John Kettler

In response to a CoC player wishing to depict the SPR US Airborne troops, one of hi fellow CoCers provided this link to a Leavenworth paper on selected Ranger combat ops. Regards, John Kettler

Thank goodness he did this at night when few cars were about! Imagine what could've happened in daylight on a main road at rush hour or Polish equivalent in a major city. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7155793/Drunk-driver-49-faces-eight-years-prison-taking-Soviet-Cold-War-era-TANK-spin.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ico=taboola_feed Regards, John Kettler

One of the CoC guys was trying to help someone modeling the French Army in Italy in 1944 and mentioned there was an article on it in LIFE magazine. Here is that article. Some of the pics are a bit gory, but the color photo series is of great value on a number of fronts. Also, this article has that pic we discussed quite some time ago of a Semovente da 75 mm outside an aid post with a bunch of Allied armor behind it. https://books.google.com/books?id=9VAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA55&dq=esperia&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj25uO7oPTiAhVJgK0KHX5uA5IQuwUINDAC#v=onepage&q=esperia&f=false Got it by way of a Google online full collection of LIFE magazine. https://books.google.com/books?id=N0EEAAAAMBAJ#all_issues_anchor Regards, John Kettler

When I was a boy, my father, who was an Electrical & Electronics Engineer, used to dismiss the non-hard science courses as "Basket Weaving & Canoe Tilting." Would've had a field day with this one, except it is actually considerably more demanding than the, er, soft courses mentioned. https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/disneyland-fanatics-can-now-take-a-college-course-on-the-theme-park-005459199.html Regards, John Kettler

Celebrity connections to royalty (who knew so many had them?) are fascinating. Especially intrigued by the one who's a descendant of Vlad the Impaler AKA Dracula. https://www.ibtimes.co.in/photos/15-celebrities-you-didnt-know-are-royal-19262-slide-109063 Is this the ultimate specialty chocolate? https://www.ibtimes.co.in/innovative-agricultural-scientist-bihar-develops-chocolate-baby-goats-799367 Regards, John Kettler

This one is like something out of "Beavis & Butthead," but it's true, or was when the survey was taken, though slightly understated. https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-1-10-americans-html-std-study-finds-20140304-story.html Regards, John Kettler

This is without a doubt the most incredible miniature wargaming story I've ever read. The industry has reached heights my mind can scarcely imagine, still less accept. CM IS ecrack, but for gamers who play minis this is... https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/jan/21/heroin-for-middle-class-nerds-how-warhammer-took-over-gaming-games-workshop?fbclid=IwAR1hTA4sH1VJYIeY-PNYnzhd-_QkXM4JYVPfxeyuidBeiTw7Qq0rDB8RmbM Regards, John Kettler

This was a real surprise for me, since it depicts something archaeologists and forensic pathologists haven't known about all that long, but the bones don't lie. The location of the stab into an artery to finish a gladiatorial foe is shown nicely on this statue I've never seen before. Regards, John Kettler

NOT an appropriate gift for an arachnophobe. Also, if you see a woman sitting in this, perhaps a high speed exit is in order? Regards, John Kettler

Andy, Impressive stupidity, but I've got an even more spectacular example. You say you don't keep your cat inside at night? http://newfeed.us/they-tracked-their-cats-with-gps-and-what-they-found-out-was-amazing/ Regards, John Kettler

Andy, The place once might have made a great secret lair, but now a zillion people have seen it. Will take your word on the Ditch Locking. Michael Emrys, You're starting to worry me, and I used to read the Funk & Wagnall's Dictionary (had a cool photo section with US WW II armor and aircraft) and Encyclopedia Americana when in the 4th Grade! Regards, John Kettler

This is from a dead Tumblr, but the caption read "anticlinal, sinclinal." Vague memory says it has to do with rock formations and their orientation. Regardless, I found the image arresting. Regards, John Kettler

Guys, Hands down, that was the weirdest propaganda I've ever seen, this from a man who read the translation of the Soviet math book We Receive New Rifles in which math problems are depicted with AK-47 and F1 grenade silhouettes!. Have a bunch of connections to that the Falklands/Malvinas War. Brother Ed wrote a Harpoon module called South Atlantic War. It was so deeply researched and comprehensive that the Naval War College bought 100 copies for use as textbooks. He owns the official Argentina war history, too, which is in Spanish. I got to see the CONFIDENTIAL War Office Falklands War doc shortly after the war at a model club in California. Have absolutely no idea (given protracted periods for UK declassification) how the person showing the film got it, but oh, was it juicy. My favorite bit came from the yomp the paras had to make after their helos went down on the Atlantic Conveyor. The RSM, the very model of fitness with essentially no fat on him, was the first to drop out because he had none to metabolize to keep him going. Great was the men's mirth over this. Another connection is that I took a SECRET level naval warfare course for industry in San Diego, and one of the instructors was an RN officer whose buddy was on HMS Galahad (believe I got that right), which took a 1000-pound bomb smack into the hull, but didn't detonate. Speculation was it it didn't explode because it was dropped so close it didn't arm. Many hours of excitement aboard an important vessel, though. Saw brief mention of oil as the real reason for the war, and the Rockefellers were named, but that was it. Recall Bush Senior offered up all kinds of justifications for the first Persian Gulf War but ultimately came clean, saying "It's about the oil." How many others have that as their veiled basis? Have seen some stuff along those lines regarding Syria, with a list of heavy hitters as investors, some familiar, others less so. RA in the Falklands/Malvinas War fired an average 1000 rounds per tube in the only battalion there. Rapier performance was overstated, and I believe the Blowpipe man-portable UK SAM got a kill. BLACK BUCK (Victor ultra long range bombing missions from Ascension Island) were most impressive), and we now know the US supplied tons of intel to the UK, together with the latest AIM-9L Sidewinder dogfight missiles which, unlike all their predecessors, were all-aspect, rather than rear attack only. Argentinian pilots were trained by the US Navy, too. Regards, John Kettler

Here's an important book on a topic of which I know but bits and pieces. Winning Latin America over was essential to Allied victory for a stack of reasons. Of particular interest to the CM players is that it goes into the Brazilian Army's fight against Hitler. https://www.wlrn.org/post/tango-war-why-america-had-win-latin-america-win-world-war-ii Regards, John Kettler

Never saw this 2017 story, but it certainly reinforces the whole Nazis went to Argentina case. https://www.wlrn.org/post/photos-trove-nazi-artifacts-uncovered-argentina Regards, John Kettler

Dream job for someone with the right credentials--while the rest of us drool. Lecturer in War Studies (Wargaming) at KIng's College London! https://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/BST558/lecturer-in-war-studies-wargaming?fbclid=IwAR02hvcS_fPmjc4HbA_H9TghbiVcc5iEGy6siCx7A7h8_HFLUcedFCGeRg0 Regards, John Kettler

Here's a fabulous infographic showing how truly massive the Normandy invasion really was. https://military.id.me/firepower/lets-never-forget-just-how-enormous-d-day-really-was/?utm_source=SOV&utm_medium=post&utm_content=kevin&utm_campaign=052516&fbclid=IwAR0OL5tvtAfIZn5XZSnlvy-bUKXZis7DEHNGav-xp-8_4jvtTyjySsao2Bo Regards, John Kettler

MIchael Emrys, Used to have the game, but never got that far. My friends rejected the game because the vital infantry side of things was viewed as an afterthought and the hit probabilities were low because there was no guidance on what effective range was. Fans of the Finns and/or FA will love this! Has a couple of spectacular videos. https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/a27663007/rocket-artillery-drone/ From the same magazine comes this brand new piece of Army next-gen rifles and squad weapons. Big changes ahead, both in electronics and the firearms proper. We're leaving 5.56 and going to 6.8 to defeat body armor at long range. Essential reading. https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/a27702571/next-generation-squad-weapon/ Regards, John Kettler

One of the guys over on the CoC FB group just built a 40 mm Bofors and crew. This tripped a synapse to my RoW fight "Tiger Valley" in which I M-Killed a Tiger 1 from the flank, unfortunately stranding it on the somewhat elevated railway, thus giving it excellent fields of fire for the duration of the scenario, since the crew didn't bail out but stayed and fought. That led me to this great Axis Forum thread where I was fascinated to learn the Germans classified it as DP (flak & ATG) and that the CW trained to use the Bofors against armor. Not only is there great info here on the Bofors vs armor but also new to me info on the 3.7-Inch vs armor. https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=194230&fbclid=IwAR3F41uFV9_6jy_va8AzPBMzBuiAVMjZb7aRGW5YmVA-Qku5nepW92E8W-E Regards, John Kettler

I checked this, and you can, too, on Amazon. There really is scented Duck tape! Regards, John Kettler

I've heard of expensive scotch, but this is beyond insane! A bottle of Scotch whisky fetched £848,000, or $1.1 million USD, at an auction on Wednesday smashing the world record. Distilled in 1926 and bottled in 1986, The Macallan Valerio Adami 1926 60-year-old, referred to as “The Holy Grail of whisky,” was auctioned by Bonhams in Edinburgh.What stands out with this bottle is the label’s artwork and the limited number produced. At the time, renowned pop artists Valerio Adami and Peter Blake were commissioned by Macallan to design labels for 24 bottles, with each artist contributing to 12 bottles. Adami, now 83, is an Italian painter best known for his bold and colorful imagery outlined by black lines.It’s unclear how many of those Macallan bottles are still in existence, but they’ve made headlines at other auctions.In May, a bottle of The Macallan Valerio Adami 1926 sold for £814,081, or $1.05 million USD, which was the world record at the time. At that same auction, a bottle of The Macallan Peter Blake 1926 sold for £751,703, or about $976,000 USD.“Its exceptional rarity and quality puts it in a league of its own, and the world’s most serious whisky collectors will wait patiently for many years for a bottle to come onto the market,” Bonhams Whisky specialist Martin Green said in a statement ahead of the auction.High net-worth investors have earned returns on investing in collectibles. Wealthy investors make so-called “passion investments” in things like fine wine, classic cars, musical instruments, rare books, jewelry, collectible stamps, gold, silver, gemstones, and other treasure assets.According to a recent report from Credit Suisse, ultra high net worth individuals on average have about 6% of their assets in these collectibles. And it turns out collectibles such as art, wine, and musical instruments have outperformed more traditional assets like cash and government bonds. The authors of the Credit Suisse report looked at collectibles with 118 years of data.Of the collectibles that had 118 years of data, the report found that wine was the best performer, with an inflation-adjusted price appreciation of 3.7% per year. Next we have something referred to as "aquatic cocaine" whose real name is totoaba, a fish on the verge of extinction because the Chinese are nuts about its swim bladder! Jonathan Garcia Pereda snapped a photo, the contraband glowing white in his smartphone. Mexican federal police had stopped a 28-year-old man from San Felipe at a checkpoint, discovering black plastic bags balled up in the tires. It appeared to be another familiar bust to the Mexican police, until they cut open the bags. Hong Kong bans the sale of totoaba, because it’s an endangered species. Perhaps the Hong Kong shop owner holding the picture was thinking of the law: Two weeks ago, he said he could sell totoaba. But on this second visit, he quoted the $100,000 price and urged us to shop elsewhere. At another store, a merchant pledged totoaba will help ease achy joints and soft tissues. The recommended way to ingest it? “Soup.” The only way to buy it? A lot of money. The Russian-made helicopter lifted off the ground of the Mexican naval base at San Felipe, a fishing village in Mexico’s Baja California. Aboard the helicopter were nearly a dozen sailors, some armed with semiautomatic rifles. The chopper made its way from dusty flatlands to the pristine blue waters of the Sea of Cortez. Just a few clicks north of San Felipe, the Colorado River meets the Gulf of California, where freshwater flows into the sea. It’s here, 5,019 square miles of the gulf, that is home to the totoaba’s nursery and spawning habitat. The Mexican military flies twice a day over this nursery, patrolling for poachers. Mexico’s government declared this area and 400 miles of coastline a protected habitat and off-limits to all fishing. But money is a more potent draw than the fear of arrest, with poachers making as much money from the bladders as they do from cocaine. That pound for pound profit is why observers dub the totoaba bladder “aquatic cocaine.” Shortly after taking off, the pilot spots a giant net in the protected coastline. It’s is an illegal totoaba net, hidden until poachers can drop the 2 kilometer-long net in the gulf to trap totoaba. Nine sailors, heaving and sweating, pull the heavy net aboard the chopper. The captain of the mission lifts a corner of the net. “The holes are 12 inches wide,” he said. “It’s used specifically to fish totoaba illegally. The head gets stuck, and it suffocates. It’s dangerous to the totoaba, but it’s also the main killer of the vaquita.” Regards, John Kettler

Many years ago NOVA built a full scale trebuchet and fired it on a small portion of a representative Medieval wall. Here is another one, but the trebuchet is already built, and action proceeds from there. Range is deliberately constrained because in the festival there will be people at grave risk if the firing distance is much greater than the target. The projectile is relatively light. The sling is ridiculous in design. Please see the second vid for what it should look like. Notice also there is no trough for the sling to ride in until it clears the trebuchet. That trough can be moved a bit to adjust the point of strike. For comparison, here's the NOVA trebuchet firing a far heavier projectile, from a proper sling to something like actual combat range, and this shot series is nowhere close to max range, because the counterweight box isn't full, and the trajectory is flattish instead of more like 45 degrees. Regards, John Kettler

Michael Emrys, That has to be one of the all time great and wholly unexpected punchlines! Here is something for print nerds, I think. Am fairly sure the pants mimic part of the Pantone color system. Exercise is where you find it. Regards, John Kettler

Hadn't the faintest idea what this was when I saw it. Turns out it's a Victorian period fortune telling exploding box. Sourced from a Tumblr called inthefollies Here, though is something truly extraordinary and appalling. ramirezbundydahmer: When the Nazi concentration camps were liberated by the Allies, it was a time of great jubilation for the tens of thousands of people incarcerated in them. But an often forgotten fact of this time is that prisoners who happened to be wearing the pink triangle (the Nazis’ way of marking and identifying homosexuals) were forced to serve out the rest of their sentence. This was due to a part of German law simply known as “Paragraph 175” which criminalized homosexuality. The law wasn’t repealed until 1969. Bizarre as the below pic looks, it also is similar to an actual CIA technique used to smuggle compromised agents out of denied areas. Regards, John Kettler

As fashion (in this case, frat boy) goes, this is pretty tame, but I still don't get it. In fact, I find it bizarre. Regards, John Kettler