"Hi, my name is Gridley, and I'm a pyromaniac."
"Hi, Gridley!"
"It has been 43 hours since I last blew something up..."
"Wow!" "Good job!" "Way to go!"
This 4th, a bunch of us gathered at a friends house. Most of the guys brought fireworks of some sort. I'm still exploring the commercial fireworks idea (mostly because for all practical purposes they're only available once a year), but almost everything I'm finding out is fun. I am very glad to finally live in an area where fireworks are legal.
This year I brought a small mortar (we also had three large ones, and did some coordinated launches with the three big ones), three small multi-mortars that I believe are generally called "fountains," 18 little cardboard tanks equipped with sparklers, rocket propulsion, and small reports (in two varieties), a single-shot mortar that launched a parachutist 'army man', a 25-shot "Saturn" whistling rocket, plus some tiny boxes of smoke bombs, pop-pops, booby traps, and 'lightning flash'es. Aside from having apparently grabbed white smoke instead of colored, everything was fun. We set up a bunch of the tanks at once and had a semi-successful battle.
The weather cooperated very nicely - rain on the 3rd to soak everything down, clear on the 4th.
We were not even close to the biggest pyros in the neighborhood, much less the area - while sunset did technically occur even as late as 11PM the sky still looked like dusk. The entire valley was lit by at least a dozen major point sources. A couple of them seemed to have unlimited money, and at least one of which I'm pretty sure must have been semi-professional.
John Adams in the musical "1776" has a line: "I see fireworks... I hear the cannons roar..."
Happy Birthday, USA!
Friday, July 6, 2012
Thursday, July 5, 2012
War in the Pacific: Admiral's Edition
War in the Pacific: Admiral’s Edition is a gigantic computer game – I got it for Christmas
The game covers the Pacific Theater of WWII. The game map covers about half the Earth – from the Arctic Circle to south of New Zealand and Australia, from the US Pacific Coast to the western border of India. The map is hexed-based, with hexes being 40 nautical miles across. Individual ships – including individual merchantmen, PT Boats, and major landing craft are represented. Yes, you can give orders to individual PT boats. Ground units vary in size from individual companies to corps with their subordinate components tracked at the squad level (though service and non-combat support units are somewhat abstracted). Most frightening of all, however, while air units are given orders at the squadron/group level, their component aircraft are tracked individually as are, separately, their individual pilots! The Allies will have over 100,000 aircraft available over the course of the game.
Units (ground, air, and ships) can all be damaged, and except for ships can be fatigued or suffer from low morale. All units also have skill as do, separately, their commanders. For the expenditure of ‘political points’ commanders may be reassigned. The subordinate components of each unit have their own stats, too, naturally.
Logistics? Oh yeah. In addition to moving ground and air units around, ships can carry four types of cargo: “resources” (raw materials), “oil”, “fuel” (ship fuel), and “supplies” (everything from beans, bullets, and gas to spare parts, personnel, and bombs. Some special items, such as mines, are further limited in their availability. Road and rail nets play their own part – you start wishing you had railroads everywhere.
All in all, it is truly a mega game in both scale and detail.
Orders are on the “WeGo” model: both sides (one or, unusually, both of which may be AI) give orders for the turn (which may be one or two days) then the game executes the orders without further player input. This frequently results in a desire to relieve (or, sometimes, summarily execute) subordinates. PBEM is available – and not for the faint of heart. It seems typical for the game to advance at about one game day per real day – meaning to play the entire war takes literally years.
Play vs. the AI goes rather faster – in the game I started against the Japanese AI in January I’m now up to May of 1943. The AI, as is typical, just isn’t up to human level, however, so I’m already about a year ahead of history in my counter-offensives while having suffered lighter than historical losses. I plan to play the game through to the end, however, to get a feel for the capabilities of late-war Allied units and positions.
The game is by no means perfect – one major gripe I have is that there is no way to expend the road net (several major roads such as the Alaska-Canada highway and the Burma Road thus aren’t represented at all), and the land combat/logistic engine are by a long shot the weakest link. This makes the China portion of the campaign rather frustrating (quite aside from the frustration inherent in having obsolete equipment, minimal supplies, and incompetent commanders). The Japanese player (or AI) can deviate from historical production, but the Allies can't - they get what they got.
Some of the frustrating aspects, however, give one a real appreciation for history and the problems the real commanders had. The horrifyingly ineffective early-war US torpedoes are faithfully replicated, which means that in 1942 you fire dozens of torpedoes for every hit that actually detonates.
The editor is reasonable and has a good amount of flexibility.
All in all this is one of the best computer games I’ve ever played.
The game covers the Pacific Theater of WWII. The game map covers about half the Earth – from the Arctic Circle to south of New Zealand and Australia, from the US Pacific Coast to the western border of India. The map is hexed-based, with hexes being 40 nautical miles across. Individual ships – including individual merchantmen, PT Boats, and major landing craft are represented. Yes, you can give orders to individual PT boats. Ground units vary in size from individual companies to corps with their subordinate components tracked at the squad level (though service and non-combat support units are somewhat abstracted). Most frightening of all, however, while air units are given orders at the squadron/group level, their component aircraft are tracked individually as are, separately, their individual pilots! The Allies will have over 100,000 aircraft available over the course of the game.
Units (ground, air, and ships) can all be damaged, and except for ships can be fatigued or suffer from low morale. All units also have skill as do, separately, their commanders. For the expenditure of ‘political points’ commanders may be reassigned. The subordinate components of each unit have their own stats, too, naturally.
Logistics? Oh yeah. In addition to moving ground and air units around, ships can carry four types of cargo: “resources” (raw materials), “oil”, “fuel” (ship fuel), and “supplies” (everything from beans, bullets, and gas to spare parts, personnel, and bombs. Some special items, such as mines, are further limited in their availability. Road and rail nets play their own part – you start wishing you had railroads everywhere.
All in all, it is truly a mega game in both scale and detail.
Orders are on the “WeGo” model: both sides (one or, unusually, both of which may be AI) give orders for the turn (which may be one or two days) then the game executes the orders without further player input. This frequently results in a desire to relieve (or, sometimes, summarily execute) subordinates. PBEM is available – and not for the faint of heart. It seems typical for the game to advance at about one game day per real day – meaning to play the entire war takes literally years.
Play vs. the AI goes rather faster – in the game I started against the Japanese AI in January I’m now up to May of 1943. The AI, as is typical, just isn’t up to human level, however, so I’m already about a year ahead of history in my counter-offensives while having suffered lighter than historical losses. I plan to play the game through to the end, however, to get a feel for the capabilities of late-war Allied units and positions.
The game is by no means perfect – one major gripe I have is that there is no way to expend the road net (several major roads such as the Alaska-Canada highway and the Burma Road thus aren’t represented at all), and the land combat/logistic engine are by a long shot the weakest link. This makes the China portion of the campaign rather frustrating (quite aside from the frustration inherent in having obsolete equipment, minimal supplies, and incompetent commanders). The Japanese player (or AI) can deviate from historical production, but the Allies can't - they get what they got.
Some of the frustrating aspects, however, give one a real appreciation for history and the problems the real commanders had. The horrifyingly ineffective early-war US torpedoes are faithfully replicated, which means that in 1942 you fire dozens of torpedoes for every hit that actually detonates.
The editor is reasonable and has a good amount of flexibility.
All in all this is one of the best computer games I’ve ever played.
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
From the Frontlines: Freedom Fest
This past weekend (see, I’m almost caught up!) was Naval Station Everett’s annual ‘Freedom Fest’; their public day. One of the things they do is have community groups come in and give out information and demos. One such group, naturally, being the SCA.
It is more than a little odd to do a demo of 16th century swordfighting next to an HMMWV with a ring-mounted M240 machine gun. OTOH, the picture of me, in garb, in the turret is nifty.
One of our big draws at demos is that we give children ~2 foot long ‘swords’ (glorified pool noddles), and let them do battle with similarly armed veteran SCA fighters (such as myself). The children have superior numbers, energy, and generally a complete disregard for possible injuries to themselves and/or others. We have superior skill. Impressively enough when we employ that skill, the fighting tends to be pretty even despite 2:1 or 3:1 odds. Naturally we hold back a little if for no other reason than we ARE aware that you can actually inflict an injury with a glorified pool noodle, plus we actually acknowledge the hits we take, so the kids generally win. Great fun is had by all (often including the parents), and it makes a good crowd draw, plus where else can you say you spent hours beating up little children and get away with it?
I also got to do some actual fencing with Vladimir; it seems that while I am rusty I have retained my core skills much better than I had feared.
The Navy was doing ship tours – including a pair of Oliver H. Perry class FFGs. I visited the USS Ingraham (FFG61), the last of the Perrys built. We saw the main deck, upper deck (including the bridge), hanger, and fo’c’sle. I was interested to note a hard-bound copy of Janes Fighting Ships 2011-2012 (right next to Janes Merchant Ships). They also had a plaque up commemorating the prior USS Ingraham (DD694), an Allen M. Sumner class destroyer commissioned in 1944, herself named after USS Ingraham (DD444) a Gleaves class destroyer commissioned in mid 1941 and sunk in late 1942. She, in turn, was preceded by USS Ingraham (DD111) a Wickes class destroyer commissioned in 1919 and sunk as a target in 1937. The US Navy does like reusing names. I’ve always liked the Perrys, due in no small part to their ‘balanced’ initial weapons fit which made them very useful in wargames.
It is also rather pleasant to deal with REAL security. Granted, there weren’t many Marines around (actually, I didn’t spot any for sure), but the Navy realizes that real security checkpoints have rifles, concrete barriers, and people using their brains rather than detuned metal detectors, 2oz containers of liquids, and officially sanctioned sexual assaults. I was a little surprised, noting one MA with an M4, that the Navy hasn’t made ACOGs general issue (the Marines have one on every rifle these days). I suppose on shipboard the ACOGs advantages are rather reduced, and the price tag is notable (on the same order as the rifle it is mounted on). The petty officer giving the tour was an electronics tech, so we were treated to a brief description of every antenna on the ship (OK, he probably skipped a few). I also observed that either they are making very young ensigns these days, or I am getting old.
“Old” of course coming from the man touring a missile frigate wearing clothing that last saw shipboard use when muzzle-loading cannon were the hot new concept for shipboard weapons.
It is more than a little odd to do a demo of 16th century swordfighting next to an HMMWV with a ring-mounted M240 machine gun. OTOH, the picture of me, in garb, in the turret is nifty.
One of our big draws at demos is that we give children ~2 foot long ‘swords’ (glorified pool noddles), and let them do battle with similarly armed veteran SCA fighters (such as myself). The children have superior numbers, energy, and generally a complete disregard for possible injuries to themselves and/or others. We have superior skill. Impressively enough when we employ that skill, the fighting tends to be pretty even despite 2:1 or 3:1 odds. Naturally we hold back a little if for no other reason than we ARE aware that you can actually inflict an injury with a glorified pool noodle, plus we actually acknowledge the hits we take, so the kids generally win. Great fun is had by all (often including the parents), and it makes a good crowd draw, plus where else can you say you spent hours beating up little children and get away with it?
I also got to do some actual fencing with Vladimir; it seems that while I am rusty I have retained my core skills much better than I had feared.
The Navy was doing ship tours – including a pair of Oliver H. Perry class FFGs. I visited the USS Ingraham (FFG61), the last of the Perrys built. We saw the main deck, upper deck (including the bridge), hanger, and fo’c’sle. I was interested to note a hard-bound copy of Janes Fighting Ships 2011-2012 (right next to Janes Merchant Ships). They also had a plaque up commemorating the prior USS Ingraham (DD694), an Allen M. Sumner class destroyer commissioned in 1944, herself named after USS Ingraham (DD444) a Gleaves class destroyer commissioned in mid 1941 and sunk in late 1942. She, in turn, was preceded by USS Ingraham (DD111) a Wickes class destroyer commissioned in 1919 and sunk as a target in 1937. The US Navy does like reusing names. I’ve always liked the Perrys, due in no small part to their ‘balanced’ initial weapons fit which made them very useful in wargames.
It is also rather pleasant to deal with REAL security. Granted, there weren’t many Marines around (actually, I didn’t spot any for sure), but the Navy realizes that real security checkpoints have rifles, concrete barriers, and people using their brains rather than detuned metal detectors, 2oz containers of liquids, and officially sanctioned sexual assaults. I was a little surprised, noting one MA with an M4, that the Navy hasn’t made ACOGs general issue (the Marines have one on every rifle these days). I suppose on shipboard the ACOGs advantages are rather reduced, and the price tag is notable (on the same order as the rifle it is mounted on). The petty officer giving the tour was an electronics tech, so we were treated to a brief description of every antenna on the ship (OK, he probably skipped a few). I also observed that either they are making very young ensigns these days, or I am getting old.
“Old” of course coming from the man touring a missile frigate wearing clothing that last saw shipboard use when muzzle-loading cannon were the hot new concept for shipboard weapons.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
From the Frontlines: Boar’s Hunt/Champions
I made a brief appearance at Boar’s Hunt, which this year was combined with Aquaterra Champions. I served as one of three judges for the three Bardic entrants. In addition to the usual songs, stories, and music, Lord Nigel did a period slight-of-hand routine; the classic cups-and-balls act is still done today.
It was quite odd to be on the other side of the judging; of course I’ve made private assessments of other bards, and passed on my share of compliments, but I’ve never done a formal judging and scoring before. I don’t know that it will make me a better bard, but it was an interesting experience, and I was flattered to be considered worthy of being a judge.
It was quite odd to be on the other side of the judging; of course I’ve made private assessments of other bards, and passed on my share of compliments, but I’ve never done a formal judging and scoring before. I don’t know that it will make me a better bard, but it was an interesting experience, and I was flattered to be considered worthy of being a judge.
Monday, July 2, 2012
From the Frontlines: June Faire XXX
June Faire is, like Ursulmas, a regular event that is open to the public.
All through grade school and high school I did theater. Usually I was an actor, but in high school I spent a fair amount of time as stage crew. Then I went to college and my active role in theater came to a screeching halt. At Ursulmas I was asked to join a crew putting together a production of Arlecchino and the Cup of Love (a farce comedy written by a member of the SCA, set in period Verona). Doing a production as an adult is a rather different feel (especially the cast party!) from my younger years. The variation of experience in the cast is much greater – we had novices who’d never acted before, and a few who’d been acting longer than I’ve been alive.
We did an invitation-only dress rehearsal, but our real opening was at June Faire, where we did two showings on Saturday.
Performing outdoors with a jury-rigged stage is also quite different from performing in a conventional theater or auditorium. The weather demonstrated this with an assortment of conditions from bright sunshine to rain, from too warm to too cold; cast members at the first show were fanning themselves backstage, during the second three of the female members of the cast gratefully huddled under my cloak. Traffic noise from the road behind us was also an issue. The sun set during the second show, and we finished the play by the light of propane torches.
All in all the play went well, with a decent house for both shows who did quite a bit of laughing, mostly when we expected them to.
And then there was the cast party.
The director and the majority of the actors were from House Methelstede, an Aquaterra house known for its bards. Naturally, therefore, our cast party included a bardic circle. We were rolling along nicely when the camp was hailed, and half a dozen bards and minstrels, including the Bards of Key Point entered! I finally turned in, exhausted, at 3AM, and I’m told that the circle didn’t break up until sunrise. In addition to some truly awesome songs and stories I got to perform a story as proxy for another bard and found someone who knew the lyrics to a song I’d been hunting for.
Words really fail me – it was a truly amazing night.
And June Faire wasn’t over yet.
Sunday I spent most of the day with the Moneyer’s Guild, which was doing a fundraiser – selling examples of our coins. I gave the ‘making money the old-fashioned way’ spiel about two hundred times to mundanes, and the guild sold over a hundred coins (the storekeeper apparently credited my salesmanship with the bulk of the sales). I also struck my first groat – a larger coin than the usual pennies. Most importantly, however, I formally swore my apprentice oath to the Moneyer’s Guild of An Tir. Three other new apprentices were also sworn in, one of whom is almost ready to be a journeyman. For that matter I’ve completed two of the five requirements for being a journeyman (making 100 blank coins by various means and working as a two-man striking team) and am working on the third (my mon die).
A mon die is used to strike the reverse of a coin. In period this allowed the king to know who to chop body parts off of (yes, literally – the middle ages were not all chivalry and deeds of honor) if the coins turned out to have less precious metal than they were supposed to. The guild requires this to be in a 13th century English style – also known as the ‘long cross penny’ (many good images show up on a Google search). Note that unlike modern coins, the same obverse (or face) of a coin would appear with several different reverses (backs) depending on who struck them.
All through grade school and high school I did theater. Usually I was an actor, but in high school I spent a fair amount of time as stage crew. Then I went to college and my active role in theater came to a screeching halt. At Ursulmas I was asked to join a crew putting together a production of Arlecchino and the Cup of Love (a farce comedy written by a member of the SCA, set in period Verona). Doing a production as an adult is a rather different feel (especially the cast party!) from my younger years. The variation of experience in the cast is much greater – we had novices who’d never acted before, and a few who’d been acting longer than I’ve been alive.
We did an invitation-only dress rehearsal, but our real opening was at June Faire, where we did two showings on Saturday.
Performing outdoors with a jury-rigged stage is also quite different from performing in a conventional theater or auditorium. The weather demonstrated this with an assortment of conditions from bright sunshine to rain, from too warm to too cold; cast members at the first show were fanning themselves backstage, during the second three of the female members of the cast gratefully huddled under my cloak. Traffic noise from the road behind us was also an issue. The sun set during the second show, and we finished the play by the light of propane torches.
All in all the play went well, with a decent house for both shows who did quite a bit of laughing, mostly when we expected them to.
And then there was the cast party.
The director and the majority of the actors were from House Methelstede, an Aquaterra house known for its bards. Naturally, therefore, our cast party included a bardic circle. We were rolling along nicely when the camp was hailed, and half a dozen bards and minstrels, including the Bards of Key Point entered! I finally turned in, exhausted, at 3AM, and I’m told that the circle didn’t break up until sunrise. In addition to some truly awesome songs and stories I got to perform a story as proxy for another bard and found someone who knew the lyrics to a song I’d been hunting for.
Words really fail me – it was a truly amazing night.
And June Faire wasn’t over yet.
Sunday I spent most of the day with the Moneyer’s Guild, which was doing a fundraiser – selling examples of our coins. I gave the ‘making money the old-fashioned way’ spiel about two hundred times to mundanes, and the guild sold over a hundred coins (the storekeeper apparently credited my salesmanship with the bulk of the sales). I also struck my first groat – a larger coin than the usual pennies. Most importantly, however, I formally swore my apprentice oath to the Moneyer’s Guild of An Tir. Three other new apprentices were also sworn in, one of whom is almost ready to be a journeyman. For that matter I’ve completed two of the five requirements for being a journeyman (making 100 blank coins by various means and working as a two-man striking team) and am working on the third (my mon die).
A mon die is used to strike the reverse of a coin. In period this allowed the king to know who to chop body parts off of (yes, literally – the middle ages were not all chivalry and deeds of honor) if the coins turned out to have less precious metal than they were supposed to. The guild requires this to be in a 13th century English style – also known as the ‘long cross penny’ (many good images show up on a Google search). Note that unlike modern coins, the same obverse (or face) of a coin would appear with several different reverses (backs) depending on who struck them.
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