I've read and enjoyed a number of Keegan's books, but got partway into his last attempt at North American military history, "Fields of Battle" and returned it to the library. The introduction smacked of hagiography; his (professed) pro-American stance was even odder when he was covering the War of 1812 and other British-American conflicts, given he's a Brit himself.
Sounds like this ACW book is a trainwreck of a different colour, though. Basic geography does matter, and is, well, basic.
One Keegan-related book I will recommend is called "The Book of War", it's a selection of other's writing on war, much of it autobiographical, with short introductions for context by Keegan. Lots of good stuff there.
Several years ago, the computer support department at the library I then worked at had a "We'll Help You Get Rid of That Candy" offer (an email went around) and the lucky buggers had candy until Christmas. The next year at least three such offers went around, and the comp ops people were kind of choked at their relative lack of candy. The world's tiniest violin played in rest of the library system...
I spent the evening running a game at the local comic convention, so it was imaginative, if not actually in costume.
Waiting for my bus near midnight, a thought struck me: When did the default adult female costume become "skank", anyway? Nearly all the really creative constumes I saw (on adults) today were being worn by guys. Odd.
WRT novels, YA or otherwise, and cultural distortions and such, it's also easier for authors, I imagine.
A French ghost-hunting YA novel might catch flak if the author moves a French abbey from it's well-known real-life location for dramatic purposes, but a French audience likely won't blink if some random American ghost town is invented/tweaked/distorted or whatever. You can even change larger details of geography or culture and get away with it.
The exotic is often easier to fudge.
Fudging it for a novel is usually acceptable; fudging it for mystic-warrior horse-manure to fleece people out of thousand of dollars, not so much...
Somebody upthread, or one of the original articles, mentioned the figures of a 415 sq ft sweathouse, and 68 people inside... that's crazy, crazy crowded. (Oh, and no ventilation) You'd hardly need hot rocks/water/steam/etc to get a sauna atmosphere going...
All of my lights are multi-mode (steady, blinking, variations on the theme of blinking in some cases) and with the white strobes in front I often put one on steady - so I can see where I'm going - and leave the other on strobing - so others can see me.
Very dark paths I put both on steady; they're bright as strobes but lack something as actual headlights. OTOH, serious bikelights cost serious money, little white strobes cost about $10 each, and 90% of my riding is on roads, playing in traffic. Being seen is usually more important than me seeing.
"Ninja" cyclists - those running dark, with no lights, no reflectors and often dark clothing - bug the hell out of me as a cyclist, and scare the hell out of me as a driver (and pedestrian, come to that). A basic set of two lights - white front and red rear - can be had for $10-15. Skip Starbucks for two days and get some lights!
I can do no better than to quote one of our hosts here:
Note: Saying "I'm sorry, I was accidentally a complete jerk" is always helpful.
I am sorry, I really was accidentally a complete and total jerk.
Being called out by Patrick and everyone above was a "Wait, what?" moment, followed by following his link and going, "Crap, I really did say that, didn't I? And these people notice words..."
So once again, I apologize to abi, Patrick, Teresa, and the rest of the thread. I should probably retire from these cycling threads for a day or two; this is an area close to my soul, and as the "Automotive Entitlement" piece on my blog shows, I do get intemperate when it comes up.
On the subject of fear of biking, othering, helmet selling that terrifies people right off their bikes, etc:
I grew up with this poster[0], it was in all my elementary schools. At the same time, I was biking 1.5km to school - and a few years later about 5km to school - all on streets, some major. Family bike trips of 15+ km were a common weekend activity. My grandparents belonged to a cycling club and biked regularly well into their 80s.[1]
My reaction to that poster was never "Oh Dog, never gonna bike again!" but "Yeah, that does make helmets look like a damn good idea..."
It helped to have a bike-positive family, obviously.
[0] Via www.helmets.org/poster.htm.
[1] My grandmother came off her bike about a year ago (hit a tree root) and injured her shoulder. She's barely biked since, and misses it terribly. She was incredibly happy to be able to get back on the bike a few years ago after her hip replacement, too.
affreca@78: I take helmets as a sign that the bicyclist rides enough to have thought through dangers.
Yes. Likewise lights, especially good ones.
I've got two white strobes on the front of the bike, and two or three rear red flashers (three if I'm wearing my backpack). I want "But I didn't see him!" to be the least believable excuse in the world if some fuckwit runs me over one dark night. Ideally, I'd like not to be run over by fuckwits at all, of course...
On driver education, in the hopes of there being fewer fuckwits behind the wheel: the New Driver's Guide put out by the province's Motor Vehicle Branch 15 years ago when I learned to drive had squat on sharing the road with bikes, a very short section on motorbikes, and treated pedestrians as only worth noticing if they ran in front of your car.
I saw the most recent edition of that booklet a while ago - a co-worker's daughter was just starting driver's ed - and was pleased to see the whole section on road sharing was massively expanded. Motorbikes, bikes and pedestrians got more than just a passing mention, and were treated as more than just obstacles to the sacred car.
Speaking of automotive entitlement, driver rage, and similar stupidities, I'd forgotten an irritated blogpost I made just last month, on a murder-by-automobile that took place in Toronto: Automotive Entitlement (Again).
My mother worked with brain-damaged kids for a while in her early twenties. Her mother and sister are both nurses. Not wearing a bike helmet was not an option. That said, the whole family biked, so there was no culture of fear, just of sane precautions.
I've come off my bike twice in the past ten-fifteen years, first time my (helmeted) head didn't touch anything; second time I hit frost on the road, the bike went sideways and I went over backwards.
Nice bruises on my shoulders, late to work, and that solid "Clunk!" sound as the back of my helmet hit the pavement is enough to turn anyone into a helmetophile.
If that had been my bare head, I'd quite likely have had worse issues than bruises and a phone call to work...
I agree with nearly every single one of the Copenhagenize article's points about the 'culture of fear' around cycling.
But anyone who bikes without a helmet is still a freakin' idiot.
Stefan Jones @90: I want a commuter bicycle.
Try a hybrid. Frame geometry is roughly that of a basic mountain bike, but lighter, with mostly-smooth tires that aren't as narrow as a standard road bike.
A hybrid can be ridden on gravel and loose dirt, but is NOT a true mountain bike and will probably not like you very much if you attempt to treat it like one.
Far faster than a mountain bike on pavement or hard smooth trails, though, and not as useless as a road bike if the surface isn't purely pavement.
I've got a 2000 model Trek 7200 that I got in Feb 2001 and have been riding thousands of km ever since. It's on it's third front tire, fourth or fifth back tire, second rear rim, and third complete drivetrain. (and about eighth chain...) I'm hard on it, but willing to pay for good maintenance and good replacement parts. One of these days the twist shifters are going to start to go, and that might be the signal for a replacement bike... or I might just replace the shifting system and ride the thing until the frame gives out!
Trek Canada's website gives the current 7200 model MSRP as $669.99 Cdn; I paid just over $500 on a year-end model clearance sale.
All the new ones have front forks, which mine doesn't have. Not sure I'd want front forks for the type of riding I do, TBH.
Not sure if this URL will work for anyone else, but here you go: http://www.trekbikes.com/ca/en/bikes/bike_path/hybrid/7200/
For about two years I was doing a 25km each way bike commute (45-55 minutes on the bike; those of you who think in statute miles can do your own conversion, I'm afraid) and I always, always had a complete change of clothes for the office end. Complete - even sweaty biking socks got changed!
I also tried to time the ride so as to get to work 20-25 minutes early; I'd wander around turning on lights and computers to cool down a bit, then change (wash the face & re-apply pitstick, etc) and be ready for the day. I'd usually even have time to brew a mug of tea to sit down with by the time official opening time arrived.
I liked having most of the building to myself for those 20 minutes or so, actually.
When I was full time, I'd often leave a pair of decent work shoes at work, and carry clean office clothes every day. Shoes are bulky damn things.
Before the 25km commute the ride was usually 10km or less (20-25min) and I'd usually just take a clean shirt with me and only change that. That was also an even less formal job than my current one, granted.
Rikibeth@#70: The bike I have is an inexpensive heavy steel ten-speed racing bike acquired through Freecycle.
A modern, mid-range aluminium bike is going to be (nearly) exponentially lighter than an older steel bike, even an older racing bike. A hybrid - mountain bike frame geometry, but lighter, with smoother tires, designed mostly for on-pavement riding but capable of handling gravel OK - might also be a more comfortable fit than a racing frame with drop bars and such.
By mid-range I'm talking $400-900 (USD or Cdn, not much difference right now). That might seem like a lot of money for a bike, but if you're planning on making it a primary mode of transport, it's about the cheapest form there is. For what a monthly bus pass costs here, I could replace my current bike every ten months, or buy a significantly better bike every year and a half!
One year's worth of average car insurance - never mind gas, repairs, etc - would buy a really, really great bike... one good enough I'd be afraid to leave it locked up outside when I used it for utility purposes, to be honest!
Department-store bike... ick. "Not bikes, but approximately bike-shaped objects" was how a friend put it, and I really can't disagree.
One of the other things that will help with saddle-area comfort is a shock-absorber seatpost. They're about the same cost as a basic gel saddle (about $25 Cdn around here) and entirely worth it.
There's not a lot of movement in the shock absorber (you wouldn't WANT a lot of movement, it would make peddling less effecient) but enough to smooth out minor road irregularities.
Of course, for bigger bumps, potholes you can't go around, etc, the trick is to get off the saddle - stand up in the peddles, let your knees flex as the bike goes over the bump. It helps to relax your hands and elbows, too.
I'd be one of the cyclists classifying solid saddles like the Brookes leather ones as torture devices, frankly. A modern gel-core saddle and possibly a shock-absorbing seatpost are the way to go. Leather for looks, sure, but modern materials for comfort!
Rikibeth - go into a really good bike shop and ask about saddles; there's always new designs and materials coming out.
For these purposes, "really good bike shop" would be one with a focus on city riding, commuting bikes, and cruisers, not a mountain bike/racing/trail bike/etc focus. Some bike stores bridge both communities, but most are focused on one or the other. Ideally, find a store where not all the employees are 19 year old guys!
I used to bike a lot more than I do currently - living 5 minutes walk from work changes things - but I used to bike several hundred KM per week, almost all of it commuting to and from work. I've managed never to have to buy a car, although that will likely be changing in the next while. Bleh.
I still do 30km pretty routinely, in and out of town or around. I'll often take a slightly longer route to get somewhere, just for the exercise, but years of commuting have made it hard to get into a recreational out-and-back-again-just-because mode of cycling.
It's my opinion, though, that all bike trips are fundamentally the same length:
You get on the bike.
You pedal for a while.
You get off the bike.
The definition of "while" is kind of flexible, granted... and always longer in the rain!
The Guitar Hero Competition. The Horse Pull.
Welcome to the 21st Century. May not be available in all regions; restrictions may apply.
Thank you for that one-liner "we really are living in The Future" moment; they make any day better.
Moose is tasty. A high point of a year in a small-ish Canadian town further north than the one I currently live in was the 1/8th of a moose in our freezer, via the father of one of my mom's students. (She taught 2nd Grade.) One-eighth of a moose is still an awful lot of moose. Tasty, tasty moose.
A Moose Festival with helicopter rides, real live Congresscritters, and the possibility of a Mormon in the missionary position! Thrills and wonders!
As a healthy 30-year-old I've not had a lot of personal experience with Canada's health care system, but being currently grossly underemployed, I pay zero, nada & zip for provincial medical coverage, which is one minor worry off my mind.
There's a fee (co-pay, of sorts) for ambulance rides and certain other things - when I was 14 and broke my wrist we paid an extra $30 for a fibreglass cast. Plaster would have been 'free'. I gather fibreglass is now standard, but possibly you can pay the extra for cool coloured fibreglass - I saw a young girl with red-and-green alternating stripes of coloured fibreglass last Christmas, I know.
A relative had a major medical episode a few years back - diabetes, alcoholism and such combined with septicemia (sp?) to put her in ICU with liver, kidney & lung function all compromised. Two full weeks in an isolation ICU with a dozen lines and wires connected, and a million or so bucks worth of machinery & computers, then another three weeks in a regular hospital bed and she was recovered enough to go home - total cost to her, $35 or so for the ambulance ride.
ICU admission in her case was instant, the care & facility were top of the line, and neither she nor the rest of the family came out of the whole mess bankrupt. Shocking.
Watching the US debate is quite surreal - it's the dark side of American exceptionalism, I guess: the feeling from a certain percentage of the US population that they already live in the best of all possible systems/worlds and all those foreign types can't possibly have invented a more equitable, higher-quality system.
Having just watched "the best wedding procession ever" Particle for the fourth time today (from BoingBoing and here) and enjoyed it more every time, I just have to say: if those two have a married life even 1/10th as awesome as the start of their wedding ceremony, they're going to do very well indeed.
Best moments: the groom's adjusting of his tie knot after his roll down the aisle. And him meeting her halfway down the aisle so they can arrive at the altar together, dancing.
Not usually sentimental about Random Internet Stuff, but I'll make an exception for this one!
Regarding telemarketeers, somewhere Far Upthread: My grandfather's legal first name was John; he never, ever used it, prefering his less-generic second name.
Anyone calling to ask to speak to John or Mr. John [Lastname] got both barrels. "Never be *accidentally* rude" runs in the family, and is, I'm afraid, practiced upon telemarketeers.
We got adopted by a cat on a weekend camping trip when I was a kid. He was curled up in the driver's seat of the RV (sheepskin seatcovers - not a dumb cat!) when we got back from a hike, and apparently the site owners had seen him around for a few weeks, and were more than happy to see him go home with us. Neutered, vetted, underfed but not drastically, so he'd probably been dumped, as the campsite was just off the highway about 45 minutes out of the city. Some mostly-hairless bipeds are not in fact of my species, to borrow an excellent phrase from someone upthread.
Oscar (because he was orange) the Campsite Cat lived with us for about two years, then vanished while we were packing the house to move. Hopefully he found another household, but you never know when they just evaporate like that...
Stefan Jones @90 - I hadn't realized David Eddings had died.
While I now realize his stuff was largely Extruded Fantasy Product[1], I devoured it in high school. I was actually re-reading one of his series in first year college when an English prof started us on Joseph Campbell's Hero With The Thousand Faces - and I went through Edding's characters in my mind and matched them up, pretty nearly one-for-one, with the archetypes/stereotypes in Campbell's work...
[1] Where is "Extruded Fantasy Product" from, anyway? I recall an essay decrying so much of modern fantasy as being 'extruded until it's the right length, then hacked off and served cold' or similar, but have no recollection if it was an online essay or in a book at some point...
I got rear-ended in my stepmother's elderly hatchback (a Datsun something-or-other) a year or so after learning to drive. No damage to either car, but I'd let the car roll right into the middle of the intersection after being bonked, and of course it had stalled when my foot slipped off the clutch...
No problem, except the car wouldn't restart. Wouldn't even turn over. Nothing of the usual things that light up on the dash lit up when you turned the key...
So I popped the hood, and the guy who'd rear-ended me and I poked around - turned out one of the battery leads had been jarred loose. It must have been on the verge of falling off all by itself, given how minor the collision was.
Not the most entertaining ten minutes I've ever spent, though, stuck in the middle of an intersection with the hood up!
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