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M2A5 Bradley Proposals
Posted by parvusimperator
The US Army is continuing to look at options to improve its Bradley fighting vehicles. In the wake of the termination of the Ground Combat Vehicle, the US Army sought a cheaper incremental upgrade process, consisting of two engineering change proposals. ECP1 improved the suspension and tracks, and ECP2 improved power generation and internal networking. For the record, Bradleys that have received both ECP1 and ECP2 are designated M2A4.1
But the US Army is not content to stop there. Further upgrades are being considered, and they consist of a series of proposed changes to both the hull and turret. The final M2A5 will probably consist of some combination of these.
Hull Changes
ECP1 added a reworked suspension to handle more weight. Let's use that weight. The reworked hull design proposal uses a bunch of design work from the successful AMPV program, which is based on a turretless Bradley. The reworked hull should accommodate more armor and likely some kind of active protection system.2 It's also somewhat taller than a regular Bradley. The biggest difference is a bit of hull stretch to accommodate an eighth solider. No extra roadwheels will be added. I'm curious about the new seating arrangement.
Turret Changes
This is a little less interesting to me, because these proposals aren't really anything we haven't seen before. The conversion from 25x137mm M242 to 30x173mm Mk. 443 is something that's been trialed before and proposed before. Again, ready capacity decreases from 300 rounds to 180 rounds. Gains include armor piercing growth room,4 ammo commonality with the Stryker Dragoon, and the possibility of using airburst rounds. Not on the docket is any change to the TOW missile launcher. I might have expected Javelin instead, but that doesn't look to be in the cards.
Alternatively, as ever there are rumors about the US Army investigating foreign made IFVs. I would expect the ASCOD 2 and the Puma to be on the short list of candidates being looked at. Maybe they'll try to license one. Or maybe not.
Finally. Wish they'd finally designate an M1A3 Abrams… ↩
The system hasn't been chosen yet, and it might get integrated into the turret. Or not; the TOW launcher is kind of in the way. ↩
Or a derivative of the Mk. 44, like the M813 on the Stryker Dragoon. ↩
25x137mm Depleted Uranium APFSDS is roughly equivalent to 30x173mm APFSDS, so some well-made DU rounds should give yet more punch to the 30x173mm. ↩
This entry was posted in All and tagged armor, militariana, news on February 27, 2018 by parvusimperator.
The Opinionated Bastards: Nashira Part III (May 15, 3051)
Posted by Fishbreath
Another battle kicks off.
The Action of April 26, 3051
Drake, ever the tactical genius in addition to his other fine qualities as a leader, manages to draw the Draconis Combine forces out of the city in which they had established defensive positions as the tornado passes by. We're now engaging the enemy in a valley at dawn, with moderate snowfall covering the battlefield.
The terrain slopes downhill from west to east, and is dotted by patches of forest. That may be handy for lighter units in the later phases of the battle; woods can screen a small, fast mech from enemy fire with a bit of luck.
We deploy on the north edge of the map, along with our FedCom liaison, today a pilot in a Phoenix Hawk. The enemy deploys in the center.
Woad and the Phoenix Hawk deploy to the northwest corner of the map, where they can navigate the rough terrain with jump jets to perhaps flank the enemy. Drake, Rook, and Carcer start in the middle of the north edge, ready to open fire as soon as the enemy shows itself.
The enemy is two mixed lances, two mechs and six vehicles, with an expected mixed lance of reinforcements arriving later. The two mechs on the field right now are Dragons, a fast, low-profile heavy mech. The enemy seems confident in their skill, moving them forward, along with two of the four Vedettes they brought to the field.
Predictably, the enemy targets Drake. Once again, the AI has proven itself to be much better than me at using cover and sightlines; most of our weaponry is impossible to bring to bear.
None of the Bastards besides Drake hit anything; Drake nails a Vedette with two PPCs to the right side and nearly destroys it. He takes a hit from an AC/2 and an AC/5 in return.
Drake manages to get himself in such a position that he can only shoot at the Vedette he damaged on the previous turn. This isn't bad, per se, and might even net him a kill. On the other hand, Rook is shooting at it too.
The rest of Heavy Lance has lined up pretty neatly on the enemy Dragons, and will be prosecuting that advantage for all it's worth.
Rook takes five hits from the AC/2 carrier in the distance, which is hardly anything to worry about, especially since all the shells impact her mech's arms and legs. Nothing really important in there anyway. She and Drake both hit the Vedette, but don't manage to eliminate it.
Woad and Carcer take aim at the two Dragons, but can't combine for more than a low-percentage medium laser hit from Woad's Grasshopper.
Heavy Lance has a pretty solid line going, occupying the forest here and benefiting from its defensive bonuses.
Drake has nothing to shoot at, again, but the Vedette he's been whittling away at. Rook has the Vedette right in front of her to take a crack at; she's joined by Carcer. Woad and the Phoenix Hawk fire on the nearer Dragon.
Drake gets his kill, while Rook does not, though she damages her Vedette's track.
Woad gets a pair of medium lasers onto the nearer Grasshopper, taking an AC/5 shot in response.
One of the Dragons moves around behind Woad, who is happy to about-face and take a crack at him. The Phoenix Hawk is able to get enough of a twist on to join the fun.
Drake, Rook, and Carcer all take aim for some of the nearby Vedettes, angling to reduce the enemy tonnage on the field.
Drake puts three PPC shots onto one Vedette, while Rook dispatches another. Woad, the Phoenix Hawk, and the Dragons trade fire ineffectually, but Woad plants a solid kick on the Dragon.
Finally, Heavy Lance is decently positioned. Woad and the Phoenix Hawk each have a solid shot on a Dragon, while the Awesome, the Crab, and the Flashman can begin to deal with the tanks further away.
Drake will take a crack at the AC/2 carrier in the distance, while Rook dispatches the Vedette in front of her. Both score.
Woad scores some decent damage on the Dragon in front of him, and also manages to land a kick. So does the Phoenix Hawk.
Drake takes several hits from the enemy Manticore heavy tank, and at the end of the round, his left torso armor is gone.
The AC/2 carrier and the Vedette destroyed, the enemy Manticore heavy tank now looms largest (besides the mechs, of course).
The enemy's reinforcements, a light lance comprising a Locust, an Ostscout, and two hover tanks, arrives.
Drake and Rook both have clear shots at the enemy Manticore, though both are running a bit hot this turn. Rook fires her large lasers; Drake chances another three-PPC volley. Carcer can manage a good shot, too, and does so.
Medium Lance takes the field, and with enemies to spare and not far out of range, at that. Some kills for our second line, perhaps?
A confused movement phase sees Rook facing off against the Manticore at short range, firing every weapon she can bring to bear. Drake leaves two of his PPCs unfired so he can sink some heat.
Woad and Carcer have a Dragon caught between them.
Medium Lance has split in two. Severe and her repaired Locust and Milspec and his Phoenix Hawk proceed down the west edge of the map, while Ker-Ker and Double Dog advance up the middle.
Between her weapons and her Flashman's foot, Rook destroys the Manticore. Woad and Carcer both shoot at and kick the Dragon between them; Carcer's kick knocks out its leg.
The downed Dragon attempts to stand and fails. Woad keeps his eye on it to finish it off, while Carcer heads south to help Rook with the three mechs now near her. (A Dragon, and the two lights from the enemy reinforcements.)
Milspec gets his weapons into action for the first time, though he misses; Drake scores three hits on the enemy Dragon, and Rook adds a large laser hit.
Woad fails to finish his Dragon, and will attempt to complete the job with a kick.
Rook, in melee range of several enemy mechs, elects to dodge this round instead of hit back. An uncharacteristic lack of aggression.
The enemy reinforcements seem to be falling back. Drake and Rook push forward through the center of the map, flanked to the west by elements of both Medium and Heavy lances. Milspec and Severe are in position to eliminate the final Vedette, while Woad continues to wear away at the northern Dragon.
The allied Phoenix Hawk jump jets over a lake and will take a few shots at the southern Dragon.
Not much happens on the prior turn; the big guns were out of action. Woad still hasn't killed his Dragon, but this is probably the turn. Severe and Milspec work on the Vedette, while the enemy Ostscout approaches.
Drake, Carcer, Rook, and the allied Phoenix Hawk all shoot at the southern Dragon. Double Dog and Ker-Ker are closing in, nearly in effective range. So far, they've been moving into position too quickly to stop and shoot.
Milspec scores the unlikeliest kill of the day.
While waiting to kick the Vedette that Milspec just killed, Severe might well have scored us another mech to salvage.
The enemy appears to be in full retreat now. We'll mop up what we can. (For all our battlefield success, nobody is going to call the Bastards a fast lance.)
Woad gets his kill after all; he just had to aim for a different Dragon. He scores with a kick which blows up the Dragon's AC/5 ammo supplies. Rook wings a hover tank, but Carcer gets the kill with a hit to its fuel tank. Ker-Ker scores a kill on a Locust; kicking it from one elevation level up, she hits it in the head. The whole weight of the Lancelot behind the blow, the poor Locust has no chance.
Two enemy units retreat: the Ostscout and a J. Edgar hover tank.
Damage, Injuries, Salvage
The Awesome and Severe's Locust are mildly damaged, and Severe herself took a knock when the enemy Locust knocked her over. Otherwise, the company is in good health.
We salvage the Dragon DRG-5N Severe headshotted, as well as a Vedette to bring us up to 60% salvage.
Battle loss compensation comes to about 60,000 C-bills, and we ransom prisoners for 120,000 more.
Kill Board(s)
Severe may not be all that high up the kill board, but she is currently the giant-slayer of the bunch. All of her kills are mechs, and in that category she's second only to Rook. Who, incidentally, has now scored 20 kills. Drake gets two, though, to stay at just above half of Rook's total.
Lieutenant "Rook" Ishikawa (20, 5 mechs)
Captain "Drake" Halit (11, 3 mechs)
Private "Carcer" Ngo (9, 3 mechs)
Private "Woad" Kohler (7, 3 mechs)
Lieutenant "Linebuster" Atkinson (5)
Private "Severe" Payne (4, 4 mechs)
Lieutenant "Double Dog" Dare (4, 1 mech)
Private "Ker-Ker" Ec (3, 2 mechs)
Sergeant "Milspec" Ortega (3)
Private "Euchre" Kojic (2, 2 mechs)
Private "Teddy Bear" Jamil (2, 1 mech)
Private "Wojtek" Frajtov (1, 1 mech)
Private "Hanzoku" Yuksel (1, 1 mech)
It is now May 15, 3051.
Contract Status
No battles on the calendar right now; the Bastards get a bit of a break.
At the end of April, the FedCom forces gift us a civilian-use Commando (with a primitive cockpit, limited armor, and a large laser). In addition, we picked up a Dragon this month. At present, we have 18 mechs, though not all of them are worth bringing to the battlefield.
We have 9,426,500 C-bills in the bank.
Unfortunately, there's nothing in the unit market to spend it on, besides maybe a pair of Hunchback HBK-4Gs.
Another mech pilot comes up on the recruiting market: Abdul-Hafiz Popalzi, of the Free Rasalhague Republic. He's a 4+/4+ regular to boot. He joins the company.
Wojtek is the only remaining Green-rank pilot; Hernandez and Euchre are now regulars, too.
Adding the two misfit heavies to Cadre Lance, with Hernandez and the newcomer Popalzi driving, yields a second heavyweight lance. At present, Medium Lance and Bear's Bruisers (if we're sticking with that) are both medium-weight lances.
Repairs and Refits
Everything's in tip-top shape, although the Dragon and Rifleman designs are still questionable.
Our technical teams are a little under-strength compared to our mech strength now. We'll have to see to that.
We had to use a few more actuators and a spare torso or two to patch up the Dragon.
Mechwarrior Claims and Assignments
For the record, the following mechwarriors are claimed.
Captain Huri "Drake" Halit (Mephansteras)
Lt. SG George "Linebuster" Atkinson (Hasek10)
Lt. SG Mariamu "Rook" Ishikawa (Culise)
Lt. JG Sung-min "Double Dog" Dare (a1s)
Sgt. Jose "Milspec" Ortega (milspec)
Cpl. Damayanti "Carcer" Ngo (Dorsidwarf)
Cpl. Tedros "Teddy Bear" Jamil (Knave)
Pvt. Ferdinand "Woad" Kohler (A Thing)
Pvt. Jan "Euchre" Kojic (EuchreJack)
Pvt. Cathrine "Severe" Payne (Burnt Pies)
Pvt. E-Shei "Ker-Ker" Ec (Kanil)
Pvt. Ed "Hanzoku" Yuksel (Hanzoku)
Pvt. Ik-jun "Wojtek" Frajtov (Blaze)
Pvt. Xue-Min "Wizard" Que (Rince Wind)
The following mechwarriors are available.
Pvt. Abdul-Hafiz Popalzi
Recruit Gwenael Hernandez
There are mechwarriors for claim.
Several refit questions open now: both the Dragon and the Rifleman could do with some changes.
This entry was posted in All and tagged gaming, letsplay, opinionated bastards on February 24, 2018 by Fishbreath.
Handicapping the FFG(X) Contenders
Big Navy announced the finalists for the FFG(X) program a few days ago. Let's have a look.
In the interest of spicing things up a bit, I've assigned some moneyline odds to each competitor.
FFG(X): buying 2012's frigate in 2020
The Navy ended up a little behind the eight ball after its insistence on buying the all-but-useless Littoral Combat Ship, which we've trashed on several occasions1. Rather than build a frigate as the Perry class was running out of lifespan, they built a weird fast corvette with no striking power and found themselves paying $700 million a pop for effectively useless ships.
FFG(X) is a stopgap measure to take care of the actual business of naval combat while the LCS contractors get their collective acts together, in which the Navy will spend $20 billion to buy twenty actual, effective combat ships.
LCS variants: Less Crappy Ships
The two contractors for the LCS have each assembled a bid using their LCS as a base for a real fighting ship. Both have unrefueled ranges of less than 4,500 nautical miles.
Austal Frigate: -300
Austal's entry is based off of their trimaran Independence-class, a design I like aesthetically and for a few practical reasons (that giant flight deck among them). The Austal Frigate cuts a few feet off of the flight deck to add a stern platform to hold twin- or quad-pack Harpoon launchers (or other SSM launchers), as well as a towed sonar. Earlier Austal Frigate proposals put the VLS in the superstructure, on either side of the main mast, but someone must have realized what a terrible idea that was in practice; in the final proposal, one VLS 8-pack is forward of the superstructure, and one is at the aft end of the flight deck.
I was going to gripe about how 16 VLS cells seemed a little light, but it appears that's the fit most of these frigates have, sadly. At least the ESSM can be quad-packed; 32 ESSM and 8 fancy Standard Missiles is an acceptable combat load, I guess.
Freedom Frigate: -400
The Freedom Frigate is the LockMart-brand LCS frigate, with very little to differentiate it from the Austal Frigate beyond its more conventional design. Same armament: 16 Mk. 41 VLS cells and a gun. Similar aviation capacity, although it has a smaller hangar. (Both only ship one MH-60 in normal circumstances, though.) I think the basic Freedom-class has less to recommend it than the basic Independence-class, which is why I give them a lesser chance here.
Not-invented-here options
Various European navies have interesting frigate choices. Two of them made it to the final round.
FREMM: -1000
As much as I like the FREMM, I don't think it's a very likely choice for the US Navy. The VLS system is wrong, and I have no idea how easy it is to plug a Mk. 41 system into the Sylver A43 hole in the FREMMs.
Too, it also depends on the FREMM version. The French FREMM is well-kitted for anti-air and anti-surface-unit warfare, with 32 VLS cells in all, Exocet launchers, and even support for land-attack missiles in the larger 16 VLS cells. It only has one helicopter, and only the anti-submarine versions carry a towed sonar.
The Italian FREMM has a faster cruise speed, a faster top speed, two helicopters, an improved radar, two guns, and (in the anti-submarine fit) anti-submarine missiles, but it has fewer cruise missiles and is only fit with 16 Sylver A43 VLS cells.
Both have long range, north of 6,000 nautical miles. Both are expensive, between 600 and 700 million euro per unit.
Keeping in mind the various incompatibilities which would have to be addressed, and the fact that the ship is built by 'Fincantieri Marine Group' no matter how much they claim they're from Wisconsin, I think the FREMM is one of the less likely options.
F100: -450
The F100/Álvaro de Bazán class of Spanish frigates came as a bit of a surprise to me; I hadn't heard much about them, but clearly I should have been paying closer attention.
The F100 is an Aegis frigate. Yes, you heard me right; besides the related Fridtjof Nansen class, they're the only frigate-size ships to carry the Aegis setup. Fittingly, the Spaniards did not skimp on missiles. The F100 carries a full 48 cells of Mk. 41 VLS, for a standard combat load of 64 ESSMs and 32 SM-2s.
Its anti-ship capability is a bit more suspect, at only eight Harpoons, but those are in deck launchers and easily retrofit should the Navy come up with an actual decent sea attack missile.
It carries decent anti-submarine weapons and a torpedo decoy, along with a single helicopter, but does presently lack a towed array, a missing feature which could come back to haunt General Dynamics. I don't know if it would be an easy retrofit, but it's certainly something the Navy would want addressed.
Beyond that, though, the F100 strikes me as the blindingly obvious choice from the final competitors. There's zero reason to complain about its anti-air fit, and its anti-ship fit is no worse than most of the other competitors. (Eight Harpoons seems to be enough for the Navy.) A helicopter is more important for modern anti-submarine warfare than a towed array, and one presumes that the F100 could probably ship one if it comes to that, given that a variable depth sonar and a towed array are on the requirements list and General Dynamics still entered the F100. It has 4,500 nautical miles of range, and doesn't cost any more than the other options on the list.
Why do I not make it the favorite among the options, then? Because the Navy has already plowed a ton of money into the LCS, so they aren't canceling it, and if they buy a non-LCS-based frigate, then they have to pay both to buy the new frigate and eventually turn the LCS into one. I expect political concerns to hamper the European designs, despite the fact that both the F100 and the FREMM are objectively better in every useful dimension than either LCS or LCS frigate conversion.
The Coast Guard rides again
But wait! There's a dark horse contender.
Legend-class/National Security Cutter: -2500
While the Legend-class cutters are the right size, have superb range (it's reduced to 8,000 nautical miles for the bid), and, as Coast Guard cutters, have tons of internal room for weapons and whatnot, selecting a cutter as a base for a frigate design would require the Navy not only to admit the Coast Guard exists, but also to admit that the Coast Guard built a better ship than they did. Not going to happen.
Program canceled or delayed beyond the point of usefulness: +250
I'm not a pessimist by nature, but this really does seem like the most likely outcome to me.
It's one of our favorite punching bags. If we're missing a segment for the podcast, I've been known to say, "Have we beaten up on the LCS lately?" ↩
This entry was posted in All and tagged commentary, militariana, warships on February 22, 2018 by Fishbreath.
The 2017 Many Words Press Audience Report
It's that time of year again, which is to say, it's no longer the previous year, that time when I like to dig into site statistics and come up with some interesting insights for you, the reader.
Total Visitors and Views
Since Google Analytics wasn't running for the full year (I believe I turned it on again in February), these numbers come straight from the built-in WordPress stats system. It more or less lines up with Google's numbers for the part of the year where they overlap, so I believe them to be accurate. (Or, at the very least, wrong in the same way all the stats in this article will be.)
Soapbox 13287 20034
Main 1442 2819
Softworks 854 1518
In 2017, traffic to the Soapbox doubled compared to 2016; the other two sites held steady.
As usual, the Soapbox takes the clear victory for both visitors and views.
The most popular few posts of 2017 were published in 2016 or earlier. Parvusimperator's Battle Royale review of the P320, the PPQ, and the VP9 has been enduringly popular for us, mainly because it got great search engine play. In fact, in 2017, Battle Royale accounted for about 6,600 views at the Soapbox, between a quarter and a third of the views for the year. We tried to catch lightning in a bottle a second time with an M9/P320 comparison, but that ground was too heavily trod for us to make anything of it. We do have some plans for a future post in the same genre, but I won't spoil them.
The second and third most popular posts also belong to parvusimperator: the Resurrected Weapons entry for 50mm Supershot and his Colt 6920 review.
Posted This Year
More interesting, I think, is the list of most popular posts published in 2017. After all, that's most likely the year you started reading in, going by our growth from 2016 to 2017.
Movie and Firearms Review: John Wick Chapter 2
This sort of post is our bread and butter: a fresh take on a niche subject.
The EDC X9 Is Stupid
Clickbaity, but effective.
Fishbreath Flies: DCS AJS 37 Viggen Review
I made it into the top ten! I was a little surprised.
How-To: Two USB Mics, One Computer, JACK, and Audacity
One of a very few guides on how to connect two USB microphones to one computer, this guide was the forerunner to a more detailed how-to I posted earlier this year. Hopefully that one appears on this list next year.
S&W M&P 2.0
An article from our SHOT 2017 coverage. We've had very little of that this year, which may handicap us somewhat. We were also handicapped last year by not actually being present at SHOT. On our list for 2018 is to continue to develop our supply of firearms-related content so that we can get parvusimperator a 2019 SHOT Show press badge.
Glock Trigger Pull Mods
Parvusimperator's roundup of things to do to make your Glock less terrible in the trigger did deservedly well.
New VP Pistols from HK
We aren't ordinarily a news site, focusing more on the opinion and commentary side of things, but we sometimes make exceptions for news of particular interest to us. Parvusimperator's a big fan of the VP line, and I confess they have their charms, so we ran with it.
Fishbreath Plays: Starsector 0.8 Kind-Of-Review
I always try to write up big Starsector updates, because when it hits 1.0, it's going to be one of the very best space sandboxes of the decade. People seem to like hearing about it.
Wilson Combat's New EDC X9
I'm very proud of this one, and of parvusimperator's work on it. We scooped the major firearms blogs by twelve hours.
Hudson H9 Range Report
Another SHOT show post, parvusimperator picked up the impressions off of some of his shooting forum buddies.
Traffic Acquisition
The Soapbox, like most websites, gets the overwhelming majority of its traffic from Google searches. 81% of our sessions come from Google. The next 13% are direct traffic.
The other 6% are spread across the lesser search engines, social links, and forum posts. We get the very occasional hit from some hnefatafl websites.
97% of the Soapbox's users are male. The 25-34 demographic is the most popular, although our prime age range is 25-44. (After that, 45-54 comes next, followed by 18-24, then 55+.)
64% of Soapbox sessions in 2017 came from Americans. The UK, Canada, and Australia come in in places two through four, and Romania sits in fifth. (Romania slipped behind Australia very late in the year; we saw a few binges from Australia in the stats late in the year.)
Curiously, the Soapbox sees more mobile (that is, phone and tablet) views than views from desktops, by about a 60-40 ratio. 55% of our mobile visitors are Apple users; the rest are on Android devices.
Chrome, however, is more popular than Safari, which suggests that a strong majority of desktop users use Chrome. (Sadly, my favored Firefox represents only 7% of our hits.)
Many Words Main
The fiction arm of Many Words Press is dramatically less popular, but it's my pet project, so I'm going to talk about it in a little depth.
As expected from a site with ongoing content, the front page is the most popular part of the site by a large margin, followed by the Archives page and the e-books-for-sale page.
In contrast to the Soapbox, only 5% of the visitors to Many Words Main came from Google searches. Direct traffic was the most common method of arrival, and referrals from various sources came next.
For all the effort I've put in getting listed on various web fiction aggregators, we see very little traffic from them.
Unfortunately, Many Words Main has no information on demographics; Google can't tease out information which can't be linked back to one or several users.
The location information is also less exciting: the US and Canada make up the top 65% of views. China, a bit unusual, comes in at 6%. Every other location on the planet is below 3%.
Fascinatingly, despite being more e-book-like, Many Words Main is viewed 75-25 on desktops. Apple devices also make up a mere 40% of the mobile views.
Not much to mention here, besides that the most popular Softworks product is our Out of the Park Baseball schedule generator. Even though it's imperfect—highly so—it's the only product of its nature with any recent updates, and therefore pretty frequently downloaded.
That's all I have. Thanks for reading this post, and for your views in 2017. We have big plans for the future, and we're glad you're along for the ride.
This entry was posted in All and tagged commentary, meta on February 20, 2018 by Fishbreath.
EXTRA: Trouble at SilencerCo?
We interrupt our regularly scheduled posting to bring you this Extra Edition. Today we're going to get business-y and talk a little bit about problems at SilencerCo. As you may have gathered if you don't already know, they make suppressors.
A lot of this is speculation, because SilencerCo is not publicly traded, so there are no financial statements to read. But here's what we know:
They haven't had a big, mass-appeal product for a while now. The last one I recall was the Omega.
Their most recent product launches are pretty niche market. One of them, the Maxim 9 integrally suppressed pistol, was definitely an R&D-heavy project.
Between people waiting to receive silencers that they panic-bought during the Obama administration and people waiting to hear a decisive yes/no vote on the Hearing Protection Act, the silencer market is pretty down right now.
SilencerCo has had a rocky relationship with Silencer Shop lately, and Silencer Shop is one of the biggest silencer retailers in the US, and certainly among the easiest to buy from.
All of the above combine to really hurt cash-flow. They desperately need a rebound product and marketing help, both of which require money. SilencerCo has been going through a few rounds of layoffs. Which might just be reorganization.
Currently, there are rumors floating around that the top three executives have been voted out by the creditors at a shareholders' meeting. And that is starting to get troublesome. It definitely looks like trouble is coming to a head over in West Valley City.
I hope SilencerCo can pull it out, but it doesn't look good. We'll see how it turns out.
This entry was posted in All and tagged firearms, news on February 19, 2018 by parvusimperator.
The Opinionated Bastards: Nashira Part II (Apr. 25, 3051)
It's good to be back in the saddle.
The Action of 16 April, 3051
The Opinionated Bastards are deployed on the right flank of the FedCom front line, and have been tasked with breaking through the Draconis Combine defenses at a weak point in a mountain pass. Opposition is expected to be light to moderate; there are a few heavy mechs deployed with a number of vehicles in support. The weather is snowy, and the terrain is predictably rugged.
That cliff is eleven levels from top to bottom. That's a lot.
Heavy Lance is first on the scene, and deploys to the east side of the map. That'll let us skirt around the peak pictured above to the east; it'll provide cover and a height advantage, and there are patches of pine forest nearby into which our mechs can duck.
The Armed Forces of the Federated Commonwealth chip in a Hunchback HBK-4G, a nice step up from our usual allies. Not only that, but it's under our direct command.
Heavy Lance moves forward. The enemy has deployed in between the peak I showed you in the picture above and the next one further north, with one medium tank a hair to the south. With adroit positioning, several of our mechs have the enemy in range and in their firing arcs. We'll take some PPC and large laser shots to see if we can't start to even the odds.
This picture shows a peak to the south-southwest of the one in the battlefield description.
Only Drake scores hits; two PPCs strike the enemy tank in the side, knocking its track off. It's now immobile, and a much easier target for everyone else. A solid opening to the battle.
Woad moves further up along the edge of the Bastards' assigned sector. His Grasshopper's jump jets made the transit much easier.
Rook stays put; she can't cross the lake in one turn, and moving into the water ahead of her takes the immobilized Bulldog out of her line of fire.
Drake walks slowly forward, aiming now for the Rifleman facing him from the south flank of the peak ahead. He's already immobilized the Bulldog; the others can take care of it from here.
In what is now a predictable outcome, Rook notches the kill on the Bulldog with a precisely-aimed large laser shot.
There's nothing for it this time. Rook gingerly moves her Flashman into the lake, taking her out of action for the round.
The remainder of Heavy Lance will aim to get some fire on the nearer of two enemy Riflemen. Drake scores a hit, as does Carcer.
More jockeying for position. Heavy Lance has a big advantage over the enemy in terms of long-range firepower, so unless they show interest in getting closer, we'll keep pounding away at them from a distance.
Speaking of which, the Mustered Militia advances with a Hermes. Heavy Lance is still occupied with the Rifleman somewhat more distant.
Drake scores two hits on three shots, knocking the Rifleman down, but not before it scores with an AC/5 on the allied Hunchback.
Heavy Lance slowly draws closer to the enemy, hampered by the rough ground but still moving in. The Rifleman remains the priority target.
Though Drake fires three PPCs, it's Carcer who scores the most important hit. The two criticals to the Rifleman's center torso destroy its gyro. Tally another kill for Carcer, whose performance in the Crab is nothing short of spectacular.
The Draconis Combine pilot ejects, given that the Rifleman is now entirely immobile. Structurally, it's in good shape. We may be able to take it as salvage at the end of the battle.
With the enemy Rifleman down, Heavy Lance continues its slow advance and sets its sights on another enemy Bulldog on the south flank of the central peak.
Carcer, taking advantage of the brief lull to enter the lake directly ahead of her, nevertheless finds herself with a target: the enemy Hermes, attempting to flank Heavy Lance to the west. She lines up a shot with her large lasers. Since her mech is in depth-1 water, she can even fire both without building up any excess heat.
She scores a hit, but it's the allied Hunchback who does the lion's share of the work. With an AC/20 shot, its pilot blows off the Hermes' left arm and heavily damages its internals.
Medium Lance deploys! They'll move up the western edge of our sector and outflank the enemy there.
Heavy Lance continues its advance, while Medium Lance races ahead. Milspec and Severe, in the Phoenix Hawk and Locust, charge ahead, while the two slower heavy mechs hang back.
For the first time this battle, Woad brings the full firepower of his Grasshopper to bear, targeting the Bulldog. The rest of Heavy Lance joins him.
He misses with all his weapons, but Drake steps in and polishes off the Bulldog with a pair of PPC hits.
The faster elements of Heavy Lance (Woad and Carcer) move forward to target the second enemy Rifleman. Drake is in range, too, so he lines up on it. Rook, moving through another glacial lake, can't get the Rifleman in her sights.
Medium Lance continues its advance on the west side of the map, targeting the enemy light mechs. Further north, four Draconis Combine vehicles deploy as reinforcements.
Drake, Woad, and Carcer deal heavy damage to the enemy Rifleman.
Again, Heavy Lance aims for the second Rifleman, while Medium Lance is foiled in its light mech hunt by the enemy's crafty use of terrain.
Heavy Lance scores several hits, but not enough to destroy the Rifleman. It does fall, however, and it's looking decidedly less healthy now. Medium Lance continues its push to the west.
Round 10-11
The snow starts to accumulate.
Severe gets herself into a bit of a pickle; she has a good shot on the enemy Hermes, but a J. Edgar hovertank has lined up to shoot into her rear armor.
Medium Lance generally is better placed now, on the peak of the southernmost mountain in our sector, and three of them have shots on the enemy Hermes.
Heavy Lance continues its punishing of the enemy Rifleman.
Severe gets the kill on the Hermes, and Woad scores the last hit on the Rifleman. Severe takes moderate damage from the hovertank, but evades any serious hits.
The enemy hovertank maneuvers but stays in the same hex in the end. Severe steps forward a hex to stand on top of it.
Heavy Lance is now badly out of position. It'll take Drake a long time to get back in the fight, but the other mechs are a little more sprightly, and should be in firing positions soon.
Severe and Milspec end up being the only Bastards in any position to take a shot, and do so. Severe kicks off one of the hovertank's tracks; since she took another hit in the process, she'll scarper for the moment.
Not a ton going on right now; the Bastards are moving up to get into range, while the enemy is maneuvering to respond.
It's the allied Hunchback which gets the kill on the immobilized J. Edgar tank.
Sparser updates from here on out. Severe attempts to move into the water, and ends up falling, which ends up letting water into her mech's structure. Not good. Hopefully she'll be able to make her way out of the lake before she takes any further damage.
Drake and Carcer continue to move along the eastern side of the map, hoping to flank the enemy reinforcements.
Again, the Hunchback proves its worth, immobilizing an enemy Vedette.
Severe manages to get out from underwater, though her Locust loses an arm in the process. Drake now can bring his PPCs to bear again, though not on all the enemies. The firepower from the Awesome will be a welcome addition as the Bastards wrap this one up.
Woad destroys the immobilized Vedette with a barrage of laser fire.
Fatigue begins to set in for your intrepid correspondent.
The enemy is down to four vehicles and a light mech, which shouldn't pose too much of an obstacle from here on out, especially with the Awesome back in play. I'm going to call it cleanup from here on out.
The rugged terrain means that jumpjet-equipped mechs, like Milspec's Phoenix Hawk and Woad's Grasshopper, are vastly more mobile than the rest of their lances.
Woad scores a third kill on a wheeled scout tank and a fourth on the Goblin medium tank, while Drake damages the last enemy mech—a Wasp—and Rook knocks out its gyro. Carcer destroys a light tank. Milspec kicks the engine out of a Vedette, and Woad notches his fifth kill today with a hit to its fuel tank. Ace in a day!
Milspec's Phoenix Hawk took a number of hits, but nothing which made it through the armor, while Severe's Locust has some moderate internal damage we'll have to see to. No pilots took any hits.
It's a bountiful day for salvage. We take both the crippled Rifleman and the Wasp, as well as a second Rifleman which is only good for spare parts. That puts us 6% above our 60% salvage share, but we can make that up in later battles, and getting two potentially-operational mechs seemed like the right move to me.
We make about 50,000 C-bills in battle loss compensation, and ransom six prisoners for 120,000 more. One prisoner decides to defect to our company. Welcome, Recruit Gwenael Hernandez.
Woad moves from 12th to 4th on the strength of a magical five-kill performance. Rook has scored nearly twice the kills of her next challenger.
Captain "Drake" Halit (9, 3 mechs)
Private "Ker-Ker" Ec (2, 1 mech)
It is now April 25, 3051.
We have a battle ahead, another attempt to break through House Kurita's lines, scheduled for tomorrow. Heavy Lance is ready to deploy. We'll discuss reinforcements a little later.
We have 7,080,500 C-bills in the bank. Thanks to battle loss compensation and a well-developed spares stock, we actually made money on the battle.
Woad has enough experience to bump both his piloting and his gunnery. He's graduated from green to a 4+/4+ regular. Severe is at the same level; both are a mere hop, skip, and jump from veteran status. (By which I mean about 20 xp.)
Wizard's Guillotine has arrived, but lacking a place in the TO&E to slot her in, I put her in a new fourth Reserve lance for now. Recruit Hernandez hops into the captured Wasp and joins Cadre Lance.
I end up shuffling some mechs around. Heavy Lance remains as previously constituted (Drake, Rook, Carcer, Woad), and Medium Lance stays the same too (Double Dog in the Tallman Thunderbolt, Milspec, Ker-Ker in the Frankenstein Lancelot, and Severe's Locust).
Cadre Lance and Reserve Lance, however, see some changes. Cadre Lance is now much more focused on training: Linebuster is the only veteran, with three green pilots (Euchre, Wojtek, and the newcomer Hernandez) under his wing. I may see about rotating Linebuster into one of the primary combat lances to get him some more fighting experience. It would most likely be a pilot swap; Linebuster would hop into someone else's mech for a few months while the other pilot borrows his Lancelot.
In Reserve Lance, Wizard is the most talented pilot but Teddy Bear is the senior Bastard; he gets a promotion to Corporal and leadership of the lance. Rounding out the lance is Hanzoku. It's fairly punchy as medium lances go; the two Guillotines provide a solid backbone. Pity about the Vulcan, though.
Medium Lance is a 190-ton medium lance; Cadre and Reserve Lances are both 180-ton medium lances.
As of April 25, all our mechs are in fighting trim, including the salvaged Rifleman and Wasp. The written-off Rifleman we nevertheless salvaged yielded a decent number of parts, although nothing big-name.
If you're keeping track (and I grant that's pretty hard, given the paucity of information on mech assignments), you may have noticed that the Rifleman we captured is not currently in the lineup. This is for several reasons:
It's not a great loadout. Two AC/5s and two large lasers won't do us very much good. There are several available refit kits that swap PPCs in for the AC/5s, which might be nice.
It's also very lightly armored. Carcer's Crab, both Trebuchets, and Milspec's Phoenix Hawk all have armor as good as or better than it despite being medium mechs, and although our gunners are well above average, it still fell apart quickly under concentrated fire. I'd prefer to address that before we send it into battle, especially since it currently has ammunition stored in the center torso.
Our stocks are shrinking a bit. We have one three-ton gyro and one PPC, along with three large lasers, as far as big-ticket items go. There are also a hair over 46.5 tons of armor at our field warehouse. (That's 747 points.) At present, we can't readily lay our hands on PPCs, but the Federated Commonwealth supply lines have our back for everything else.
There's a mechwarrior available for claim.
The upcoming mission is in pitch-black conditions with an F1-F3 tornado predicted. Since we don't have any vehicles and the enemy does, the tornado might tilt things in our favor. On the other hand, shooting in pitch darkness is difficult to say the least. If we delay the attack for better lighting, we'll also miss the tornado and probably fight against more even odds. Should we delay, or attack as planned?
Should we stick with the proven Heavy Lance-Medium Lance combo, or deploy a different lance in support?
Should we refit the Rifleman? If so, how?
Should we shuffle lance assignments?
What's In a Bradley?
Let's take a look at what's in a Bradley, courtesy of Hunnicut's excellent work on the vehicle. Some of the information below is a little old (it's from back when the M60 was the US Army's squad support weapon), so I'll make estimates for more modern systems as appropriate.
–Equipment for Vehicle Subsystems–
Fuel: 175 gal.
Engine oil: 26 qt.
Ready 25mm rounds: 300
Stowed 25mm rounds: 600
Ready 7.62mm rounds: 800
Stowed 7.62mm rounds: 1,4001
Ready TOW missiles: 2 missiles
Stowed TOW missiles: 5 missiles (Or 3 TOW missiles + 2 Javelin missiles, see below)
–Equipment for Dismounts–
Stowed AT4 Rockets: 3 rockets
Stowed ATGMs: 0 or 2 Javelin missiles
Curiously, in the tables in Hunnicutt's book, both AT4 and M72 LAWs are listed as carried. In the text he mentions that AT4s were carried instead of LAWs and stowage was altered accordingly. I've gone with the latter here. We can also see that the Bradley is absolutely loaded with ammo.
In Hunnicut's table, ammo for the coax M240C is noted separately from the ammo for the M60 that's to be deployed with the squad. I have preserved the distinction here (See also note 2) ↩
These might also be used in the coax gun, since they're still linked 7.62x51mm. Alternatively, this space should hold about 3,300 rounds of 5.56mm belted ammo for M249s, which is the current squad automatic weapon of the US Army. ↩
Originally these were separated out for the M239 Firing port weapon and the infantry's M16s, but the M239s didn't work very well, and later versions of the Bradley plated over the firing ports. In any case, the M16 and M239 use the same magazines, so I haven't split the ammo out here like Hunicutt does. ↩
This entry was posted in All and tagged armor, militariana, reference on February 15, 2018 by parvusimperator.
What Does a Puma Carry?
Here's a list of stuff that a Puma carries, at least according to Tankograd's wonderfully photo-laden book on the vehicle.
Fuel: 900 L
Ready 30mm ammo: 200 rounds
Stowed 30mm ammo: 161 rounds (in seven-round boxes)
Ready 5.56mm ammo: 1,000 rounds
Stowed 5.56mm ammo: 1,000 rounds
Ready ATGM: 2 missiles
Stowed ATGM: 0 missiles
Grenade Launcher, Ready Rounds: 12 76mm Grenades -OR- 24 40mm grenades
Stowed 5.56mm ammo for dismounts: 1,500 rounds
Stowed 40mm grenades: 36 rounds
Stowed frag grenades: 30 grenades
Stowed smoke grenades: 7 grenades
Stowed signal rounds: 20 rounds
Stowed rockets: 4 Panzerfaust 3 rockets and 2 launchers
Stowed Water, 1.5 L bottles: 32 bottles
The Tankograd volume doesn't make mention of how much of the 5.56mm ammo stowed for the dismounts is in magazines and how much is linked for the dismounts' MG4. 1,500 rounds doesn't seem like all that much for six men, but perhaps the Germans trust their supply. It's nice that Tankograd notes how much water the Puma usually carries.
ATGM Identification Chart
Are you curious about ATGMs? Watching some video online and wondering what missile was used?
This entry was posted in All and tagged militariana, news on February 7, 2018 by parvusimperator.
Resurrected Weapons: XM307
Here's yet another attempt to replace the Mk. 19 GPMG and/or the venerable M2 HMG. The XM307 was part of the same program that gave us the XM29 OICW, and later the XM25 once the OICW failed. The program itself emerged from a 1980s study saying that weapons development had reached a plateau, and that the next breakthrough would come with the integration of airburst-fused high explosives into the US Army's weapons. They had tried to schedule a breakthrough in the late 1960s with SPIW. They failed. Now, a new generation of engineers would try their hand.
The XM307, or Advanced Crew Served Weapon (ACSW), had the same airburst principles as the XM25 and XM29. The gunner would use an integrated fire control system to get the range to target with a laser rangefinder, set an airburst distance, and then shoot rounds at the target. Except now with automatic fire. Let's look at a quick size comparison chart:
Mk. 19
length 52.2″ 65.1″ 43.1″
barrel length 25.1″ 45.0″ 16.25″
weight 50 lbs. 83.78 lbs. 77.6 lbs.
It's definitely lighter. Plus, it'll bring a flatter trajectory than the 40mm grenades of the Mk. 19, so it should be easier to score hits with. Those are pluses. And, the M2 doesn't pack an explosive punch. All good things so far for the XM307. So let's talk lethality.
From autocannons, we know that autocannon ammunition makers don't think a 25mm autocannon shell holds enough explosives to make an airburst fuse option worthwhile. We know there are lots of deployed 25mm systems, so there's plenty of incentive to try. Big market, but nobody's bothered. This isn't a perfect comparison, of course. Sizes may vary, but if there's a difference, the autocannon has the bigger projectile. A 40mm Bofors fires a much bigger round than the 40mm Mk. 19. Still, it's cause for concern.
More concern comes from the test deployment of the XM25. In Afghanistan, while there are plenty of accounts of airburst rounds scaring Taliban fighters away, there are no accounts of it actually killing anyone. And this should be its best chance for success: taliban fighters don't wear any kind of protective gear. None. If it can't get kills there, what about when it encounters troops wearing actual modern armor? At least the Mk. 19 has a long history of being effective against unarmored opponents. It starts somewhere. Also note that lots of comparisons with 40mm grenades make a comparison between 25mm Airburst HE-Frag and 40mm HEDP, which is going to be less effective in the pure-antipersonnel role than 40mm HE/HE-Frag.
Now, the XM307 has automatic fire capability, and a belt feed, unlike the XM25. We're not limited to a one round for one round comparison, which means we're going to get into "stowed kills" type computations. Clearly, the XM307 holds more grenades in a box than the Mk. 19, so we can try to come up with some notion of relative effectiveness. Or we could, if we had a lot of ammo and a proving ground. Unfortunately I don't, and I don't know if the US Army tried this computation. The XM307 was cancelled in 2007.
Another obvious option is to integrate the airburst fusing and targeting system into existing 40x53mm grenade systems. So you'd still have the option of using existing grenades that work, plus you wouldn't have to develop an entirely new round and ammo system. Someone at DoD actually thought of this, and the Mk. 47 was born. It's lighter than the Mk. 19, fires the same 40x53mm grenades, and is equipped with a targeting system to set the fuses of airburst grenades. In US Service, that would be the Mk. 285. It's in limited use in the US Military, and has seen export success with Israel and Australia. So let's go with that, because it's way less cost and risk.
Verdict: Funding Denied by the Borgundy War Department Ordnance Procurement Board
This entry was posted in All and tagged firearms, militariana, resurrected weapons on February 6, 2018 by parvusimperator.
Rule the Waves 2: To May, 1906
Cadillac Gage Commentaries: Lowers
OpenTafl 2020: New Tree Search Horizons
Wednesday What We're Reading (Jan. 8, 2020)
Chris Bradshaw on Rule the Waves 2: To May, 1902
Fishbreath on Rule the Waves 2: To May, 1902
Fishbreath on Wednesday What We're Reading (Christmas Day, 2019)
Chris Bradshaw on Wednesday What We're Reading (Christmas Day, 2019)
Fishbreath on Winter Wargaming 2019: Rule the Waves 2
Borgundy
discussion thread
let's bash
militariana
modern pistols
opinionated bastards
random carrier battles
resurrected weapons
terminated weapons
TTPs


It doesn't take a Pinterest pro to figure out that everything (or nearly everything) you need for an awesome summer is in your own backyard. From creative fun to old-school games, we've rounded up 35 awesome ways to bust the boredom blues all summer long. Keep reading for tons of ideas.
For the uninitiated, success while climbing a tree includes a few fundamentals. First, select a tree that can bear the load of a couple of kids. Second, be sure to instruct them to stay close to where the limbs meet the branch (there's a reason "going out on a limb" is risky). Finally, remind them to keep their eyes—whether during the ascent or the descent—on where they want to go, not where they're afraid of going.
2. Find a ball and call a friend.
Just when you think they couldn't possibly have fun without the iPad, along comes summer. Send them outside with some of these classic yard games, and you can toss the cords back into the junk drawer since you won't be seeing them 'till September.
3. Find a mountain and climb it.
An amazing thing happens when you find something seemingly insurmountable to mount. Those kids you've got glued to Disney Jr.? They turn into some serious adventurers. Whether it's the hill around the corner or one of these favorite hikes from around the country, point them uphill and watch them grow.
Though the days are longer (and the bedtimes are later), don't let parental exhaustion keep you from enjoying the twilight hours with your kiddos. Whether you're laying a blanket out on the backyard or finding a high spot (here are our tips for hiking and backpacking with littles) for viewing optimization, you'll be glad you kept them up late the minute you see the first shooting star. Here are our tips to make it memorable.
Yes, we mean you, too, mom and dad. Just because they have a lower center of gravity doesn't let you off the hook. Make 2018 the summer that your family owns this skill to end all skills.
6. Whip up some garden soup.
Could it get any easier? All it takes is a bucket, water, and as many little hands to gather ingredients from around the yard as you can get. They'll enjoy hours of fun making batch after batch of this pretend soup, and you can up the educational ante by giving them a blank notebook for writing down each recipe—a "souper" cool cookbook! Or, go pro with these tips for making a magic potion.
7. Blast off in your own cardboard rocket ship.
When your afternoon seems to be stretching out before you the way the universe rolls out from the Milky Way, why not create your own cardboard rocket ship for some out of this world fun. Check out this tutorial full of inspiration.
It's summer. You can't send them to bed before the sun goes down! Even better, try these twilight games on for size. From Ghosts in the Graveyard to Flashlight Tag, they'll be running, laughing, and jumping their way to a good night's sleep.
9. Get funky with outdoor art.
If you've yet to embrace your inner artist because, well, you know, the mess, then summertime is your time to shine. Take the studio outdoors and let your people go to town! Check out these awesome outdoor art projects for easy ideas to get you started.
10. Have a sponge ball war.
Better than a water balloon fight, these DIY sponge balls by It's Overflowing are reusable, versatile (turn an afternoon of tossing them at each other into an evening of washing your car, perhaps?), and a total blast.
11. Make a fairy garden.
Hours upon hours of delight lie ahead of you when you suggest making a fairy home. And there's plenty of pretend play time after the project is complete, too. Prepare yourself for morning fairy checks, fairy letters, spying on fairies and other general mayhem. Check out our tutorial on how to make one here.
12. Make your own bubbles.
Bubbles. You love 'em. But let's be honest. In the summertime, you're probably more often than not completely out of them. No worries. Use this awesome recipe for DIY bubbles and they'll get a science lesson to boot.
13. Get out the jump ropes.
When it comes to the old-school fun that will leave you breathless—from both giggles and activity—there's nothing that outdoes a round of jump rope. Check out these six games that work for every age and skill level to jog your memory of just how it's done.
14. Draw chalk art photo props.
Is there a kid out there who doesn't like seeing themselves in a silly photo? With chalk, you can create any backdrop you wish, and even draw your kids right into the pictures. Fourth of July? Add a top hat and walking cane and Sam becomes Uncle Sam!
15. Create giant board games.
Who says you have to re-invent the wheel? Take one board game, such as Candyland, and draw a series of life-sized squares on the blacktop to represent the squares on the board. Borrow the spinning wheel from the real game, but let your kids be the participants. Just be sure to define what it means to "jump a player" before you get started!
Maybe the thrill of that new bike has worn off, or possibly it's still her favorite toy and she'd love nothing more than to jazz it up a little. Either way, these awesome ideas for tricking out your wheels are a sure-fire way to add a little sizzle to the summer afternoon.
17. Make and decorate mud pies.
It's okay. A little dirt under the fingernails never hurt anyone, as long as you give them a good scrub down at the end of the day. Your tiny chefs will love adding "ingredients" from the "grocery store" (the backyard), then decorating the cakes, displaying them, and selling them to one lucky buyer.
18. Create an obstacle course.
On your mark, get set, GO! Whether you're staging a relay race or a full-tilt foot race, all you need for a memorable obstacle course is whatever you've got in your garage (think big wheels, basketballs, and jump ropes) and a little creativity. Want to up the ante? Add a stopwatch, and you'll have them competing against their own PRs all afternoon long. Check out our favorite DIY courses here.
19. Trick out your yard.
Need some ideas to raise the fun factor of your backyard's decor? Check out these ingenious ways to get the kids involved in the makeover.
20. Play with hula hoops.
Who says you have to have moves like Jagger to have fun with a hula hoop? Check out these awesome hula hoop games by Learn Play Imagine for inspiration—you'll be amazed at the different and new ways you can play with one of the oldest toys imaginable.
21. Help them get their final burst of energy out.
Before bedtime claims them, take it outdoors one last time to rid them of their last burst of energy of the day. Beyond just catching fireflies, these games and hacks will have you sorry to see them drift into dreamland.
22. Make a birdhouse from an empty juice jug.
Whether you decorate your tiny abode with found materials, recycled materials, or opt to dip it in glitter (our favorite), your little birdies will love that they're creating a home for a feathered friend, and you'll have a great conversation starter about recycling! Here are our favorite homemade bird feeders.
23. String cereal and popcorn for bird feeders.
Now that you have a well-appointed home for your neighborhood bird association, why not put in a little live-work-play to increase its value? String cereal or popcorn on a string to make a food garland, and drape it in the trees near your new birdhouse.
Looking to get a little messy with your thrill seekers? With a little bit of prep the night before, these homemade ice volcanos erupt into colorful, fizzy "lava" with the help of a little "magic." Check out Reading Confetti for the play-by-play.
Perfect for a post-rainshower airing out, you'll be needing a few ingredients for this activity including a trowel, a clear Dixie cup, and mixed natural materials. Head over to Frugal Fun for Boys and Girls to see how it's done.
26. Toss and create eggshell art.
Skeptics, we know you're out there. What could be fun about filling eggshells with paint and throwing them at a canvas? But converts you'll be when you realize that there's not only a satisfying smack when the eggshell meets the canvas but you'll also have a crew of kids delighted to be doing something they'd never, ever, EVER do inside. Look to Growing a Jeweled Rose for inspiration (and great tips on preserving those egg shells!).
This one is a win-win for everyone. Just be sure to lock your doors prior to starting. There's nothing less fun than an interior detail job done by a 5-year-old.
This is one cool party trick to have up your sleeves! Wondering how you kiddo could possibly pull this off? We're betting you'll be amazed at the explanation. Check out Playdough to Plato to learn the science behind this activity.
29. Build a DIY water wall.
It's tinkering at it's finest. Raid your recycling bin and nab a few nails, because a DIY water wall couldn't be easier to put together. And, it promises hours of fun as the small set pours, and pours, and pours to their hearts' contents. Get the how-to over at Tinker Lab. Not sure you're ready to commit to a water wall? Check out these DIY water tables instead.
We all love food on a stick, so why wouldn't we adore paint on a stick, too? Just mix a little water with non-toxic paint and stick it in the freezer, either in solo cups or ice cube containers. Add a popsicle stick halfway through freezing, then pop the cubes out and you're ready to go!
31. Play hide and seek.
No. Brainer. This classic is classic for a reason, and it's never better employed than at dusk when you need to let them run out that last burst of energy before bedtime.
32. Make and play giant pick up sticks.
Instead of playing pick up sticks with the chopstick-sized sticks of our youth, why not spray paint the sticks in your yard and play with those, instead? Added bonus: Guess who helps you gather the sticks out of your yard?!
When the temperatures soar, so will the spirits if you've got a bag of water balloons handy. No balloons? No problem. Just turn the hose on and play water tag with the hose.
34. Look for pictures in the clouds.
After all of these fun activities, the last and best one on your bucket list is to lay back in the grass and hunt for pictures floating by in the clouds.
We know they have a collection. It might be a collection of sticks. Maybe it's their favorite leaves. Whatever it is that you end up with pocketfuls of at the end of an outside adventure, we can guarantee your crafty kids will love turning their treasures into a wind chime. Add glitter, paint, or string alone to pull together an afternoon of fun. Get inspired here.
– Copy and photos by Shelley Massey unless otherwise noted.


IAS interview typically revolve around candidate's background and current affairs. It generally lasts for about 40 - 60 minutes. The interview is for a maximum of 275 marks, so it has about 14% weightage (275 out of 2025) The interview board will assess the candidate's appearance, manners, poise, alertness, emotional balance, rational and unbiased judgment, decision making ability under stress, depth of knowledge, communication skills, analytical skills, leadership skills and integrity.
Revu Muthyala Raju, son of a farmer, who has topped the civil services examination, is the living example of hard work, grit and determination. Hailing from a remote island village in Andhra Pradesh's coastal district of Krishna, the 27-year-old made the state proud by emerging all India topper.Death of his sister and six friends in his remote Chinnagollapalem village lacking transportation facility motivated him to take up the civil services examination. "My sister and others could not get medical attention in time as my village has no transportation facility and is cut off by Godavari and Krishna rivers. The only way of reaching the village is by small boats," said Raju "There are hundreds of villagers which lack transportation and other basic amenities and I want to serve them," said Raju. The desire to top forced Raju to appear for the examination for the third time. He had secured 223rd rank in the second attempt last year and joined as IPS probationer from Rajasthan cadre. Raju's father Narasimha Murthy is a farmer and his two elder brothers are also into agriculture. A bright student right from his school days, Raju passed 10th standard from the government school close to his village. Despite all the odds, he joined a polytechnic college in the same region. Raju secured first rank in ECET-1998, did B. Tech from National Institute of Technology, Warangal. He secured third place in GATE-2002 and did Masters in Engineering (ME) in Signal Processing from Indian Institute of Sciences, Bangalore. He secured first rank in the Indian Engineering Services-2003 and took up a job as a railway engineer. "There is nothing which a man can't achieve. You have to believe in yourself, be positive and prepare to achieve the goal," he said sharing the secret of his success.
Raju: Good morning, Sir. Good morning, Madam. Good morning, Sirs.
Member 3: Then, tell me. What is the answer for (X-A) (X-B).... (X-Z).
Raju: Sir, IISc is not able to retain those students who completed M.E. and other courses there. One reason is brain drain, Sir. Second one is that research is not attractive in India, Sir. For example, in our batch out of 230 students who completed M.E. only 2 joined for Ph.D. in IISc. At the end of our M.E. we got campus placements. The minimum salary is around 6 lakhs/ annum. It is attracting most of us. Those who are really interested in research, they are going abroad as they will get more money and research is attractive there. Here, a Ph.D. student gets 12,000 - 15,000 Rs per month. Also material considerations have risen these days, sir. We have to include some compulsory courses in morale & ethics to stop this.
Raju: Sir, The incident that took place in my village in November 2000, when I am in 3rd year of B.Tech, has changed my career options. Nearby Engineering college students came to our village for picnic as our village has excellent beach. 7 of them drowned in the Bay of Bengal and all of them has taken sand into their lungs in addition to water. Since our village is an island, there are no transportation, medical & meagre educational facilities, it took 2 hours to reach nearest town which is 16 Km away from my village. By that time, 6 out 7 were died, Sir.
Why did you choose Geography and Public Admn as optionals instead of your subject in graduation?
How can your experience as an engineer help you in your career as a civil servant?
You seem to love your current job. Why do you want to leave it for the civil service?
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text:
The Truth About Cars | Design
Do Today's Cars All Look Alike?
By Ronnie Schreiber on April 10, 2013
You will find distinct improvements in the 1939 cars. The new cars are generally more functionally streamlined than ever before. Many wind-resisting gadgets have either been completely eliminated or made integral parts of the bodies. Headlights, in most models, have been set in the front fenders both to give wider light range and to reduce wind resistance. Trunk bulges have tended to disappear, but without loss of luggage space. Windshields are generally wider and higher, and corner posts are smaller to improve vision. Interiors are wider and seats designed for greater comfort. Upholstery is more luxurious. Door and window handles are improved to avoid catching clothes. Motors are generally more powerful without any sacrifice in economy. Hydraulic brakes have been improved, and frames and bodies strengthened for safety.
– Collier's Magazine November 19, 1938
Discuss amongst yourselves.
Ronnie Schreiber edits Cars In Depth, a realistic perspective on cars & car culture and the original 3D car site. If you found this post worthwhile, you can get a parallax view at Cars In Depth. If the 3D thing freaks you out, don't worry, all the photo and video players in use at the site have mono options. Thanks for reading – RJS
Tagged as 1930s, 1939 cars, streamlining
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52 Comments on "Do Today's Cars All Look Alike?..."
TEXN3
April 10th, 2013 at 11:05 am
I totally agree with this sentiment. We all complain that today's cars look alike but that is no different than any other decade. Whether it was this 30s look, the 50's flamboyancy, the 60s moving to an understated and squared look, and the boat to sheer look of the 70s and early 80s. As the 80s went to the 90s, everything was looking similiar with the aero look.
The only cars we remember as being unique are the ones that started styling trends. Usually that came from a style leader like Cadillac, then later Ford or Audi. Even the western European cars tend to look similiar when viewed as a whole.
Yes, the details will always be different and they still are today.
And this is yet another great reason of Fullsize trucks and SUV's their instantly brand identifiable.
And as great with cars as I am, I still can't tell the difference of a 90's Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mazda sedan without badging
Caswal
Are you saying all Asian's look the same? That's racialist!
I know what you mean, I'm pretty good at telling those era's of cars apart, but 30's-90's American domestic cars, I have no idea about almost any of them.
Our game is relying on that cars do really look the same. If you remove all the fixtures (lights, grilles, vents, handles etc), and just had a smooth shell with no holes. The look of so many cars is created by those fixtures, body shapes have always been very derivative.
cargogh
That's amazing. Ford and Mercury may look smoothest.
I might have to skip the trunk storage and go with Packard and its new AC.
That would be a better argument than today's, "My plastic is softer to the touch than yours."
I believe that Packard didn't introduce air conditioning until the 1940 model year.
Completely agree on the smoother styling of the Ford products. GM supposedly stuck with pod headlights out of concern that damage to a fender would also damage the headlight. Of course, the Ford products had an antiquated suspension system, although Ford did finally switch to hydraulic brakes for 1939.
bigtruckseriesreview @ Youtube
Everything looks like the Mercedes CLS, or the BMW 3/ 5.
Then Audi came along and everyone decided that LED christmas lights were the "symbol of a new car".
As we move on into the post A7-generation (copied from the CLS), it's all about "sportbacks". The word "hatchback" is toxic in this market.
Take it to "crossovers" and everything looks like the Lexus RX, BMW X or Mercedes ML.
I attended the NYAS and at a certain point, all the interiors started to look the same. The main differences were the size of the Nav screen/ moonroof or the color of the seats.
Kyree S. Williams
Not to mention the phrase "four-door coupe"…which is an oxymoron to the highest degree…
Not really. The original coupés were two-door sedans with the rear headroom cut off (hence the name).
At this point, we are paying for perceived name equity. My girlfriend was dying to get an Acura TL – which I to this day don't understand why she holds in high regard. To me it's just a guzzied up Accord. There are people who'd never want to drive a Chrysler like I do, or a Jaguar XJ-L cause they hate those brand names for whatever reason. I don't care if KIAputs out a 2000 HP Veyron-killer for $30,000… I wouldn't buy it.
The point is bringing those names up to the quality of other names we used to associate with luxury vehicles.
At this point, the industry is just playing it safe and copying the European cars as inexpensively as they can.
ijbrekke
I would like to see "increased visibility" become a selling point again. I rule out most new cars immediately because of terrible sight lines.
Buy a Forester. More glass than an aquarium. (That's a good thing, mind you)
The Accord also has excellent visibility, and still looks good for it…
redav
I believe the way that has to happen is for there to be a simple metric that consumers can understand and have journalists publish it. Then, consumers can add it to the list of features to cross-shop. When manufacturers realize (1) they may lose sales because of it, and (2) it is an opportunity to get a line-item as a class-leader, they will start improving through competition.
dwford
I think you could make a case that in the compact crossover and compact hatchback market the vehicles are starting to all look alike, with the upswept window line behind the rear doors. I personally can easily tell the midsize sedans apart. It can be tricky to tell some of the German brands' models apart from one another since they just seem to make the same design in different lengths.
My favorite are the people who look at the exact same car in different colors and declare that one is bigger than the other.
Land Ark
66% of the brands in that picture are gone.
Cars have always looked the same. One just has to look at the 1966 Fairlane and 1966 GTO for more proof. Design has always tended to follow success. That's why everything now has the same basic shape as a Camry or CR-V. Taking chances with design doesn't sell/costs too much. Remember how amazing the FR-S concept looked? I like how the production version looks, but it doesn't bring out the same emotions as the concept.
And every generation has said, and will continue to say, cars back in the day were distinct looking. The past is always remembered rosier than it actually was.
flameded
"… The past is always remembered rosier than it actually was."
While this is true, You still see cars from the past- even today, so technicallly,your looking at a design from the past..in the present.
Point being, the designs of the past were MUCH better( mostly). Probably because they didnt have all the safety standard of today and all.
I DO believe somebody can make a car thats economical/safe AND looks good.
I think the main problem is consumers dont seem to care about car design like they did in the "good ole days".
So, yes, cars today look very similar.
Cars of yesteryear also looked similar to one another.. but, at least it was similar AND better looking.
JMO?
car_guy2010
I don't know about cars from the past.
I can't stand tailfins and that's why I don't care for many of the cars from 1950s-early 1960s. It's the mid-60s and up cars that are far more interesting to me.
Keep in mind, I'm 31 and don't have the nostalgia that others have for cars from the 1950s. Not a bad thing.
As for safety? If more people drove as intended, there wouldn't be such a need for "idiot devices". I'll take a car with seatbelts and 2 airbags. Good enough. I don't want or need traction control, 50 airbags or any of the other systems intended to allow people to multi-task behind the wheel.
I'll never complain about too many airbags. They are what protects me from all the people driving between text messages who blow red lights and t-bone me. Maybe car makers should disable airbags when it senses a driver texting. It'll either deter them or cull the heard.
stottpie
traction control has saved millions of lives. get over it.
rpn453
You're thinking of stability control, and you're greatly exaggerating.
Millions of drivers who couldn't drive their way out of a dusting of snow?
nrd515
April 10th, 2013 at 11:24 pm
I remember a lot of cars from the past, and never liked the late 50's stuff that was around when I was a little kid compared to the early 60's to later 70's stuff that to me looked great then and still does. Anyone who denies that cars look alike more now than ever is either blind or lying. Sure, there was always copying styles, but they did have a lot better base shape to start with, instead of the squished egg with a gaping mouth that's the basis of so many cars today. I personally have no problems with traction and stability control. I've made some mistakes while driving in the past and it's pure luck I didn't total a couple of cars over the 40 years I've been driving.
As others have noted, cars have always clustered around a set of styling "themes." A manufacturer takes a chance, and introduces a design or feature that strikes the public's fancy, and other manufacturers rush to bring out their version.
ponchoman49
As a kid growing up in the 70's and 80's I could easily tell you the make, model and year of most any American car from the 60's to 80's in the dark siting in the back seat of my Dads Malibu as we drove to different places. Today that is literally impossible unless it's the distinctive LED taillight setup that a current Charger has or a Mustang or Camaro/Vette. Nissan's Cube is easy to spot along with the xBox Scion because they are paralyzingly different and ugly. But driving by the cookie cutter modern day Lexus's, Infinities, Lincoln's, Audi's and Acuras and trying to tell them apart, especially from the side view is very difficult. The SUV's and CUV's even more so. It's like they all hired the same set of exterior designers and affixed there own grilles and badges on the same basic shapes.
DC Bruce
Cars are going to look similar, because certain parameters are fixed, like the size of the human body, the number of humans the car is supposed to carry, the requirement that there be 4 wheels more or less at the corners and –now– the fact that the front of the car serves as a sort of battering ram to protect the passengers in a collision, thus precluding putting the engine under the car (see Toyota Previa, VW Microbus). The interesting thing about the cars from the 30s, right up through the 1950s was the relatively chair-like seating position of the drivers and passenger, which most people find more comfortable than low to the floor with their knees in the air, or their legs stretched out in front of them. Both of the latter postures put more weight and pressure on the butt, which creates discomfort on long drives. This increases the frontal area of the vehicle, causing more air drag, which is one reason why lower cars became more fashionable. In my opinion, one of the big factors in the "SUV craze" was that people liked the higher, more upright driving position that they offer.
I miss the low seating position of the cars that I drove. It's nice that I can see over the road in my truck but I will always be more of a car guy. The next vehicle I buy will be a car unless there's a really fuel-efficient small truck out there (I doubt there is).
afflo
Even cars have all started to raise the seats, because they make women feel more "in command" (I suppose,) and boomers' knees are starting to give out. The pre-06 Civic had low seating with lots of leg stretching room; the seat can't be lowered as much now. Ditto for the Mazda3 – I had one for a month as a rental, and the seat couldn't go quite low enough for me, and felt even higher than it was because of the massive expanse of glass.
I want to sit extremely low to the floor, so that my legs are stretched in front of me, with no more glass than is necessary (less glass = less summer heat in South Texas), dark tint, and two doors (no pillar next to my head – I'm tall and hate having the pillar block my side view, or have the seatbelt hover over my collarbone). Your basic old-school Camaro position. Finding that with a functional back seat is tricky!
Is there a high-res version of that picture?
I couldn't find a larger version of that image. I took a photo of the same magazine graphic at the Gilmore Museum but the colors were more vivid and the image was square, not skewed in the one I found online. You can see my higher res image here:
carsindepth.com/images/1939cars.jpg
If you can make out the artist's last name, let me know. It says "Drawings by George…"
bythegram
Found a larger one for you.
http://photos.aaca.org/files/4/3/7/9/9/1939_on_wheels1x_original.jpg
"Drawings by George Shepherd"
ringomon
Sorry, your post must have been in moderation when I posted mine below it.
Anyways, good get.
Ronnie- I found a larger image in this forum:
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=8271045
(thank you google reverse image search!)
Looks like the illutrator's name is George Shepherd.
It seems like it's a little hard to find mch other work by him online- outside of some seaplane paintings.
With todays vastly improved styling tools you would think that we would have more variety in our cars without looking too crazy (Nissan Juke, new Cherokees), instead everyones trying keep a "design language" that makes their SUVs look like cars and their cars look like SUVs.
If anything we're in an era like the late 50's when everything was over styled, "low wide and sleek", but looked the same.
philadlj
I've been crazy about cars since I knew what cars were, and now, in adulthood, I am blessed/cursed with the ability to instantly identify anything on the road, a skill that few people need or care about. As such, I can say with confidence that todays cars do NOT look alike. Setting aside the fact more than half of them are not cars but trucks, utilities, vans, and crossovers, there's still a great deal of variation in forms.
corntrollio
Yes, exactly, I have this same skill. Every once in a while, something completely new throws me because I've never seen it, but I generally don't have trouble telling things apart.
I will say that BMW and Audi have been harder lately. From certain angles, 3/5/7 is harder than it used to be and so is A4/A6/A8 on occasion.
James2
I used to be able to tell between model years of the same car (iow, the difference between a '75 and a '76 Pinto), but now…
azmtbkr81
Cars today look less similar now than at any point in the past. Vehicles of every size and shape are widely available to fit individual tastes. It wouldn't be unusual today to see a large pickup, sleek hybrid, retro muscle car, luxury CUV, staid mid-size car, and a tiny subcompact all waiting for the same light to turn green during a morning commute. It seems that 50 or even 20 years ago most buyers defaulted to a few standard segments and models unless they truly had a specialized need. I'm always surprised at how incredibly uniform the vehicles seem to be in old photographs and movies as compared to today.
carlisimo
Totally agree. It's cars from the '80s and before that all look the same to me.
There's a little bit of "get off my lawn" in the comments that all cars look the same now.
Ronnie's post is a great example of this happening in the US, but it happens everywhere. Look at previous generations of Japanese cars, and you'll see that Honda, Toyota, and Datsun/Nissan often followed each other with styling cues. You can see it as you move through the generations — they all copied each other a bit. If one went more boxy or less boxy, the others quickly followed.
Same deal with many European cars. Look at old Mercedes, BMWs, and Audis. You can see some common design language through the older decades.
You'll often see this with entry into new model types. It's no coincidence that the Mercedes GL and the Audi Q7 came out in the same year, and it's no coincidence that you're seeing more X4/X6-type vehicles or more "4-door coupes".
TEXN3 makes a good point on remembering the leaders of the styling trends — people think of the Ford Taurus and the Audi 100 as iconic for aero styling (although the Ford Tempo gets ignored for some reason). I wondered if we'd see more Audi A5-type designs in the future, and we may already have started seeing some.
johnny ringo
Despite all the complaints about automobile styling, there has always been considerable similarity in their appearance; what is successful tends to be imitated. Many years ago a co-worker had an old collection of Life magazines at his work area from 1939 and 1940. One issue featured an article on the styling of the 1940 automobiles and had photos of the front end of all the new cars and the similarity between them was remarkable. The more things change the more they stay the same.
Niky: Excellent observation. It's been shown that people growing up hearing one language (or a regional variation of a language) actually lack the ability to hear the differences in sounds/pronunciations that are not present in their language/accent. Apparently it also applies to sight–one study I saw showed that people who learn fewer color names cannot see/differentiate as many colors, e.g., all reds genuinely look the same to them.
Not knowing what to look for, I can't tell the difference between cars from my parents' generation, but they can nail the make/model/year/trim down with just a glance, and I can't say that I've had any problem identifying today's cars.
If you can't tell cars apart nowadays, that's because the language is simply unfamiliar.
We understand what we grew up with. The details and fine points of cars past are familiar, they're things we understand.
New cars may all look alike to some of us, but to those of us who work in the industry, not really. And to those who are just growing up now, not really, either.
Jim Sutherland
Absolutely. You can't name the players without a program.
Stumpaster
You will find questionable improvements in the 2015 cars. The new cars are generally more visually wretched but functionally streamlined than ever before. Many wind resistance-reducing gadgets have been incorporated as add-on parts for the bodies. Headlights, in most models, have been set to protrude from the front fenders both to give wider light range and to reduce wind resistance around the side mirrors. Trunk bulges have appeared, but at loss of luggage space. Windshields are generally narrower and heavily raked, and corner posts are thicker to improve safety at cost of visibility. Interiors are wider at the hip but narrower at shoulder level and seats designed for greater cost savings. Upholstery provides more cost savings. Door and window handles are changed to confuse passengers in emergency situations and to prevent your grandma from walking out of the car in an opportune moment. Motors are generally less powerful as a sacrifice to economy. Hydraulic brakes have been improved abandoned and replaced with electrically assisted ones, and frames and bodies strengthened for safety while sacrificing longevity.
Morea
I wouldn't say all of today's cars look the same; however, I would say that each is uniquely ugly.
With a few exceptions (some current Aston Martins or Jaguars, the Alfa 8C) there are no current cars worth gazing at for the pure aesthetic pleasure of it.
Most cars are mis-proportioned from the get go and use visual tricks to hide their defects.
Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder so YMMV.
Zykotec
Car design will follow fashion and trends, so all new cars will always look the same. From a distance many american cars from , say, 1958 will look very similar, depending on trim level, even if they really stick out in todays traffic. Making a 'different' looking car is a huge risk, and can make or break a manufacturer.
I think that there are some very repeated automotive-design elements…like the "Hoffmeister Kink" or Y-shaped wheel-spokes, but that's no different than cars from any other decade…
I saw a Kia Rio and Subaru Impreza next to each other and I had to do a double take. The headlights are too similar.
I notice that a lot of today's cars are too similar to each other. What gives? Is it to maximize volume and profit? Or are consumers really that bland?
I mean TAIL-lights. Oops.
Especially amazing once you look against 3-4 years earlier. The twenties styled car essentially died with the 1933 model year, the 1934′s were the beginning of streamlining. By 1937, an innate conservatism had started to take over (the Ford line was radically different, except for the senior Lincoln, from everybody else), and by 1939 someone who wasn't a car junkie couldn't tell the difference between one make or another.
Just like today.
1939, with the introduction of sealed beam headlights, the '3-on-the-tree' taking over from the floor shift, and a general standardization of the four door sedan body style heralded the oncoming homogenization of the automobile, which would last until about the mid-50′s.
It also wasn't helped by the last of the 'classic' independents (Auburn, Cord) were dead by 1938, and the most radical design of the time remaining was the 1938 'Sharknose' Graham. Which was just an overdone normal car of the day.
I think it's generational. My dad graduated HS is 1951, and he knew 1940s to 50's cars. But to him, the 60's cars were all 'chromed boxes', while I can ID 1955 to 1980 [mostly GM] cars.
To me, new Korean cars look like imitations of Hondas,
ranwhenparked
Man, those Spirit of Motion Grahams were gorgeous.

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EFCC
Honouring David Page
Bangarra Dance Theatre is holding a special tribute to the late David Page, with a short series of performances starting today at Carriageworks in Sydney.
Called Dubboo – life of a songman, the show is directed by the company's artistic director (and Page's brother), Stephen Page.
"In the two years that have passed since Roy David Page left us, Bangarra have been looking to find the right time to honour his life and legacy," the company states in its press release. "David was the right-hand man of the company, having joined Bangarra in 1991 with his brothers Stephen and Russell, alongside foundation member Djakapurra Munyarryun. David's vision and dream for Bangarra created a wholly unique language that weaved together traditional song and movement, channeled the hum of the land and drove a revolution in contemporary Aboriginal dance."
David Page was "the musical heartbeat" of Bangarra and a remarkable creative force. He wrote 27 original scores for the company's repertoire and worked with over 100 traditional singers across the country, reinventing the art of the soundtrack to encompass traditional language, song and instruments with the sounds of electronica, hip-hop, classical and the natural world.
Dubboo – life of a songman brings together his love of classical, electronic and traditional music, cabaret, dance and drag. Composer Iain Grandage will combine with a notable cast of David's collaborators, including acclaimed Indigenous artists Archie Roach, Ursula Yovich, Djakapurra Munyarryun and the Bangarra dancers in a one-off celebration.
The company's 2018 David Page Music Fellow, Brendon Boney, will play an integral role in coordinating the work.
The season will also be the last with Bangarra for six of its dancers - Waangenga Blanco, Daniel Riley, Tara Robertson, Kaine Sultan-Babij, Luke Currie-Richardson and Yolanda Lowatta - who are all are leaving to pursue new opportunities.
Dubboo – life of a songman runs from December 6 to 8.
For more information go here or here.
Photo above is of the late David Page.
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Swissotel - The Stamford Singapore - Swissotel The Stamford Singapore offers 1,261 rooms on top of City Hall MRT station. A convenient hotel.
The Fullerton Hotel Singapore - The 400-room hotel is a classic building in the central business district right next to the Singapore River.
The Regent Singapore - The Regent Singapore is located in a quiet area near the Orchard shopping district, good for relaxation.
The Ritz Carlton, Millenia Singapore - The 32-story luxury hotel is located near the Orchard shopping district and has a significant art collection.
The Sentosa Resort and Spa - The Sentosa Resort and Spa, located in a tranquil part of Sentosa Island, is a great place to relax and rejuvenate.


Last year it was announced that Kalamazoo was getting a Rocket Fizz location. After an issue with their planned location, The store has announced a new location and opening date.
Let us tell you what's new! We are insanely excited to announce that we are finally ready to deliver all the sweets, fun and nonsense you can handle in short order at our new location on the Kalamazoo Mall! Construction starts next week and we are looking at an early March opening date!
The store features all sorts of soda flavors, candy from all over the world and novelty items. To this date there are two Rocket Fizz locations in Michigan. One in Novi and the other is in Grand Rapids.
The Kalamazoo location was set to open last summer but the location didn't work out. They are now set to open on the Kalamazoo Mall at 125 S. Kalamazoo Mall Dr.
Having visited both Michigan locations I can tell you that it is a very fun store and I look forward to checking out the new location in Kalamazoo. We'll keep you posted on the grand opening.


text:
Q: Универсальный обмен данными в формате XML Добрый день, сообщество.
Что мы имеем:
 1. 1с предприятие 8.2 №1
 2. 1с предприятие 8.2 №2
 3. 1с конвертация данных
Что делаем:
 1. Создаем правила обмена в 1с конвертация данных
 2. Выгружаем данные из 1с предприятия №1 по правилам
 3. Загружаем данные в 1с предприятие №2
В чем проблема:
Создаются пустые контрагенты в главной группе, и не понятно почему.

Что странно:
 1. В событии "После загрузки" все новые контрагенты помещаются в соответствующую группу - Объект.Родитель = Справочники.Контрагенты.НайтиПоКоду...
 2. Изменение совпавших контрагентов запрещено, можно только создавать новые. Так что это не обнулившиеся старые контрагенты.
 3. У этих "пустых" контрагентов нет даже кода. Хотя в правилах экспортирования включена галочка "Генерировать код, если он не задан"
Вопрос:
 1. Почему они могут образовываться?
 2. Как можно избежать их создания?

Если нужна какая-то дополнительная информация - говорите.

A: В 1С:КД есть поддержка отладки при загрузке/выгрузке правил через обработку "Универсальный обмен данными в формате XML", при отладке сразу увидишь где косяк.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Tegelviken är ett område i Motala i Östergötland. Området ligger inom stadsdelen Motala Väster.

Området utgörs av tvåvånings loftgångshus norr om Tegelviksvägen, medan bebyggelsen söder om vägen främst utgörs av fristående hus och radhus. Vid Tegelviken, en vik av Vättern, finns en stor småbåtshamn.

Motala

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia