So, this comes down in the family: an ash tray made out of a piston (I use it for spare change, not being a smoker).
The family story is that it’s the piston head from the engine of a rum runner that was captured by the USCGD Conyngham, CG-2, during Prohibition, while a family member was serving aboard.
Originally the captured vessels were being sold at auction, but they were just bought by the gangs and returned to service, so the Coast Guard started destroying them and their engines.
The Wikipedia picture of the Conyngham below is pretty blurry, I should see if I’ve a better picture of her in Coast Guard livery, somewhere in granddad’s stuff.
USCGD Conyngham, CG-2.
A Tucker class naval destroyer, she was transferred to the Coast Guard in 1924 for service against the “Rum Runners”.
Santa Clara River at dawn.
There are tears of laughter rolling down my cheeks right now.
andrewprice:
Schusev State Museum of Architecture, created by Florin Enache using 3dsmax and VRay.
Heh. I’m reminded of a passage in the bizarre book Musrum, which I ran across in the Martinez public library. Paraphrasing, it goes something like this:
“While journeying through Egypt the king Musrum was offended by a carving on the side of the Great Obelisk of Egypt and ordered it covered with sand. Only the top is now visible.”
From the Amazon review:
Had Edward Gorey written Lord of the Rings on psilocybin, Musrum might have been the twisted result. (disclaimer: I have never used psilocybin nor do I promote its use to others: reading Musrum made such pursuits unnecessary).
40’ S&S in Santa Barbara.
SS American Victory, from the bridge looking forward.
