tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31246093.post6041224423769919432..comments2024-03-29T05:41:35.119-07:00Comments on Graphic Firing Table: The Last Night of the YearFDChiefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10607785969510234092noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31246093.post-36654863906729047052014-01-02T10:28:15.200-07:002014-01-02T10:28:15.200-07:00Happy new year and please keep up the army of the ...Happy new year and please keep up the army of the 80s stories. You may yet produce a latter day McAuslan in the Rough.<br />As for politics, we can only hope that the 1% finally grasp the true meaning of "what's good for America is good for General Motors" and realize that they are poisoning the goose that lays their golden eggs. <br />I can even find something nice to say about the Catholic Church for a change, check out this article about billionaires crying that the Pope is being mean to rich people http://www.politicususa.com/2014/01/01/wealthy-americans-prove-pope-francis-point-threatening-economic-blackmail.html. <br /><br />PS: we will have chips and beer next time.Big Daddynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31246093.post-36855732989255339832014-01-02T10:15:40.669-07:002014-01-02T10:15:40.669-07:00John,
Happy New Year to you, the wife, son, daugh...John,<br /><br />Happy New Year to you, the wife, son, daughter, and bird.<br /><br />Reading your post I am reminded of a Joni Mitchell song:<br /><br />And the seasons they go round and round <br />And the painted ponies go up and down <br />We're captive on the carousel of time <br />We can't return we can only look <br />Behind from where we came <br />And go round and round and round <br />In the circle game<br /><br />May we all, with some measure of grace, this year, go round one more time.<br /><br />I am one who makes unexpected visits to your blog. I feel given always a gift when landing here, picking and choosing the posts I read, knowing each are well written. <br /><br />Keep writing. I enjoy your work very much.<br /><br />Your fellow soldier in the muddy battle to keep civil works stable.<br /><br />Cheers<br />John Cunninghamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16729953257542157602noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31246093.post-26682640739691602102014-01-02T09:09:06.178-07:002014-01-02T09:09:06.178-07:00Anon: I live in hope that you are my Bride, since ...Anon: I live in hope that you are my Bride, since if anyone else can guess my derby/pornstar name so accurately then I am being entirely too indiscreet here.<br /><br />Ael: I would be happy to provide some Tales from Behind the Drill Rig with the caveat that I do need to keep things confidential enough so as not to embarrass either my firm or its clients, though Heaven knows both have done enough embarrassingly idiotic things. Though I should caution you, too, that getting things built is like making sausage; often you don't want to look too closely at the process. Working in this biz has always made me sympathetic to the nameless contractors that built things like the Colosseum in Rome. Must be some pretty awesome stories there that we'll never know.<br /><br />DF: I have the same sense about politics and economics you do; that we're utterly screwed, those of us not in the two-yacht-families, and that there's little we can do about that other than hunker down and hope. I think I will write a "the only political/economic post I will write in 2014" some time this month and then let it go.<br /><br />Paul: that's great to hear! The poor kids coming out as freshly-minted attorneys here in the States are in an awful situation, so your daughter has done a terrific job getting herself situated for the future.<br /><br />And I like telling family stories, provided there's some bite to them. I can't imagine anything more awful than inflicting nothing more than the usual "my kid burped today, isn't that incredible!" sorts of doting-parent stories on you all...FDChiefhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10607785969510234092noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31246093.post-44895603403222826692014-01-02T08:20:29.825-07:002014-01-02T08:20:29.825-07:00Y’know, Chief, you could write about indecisive ba...Y’know, Chief, you could write about indecisive battles, like some of the stuff that went on during the Italian colonial campaigns or the contributions WW2 Russian partisans made. And ole T.E. Lawrence – was he a charlatan? – and what exactly did De Gaulle army reforms amount to? Meanwhile, it sounds as if you had a pretty good year, considering the political climate. Here things have not been so bad either. My step-daughter will receive her law degree in March. So far her scores have been 10, or perfect in the Mexican grading system. The Secretary of Education sent her a congratulatory email, and she has already arranged an apprenticeship with two practicing abogados. <br />Happy New Year to you and your family.<br />Podunk Paulnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31246093.post-38764213868092904732014-01-01T14:33:36.490-07:002014-01-01T14:33:36.490-07:00Sounds like you still have a lot of irons in the f...Sounds like you still have a lot of irons in the fire. Your army tales are cracking, keep them coming. I don't mind the politics ones but don't feel like commenting on the increasingly uncaring ruling classes. Nobody and nothing is able to stop them, all the more depressing. I enjoy your family posts having one myself, albeit mine is a bit younger.<br /><br />Football is passion, write those for yourself. I bypass them as I've fallen out of love with the game of late, a combination of being Scottish (all downhill since mid 90's) & living in England with the money drenched Premier League, MTV cribs for those who like sports. I make exceptions for World & European cup though, the rich haven't worked how to hijack those yet.<br /><br />Telling stories could be a good way to talk about the past. A podcast I recently listened to posed the question - If you could time travel back to past to live for a year, would you? It then used this as the jumping off point to describe how different the past was, how you would survive.<br /><br />Keep it up chief! Don Francisconoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31246093.post-71419835082865533922014-01-01T14:19:37.970-07:002014-01-01T14:19:37.970-07:00Chief, what I would like to read is more of your d...Chief, what I would like to read is more of your day job "muddy boot" tales. I really enjoy reading about how people built homes and businesses in the past and how well they last over the years. I also like reading about people building new homes and businesses and their plans for the future. There are good and interesting stories staring us in the face, but we simply don't notice. <br /><br />And, if you can toss a couple of "hard lessons learned" and a "there but for the grace of god" into the mix, so much the better.<br /><br />Aelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10788190394672505925noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31246093.post-70973813721843821902014-01-01T12:55:43.372-07:002014-01-01T12:55:43.372-07:00So you might write fiction...military? I predict t...So you might write fiction...military? I predict this century's new George MacDonald Frasier. Really. <br />But if I show up as a bosomy menopausal wench with a weakness for NCOs, you had better be using a pen name.<br />(May I suggest a combination of roller derby and porn star? Dick Smasher ? Then t could be feminist)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31246093.post-31399449684752138082014-01-01T11:00:30.034-07:002014-01-01T11:00:30.034-07:00Soccer, as always, but given the viewing stats my ...Soccer, as always, but given the viewing stats my soccer posts are about as popular as a Palestinian marching band at a B'nai B'rith convention.<br /><br />Politics is always a perennial but I'm frankly getting tired of shouting over the ocean; so many others do a better job with a wider reach.<br /><br />I still enjoy telling tales from my Army, the Army of the Eighties.<br /><br />Then there's always the one-offs and oddities; those, like the poor, will always be with us.<br /><br />One thought I had was that I might actually go further with telling stories, from recounting past events to writing genuine fiction. I'll have to sleep on that a bit. I couldn't stray much from what I know, but short stories set in places I knew or know, about people I met or meet there...that's been on my mind for a while.<br /><br />Regardless, hopefully you and yours are enjoying a peaceful and happy New Year's Day and anticipating a pleasant year to come...FDChiefhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10607785969510234092noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31246093.post-52902990072612193262014-01-01T03:30:49.317-07:002014-01-01T03:30:49.317-07:00Happy new year chief. If the selection of battles ...Happy new year chief. If the selection of battles you want to write about are dwindling, maybe try something different? A battle a month has advantage in that it is always dramatic and time limited, meaning you can put a post together covering the main (or most interesting) points. One each month keeps it fresh as you have to jump time periods - far more interesting than a series of posts on battles in one campaign. <br /><br />The disadvantage is those months without any interesting battles of note, and that's before you consider there may a an upper limit to battles you want to write about. No point in a hobby that becomes a chore.<br /><br />Where are your interests at the moment if not military history? Don Francisconoreply@blogger.com