Menno van Coehoorn

----------------From Wikipedia (highlights)

Menno, baron van Coehoorn (1641 – March 17, 1704), was a Dutch soldier and military engineer of Swedish extraction. He made a number of influential weaponry innovations in siege warfare and fortification techniques. He was also known as the "Hollandish Vauban" (Hollandse Vauban), Vauban being his famous French counterpart.

Early life
Coehoorn was born in the city of Leeuwarden in the Dutch province of Friesland. He received an excellent military and general education, and at the age of sixteen became a captain in the Dutch army. During the Anglo-Dutch Wars, he took part in the defence of Maastricht in 1673 and in the siege of Grave in 1674, where he used the small mortars (called coehorns) invented by him to great effect against the French garrison.

Military Innovations
The circumstances of the time and the country turned Coehoorn's attention to the art of fortification, and the events of the late war showed him that existing methods could no longer be relied upon. Coehoorn gained most of his knowledge and insights on the building of fortification by having to capture many of them himself. His first published work, Versterchinge de Vijfhoeks met alle syne Buytenwerken (Leeuwarden, 1682), at once aroused attention, and involved the author in a lively controversy with a rival engineer, Louys Paan

He formulated his ideas a little later in his chief work, New fortress Construction (Nieuwe Vestingbouw op een natte of lage horisont, Leeuwarden, 1685), in which he laid down three systems, the characteristic feature of which was the multiplicity and great saliency of the works, which were calculated and in principle are still eminently suited for, flat and almost marshy sites such as those in the Low Countries. Essential to his new approach was the ability to fight an active defence on the outer shores of the enveloping ditch, made possible by constructing an extra protective wall around the fortification.
He commanded a corps in the army of the Duke of Marlborough from 1701 to 1703, and in the constant siege warfare of these campaigns in the Low Countries his technical skill was of the highest value. The swift reduction of the fortress of Bonn and the siege of Huy in 1703 were his crowning successes. At the opening of his following campaign he was on his way to confer with Marlborough when he died of apoplexy at Wijkel.
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Dude has a 'fro. I myself have not yet read "Versterchinge de Vijfhoeks met alle syne Buytenwerken" although I am sure it is a captivating read. I guess becoming a captain in the Dutch army at age 16 puts things in a bit of perspective. Notice that Menno was the NFL equivalent of Deion Sanders, in that he could play both offense and defense. You would figure you either specialized in mortars or fortifications, but Menno went both ways. The fact that he also appeared to be a head coach simultaneously makes it all the more remarkable.

How many engineers have you met that you would follow into war, or would want to lead you? Totally different skill set, yet Menno is the true renaissance man. There must have been a huge satisfaction in both designing the mortar and then using it in the "swift reduction of the fortress at Bonn".

My guess is the writing career was more of just an add-on to his multi-faceted career in the armed forces. They probably didn't have ghost writers back then, so poor Menno had to slog it out on Versterchinge de Vijfhoeks all by himself. Tired from his efforts I bet it really pissed him off to get the bad review from Louys Paan. Stayed with him for a long time I guess, given the death from apoplexy.

USS Plunger (SSN-595)

----------------Wikipedia (highlights)

USS Plunger (SSN-595), a Permit-class submarine, was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for the plunger, a diver, a daring gambler.
The contract to build her as a guided-missile submarine (SSGN) was awarded to Mare Island Naval Shipyard on 23 March, 1959 but by the time her keel was laid down on 2 March, 1960 she had been redesigned as an attack submarine (SSN). She was launched on 9 December, 1961 (sponsored by Mrs. Clinton P. Anderson), and commissioned on 21 November, 1962, with Commander William M. Adams, Jr., in command.
Following a trip to Puget Sound on 27 November to test torpedo tubes and sound gear, Plunger departed Mare Island on 5 January, 1963 for shakedown to Pearl Harbor. Plunger next was homeported at Mare Island and operated to test the performance of sonar and the fire control system. In April she changed homeport to Pearl Harbor, where she became flagship of ComSubDiv 71, 1 April.In 1986 she won the Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award.
Plunger was deactivated, in commission, on 10 February, 1989, decommissioned on 3 January, 1990 and stricken from the Navy Register the following 2 February. Ex-Plunger entered the Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program in Bremerton, Washington, on 5 January, 1995 and on 8 March, 1996 ceased to exist
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If you are like me, you are wondering: "What is the Majorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award, and how can I win it? Where did it come from? Why would a submarine win something called a battleship fund award?

Some further delving into Wikipedia tells us: "Generally the recipient is the ship with the highest score in the fleet's annual competitions for Battle Efficiency Awards". Go Plunger!

Of course you are likely asking: Who is Marjorie Sterrett? Well she wrote a letter in 1916:

"To the Editor of the New York Tribune

"Dear Sir:

"I read in your paper every morning a lot about preparedness. My grandpa and my great grandpa were soldiers. If I was a boy I would be a soldier, too, but I am not, so I want to do what I can to help. Mama gives me a dime every week for helping her. I am sending you this week's dime to help build a battleship for Uncle Sam. I know a lot of other kids would give their errand money if you would start a fund. I am 13 years old, and go to Public School No. 9, Brooklyn.

Truly Yours,

MARJORIE STERRETT

I am a true blue American and I want to see Uncle Sam prepared to lick all creation like John Paul Jones did.

P.S.—Please call the battleship America."

Apparently, they collected a lot of dimes (20K) worth, and ended up giving the money to sailors who performed well. And the Marjorie Sterrett battleship fund award was born. And that folks is today's story from "the Real America".

PowerColor

-------------From Wikipedia

Company
Established in 1997 by TUL corporation [1] , PowerColor, Inc. is one of the largest graphic card manufacturers in the world. [2] It is headquartered in City of Industry, California, and is a subsidiary of TUL Corporation (Taiwan).
Manufacturing Facilities
The majority of PowerColor cards are manufactured by a company, little known outside the hardware manufacturing world, called FoxConn.
Products
PowerColor is a licensed producer of AMD Radeon video cards, but does also produce Nvidia video cards under the Zogis brand name. PowerColor targets a wide range of customers by producing ATI video cards that range from affordable cards appropriate for low end workstations to cards for high end gaming machines. PowerColor's manufacturing arrangement with FoxConn has given it an opportunity to change specifications of cards, giving PowerColor the ability to announce products with higher specifications (overclocked by default) than ATI or it's main competitor Sapphire offer.
PowerColor products have been widely reviewed and some even given awards by hardware review sites.

Support
PowerColor provides it's products with a 2 year warranty. In order to RMA a video card, the end user must sign up to the PowerColor User Club and register their card. The RMA process is only available to end users in North America (not retailers) and the customer must pay shipping.

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Being a great believer in exclusive clubs, I rushed over to the PowerColor website to join the PowerColor User Club, but alas, it doesn't seem to exist. I had visions of some kind of virtual treehouse painted in wild hues with a radically diverse set of members, all willing and eager to discuss overclocking and the RMA process. I am not sure where I will find a substitute.

In the mean time I looked for "Power Color" on the web and found this quiz.

As it turns out:

My Power Color Is Lime Green


At Your Highest: You are adventurous, witty, and a visionary.

At Your Lowest: You feel misunderstood, like you don't fit in.

In Love: You have a tough exterior but can be very dedicated.

How You're Attractive: Your self-awareness and confidence lights up a room.

Your Eternal Question:"What else do I need in my life?"

Well, that is a lot of outcome from a 5 question quiz, but I am a bit unclear what to do with it. Am I supposed to decorate in lime green. Good God, that would be unbearable. Do I just ignore my power color? But if I do, what might I be missing out on? This would have been easier had my color turned out to be a soothing aqua, but lime green is problematic. I guess the good news is I now have something in common with Carolyn Hasenfratz who actually seems to have some talent for using lime green.

Then there is the issue of how to deal with my "eternal question" which seems either overly materialistic, or just plain needy depending on how one interprets it. Do I ask the question constantly? This seems a much more appropriate question for say, the grocery store, then a cocktail party (where I will be lighting up the room anyway with my self-awareness). Wait. How the hell does one light up a room with self-awareness? I can buy the confidence piece, but did you ever walk into a room and think: Wow, that person is really self-aware, this is such a cool party! I guess such a person would, while not worrying about invading someones personal space (confidence), would never do it (self-aware).
Next time you need a room lit, call me. I will bring my self-awareness and my lime green shirt.
What else do I need in my life?

Aston Sandford

-----------------From Wikipedia
Aston Sandford is a small village and civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England, about a mile east of Haddenham. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 50.
The 'Aston' part of the village name is Anglo-Saxon and means Eastern Estate. At the time of the Domesday Book in 1086 the village was known as Cold Aston, and both it and Haddenham were owned by the same manor, suggesting that Aston got its name from being the farming estate to the east of Haddenham. The owner of both places in 1086 was listed as Manno the Breton.
By 1199 the estate had been annexed by the Norman rulers and was placed into the extensive estates belonging to the descendants of Odo of Bayeux: the Sandfords. It was from this time that the village became known as Aston Sandford.
The Nineteenth century parish church is dedicated to St Michael and All Angels.
The parish's rector from 1803-1821 was the biblical commentator Revd. Thomas Scott, who trained the first missionaries of the Church Missionary Society here.
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I think we have really lost something when our society no longer names people "blank the blank", as in "Manno the Bretton". In fact names have kind of gone downhill, I mean "Odo"? Classic, that would be a great name for an offensive lineman in the NFL.

As for naming anything in England "Cold" (i.e. Cold Aston), give me a break, that is like naming something in the Sahara "Hot".

If I were to take on a blanktheblank name, what would it be? Not, Jonathan, you need something more abrupt than that. Maybe "Dude the Unreproachable", or "Consultant the Strange"? I definitely think the "post the" part of the name should provide more context (e.g. Atilla the hun, probably the poster child for this form of naming). Springsteen is easy, "Bruce the Boss". "W, the challenged", "Sarah the Vapid", "Brittney the unclothed". I guess what would change is that you couldn't name your child at birth, but would have to wait until their quirks or strengths emerged.
Signed,
Blogger the Random

The Dark Angel (1935 film)

--------------From Wikipedia
The Dark Angel (1935) is a film which tells the story of three childhood friends, two male, one female. When the woman chooses one of the men to marry, the other, jealous, sends his rival off into a dangerous situation during wartime. The film stars Fredric March, Merle Oberon, and Herbert Marshall.
The movie was adapted by Lillian Hellman and Mordaunt Shairp from the play by Guy Bolton. It was directed by Sidney Franklin, produced by Samuel Goldwyn, and released by United Artists. A silent film version of the same play, also produced by Goldwyn, was released in 1925.
It won the Academy Award for Best Art Direction, and was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Merle Oberon) and Best Sound, Recording.
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I haven't seen this movie, and chances are good I never will, but let's go to the ever-useful IMDb to see what people who have actually seen the movie say:

A story of misunderstanding among friends with tragedy resulting and an uplifting of the human spirit. This marks the 1935 film "The Dark Angel."

Good to know that a decent tragedy uplifts the human spirit. Next?

This remake of DARK ANGEL is worth watching for three things, and those things are the stars: March, Marshall and Oberon. ....Oberon is their childhood sweetheart; she planned to marry March but presuming him to be dead, settles for Marshall. The three meet in March's cottage at the climax.

Nothing worse than meeting in the cottage at the climax. OK..

This film will keep you interested if you like old time actors and films made in 1935.

Shoot, I missed it by a year, I like films made in 1936. Well truth be told I like films made in 1935 as well, but not with old-time actors. Give me a 1935 Johnny Depp film any day.

For her debut in American movies, the beautiful Oberon is given a most unflattering hairstyle. It would have looked better on a shrub. Possibly on a dog. She turns in a creditable performance, though she was generally a wooden actress.

It seems to me a shrub hairdo is perfectly appropriate for a wooden actress.
Interestingly, I can only find one reference to "shrub hairdo" on the Internet here.

Sarah Palin
Can rimless glasses, a shrub hairdo and good cheekbones be the secret to a women ruling the country?

See, Merele Oberon was ahead of her time. In another age, her shrub hairdo might have gotten her into politics. As it is, she will just have to settle for being a wooden actress in a bad year.

Sheet Harbour, Nova Scotia

--------------------From Wikipedia (highlights)
Sheet Harbour is a small community on the eastern shore of the Halifax Regional Municipality, in Nova Scotia, Canada in the Musquodoboit/Sheet Harbour region of the Marine Drive on Trunk 7 , 87.44 kilometers from Halifax.
History
The settlement began in 1784 by Loyalist refugees and British veterans of the American Revolution and became a prosperous centre for the lumber industry.
Sheet Harbour was named "Port North" on the Royal Navy Chart that was published in 1778. It was decided that "Port North" was not descriptive enough so it's name was changed to Sheet Harbour because of a white, flat rock that looks like a sheet (named Sheet Rock). Sheet rock can be found at the entrance of the harbour. Sheet Harbour for about 2 decades was known as Cambell Town, this name fell into disuse and became known as Sheet Harbour.
Programs for Kids
The 2610 Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps is in Sheet Harbour. This Corps has put Sheet Harbour on the map in Cadet circles for its ability to produce the best young Air Riffle shooters in Canada.

Hotels, Motels and Bed and Breakfasts in the Sheet Harbour area
Fairwinds Motel & Restaurant Sheet Harbour
Back in Thyme Bed & Breakfast
The Sheet Harbour Hotel
Marquis Of Dufferin Seaside Inn Hotel

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Should I ever be on the lookout for a young "Air Riffle Shooter" I will hightail it up to Sheet Harbour immediately. I refuse, however, to stay at anyplace called "Back in Thyme". That is not a reasonable name for anything, except perhaps an herbalist. Look folks, the concept of a pun isn't really that hard, and unless it is in the middle of a damn herb garden, this is ineffective...they do advertise "Very Maritime-friendly hosts who love to chat up a storm or guide you on your way." I am not sure that I want a maritime friendly host, does that mean we have to sing sea chanteys? And why is it either "chat up a storm" or "guide you on your way"? Suppose you want both? I wonder if one can shoot air riffles there?

One nice thing about Sheet Harbour is it has their own Internet bulletin board which has a soapbox section where residents can complain about compelling issues.

http://forum.sheetharbour.ca/forumdisplay.php?f=10

Some examples

I had no idea that ambulances could use there lights to make people pull over just so that they could make it to the credit union before it closes. Today on my way west through the harbour I was not far behind an ambulance with local paramedics and witnessed it flash its lights to make the car ahead of it pull over, not long after I watched that ambulance pull into the credit union. Wow wish I had lights on my car so that I could make cars ahead of me pull over whenever I felt like it.

There was a response for this one:

Greetings:I am looking into the occurrence you described.This morning I did contact the Credit Union and they are closed on Saturdays. It is important that we gather an accurate account of all the facts. Please contact me directly so that we can discuss the specific time, place and details surrounding this occurrence.Maintaining a high level of service to our communities is our primary mission. Key to this is ensuring public safety in service delivery.I have sent this in a private message to you as well.

Regards,(name removed)

Operations Supervisor - Eastern ShoreEmergency Health Services

I sure hope we get to the bottom of this one soon, or there are going to be some mighty upset Air Rifflists.

Why is Lawtons closed on Sunday's???
I am sitting home with an awful head cold just wishing the drug store was open so that I could find something to help me feel a little better. I guess I will just have to wait until tomorrow. I just don't understand why lawtons can't be open on Sundays for just a few hours. I am sure there are many people in this community that would shop there on Sundays too.

If this was the US this would have made it into the Presidential debates alongside "Joe the Plumber" It is unreasonable that people have to sit with headaches on Sundays while the owners of Lawton's lounge around in sweatpants talkin Maritime and shootin air riffles.

OK, take a deep breath...

Do I Ever Have A Beef!!!!

Two weeks ago Hubby and I decided it was time to have our septic pumped so I got out the handy dandy 'Shop To Shore' booklet that comes in the mail every month and I circled off the 3 businesses in the 'Shop To Shore' that do that type of work and are located in the Chezzetcook area. I set out to call all 3 to compare prices. The first two that I called quoted me the exact same, a price of $400.00 + tax, and the third one quoted me $450.00 + tax. I remember the last time we had this done which was 6 years ago, we paid $185.00 total. Now, I expected the price to be up as it is 6 years later but $400.00 plus is outrageous!! We immediately decided that we were going to have to shop around even more refusing to pay those high prices!!

So I got out my New Glasgow phone book and turned to the Yellow Pages and called the very first one on the list. A woman answered and I asked for a quote and she said with it being Saturday the Man that did the work was not in but she thought it would roughly be $220.00 give or take a little. I left our name and number and asked that He call us on Monday morning to confirm a price which He did first thing Monday and He confirmed the price of $200.00 + 20.00(waste to go enzyme which is a must now ordered by the HRM) and then + $30.80tax for a grand Total of $250.80 and this Man is in New Glasgow.

We made an appointment with Him and I'm happy to say He came today and did the job(even in all that rain) and We happily paid Him.So what is up with the 3 outfits in the Shop To Shore??? Price Gougers I would say!!! Just Outrageous..... It really does pay to shop around.I highly recommend this Chap for anyone who made need this work done in the future.

Ace In The Hole

Ahhhhh, "Ace in the Hole" septic service. Now that is a real name. "Back in Thyme" should hire him to rename their Bed and Breakfast

NCAA Division II Men's Golf Championships

--------------From Wikipedia

The NCAA Division II Men's Golf Championships, played in late May, is an annual competition in U.S. men's collegiate golf. It is a stroke play team competition, but there is also an award for the lowest scoring individual competitor. Many of the individual champions have gone on to successful professional careers. The most successful individual winner is Lee Janzen (1986) who won eight times on the PGA Tour including two major championships, the 1993 and 1998 U.S. Opens.

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Did you know that in the 20 years between 1981 and 2000 Florida Southern won this tournament 11 times? Wow, that is UCLA basketballesque. Since then, they haven't won, but West Florida has won twice. What to make of this? If you want to succeed in second teir college golf, go to a Florida college that has a direction in the name. That is what Lee Janzen did, and look where it got him.

I think the most distressing and sad thing about both professional golf and bowling is the serious decline in what used to be a beacon for men dressing in incredibly poor taste. I mean it isn't dead:

But it isn't the mainstream anymore. I think Tiger Woods ruined it for everyone with the damn red polo shirt. This has affected everything from halloween to "casual friday".

So. Where do we go now to find "bad taste clothing"? Two ideas: 1) Las Vegas, 2) Guests on the Jerry Springer show. Thoughts?