January 04, 2011
Feel The Love, Share The Pain
There comes a time in every duck's life where one feels weak, and gives in to their baser instincts... a desire to cause such incredible pain that it becomes uncontrollable.
Well, my fine readers, that time has come and boy, are you gonna hurt.
But because I'm a caring duck, here's something to make it even. We're still friends, right?
Okay. I'm better now. Thank you for that.
Well, my fine readers, that time has come and boy, are you gonna hurt.
But because I'm a caring duck, here's something to make it even. We're still friends, right?
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January 03, 2011
The Forgotten Hero Ship
In my own personal shorthand, there is a category I call 'hero ships.' These vessels, for one reason or another, just stick in the mind as incredibly important... even if they really weren't in the grand scheme of things. Sometimes it's just because they have a cool name, sometimes it's because they seemed to be in the midst of all the action, sometimes it's because they were particularly influential. Ships like USS Enterprise, or HMS Ark Royal (the greatest name for a ship ever). The IJN Yamato is a 'hero ship,' even though it didn't do much in WWII. So are the Bismarck and the HMS Hood, fated to be forever joined on history. The doomed USS Indianapolis and USS Arizona. There are probably dozens of others in my head, ships that anybody with any knowledge of WWII have heard of.
Then there's the ship we're discussing here. Imagine if you will a vessel that was present at the following battles: the Doolittle raid; Midway; the attacks against the Solomons; Guadalcanal; New Georgia; Wake Island; the Gilbert Islands; the Marshall Islands; Truk; the Marianas battles; Luzon; the naval raids on the Japanese home islands; Iwo Jima; Okinawa; Tokyo Bay. She also just missed the Coral Sea.
And yet, nobody considers her a 'hero ship'... and they really should. For without her and her sisters, the US would have had a much harder time of it in the Pacific War.
more...
Then there's the ship we're discussing here. Imagine if you will a vessel that was present at the following battles: the Doolittle raid; Midway; the attacks against the Solomons; Guadalcanal; New Georgia; Wake Island; the Gilbert Islands; the Marshall Islands; Truk; the Marianas battles; Luzon; the naval raids on the Japanese home islands; Iwo Jima; Okinawa; Tokyo Bay. She also just missed the Coral Sea.
And yet, nobody considers her a 'hero ship'... and they really should. For without her and her sisters, the US would have had a much harder time of it in the Pacific War.
more...
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December 31, 2010
Goodbye 2010, Hello 2011!
In a few hours, 2010 heads into the record books and we'll take the shrinkwrap off of 2011. With 326 posts (including this one) added to The Pond, what were the highlights of the year?
Formula 1 didn't really get going until February, with the rollout of the cars for the new Lotus and Virgin teams. The death of the proposed American team, USF1, came as a sadness that deprived us of a full 26-car grid. Still, the debut of the HRT entry a week before the first race of the season gave us 24 cars to lead into the 19 race season. The first race, in Bahrain, saw HWMNBN win in his first race as a Ferrari driver, with the returning Slappy Schumacher finishing 6th in his first race back after retiring a few years ago... in a Mercedes this time. Strange to see him in something other than red. Fortunately, we never had to see him on the podium dressed in silver as he had a mediocre season. Jenson Button earned a strategy win in Australia in what was probably the reigning World Driver's Champion highpoint for the season. Button's involvement in horrific F1 accident was one of my personal highlights, however. In Malaysia we saw HWMNBN put in the drive of the year, managing to keep his car in contention despite a clutch that stopped working on the parade lap... at least until there were two laps left, when his horribly abused engine grenaded itself. The race in China brought us the Moooooo-oove of the Year, but it was in practice that we saw the strangest accident ever when Seb Buemi's Toro Rosso shed both of its front wheels at the same time. A Formula 2 race in Marrakech introduced us to the concept of open-wheel "formula"-type cars going for a flight, something that we would revisit later in the year. Monaco saw the rise of Birdy Ecclestone and the incredible disappearing Williams steering wheel, along with a contender in the Crash of the Year contest. The Turkish Grand Prix saw the Red Bull team lose an easy 1-2, and the McLarens almost (but not quite) do the same thing in one of the more amazing races of the season. The Red Bull unbroken string of pole positions came to an end in Montreal at the hands of Lewis Hamilton, who wound up having to push his car into the pits after he ran out of fuel on his cooldown lap. That race will go down in history as having the worst coverage of all time. Mark Webber had a very very bad day at Valencia. McLaren continued to show that they have a sense of humor behind all the chrome and stern faces when they let Jense and Lewis build their own car. I got quite het up over HWMNBN's whining and moaning at the German GP, which then led to Ferrari telling Felipe Massa to let his Spanish teammate go by. We finally got a look at the track map for the new US Grand Prix circuit in Austin, TX, which has me jazzed beyond belief.... and a couple of weeks later, we got a car on the new Korean circuit for the first time, which brought a lot less enthusiasm from me. The Japanese Grand Prix brought us the Great Suzuka Boat Races in quals and a parade of FAILs from the mechanics during the race. I had my first try at liveblogging during the first ever practice session at Korea, which was run in the dry. But then it rained for the race. It rained a lot, and the race ended in the dark. Red Bull won the Constructor's Championship in Brazil, complete with silly hat. The final race at Abu Dhabi saw four men with a chance at winning the Driver's Championship, which was eventually taken home by Seb Vettel, becoming the youngest Champion in F1 history. It was also the longest F1 season ever, with 19 races, and boy did I feel it. I've never been happy when a season came to an end, but I was this year. Despite all odds and a running joke, I did do an Awards post, so there's that.
In the WWII category, which doesn't actually exist and should, I had a decent enough year. The SB2U Vindicator got itself a little bit of glory for once. The USS Wasp, on the other hand, earned the distinction of the worst American carrier in the Pacific. The USS Wolverine actually had three posts devoted to it, as befits the unsung hero of Naval aviation. Much to my surprise, the "Name That Mystery Ship" contests were actually a hit, leading to posts on the USS Hammann and the USS Shaw. Somehow I managed to wrangle a visit to Courtesy Aircraft, a seller of classic warbirds, and took my camera along. What was to be a short post on some of the books in my WWII library became something a little longer. The Royal Navy's Nelson-class battleships got some attention despite a lack of recognition from history, and I finished up the category's year with the fourth entry in the "What If..." series. That amuses me somewhat, since the carrier battle of Wake Island had been percolating in my brain for a couple of years and I could never get it to come out right... the biggest problem being Admiral Fletcher's order to pull back. He'd never violate that, and I couldn't come up with a good way to circumvent it. In the end, I just said "to hell with it."
On the anime writing front, this might just have been the best year ever here at The Pond. It began with the episode-by-episode recap of Ga-Rei Zero (link goes to an index post), an epic series of Pocky, cute schoolgirls, swordplay, Pocky, magic, rocket-powered wheelchairs of awesome, and Pocky. What's not to like? My Favorite Moments in Anime got a post, I analyzed a creepy girl, and gave Sora no Woto some love, too. On the other hand, Angel Beats got a well-deserved "meh" for being a big ball of frustration. WWII and Anime came together when I gave a long hard look at the ships of Strike Witches II ep11 and discovered a couple of unexpected and completely out of character mistakes. It may have taken three years (and being reminded about it), but I finally got around to explaining why I hated the ending of Rocket Girls so much. The Hidamari Sketch franchise is one of my favorites for many reasons, not least of which is that one of the main characters owns a rubber duckie. I wound up writing an Appreciation of Yuno's Duck in one of many collisions of Anime and Rubber Duckies. A surprisingly fun little OVA called Megane no Kanojo got a thumbs-up. Finally, to bookend the epic Ga-Rei Zero series of posts came the not-quite-as-epic-but-more-important series, Wonderduck's Favorite Anime Series Of All Time. Here's the links: Honorable Mentions, Number Four, Number Three, Number Two and Number One. A fitting way to end the year, that.
In many ways, a good year for The Pond. Thanks to all of you, my readers, for taking time from your busy schedules and dropping in. We'll see you in 2011!
Now it is time for the party hats and noisemakers!
In a few hours, 2010 heads into the record books and we'll take the shrinkwrap off of 2011. With 326 posts (including this one) added to The Pond, what were the highlights of the year?
Formula 1 didn't really get going until February, with the rollout of the cars for the new Lotus and Virgin teams. The death of the proposed American team, USF1, came as a sadness that deprived us of a full 26-car grid. Still, the debut of the HRT entry a week before the first race of the season gave us 24 cars to lead into the 19 race season. The first race, in Bahrain, saw HWMNBN win in his first race as a Ferrari driver, with the returning Slappy Schumacher finishing 6th in his first race back after retiring a few years ago... in a Mercedes this time. Strange to see him in something other than red. Fortunately, we never had to see him on the podium dressed in silver as he had a mediocre season. Jenson Button earned a strategy win in Australia in what was probably the reigning World Driver's Champion highpoint for the season. Button's involvement in horrific F1 accident was one of my personal highlights, however. In Malaysia we saw HWMNBN put in the drive of the year, managing to keep his car in contention despite a clutch that stopped working on the parade lap... at least until there were two laps left, when his horribly abused engine grenaded itself. The race in China brought us the Moooooo-oove of the Year, but it was in practice that we saw the strangest accident ever when Seb Buemi's Toro Rosso shed both of its front wheels at the same time. A Formula 2 race in Marrakech introduced us to the concept of open-wheel "formula"-type cars going for a flight, something that we would revisit later in the year. Monaco saw the rise of Birdy Ecclestone and the incredible disappearing Williams steering wheel, along with a contender in the Crash of the Year contest. The Turkish Grand Prix saw the Red Bull team lose an easy 1-2, and the McLarens almost (but not quite) do the same thing in one of the more amazing races of the season. The Red Bull unbroken string of pole positions came to an end in Montreal at the hands of Lewis Hamilton, who wound up having to push his car into the pits after he ran out of fuel on his cooldown lap. That race will go down in history as having the worst coverage of all time. Mark Webber had a very very bad day at Valencia. McLaren continued to show that they have a sense of humor behind all the chrome and stern faces when they let Jense and Lewis build their own car. I got quite het up over HWMNBN's whining and moaning at the German GP, which then led to Ferrari telling Felipe Massa to let his Spanish teammate go by. We finally got a look at the track map for the new US Grand Prix circuit in Austin, TX, which has me jazzed beyond belief.... and a couple of weeks later, we got a car on the new Korean circuit for the first time, which brought a lot less enthusiasm from me. The Japanese Grand Prix brought us the Great Suzuka Boat Races in quals and a parade of FAILs from the mechanics during the race. I had my first try at liveblogging during the first ever practice session at Korea, which was run in the dry. But then it rained for the race. It rained a lot, and the race ended in the dark. Red Bull won the Constructor's Championship in Brazil, complete with silly hat. The final race at Abu Dhabi saw four men with a chance at winning the Driver's Championship, which was eventually taken home by Seb Vettel, becoming the youngest Champion in F1 history. It was also the longest F1 season ever, with 19 races, and boy did I feel it. I've never been happy when a season came to an end, but I was this year. Despite all odds and a running joke, I did do an Awards post, so there's that.
In the WWII category, which doesn't actually exist and should, I had a decent enough year. The SB2U Vindicator got itself a little bit of glory for once. The USS Wasp, on the other hand, earned the distinction of the worst American carrier in the Pacific. The USS Wolverine actually had three posts devoted to it, as befits the unsung hero of Naval aviation. Much to my surprise, the "Name That Mystery Ship" contests were actually a hit, leading to posts on the USS Hammann and the USS Shaw. Somehow I managed to wrangle a visit to Courtesy Aircraft, a seller of classic warbirds, and took my camera along. What was to be a short post on some of the books in my WWII library became something a little longer. The Royal Navy's Nelson-class battleships got some attention despite a lack of recognition from history, and I finished up the category's year with the fourth entry in the "What If..." series. That amuses me somewhat, since the carrier battle of Wake Island had been percolating in my brain for a couple of years and I could never get it to come out right... the biggest problem being Admiral Fletcher's order to pull back. He'd never violate that, and I couldn't come up with a good way to circumvent it. In the end, I just said "to hell with it."
On the anime writing front, this might just have been the best year ever here at The Pond. It began with the episode-by-episode recap of Ga-Rei Zero (link goes to an index post), an epic series of Pocky, cute schoolgirls, swordplay, Pocky, magic, rocket-powered wheelchairs of awesome, and Pocky. What's not to like? My Favorite Moments in Anime got a post, I analyzed a creepy girl, and gave Sora no Woto some love, too. On the other hand, Angel Beats got a well-deserved "meh" for being a big ball of frustration. WWII and Anime came together when I gave a long hard look at the ships of Strike Witches II ep11 and discovered a couple of unexpected and completely out of character mistakes. It may have taken three years (and being reminded about it), but I finally got around to explaining why I hated the ending of Rocket Girls so much. The Hidamari Sketch franchise is one of my favorites for many reasons, not least of which is that one of the main characters owns a rubber duckie. I wound up writing an Appreciation of Yuno's Duck in one of many collisions of Anime and Rubber Duckies. A surprisingly fun little OVA called Megane no Kanojo got a thumbs-up. Finally, to bookend the epic Ga-Rei Zero series of posts came the not-quite-as-epic-but-more-important series, Wonderduck's Favorite Anime Series Of All Time. Here's the links: Honorable Mentions, Number Four, Number Three, Number Two and Number One. A fitting way to end the year, that.
In many ways, a good year for The Pond. Thanks to all of you, my readers, for taking time from your busy schedules and dropping in. We'll see you in 2011!
Now it is time for the party hats and noisemakers!
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December 27, 2010
Brilliant, Simply Brilliant!
I gather this is from 2008, but I just stumbled across it this morning... it's brilliant. Who knew that Tony Blair liked The Clash?
And for all you poor, benighted souls who have never heard the original...
Music that changed the world of rock, right there...
And for all you poor, benighted souls who have never heard the original...
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December 21, 2010
Oh Yeah, That.
It's not that I ever intended The Pond to become totally devoted to the Twelve Days of Duckmas, it's just happening that way. Life has been a little busy recently, what with Christmas and the end of the semester at Duck U. and getting ready for the beginning of next semester and all. Really, I haven't even had time to watch any anime at all. Other than HoiHoi-San that is, and that was only 10 minutes long.
I've got Thursday off (yay Holiday Break!), and I've got everything I need to get done done, so I fully intend to crank out the Number One entry in Wonderduck's Favorite Anime Series Ever then.
Or just sleep. One of the two.
(note: the next few entries in the Twelve Days of Duckmas are gonna be doozies)
I've got Thursday off (yay Holiday Break!), and I've got everything I need to get done done, so I fully intend to crank out the Number One entry in Wonderduck's Favorite Anime Series Ever then.
Or just sleep. One of the two.
(note: the next few entries in the Twelve Days of Duckmas are gonna be doozies)
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December 19, 2010
What If...? #4: Admiral Fletcher's "Deaf Ear"
On December 11th, 1941, a Japanese invasion force assaulted US-owned Wake Island and was repulsed. Shortly thereafter, a relief force consisting of Task Force 11 (Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher, commanding, aboard USS Astoria), based around the USS Saratoga and the USS Tangier set out from Pearl Harbor. The Tangier was a seaplane carrier, but had embarked the 4th Marine Defense Batallion as well as a vast amount of ammunition for the besieged island garrison. The Saratoga carried her air wing and VMF-221, a Marine fighter squadron, which was to reinforce Wake's VMF-211. As planned, TF11 would reach Wake Island on December 23th.
They never got there. American intelligence sources thought that there was at least one Japanese carrier in the area, and possibly two. Early on December 21st, planes from the IJN carriers Soryu and Hiryu, detached from the Pearl Harbor raiding force, appeared over the island. While opinions back at Pearl were mixed, acting Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Fleet (CINCPAC) Admiral William Pye, thought the risks too high and cancelled the reinforcement mission.
There was quite a bit of anger over this among the ships and crew of the US Navy. The unofficial war diary for "Fighting Six" (VF-6) aboard the USS Enterprise, providing distant cover for TF11, reads "Everyone seems to feel that it's the war between two yellow races." On board the Saratoga, the bridge crew reportedly was so angry that Rear Admiral Aubrey Fitch was forced to leave the bridge so he couldn't hear the near-mutinous talk. Her commanding officer, Captain Douglas, nearly begged Fitch to contact Fletcher on the Astoria to ask for permission to raid Wake.
But What If....
more...
They never got there. American intelligence sources thought that there was at least one Japanese carrier in the area, and possibly two. Early on December 21st, planes from the IJN carriers Soryu and Hiryu, detached from the Pearl Harbor raiding force, appeared over the island. While opinions back at Pearl were mixed, acting Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Fleet (CINCPAC) Admiral William Pye, thought the risks too high and cancelled the reinforcement mission.
There was quite a bit of anger over this among the ships and crew of the US Navy. The unofficial war diary for "Fighting Six" (VF-6) aboard the USS Enterprise, providing distant cover for TF11, reads "Everyone seems to feel that it's the war between two yellow races." On board the Saratoga, the bridge crew reportedly was so angry that Rear Admiral Aubrey Fitch was forced to leave the bridge so he couldn't hear the near-mutinous talk. Her commanding officer, Captain Douglas, nearly begged Fitch to contact Fletcher on the Astoria to ask for permission to raid Wake.
But What If....
more...
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December 15, 2010
Whoopsie!
I had intended to post Number Two in the "Wonderduck's Favorite Anime Series Of All Time" series, but... um... instead of just taking screenshots, I wound up watching the show instead.
Whoopsie.
As it is, I no longer have the time to get the post finished before I have to go to sleep... it's Finals/Buyback week at the Duck U. Bookstore, and that means we're pulling-out-our-hair-busy, from the moment we walk in to the moment we close, plus two hours after. So tired.
So the WFASOAT:NT will be up on Thursday evening... thank you for your patience.
Whoopsie.
As it is, I no longer have the time to get the post finished before I have to go to sleep... it's Finals/Buyback week at the Duck U. Bookstore, and that means we're pulling-out-our-hair-busy, from the moment we walk in to the moment we close, plus two hours after. So tired.
So the WFASOAT:NT will be up on Thursday evening... thank you for your patience.
Picture completely unrelated
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December 07, 2010
69 Years On
"To the Memory of the Gallant Men Here Entombed and their shipmates
who gave their lives in action on December 7, 1941, on the U.S.S.
Arizona."
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December 05, 2010
Silly Car Tricks
Dingle arm?
The best car mod ever.
"Nothing like Verdi's Requiem. Three minutes, bish bash bosh, big smile on your face. The end."
"I'm going to BLARGLELARGLELARGLE*cough*."
"That's why they call it a control tire."
Dingle arm?
The best car mod ever.
"Nothing like Verdi's Requiem. Three minutes, bish bash bosh, big smile on your face. The end."
"I'm going to BLARGLELARGLELARGLE*cough*."
"That's why they call it a control tire."
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December 04, 2010
REAL First Snow!
In contrast to the dusting we had a couple days ago, last night Duckford was hit by a real snowfall. No totals yet, but the predictions were for 4"-8". My guess is that we probably had five inches, at least around Pond Central. It's not a wet, heavy snow, which is nice. Slippery, though. Last night around 1130pm, I was returning from a pleasant evening of conversation with Dr John, who is the father of reader-and-occasional-commenter Vaucaunson's Duck. At one point I was stuck behind an idiot who didn't know how to climb a slightly steep grade in a rear-wheel drive car... at least, I was stuck behind him until he fishtailed himself into a curb. *shakes head* Right up until he clonked the curb his rear tires were a blur. Obviously the driver was a believer in the Jeremy Clarkson method: "MORE POWER!!!" Idiot.
Yup, it's winter.
In contrast to the dusting we had a couple days ago, last night Duckford was hit by a real snowfall. No totals yet, but the predictions were for 4"-8". My guess is that we probably had five inches, at least around Pond Central. It's not a wet, heavy snow, which is nice. Slippery, though. Last night around 1130pm, I was returning from a pleasant evening of conversation with Dr John, who is the father of reader-and-occasional-commenter Vaucaunson's Duck. At one point I was stuck behind an idiot who didn't know how to climb a slightly steep grade in a rear-wheel drive car... at least, I was stuck behind him until he fishtailed himself into a curb. *shakes head* Right up until he clonked the curb his rear tires were a blur. Obviously the driver was a believer in the Jeremy Clarkson method: "MORE POWER!!!" Idiot.
Yup, it's winter.
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Haha. Cute pic as always! Stay warm!December 02, 2010
For Sale, Slightly Used
As the DuckMobile is pushing 15 years of age, I've been looking for a replacement. This involves a lot of head-shaking on my part as I can't really afford anything these days, but occasionally there's a "For Sale" ad that's hard to ignore... to whit:
MUST GO, ALL OFFERS CONSIDERED! 30 years old, needs work but in decent shape. Good mileage. In stock.
It's British, too. Well, can't hurt to look...
more...
MUST GO, ALL OFFERS CONSIDERED! 30 years old, needs work but in decent shape. Good mileage. In stock.
It's British, too. Well, can't hurt to look...
more...
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November 23, 2010
The Misfit Battleships
When one thinks of battleships, what leaps to mind? The gleaming Iowas, usually. Others would think of the hulking Yamato-class, still the largest battlewagons ever built. Or perhaps the menacing Bismarck and Tirpitz, pride of the Kriegsmarine would hold primacy over all. If you have a sense of history, classes like the Nevada/Pennsylvania, with their cage masts and one of which, the Arizona, is now one of the US military's most hallowed sites. Or the first of them all, the Dreadnought.
And then there's me. I'm a weirdo, because my favorite battleship class is one that few people know or (historically) care about. You see, I'm a fan of the Nelsons.
I can hear you now: "The whichnow?" These:
The sharper-eyed amongst you have already noticed the obvious difference.
more...
And then there's me. I'm a weirdo, because my favorite battleship class is one that few people know or (historically) care about. You see, I'm a fan of the Nelsons.
I can hear you now: "The whichnow?" These:
The sharper-eyed amongst you have already noticed the obvious difference.
more...
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November 22, 2010
"If You Don't Like The Weather...
...just wait a few minutes, it'll change," is a saying you hear a lot here in Illinois. Strangely enough, there's often a grain of truth to sayings like that. The day started with oodles of rain, but by the time I got to Duck U., it was bright and sunny if a little windy. Around 245pm, I stepped out of the Duck U Bookstore and... it was around 70 degrees, dark, with heavy clouds being blown across the sky at high speeds, and near constant thunder that actually made me laugh out loud. It sounded exactly like a "thundersheet," or a big sheet of aluminum that stagehands flex for thunder sound-effects. Thinking nothing of it, I went back into the Bookstore.
A few minutes later, I heard a strange warbling sound, one that I've only heard on the second Tuesday of each month. Rubbawhat? Then my e-mail chimed... it was Duck U Security, saying get to the basement Auntie Em, it's a twister! And lo, it was:
It touched down in the vicinity of the intersection Riverside and Perryville, two fairly major streets about five miles Northeast of Duck U, and headed Northeast towards the nearby state park... and a little village named Caledonia. In Caledonia there was substantial damage, though no serious injuries at all. Which is a relief, because when it touched down there was a School Bus right nearby.
The bus was thrown off the road and knocked over; five or six (reports vary) children and the bus driver suffered minor injuries, but nothing more.
At one point, somewhere north of 46000 people were without power though as of 630pm that number had dropped to around 10000. Eyewitnesses report something like four high-voltage towers were ruined, and one power substation reportedly has significant damage so it might be a while before those people see electricity again. The waterfowl in the foreground had nothing to do with the damage, I can assure you.
Just to assuage any fears anybody may have, Duck U is fine, completely unharmed. The sirens went off all over Duckford. I never even went to the basement of the building the Bookstore is in, preferring instead to follow the weather radars on computers in Admissions. It was pretty clear from the looping screens that we had nothing to worry about.
"If you don't like the weather, just wait a few minutes... it'll change." Sometimes though, it doesn't change to something good...
UPDATE: Here's video of the tornado!
A few minutes later, I heard a strange warbling sound, one that I've only heard on the second Tuesday of each month. Rubbawhat? Then my e-mail chimed... it was Duck U Security, saying get to the basement Auntie Em, it's a twister! And lo, it was:
It touched down in the vicinity of the intersection Riverside and Perryville, two fairly major streets about five miles Northeast of Duck U, and headed Northeast towards the nearby state park... and a little village named Caledonia. In Caledonia there was substantial damage, though no serious injuries at all. Which is a relief, because when it touched down there was a School Bus right nearby.
The bus was thrown off the road and knocked over; five or six (reports vary) children and the bus driver suffered minor injuries, but nothing more.
At one point, somewhere north of 46000 people were without power though as of 630pm that number had dropped to around 10000. Eyewitnesses report something like four high-voltage towers were ruined, and one power substation reportedly has significant damage so it might be a while before those people see electricity again. The waterfowl in the foreground had nothing to do with the damage, I can assure you.
Just to assuage any fears anybody may have, Duck U is fine, completely unharmed. The sirens went off all over Duckford. I never even went to the basement of the building the Bookstore is in, preferring instead to follow the weather radars on computers in Admissions. It was pretty clear from the looping screens that we had nothing to worry about.
"If you don't like the weather, just wait a few minutes... it'll change." Sometimes though, it doesn't change to something good...
UPDATE: Here's video of the tornado!
Near as I can tell, this was taken from one of the gazillion subdivisions springing up all over that side of town. We actually got quite lucky; if it touched down about two miles to the southwest, it would have smacked a rather populated part of the Duckford metroplex. The damage track is supposedly a half-mile wide... fairly substantial.
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November 19, 2010
Dogs Are Stupid, But At Least These Are Funny Too.
I don't usually do this sort of thing, but if you want to laugh until your spleen threatens to rip free from your sternum, go and read this post over at Hyperbole And A Half. (via)
When I was growing up, we had a dog with the embarrassing name of Dribbles. You can guess why Dribbles had that name (hint: it has nothing to do with basketball). Dribbles looked like a cross betwixt a weinerdog and a German Shepherd... and the weinerdog had the dominant genes. If she was a foot tall at the top of her head, she was wearing stilts. Unfortunately for her dignity, she looked overweight at all times, even if she was normal size. Imagine a football with tiny legs and you've got the right idea.
Dribbles' idea of fetch was to have me throw a stick, she'd go running after it... and just keep going, as if the entire concept of "stick" would get shaken out of her skull once she began her sprint. Ever seen a street car designed to dragrace down the quarter-mile accelerate off the line? The rear end drops, the car gets light on the front tires, and if the engine is powerful enough it stays in a nose-high attitude all the way down... yeah, that was Dribbles trying to run.
She particularly loved to run after a Frisbee. On those rare occasions that she'd actually pick it up and bring it back, she'd start running until it dug into the ground. At that point, one of two things would happen:
1) she'd go arse over teakettle, pinwheeling sadly.
2) she'd let go of the disc, run over it and THEN go arse over teakettle.
Dribbles was also an ill-tempered beast. She'd growl at me at any time, for any reason. Approaching the couch? Grrrrr. Walking away from the couch? Grrrrrr. Offering her some food? Grrrrrr. And on and on. Then she broke a leg, got arthritis, and would growl at ANYTHING, just because she could. It was pretty sad, actually, but after it was hard to blame her considering that the cast she wore was probably heavier than she was.
When she passed away, maybe 20 years ago, that was enough dogs in my life.
When I was growing up, we had a dog with the embarrassing name of Dribbles. You can guess why Dribbles had that name (hint: it has nothing to do with basketball). Dribbles looked like a cross betwixt a weinerdog and a German Shepherd... and the weinerdog had the dominant genes. If she was a foot tall at the top of her head, she was wearing stilts. Unfortunately for her dignity, she looked overweight at all times, even if she was normal size. Imagine a football with tiny legs and you've got the right idea.
Dribbles' idea of fetch was to have me throw a stick, she'd go running after it... and just keep going, as if the entire concept of "stick" would get shaken out of her skull once she began her sprint. Ever seen a street car designed to dragrace down the quarter-mile accelerate off the line? The rear end drops, the car gets light on the front tires, and if the engine is powerful enough it stays in a nose-high attitude all the way down... yeah, that was Dribbles trying to run.
She particularly loved to run after a Frisbee. On those rare occasions that she'd actually pick it up and bring it back, she'd start running until it dug into the ground. At that point, one of two things would happen:
1) she'd go arse over teakettle, pinwheeling sadly.
2) she'd let go of the disc, run over it and THEN go arse over teakettle.
Dribbles was also an ill-tempered beast. She'd growl at me at any time, for any reason. Approaching the couch? Grrrrr. Walking away from the couch? Grrrrrr. Offering her some food? Grrrrrr. And on and on. Then she broke a leg, got arthritis, and would growl at ANYTHING, just because she could. It was pretty sad, actually, but after it was hard to blame her considering that the cast she wore was probably heavier than she was.
When she passed away, maybe 20 years ago, that was enough dogs in my life.
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November 17, 2010
Hey, Everybody, It's Music Time!
So on a whim this evening I told my media player to choose songs at random. The first 10 to come up were such an interesting mix of styles that I was inspired to write it up as a post, which is what you're reading now. Click below to hear what I'm talking about.
more...
more...
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November 11, 2010
Veterans Day 2010
To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with lots of pride in the heroism of those who died in the country's service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations.
-President Woodrow Wilson, in his proclamation creating Veterans Day, then called Armistice Day.
To all who have served or who are currently serving, The Pond gives a heartfelt "Thank you."
To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with lots of pride in the heroism of those who died in the country's service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations.
-President Woodrow Wilson, in his proclamation creating Veterans Day, then called Armistice Day.
To all who have served or who are currently serving, The Pond gives a heartfelt "Thank you."
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November 09, 2010
Warbird Up
In the comments of my post on the paddlewheel aircraft carrier Wolverine, reader The Old Man asked "How many WW2 carrier training birds are on the bottom of the Great Lakes and perhaps could be salvaged?"
Well, as of Monday afternoon the answer is "one fewer," as salvers brought up a doozie.
It's a Corsair, but not just any Corsair. That right there is the world's only known surviving F4U-1, the first marque of the bent-wing bird. It was sometimes known as a "Birdcage Corsair" for the latticework framing of the cockpit.
On June 12th, 1943, Ensign CH Johnson tried to land F-21 on the deck of the Wolverine. Losing sight of the LSO on approach, a common enough occurrence for the long-nosed Corsair, Ensign Johnson took a wave-off and, applying power, began to peel off to the left. Unfortunately, he had settled enough that his tailhook caught a wire, slamming the plane down onto the deck hard enough to split the rear fuselage from the rest of the Corsair. The tailhook assembly was ripped free of the plane as well. Both chunks of the F4U fell overboard and sank, though the front section stayed afloat long enough for Ensign Johnson to escape without harm.
The plane is in remarkably good shape for having been submerged in Lake Michigan for 67 years. The underside is coated with zebra mussels, a common enough problem in the Great Lakes these days. There is rust, of course, but the structure of the Corsair is wholly intact. Indeed, the salvers brought up both pieces of the plane. The only bit missing? The tailhook assembly. Eventually, the F4U-1 is destined for the National Navy Aviation Museum in Pensacola, FL.
The salvage company that performed the rescue, A&T Recovery, says that there's at least 80 more warbirds sitting on the bottom of Lake Michigan, many of which are within 50 miles of Chicago. Almost all of them are Dauntlesses and Wildcats of various types. The F4U wasn't seen in the air above Lake Michigan, as the Wolverine and Sable were really not big enough to handle them comfortably. It may have been there as part of an attempt to requalify the Corsair for carrier operations, as the type had already been limited to ground-based squadrons in late 1942.
While Ensign Johnson got away unharmed from this crash, he wasn't so lucky later. He was killed in a midair collision over Hawaii on Thanksgiving Day, 1943.
Well, as of Monday afternoon the answer is "one fewer," as salvers brought up a doozie.
It's a Corsair, but not just any Corsair. That right there is the world's only known surviving F4U-1, the first marque of the bent-wing bird. It was sometimes known as a "Birdcage Corsair" for the latticework framing of the cockpit.
On June 12th, 1943, Ensign CH Johnson tried to land F-21 on the deck of the Wolverine. Losing sight of the LSO on approach, a common enough occurrence for the long-nosed Corsair, Ensign Johnson took a wave-off and, applying power, began to peel off to the left. Unfortunately, he had settled enough that his tailhook caught a wire, slamming the plane down onto the deck hard enough to split the rear fuselage from the rest of the Corsair. The tailhook assembly was ripped free of the plane as well. Both chunks of the F4U fell overboard and sank, though the front section stayed afloat long enough for Ensign Johnson to escape without harm.
The plane is in remarkably good shape for having been submerged in Lake Michigan for 67 years. The underside is coated with zebra mussels, a common enough problem in the Great Lakes these days. There is rust, of course, but the structure of the Corsair is wholly intact. Indeed, the salvers brought up both pieces of the plane. The only bit missing? The tailhook assembly. Eventually, the F4U-1 is destined for the National Navy Aviation Museum in Pensacola, FL.
The salvage company that performed the rescue, A&T Recovery, says that there's at least 80 more warbirds sitting on the bottom of Lake Michigan, many of which are within 50 miles of Chicago. Almost all of them are Dauntlesses and Wildcats of various types. The F4U wasn't seen in the air above Lake Michigan, as the Wolverine and Sable were really not big enough to handle them comfortably. It may have been there as part of an attempt to requalify the Corsair for carrier operations, as the type had already been limited to ground-based squadrons in late 1942.
While Ensign Johnson got away unharmed from this crash, he wasn't so lucky later. He was killed in a midair collision over Hawaii on Thanksgiving Day, 1943.
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November 03, 2010
Because I Can
Not including the weekend's coverage of the Grand Prix of Brazil, I've got two separate posts in the pipeline. The first is in response to the question posed by Vaucaunson's Duck, namely why do I like the HidaDuck so much? The other is a good look at my five all-time favorite anime series, inspired by the neophyte fan that
I mentioned a few weeks back.
But I find that I can't be arsed right now.
About much of anything, truth be told. Working on it.
But I find that I can't be arsed right now.
About much of anything, truth be told. Working on it.
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October 29, 2010
Harumph
I had intended to blog about the question that Vaucaunson's Duck posed, about why the Hidamari Sketch duckie had so caught my fancy, but I find that my heart just isn't into it tonight. Long days at work, I suppose, and a general feeling of meh-ness (as opposed to menace) have conspired to take the creativity right out of me.
So instead, I bring you something very rare in anime: a cute girl appropriately dressed for chilly weather.
-Amagami SS, ep13
Think about it... most of the cast of Kanon '06 should have died of pneumonia because they never wore coats in the middle of winter. Ironically, the only girl in the show that wore warm clothing was already hospitalized.
It's almost like the producers of anime don't want to cover the girls up or something...
So instead, I bring you something very rare in anime: a cute girl appropriately dressed for chilly weather.
-Amagami SS, ep13
Think about it... most of the cast of Kanon '06 should have died of pneumonia because they never wore coats in the middle of winter. Ironically, the only girl in the show that wore warm clothing was already hospitalized.
It's almost like the producers of anime don't want to cover the girls up or something...
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October 26, 2010
Ask Wonderduck (almost) Anything! The 2010 Edition
It's been a year and since I had a blast with it during the last go-round, I think it's time for the second installment of Ask Wonderduck (almost) Anything!
Here's how this thing works... you ask a question, and I'll answer it! It's just that simple! But wait, great news! The best question (in my opinion) will get a full-length post devoted to the answer!
As with the last time we did this, there are a few questions I won't answer: anything related to current politics or religion. I started The Pond lo these many years ago in an attempt to get away from political or religious squabbles, and to this day I've pretty much managed to stay clear of those things. There are plenty of people out there who write about those topics and do so in ways I couldn't even hope to approach, so go read them for answers to those questions. If you DO ask me a question related to such topics, please expect to be mocked horribly.
But wait, there's even more!
If you ask a technical question, I'll do my best to answer it correctly, but use it at your own risk. So if you ask, say, "how do I install a left-handed widget in my 2008 Dacia Sandero," the results are on your head, not mine.
With all that out of the way, Ask Wonderduck (almost) Anything!
UPDATE: Some music for you while you formulate your query.
facemelter!
Here's how this thing works... you ask a question, and I'll answer it! It's just that simple! But wait, great news! The best question (in my opinion) will get a full-length post devoted to the answer!
As with the last time we did this, there are a few questions I won't answer: anything related to current politics or religion. I started The Pond lo these many years ago in an attempt to get away from political or religious squabbles, and to this day I've pretty much managed to stay clear of those things. There are plenty of people out there who write about those topics and do so in ways I couldn't even hope to approach, so go read them for answers to those questions. If you DO ask me a question related to such topics, please expect to be mocked horribly.
But wait, there's even more!
If you ask a technical question, I'll do my best to answer it correctly, but use it at your own risk. So if you ask, say, "how do I install a left-handed widget in my 2008 Dacia Sandero," the results are on your head, not mine.
With all that out of the way, Ask Wonderduck (almost) Anything!
UPDATE: Some music for you while you formulate your query.
facemelter!
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