Archive for September 26, 2009

Broadside and the making of a history fan

Posted: September 26, 2009 by datechguy in hobbies
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One of the first games I remember playing was called Broadsidebroadside box It was a game of the war of 1812 and had an unique game system for it’s time (1962).

First of all The players have unequal forces. Half of the British Fleet consist of Ships of the Line and Frigates only 40% of the American fleet consists of Frigates and they have no ships of the line and a further 40% can be sunk with a single broadside.

Next there are different advantages The Americans control shore batteries and know the locations of Shoals that can sink any ship, the British must attack through one of two harbor entrances both swept by guns.

Finally the victory conditions are different: The British must sink the 4 Merchant ships in the harbor. The Americans must sink the ENTIRE British fleet WITHOUT losing their entire merchant fleet. war of 1812

The game is a lot of fun and I still play it with my son once in a while. And it also came with a booklet on the Navel history of the War of 1812. This was the first history book I ever read and began a love affair with history that endures to this day and that my youngest has embraced to a lesser degree.

With the exception of Battle Cry (A simply AWFUL Civil war game, turned me off it for decades) all the games in the American Heritage series sparked my interest in history and led me on my path. (I never managed to get Hit the Beach but my Father served in the pacific in WW 2 so I didn’t need prompting there.)

So if you wonder why I’m constantly quoting historical events, now you know.

According to Charles, he has lost the fight:

Posted: September 26, 2009 by datechguy in Uncategorized
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While looking through lgf to find his opposition to Trig Trutherism. (Thumbs up on that one Charles!) I stumbled upon something interesting, the LGF Dictionary

Whatever one might thing of Charles behavior lately it can’t be denied that he has been an important figure in the blogosphere and going through the dictionary is like a glimpse through it’s history.

However there is also this gem:

racist – A statement of surrender during an argument. When two people or disputants are engaged in an acrimonious debate, the side that first says “Racist!” has conceded defeat. Synonymous with saying “Resign” during a chess game, or “Uncle” during a schoolyard fight. Originally, the term was meant to indicate that one side was accusing the other of being racist, but once it was noticed that people only resorted to this tactic when all other arguments had been exhausted, it acquired its new meaning of “indicating one’s own concession of defeat.”

By his own definition he has been conceding an awful lot of arguments lately.

What was that Alinsky rule again?

… most of all, make them live by their own rules. If you make them live by their own rules, you destroy them. And never forget that ridicule is man’s most potent weapon. Comedy is our friend.– from Saul Alinksy’s “Rules for Radical Comedians.”

Maybe he was riding without a helmet and took a fall affecting long term memory or something?

Of course there is no entry for Raaaaacist in there.

That’s worth a Nelson award

The media steps in it again

Posted: September 26, 2009 by datechguy in internet/free speech, opinion/news
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The main stream media continues to walk into the perfect storm.

First they miss the Van Jones stuff:

THEN they stall and miss the Acorn story.

And now we see the G20 protests.

After two weeks of the media and their new found friends attacking the 9/12 protesters as dangerous racists, ACTUAL dangerous protesters of the left attack police and close business in a US city.

Any of these things individually might not have made a difference but their combined effect over consecutive weeks have driven people to the coverage to see what is going on.

May Catherine Ham is all over this:

Via Caleb Howe, here’s how the HuffPo (as a symbol for left-leaning media and pundits, alike) treated the Tea Party protesters, who perpetrated barely three acts of documented violence in August and zero documented acts of violence, property damage, or arrests on 9/12, despite a gathering of hundreds of thousands of protesters in the capital.

Wherefore the wringing of hands and overwrought newscasts about the future of our very nation? Guess it’ll take more than a measly 66 arrests, some damaged businesses, barrels and rocks thrown at law enforcement, setting fire to posters, and parading around like anarchists before the media starts worrying. If only there had been someone there with a rude sign about Obama…

But the media is on it:

Pittsburgh heaved a sigh of relief Friday as thousands of people streamed through the streets of the city in a peaceful protest march against the leaders of the world’s top economies.

Waving banners and chanting slogans, the crowd stretched out of sight as people made their way down the city streets lined by black-clad riot police, still tense after the previous night’s violent anti-G20 protests.

The G20 represents the leaders of the world’s most powerful economies and the group’s summits attract a motley crowd of anti-globalisation activists and anarchists opposed to what they see as its inhumane free market policies.

According to security forces there were up to 4,500 marchers, but Peter Shell, president of the Thomas Merton Center which helped organize the march, estimated the number at twice that.

“When I was looking back at the bottom of Oakland, the crowd went back eight to 10 blocks, and you can get 1,000 people in every block,” Shell told AFP.

“It was the biggest protest march in Pittsburgh since the 1970s protests against Vietnam.”

As the marchers massed at the top of Fifth Avenue, a riot policeman rapped his baton hard against his shinguards, making a hollow thud with every tap.

“They’re itching for a fight,” said a bystander. “This is really an excessive show of police force. Pittsburgh is a welcoming place.”

How stupid do they think we are?

The evidence Andrew Sullivan has been waiting for!

Posted: September 26, 2009 by datechguy in fun, oddities
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Here is the missing piece to the Trig Truther puzzle!

The pregnancy is believed to be a case of a rare condition known as superfetation, or conceiving while pregnant.

The pregnancy may sound weird, but it is possible, according to NBC’s Dr. Nancy Snyderman.

This is the moment that Andrew has been waiting for! (via Glenn)

Fun Riddle for the day:

Q: How do you know when you have really gone over the deep end?

A: When Robert Stacy McCain and Charles Johnson can BOTH look at you and laugh!