Chant du Départ

Tuesday, January 20, 2026

January, Just a Giant Monday?

Mid-January, Little Rhody
- and yes, that was taken Monday morning, this week -
OAFS Photo

A friend of mine over at the Book of Faces posted a January = Giant Monday meme over the weekend. My first reaction, which I left in the comments was, "Not if you're retired." Which is true, to a certain extent.

Then it started snowing.

Now I've been through much larger snowstorms, what we had Sunday would be scoffed at in Buffalo. (A place I drove through in December of '75. There was probably a foot of fresh powder on the ground. When we stopped for fuel, the attendant admitted to having received "a dusting" in the night.) But Sunday's snow fall was heavy and wet. Nasty to be out in, nastier still to have to shovel. (I thank the Lord for my next door neighbors every day, they cleared the driveway for us and cut a path for the oilman.)

Anyhoo.

Another friend pointed out that for her, January is very much a giant Monday. She is also retired. Looking outside, I realized, it's the weather that makes January such a bloody Monday.

January in the northern tier is cold, snowy, unforgiving, and generally unpleasant as to its weather. So yes, I informed her, I now understood what she meant. Thanks, Helen!

Source

In my post regarding the games I had received at Christmas, one of which covered the Battle of Blenheim, comrade-in-blogging Toirdhealbheach Beucail (THB as I call him) mentioned the book depicted above. Which I, on something of a whim, decided then and there to order from Amazon.

Having had a number of books recommended to me by a number of readers concerning subjects which lie within my "sphere of interest," so to speak, and having yet to be disappointed, my decision wasn't that hard. (I should also note that the author is brother to the late Princess Diana, a lady I much admired.)

Well, long story short, I started reading it Monday, I'm through the first chapter and am captured, enthralled if you will. The book is superbly written, history told, as it should be, as a fascinating story populated by real people.

Well done, THB! Thank you for the tip.

Now THB's blog is called The Forty-Five, and by his moniker and the graphic depicting the blogger, is Scots-centric, after a fashion. The lad is also an incipient samurai. So there's two things I like, the Scots-ness of him and his love of things Japanese, something I share.

(Uh, Sarge, where you going with this?)

Ah yes, the '45, not the blog but the uprising which took place in 1745 in Scotland. An uprising which wanted to put the Catholic "Bonnie Prince Charlie" on the combined throne of England and Scotland.

Now as a lad I grew up being all in favor of the Prince. Being "all growed up" now, I realize that the '45 was sold to me as a glorious and wondrous thing when it reality it wasn't.

Now I recalled having seen a documentary done by the BBC back in the '60s about Culloden, the battle which really ended the '45. So I went looking for it, and found it.

Now it's longish (over an hour) but very well done. I liken it to being on the field with a reputable news crew (i.e. not any modern network) covering the fight as it happens. And it's aftermath.

I'm thinking of posting it tomorrow, what say you?

We shall see.

That's it for now, enjoy the week. I need to rest up from an overdose of football over the weekend!

Ciao!

Monday, January 19, 2026

It must be another Monday!

Good morning, Campers. Hope you northerners are staying warm. Given that the low Sunday morning down here was below freezing (26 degrees, but at least the wind is blowing), it must be cooler in the Great White North. There is a bit of something I believe is called "Rain" in this week's forecast. Hope it's not Freezing Rain, NOBODY knows how to drive in that!

We shall see what will be!

I did get some good news this past week. Rather than spit it out, I'll see if y'all can figure it out.

Yep, the Brain and Spine Neurologist gave me the go ahead to wean myself off the neck brace over the next 3 weeks. Need to wear it to bed and if I am going to be physically active. But...it is progress.

No, Beans, he was unable to find my brain during the exam.

Feels wonderful to take the brace off. I was getting a bit "cranky" so Mrs J is now happier also.

This past week we also had our first episode of "Why did you move to College Station?".

Mrs J and I had our first time alone with the Grand Kids. MBD and "The Rev" had "Saving the World" requirements at work. So, they asked. We said Yes! It was pretty fun, although we were glad when the 'Rents got home.

Yes, Beans, we slept well that night!

As regular readers know, we own two mare paint horses. Just to refresh y'all, their names are "Cabernet" and "Merlot". While Mrs J and I do love wine, their names were given them before we adopted them. They moved to CStat a couple of weeks before us. Our rental house is a bit small for them, so they are being boarded at a place called "Stall and Oats"

No, Beans, I'm not kidding!

They seem to be doing ok. The stabling agreement includes a requirement that we have to muck the stalls at least 3 days a week.

Don't ask, Beans!

That's them on the right side of the fence. Merlot is on the left, Cabernet on the right. They seem to be somewhat enamored by the MALE Paint horse on the other side of the fence. They didn't want to have anything to do with us while they were flirting, so mucking was a bit easier than usual.

Thank you, Lord!

We also had a bit of progress this week on the house we're going to build. We set up a meeting and met on the property with the Builder and his Wife. She happens to be a Realtor, so she also had a lot of good suggestions.

This is the back of the house which will be demolished. That's how close the "jungle" is. The trees that are to the right of the house will be cut down.

The builder walked the perimeter of the property which is no easy task. The intent was to check the integrity of the fence. The fence will require repair/replacement. Given my neck condition, I elected to not go with him, too easy to slip and fall. A fall might not be a good thing medically and getting out of the brush might not be feasible either. Additionally, we found lots (lots and lots) of underbrush that will need to be taken out. There were a few Live Oak trees that weren't in too good shape and were a bit closer to the house than we'd like, so they'll be taken down also. But the majority of the Live Oaks will stay. Shade in Texas is a sought after blessing.

Yes, Beans, another advantage of taking down some of the trees is....Firewood.

On the good news side, he said that adding a couple of acres of fenced in area was feasible and should be enough for horse grazing. Additionally, a fenced in yard for the dogs and a "front yard" for the Grandkids to play in also were feasible.

The driveway is gravel and might need a bit of work, but all in all, completely doable. Additionally, the electrical hook up (whatever it's called) is in a very convenient location for all five buildings that will be built.

Beans, those would be our house, my Brother's cabin, the horse barn, my workshop and Mrs J's "She Shed", (her sewing cabin)

So, it's off to the bank this week for a construction loan. We've already got verbal approval for that so, hopefully, no problema.

All told, a pretty darn good week! Hope yours was also and continues to be in this week.

Peace out, y'all!

Sunday, January 18, 2026

Interesting New Time "Waster"

Screen capture from the video

I recently stumbled across a new channel on YouTube, Sector White. Their focus seems to be on Finnish participation in World War II and, I hope, Finland's own war with the Soviet Union. The video I've posted below isn't bad. Much better than a lot of the crappy AI I've seen elsewhere lately.

I guess if you really work at it, you can make some pretty amazing stuff with AI.

Either that or this channel has somehow managed to time travel back to Finland during WWII!

Enjoy!

Yes, I am still being lazy ...

Hey, I'm retired, and loving it!

Saturday, January 17, 2026

Why Not Just Make a Copy?

MG-42 machine gun
Batey ha-Osef museum, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Source

It's a topic which might only interest me although no doubt others (perhaps even some of you readers out there) have thought of this as well. That topic is, as the photo might suggest, the MG 42 machine gun used by the German military in WWII. It was so effective, and freaked out our guys a lot, so why didn't we copy it?

As I found a good video of the whys and wherefores of why the United States didn't simply copy the MG 42, and as I have been extraordinarily lazy as of late, I decided to post the following video as to why we didn't copy it.

Before getting into all that, I have to say that the MG 42 was a very effective weapon. It formed the basis of the German infantry squad, three men operated and supported the weapon, a noncommissioned officer decided what to do with it, and the other six men in the squad protected it. (More complex than that but you get my drift, the gun was the heart of the German squad.)

Allied soldiers related how a German squad, even after taking a number of casualties, remained highly effective because of the MG 42. Lose the gun, and the squad loses most of its firepower.

The video covers most of the above and much more, including why we didn't just copy it. My sense of the matter is two-fold: the "not invented here" syndrome and bean counters. Why bean counters you might ask?

The beast could fire around 1200 rounds per minute, so it could go through a lot of ammo really quickly. And bullets, dontcha know, cost money.

The Spencer rifle in the Civil War met much the same opposition from the government. As it could fire around 14 to 20 rounds a minute, the Ordnance Department was worried that the soldiers would waste a lot of ammunition. (Source)

Anyhoo, I have had one experience with the MG 42 back during my reenacting days. I was detailed to hump ammunition for our squad's MG 42. As it was blank ammo, it wasn't quite as heavy as the real thing. But two cans of belted blanks and my rifle made for a rather unwieldy load. But I managed.

We got into position, loaded up, then waited in ambush for our victims.

When they emerged into the forest clearing, my gunner squeezed the trigger.

"Bang!"

A single round fired, the belt would not feed.

Huh?

Okay, when firing blank ammunition out of a semi-automatic¹ or automatic² weapon, you need what's called a blank adapter. As no bullet issues from the barrel there is less force to drive back the bolt of the weapon. Extracting the just fired round and loading the next. So the blank adapter "seals" the barrel of the weapon, causing enough pressure to blow the bolt back. (There is a mechanism to allow some of the gas to escape. This article has a fairly good explanation, and pictures, of what I'm on about.)

My gunner had forgotten to attach his blank adapter. So to fire the weapon he'd have to cock the bolt and pull the trigger each time. We were overrun rather quickly before we got off a second round.

Anyhoo, let's watch the video, shall we?

We made a copy during the war, which sucked, but eventually did kinda sorta copy the MG 42 after the war. The M60 of Vietnam fame was the result of that.

Cool, huh? (YMMV)

See you next time, ciao!

¹ Semi-automatic = Cock the weapon and pull the trigger, the weapon will reload itself after each round but you have to keep pulling the trigger, once per round.

² Automatic = Cock the weapon and pull the trigger and the weapon will continue to fire until you're out of ammunition. (Or the weapon jams. 😒)

Friday, January 16, 2026

Let the Games Begin!

OAFS Photo

Just before Christmas, The Nuke called and asked me, "So Dad, what do you want for Christmas?"

Now that is always a good question, what do you get for the man who has everything? And I really do, I have everything I need and most of what I want. The kids used to get me an Amazon gift card but they felt that that was too impersonal, and there's always the fear that I'll buy something like socks, or underwear. (Guilty as charged, hey, there's a certain joy in getting new socks and underwear as an adult.)

Well, I had to think about what I "wanted." Though The Nuke does work in DC, world peace isn't something she can do on her own. (Yes, I ask for that every year, knowing full well that our species glories far too much in violence to make that a reality.)

Now I have lists on Amazon, not necessarily lists of of what I want but lists of things I ran across and thought, "Hey, that's cool."

A lot of what I think is cool are boardgames with military history as a theme. (So Sarge, what about that whole "world peace" thing, ya damned warmonger you. Well, cardboard/plastic counters don't bleed. And this is history, that stuff has already happened and ... Damn, I don't know, certainly seems to be a conundrum, doesn't it?)

Anyhoo, I told The Nuke of these lists and she said, "Oh, I could get you something off your list, just make it public."

So I did.

Next thing you know, Christmas morning, The Nuke, LUSH, and The Missus Herself have gifted me with damned near everything on my primary list. An embarrassment of riches dontcha know?

OAFS Photo

So now I have all these new games to learn. And opponents, I suppose I need opponents, being somewhat weird, I do play solitaire in these games, a lot. I guess when I was marked down in grade school for "plays well with others," those teachers saw something.

I do play occasionally against The Missus Herself, but she's a vicious opponent, beating me nearly every time. So I think I'll just drag the simpler games along when we go to Maryland. They dig boardgames down there.

As do I.

So ...

I gotta go, someone has to read all those rules!

Ciao!

Thursday, January 15, 2026

Please Standby ...

OAFS Photo

I have a story idea banging around inside my head, it wants to come out, but it ain't ready yet. I know better than to try and force it, it's in there and may, or may not, present itself soon. We shall see.

I feel like I'm hibernating, simply putting myself "on hold" until the next scheduled event comes to pass. It's not like I'm sitting, staring at the wall, or just eating and sleeping. Nope, I read, I watch movies and certain television shows, all streaming, I don't do the dish thing anymore. I listen to music, lots of music, and bang on the drum kit from time to time. I really need to get my six-string repaired and dust off my bass guitar as well. Music is in me, I'm not good at it, but I like the attempt.

Oh and games, I play games on the computer and I have a bunch of new board games I need to break out. I'll write about those later. When I get there.

Still I'm waiting, circling the field, and, well, just waiting.

Next big event is Finnegan's third birthday near the end of the month. I'm looking forward to going to Maryland again but this will be a shorter stay. With the kids in school and Tuttle and The Nuke both working there's not much to do during the day, so it wouldn't be much different to being home. Other than getting to see everybody in the evening.

We'll see, it's a long drive but I do enjoy it. Especially as I don't go through Moscow on the Hudson anymore. The drive up over the Tappan Zee adds twenty miles to the trip but the scenery in that area is lovely and it's not like I'm in an all-fired hurry to get places these days.

With all the travel lately I had an email from our pastor wondering if anything was wrong as they don't see us as much as they used to. I pointed out that now that I'm retired I can pull pitch and travel whenever I feel like it, so I do.

Freedom is awesome.

Rumor has it that there is the possibility of snow this coming weekend. Temperatures right now are in the mid to upper 40s so it needs to get colder. Other than a few parking lots, all vestiges of our last snow have vanished. I don't mind the snow as long as it isn't excessive, which here on the coast is seldom, and the larder is well-stocked.

Always amusing to go to the store just before a predicted snowstorm and seeing people buying enough supplies for a month. What's their plan if the power goes out? I'm not sure that five gallons of milk and twelve loaves of bread will keep for that long. I guess you could put the stuff in the yard, in the snow, and hope it doesn't freeze.

I once thought that anything with alcohol wouldn't freeze if left outside in the winter. Did you know that beer will definitely freeze? Don't ask me how I know.

Anyhoo, that's it for now.

Don't mean to be boring but hey, sometimes I am. (Some of you who know me well are probably rolling their eyes right now and saying "Sometimes?" Heh.)

Tschüss!

Wednesday, January 14, 2026

Fine Dining

Source

As I mentioned, Monday was the anniversary of The Missus Herself and Your Humble Scribe getting hitched forty eight years ago in the city of Seoul, Republic of Korea. She said I looked like a country lad visiting the big city for the first time.

Well, she wasn't too far wrong.

Not that I'm a city slicker these days but I'm used to cities now. (Still don't like driving in them, the terror is gone but the distaste remains.)

Now Newport is the fancy tourist town in Little Rhody. It's very nice and in the summer it's very crowded. Which is why we only go there, usually, in the winter. Fewer tourists, less traffic, but it's still a 17th Century town (founded in 1639) with streets better fitted to horse drawn conveyances than motor vehicles. So it's not a drive I look forward to.

But The Nuke recommended a dining establishment on the Newport waterfront, The Mooring, which I was most impressed by. Food was really good, service was outstanding, the ambiance was top notch, and the view from our table was very nice. Right on the water, I could see the lights reflecting off the waves of Newport Harbor.

Well, it was night but I've seen photos of it during the day and it's pretty, very pretty. This time of year there are far fewer boats in the harbor. As it's not long after Christmas, a nearby pier was still festooned with Christmas lights and that's something I always enjoy.

I had made reservations ahead of time and they asked if there was any special occasion we were celebrating. I told them it was our anniversary.

When we got to our table there was a "Happy Anniversary" card, signed by the duty staff, waiting for us. A really nice touch.

As I said, the food was great. When offered a dessert menu we declined as we were quite full by that point, our server said we should try their apple turnover as they were freshly made.

"But, we're just stuffed ..."

"It's free, because it's your anniversary."

"Free?"

"Yes, I'll box it up for you and you can take it home."

Nice, very nice.

The turnover didn't survive to become breakfast. I guess the thirty minute drive in the cold night air had given The Missus Herself an appetite. Especially when we opened the box and that turnover was still warm! (And big enough to easily serve two people.)

Thing was more pie than turnover and was absolutely delicious.

Now I'm not becoming a foodie, though I confess, I do like to eat, but Monday night was special enough to write about.

We had a good time in each other's company. I daresay, after forty eight years we should!

I'll think of something else to write about tomorrow, but for now ...

Ciao!

Tuesday, January 20, 2026

January, Just a Giant Monday?

Monday, January 19, 2026

It must be another Monday!

Sunday, January 18, 2026

Interesting New Time "Waster"

Saturday, January 17, 2026

Why Not Just Make a Copy?

Friday, January 16, 2026

Let the Games Begin!

Thursday, January 15, 2026

Please Standby ...

Wednesday, January 14, 2026

Fine Dining

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