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I heard the news today, oh boy . . .
Posted a week agoJune Lockhart, June 25, 1925 - October 23, 2025.
Movies included Sergeant York, Keep Your Powder Dry, and Strange Invaders.
TV shows include, of course, Lost in Space, along with Have Gun Will Travel, Gunsmoke, Wagon Train, Lassie, Perry Mason, Man from U.N.C.L.E., and a lot more.
Rest in Peace, Space Mom.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKNvIdA0vWY
Movies included Sergeant York, Keep Your Powder Dry, and Strange Invaders.
TV shows include, of course, Lost in Space, along with Have Gun Will Travel, Gunsmoke, Wagon Train, Lassie, Perry Mason, Man from U.N.C.L.E., and a lot more.
Rest in Peace, Space Mom.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKNvIdA0vWY
Mike Curtis is temporarily offline.
Posted 2 weeks agoUninvited Guest
Posted 2 weeks agoYou sometimes get news reports of people finding snakes coming up through sewer lines and ending up in their toilets, yes?
I woke up this morning to find an unwanted and uninvited guest in my toilet - a frog.
Not making this up, either. I live in Florida, after all; it could have been a venomous snake.
Using a plastic grocery bag, I caught the little bastard (body was about 2-3" long), carried him outside and emptied him out on the grass before going back inside, washing my hands, and celebrating the Sacrament of Coffee.
I woke up this morning to find an unwanted and uninvited guest in my toilet - a frog.
Not making this up, either. I live in Florida, after all; it could have been a venomous snake.
Using a plastic grocery bag, I caught the little bastard (body was about 2-3" long), carried him outside and emptied him out on the grass before going back inside, washing my hands, and celebrating the Sacrament of Coffee.
Anniversary
Posted 2 weeks agoYes! I have completed sixty-four turns around this whirling globe, yay! I have achieved 34.2 Fi (favoki; a Kashlanin year is 1.87 times longer than a Terran year), or 12.8 lustrums - or somewhere between 275-300 years if I were a German Shepherd.
Here, have an earworm:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCTunqv1Xt4
Here, have an earworm:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCTunqv1Xt4
I heard the news today, oh boy . . .
Posted 3 weeks agoDiane Keaton, January 5, 1946 - October 11, 2025.
Actress, writer, photographer, editor.
Here we see her from one of my favorite movies, Love and Death:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yc4FFNTHIZ4
Actress, writer, photographer, editor.
Here we see her from one of my favorite movies, Love and Death:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yc4FFNTHIZ4
I heard the news today, oh boy . . .
Posted a month agoDr. Jane Goodall, primatologist, animal rights activist, Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, US Presidential Medal of Freedom, UN Messenger of Peace.
April 3, 1934 - October 1, 2025. Rest in Peace.
She passed away at age 91 today of natural causes in Los Angeles while on a speaking tour of the United States.
April 3, 1934 - October 1, 2025. Rest in Peace.
She passed away at age 91 today of natural causes in Los Angeles while on a speaking tour of the United States.
In Honor Of . . .
Posted a month agoNational Silent Movie Day
- and -
National Police Remembrance Day:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHXIlXsCxT8
- and -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Orde7FtHh0
- and -
National Police Remembrance Day:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHXIlXsCxT8
- and -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Orde7FtHh0
I heard the news today, oh boy . . .
Posted a month agoGeorge E, Hardy, Lieutenant Colonel, United States Army Air Forces and United States Air Force, RIP.
June 8, 1925 - September 25, 2025. He was 100 years old.
LCOL Hardy was the last surviving member of the Tuskegee Airmen, the 99th Pursuit Squadron. The 99th, distinguished by the red paint on the tails of their aircraft, were an all-Black unit within the USAAF; the military was still segregated at the time.
Rest in peace, Colonel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5XbCF5tz64
June 8, 1925 - September 25, 2025. He was 100 years old.
LCOL Hardy was the last surviving member of the Tuskegee Airmen, the 99th Pursuit Squadron. The 99th, distinguished by the red paint on the tails of their aircraft, were an all-Black unit within the USAAF; the military was still segregated at the time.
Rest in peace, Colonel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5XbCF5tz64
Those of A Certain Age . . .
Posted a month agoWill likely recall this as one of the great, hilarious time-wasters on the old Spike TV channel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sw4JZkWbz5I
In the words of Captain Tenneal, "LET'S GO!"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sw4JZkWbz5I
In the words of Captain Tenneal, "LET'S GO!"
In His Own Words
Posted 2 months agoI've been seeing a lot about the murder of Charlie Kirk, and I have a quote by him on the matter:
"I think it's worth it. I think it's worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights."
Before you start breathing forth fire and slaughter at me, I will also refer you to that famous right wing thinker, Samuel 'Joe the Plumber' Wurzelbacher, who famously told a grieving mother of a school shooting victim that her dead child didn't trump his Second Amendment rights.
For those who are now frothing at the mouth about me not showing any empathy, here's another Kirk quote:
“I can’t stand the word empathy, actually. I think empathy is a made up new age term, and it does a lot of damage.”
My condolences to his family. Thoughts and prayers, people; thoughts and prayers.
"I think it's worth it. I think it's worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights."
Before you start breathing forth fire and slaughter at me, I will also refer you to that famous right wing thinker, Samuel 'Joe the Plumber' Wurzelbacher, who famously told a grieving mother of a school shooting victim that her dead child didn't trump his Second Amendment rights.
For those who are now frothing at the mouth about me not showing any empathy, here's another Kirk quote:
“I can’t stand the word empathy, actually. I think empathy is a made up new age term, and it does a lot of damage.”
My condolences to his family. Thoughts and prayers, people; thoughts and prayers.
What Message Speaks the Drums?
Posted 2 months agoWell . . . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G24_1FbBrbg
Poland scrambled F-35 and F-16 fighter jets last night as Russia sent about fourteen combat drones into its airspace by way of Ukraine. The drones are believed to be part of a massive strike package that hit civilian and infrastructure targets within Ukraine last night. One of the targets was reportedly a group of retirees gathering to pick up their pension payments.
Anyway.
The Polish government reports that all the drones were shot down, has lodged a formal protest in Moscow, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk states that Poland now stands at its closest to open conflict since World War Two started in 1939. This time, however, the Poles are members of NATO, so they can focus their attention in only one direction - the Russian Federation. There are also reports that Russian media are establishing a propaganda narrative against Finland, another NATO member.
So let's game this out a little.
Russia has lost over a million casualties since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Their once-vaunted armored columns have been ravaged, the Black Sea Fleet is generally afraid to sortie, and Ukraine is systematically attacking Russian oil refineries and other infrastructure targets in marked contrast to Russia's current strategy. Putin isn't completely crazy, former KGB or not, so why start provoking the Poles and making bellicose noises against the Finns and the Baltic republics?
Putin needs the West to stop supporting Ukraine so he can conquer that nation, and he's made no secret of his desire to expand Russia to its pre-1991 borders. Invasion of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia would likely be next after Ukraine falls. What will happen to the Ukrainians under Russian rule doesn't bear thinking of; we've seen reports of what's going on in the occupied areas.
I don't see the Finns or the Baltic states rolling over for Putin; they've got their independence, and they mean to keep it.
Putin must also realize that he's in trouble. Russia before 2022 was an oil and gas exporter, and the sanctions hit their economy hard. Thanks to Ukraine targeting refineries and pipelines, there are now reports of lines at gas stations and supplies of some types of gasoline are not getting to businesses in eastern Siberia. If he stops the invasion and withdraws to the border, he would be unable to overcome the loss of face - and no Russian leader can afford to look weak. If he goes all in and orders a general mobilization, he runs the risk of the entire Russian economy collapsing as people are subtracted from the work force and inducted into the military (and we saw the exodus of young people of military age a couple years ago before Putin started combing through the prisons, hiring mercenaries from Africa, and concluding an agreement with North Korea to be supplied with artillery ammunition and KPA soldiers).
Now, this may have been a simple piloting error on the part of the drone operators. There are no reports of Polish casualties, so an apology or conciliatory statement might come from the Kremlin. Still, Poland and NATO's vigilance cannot afford to lapse. Eighty years ago, the world saw the consequences of being soft toward a dictator bent on a war of imperial expansion.
What message speaks the drums?
"Tread carefully."
Poland scrambled F-35 and F-16 fighter jets last night as Russia sent about fourteen combat drones into its airspace by way of Ukraine. The drones are believed to be part of a massive strike package that hit civilian and infrastructure targets within Ukraine last night. One of the targets was reportedly a group of retirees gathering to pick up their pension payments.
Anyway.
The Polish government reports that all the drones were shot down, has lodged a formal protest in Moscow, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk states that Poland now stands at its closest to open conflict since World War Two started in 1939. This time, however, the Poles are members of NATO, so they can focus their attention in only one direction - the Russian Federation. There are also reports that Russian media are establishing a propaganda narrative against Finland, another NATO member.
So let's game this out a little.
Russia has lost over a million casualties since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Their once-vaunted armored columns have been ravaged, the Black Sea Fleet is generally afraid to sortie, and Ukraine is systematically attacking Russian oil refineries and other infrastructure targets in marked contrast to Russia's current strategy. Putin isn't completely crazy, former KGB or not, so why start provoking the Poles and making bellicose noises against the Finns and the Baltic republics?
Putin needs the West to stop supporting Ukraine so he can conquer that nation, and he's made no secret of his desire to expand Russia to its pre-1991 borders. Invasion of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia would likely be next after Ukraine falls. What will happen to the Ukrainians under Russian rule doesn't bear thinking of; we've seen reports of what's going on in the occupied areas.
I don't see the Finns or the Baltic states rolling over for Putin; they've got their independence, and they mean to keep it.
Putin must also realize that he's in trouble. Russia before 2022 was an oil and gas exporter, and the sanctions hit their economy hard. Thanks to Ukraine targeting refineries and pipelines, there are now reports of lines at gas stations and supplies of some types of gasoline are not getting to businesses in eastern Siberia. If he stops the invasion and withdraws to the border, he would be unable to overcome the loss of face - and no Russian leader can afford to look weak. If he goes all in and orders a general mobilization, he runs the risk of the entire Russian economy collapsing as people are subtracted from the work force and inducted into the military (and we saw the exodus of young people of military age a couple years ago before Putin started combing through the prisons, hiring mercenaries from Africa, and concluding an agreement with North Korea to be supplied with artillery ammunition and KPA soldiers).
Now, this may have been a simple piloting error on the part of the drone operators. There are no reports of Polish casualties, so an apology or conciliatory statement might come from the Kremlin. Still, Poland and NATO's vigilance cannot afford to lapse. Eighty years ago, the world saw the consequences of being soft toward a dictator bent on a war of imperial expansion.
What message speaks the drums?
"Tread carefully."
Post-Trip Blockage
Posted 2 months agoNo, not that kind of blockage.
Pervs.
It dawned on me as I was driving the final homeward leg of my trip three days ago that I had brought two notebooks with me, and neither of them held a single story idea or note.
Part of the reason, obviously, was fatigue, and another part was the con had no writing panels or sources of inspiration.
I called the Muse to the Executive Committee and quizzed her about it. She took the mouthpiece of her hookah from her lips to say something quite literally unprintable before sitting back, puffing placidly.
She'll get what's coming to her, trust me on this. Meanwhile, I have started collecting a few ideas here and there. Mowing the yard on Saturday morning helped.
Pending writing projects are:
1. Kiss Me in the Dark: A Quiet Life: Ongoing
2. Justice: Currently in production
3. Lemon Curry?: Being posted; Part 25 being mapped preparatory to writing.
Future projects include Promptoberfest 2025, No Nut November, Yesvember, Spanksgiving, and at least three stories for the Festivus/Xmas/New Year axis.
Pervs.
It dawned on me as I was driving the final homeward leg of my trip three days ago that I had brought two notebooks with me, and neither of them held a single story idea or note.
Part of the reason, obviously, was fatigue, and another part was the con had no writing panels or sources of inspiration.
I called the Muse to the Executive Committee and quizzed her about it. She took the mouthpiece of her hookah from her lips to say something quite literally unprintable before sitting back, puffing placidly.
She'll get what's coming to her, trust me on this. Meanwhile, I have started collecting a few ideas here and there. Mowing the yard on Saturday morning helped.
Pending writing projects are:
1. Kiss Me in the Dark: A Quiet Life: Ongoing
2. Justice: Currently in production
3. Lemon Curry?: Being posted; Part 25 being mapped preparatory to writing.
Future projects include Promptoberfest 2025, No Nut November, Yesvember, Spanksgiving, and at least three stories for the Festivus/Xmas/New Year axis.
Mephit Furmeet Con Meme, 2025
Posted 2 months agoYay!
Convention attending: Mephit Furmeet! I will be superintending the Art Jam each night of the con, playing
marmelmm's playlist.
Days staying: Thursday - Monday
Who are you rooming with? I will be sharing space with the other voices in my head. Original planning had marmelmm sharing the room, but inshallah.
Where will you be? The all-new leather-bound steam-driven con hotel, the Vitality Memphis! And, of course, the Dinner with the Dons at Coletta's! We'll be dining Saturday night in the Elvis Room!
How is the best way to find you? Look for the loud shirt and the general air of unfocused rage.
What do you look like? A meat popsicle.
What is your gender? Male, according to my Y chromosomes.
How old are you? 33.6. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.
Can I talk to you? Yes. You don't need to sneak up on me.
Can I hug / snuggle you? If you want. I won't bite unless you want me to.
Are you nice? Randomly.
If I see you, how should I get your attention? "Walt" usually works.
What can't we talk about? Dunno; whatcha got?
Can I get you something to drink? Only if I can observe what goes in it.
Can I take your picture? If that's your thing.
See you there!
Convention attending: Mephit Furmeet! I will be superintending the Art Jam each night of the con, playing
marmelmm's playlist.Days staying: Thursday - Monday
Who are you rooming with? I will be sharing space with the other voices in my head. Original planning had
marmelmm sharing the room, but inshallah.Where will you be? The all-new leather-bound steam-driven con hotel, the Vitality Memphis! And, of course, the Dinner with the Dons at Coletta's! We'll be dining Saturday night in the Elvis Room!
How is the best way to find you? Look for the loud shirt and the general air of unfocused rage.
What do you look like? A meat popsicle.
What is your gender? Male, according to my Y chromosomes.
How old are you? 33.6. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.
Can I talk to you? Yes. You don't need to sneak up on me.
Can I hug / snuggle you? If you want. I won't bite unless you want me to.
Are you nice? Randomly.
If I see you, how should I get your attention? "Walt" usually works.
What can't we talk about? Dunno; whatcha got?
Can I get you something to drink? Only if I can observe what goes in it.
Can I take your picture? If that's your thing.
See you there!
A. Joke.
Posted 2 months agoCourtesy of marmelmm, who got it from https://johnnyoptimism.blogspot.com...../08/touch.html
I have edited it a wee bit.
Ahem.
_____________________________________________
(Joke on approach; it has cleared the outer marker)
It was their wedding night and the groom was undressing for the first time before his new bride. When he took his pants off she stared at his gnarled knobby knees, and he said "I had a severe case of kneesles as a child."
(The joke's gear is down)
He took off his socks and her eyes widened again. "Bad case of toelio as a child."
He started to drop his underwear and she sighed forlornly. "Don't tell me, you had a bad case of smallcox as a child."
(Joke on final approach)
He grinned and finished undressing with a smile as she stared. "Nope, dicktheria, brace yourself."
(The joke has landed. Please stay in your seats until the joke has taxied to the terminal)
.
marmelmm, who got it from https://johnnyoptimism.blogspot.com...../08/touch.html I have edited it a wee bit.
Ahem.
_____________________________________________
(Joke on approach; it has cleared the outer marker)
It was their wedding night and the groom was undressing for the first time before his new bride. When he took his pants off she stared at his gnarled knobby knees, and he said "I had a severe case of kneesles as a child."
(The joke's gear is down)
He took off his socks and her eyes widened again. "Bad case of toelio as a child."
He started to drop his underwear and she sighed forlornly. "Don't tell me, you had a bad case of smallcox as a child."
(Joke on final approach)
He grinned and finished undressing with a smile as she stared. "Nope, dicktheria, brace yourself."
(The joke has landed. Please stay in your seats until the joke has taxied to the terminal)
.
Viva Elbonia!
Posted 3 months agoYes, it’s a thought experiment, basically about creating the worst military in the world. There are several You Tube videos about it, and I thought it was a fun idea so I decided that I should have a go at it.
Here's the setup: The south of the border Republic of Elbonia is ruled by a strongman El Presidente who's fighting against democratic rebels. You're on his staff and tasked with supplying the armed forces. You must tread carefully, balancing the favor of El Presidente with the possibility the rebels will kill you - and avoid the stern gaze of the League of Nations and their sinister Black Autogyros.
The year . . . is 1935.
Elbonia’s geography is mostly mudflats, with mountains and jungle and a small strip of coastline. Just so you know.
The categories are Sidearm, Rifle, Artillery, Tank, Fighter, Bomber, Warship, and a Wild Card. The latter is a sort of ace in the hole to make El Presidente look cool and indirectly earn the rebels some sympathy. Again, it’s a fine line.
So, with conditions set, here we go.
Sidearm:
I chose the classic WW1 surplus Mauser C96. Yes, the iconic Broomstick Boomstick.
Upside: It looks cool. Good rate of fire and accurate.
Downside: Bitch to disassemble, and parts can be hard to come by.
Rifle:
The Federov Avtomat. Yeah, we’re going there, as El Presidente is a progressive forward-thinking man who wants to set a tone. We might not be able to buy in bulk from Stalin’s USSR, but all we need is a couple examples that we can duplicate to get Elbonia’s industrial base working.
Upside: Good rate of fire, stable and hey, it's a submachine gun - in 1935. Elbonia will be the envy of its neighbors, and one soldier throwing as much lead as five will certainly make El Presidente moist.
Downside: Hard to source the right ammunition for it (the Russians chambered it for Japanese 6.65x50mmSR Arisaka rounds), and each one is subtly different, including the magazines, so you can’t swap out.
Artillery:
Size does matter, so we’re reaching back into WW1 surplus and acquiring the Skoda 305mm howitzer.
Upside: It's fucking huge and El Presidente will need new trousers when he sees it fire. It breaks into 3 parts and can be towed by a tractor. It had a higher rate of fire than the German M-Gerat ('Big Bertha') 420mm, at 10-12 rounds an hour.
Downside: It requires a crew of 15-17, ammunition may be hard to source, and we will "forget" to buy the tractor. Besides, it’s so heavy that once it hits the mudflats it might just bog down or sink.
Tank:
We need us a good tank, so I’m going with the Vickers 6-tonne 'Light' tank Type B.
Upside: Cheap to buy, light enough to get over the mudflats. The main armament is a 47mm cannon, with one machine gun.
Downside: Obsolescent, if not totally obsolete by now. Engine tends to overheat because of poor airflow over the air-cooled engine, and Elbonia’s tropical.
Fighter:
The fighter will likely get me killed by the rebels and the League of Nations, but Elbonia's a progressive, forward-looking nation. I’ve chosen the Boeing P-26 Peashooter.
Upside: all-metal monoplane, stable platform, open cockpit and wheel spats for the cool factor.
Downside: Production started in 1932, close to obsolete by 1935.
Bomber:
Yes, we need a bomber to overawe the rebels and our neighbors. The Peashooter can carry a few bombs but we want to make a statement. You're gonna love this: The Witteman-Lewis NBL-1, also known as the Barling Bomber.
Upside: It’s huge, it’s a triplane with four engines, and it can carry 5000 pounds of bombs.
Downside: It’s so slow and underpowered it couldn't get over the Appalachians.
Warship:
Elbonia doesn’t have much access to the ocean, so just one ship should do, and again we’re going to the WW1 surplus store and acquiring the Tatra-class destroyer Cselep of the old Austro-Hungarian Navy.
Upside: It’s probably cheap. The Tatra-class weighed 850 tons, could make 32 knots thanks to its six boilers and two turbine sets, and carried two 10cm guns in its main battery, with six 66mm guns and two twin torpedo tubes.
Downside: It was built in 1912, and it's now 1935, so it’s undoubtedly lost a step. Also, considering there’s no Austro-Hungarian Navy any longer and this ship is the only remaining one of her class, you’re going to have fun obtaining parts and ammunition.
Wild Card:
This is something that can give you an edge over the rebels and your neighbors, while still avoiding getting killed by either El Presidente, the rebels, or the League of Nations.
At first, I chose two. One of those was the Waverly Death Machine. Cool name, right? There’s the cool factor and the intimidation factor all in one. The problem is that I could find exactly one reference to it, and apparently it was a British artillery system of the 1920s; only one was built, it disappeared, and no one knows exactly what it could do.
I finally set the Waverly aside in favor of the Kettering Bug. Dating back to 1917, it’s a US-designed pilotless aircraft. Yes, it was a drone or cruise missile.
Upside: Range of 75 miles, goes 50 mph, and is basically a 180-pound bomb with a simple engine, wings and a simple guidance system designed by Elmer Sperry.
Downside: At $400 a pop in 1918 dollars, it’s expensive, and let’s be honest: I don’t think Elbonia can copy the guidance system without screwing things up.
Viva Elbonia!
So, what do you think? Do I live or die?
Here's the setup: The south of the border Republic of Elbonia is ruled by a strongman El Presidente who's fighting against democratic rebels. You're on his staff and tasked with supplying the armed forces. You must tread carefully, balancing the favor of El Presidente with the possibility the rebels will kill you - and avoid the stern gaze of the League of Nations and their sinister Black Autogyros.
The year . . . is 1935.
Elbonia’s geography is mostly mudflats, with mountains and jungle and a small strip of coastline. Just so you know.
The categories are Sidearm, Rifle, Artillery, Tank, Fighter, Bomber, Warship, and a Wild Card. The latter is a sort of ace in the hole to make El Presidente look cool and indirectly earn the rebels some sympathy. Again, it’s a fine line.
So, with conditions set, here we go.
Sidearm:
I chose the classic WW1 surplus Mauser C96. Yes, the iconic Broomstick Boomstick.
Upside: It looks cool. Good rate of fire and accurate.
Downside: Bitch to disassemble, and parts can be hard to come by.
Rifle:
The Federov Avtomat. Yeah, we’re going there, as El Presidente is a progressive forward-thinking man who wants to set a tone. We might not be able to buy in bulk from Stalin’s USSR, but all we need is a couple examples that we can duplicate to get Elbonia’s industrial base working.
Upside: Good rate of fire, stable and hey, it's a submachine gun - in 1935. Elbonia will be the envy of its neighbors, and one soldier throwing as much lead as five will certainly make El Presidente moist.
Downside: Hard to source the right ammunition for it (the Russians chambered it for Japanese 6.65x50mmSR Arisaka rounds), and each one is subtly different, including the magazines, so you can’t swap out.
Artillery:
Size does matter, so we’re reaching back into WW1 surplus and acquiring the Skoda 305mm howitzer.
Upside: It's fucking huge and El Presidente will need new trousers when he sees it fire. It breaks into 3 parts and can be towed by a tractor. It had a higher rate of fire than the German M-Gerat ('Big Bertha') 420mm, at 10-12 rounds an hour.
Downside: It requires a crew of 15-17, ammunition may be hard to source, and we will "forget" to buy the tractor. Besides, it’s so heavy that once it hits the mudflats it might just bog down or sink.
Tank:
We need us a good tank, so I’m going with the Vickers 6-tonne 'Light' tank Type B.
Upside: Cheap to buy, light enough to get over the mudflats. The main armament is a 47mm cannon, with one machine gun.
Downside: Obsolescent, if not totally obsolete by now. Engine tends to overheat because of poor airflow over the air-cooled engine, and Elbonia’s tropical.
Fighter:
The fighter will likely get me killed by the rebels and the League of Nations, but Elbonia's a progressive, forward-looking nation. I’ve chosen the Boeing P-26 Peashooter.
Upside: all-metal monoplane, stable platform, open cockpit and wheel spats for the cool factor.
Downside: Production started in 1932, close to obsolete by 1935.
Bomber:
Yes, we need a bomber to overawe the rebels and our neighbors. The Peashooter can carry a few bombs but we want to make a statement. You're gonna love this: The Witteman-Lewis NBL-1, also known as the Barling Bomber.
Upside: It’s huge, it’s a triplane with four engines, and it can carry 5000 pounds of bombs.
Downside: It’s so slow and underpowered it couldn't get over the Appalachians.
Warship:
Elbonia doesn’t have much access to the ocean, so just one ship should do, and again we’re going to the WW1 surplus store and acquiring the Tatra-class destroyer Cselep of the old Austro-Hungarian Navy.
Upside: It’s probably cheap. The Tatra-class weighed 850 tons, could make 32 knots thanks to its six boilers and two turbine sets, and carried two 10cm guns in its main battery, with six 66mm guns and two twin torpedo tubes.
Downside: It was built in 1912, and it's now 1935, so it’s undoubtedly lost a step. Also, considering there’s no Austro-Hungarian Navy any longer and this ship is the only remaining one of her class, you’re going to have fun obtaining parts and ammunition.
Wild Card:
This is something that can give you an edge over the rebels and your neighbors, while still avoiding getting killed by either El Presidente, the rebels, or the League of Nations.
At first, I chose two. One of those was the Waverly Death Machine. Cool name, right? There’s the cool factor and the intimidation factor all in one. The problem is that I could find exactly one reference to it, and apparently it was a British artillery system of the 1920s; only one was built, it disappeared, and no one knows exactly what it could do.
I finally set the Waverly aside in favor of the Kettering Bug. Dating back to 1917, it’s a US-designed pilotless aircraft. Yes, it was a drone or cruise missile.
Upside: Range of 75 miles, goes 50 mph, and is basically a 180-pound bomb with a simple engine, wings and a simple guidance system designed by Elmer Sperry.
Downside: At $400 a pop in 1918 dollars, it’s expensive, and let’s be honest: I don’t think Elbonia can copy the guidance system without screwing things up.
Viva Elbonia!
So, what do you think? Do I live or die?
I heard the news today, oh boy . . .
Posted 3 months agoJames Arthur Lovell Jr. 1928-2025.
Graduate, US Naval Academy, class of 1952.
Accepted in the second class of astronauts by NASA, 1962.
Flew on Gemini 7 and Gemini 12
Command Module Pilot, Apollo 8
Commander, Apollo 13
Author, Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13 (with Jeffrey Kluger)
Ad Astra.
Graduate, US Naval Academy, class of 1952.
Accepted in the second class of astronauts by NASA, 1962.
Flew on Gemini 7 and Gemini 12
Command Module Pilot, Apollo 8
Commander, Apollo 13
Author, Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13 (with Jeffrey Kluger)
Ad Astra.
I heard the news today, oh boy . . .
Posted 3 months agoThomas Andrew 'Tom' Lehrer, 1928-2025, July 26th. He was 97.
When Kissinger won the Nobel Peace Prize, Lehrer famously stated that satire was dead. He later moved his entire catalog to public domain.
Rest in Peace.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6qFG0uop9k
When Kissinger won the Nobel Peace Prize, Lehrer famously stated that satire was dead. He later moved his entire catalog to public domain.
Rest in Peace.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6qFG0uop9k
From Two Days Ago
Posted 3 months agoI heard the news today, oh boy . . .
Posted 3 months agoJohn Michael 'Ozzy' Osbourne, lead vocalist of Black Sabbath, titular Prince of Darkness, songwriter.
1948-2025.
Cause of death was Parkinson's Disease, probably aggravated by emphysema.
Rest in Peace, you maniac.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPo008mXhmQ
1948-2025.
Cause of death was Parkinson's Disease, probably aggravated by emphysema.
Rest in Peace, you maniac.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPo008mXhmQ
I heard the news today, oh boy . . .
Posted 3 months agoFelix Baumgartner, 1969-2025.
He was a former Austrian paratrooper, and in civilian life was a practitioner of various extreme sports. In 2012, he rode a helium balloon into the stratosphere to an altitude of 39 kilometers (127,852 feet) - whereupon he stepped out and and fell 36km before opening his parachute. During the free fall he reached a speed of Mach 1.25, at the time the fastest speed by a human without a vehicle.
He died yesterday, 17 July 2025, when he suffered some sort of medical problem in flight. His powered paraglider crashed near Porto Sant'Elpido, Italy.
RIP, Felix. You were a rare one.
He was a former Austrian paratrooper, and in civilian life was a practitioner of various extreme sports. In 2012, he rode a helium balloon into the stratosphere to an altitude of 39 kilometers (127,852 feet) - whereupon he stepped out and and fell 36km before opening his parachute. During the free fall he reached a speed of Mach 1.25, at the time the fastest speed by a human without a vehicle.
He died yesterday, 17 July 2025, when he suffered some sort of medical problem in flight. His powered paraglider crashed near Porto Sant'Elpido, Italy.
RIP, Felix. You were a rare one.
I heard the news today, oh boy . . .
Posted 3 months agoConcetta Rosa Maria Franconero, better known as Connie Francis.
American pop singer and actress. One of the top female vocalists of the late 1950s - early 1960s. Estimated to have sold 100 million records worldwide, and she had a set of pipes on her.
1937-2025. Rest in peace, Connie.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqgl0VRJW0E
American pop singer and actress. One of the top female vocalists of the late 1950s - early 1960s. Estimated to have sold 100 million records worldwide, and she had a set of pipes on her.
1937-2025. Rest in peace, Connie.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqgl0VRJW0E
Very Guilty!
Posted 4 months agoYes, that was the verdict a court in the Australian State of Victoria handed down on 50-year-old Erin Patterson. Patterson is charged with three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder after serving her relatives and one guest a toxic lunch. Three of her family members died, and the guest recovered only after weeks in the hospital.
The toxic lunch?
Beef Wellington. Patterson used death cap mushrooms in the duxelles filling.
I think she should be given more time in prison for doing that to a Beef Wellington.
Here's the article, courtesy of the BBC: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdezzxnn7kjo
The toxic lunch?
Beef Wellington. Patterson used death cap mushrooms in the duxelles filling.
I think she should be given more time in prison for doing that to a Beef Wellington.
Here's the article, courtesy of the BBC: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdezzxnn7kjo
The Glorious Fourth
Posted 4 months agoI heard the news today, oh boy . . .
Posted 4 months agoAnd had a lovely Pink Gin with my dinner to celebrate. A Pink Gin is your standard Gin & Tonic, with the addition of maybe 5-6 dashes of Angostura bitters.
I digress.
Yes, dear readers, the 'Reverend' Jimmy Swaggart, preacher, radio/TV 'personality,' televangelist, and sexpest . . . dead at 90.
Buh-bye, shithead.
I digress.
Yes, dear readers, the 'Reverend' Jimmy Swaggart, preacher, radio/TV 'personality,' televangelist, and sexpest . . . dead at 90.
Buh-bye, shithead.
It blowed up!
Posted 4 months agoIt blowed up REAL GOOD!
The Starship Version 2 went kaboom, which makes it obvious that you shouldn't load the Eludium Pew-36 Explosive Space Modulator for a test. Someone skipped a few pages in the checklist!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKwWclAKYa0
(Money shot starts at 1:56:25)
To quote Marvin the Martian, "Oh, delays, delays . . . "
The Starship Version 2 went kaboom, which makes it obvious that you shouldn't load the Eludium Pew-36 Explosive Space Modulator for a test. Someone skipped a few pages in the checklist!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKwWclAKYa0
(Money shot starts at 1:56:25)
To quote Marvin the Martian, "Oh, delays, delays . . . "
