Tin Sign Info

A possum (plural form: possums) is any of about 69 small to medium-sized arboreal marsupial species native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi (and introduced to New Zealand and China). The name derives from their resemblance to the opossums of the Americas. (The name is from Algonquian wapathemwa.) Possum is also used in North America as a short form of Opossum.

Possums are quadrupedal diprotodont marsupials with long tails. The smallest possum, indeed the smallest diprotodont marsupial, is the Little Pygmy Possum with an adult head-body length of 70mm and a weight of 10g. The largest is the Bear Cuscus that may exceed 7kg. Possums are typically nocturnal and at least partially arboreal. The various species inhabit most vegetated habitats and a few species have adjusted well to urban settings. Diets range from generalist herbivores or omnivores (the Common Brushtail possum) to specialist browsers of eucalyptus (Greater Glider), insectivores (Mountain Pygmy Possum) and nectar-feeders (Honey Possum).

This possum license plate makes a great gift for any hunter.

The margarita is a cocktail consisting of tequila mixed with triple sec and lime or lemon juice, often served with salt on the glass rim. It is the most common tequila-based cocktail in the United States. The drink is usually served shaken with ice, on the rocks, blended with ice (frozen margarita) or without ice (straight up). All three methods are frequently served with salt or sugar on the rim of the glass which is optional.

Margaritas may be served in a variety of glasses, most notably the stereotypical margarita glass, a variant of the classic Champagne coupe; this is particularly associated with blended fruit margaritas, and the glass is also used for dishes such as guacamole or shrimp cocktails. In formal settings margaritas are often served in a standard cocktail glass, while in informal settings, particularly with ice, margaritas may be served in an old-fashioned glass.

 Variations
Common ratios for a margarita are

2:1:1 = (50% tequila, 25% Triple Sec, 25% fresh lime or lemon juice)
3:2:1 = (50% tequila, 33% Triple Sec, 17% fresh lime or lemon juice)
3:1:1 = (60% tequila, 20% Triple Sec, 20% fresh lime or lemon juice)
6:3:1 = (60% tequila, 30% Triple Sec, 10% fresh lime or lemon juice)
1:1:1 = (33% tequila, 33% Triple Sec, 33% fresh lime or lemon juice)
although the IBA (IBA Official list of Cocktails) standard is

7:4:3 = (50% tequila, 29% Triple Sec, 21% fresh lime or lemon juice)
Margaritas often contain an additional sweetener, such as simple syrup or plain sugar, alternatively the Margarita can be made with bottled lime juice, with frozen limeade, or sour mix (each of which contains sugar). Margaritas can also be made with muddled or blended fruits like lime, lemon, cherries, raspberries, strawberries, watermelon, orange, mango or blueberries.

 Flavored liqueurs
Other than triple sec, other types of orange-flavored liqueur are sometimes used, such as Patrón Citrónge (produced in Mexico), Cointreau (produced in France), blue curaçao yielding the blue margarita. The “top shelf,” “grand”, “royal”, or “Cadillac” margaritas often contain a premium citrus liqueur such as Grand Marnier or Gran Gala. Such higher quality or “top shelf” margaritas will usually use a premium grade of tequila as well. Often, when sweeter fruit juices or freshly puréed fruits are added to the margarita, the amount of orange-flavored liqueur is often reduced or it is eliminated entirely. In addition to orange-flavored liqueurs, secondary liqueurs may occasionally be added to the cocktail, including black raspberry-flavored Chambord.

 Fresh lime juice
 
Margaritas come in a variety of flavors and colors.Fresh squeezed lime juice is the key ingredient. The most common lime in the U.S. is the thick skinned Persian lime. However, margaritas in Mexico are generally made with Mexican limes (Key limes). These are small, thin skinned limes and have a more tart and an often bitter flavor compared to Persian limes. Margaritas made with lemon have a softer taste, especially when Meyer lemons are used.
 Other fruits
Alternate fruits and juice mixtures can also be used in a margarita. Many recipes call for a splash of orange juice. When the word “margarita” is used by itself, it typically refers to the lime or lemon juice margarita, but when other juices are used, the fruits are typically added as adjectives in the name; with lime juice or lemon juice added like a condiment (and a wedge of lime often added to the glass). Examples of popular combinations are:

Texas margarita, with orange juice, and beer sometimes
Raspberry margarita, with lime juice
Strawberry or peach margarita, with lemon juice
Mango margarita, with lime juice
Melon margarita, often with melon liqueur such as Midori
Banana margarita, with orange and lime juice
Apple margarita, with Berentzen’s apple liqueur
Margarona, with a mini Corona beer turned upside down in the cocktail.

This Margarita license plate tag makes a great gift for anyone.

Bronc riding, either saddle bronc or bareback bronc competition, is a rodeo event that involves a rodeo participant riding on a horse (sometimes called a bronc or bronco), that attempts to throw or buck off the rider. Originally based on the necessary horse breaking skills of a working cowboy, the event is now a highly stylized competition that utilizes horses that often are specially bred for strength, agility, and bucking ability. The event has provoked concerns among some animal welfare advocates that some of the practices used in the event may constitute animal cruelty.

Each competitor climbs onto a horse, which is held in a small pipe enclosure called a bucking chute. When the rider is ready, the gate of the bucking chute is opened and the horse bursts out and begins to buck. The rider attempts to stay on the horse for eight seconds without touching the horse with his free hand. On the first jump out of the chute, the rider must “mark the horse out.” This means he must have the heels of his boots in contact with the horse above the point of the shoulders before the horse’s front legs hit the ground. The rider that manages to complete a ride is scored on a scale of 0-50 and the horse is also scored on a scale of 0-50. Scores in the 80s are very good, and in the 90s, are exceptional. A horse who bucks in a spectacular and effective manner will score more points than a horse who bucks in a straight line with no significant changes of direction.

Saddle bronc and bareback bronc styles are very different. In saddle bronc the rider uses a specialized saddle with free swinging stirrups and no horn. The saddle bronc rider grips a simple rein braided from cotton or polyester and attached to a leather halter worn by the horse. The rider lifts on the rein and attempts to find a rhythm with the animal by spurring forwards and backwards with his feet.

The bareback bronc rider does not use a saddle or rein, but uses one hand to grip a simple handle on a surcingle style rigging placed on the horse just at the horse’s withers. The rider leans back against the bucking horse and spurs up and down motion with his legs, again in rhythm with the motion of the horse.

This Bronc license plate tag makes a great gift.

Bull riding is a rodeo sport that involves a rider getting on a large bull and attempting to stay mounted for at least eight seconds while the animal attempts to buck off the rider. The rider tightly fastens one hand to the bull with a long braided rope. It is a risky sport and has been called “the most dangerous eight seconds in sports.”
Informal rodeos began as competitions between neighboring ranches in the American Old West and the location of the first formal Rodeo is a debated. Deer Trail, Colorado claims the first rodeo in 1869 but so does Cheyenne, WY in 1872.
A pivotal moment for modern bull riding, and rodeo in general, came with the founding of the Rodeo Cowboy Association (RCA) which later became the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). Through this organization many hundreds of rodeos are held each year. Since that time, the popularity of all aspects of the rodeo has risen. In 1994 a separate organization was formed for bull riding alone: The Professional Bull Riders (PBR), which stages a large number of events including the annual PBR World Finals held at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Most professional bull riders start out riding in high school NHSRA and or junior associations. There are several semi-pro associations including the Southern States Bull Riding Association (SSBR),the North American Bull Riding Association (NABA), the International Bull Riders Association (IBR)and the Professional Championship Bull Riding Tour (PCB) The top bull riders from these associations are eligible to participate in the National Bull Riders Series Finals (NBR). The NBR bulls are provided by the Professional Bucking Bull Association (PBBA).Bull riders compete at these events as they are climbing the ladder to the PBR and CBR and to supplement their income.

This license plate tag makes a great gift.

He began designing and building a flintlock rifle for himself. In the fall of that year, he entered a shooting match; though he only finished second, his well-made gun impressed other shooters. Before Eliphalet left the field that day, he had received so many orders from other competitors that he was now officially in the gunsmithing business. By 1828, the operation moved to nearby Ilion, New York, at the same site which is used by the modern Remington firearms plant.

In 1865, Remington incorporated into a stock company, and in 1873 began a new venture, producing Remington brand typewriters. Remington sold the typewriter business in 1886. The typewriter company eventually became Remington Rand, and the firearms business became Remington Arms Company. In 1888, Remington was purchased by Marcus Hartley and Partners, a major sporting goods chain who also owned the Union Metallic Cartridge Company in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The Bridgeport site became the home of Remington’s ammunition plant.

In 1912, Remington and Union Metallic Cartridge were combined into a single entity, called Remington UMC. Even today, Remington produces U.M.C. brand ammunition. In 1915, the plant at Ilion was expanded, and with this expansion became basically the same plant as today.

During World War I, Remington produced arms under contract for several Allied powers. Remington produced M1916 Berthier rifles for France, Pattern 1914 Enfield rifles for Britain, and Model 1891 Mosin-Nagant rifles for Imperial Russia. As the war intensified, Remington production grew ever greater.

When the U.S. entered the war, Remington became deeply involved in the war effort. Notable contributions by Remington included development and production of the U.S. M1917 Enfield rifle, a simplified version of the British Pattern 1914, and development of the Pedersen device.

Late in the war, the collapse of the Imperial Russian government had a severe impact on Remington finances. Russia had ordered enormous quantities of arms and ammunition, but ran short of money to pay for the orders. They delayed payment, pointing to alleged defects in Remington products. When the Bolsheviks took power in the Russian Revolution, they repudiated the contract entirely. Remington was left with huge stocks of guns and ammunition, and no prospects for payment. U.S. government intervention was required to save the company from bankruptcy. Noting the explosive growth of business at the beginning of the war, and the precipitous decline at the end of the war, Remington made the conscious decision to promote and emphasize their line of sporting products. They viewed hunting products as a more stable business which might help them to survive future ups and downs.

During the Great Depression, Remington was purchased by the DuPont Corporation, which had made its fortune with improvements to gunpowder. A year later, Remington purchased the Peters Cartridge Company; today, many of the Remington headstamps still have R-P on them for Remington-Peters.

In 1940 the U.S. Army became worried about its ammunition capacity, and asked Remington to collaborate in a plan for national expansion. With the aid of DuPont, Remington built the Lake City Arsenal and Denver Ordnance ammunition plants, and three more plants later on. Though the plants belonged to the U.S. government, Remington was asked to oversee their operation. Among the weapons Remington manufactured for the government during World War II was the famous M1903A3 Springfield bolt-action rifle.

In 1986, Remington closed its ammunition plant in Bridgeport, Connecticut, creating a brand-new facility in Lonoke, Arkansas. This site was chosen as the geographic center of the sporting ammunition market. A year later, Remington built a new clay targets plant in Athens, Georgia.

In 1993, Remington was sold by DuPont to the investment firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R’).

In June 2007, a private equity firm, Cerberus Capital Management, acquired Remington Arms for $370 million, including $252 million in assumed debt. This happened because Remington was millions of dollars in debt and did not report a profit during the years 2003-2005.

In December 2007, Remington Arms acquired rifle-maker Marlin Firearms.

As of 2009, ammunition sales continued to remain high during the ongoing United States Ammunition Shortage. Chief Executive Officer Ted Torbeck was quoted in the Chambersburg Public Opinion newspaper on 2009-11-30 from Remington’s most recent quarterly earnings conference call as saying “Since the U.S. presidential election, demand for (ammunition) has risen amidst concerns that the new administration will further restrict the use or purchase of firearms and ammunition and levy additional taxes on these products. Since that time we have responded by ramping up production, providing for additional employee overtime, establishing additional production shifts, and expanding our supply chain, none of which has required significant capital.”

This sports tin sign makes a great gift.

Mel’s Drive-In (not to be confused with Mel’s Diner) is the name of a restaurant chain founded in 1947 by Mel Weiss and Harold Dobbs in San Francisco, California.

In October 1963, the Mel’s Drive in chain was picketed and subjected to a sit-in by the Ad Hoc Committee to End Discrimination over the fact that while the restaurant would serve food to African Americans and hired them as cooks, Blacks were not allowed to work “up front” where they could be seen by White customers. More than 100 protesters were arrested. The picketing ended when Harold Dobbs, a San Francisco City Supervisor who had run for Mayor and lost, settled with the protestors and began to allow Black workers “up front.”

Mel’s was used as a location in the 1967 film Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn are out for a drive and Tracy pulls into Mel’s and orders Oregon Boysenberry ice cream, then has a minor traffic altercation with an African-American man. The Mel’s was located in the Excelsior district of San Francisco. Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy never actually visited the location.

In 1972, the restaurant was selected as a feature location by George Lucas for his 1973 film American Graffiti. The prominent play given to the location has been credited with saving the company from possibly going out of business. The Mel’s used was located at 140 South Van Ness in San Francisco.

Mel’s restaurants have since been featured in other media such as Melrose Place (1996, Season 5, episode 1), Doonesbury comics (December 18, 1989), and the book The American Drive-in by Mike Witzel.

Some Mel’s Drive-In locations are not actually drive-ins, but rather diners, although the sign still says “drive-in”; none of the San Francisco locations serve food to patrons’ cars.
Universal Studios built a replica of “Mel’s Drive-In” on its lot, pursuant to the restaurant being used in American Graffiti — this must-see amusement attraction also served as a gift shop for years. There are also a number of “Mel’s” located in Northern California that share the same general American Graffiti/nostalgia theme and the similarly styled Mel’s logo. These restaurants are called “Mel’s Original.” Their locations are not listed on the official Mel’s Drive-In website, although an article from the Sacramento Business Journal shows that they are related. A family rift caused the Weisses to part ways and form two chains. The elder Weiss in 1994 sold his company to Larry Spergel, who formed a group of about 50 stockholders that now owns the chain. The Walnut Creek, California location features a history of the original San Francisco Mel’s.

This car hop tin sign makes a great gift. Like I have said before it’s blast from the past.

Steven Weiss and partner Donald Wagstaff opened the first of the “Next Generation” Mel’s Drive-ins in September of 1985. The restaurant, located at 2165 Lombard Street in San Francisco, appealed to families wanting to share the tastes, sights, and sounds of the 1950s drive-in era with their children. A little over two years later, a second location was established on Geary Boulevard, also in San Francisco. The next two restaurants opened in Los Angeles, one in Sherman Oaks and the other in West Hollywood on the Sunset Strip. Van Ness Avenue is home to the third San Francisco location, and the fourth opened its doors in November of 2000 next to the Sony Metreon Center in the Yerba Buena area. In the heart of Hollywood on the famous Hollywood Boulevard our fifth location was opened with a full-service Celebrity Bar. The most recent addition to the Mel’s family is the Rancho Cucamonga location located near Ontario Mills on the border of Rancho Cucamonga and Ontario.
 

This authenic reproduction tin sign makes a great gift. It’s like a blast from the past.

Navistar International Corporation (NYSE: NAV) (formerly International Harvester Company) is a U.S. manufacturer of International brand commercial trucks, MaxxForce brand diesel engines, IC Bus school and commercial buses, Workhorse brand chassis for motor homes and step vans, and is a private label designer and manufacturer of diesel engines for the pickup truck, van and SUV markets. The company is also a provider of truck and diesel engine parts and service.

The company’s products, parts, and services are sold through a network of nearly 1,000 dealer outlets in the United States, Canada, Brazil, and Mexico and more than 60 dealers in 90 countries throughout the world. The company also provides financing for its customers and distributors principally through its wholly owned subsidiary, Navistar Financial Corporation.

This International truck logo tin sign makes a great gift.

The beast with a million eyes is a science-fiction movie about an alien capable to see through the eyes of the many creatures he takes control of. It was produced and directed by David Kramarsky, although some sources say that it was co-directed by Lou Place and co-produced by Roger Corman and Samuel Z. Arkoff.The movie was released in 1955 by American Releasing Corporation that later became American International Pictures. In 2007 Metro-Goldwyn Mayer distributed this motion picture in his Midnight Movies catalog on a double-feature DVD shared with The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues.

The Beast with a million eyes tin sign makes a great gift for people who like horror films.

The Mallard, or Wild duck (Anas platyrhynchos), probably the best-known and most recognizable of all ducks, is a dabbling duck which breeds throughout the temperate and sub-tropical areas of North America, Europe, Asia, New Zealand (where it is currently the most common duck species), and Australia. It is strongly migratory in the northern parts of its breeding range, and winters farther south. For example, in North America it winters south to Mexico, but also regularly strays into Central America and the Caribbean between September and May.

The male birds have bright green head, while the female is light brown. The Mallard lives in wetlands, eats water plants, and is gregarious. The Mallard is the ancestor of all domestic ducks, and can interbreed with other species of genus Anas. This interbreeding is causing rarer species of ducks to become genetically diluted.

This welcome to our refuge tin sign makes a great gift for anyone.