Those who know, know ... So ... A very long time ago (2010 to 2012) I was laboring in exile at my place of employment's Andover, Massachusetts facility. Work was slow at the Home Office, I would travel the hundred miles to that place either Sunday evening or Monday morning, work four ten hour days (whilst laying my head down in a hotel each night) then do the reverse leg of the trip Thursday evening. Made for a long bloody week, I can tell you. While there I discovered blogs, first it was the U.S. Naval Institute's blog, then, probably via a link at that blog, I found Neptunus Lex ..read more

(Source) Nearly ten years ago I wrote about my Great Uncle Robert Bain. At the time I had no idea what he looked like, now I do. (Yes, that's him above. In the photo on the left he bears a striking resemblance to my paternal grandmother.) As Gaza has been much in the news (he's buried there) I decided to use Find-A-Grave to see if there was any more information on him. There was. I was going to post that old post here, as a rerun, decided not to. (It's linked above at the family name.) But I know a bit more about the man now, he died a year earlier than my original research had in ..read more

  Well, that stinks! Yesterday, I was proofing my post for today.  There was a small error in how I wanted a picture and citation to look.  Went to correct it and presto-change-o, the post disappeared.  Tried undo.  No help.  Nothing, Nada,  없음.  Suffice it to say a few bad words were uttered.  So...that is why the v2 is in the title. This was where the error occurred.  I'm not even sure why I had this photo in the post.  But... Source The picture is of  The Big Week" of the Allied Bombing Raids on Germany in WWII.  The ..read more

Robin Olds (Source) Before I begin, the man above is the epitome, to me, of a fighter pilot and a combat leader. If I had to go into battle, it would be with that guy. One of the proudest periods of my life was serving in the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing at Kunsan AB, Republic of Korea. His legacy remains. So the drugs are winning the war against the crud, but they're knocking me on my butt. I guess a lot of sleep ain't a bad thing. Just gives me not enough energy to, ya know, get off my butt and do things, like write blog posts. But as they say, this too shall pass. So today, this S ..read more

In Gorodnya - to break through or retreat Vasily Vereshchagin (Source) Bit under the weather on Friday, ear infection, medical personnel consulted, drugs prescribed, taking it easy for a day or two. Gah! (As Beans might say.) I hate being ILL! Anyhoo, one of the Chanters mentioned this song by Mark Knopfler a while back (sorry I don't remember who, I suffer from CRS.¹) I've been meaning to post it here, with the lyrics. You folks know my fascination with Napoléon Bonaparte, this song, to me, is beautiful, and haunting. I almost feel as if I had been there. Literally makes me tear up ..read more

PxHere "How is the arm, Sir?" The lieutenant, who had his injured arm in a sling, glared at his sergeant, "Still bloody hurts, Sarge. That whiskey tasted better than it felt." "Did you have the regimental surgeon take a look at it?" "Yes, it's probably why it hurts. He cleaned the wound and wasn't real gentle about it. Called me an idiot for not coming in right away." "Did he not understand that we were a bit, ya know, busy?" The lieutenant grinned, then a shadow crossed his face. "I hated burying Guns out here, no marker, nothing to mark his passing. Nothing to mark his time he ..read more

Une compagnie d'infanterie légère française dans les bois.² Victor Huen (Source) We interrupt the Black Powder Vignette for a short primer on Napoleonic tactics. Seems that Beans doesn't agree with the way I have depicted the troops operating in the field over the past cuppla episodes. So to clarify how my thought process works, some background material. On the battlefield in the time of the Emperor Napoléon, there were three main types of troop unit: Infantry (which comprised the bulk of most armies), Artillery, and Cavalry Within each of those types there were subtypes, somet ..read more

PxHere The armorer and the men given to him came to the edge of the wood, to their right, quite a ways off, they could see cannon firing. "Ours?" one of the men asked. "Yes, those are our boys. Question is, where are those fellows meant to flank us?" "Guns, there are men out there in the long grass, hunkered down. D'ya see 'em?" "Where away, boyo?" The private pointed, trying not to be too obvious about it. Though they were back in the trees, anyone out in the field looking in the right direction might notice the movement of a man's arm. "Right lad, I see 'em. Looks like the ene ..read more

PxHere The sergeant was trying to pay attention to everything - how the men were moving into the trees, how the lieutenant was doing, and, most importantly, the enemy. To his satisfaction, the men weren't bunching up, the lieutenant appeared to have shaken his earlier jitters, and, again most importantly, the enemy wasn't in sight yet. As he moved up to his officer to tell him that this was a good place to set up, the young man  surprised him, calling out to the line of troops, "All right boys, settle in, mark your firing lanes, this is as good a spot as any to begin the battle ..read more

 Well Campers, isn't it a wonderful time to be alive?  I mean so much to wonder about in the world today.  For instance, what new word/phrase other than wonderful is the most powerful, smartest, politest man in the world who was ever elected in the cleanest election ever conducted in the history of mankind, gonna come up with today.   That's certainly a wonder...isn't it? That's not my cup of tea though.  I'm more interested in wondering about things from a Higher Power. As many of you realize there's going to be a total eclipse of the sun today.  I've seen a ..read more