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Subdeacon Joe

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Everything posted by Subdeacon Joe

  1. "Having been out preparing for, and then fighting in the Battle of White Marsh, Surgeon Albigence Waldo kept up his journal. He would write, “Were Soldiers to have plenty of Food & Rum, I believe they would Storm Tophet…Pain succeeds Pleasure, & Pleasure succeeds Pain." As the days went on, the army slowly moved towards Valley Forge; Dr. Waldo wrote of the hardships of the life in the army. I wanted to share with you his comments as we, this Christmas season, enjoy the benefits that these individuals suffered for in 1777. ----------- December 8. - All at our Several Posts. Provisions & Whiskey very scarce. Were Soldiers to have plenty of Food & Rum, I believe they would Storm Tophet. Our Lines were on a long high hill extending about three Miles - all Man'd. An Abettes in front from Right to Left - another in the rear of the Left, with a Cross Abettee near the Extremety. Five men from each Regt in Varnum's & Huntington's Brigades as Volunteers join'd Morgan's Rifle Men to Harrass the Enemy, and excite an Attack. Some Regt B were ordered to march out if an Attack should begin in earnest. This Afternoon a small Skirmish happen'd near the Enemies lines against our left. Towards Night the Enemy fired some Cannon against our Right & 2 against our left. Their horse appear'd to be busily moving. In the Evening there were but two spots of fires in the Enemies Camp. One against our Park (or main center); the other against the extremity of our Left, when the evening before they extended from almost our Right to our Left. At 12 o'clock at Night our Regt, with Sixteen more were Ordered to parade immediately before his Excellencies Quarters under Command of Sullivan & Wayne. We were there by One, when Intelligence came that the Enemy had made a precipitate retreat and was safely got into the City. We were all Chagrin'd at this, as we were more willing to Chase them in Rear, than meet such Sulkey Dogs in Front. We were now remandad back with several draughts of Rum in our frozen bellies, which made us so glad we all fell asleep in our open huts, nor experienced the Coldness of the Night 'till we found ourselves much stiffened by it in the Morning. December 9. We came from within the breastworks, Where we had been coop'd up four tedious Days, with Cloaths & Boots on Night and Day, and resumed our old Hutts East of the Breastwork. The rest of the Army Chiefly had their huts within the Lines. We are insensible what we are capable of enduring till we are put to the test. To endure hardships with a good grace we must allways think of the following Maxim: "Pain succeeds Pleasure, & Pleasure succeeds Pain." December 14. - Prisoners & Deserters are continually coming in. The Army which has been surprisingly healthy hitherto, now begins to grow sickly from the continued fatigues they have suffered this Campaign. Yet they still show a spirit of Alacrity & Contentment not to be expected from so young Troops. I am Sick – discontented -and out of humour. Poor food - hard lodging - Cold Weather – fatigue - Nasty Cloaths - nasty Cookery - Vomit half my time - smoak'd out of my senses - the Devil's in't - I can't Endure it - Why are we sent here to starve and Freeze - What sweet Felicities have I left at home; A charming Wife - pretty Children - Good Beds - good food – good Cookery - all agreeable – all harmonious. Here all Confusion - smoke & Cold - hunger & filthiness - A pox on my bad luck. There comes a bowl of beef soup - full of burnt leaves and dirt, sickish enough to make a Hector spue - away with it Boys - I'll live like the Chameleon upon Air. Poh ! Poh ! crys Patience within me - you talk like a fool. Your being sick Covers your mind with a Melanchollic Gloom, which makes every thing about you appear gloomy. See the poor Soldier, when in health - with what cheerfulness he meets his foes and encounters every hardship – if barefoot, he labours thro' the Mud & Cold with a Song in his mouth extolling War & Washington - if his food be bad, he eats it notwithstanding with seeming content - blesses God for a good Stomach and Whistles it into digestion. But harkee Patience, a moment - There comes a Soldier, his bare feet are seen thro' his worn out Shoes, his legs nearly naked from the tatter'd remains of an only pair of stockings, his Breeches not sufficient to cover his nakedness, his Shirt hanging in Strings, his hair dishevell'd, his face meagre; his whole appearance pictures a person forsaken & discouraged. He comes, and crys with an air of wretchedness & despair, I am Sick, my feet lame, my legs are sore, my body cover'd with this tormenting Itch - my Cloaths are worn out, my Constitution is broken, my former Activity is exhausted by fatigue, hunger & Cold, I fail fast I shall soon be no more! and all the reward I shall get will be - "Poor Will is dead." People who live at home in Luxury and Ease, quietly possessing their habitations, Enjoying their Wives & families in peace, have but a very faint Idea of the unpleasing sensations, and continual Anxiety the Man endures who is in a Camp, and is the husband and parent of an agreeable family. These same People are willing we should suffer every thing for their Benefit & advantage, and yet are the first to Condemn us for not doing more ! ! Valley Forge, 1777-1778. Diary of Surgeon Albigence Waldo, of the Connecticut Line. Image: World War II propaganda poster, Valley Forge, U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. ©2019-2023 Clifford Olsen/250Years America’s Founding #otd #americanhistory #liberty #250America #historyteacher #ushistory #historybuff #SARHistory
  2. I'd put a little salt and pepper on it and vacuum pack it, but salt and pepper, put it in a ziplock, close it most of the way, then submerge the bag right up to the zipper in cold water and finish closing it while it's in the water. That gets almost all the air out of the bag, almost as good as a vacuum sealer. Be sure to label it. When I freeze meat I always season it with salt and pepper, I think that it helps reduce the frozen taste it can get after a few months
  3. Interesting indeed! I'm glad that the article addressed the complications and illnesses that dogs are subject to as they age.
  4. I am truly blessed with my bride. We listen to each other, and she does "guy speak," no mind games of, "You should know what I mean." Oh, we do kid each other, but even with that, it will mostly be kidding on the square. If called on something we will make good on it. Unless it's something like, "Love, will you buy a gold Rolls Royce for me?" "Mere pocket change! Only one?"
  5. It is warm and comfortable. When we went to the farmers market this morning the temperature was about 37°F which would be a bit chilly on my noggin with my receded hairline. Warm and toasty. The yarn was on a clearance shelf, I saw it and said, "That would make a nice watch hat." She asked if I would wear it. "Sure!" said I.
  6. How did you come up with that? Or that? Neither one is even vaguely hinted at. That's the issue. Politics has taken over science and anyone who dares to question the orthodoxy of "consensus" is automatically wrong and almost universally cut off from funding and publication. In your example of "climate change" you used the usual short form. The political meaning of that is Man-Made Climate Change. And that is what the so-called deniers have an issue with and what is meant by people who say that climate change isn't real. Most will cite the cycles of glacial and interglacial periods.
  7. Well.... that was an exciting ending! Considering all the mistakes Navy made it was surprisingly close.
  8. Trying to judge angles while using the phone with one hand.
  9. British Military Planning: Infantry: Can't read plan, but takes it very seriously nevertheless. Fablons plan and issue it on orange card to every man, with sergeants carrying spare plans just in case. Mortar platoon make their own plan, which is heavier, and issue two copies to everyone else in battalion. Parachute Regiment: Plans are for Hats. Deploys first on any operation that appears, while everyone else is still writing plans. Jumps, lands in wrong place, taking 50% casualties in ankle injuries and leaving ammunition behind in Colchester. Cavalry: Looks at plan but sees arrows and realises plan involves degree of navigation that could be considered constraining to maneuver. Opts to drive off at speed until track sheds and then have impromptu Pimm's party. Ad hoc plan ruined by lack of Pimm's filters. Applies to join Army Air Corps as Apache pilot. Royal Marines Commando: Pretends to be very laid back about plan and talks about drinking and being naked instead but secretly gets very competitive about plan, using senior Navy men to say plan can only work with Commandos because it requires poise, reach, and hoofing wets. Royal Engineers: Likes plans. Takes plan and adds whole new bits, with diagrams no-one else understands or cares about. Still adding new bits when plan changes at which point previous work becomes irrelevant. Has a huff and blames Chieftain chassis for not allowing Engineers to keep up with pace of everyone else's thinking. Royal Artillery: Also likes plans. Makes very detailed plans, with numbers, timings and smoke. Talks a lot about HE, smoke and last safe moments. Everyone recognizes last safe moment was passed as soon as Gunners allowed anywhere near plan. Despite plan, all guns just keep firing until ammo runs out. Commanders lucky enough not to have artillery support feel safe enough to get on with battle and win. Remainder hide under map table until firing ceases then call for ambulances. After firing, Gunner Officers check all guns are still pointing roughly in the direction of the enemy. Random shots rearward are put down as encouragement to log chain to bring up more ammo. Special Forces: Writes plan in pencil on back of Max Factor Make-up for Boys compact. Checks for tan-lines and makes sure no one else has the slightest idea what plan is. Ensures plan is different from one everyone else working to and checks that it will make suitable story for follow-on novel on exit from service. Places tape over own eyes, can't see plan anymore and gets captured by locals, thus opening opportunity for ideal chapter for novel only if captors can be encouraged to participate in sexual humiliation. Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers: Happy to see plan but disturbed by lack of attention to Health and Safety issues. Places yellow warning sign in front of plan (which everyone trips over) and issues COSHH instructions on actions to take if you get plan in your eye. Reviews plan in light of Investors in People requirements ensuring that all aspects of the plan meet each individual's medium- and long-term career development needs in relation to operational objectives. Forwards to Royal Automobile Club/Automobile Association breakdown service for action. Royal Logistics Corps: On encountering plan immediately looks for Annex on sustainability. If one is present immediately guffaws at lack of detail and doubles all timelines. If not present, stays silent to avoid having to write one. Says that plan depends on Key Enablers (i.e., chefs, posties, small round blokes with clipboards and Penfold glasses) and demands doubling of logistic staff to carry out plan. Goes off for double lunch. Adjutant General's Corps: Receives plan in envelope, opens it and sticks it at bottom of huge pile of paperwork which includes MMA and Missed Meals claims. Royal Corps of Signals: Uses plan to bolster rather poor profile by incorporating term J6 everywhere. J6 becomes hugely important without anyone knowing why. J6 reps with J6 plan appear everywhere but stay strangely silent during any meaningful discussion. If questioned J6 rep sucks teeth and says Bandwidth before sinking back into silence. Non-J6 types begin to wonder whether weed killer can halt J6 spread, but J6 mutates into J6/DBM and grows faster. Plan stays silent and prevents close scrutiny by exuding streams of 1s and 0s to deter investigation. Army Medical Services: Doesn't like plans because they always involve cuts. Gets confused because cuts mean more business. Has crisis of contradiction and has to get Territorial Army doctors in from National Health Service to sort problem out. Intelligence Corps: Looks closely at plan and assesses its relevance to resurgent Russia. While studying, plane flies into Old War Office. Survivors spend huge staff effort working out how to predict when planes will be flown into buildings. Libyan ship with all-Irish crew crawls slowly up Thames unnoticed. Royal Military Police: May actually be involved in creating plan, if Chief of Staff lets them. Gets very serious about plan-Officers Commanding are heard to use phrase This is our opportunity to get some good PR. As H-Hour approaches, RMP Lance Corporal reverts to type, arrests all the key players in implementing the plan for walking on the grass outside HQ, and berates everyone who will listen for not respecting the authority of the Provost Marshal. Case handed to Special Investigation Branch who inevitably xxxx it up after following Army Legal Service advice. Plan goes ahead and no RMP are on hand to assist with Phase 4 operations. Territorial Army: TA declare parlous state of Army means they are more important to plan than ever. Army agrees, cuts them by 30%, spends money on Operational Welfare Package telephones and then cannibalizes their kit to get ready for operations. Royal Air Force: Copies plan onto leg, gets in to aircraft, takes off and then finds leg can't be seen because of joystick. Decides to use initiative and at 20,000 feet starts looking for enemy tanks. Succeeds in finding tank looking remarkably like Chinese embassy and misses it. Relieved as pilot in aircraft behind, who can see leg, gets embassy while aiming for nearby Air Defense site. Both fly back and complain about noisy air conditioning in hotel room and lack of streaky bacon on breakfast menu. Royal Navy: Only Captain grown-up enough to plan. Everyone else sits at brightly-colored screen pretending to know what plan is. Captain goes to bed early and other officer, not knowing plan is not to sail on rocks, sails on rocks. New plan devised, called How to sell ship with no bottom to Third World Country whilst fitting in a run ashore in Gibraltar and visit by Nell McAndrew. Joint Helicopter Command: Draw up plan to get 360 helicopters into air with only 400 flying hours available. Each time plan close to approval another helicopter crashes. Come up with plan to prevent helicopters crashing but plan and author lost in helicopter crash. Decision taken to undertake urgent review of design of flying suits (pockets/zips/Velcro/badges etc.) in light of alarming increase in helicopter crashes based on low pilot morale/pilot error. Defense Logistic Organization: Looks at potential for plan to offer 3% efficiency measures. Finds none but cuts by 3% anyway. Concludes that most sensible plan involves not buying anything, listing this course of action as bearing risk, and then investing in risk management courses. War declared and funds rapidly diverted into courses on Red Face Management. Whitehall Warrior: Only interested in plan if it is strategic. Declares strategic plan is most important but can't be bothered to get off bum and write one. Everyone else starts to plan while waiting and by time strategic plan eventually gets written everyone has decided what they are going to do already. Whitehall Warrior then stresses need for strategic plan in next DOC audit and goes for coffee at Starbucks. Junior Officers: Take to plan with all enthusiasm, run around attempting to enthuse NCOs with plan, decide to modify small detail of plan in order to impress the CO, but are then found to have altered the small detail of Mission. The Prime Minister: PM is wonderfully positive about new plan, which gives more Value for Money than old plan. Hasn't actually read the plan, but continues forcefully, cuffing plan as he goes. Recognizes slightly too late that plan was utter bollocks, seeks to win back favor by re-designing old plan into future-proof newer plan! Continues ad nauseum. North Atlantic Treaty Organization: COM (4*) calls Command Group meeting to decide wording for 'tasker' on J5. J5 issue warning order for Operational Planning Group, which is only attended by J6 (see Sigs above) and J4 (see RLC/DLO above). J5 issue outline plan to subordinate commands with required by date of the day before yesterday. Subordinate commands work like beavers to produce plan which is understood by all, only for it to be cancelled by politicians because the French have complained at being left out (again)! Staff Sergeant running J5 admin section raises travel orders for all staff to attend planning conference in Bahamas anyway! (NATO: Need Another Travel Opportunity; hence, Never At The Office.) The Dickson Addendum: They left out the APTC (Army Physical Training Corps) – they are always at the gym.
  10. #WeaponsWednesday - German MG08/15 The German MG08/15 was an attempt by Germany during WWI to turn the MG08 heavy machine gun into a lighter, man portable weapon system. By lightening the receiver, adding a pistol grip, shoulder stock and a bipod, the German Army was able to rapidly field a squad-level automatic weapon with minimal development and get it into front line use quickly. However, the demands on a crew-served weapon remained, and many MG08/15s were used for static defense, where water for the gun’s cooling jacket and stocks of ammunition could be kept close at hand. MG08/15 serial number 4833 was emplaced along the Meuse River, southeast of the city of Sedan on the morning of 11 November 1918. The 5th Marines crossed the river under cover of darkness, starting at 2130 the previous night. Two of the regiment’s battalions were across by morning, and began a sweep northwards along the east bank of the Meuse. The gun was captured around 0900, a mere two hours before the Armistice was to go into effect. After the armistice, the Marine Brigade was placed on occupation duty in Neuweid, Germany, near Coblenz. In January 1919, then-Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Franklin Delano Roosevelt visited the Marines at Neuweid and during their official meeting, MGen John Lejeune presented this captured machine gun to the Assistant Secretary. It was transferred to the National Museum of the Marine Corps from the Franklin Delano Roosevelt National Historic Site, Hyde Park, NY in 1979.
  11. "Let's be clear: the work of science has nothing whatever to do with consensus. Consensus is the business of politics. Science, on the contrary, requires only one investigator who happens to be right, which means that he or she has results that are verifiable by reference to the real world. In science consensus is irrelevant. What is relevant is reproducible results. The greatest scientists in history are great precisely because they broke with the consensus." - Michael Crichton
  12. I don't know that they are still in production, but there are a fair number on the road still.
  13. She finished a cap for me, how's it look? My Gnome look. Better, or at least other, views:
  14. There are still a lot of cars out there that have carburetors. I've been told that you DO NOT!!!! use it in fuel injection engines. Is that a Scottish brand?
  15. I knew one guy who had been a cop in San Francisco back in the '80s. He said that when they had a haul of guns from buy backs the cops got a crack at salvaging anything worth salvaging. The the junk that was left got destroyed.
  16. He does go on and on without imparting information, doesn't he? I almost didn't post because of that, but the rifle is so interesting that I think his blather is worth suffering through.
  17. Much of the problem lies with gun owners. (snarling) "WELL I WON'T SET FOOT IN *****!" but don't let the owners and management of that establishment know it. If you just stop shopping there, so what? If you tell them, in writing WHY you aren't shopping there, and that you are spreading the word to all your friends, that might make a difference. Something I put together in about 2005 when CA had about a dozen anti-civil rights laws going through our Legislature. With a change in numbers it can apply to the whole of our republic: GET OFF YOUR COMPLACENCY AND DO YOUR PART! In California there are at least 6,000,000 firearms owners, yet we have some of the most draconian and Byzantine firearms laws in the country. Why? Because too many of us are content to sit and complain but are unwilling to take half an hour a week to do anything about it. Most of us would rather stand around at the range or in a gun shop and spend a couple of hours debating the merits of .300 Magnum over the latest .270 super short ultra mag. Can you find five minutes a day to support your civil rights? That is all it takes. If you can’t give that little amount of time, you deserve to have your guns legislated away from you. Imagine if in your assembly district EVERY gun owner called his or her assembly member once a week to complain about restrictive firearms legislation. Say there are only 15,000 gun owners in your district (with 80 districts that comes to 1.2 million, a far cry from all the legal gun owners in the state) and each one makes a call once a week which takes 3 minutes of staff time. It would take 750 man-hours per WEEK just to listen to gun owners complain about restrictive gun laws. That would mean that every member of the Assembly would need almost 19 full time staff members to do nothing but pay attention to our calls. Think they might hear us? After all, politicians are concerned with numbers. There are five calls you need to make each week – to one assembly member, one state senator, one member of the House of Representatives, and two members of the US Senate. That is what it will take, each of us calling once a week to make our views known. Yes, you may belong to the NRA or Gun Owners of America, or the California Rifle and Pistol Association, but so what? Do you think that absolves you from taking personal responsibility for what happens? YOU are responsible for protecting your rights. No one else can do it for you. According to both Gallup and Pew about 42% of all households have at least one firearm. Unfortunately only about 1% of that 42%, at my guestimate, bother to call or write their elected representatives. Imagine the power we would have if as a block we all made those calls and wrote those letters to the capons and wethers in office. We'd be almost as powerful as the antis claim we are.
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