What Are You Doing In Real Life II

[Tango589]

Another day, another sixpence earned.

[Aktungbby]

...just back from a very foggy round trip (100 miles) that started at 03:30 driving my wife and daughter to San Francisco airport for their 6:AM flight to Massachusetts to plant the cremains of her parents in my better half's home town family plot. Her clan (5 siblings and assorted nieces, nephews and great grandkids) are all gathering. I'd have gone, but I'm not fit to fly on a airliner these daze...so I get total control of the TV channel changer for a whole week!:yeah::O:

[Jimbuna]

Enjoy the Cartoon Channel :)

[Aktungbby]

Close! I'm enjoying my last day of freedom watching a daylong Laurel and Hardy marathon on the TurnerClassicMovie channel: Flying Deuces and Way Out West being 2 of my favorites 70 years on!:timeout:

[Eichhörnchen]

You might know the answer to this then, Vinny - which movie features a scene where Ollie falls into a room and the entire contents crash down onto him leaving the place a pile of rubble? They'd obviously attached everything on the walls, ceiling etc to this central table with invisible thread so that when he fell onto it he wrecked the place. It must've taken hours to set up but it's maybe the funniest thing I've ever seen on film, even now

[Rockstar]

I wrote a comment about Milton and FEMA in our US Politics thread, since it's in Florida USA. Rockstar replied and said he had been evacuated to Tallahassee


Markus

I voluntarily evacuated because I don’t have a garage to protect the brand new truck I purchased the week before from flying debris. My mom stayed and watched the eye of the storm pass over her house while I stayed in Tallahassee with some friends and tipped back a few icy cold beers.

[Jimbuna]

You might know the answer to this then, Vinny - which movie features a scene where Ollie falls into a room and the entire contents crash down onto him leaving the place a pile of rubble? They'd obviously attached everything on the walls, ceiling etc to this central table with invisible thread so that when he fell onto it he wrecked the place. It must've taken hours to set up but it's maybe the funniest thing I've ever seen on film, even now

The Elephant Man :)

[Eichhörnchen]

^
Thanks, Jim - I never saw the title of this before so I'll go and check it out in a moment

In the meantime, while Moira's sweating it out washing down the wallpaper in the next room, I'm in here gaming - what a life eh? Got to stop the U-Boat from submerging ("Hidden & Dangerous")

https://i.imgur.com/Q5uxm01.jpeg

[Shadowblade]

https://i.ibb.co/pWm5BNx/yoda-tired.jpg

[Torvald Von Mansee]

Posting in this thread

[Jimbuna]

Received my latest Covid jab yesterday and will be getting my Flu jab this Friday.

[Eichhörnchen]

I gottem together last week - one in each arm

[Jimbuna]

A brave one eh? :)

[Aktungbby]

I just got the flu-shot myself but am eschewing further Covid vaccines, having had 4 previously(and still got a light case??!:Kaleun_Sick:) so I figure I'm auto-immune.:shucks: I still haven't heard back from Armistead...:hmmm: frankly I'm concerned as he always responds.

[Eichhörnchen]

Haven't heard anything from him for as long as. I think he missed Wolferz's birthday. Come to think of it, so did Wolferz

I just made a new nose for Moira and stuck a big wart on it. Well it was for her Halloween witch, whose nose fell off and got lost

[Aktungbby]

In today's WSJ: https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/a-million-people-play-this-video-wargame-so-does-the-pentagon-e6388f50 A Million People Play This Video Wargame. So Does the Pentagon.
Militaries worldwide run battle scenarios using one family-run British company’s software, rooted in Tom Clancy novels. Warfare is changing at a pace unseen in almost a century, as fighting in Ukraine and the Middle East shows. For military commanders, tackling that upheaval demands fast and constant adaptation.

Increasingly, that entails playing games.

Wargames—long the realm of top brass and classified plans—let strategists test varying scenarios, using different tactics and equipment. Now they are filtering down the ranks and out among analysts. Digitization, boosted by artificial intelligence, helps yield practical lessons in greater safety and at lower cost than staging military maneuvers would. Wargames can also explore hypotheticals that no exercise could address, such as nuclear warfare.

Proponents of wargames include Tim Barrick, a retired Marine colonel who is now wargaming director at Marine Corps University. He drills students using board games and computers. In one online exercise, he pushed eight Marine majors repeatedly through the same Pacific military engagement, using a program called Command: Professional Edition.

This software is unusual because it didn’t originate with a defense contractor or institute, as most wargames do. It is a simulation program built and marketed by gamers with almost no military background—and rooted in Tom Clancy novels. Users of all stripes have made it a surprise hit. Wargaming, which first took its modern form in Prussia about 200 years ago, got a boost in the U.S. in 2015 when then-Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work warned that the Pentagon’s wargaming skills had “atrophied.” The military services scrambled to up their game.

Traditionally conducted using maps, grids and dice—essentially sophisticated cousins of familiar board games like Risk and Stratego—some wargames entail tabletop models that resemble electric-train sets or require an entire room.

Computer wargames still generally resemble complex maps more than first-person shooter games such as Call of Duty. But their speed and processing power allow operators to run and rerun scenarios at a tempo never before possible, and to generate scads of data for analysis. In a project called Gamebreak for the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in 2020, scientists at military contractor Northrop Grumman developed AI models to essentially play Command PE, processing more than 200 quadrillion options—or 2 followed by 17 zeros.

AI is increasingly helping users create scenarios, run games and sift through results for trends and surprises. French wargame maker MASA Group boasts that AI allows its Sword program to be run more easily than rivals’ systems.

Whether AI and advanced software actually improve wargaming and preparations for war is a question sparking battles of its own. Warfare is so complex—buffeted by factors ranging from equipment and strategy to politics, weather and corruption—that modeling all the inputs entails parsing an almost infinite number of variables. Quantifying unquantifiables such as military morale requires arbitrary decisions.

“If all your data for a simulation is garbage, it’s garbage out too,” said Anna Knack, who leads research on AI and security at Britain’s Alan Turing Institute, a government-funded research center. Skeptics say digital wargaming, in an unintended twist, may actually reduce understanding of scenarios because software’s underlying algorithms aren’t accessible to users.

“It takes some of the human decision-making element away,” said Becca Wasser, who leads the Gaming Lab at the Center for a New American Security, a think tank in Washington.

Advocates say computerization expands enormously both the usefulness of wargames and their range of potential users, often complementing manual games.

“It’s a tool in a toolkit,” said David, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Not all wargames involve combat. NATO, which in 2021 adopted warfighting guidelines that call for “audacious wargaming,” also runs crisis-management simulations. U.S. Transportation Command runs wargames involving shipments and logistics, its area of responsibility.

Wargames that focus on a specific field, such as logistics, are relatively straightforward to design, while modeling big conflicts is vexing.

To simulate a Chinese invasion of Taiwan in a tabletop game played between teams of specialists in 2022, modelers hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank in Washington spent more than a year designing and preparing the project. Each of 22 iterations took a full day, between which the designers adapted the game to address new issues from each running.https://images.wsj.net/im-56976745?width=700&size=1.5005861664712778

It was a simple battle simulation that Navy Lt. Larry Bond wanted to create in 1980, after using the service’s complex training game, Navtag, onboard his destroyer.

Bond created Harpoon, published as a paper-and-dice game that drew a big following thanks to its extensive technical data on military systems. One fan was insurance-agent-turned-author Tom Clancy. Clancy tapped Harpoon as a source for his first novel, “The Hunt for Red October,” and used it so extensively in writing his 1986 follow-up, “Red Storm Rising,” that he called himself and Bond “co-authors.” A home-computer version of Harpoon flourished and then faded early this century. Frustrated fan Dimitris Dranidis sought to replace it. The result, Command: Modern Operations, released in 2013, took off as users—many in the military—added and corrected its open-source database.

The database now includes tens of thousands of items, from bullets to bombers, covering almost every front-line piece of equipment used by all the world’s militaries since 1946. Users keep parameters like fuel capacity and operating range accurate.

After Work’s 2015 Pentagon memo sent the services scurrying to rediscover wargaming, an Air Force official stumbled on Harpoon and contacted Slitherine, which held the publishing rights. The McNeils introduced him to Command, which they were also publishing as a consumer game. “It never even occurred to me that we’d work with militaries,” said Chief Executive Iain McNeil, whose father, J.D., had previously owned a scaffolding business.

The Air Force sent two retired generals to assess the company, seeking to better understand its operations and Command’s database. They invited the McNeils and Dranidis for meetings at the Pentagon, where the newbies shot selfies standing behind the briefing-room lectern.

Slitherine created a version of Command for military and intelligence-agency needs, Professional Edition, addressing their security requirements and allowing them to upload classified data without giving access to programmers or other users, Iain McNeil said.

In the military world, most acquisitions undergo more rigorous testing than consumer products for battle-readiness, but Command flips that paradigm thanks to its evolution. With roughly one million commercial users, Command “gets beat up by the community to a degree that the defense industry just can’t do,” said Barrick, the Marines instructor. Command focuses on battles and engagements, not campaigns or wars. “It’s really useful if you want a very close look—almost through a soda straw,” said Wasser at CNAS, who sees it as an excellent tool for training and education.

Education was one of the top uses cited at a conference of Command military users in Rome hosted by the Italian Air Force last year, attended by civilian and uniformed defense professionals from the U.S., the U.K., Taiwan and beyond.

German Air Force Lt. Col. Thomas Silier explained how Command offered a way to teach mission planning that mixed classroom theory and real-world experience.

In his seminars, a group of around 20 pilots would face an emergency, like defending a target from an incoming attack. They planned mission timelines and assessed factors such as flying time with a given fuel load. Their proposals were fed into Command, and the simulation played out on a big screen in the classroom.

“It’s a stadium-like atmosphere,” with students cheering when missiles hit the enemy, said Silier. “One student told me it’s more exciting than a Champions League football match.” < the name of of the article's game game is COMMAND :Professional Edition

[Jeff-Groves]

Currently designing the latch system to fit my Top lid on the center console of my 2000 Cadillac Escalade. You can't find that stuff now days.
I will be 3D printing it in PetG.

[Catfish]

We just held a pjsm before pulling out the bha and finishing the fwr lol.
Thursday planned to drive home and exchange the front hydractive valve of the Citroën if there is enough time before the next job.

[mapuc]

In today's WSJ: https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/a-million-people-play-this-video-wargame-so-does-the-pentagon-e6388f50 < the name of of the article's game game is COMMAND :Professional Edition

I have Command, except I only got Command: Modern operations, would love to play the professional edition.

Markus

[Aktungbby]

/\Thanks for that imput. I'd never heard of the game in any form/edition. That field commanders on battlefields are utilizing it in real time emphsizes its importance and utility. I'll check Steam to see if it's available. :hmmm:

[mapuc]

/\Thanks for that imput. I'd never heard of the game in any form/edition. That field commanders on battlefields are utilizing it in real time emphsizes its importance and utility. I'll check Steam to see if it's available. :hmmm:

It's a great game if you are into strategy and simulation-Some say it is similar to Harpoon while others say it ain't. It cost a bit more than ordinary games

What's also great with this game is the hundreds of fan made scenarios.
And you can create your own scenarios-Using the editor which is part of the game.

Expect hours of playing.

Neal have even dedicated a sub forum for this game
https://www.subsim.com/radioroom/forumdisplay.php?f=261

Markus

[Sean C]

I don't think you're going to find the Professional Edition on Steam, or be able to play it at all.

Slitherine created a version of Command for military and intelligence-agency needs, Professional Edition, addressing their security requirements and allowing them to upload classified data without giving access to programmers or other users, Iain McNeil said.

Steel Beasts and I think VBS also have versions that are only available to defense organizations.

[mapuc]

I don't think you're going to find the Professional Edition on Steam, or be able to play it at all.



Steel Beasts and I think VBS also have versions that are only available to defense organizations.

I know it would cost more than I can afford and it may need more space than I have on my computer.

When I played a scenario where North Korea was involved and I was loading my B1B Bomber with JASSM, there was some loading options only available in the Pro edition and many other options were only available in the Pro edition.

Edit
Found the price list for what it cost monthly or per year.
http://ftp.us.matrixgames.com/pub/CommandPro/US%20Mil%20Licence%20Types%20with%20Pricing.pdf
End edit

Markus

[Aktungbby]

I actually bothered to vote in this year's election; which is to say my my wife did both our ballots and I merely signed the return envelope. The choices were not particularly good, so I assume she selected the "lesser of two weevils". I then delivered the precious 'instruments of democracy' to the nearest ballot box. I recollect the old saying: "All government is bad; ours is the least worst"... :hmmm::shucks::O::ping::ping::ping: EDIT: The Wall Street Journal is urging voters to "vote for Trump...even rhough he's nuts"...with civilization due to end by 2040, the point is moot imho:timeout:

[Jimbuna]

Underwent a kidney and testicle scan today :oops:

[Aktungbby]

...that shines! I just got in from my urologist yearly visit, who'd already repaired my hydrocylic testicle problem some years ago; my PSA is down to 3.5! Would that my descending diverticular colon and night-seizure'd brains were in such good shape.:O: I don't mind being on the ' corporeal downslope of my years'; it's the damn schussbooming I object to...:wah:

[Jeff-Groves]

Printing out some test parts on my 3D printer. It's a Gold PetG and I'm gonna turn down the test part on my lathe to see how well it looks.

[Aktungbby]

...having lunch and watching 1977's Close Encounters of the Third Kind. It apparenntly is the "special edition" which features a Gobi Desert scene involving the appearance of a stranded cargo ship supposedly lost at sea in the Bermuda Triangle...the scene includes native Mongolians with 2 camels; but Speilburg must have been desperate: the 2 Dromedary (1 hump)camels are a blooper as the Gobi Desert and Mongolia are native to the Bactrian or 2 humped camel. There are only an estimated 1000 of them left and they considered an endangered species. This particular scene was not in the original theater release??!

[Kaye T. Bai]

Old HVAC died after 20 years. Bought a Pump/Split system to replace it.

[Eichhörnchen]

R.I.P. HVAC :yep:

[Otto Harkaman]

made some chili with spicy Italian sausage, winter is here

[Jimbuna]

Defrosting tonights curry

[Aktungbby]

Defrosting tonight's curryfixed!:O::know:

[Raf1394]

Preparing to go to work, on a sunday shift for the Railway company. Tommorow monday i have a day off ;)

[Aktungbby]

I just noticed my average post-count in :subsim: has dropped to an alarming 6.99 per diem from 7.22!!?:k_confused: :shucks::hmmm:

[Eichhörnchen]

Maybe this is one for the PC Hardware Forum but I've been concerned again today to see how Moira shakes her tablet violently when it seizes up. She insists that it works though

[Oubaas]

I'm in hiding. I've got The Kavorka. :o

:Kaleun_Cheers:

[u crank]

I'm in hiding. I've got The Kavorka. :o

:har:

:up:

[Eichhörnchen]

Moira was delighted yesterday to find that some bastard has passed her an Isle of Man £1 coin in her change. It is actually very nice with a raven engraved on the reverse, so she's going to keep it

[Aktungbby]

...paid off our house on Saturday! I now own the shack after 32 years...but now we're helping the newlywed kids buy their 1st house; $o it never ends!?? The house is probably the most valuable item in my so-called 'investment portfolio'...past earthquakes and horrific fires notwithstanding??! It's been raining all over CA for 3 days straight and another atmospheric stream is inbound with more reservoir-filling, fire-preventing H²0; 12 inches in the last fortnight alone; so "alls to the good"! :yeah:

[Eichhörnchen]

^
Unless of course you get a tsunami

[Aktungbby]

those are good for surfing...what CA's all about!:arrgh!: I actually did the security for the Chasing Mavericks beach scenes(hundreds of extras) in 2011 in Half Moon Bay. https://www.kron4.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2023/12/mavericks-frank5.jpg?w=876&h=493&crop=1 https://youtu.be/IMChBJZUDK8

[Aktungbby]

...paid off our house on Saturday! I now own the shack after 32 years...but now we're helping the newlywed kids buy their 1st house; $o it never ends!?? The house is probably the most valuable item in my so-called 'investment portfolio'...past earthquakes and horrific fires notwithstanding??! It's been raining all over CA for 3 days straight and another atmospheric stream is inbound with more reservoir-filling, fire-preventing H²0; 12 inches in the last fortnight alone; so "alls to the good"! :yeah: Slight update to the aforegoing post: No sooner did we pay off our abode (bucketlist item #1!:doh:) than we turned over a massive sum to the kids for their first house down-payment to
close the sale and get the keyshttps://www.subsim.com/radioroom/picture.php?albumid=815&pictureid=13631....and it's still raining due to 'atmospheric rivers' hitting the west coast off and on till Christmas day!:arrgh!:

[Eichhörnchen]

https://i.imgur.com/yJtVjG4.jpeg

No booze for me today - apart from that it was another good spread

[Sean C]

^Beautiful!


My family broke with tradition this year. We had steamed snow crab legs and shrimp with a side salad. It was delicious! And we had some nice quality time together.



Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you all!

[Aktungbby]

https://i.imgur.com/yJtVjG4.jpeg

No booze for me today - apart from that it was another good spreadAre those your Santa illustrations on the serviettes? https://medium.com/@gwvharrold/napkin-v-serviette-dbb48193b174

[Catfish]

https://i.imgur.com/yJtVjG4.jpeg

No booze for me today - apart from that it was another good spread
Beautiful indeed, but no booze .. :hmmm: :03:

[Skybird]

As usual, christmas for us, me and my parents, is more a family ritual of remembering good memories of past times and past christmasses. I have very, very kind and precious memories from christmasses when i still was small and young and lived with my parents, and we have a very good relation, until today. The christian context plays no longer a role for us, but its our family memory festival, so to speak. And who knows how much longer we can have that, my Mum is 76, my father 80. Maybe it was the last time for all three of us together, and we just do not yet know it.

So, it was a good christmas evening, with raclette as every year in the past 20+ years, to lengthen the time we sit together for dinner, and without christmas music and things, we all are a bit tired of these, it has become so commercial, so excessive and so - noisy. Its much better, we all agree, to relive how we had it done in my youth times, back in the days. All the joyful excitement. The warmth, the Christmas scents and colorful views of small details in all the colorful glittery stuff. Very, very precious and I am deeply and eternally thankful for the warm, living, never empty home my Mum created for us.

So, you may see - while we do not care for the Christian context of it anymore we nevertheless value christmas very much and defend it against anyone wanting to disgrace or relativise it. The world and things and our lives were much more "whole" (heile) for us back then than they are today, and we remember that and honor it together, as a family. We feel happy when we do, and feel very, very thankful for the way our lives have been and that we were allowed to witness those good times back then.

:salute:


https://i.postimg.cc/g2xJZ960/Resized-20241223-135426-1.jpg (https://postimg.cc/PCkhgRyG)
My Mum did these when we lived in Luebeck, in the mid 70s, she was around her mid-20s then, and I was in elementary school. Originally there are more figurines like this, the stones are from the Brodner Ufer, but this year she set up a small version of the set only.

[Eichhörnchen]

Are those your Santa illustrations on the serviettes?

No they aren't

[Aktungbby]

Reading the morning WSJ, drinking coffee, and Whacking...TGIF! :yeah::arrgh!::shucks:

[Jimbuna]

^ Reverse the order of tasks and someone might believe you :haha:

[Aktungbby]

...actually I'm out of the mancave watching the news, and texting this on my Verzon tablet. The rain is hitting all day.

[Jimbuna]

Pinnochio
https://i.postimg.cc/dVHxntN3/liaranimatedanimationli-1.gif (https://postimages.org/)



:har:

[Aktungbby]

No seriously: you got in that 300 pt. whack during my 30 seconds walk from the familyroom back into the mancave!:Kaleun_Salute:

[Eichhörnchen]

Yes I enjoyed that one - a nice clean whack right off the centre of the bat - scratch one squirrel in a tree and no-one else got near it. Memorable :yep:

[Eichhörnchen]

https://i.imgur.com/JjHt1az.jpeg Moira - still at the juice today

[Aktungbby]

I just noticed my average post-count in :subsim: has dropped to an alarming 6.99 per diem from 7.22!!?:k_confused: :shucks::hmmm:JEEZE! I just noted my per diem post count is back up to a solid 7.0! :yeah: That and my recent 'Vinny-chucked-his-Teddy" come-from-behind WaS victory is proof I'm not quite DOA yet on New Year's Day!:Kaleun_Thumbs_Up::O: We're watching the 1960's Twilight Zone marathon on TV today.

[Jeff-Groves]

Just checking out the News on the Bomber in Las Vegas.
Guy was a native of the City I was born and raised in!
:o

And people wonder why I bailed outta there YEARS ago.

[Aktungbby]

And people wonder why I bailed outta there YEARS ago....one wonders only why you forgot your parachute???:doh::oops::shucks:

[Eichhörnchen]

We're still getting ready to sell up and move but it's slow progress, owing largely to so many medical appointments clogging up the calendar now

So I've been going around the old place taking photos of my favourite corners; these are my pewter tankards in the kitchen. You can see a dent in the middle one - my favourite - where Moira dropped it. I was pretty sad about that

https://i.imgur.com/K9AsNxG.jpeg

[Jimbuna]

Had my first prostate examination yesterday :o

[Eichhörnchen]

You get a high PSA test result?

[Jimbuna]

No, traces of blood were discovered in my annual health check urine sample.

[Eichhörnchen]

Yeah - prostate can do that - may be nothing

[Aktungbby]

We're still getting ready to sell up and move but it's slow progress, owing largely to so many medical appointments clogging up the calendar now

So I've been going around the old place taking photos of my favourite corners; these are my pewter tankards in the kitchen. You can see a dent in the middle one - my favourite - where Moira dropped it. I was pretty sad about that

https://i.imgur.com/K9AsNxG.jpeg

Yeah - prostate can do that - may be nothing:hmmm:...yer pewters have patina!??:arrgh!:

[Eichhörnchen]

I only use the one with the dent - so it alone gets washed up

[Jimbuna]

Yeah - prostate can do that - may be nothing

The hospital doctor reckons everything is fine and said he'll write to my consultant who in turn should let me know the outcome officially.

[Aktungbby]

The hospital doctor reckons everything is fine and said he'll write to my consultant who in turn should let me know the outcome officially.Getting rid of yer concubines, Hetaeras, courtesans and general enamoratii would reduce the swelling!:arrgh!::know:

[Jimbuna]

Getting rid of yer concubines, Hetaeras, courtesans and general enamoratii would reduce the swelling!:arrgh!::know:

I think the wife was more relieved than me....bless her.

[Eichhörnchen]

^ I hope you got her something nice for the 25th?

[Jimbuna]

^ I hope you got her something nice for the 25th?

I presume your referring to her birthday?

If so, yes, we were at Newcastle this morning and she picked a pair of dress boots, dress shoes and a pair of ladies trainers.

I'll worry about paying the Visa balance next month :)

[Eichhörnchen]

^ Yes I was

[Jimbuna]

I was sitting watching Traitors whilst eating my evening meal last night and she suggested we replace tyhe double glazed windows (about ten years of age) with trple lazed :o

Lesson learned: Never share your true state of financial worth with the wife :)

[Sean C]

Ten days ago a very close friend of mine passed away. We had known each other for about 30 years, and he was the bass player in our band for about 10 years. He lived a five minute walk away from my house.


I didn't visit him enough. I don't have the words to express how heartbroken I am. Please ... go visit your loved ones. And if you can't do that, give them a call. My friend was only 43 years old.


Rest in peace, Doug.

[Commander Wallace]

I'm very sorry for your loss, Sean. Doug was much too young. I hope the music you all made helps pull you through during this tough time.


Thoughts and Prayers to you and Doug's family.

[Sean C]

Thank you.

[Aktungbby]

...watching The Emerald Forest with Charley Boorman and Powers Boothe, directed by one of my favorite directors, Sir John Boorman(Hope and Glory, Excaliber etc) on a third day of constant incessant rain...which is good as The Donald (trump):nope::nope::nope: has ordered the California reservoirs to be opened to combat fires; causing much misery to farmers in the Central Valley who need it for the nation's primary produce production.

[Aktungbby]

...awaiting a programmed power failure (0900-1200??) as PG&E advised us by mail a week ago that a power-pole in the neighborhood at the end of my street was due for replacement; I've got the power garage door open amid the incessant 'atmospheric river' of rain that's been ongoing all week with more to come https://www.kron4.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2022/04/RADAR-PIC.png?strip=1&w=640 even my daughter was temporarily trapped in her car during her evening home commute do to a small slide yesterday. There has been flooding and roads closed throughout the Bay area counties.

[Jeff-Groves]

Currently working on a Evanix RainStorm 1 Air Gun.
I've done massive work on the valve for efficiency, cut the barrel down to 10.5",
Cut other parts down and added a shorter Air Tube to make a nice compact shooter.
Now working on a Custom body to be 3D Printed on 1 of my 3 printers.

[Eichhörnchen]

After numerous visits to the eye infirmary over the past year it has now been decided that the odema in my left eye is not going to take a hike by itself so I'm to have laser eye surgery within the next fortnight. Time to polish up the white walking stick

How did that all go? Moira's mother has just been diagnosed with this :hmmm:

[Jimbuna]

How did that all go? Moira's mother has just been diagnosed with this :hmmm:

Perfectly as far as I am aware and I've not felt any deterioation in my sight.

A couple of minutes in front of a laser and that was it, no discomfort whatsoever.

[mapuc]

I went through these laser operation in both of my eyes some decade ago(think it was in 2007/8) I was diagnosed with Glaucoma-These laser operation, three in left eye and two in right eye, didn't help so now I'm on medication Eyedrops 3 times per day.

Markus

[Eichhörnchen]

https://i.imgur.com/e0ZLUXa.jpeg

I just had a great moneymaking idea: go around all the supermarkets and get all the free cardboard boxes you can. Then advertise these in Moggie Monthly as must-have play items for cats: minimal outlay (free box) minimal postage (empty box) oh and minimal packaging (box)

[Sean C]

If they fits, they sits. :yep:

[Eichhörnchen]

^ :har:

[Commander Wallace]

Just finished watching Team USA beat Canada in the 4 Nation face off consisting of Teams Canada, Finland, Sweden and the U.S. It was an epic battle between Teams Canada and USA. Team Canada Had NHL Stars Sydney Crosby and Connor McDavid playing for Team Canada. Team USA's Jake Guentzel scored the go ahead goal and then an empty netter with 1:19 for 2 goals for the night.


This assures that Team USA will play in Boston Monday night for the Championship. I'm glad I decided to stay in tonight with a Pizza to watch the game. :yep: Great showing, Team USA. :Kaleun_Thumbs_Up:



(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jake_Guentzel)

[Aktungbby]

...with a pizza:hmmm:?...what the PUCK!!? No beer with the 'za'?!!:shucks:

[Commander Wallace]

:hmmm:?...what the PUCK!!? No beer with the 'za'?!!:shucks:


Of course it came with Beer. Are yuz crazy ? :yep:

Samuel Adams and also Guinness too. :) You could have come here to watch the Game too. What's one more puck head ? :haha:

[mapuc]

Just finished watching Team USA beat Canada in the 4 Nation face off consisting of Teams Canada, Finland, Sweden and the U.S. It was an epic battle between Teams Canada and USA. Team Canada Had NHL Stars Sydney Crosby and Connor McDavid playing for Team Canada. Team USA's Jake Guentzel scored the go ahead goal and then an empty netter with 1:19 for 2 goals for the night.


This assures that Team USA will play in Boston Monday night for the Championship. I'm glad I decided to stay in tonight with a Pizza to watch the game. :yep: Great showing, Team USA. :Kaleun_Thumbs_Up:



(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jake_Guentzel)

On their way to glory, they have to face the mighty Tre Kronor(Nickname for the Swedish hockey team).....who has disappointed me in this tournament

Markus

[Commander Wallace]

On their way to glory, they have to face the mighty Tre Kronor(Nickname for the Swedish hockey team).....who has disappointed me in this tournament

Markus


I was surprised too. Sweden and Finland have produced some excellent Hockey Players. The Canadian Hockey Team is always hard to beat though.

[Jimbuna]

This morning my son asked if his mom and I would like to sell our house and move into one of his two houses. The one he is suggesting is 1/4 mile from the beach/coast.

His thoughts are the proceeds from the sale of our house could be set aside to spend in our continuing retirement because our only committment would be to pay the electric/gas/local taxes etc.

Much thought will now be needed between the wife and I but I am mindful we could probably give our granddaughter her inheritance earlier than simply leaving it in a will.

[Commander Wallace]

This morning my son asked if his mom and I would like to sell our house and move into one of his two houses. The one he is suggesting is 1/4 mile from the beach/coast.

His thoughts are the proceeds from the sale of our house could be set aside to spend in our continuing retirement because our only committment would be to pay the electric/gas/local taxes etc.

Much thought will now be needed between the wife and I but I am mindful we could probably give our granddaughter her inheritance earlier than simply leaving it in a will.


Congrats James on the potential move. That is very thoughtful of young James. I would think the close proximity to the coast would be cold in the Winters though. brrrrr

Let me know if you do move and I will send over some Hockey sticks and Pucks and line up some Polar Bears to play Hockey with. One caveat though. Polar Bears are sore losers and have a tendency to have you for lunch or Dinner if they lose. :03:

Seriously, all the best.

[Jimbuna]

Thank you my friend :up:

[Commander Wallace]

I watched Hockey Team USA lose to Team Canada in overtime 3-2. Team USA did a great job defensively, eliminating lanes for Sydney Crosby and Connor McDavid to operate in. However, Connor McDavid scored the game winning goal in overtime. Team USA kept Team Canada off balance most of the game, eliminating rushes. Team USA Defense-man Charlie McAvoy of the Boston Bruins was discharged on Thursday from the Hospital for a Shoulder Infection and made in to TD Garden in time for the puck drop.

Matthew Tkachuk of the Calgary Flames has also been injured and tried to play against Team Canada. Meanwhile, Brother Brady Tkachuk played and scored a goal for Team USA. Who knows how this would have played out if Team USA had all of it's players for the game.

Both Teams played well and Team Canada deserved the win. As I said many times before, the Hockey Teams for Canada are hard to beat. :yep: :Kaleun_Mad:

[ReallyDedPoet]

I watched Hockey Team USA lose to Team Canada in overtime 3-2. Team USA did a great job defensively, eliminating lanes for Sydney Crosby and Connor McDavid to operate in. However, Connor McDavid scored the game winning goal in overtime. Team USA kept Team Canada off balance most of the game, eliminating rushes. Team USA Defense-man Charlie McAvoy of the Boston Bruins was discharged on Thursday from the Hospital for a Shoulder Infection and made in to TD Garden in time for the puck drop.

Matthew Tkachuk of the Calgary Flames has also been injured and tried to play against Team Canada. Meanwhile, Brother Brady Tkachuk played and scored a goal for Team USA. Who knows how this would have played out if Team USA had all of it's players for the game.

Both Teams played well and Team Canada deserved the win. As I said many times before, the Hockey Teams for Canada are hard to beat. :yep: :Kaleun_Mad:


Was a great game :yep: Could have went either way. Really sets up well for a great Olympics next year. Though maybe not as entertaining with the more stringent IIHF Rules. Bigger ice should make things a little more interesting though :yep: Have to admit, struggling at work today with the late night, but it was well worth it.

[Commander Wallace]

Was a great game :yep: Could have went either way. Really sets up well for a great Olympics next year. Though maybe not as entertaining with the more stringent IIHF Rules. Bigger ice should make things a little more interesting though :yep: Have to admit, struggling at work today with the late night, but it was well worth it.

I completely agree. :yep: It was a great game that easily could have gone either way. Carolina Hurricane Defenseman Jacob Slavin showed why he is considered the best Defenseman in the NHL. Slavin logged 28:32 time on ice in Thursday's championship game and his impact was essentially the reason the entire game felt so close. Kris Letang was also considered one of the best two way Defenseman in his younger years. It was great to see that Johnny Gaudreau was honored by Hockey and by none other than the great one, Wayne Gretzky. Johnny and his brother Mathew were killed by a drunk driver. :nope:

Quote: Flyers coach John Tortorella invited Guy Gaudreau, father of Johnny and Mathew Gaudreau to serve as a guest coach during preseason practices, while Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason, despite never coaching Gaudreau's son, extended an open invitation for the 67-year-old to join the team's practices. Gaudreau joined the team for a morning skate in October. I have always considered Canada and the U.S, in that order the best in Hockey. Add Russia to that list as well as well as Sweden, Finland and the Czech Republic. Sweden Beat the U.S to show they can play some great Hockey too. :yep:

https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/20/sport/4-nations-face-off-championship-spt/index.html

All in all, this was a great series if you like great Hockey. It was even better if you're Canadian. :D I think it was an awesome gesture by John Tortorella to have Guy Gaudreau be an honorary Coach. Guy has coached Hockey for a long time. I think the fans of Hockey, the Coaches, Players and participating Countries were all winners. I think this sets the stage for the Olympics and Sweden and Finland may surprise everyone. :yep:

I'm glad you enjoyed the games and series too. :yep: See you in the Olympics. :yep:

[mapuc]

Each night one of my sport channel is broadcasting 1 to 2 matches from NHL.
I try to watch as much as I can

Markus

[Commander Wallace]

Each night one of my sport channel is broadcasting 1 to 2 matches from NHL.
I try to watch as much as I can

Markus


I'm glad you get Hockey there, Markus. Hockey really is an International Sport. I hope you're enjoying it. :) :yep:

[mapuc]

I'm glad you get Hockey there, Markus. Hockey really is an International Sport. I hope you're enjoying it. :) :yep:

If you should do a DNA test on me the letter would not be A, G or T but
N, H, L and C (C for Calgary)

Markus

[Commander Wallace]

If you should do a DNA test on me the letter would not be A, G or T but
N, H, L and C (C for Calgary)

Markus


Laughs. :haha: I will try not to hold it against you that you're supportive of another Canadian Team. :yep:

[ReallyDedPoet]

Each night one of my sport channel is broadcasting 1 to 2 matches from NHL.
I try to watch as much as I can

Markus


Nice :yep::up:

[ReallyDedPoet]

It was great to see that Johnny Gaudreau was honored by Hockey and by none other than the great one, Wayne Gretzky. Johnny and his brother Mathew were killed by a drunk driver. :nope:


Yes, very sad when the Gaudreau brothers were killed last year. So senseless. For me it was seeing Mario Lemieux in Montreal opening night vs. Sweden. What an ovation he received. Greatest pure gold scorer of all time in my opinion. A career cut short by health issues. When Canada won gold in Salt Lake City, 2002, it was his swan song. A great way to go out.

[mapuc]

Are watching Pittsburg Vs Washington, where they had a tribute to Mike Lange in the beginning.

May the best team win.

Markus

[Aktungbby]

Watching 1941's 49th Parallel about escaping German U-boat crewmen ecaping their sunk U-boat to get to neutral America through Canada, murdering as they go. It's on TCM channel and won the Oscar for "best story". Leslie Howard and Lawrence Olivier are featured players in the cast.

[Eichhörnchen]

^ Great movie and not forgetting the wonderful Eric Portman - the only other man my wife might have been tempted to escape with

Anyway - apart from all that - I was just now reminiscing again on Facebook about my time as a lad in the Army Cadet Force:

"Those were indeed the days:- "Boys! Join Today's Army Cadet Force!" - and wake up in the morning upside down in a steel locker, or with your feet suddenly on fire, or with writing and drawing done all over your face, or (my favourite) in bed, in the middle of a wet foggy meadow, surrounded by cows. Yes we saw it all - usually as soon as we woke up"

None of these was carried out on me, mind, but I did see them all - and much worse

[Jimbuna]

^ Great movie and not forgetting the wonderful Eric Portman - the only other man my wife might have been tempted to escape with

Anyway - apart from all that - I was just now reminiscing again on Facebook about my time as a lad in the Army Cadet Force:

"Those were indeed the days:- "Boys! Join Today's Army Cadet Force!" - and wake up in the morning upside down in a steel locker, or with your feet suddenly on fire, or with writing and drawing done all over your face, or (my favourite) in bed, in the middle of a wet foggy meadow, surrounded by cows. Yes we saw it all - usually as soon as we woke up"

None of these was carried out on me, mind, but I did see them all - and much worse

You'd have been right at home with me on the six week basic training course for Police at RAF Dishforth :)

[Eisenwurst]

Learning to use chopsticks......and doing alright surprisingly.

[Eichhörnchen]

^ Easier than learning how to play Chopsticks on the piano?

[Eisenwurst]

You bet. You hold them about halfway down, get for fingers placed right ( practice ), and bob's yer uncle. Easy as...and fun. :)

[Commander Wallace]

Yes, very sad when the Gaudreau brothers were killed last year. So senseless. For me it was seeing Mario Lemieux in Montreal opening night vs. Sweden. What an ovation he received. Greatest pure gold scorer of all time in my opinion. A career cut short by health issues. When Canada won gold in Salt Lake City, 2002, it was his swan song. A great way to go out.

Mario Lemieux was a special player indeed and a generational player. I think you're right regarding Mario being the best pure Goal Scorer ever. Mario scored some truly unbelievable Goals. Mario Suffered back Issues in addition to Hodgkin Lymphoma Cancer. Mario battled all of that and returned to playing Hockey because he truly loved Hockey and playing. As great as Mario was, Mario may have saved his best work for off the Ice. Mario is largely credited for saving Hockey In Pittsburgh where it was rumored the Team was moving to Kansas City. Mario has also done much for Cancer research in his adoptive City.

Mario never had the supporting cast Of Wayne Gretzky. Paul Coffey and Mark Messier were awesome players among many for the Edmonton Oilers. It hardly matters as we all got to see Cam Neely of the Canucks and Bruins, Steve Yserman, Jaromir Jagr and so may other Hockey greats. We all had the chance to see some great Hockey and players. :yep: Scotty Bowman of the Red Wings had a lot of players on his roster that originated from Russia. Just like in Canada, Hockey is a big deal in Russia too.

Now it's up to Connor Bedard and Connor McDavid and the new players coming up to carry on the proud traditions of the NHL and those of Canada and the U.S in professional Hockey. I'm sure they will carry those traditions well. :yep:


(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connor_Bedard)

[Sean C]

Easy as...and fun. :)


I've used chopsticks a lot, but somehow I seem to be getting worse at it. :doh:

The ultimate test is eating plain rice with them. Of course, it's only feasible with sticky rice, but that's what is usually served with food that you'd eat with chopsticks. I like to get dangerous and dip the clump of rice in whatever sauce is on the food and see if I can eat it before it falls apart. Sometimes it even works!

[Eichhörnchen]

^ You and Arnold ought to try taking up Kung-Fu next :yep:

[Eisenwurst]

More like Sumo wrestling for me. I got a few medical issues ( haven't we all ) so I'm looking a bit like one....:wah:

[Aktungbby]

^ You and Arnold ought to try taking up Kung-Fu next :yep:I quit kung fooling after David Carradine was found hanging in a closet...starkers! :oops::dead:

[Eichhörnchen]

^ :timeout: I Never knew that!

[Jimbuna]

I quit kung fooling after David Carradine was found hanging in a closet...starkers! :oops::dead:

Aye but tell the full story. it was your closet wasn't it? :haha:

[Aktungbby]

Leastwise, I made it out! :arrgh!:

[Buddahaid]

Hanging out in New Orleans practicing my day drinking.

[Aktungbby]

...in your Gorilla suit?.....& stay off Bourbon Steet!:O:

[Buddahaid]

Nope, it’s all about the undead this year.

[Eichhörnchen]

^ Binge watching "Walking Dead" series eleven is what we're doing in real life atm :D:yep:

[Catfish]

"Walking dead" is the real life here :k_confused:

[Eisenwurst]

Went out to dinner. First time using steel chopsticks - very slippery. The girls ordered, but through an error in translation instead of thai pancakes we were brought pancakes with octopus !!!!! Yuck....I wouldn't touch it, but they tell me it made good smoothies later on when they took it home as takeaway. :03:

[Jimbuna]

The first time I tasted octopus was during a mezze meal whilst on honeymoon in Cyprus over forty years ago and I must admit I quite liked it.

[Eisenwurst]

The first time I tasted octopus was during a mezze meal whilst on honeymoon in Cyprus over forty years ago and I must admit I quite liked it.

I've heard it said that it makes a good substitute for Turkey at Xmas, that way everyone gets a drumstick :)

[Eichhörnchen]

Time was the girls all thought you were the octopus :haha:

[Jimbuna]

I've heard it said that it makes a good substitute for Turkey at Xmas, that way everyone gets a drumstick :)

Time was the girls all thought you were the octopus :haha:

:haha:

[Buddahaid]

...in your Gorilla suit?.....& stay off Bourbon Steet!:O:

Back in reality which sucks by the way...

This image is in front on the house used in "American Horror Story".
https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/1794/ofAHLZ.jpg
https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img922/2420/TnXg30.jpg

The travel group on the balcony of the JAX brewery visiting WWOZ radio station.
https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img922/1593/jc6tGz.jpg
The captain preboarded the blues brothers for a photo op, seriously.
https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img924/3706/l7RJ4F.jpg
One of the parties we attended for a short time after the parade.
https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/7801/FegVsZ.jpg

[Eichhörnchen]

https://news.sky.com/video/billowing-smoke-and-fire-after-oil-tanker-and-cargo-ship-collision-in-north-sea-13325788

This isn't far from us :timeout:

[Jimbuna]

Pleasantly surprised this morning to receive a letterfrom HMRC(His Majesty Renue and Customs) informing me I was about to receive a £1050 tax rebate.

[Eichhörnchen]

Mine's a pint

[Jimbuna]

Mine's a pint

Bit of a pyrrhic victory really when you condider I paid over 4k :cry:

[Jeff-Groves]

Currently writing code to rip 3D meshes from an old Xbox 360 Game.
That Game used the RAW format instead of the standard GR2 format like SH5 uses.
Seems I'm the Granny Expert on that Forum.
:03:

[mapuc]

Watching Ice hockey- New Jersey Devils at Pittsburg Penguin Score right now in the middle of 2nd Period- 1-3

Markus

[Aktungbby]

...enjoying my morning cuppa-joe, reading the Wall Street Journal, and watching Unforgiven. Later in the day, my bride and I are off to sign our income tax returns at our tax preparers office, and dineout for lunch. I already sent the federal and state checks in 2 days ago...with the US flag postage stamps upside down to reflect that: "the nation is in peril!" The good news is: both my return checks will nearly offset my tax payments. :timeout:

[Eichhörnchen]

...with the US flag postage stamps upside down to reflect that: "the nation is in peril!"
:Kaleun_Thumbs_Up:

Glad I don't have to pay any tax now - although that does mean I'm very poor

[Jimbuna]

The house went on the market this morning and up to this point we have three viewings booked for tomorrow and two for Friday.

Hope at least a couple of them aren't just tyre kickers.

[Jimbuna]

Third one to view has made a cash offer equal to the asking price so hopefully it'll be smooth sailing from now on.

[Eichhörnchen]

I just placed a One Star rating on the joke thread because the jokes are so bad