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Well, I can *usually* find a cannon when I travel...

By The Armorer on October 21, 2007 | | Comments (13)

...but I don't always find one actually firing.

Civil War Naval Museum Brooke rifle firing a blank.

Especially one manned by... pirates.

On land.

Nicely maintained Brooke Rifle, made by the Naval Ordnance Works, Selma, Alabama, in January of 1865. 5lbs of black powder. Overlooking the Chattahoochee at Port Columbus, Georgia.

And the reason this is all there's going to be from me today? Due to the astonishngly optimistically labeled "high-speed internet" at this place of accomodation, it took one full hour to get this posted. Near as I can tell, they got DSL, set up 4 wireless routers, and told 70 rooms full of computer geeks to hook up to their "high speed internet." Snerk. I think it ran almost normal at 2AM one morning. I'd have given you a larger version of the pic, but I could feel my arteries hardening and my joints stiffening as I waited. That and the dust bunny that collected by my feet.

I'm afraid I've got better things to do with my time than watch the Windoze Hourglass. And it's really not that, it's the loading bar on the browser...

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13 Comments

By Parrothead Jeff on October 21, 2007 7:51 PM
John, Great post and I love the pic! I truly feel your pain - I'm still on dialup for a lengthly list of reasons. Keep up the good work! Jeff
 
By Parrothead Jeff on October 21, 2007 7:51 PM
John, Great post and I love the pic! I truly feel your pain - I'm still on dialup for a lengthly list of reasons. Keep up the good work! Jeff
 
By John of Argghhh! on October 21, 2007 8:01 PM
You feel it a *lot* Jeff!~ Twice as much as most people! 8^ )
 
By Justthisguy on October 21, 2007 8:28 PM
Oh, Man, a Brooke! Buttress Thread rifling! There may exist a photograph of my own self fondling a Brooke rifle, on the ramparts of Fort Pulaski, taken in 1988, or thenabouts. I prolly shoulda oughta chased wimmin instead of cannons, but wth, I seem to have no STDs to speak of.
 
By John of Argghhh! on October 21, 2007 9:55 PM
JTG, you give the best "geek" when it comes to auld artillery...
 
By triticale on October 22, 2007 3:44 AM
Oh, man, the Naval Ordnance Works, Selma, Alabama. They had a lathe used for cannon boring which remained in industrial use until the 1980s because new machine tools that big cost so much. When it was finally retired, it was hauled to a city park for children to climb on.
 
By BloodSpite on October 22, 2007 9:19 AM
Now you know how I feel on dial up :)
 
By JimC on October 22, 2007 1:06 PM
The Brooke Rifle the Armorer photographed is pictured in this article http://www.csnavy.org/weapons/cannons.htm
 
By Dan Patterson on October 22, 2007 2:40 PM
I now have some information in my wrinkled grey matter not previously hidden there: The Brooke rifle and it's inventor. Now I have to refresh myself on the Hook/Slant rifling method. Quite a character and quite a piece of artillery. Thanks for the posting and lesson. Dan Patterson Arrogant Infidel
 
By KCSteve on October 22, 2007 3:02 PM
And now you know why I take along my cable and data-ready cellphone when I travel (and why I pay a bit extra to have it data-ready). If I don't like a hotel's connection for whatever reason I just use my own. It runs at around DSL speeds too, just to rub it in a bit.
 
By John of Argghhh! on October 22, 2007 5:40 PM
Well, with SWWBO now being unemployed, I'm not being as extravagant as I might once have been on things like that, Steve. Whyncha just FedEx that puppy down here and I'll use it...
 
By KCSteve on October 23, 2007 12:18 PM
John, You might check out the phone you have - many of them will do data these days, even if they don't tell you about it up front. You may be hit with a small extra charge (I think I pay $5). Check with your provider.
 
By Justthisguy on October 24, 2007 1:43 AM
Um, I shoulda wrote "parapet." I distinctly remember striding along the parapet, as if unafraid (not hard, I was not afraid) while making artillery geek love to that piece. They also have a Blakely there. I think I got right rude and forward with it, as well. Relax, folks; nothing really indecent happened, between me and those guns!