it was designed by William Whiting. The 1904 was the company’s first effort at making a semiautomatic sidearm for the British military, so it was chambered for the .455 cartridge (a special rimless version made by Kynoch, after early experiments using the .455 rimmed revolver ammunition caused lots of problems stacking in magazines). It is a rather huge handgun, and uses a short recoil mechanism with two separate locking blocks. This particular one is s/n 23 – very few were made before it was rejected in military trials and Webley redirected its efforts toward smaller commercial pistols. I don’t know if I will ever have another chance to handle one of these, so I tried to make the most of the opportunity:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hT38XH97FM
Webley came back to the military-style pistol a few years later, and the Model 1910 was a bit more successful – nearly a thousand of these were made. By the 1910 version Whiting had refined the locking mechanism to the angled lugs on the barrel that would remain in use through the Royal Navy contact in 1912/1913. This particular one, though, is a prototype with a number of unique features – most notably the lack of a grip safety.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRuALymnq3s
The M1895 Lee Navy was a rifle well ahead of it’s time – a smallbore (6mm) straight-pull bolt action adopted by the US Navy at the same time that the US Army was adopting the Krag-Jorgenson. The Lee Navy was designed by James Paris Lee (the same man who designed the Lee Enfield action), and was a limited commercial success for Winchester with 20,000 being sold in total. Half of those went to the US Navy, and they were issued to shipboard armories and Marine Corps units. One of the ships which received an allotment of Lee Navy rifles was the USS Maine, and its rifles were on board when she exploded and sank in the Havana harbor, helping to start the Spanish-American War. Several dozen of these rifles were salvaged shortly after the sinking (it happened in less than 50 feet of water) and were sold on the commercial market by the Francis Bannerman company. This rifle is one of those few documented to have come off the Maine, making it a fantastic piece of history.
In St. Joseph Michigan, a woman was adjusting a handgun in her bra holster. She reportedly looked down and shot herself in the head. Here is the article about the incident. Not having personally used a bra holster, I didn’t see how this is possible. However looking at this video it may have been due […]
The post Fatal ND Using Bra Holster appeared first on The Firearm Blog.
Taofledermaus posted up this video of the world’s most precise rifle. They are called rail guns but that moniker is deceiving. Many people, like me, would consider a rail gun to be a large gun that uses electromagnets to propel a projectile. These benchrest guns use a railed bed with ball bearings. Their 200 yard […]
The post 6mm Rail Gun Benchrest Shooting appeared first on The Firearm Blog.
Polk County Jail
I suppose it is natural for some people to grab the nearest thing they can when they feel the need to commit an act of violence against another person. Some throw phones, but the folks in this case reportedly chose a very odd weapon: a McChicken sandwich.
This man allegedly took the fine meal his wife brought for him and attacked her with it in disgust. From The Des Moines Register:
Marvin Tramaine Hill II, 21, admitted to police that he threw the sandwich at his wife “because he doesn’t like them.” Hill was arrested for simple domestic assault and taken to the Polk County Jail.
Des Moines police met with Hill at the couple’s home in the 1400 block of 13th Street. Hill told police it was actually his wife who assaulted him.
Hill said his wife woke him up around 1 p.m. with a McChicken in hand. He admitted to police that he became upset and threw the sandwich at her, then picked up some of the bun, throwing it at her again.
Tramaine holds close to his claims that his wife was actually the one who attacked him, but police feel that the bruises on her face say otherwise. He’s reportedly still in the Polk County Jail, but a quick search at the main site doesn’t show any results under his name.
Either way, the real culprit here is the McDonald’s franchise that sold them the chicken sandwich in the first place. They should know that their product might possible cause marital stryfe and could be used as a weapon. Also all that mayonnaise can’t be good for a person’s health.
(Via Des Moines Register / CBS WTVR)
How the world's first real computer, the ENIAC, was restored by an unlikely group of conservationists—all thanks to Ross Perot.
The post How the World’s First Computer Was Rescued From the Scrap Heap appeared first on WIRED.
TFB’s resident adventurer Claymore sent me this photo from his archives. This maybe the MOST “exclusive” photo ever on TFB! I was looking up a photo of my 762 gear for somebody and saw this. It is a photo on me receiving my “adviser musket” from General Vang Pao. Vang Pao was a famous leader of one […]
The post POTD: The Hmong Muskets Awarded To Military Advisers appeared first on The Firearm Blog.
