REVS

Some good letters to the editor here in my local paper in Sydney from very old Londoners who remember the looting during the Blitz in WWII. It was a major problem back then, and it seems not a lot has changed. It's just another British sport.

I've had CMBN since soon after its release, and I still haven't got into it at all. I just don't have the time either to learn it, or to play it. It seems cumbersome to me. Overly detailed. Clunky. It feels like a much "bigger" game to administer, with lots more micro-management of units. And so it's the time-consuming nature of the game which has led me to decide not to bother with it for the meantime. It looks nice, but as a Mac user it has also been annoyingly buggy so far, and that hasn't helped either. I'll come back in six months, download patches 2,3,4 and 5, and see what happens.

I'm in the 'not enjoying it' group. A few reasons... 1. I don't have the time to do all the extra micro-managing that these troops and vehicles seem to require, just to get from A to B and start shooting, let alone all the other carp. 2. Even the small quick battles are too big and have too many units, for my liking. 3. Some PBEM game turns are very big files, and with a regular email opponent of mine in a backwoods area with a slow connection, they basically aren't an option for us, so we're sticking with CM1 until our Government rolls out cable broadband to his backwood. The scenery sure looks nice, but the sight of all those AFVs and trucks bouncing on their soft suspensions makes me feel like all the vehicles are French Citroens in disguise. However, my main problem is that the game demands too much of my time, and I have a lot of work to do, a dozen other hobbies and interests that also take up my time very enjoyably, and I'm afraid that CM1, despite its over-familiarity and drawbacks, uses up just the right amount of spare time that I have available.

I just dropped in here to see what was happening in this thread, and here's Magpie Oz carrying on about the Australia Post thing from the 'My Steelbook Experience' thread, just like he's one of those poor Japanese soldiers stuck on a lonely Pacific Island in the 1950s, still fighting on, not aware that the war is over. It's over, Magpie Oz. You lost the war. Steve was wrong, but he'll never apologise. Ever. The war is over. Stop shooting. Besides, take pity on him. His dollar isn't worth...even an Aussie dollar anymore. He's almost in a Third World economy these days and so no wonder he has economic grievances. It's a touchy subject with these third world guys.

Australia Post used to be a Government body but these days it's a money-making venture with a growing reputation for not only price-gouging, but also very poor treatment of its delivery workforce, many of whom are contractors who are struggling to make a living. Now, the Australian Productivity Commission, which is a 100% Government outfit, is looking into claims made by eBay and other companies that Australia Post is charging excessive fees for deliveries both within Australia and also overseas. Here's a recent news item on what Australia Post is up to. http://www.crikey.com.au/2011/06/08/are-we-being-gouged-on-delivery-as-well/

As I posted earlier in this thread, I got my Steelbook this week in the mail and it seemed OK. But I was busy with work and didn't have time to check the package carefully, as I had already successfully installed it on my home-office iMac via the download method. Today, I finally had time to check out the contents of the Steelbook box carefully, and all it lacks is the activation code! I still have the whole package, the padded bag, paperwork, the lot. Looked everywhere, through each page of the manual, and I can't find an activation code anywhere. Is it on a sticker, a tiny slip of paper, a sheet of paper? I am sure it wasn't included. So, I've emailed sales@battlefront about it and expect a reply tonight, but I was just wondering if anyone else has had this problem?

Well, ironies delivered by post today. The Steelbook/box arrived without a scratch, mint condition: shipped May 24, delivered June 6 to Sydney Australia. A quick look at the controversial print job on the book (it wasn't as bad as I expected –*I've seen much worse), but I prefer the pdf version anyway. So the Steelbook is going straight into the bookshelf, and staying there to no doubt acquire enormous collectable value. Unfortunately, in the same delivery was another parcel, a 1:72 diecast Tiger Tank model bought on eBay from that reputable source, Bulgaria. The shoebox packaging wasn't quite up to the Bulgaria-Australia route, and was 'somewhat crushed'. Inside, the plastic outer box around the model was smashed in several pieces. But the Tiger tank? Mint condition still. It may no longer be "Mint in Box" but thanks to that excellent plastic armour the Tiger is ready for action.

I haven't received mine yet, but I've downgraded my expectations to Foilbook.

Hang in there Gautrek, give it time. I'm slowly getting used to the new game, and it's taking time, but I definitely get the sense that I'm becoming better at moving the camera (the really difficult thing to learn, for me) each time I open it up, not to mention understanding the new ways of giving orders, moving, etc etc. Meanwhile, I'm still playing CMAK and CMBB via PBEM, while I slowly learn the new game. I don't expect to completely switch over to CMBN-only for a few more months, until I am truly comfortable with the new game, and my regular PBEM opponent is, too.

Greetings all. Same story as many old timers here. Mac user. Not interested in CMSF at all, but still playing CMAK/CMBB all the time in PBEM against just one opponent, a very old mate of mine. Ever tried thick fog at dawn? It's deadly! Looking forward to the new game though. WWII is my kind of wargame.

"SLAP, Junior Member, Join Date: Jun 2001, Location: Scottish Borders, Posts: 16" Says "Hi. Still lurking. Bye." Chatterbox!

Wow, the old recipe thread. Greetings to all the old stagers, such as Mr Emrys, Hakko and all the other good recipe threaders. Hope you're all doing fine. I just dropped by here after a many-month absence to see if there was any life in the old GF village, and I noticed this good old thread dragged out, dusted off, coated with flour, egg and breadcrumbs and pan-fried till golden-brown. So a new recipe, to kick things along - tomato rice with spinach. In the many local Vietnamese restaurants where I live here in Sydney, they all serve Tomato Rice as a side dish. This is something I cooked the other night, naturally enough, as a side dish. Tomato rice with spinach 1 tablespoon light vegetable oil 1 small onion, finely chopped 1 teaspoon paprika (sweet, mild) 1 cup (220g) basmati rice 1 tablespoon tomato paste 2 cups (500mL) vegetable stock 50g baby (or chopped large) spinach leaves Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat, until soft. Add the paprika and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds, then stir in the rice and cook for 1 minute, until coated with the spice mixture. Stir in the tomato paste, then the stock. Cover and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to very, very low and cook, tightly covered, for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat, uncover briefly to add the spinach on top, then put the lid back on, let it all stand, still covered, for 10 minutes more. Mix through the wilted spinach, and serve.

As a vertigo sufferer, I lasted about 35 seconds into that video, then I quit. Does anyone have any live explosives juggling videos instead? Or tiger wrestling? I can handle those.

That blue Delahaye is one oddball mish-mash of nice and ugly. Like you, I prefer the Talbot-Lago, but I wouldn't say 'no' to the silver Delahaye, either.

Speaking of fishtail exhaust pipes, I came across this at You Tube yesterday. A nice old Guzzi Falcone, just idling away the time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9HPYYz7Ddc