Desert Dave

Rambo : I think your most recent post -> is a VERY important one. In fact, I think you should start a new thread on this very topic. It would be good to hear what everyone thinks about how the series has progressed from beginning to just lately. Could be it would give Hubert a fresh sense of how the games are improving, or not, and in what ways. Perhaps alter a few things he's currently working on WRT Global? I don't know, but still, it would be helpful, IMO. ------------------------ JJ! Thanks for the encomium! Only trouble being... it was so impressively written that NOW I cannot EVER post again without sounding as though I have -> lost it! Whatever it was I used to have back when! Whereas, I myself provided YOU with plenty of wriggle room, IE -> ----------------------------------------------------------- Ist SC Cat: Man, that Jersey, what a great post yesterday! 2nd SC Cat: Well, that's no surprise, BUT... what was all that about Ludwig the Mad King of Bavaria marrying MOZART's 3rd cousin and the offspring got orphaned somehow and ended up a Hessian? Who went to America and fought the Red-Coats at the Kennedy Compound in Hyannis? Can that be right? Sounds a little off-the-trodden-path to me in certain respects, especially that Kennedy part. 1st SC Cat: I think he's right on, but... no bother, you know what they say about JJ, you gotta read between the lines two-thirds of the time, so... let's mull it over, think about it, and like a fine wine, give it some more time. 2nd SC Cat: Yeah. that'll work. But that Desert Dave, for crying out loud! WHATEVER has happened to him? He just doesn't write good stuff as he used to do, know what I mean? 3rd SC Cat: Yep, I agree with you 2 guys, DD has LOST IT, what a shame. The child is gone, the dream is gone, he's old & doddering & seems, oh I don't know - cantankerous, and pretty much out of it now. In a way, it's REALLY too bad, well whatever. Least we got JJ to rely on!

JJ is... a savant. He is a boardwalk raconteur. He is a chess-player who could look Bobby Fischer dead smack in the eye and not flinch. He has been here a while, and has an ungodly # of great posts and PICS and stories. He is also the kind of Cat you need to be able to... read between the lines. As with almost every good writer, there you will discover oh, 60-80% of his meaning. As above quote will substantiate, he can hold TWO (2) opposing thoughts in his mind at the same time. Fitzgerald told us that was the sign of creative wisdom. I concur.

LOL! Well Snowstorm, and perhaps alack-alas, but this is NOT the ONLY thread that I myself intend to be "off-topic" in. Hasn't worked out thatta way since ought-two, and likely won't in '09 or '10 neither. Here I para-phrase Nietzsche (... one of the few genuine geniuses we've ever had in the Western tradition): "Without Follies and Criminals, you've got a society that is really righteously fricked up." And, adding-in a similar kind of off-the-wall cat - Sig Freud, we get: "All this anal-retentiveness is going to cause some MASSIVE flight to the outhouses, let me tell ya." Oh, paraphasing is fun! Like strobing the zeitgeist on the inside of yer mind... an Oliver Stone flick without the eye-kicking flicker, sure, a Plato parable without the shadow of reality dancing on the cave-walls, and etc. Well, that's the bottom line for me anyhow - HAVING FUN! What else, all things considered, IS there?

Yep, fine idea. 1) Temporary supply port might be needed at this global scale since, for one instance the GErmans could fortify the few cities/towns on the narrower north coast of France? 2) Engineers constructing OTHER things - > I've always been in favor of. The "major airport" being one. I'd have it where the MAJOR airport would allow increased supply, so that the particular type could be more effective in combat. Given the "squeeze" due to the reduced scale, this MIGHT be useful here and now? 3) Wouldn't mind seeing the Engineer also able to build a "supply cache." This would be a TEMPORARY sprite which would allow INCREASED (... supply, and maybe also morale) build-up in prep for an OFFENSIVE, say -> in or near Stalingrad, or in reverse, when the Russians are shoving back @ Kursk. These could be added to the right-click drop-down menu? **May be TOO micro for this Global, and I'd not argue that too vehemently.. but these additional Engineer-abilities would surely be welcome in any number of scenarious that might be spun off from this new game. 4) Not least, and one of Rambo's faves IIRC... Engineer could build bridges over the rivers. Again, MOST apropos WRT those large scale scenarios that will no doubt! Soon enough be forth coming.

Here, speaking forth in this quote, is -> "Most Nefarious Foe!" So called since he usually (... ah, could be - he'd say - ALWAYS! But... I say nix to that!) beat me like a bongo drum in our H vs H games. Which reminds me... Hubert has darn near perfected that there game function where you can play other peeps by way of the NET. Where are you - hardly ever! defeated... TERIF! Rambo is needing - like me - to be thrashed once again!

Snowstorm: X-tremely well stated. Yep, anybody who wishes to can start another thread. They can IGNORE anything they don't care for, rather than denigrating - and IMO all too often, on a personal level - someone who writes something they don't like. Given that them there name-calling kind of dudes are usually bullies and cowards, know what I mean? LOL! Tossing off glib or facile one-liners? That's fine, that's alright. But, how about some commentary on the game as well? I myself enjoy reading off-topic stuff, whether that be biographical or humorous or, even, something that is... unpopular with the majority. Yegads! Imagine that! Nefarious! Diabolical!! THERE... IS... NO... MAJORITY here. Old-timers are NOT better or more-informed than newbies. Nope, no way. EVERYONE is equal in status, and should NOT HESITATE to pitch in their 2 cents worth... or, their yen, their ruble, drachma, mark, pound or peso. This is not a hoity-toity debating club. We should not be discussing-to-death and parsing-to-pieces... EVERY TINY IOTA of conversation. For instance, and to revisit a recent related folly in a fresh gestalt (... which included me as participant, sure! I CAN BE dumb and ignorant as anybody, when I put my mind to it!, LOL!) NOHOW! are we remotely worried about who was the better "historian," Thuycdides or Herodotus. LOL! I recall that being one of the raging topics when I spent my lone lonely year in the treacherous ack! climes of "academia." Ludicrous, absurd and self-regarding were those who supposed that they ALONE knew which of these 2 Greeks was... the "Father of History." [briefly -> Thuycdides (... most famous for recording the wars between Athens & Sparta) TRIED to use what is now called the "scientific-method," IE, relying on the aggregation of FACTS based on eye-witness accounts, and focusing on what was political and even moreso, what was the military perspective. Herodotus (... known mostly for recounting the Persian Wars) is said to have primarily believed in history as a series of moral lessons/hazards, and included in his treatment -> myth/fable, and anecdotal accounts - as opposed to Thuycdides who disdained that approach in favor of "visible phenomena."] Here is the crux: Thucydides does not feel the NEED to CITE sources. Herodotus tried to. Upshot: NEITHER of these 2 old Greek cats is the "father" of nothing! Each contributed in his OWN way. In his OWN fashion. Hey! News flash! It's all good, man, it's ALL part of the EVER changing, but always magnificent pastiche! And, I must add -> NOBODY in here needs to cite ANYTHING, other than -> their own brain. I say - all you lurkers and plain folks who are hesitant to thow in yer ideas, suggestions, comments or WHATEVER which is -> sorta or almost or close enough! Relevant to this here SC X-travaganza, PLEASE -> get on in here! and fear not ANY of those who would "diss" you (... dismiss, disregard, dislike, disdain, etc) because -> quite simply, THEY (and I) don't know... the "real deal" any more than YOU do. See what I mean? Let's hear that strut, the onward claw and jaw-JUT, and that A-rousing rat-a-tat-tat tat! from the... BOOTS ON THE GROUND!

Hate to see you go. ---------------------------- On a personal note (... ooops, forgot to get Kuni's APPROVAL for what I might write, drat! Maybe, just - MAYBE, next time) say John, I sent you a couple of EM's -- one awhile back when you had sent me an EM - remember that one? Telling me about your move to Florida, and some other serious matters as well, and then again here about a week ago. Did you get BOTH of them... reason I wonder, I didn't hear back. Well, I do have a new EM address, since I've finally! Upgraded to broad-band. Anyway, hope all is well and you are enjoying your new locale - quite a change from "Joisey" and the Big Apple, eh?

Hey thanx X-ww -> for that fabulous PIC! Looks like the very same item I once discovered beneath my bed... then the one-on-one party in the night... all too soon became the head-holding groaning! Of the morning. Yep, much of the champagne had even been drunk -> from that very stiletto-heel shoe! I also recall the back-seam sheer stockings which merely came to mid-thigh, and were attached with little clips that I never could figure out how to un-latch! LOL! Well, those were different days entirely! Anyway, I have got the PERFECT complement to your PIC, and I'll try to find it and post it up tomorrow.

arado234: Good point! Your reminder of Ultra... and in fact, all - including the alternate convoy lanes - of these ideas have been bandied about and considered and re-re-considered, both in here and in the Beta forums, over these many years. Not sure if Hubert is inclined to initiate any of the more complex changes to his magic-majestic schematics this late in the game, since so very many people have already been clamoring for this new game! And well they should! It's... really... sweet! Say, like a young lovelies' slow steady smile once you have undertaken - and done complete! Some truly astonishing feat!

H v Strachwitz: Thanks for elaborating. Visited Frankfurt am Main 3 or 4 times. My Dad was stationed in - first, Pirmasens for 2 years, then Kaiserslautern for another year and a half. I was barely becoming a teenager then, and was quite impressionable. Among my impressions (1959 - '63): 1) Struck nearly senseless by the lush & undulant GREEN landscape, which likely was caused by 2) It rained every day, twice a day in the Spring time 3) The GErman Volk were sometimes indifferent, occasionally resentful, but more often than not, friendly-enough to all of us... "Ami's" 4) We used to take the long winding paths up the hills to visit those long-standing castles; we'd stop half-way and I distinctly remember drinking some ambrosia called "Cinzano" 5) Also got all over Western Europe and to this day am grateful that I was able to "inhale" some totally different cultures than my own... tho, didn't get to England, which I regret, since half of my genetic make-up is Welsh; the other half being GErman, and I recall that my beloved grandfather (... whose homestead Ohio home was foreclosed by obnoxious bankers back in the first Great Depression, but I think I already mentioned that) told me tales of blatant - and at times outright violent - discrimination against those who were... "krauts." That, along with the beatings of black folk by sweating-ugly police, that I personally witnessed as a young man - when we lived in Alabama, USA, has, to this day -> made me QUITE fervent in my deliberated intention to stick up for ALL minorities who are attacked by the majority. That, I attribute partly to time spent living in Europe. BTW: In one of those towns, Pirmasens or K-town, I distinctly recall seeing this HUGE BOOT - oh, musta been 40 feet tall, atop some shoe-makers' shop. Is it still there, do you know? Well, that guy surely knew how to advertise! LOL!

Ludi: Here is an X-tremely brief bio of Dr. Pimlott, obtained by googling, which I know how to do, and -> akin to saying my ABC's, I say, I say... now! I've done my ABC's (googles), watchu watchu think of me!! : ------------------------------------------------------- John Pimlott is Senior Lecturer in the Department of War Studies at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, England. He is the author of many works on the Second World War and coauthor of "Strategy and Tactics of War." ---------------------------------------------- Nowhere on ANY sites I just recently visited RE: Pimlott's pitiful little research effort, did I come across... ONE SINGLE SYLLABLE, even, that would lead me to believe that... "Time-Life"... had ANYTHING to do with this publication. Or, you are just using this as a sly & snide way to dismiss my (... admittedly modest) input WRT the BoA. Why I gotta wonder? Would you continue to relate that there... Time-Life falsehood? Really. You wish to appear MORE scholastic than I? No problemo, Senor - I GIVE you that, as I am MOSTLY concerned - on this sort of forum with... simply following the vapor trail of whatever stray eidolon might dance strangely roam-antic, somewhere in the vast and (largely unreachable) crannies & crevices of my brain. It is a failing to some folks I expect, whereas others don't seem to mind much at'all. You know Ludi, I am inordinately thrilled! That you've taken the time & effort to write about those things that you seem to know to a fair thee well. No. MORE than excited, I am ecstatic. I have read all. I am EVER pleased to increase my poor SW American-fellaheen kind of knowledge. Thank you! If I think of something else, I'll stick it on here!

LOL! Whoa -> Idaho Ivanho! You are on a roll! A donut roll with no hole! OOoops, sorry, didn't mean to illume forth one of yer weaker aspects... finding the h... oh, never mind, time for a nap!

Taking all of my above posts into account, my take is a teensy tiny bit longer than, so far anyhow, YOUR take. Know what I mean? I don't recall reading - now let me pause and go back and have a good long re-look... nope, don't see where you've mentioned ANYTHING about the topic @ hand.

I don't know about Hyazinth's current Stadt, but I see way-WAY too many of these right here in Desert City. Perhaps it is? The corporate honchos @ KBR, or Bechtel, or maybe them Blackwater cats?Played the W Street game and used instant-intervention trading (... where you keep track of where the $$$ is being invested and get in there! A nano-second before closing) or even de-regged derivatives, to corner the market on these antenna-sort of trucks? Hell, I don't know, you tell me.

Very clever about yer handle - I didn't snap to that! Excuse me, but... where in dickens do you get this "Time-Life" razz-ma-tazz, bitte schoene? Yah! Pimlott has never heard of you, neither! LOL! Here you go -> the Copyright, 1995 for the nation of Canada (... the 1st edition printed in England, BTW): -------------------- Swanston Publishing Limited Published by Fitzhenry & Whiteside Ltd. 195 Allstate Parkway, Markham, Ontario L3R 4T8 --------------------------------- As for the rest of yer info, I suppose I could take yer solemn word on it's lasting veracity, (... since you've not cited sources) but, that's not usually how I do it. I'm sure, however, given that you are well-spoken and commit parsimonious amounts of grammatical errors, it is sure likely to be in accord with... SOMEONE'S historical gestalt/paradigm. Yep, reducing the SB spotting range to be precisely that of the NB, IE, 2, (... as I originally recommended in top-most post in this thread) is a good work-around until something better might be discovered and implemented. [... I would put a smiley-face immediately following the word "implemented," but, as mentioned in prior post, I cannot fathom how it is done; when I click on the particular icon, it always appears @ the top, and never in the text. I've fiddled with it and yet cannot solve it. My "ludite" skills are in arrears - alas, WHATEVER the years!]

Upon further review: I note [... very same Pimlott book... well, I like this one, and would recommend it to ANY scenario-maker!] that there are "very many" convoy kills all along the eastern seaboard of USA and Canada. ~ 60, as I don't care to count every indicated "tittle & dot" that denotes a U-boot kill. So... how can we BETTER replicate the BoA? Given that USA likely has TOO EXTENSIVE air coverage, not to mention that SB assigned to Canada early in the game? We can't. We NEED some OTHER WAY to solve this. Also, I count 20 + convoy kills - in 1943 no less, between Iceland and UK. Hmmmm. Down around Puerto Rico and Venezula I count OVER 30 "dots." Indicating convoy kills. Now, Pimlott is not the ONLY research cat out there, no! Not by a jot or a lot! But, who cares to get into all that internecine brawling that is the hallmark of entrenched scholars? Not I Popeye, nope, not I! [... tried it for a year and while I liked the kids, I couldn't stomach the horrid wars in the back offices! LOL!)

First - and most important! Is your screen name derived from the Herman Hesse novel - "Magister Ludi?" AKA: The Glass Bead Game. Recently re-read "Steppenwolf" and was charmed all over again by Harry Haller's visit to the Magic Theater. Now, down to brass tacks... I have been looking over "The Historical Atlas of WW II" [... John Pimlott, copyright 1995, Holt & Co, NY, NY] and I note the number of estimated kills in the Bay of Biscay, and it appears to be... ~ 6. However, most of those are due NW of the coast of Spain, probably about 4 or 5 "tiles" distant from coast of France. Well, yep, that is more than... ZERO, so either my memory is playing Hessian-esque tricks on me, or my old source is inaccurate. OTOH, there are NONE anywhere near any Axis ports, and so this all might well be a case of "relative distances?" No? Well, yes, perhaps it IS so. In one sense, I conclude -> NO U-boots were EVER sunk... in the near vicinity of their port. --------------------------------- Following, some other methodology we might consider: 1) If we take your number of 34 U-boots sunk (... appreciating that it is not yet verified) then we need to use a RATIO. How many times did a single solitary U-boot enter and leave port during the entire course of the convoy wars? Then, contrast that number - and I have absolutely no idea how we might arrive at, even, an approximate #, but I would guess it would be a large # - with your number of 34, or my number which is 6 , or the average of 20 -> take yer pick. You would then have a SMALL % - oh, surely less than 5%? I myself would estimate, oh, less than 1% 2) Given that ratio, and you need not do so, I can easily see why very many esteemed game-makers (... who've stood the test of time) have quite simply... allowed the U-boots to be placed in the convoy zones, with NO possiblity of interception. For just 2, I am considering the creators of WiFE, and J Prados' "new Third Reich." The original 3R and then, A3R, merely abstracted the BoA, as we know. Anyway, why do you suppose that these makers would have it where U-boots need not "run the gauntlet" and could simply be situated in the convoy zones? I am assuming, of course, that they had done their research. Most all else that they portrayed seems reasonably accurate, so would they not also ponder long & hard... WRT this U-boot vs ASW theatre? UPSHOT: I am now standing @ parade-rest, corrected! It could not have been ZERO U-boots sunk to & from port/sub-pens. Again, DEPENDING UPON "relative distance" from port. Won't be the last time I am "a little off" but I DO appreciate when someone takes the time to correct the record. Reducing ignorance is ALWAYS a fine thing! ------------------------------------------------- Back to my original suggestion RE: BoA. There was NOT consistent "umbrella coverage" of the sea area between Iceland and UK, until February of 1943. [Pimlott's book, page 102] That was when RAF Coastal Command deployed 30 long-range Liberators. Therefore, in SC game terms, having the pincer-effect of SB in Iceland and the UK SB which can be moved to very north of Scotland, is questionable. Solution? Again, I would find a way to reduce/restrict the "spotting ability" of aircraft flying over "deep-sea" type tile areas. Your idea of reducing "spot-ability" the further out you go, is a viable one. Though, coding issues may prove insurmountable with that particular idea. However it is done... IS done - at a higher pay-grade than mine. ***************** Sad to note: Yeah, I am VERY "tech-challenged" I admit, as I simply cannot figure HOW the incredibly slight allotment of "emoticons" might be attached to the text. Sure, EVERYONE on planet earth and way out on Arcturus too! Knows how to do this, but, alas, I do not. Can someone explicity tell me how it is done? Thanks! [... no doubt once I see how easy it is, I'll smack my forehead, but, at this latter date, that's no harm]

Thanks Brad, you have, quite literally, provided me... a LIFT, with that there Tex kind of "amicable bear hug!" Hope you are yet surfing those raucous rowdy Gulf Coast Waters! Just read this morning about 50 foot waves! Out Hawaii way! Maybe we oughta unlink Hubert from SC-HQ and the 3 of us grab the boogie boards and hop a jet-plane to Honolulu? Well, sure, you are the only CHEMIST I know of who can - with equal skill - traverse two different sorts of... "pipelines." I realize we (... and JJ and JDF and others) have been discussing this very subject for, oh, 5 or 7 years or more. It's not easy to balance the IDEAL with the PRACTICAL, true enough! --------------------- LUDI: Perhaps you are correct about the sinking of U-boots in Bay of Biscay; your sources seem sound. There may indeed have been some casualties there late in the war, but up to now I've never heard tell. My apparent lack of scholastic preciseness is sometimes not any hindrance to -> my "flights of fancy!" Then again, my own reading on this and related topics is fair extensive and I yet stand by my own (... albeit, quickly recalled) comment about NO U-boots being sunk navigating to/from port. I'll try to locate MY source, and I assure it wasn't no hokey and "fly by night" site like "Wikipedia." I am thinking, thinking... it was Liddel Hart, and so, I'll get around to re-vistiting my extensive library of WW2 books here one day soon. Too, there's always the chance that my material is dated, and not properly amended. Who knows? Hmmm... perhaps it was? I read a "rabid and partisan" account - written by a swashbuckling U-boot Commander - in Fall of 1940? LOL!

Very much appreciate the following new features. The Battle of the Atlantic is on! One of the first wargames I played was AH's 60's classic -> War at Sea, and it was simple but great fun! 1) OK, we now have the ability to measure (... and adjust, and re-adjust) the effectiveness of the U-boots. That new! Expanded reports dialog will surely make it MUCH easier to determine how that campaign is going, at any point in the war, and from either side. 2) RAIDERS! Man, is this feature a sight for sore eyes! I realize that - in toto - the GErman raiders did not account for a very high percentage of convoy kills, but I've ever believed that EACH little added aspect (... such as the Katyusha rocket-trucks in the land campaign) that conforms to WW2 history is a benefit and hardly a hindrance. NOW there is some reason for the Axis player to actually send Bismark or CA Eugen into the convoy lanes. Not merely to raid themselves, but to fend off the potential UK response. Should REALLY make this theatre quite the "cat & mouse" game! Hooray! Hubert! 3) Convoy supply silhouettes at appropriate Ports is a grand idea, and kudos to whoever put this feature - in there! Tho... I can't foresee the cirucumstance that any Axis player would shadow the mid-coast around Liverpool. Which brings up a comment: I would suggest having the "spotting range" for SB's reduced to match that of the naval bombers. Why? In ALL my games thus far - and that's quite a few, I usually was dismayed that the SB in Iceland (... or that one in tandem with the one assigned to UK @ start) would so easily locate subs - and now surface ships! Yay again! - that would attempt to travel from Norway, say, out into the high seas. Yep, I appreciate that "fog/rain and storms" do allow for some occasional passage. However, thinking on it... a couple things come to mind: a) Correct me if mistaken, but I remember reading that there was NOT ONE, no not one single U-boot... was EVER sunk when going to or from port/sub-pens. Coastal air recon is not nearly the same as hi-altitude SB's TRYING to spot some tiny little ship in that VAST ocean expanse. There is a reason why ships are painted mostly in hues of gray and not, let's say, red or orange or yellow. Upshot: I think it best to reduce spotting for SB's. Can be done - in the best EDITOR that I've seen ANYWHERE, and I've played 'em all almost, but I'd recommend for the standard game as well. Or... and this may require too much re-coding... perhaps have it where EACH non-coastal tile absorbs TWO (2) spotting range allowance? Or... introduce a new! Tile. A "deep-water" tile which would accomplish the same thing. This might also be parlayed for further enhancement, say, by costing TWO (2) MP's, which would allow the map maker(s) to expand the seas and oceans to more exacting size. Well, whatever is ultimately done, I for one am REALLY excited about the potential for some great and innovative "Battle of the Atlantic" encounters.

Kuni, please. I do believe we each know when the other is writing ironical, true? As for Immer... have you already forgotten the prior story? He is my fraternal twin brother and yet languishes in that gaol up on the butte overlooking the Rio Grande Valley. It is not called "Fort Inferno" for nothing. However, he still has that Bluebird Radio which he inherited from his grand-father -- very same grandfather who was so uncermoniously and unustly evicted from his homestead farm back in Ohio, oh back during the midst of the Great Depression. Kicked to the side of the hobo road by... bankers. Bankers never change, they've been doing their usury thing since cave days, I'd reckon. Since the Bluebird Rad-io is invisible to guards, and operates on a celestial continuum that is even beyond what is now known as the ether-net, I am in constant contact with him. This morning he sent me the following quote from Eugene Debs, which I suspect will appease you somewhat? ----------------------------------------------------------- Intelligent discourse is the mainspring of Civilization. Progress is born of agitation. It is agitation or stagnation. ----------------------------------------------------------- Now, I will offer another Debs' quote that I happen to like: ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Those who produce should have, but we know that those who produce the most - that is, those who work hardest, and at the most difficult and menial tasks, have the least. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- There you go, Imp of the Universe Perverse! ************** JJ! Great to have one of the most compelling teller of tales and histories that I've ever had the pleasure to read or know -> back again! I humbly submit smoke signs to all the gods who are, or ever were... that you will remain active and continue to intrigue. ************** JJR: Funny thing. I sent in application on several occasions - for one a' them there Camp Rambo T-shirts, but each time my earnest request was returned with the following stamped in HUGE RED LETTERS: "Reality is a liberal bias, and you sir, are therefore not eligible for one of these magnificent Tees." A crying shame, but, I'll man up and accept your rejection.

No! Skando Mondo Redux! Upon arising, I hear tell you are actually... a sparkplug? Whoa! That's news! Though, which kind? Champion! Or (Heironymous) Bosch? (... well probably not the American made... "Champion" -- I think that brand's probably been outsourced to the workers who were once upon a time -> in the Red Brigade!) OK, now we need merely locate the steering wheel and the clutch and some other accessories besides those, and we can get this SC Jalopy - REALLY rock rolling! Well, grief & woe, what in dickens has this place come to? You, Skand0 M0nd0! Are now making -> common cause? With the ever-expanding and truly infernal... Survelliance State? Have traded in yer old faded Che beret -> for a some smart Martinet's head-set? Franz Kafka writing @ 'is finest, MIGHT understand this strange turn of events. Well, as it's said... 'deep in the heart of each youthful Rebel, lies the aging... Reactionary.' LOL!

Well, you know Snowstorm, good luck with this. You have missed a whole huge passel of SC cats, and I'll bet that as time goes on you'll see more and more of them re-arriving and re-opining. At least, you SHOULD -> given that this Global game promises to be - perhaps, the BEST of the series. In that there are so many more new and game-enhancing features that will make game-play that much more fun! We'll see who and what, I guess. However, I suspect a lot of folks like the anonymous aspect of ANY forum and prefer to preserve a certain air of... ummm, mystery. Then again, may be I'm wrong -- yep, I often am, WRT to just about anything. Those of us who've been around awhile pretty much know all these BIO kinds of things about each other, but, OTOH, it is fair, I think, to request SOME info. As for me, I don't mind. ------------------------- Been a "blue-collar" sort of guy for, oh about 2/3 of my life, and thus yet have a strong and abiding concern for the plight of the everyday average Worker. Disappearing bunch, too bad for USA. Auto mechanic for 10 years, worked in a lumber camp up in Taos, a silver-mine in Death Valley, and then drove a truck all over the SW until my lower back put the kibosh on that fast riding of the high hard seat. So, had to return to school and got degrees in Psychology, which I parlayed into becoming a substance abuse counselor. Worked at the VA hospital (... served in US Army from '66 to 68, but I never say anything beyond that, ever) for ~ 4 years. Now, I am semi-retired and now & again help-out my son a little @ his Engineering Firm. They make hard & soft-ware for the Movie Industry, world-wide. Played baseball through High School and used to purely love that game until! It all got so awful mercenary, and now you have this ridiculous disparity between the large & small markets, and so, I don't pay much attention anymore. Love to read mysteries and histories, watch good film-noir, and not least! Tend my ever-expanding garden. Much to be learned, IMHO, by again & again immersing the hands in the life-giving soil. There you go. Now! Time for Bill (... AKA: pzgndr - who, incidentally, signed up on the same day I did - April 22, 2002, which is why I single him out... even tho his date shows 2008 or some such) to get in here. Now there's a guy, among very very many here, who has an interesting and accomplished life-story!

Thanks X-ww. It's good to be back, though in a very real sense I've never been gone. Wargaming is in the blood, and has been for many more years than I care to admit to. Reading through the exciting new list of added enhancements and features, surefire, it looks as though this Global game is gonna be something to behold! Well, as I've ever said, it is the SC forum members who so often make the most innovative suggestions, and have since the beginning, so no time for enny of us to stop now. ------------------------------ JJR: Don't hardly know where I've been, other than riding that ghostly old roller coaster out at Palisades Park, but I DO remember some of what I said & did while I most definitely was NOT -> in Boise. Say, BTW... yer writing has become even more arcane & wyrd than ever it was. Well, cool wrap-around shades on the laugh-a-lot babes so lithe and lively astroll the evening-tide beach out in So-Cal Laguna, is the one thing I CAN quite clearly recall. That help?

When you are constantly checking yer EMO look in the mirror, sure, EVERYTHING appears... flat. The shelves where you keep all yer golfing trophies? Flat. Right next to those, all them 2nd place ribbons for losing SC games to Terif? Flat. The little red-white & blue bicycle you use to ride when delivering small-town newspapers (... has got that little bell and a baseball trading-card attached to the spokes with a clothes-pin), well, that's flat too. Yer HUGE framed photo where you are staring up in admiration @ J Swaggart? Flat. Flat flat flat flat. All is flat. And, that, as they say -> is that. Though... you DO realize that all is... desrever?

A great old song from the Who. </font>