Not really any surprises here.  Seen at Ride Fast.  Rule:  if you have auto-complete on, just type in the letters of the alphabet and confess to whatever shows up on top of the list.

akeyboardanda45.blogspot.com/
blogonomicon.eponym.com/blog (big surprise)
cheaperthandirt.com/
deuceofclubs.com/randumb/clothespingun/clothespingun01.htm
endthewaronguns.blogspot.com/ (seemingly now defunct)
www.firearmscoalition.org
groups.google.com/ (sometimes lurking in alt.horror.cthulhu)
help.blogger.com/
images.google.com/
jaredmclaughlin.wordpress.com
www.kndo.com/Global/story.asp?S=6947036&nav=menu484_2_10
www.ligotti.net/ (another Lovecraft-related site)
my.eponym.com/ (another big surprise)
nancysgardenspot.blogspot.com/
onemonkeystypewriter.blogspot.com/
porcupinenine.blogspot.com/
www.quotationspage.com/qotd.html
reformedchicksblabbing.blogspot.com/
s102.photobucket.com/albums/m102/alandp/
www.technorati.com/search/blogonomicon.eponym.com
users.lewiston.com/ghostpwr/MMM.gif (I don't remember what this was, it's gone now)
viewzone.com/milkyway.html
www.weatherunderground.com/
x --  Nothing.
www.youravon.com/ (My wife is an Avon rep, and I place her orders for her since she's computer-shy).
z  --  Nothing.

I do all my blog reading with Bloglines, so the only reason the blogs show up on this list is if I've recently loaded the actual site so I can leave a comment or look at something that doesn't show up in the newsfeed.

The Truth About Gun Control posts another great essay called The Problem of Collectivism:

Being told to rely on others (the police) to defend us, when that obviously does not work, is bad enough. Being told we MUST rely on others, though, is unconscionable. It is essentially telling us that we have a duty to die when a madman like Cho decides to commit murder, all in the name of a no-guns policy that is meant to make people "feel safe."

I find it very distressing that so many people don't get that pro-CCW people are suggesting that people must take responsibility for their own safety. When they talk of the odds that a CCW holder would be in the class to stop the crime, they illustrate very clearly that they are picturing themselves not as the person taking action to save himself (and thus everyone else as well), but as the helpless victim who expects others to protect him!

That would not be so bad if the people who cannot break out of the role of helpless victims only put their own lives in danger, but they're not content with that. They have to make ALL of us into helpless victims. In their simplistic logic, they think the only difference between themselves and people like Cho is that Cho had a gun-- and as such, they can't tell peaceable armed citizens from crazed murderers!

If this blog isn't on your list, it should be. Posting is infrequent, but always hits the mark.

"my pipe smokes damn hot"

I get the feeling he was attempting a smoke while typing those words.

There is no one right way to smoke a pipe.  There are, however, a whole lot of wrong ways.

There are so many things that can make a pipe smoke hot, I probably shouldn't even attempt a post on it.  But here goes.

The tobacco could be too dry, and it's burning too fast.  Try rehydrating the tobacco or get some new stuff.

The tobacco could be too wet.  Wet tobacco causes high humidity in the smoke and this is the most common cause of the dreaded "tongue-bite."  Keep plenty of pipe cleaners on hand and stick one down the stem every so often during the smoke to sop up excess moisture.

You could be puffing too hard.  The tobacco is only supposed to char during the process, right on the borderline of actually smoldering.  It should cease "burning" (for lack of a better term) very quickly if you stop puffing.  If it keeps smoldering for several minutes all on its own, something is wrong.

It could be packed too loosely.  A looser pack means more air inside the bowl and therefore, a better chance for the charring to become actual smoldering (or G-d help you, flaming).

Maybe it's just a bad pipe.  Pipes are just like everything else in the world.  Just because it's more expensive doesn't necessarily mean it's a superior pipe.  It might be more expensive just because of the name on the stem or because the seller thinks it should be more expensive.

Maybe it's the wrong tobacco for that pipe.  This is a strange one, and one that some people have a hard time wrapping their head around, but every pipe will have its preferred tobacco.  You might have to experiment, using that pipe for different blends and different cuts until you find the one or ones that work for it.

Is it an aromatic tobacco?  Or worse, a very heavily flavored aromatic tobacco?  Or something you bought at Walgreens?  Heavy flavors mean more gunk, and more tongue-bite.  Cheap drugstore stuff is saturated with propylene glycol to preserve the moisture, but it's usually too moist.  More moisture, more humidity in the smoke, more tongue-bite.

Perhaps the pipe isn't broken in well, yet.  It might need a build-up of cake inside the bowl before it settles down and starts smoking the way it should.  This is natural.  If it's a new pipe, don't clean it like you're planning on performing surgery with it.  Knock the dottle out and clean the shank and stem, but leaving some ash in the bowl so it can start building up cake.

About the only thing I can say with fair certainty, based on my experience, is that the thinner the bowl walls on a pipe, the more likely it will smoke hot.  Thicker bowl walls provide more mass for heat dissipation.  Pipes with sandblasted or rusticated finishes theoretically have an advantage in heat dissipation because of the increased surface area--just like the fins on a radiator.  Or just like the fins on a pipe.


That's a Porsche pipe, and yes it was designed by that Porsche.

Don't be afraid of re-lighting.  Some people will began to "billows" the pipe with stronger breaths if they notice that it's about to extinguish itself.  Bad idea.  This causes uneven charring.  Stock up on matches, lighter fluid or butane and don't worry about it.  Just lightly re-pack it and re-light it.  And when re-lighting, light it all the way around just like you did the first time.

Someone on alt.smokers.pipes once remarked that if you re-light your pipe more than 5 times per smoke, you will burn out the bowl.  This is nonsense.  I replied that if that was true, I should have burned out at least 150 pipes (he caught it from several other posters there, too).  Sure, it's cool not to have to re-light a pipe, and it happens sometimes, but it isn't necessary for a pleasant smoke.

And if it takes you more than two lights to start a pipe going in the beginning, don't worry about that either.  The theory is that after the pipe is packed, there is first a false or "charring" light to get an even char all across the top.  Then you lightly tamp the char flat and light it again.  I often have to go through 3 or 4 false lights before I get it just right, the way I want it.  However, I tend to be very picky about this because I often smoke a pipe while driving and I don't want to have to relight it on the road.

A rambling post, but maybe it will help someone.