Jim Mason

I played a game using the german engineer to fortify the russian border. It seemed to work OK as I made my attacks in the south, etc. I agree with Colin I, and also add that against a HUMAN opponent, lots of these tricky moves just aren't going to work.

Anyone interested in PBEM? One side only, I like to play Axis, but will take either, from 1939. james.d.mason@okstate.edu

I'm sorry for any misunderstanding but I thought it was pretty obvious - It's a "questionable" comparison. By "questionable" I mean that if you were to make that comparison, you should be questioned about it. But as Stalin's Organist said so well, there are things in common with the two. Furthermore, the context of the statement was in the moronic/evil behavior of those who were there doing it (and taking pictures), not the end result (of which both are bad, but one obviously a magnitude of magnitudes worse.) As to Chris G - I agree with what dicedtomato wrote completely. I propose that we would all be much better off if we just ignore him. There is no debate.

There's also a recent biography of Speer - I can't remember the author, but to have read it and then shortly thereafter see "Downfall" was really interesting. There's really no good reason Speer didn't hang . . . My sense is that psychologically, there was a collective need to establish an "antiscapegoat." Speer was who we would have been had we been in that situation - the "good German" to borrow a phrase (incorrectly).

I'd like to see a system where the cost for producing something is factored out over the length of time it takes to produce, or something close to that. In other words, the 100 cost for a corps unit would require a 40 outlay the first month, and then 30 would be deducted on the second month and third month. Then you could reasonably put things into production without saving up all the cost first. If you over-allocate and lose "money" through bombing or convoy losses, you either have to wait longer, or just eat the sunk cost. It seems more realistic to me, and would make buying decisions easier, as I am horrible as saving money. Of course, there would be turns where I would end up with 30 points because all the rest had been allocated already, but that's the way it goes. Comments?

It would have been a catastrophic mistake.

. . . yack . . .

. . . and I must confess to being a troll . . . That's all for this week.

OK - I'll just come out and say it, Mr. rambo, (if that is your real name). I think all your patriotic posturing is just a big coverup for the vegan lifestyle you so carefully try to hide. There, I said it. You're a VEGAN!

Since we're going down this road, perhaps I should also mention that Hitler was a vegetarian. If you know what I mean...

and now that I've tested it out, I realize I need to change the flag on the HQ's too. Now I find out that instead of making the "white" part white, it's clear. (So the background shows through) Does anyone know what's up with that and how to fix? [ May 25, 2006, 11:59 AM: Message edited by: Jim Mason ]

OH - and it's not completely historical . . .

OKAY - I went ahead and modded it. It's so easy to do, I'm amazed that it has taken this long. I went to the "flag-sprites" BMP and simply "painted" it to something better, then named it "flag-sprites1". You will have to put your original "flag-sprites" file somewhere else, then change this one back to the original name so the computer will recognize it, I think. Anyway, I don't have the ability to post things on the web, but if there's someone out there who does, send me an e-mail james.d.mason@okstate.edu and I'll put it in an attachment to you. Note: I will not e-mail it to EVERYONE! I want someone to put it on the web or something so I only have to do it once. Jim

What are "Bunta" books? I googled it and got some Japanese film director, yakuza movies, other seemingly meaningless stuff.

My wife made me watch Oprah last night - it was her and Elie Wiesel wandering around several parts of Auschwitz with him talking about the experience. Through it all, they had photographs and movies, as well as the two of them touring the on-site museum where they have mountains of human hair, shoes, etc. It was nothing new, but moving none the less. It made me think about the people involved, that not only could they do that, but that THEY TOOK PICTURES! Any comparison with Abu Ghraib is questionable, but again, those morons took pictures too. My wife doesn't like all the war books displayed prominently in the living room, where my kids see them and ask questions. She's afraid that they glamorize war - that my kids see pictures of all the cool tanks and fighter planes and ephemera of war and think that is what it's all about. I remember the jaw-dropping astonishment (and that's not really the right word) when I started reading about the Holocaust in Junior and Senior High School. It was both fascinating and repellent, amazed that something so monstrous could occur. I continue to find this era of history fascinating. I have not lost sight of the horrors involved, but I also think my wife has a good point too. As an adult, I have the ability to hold several somewhat countervailing views in my head and separate what really matters from that which is merely interesting or a passing fancy. That's something my kids will need to learn, and I have to be careful to stress the right things when I talk about this hobby and interest with them. They are interested in good guys and bad guys, the right and the wrong. In this war (and probably most war) it seems like there is wrong and less wrong. Because of the nature of war, the good guys end up doing horrible things. Kids don't have the ability to understand that. Then I confuse them even more by taking the wrong side! When I play SC (or any other war game) I like to take the German side and try to win - it's a challenge. At least I think that's why I do it. There is something inherently interesting about the Nazi's - and getting to play them in a game is an opportunity that I rarely pass up. And part of me recognizes what I'm really trying to achieve in that simulation, regardless of how pretend it is, despite the abstraction of only playing the military/industrial/political parts (and in saying that, what's really left?) I am attempting to alter history and let evil triumph. Whenever I'm not wholly comfortable with labeling the Nazi's as evil, or trying to rationalize it by comparing it to Stalin, or whatever, I need to think about those death camps. Does anyone have anything CONSTRUCTIVE to suggest about this fascination with Nazi's? I have no idea what I am trying to accomplish with this post - just sharing my feelings and opinions. Something which I am totally free to do thanks to war. And the editors of this board are also totally free to get rid of it, also thanks to war. There will be no repercussions that are in any way meaningful - the absolute worst would be total banning or something, and that would be so easy to get around anyway (new yahoo e-mail address . . .) that I doubt it's something they even bother with. Have a great Memorial Day weekend. Jim