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| Ju-88 Cockpit (Source) |
Home owner problems have been a contributing factor. Things break, things need to be replaced, I often remember fondly my days as a renter, "Hey, this is broken, fix it." Now it's "Damn it, it's broken, can I fix it or do I need to call someone?"
Nothing major (knock on wood) but the minor things add up to the point where it's a bit of a bother. It also vexes me to the point of wanting to hide in my man cave and disappear into the world of simulation.
Which yeah, I've been doing a lot of lately. Which also helps to impede the progress of my latest series. Sigh ...
Speaking of simulations ...
That opening screen shot is from a simulation that I have, I just haven't played it as much as I'd like. It's from a series of flight simulations which go by the generic name of Il-2 Sturmovik of which the screen shot was taken from Cliffs of Dover which, as you might well imagine, is about the Battle of Britain. Which I have played once, for about thirty minutes.
Why only thirty minutes? Well, I've been busy, very busy. As to that one time, I was assigned the mission of ferrying a brand-spanking-new Spitfire from one field to another. I was nothing more than a glorified delivery boy. That being said ...
Once airborne I was merrily flying along, enjoying the scenery from aloft when I was unceremoniously jumped by two Huns, Fokkers they were ...
Uh, Sarge, the Germans flew Messerschmitts in WWII ...
Yes, that is correct, the Fokkers who jumped me were flying Messerschmitts.¹
Anyhoo ...
So, there I was ...*
Luckily I had spotted the two Huns before they were in position to ruin my day, turning into them, I engaged. Only to discover that my beautiful Spit had not a single round of ammunition on board. I couldn't even throw rocks at them.
Needless to say, my very first mission in Cliffs of Dover ended rather badly for me.
Now I did not know that the Ju-88 is one of the flyable aircraft in Cliffs of Dover: Blitz Edition (which is the one I have). Guess what I'll be doing in the very near future. It's for research purposes, dontcha know?
In other simulation news, I recently purchased an add-on for Arma III from Bohemia Interactive. It's S.O.G. Prairie Fire, which puts the player in Vietnam.
I ran through part of one of the tutorial missions on Sunday. Flying into Pleiku on a Huey slick was interesting, great graphics, great sound. After landing at Pleiku I was picked up by another Special Ops guy in a Jeep. As he was taking me over to the range we had to cross the active runway. Where we had to wait for a taxiing F-4C Phantom.
That's right, a Phantom.
Great details, I swear I checked the tail number and am convinced that I had actually worked on that bird (well, the real one) at Kadena. No really, graphics were that good.
Had to break it off though as dinner was calling.
So I've been staying busy, trying to break through this apparent bout of writer's block.
Like they say with kidney stones, this too shall pass.
Shouldn't be nearly as painful. (DAMHIK)
Oh yeah, one more thing, chase the "Source" under the photo, good stuff. Trust me.
¹ Groan ... Dad joke right there. Sorry, couldn't resist the urge. The original joke goes like this:
An RAF veteran is giving a talk to a class of school children, and was trying to explain what a typical mission would be like."So there I was, escorting the bombers to their target, when out of the blue we were attacked by a bunch of Fokkers. There were about 20 of these Fokkers. One took out my buddy, but I managed to shoot the Fokker down. Then one was on my tail and I couldn't shake the Fokker, but my pal took care of him. Then I took out two more of the Fokkers ..."The teacher interrupts "Children I should explain, the Fokker was a type of fighter airplane used by the German Air Force to stop the RAF bombers and their escorts.""Yes, but these Fokkers were flying Messerschmitts!"
* SJC applies.
Yeah, the old Doug Bader talking to school children joke, he of the two fake legs.
ReplyDeleteI'd never heard that it was Bader who told that story. Who knows?
DeleteAhhh, the joys of home maintenance (and all the other stuff too). Sort of like eating an elephant; one bite at a time. I too will admit to occasionally feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the list of things to do. I just tell myself, "I don't need to do these, I want to do these."
ReplyDeleteNope. Doesn't help. So I do them anyway. And feel pretty good about it afterwards. It's that first step on the thousand-mile journey that is the hardest for me...
Good pun you worked into this post. :-)
-Barry
I simply endure the pain of home ownership, because in reality, the pros outnumber the cons.
DeleteWait until retirement kicks in. The "Honey Do" list keeps expanding, it seems almost exponentially. Fortunately it hasn't intruded into nap time YET. I am currently hanging a new door in an existing opening in a house that was built about 1880. Luckily I started working on wooden boats at age 14. Nothing is square or level, and the doors are much heavier than they were 25 years ago. Old Guns
ReplyDeleteI don't have a "Honey Do" list. Don't plan on ever having one and if one gets instituted, I won't look at it. Requests? I do requests. Directives are ignored.
DeleteYeah, why is it that things get heavier as we age?
Sigh, I’ll keep checking in. Maybe you need to provide more whiskey for the muse. That’ll loosen her up. Good luck for the home repairs.
ReplyDeleteFranknbean
A lot of it is whether or not I have the time to write. While the story-telling sort of comes easy, the research to make it as close to historicity takes a lot of time. When you've got an hour to write and need to do three hours (or more) of research, then the series gets paused. Gomen nasai
DeleteI've noticed that "things are heavier than they used to be" phenomenon as well. Perhaps a change in Earth's gravity?
ReplyDeleteDo your stuff, Sarge; but do try to avoid getting sucked into the gamer world too far. Beyond a point, there be dragons.
Boat Guy
I have been down that rathole. Once upon a time, back in the wireframe computer model days, I had a submarine combat game. Very immersive, spent twelve straight hours stalking a Japanese warship in the Pacific. Wife came down at 0700 on a Saturday morning to find Yours Truly still sitting at the computer, firing a spread of torpedoes, only one of which hit the ship and that was a dud. Ashtray was overflowing, second pot of coffee was almost empty and ...
DeleteLet's just say, I won't do that again.
I ration my time now, no more than an hour a day, sometimes two if it's a weekend.
I have found that I too have increased in mass over the years here at my wine drinking spot. So much, in fact, sometimes (most times) I cannot get up off the floor without the aid of a chair or something about that height. Whilst sober, in case your mind went there.
DeleteMe too, and all my old uniforms shrank while in the closet!
DeletePrairie Fire was the SOG term for being over run. They'd call in fire on their own position... Those guys were something else.
ReplyDeleteI've had weeks of Jimmah Cahtah since last year. Malaise is a curse word around here. But ride it out and do stuff when you think about it. Look on the bright side. If there ain't one there will be soon.
Yup, I knew that. (The Prairie Fire thing.) As to the rest, it'll get better, or worse. All things change in time.
DeleteSarge, the thousand and one tasks of the homeowner generally depress me because I am neither particularly good at them nor enjoy them - that said, I remain grateful that (excluding a failure to pay my mortgage and tax bill), I have a location that the risk of me being expelled from is low, given the current world as we know.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice that I actually own the property now. Sure the taxes are a necessary evil, but as long as the idiot politicians use that money wisely ...
DeleteOkay, now that I think of it, the property taxes really piss me off.
Home (condo) ownership is great. There aren't many doable chores around here as we are mostly concrete on six sides. I'm not gonna do carpet or tile. I do plumbing, and I can paint if she asks nicely.
DeleteProperty taxes are the "rent" the government extracts for you to live in that property. The only thing the deed does is make you responsible for what goes on on the property, good or bad.
DeleteAlso, the idiot politicians will never use the money wisely, especially in Little Rhodie.
LtFuzz - A condo would be the way to go if I was of a mind to move from here.
DeleteBillB - Yup, irks me to no end that the idiot voters seem to have no problem with paying rent on their own land! And keep electing the same corrupt clowns every election cycle. It's particularly pathetic here in Little Rhody.
DeleteYeah, I get that. I've got writing projects that I've made no progress with because reasons. One is sort of a SF-ish mystery, the other is a straight hard-boiled one. And a third that is stuck in Revision Hell.
ReplyDeleteIt happens, annoying as Hell, but I guess it's part of the process.
DeleteMany thanks for the link to the JU-88 material... excellent details and visuals!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I thought so too.
DeleteHaving a discussion about home maintance, improvement, status, ... at the moment.
ReplyDeleteArgh!
DeleteThat joke's been told a lot of times, attributed to a lot of different pilots... and then there's the Stan Boardman version, where the offenders are "Focke-Wulfs."
ReplyDeleteYup, it's been around.
DeleteYou forgot "tins"
ReplyDeleteYou're right!
DeleteThat opening screenshot threw me for a second. The realism is incredible. I am speaking as a professional aviator. What level of computer does it take to run the program? I know I don't have one that would do it.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Steam's Store Page on that game:
DeleteMINIMUM:
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows 7 64-bit
Processor: Intel Core I5 6500 or equivalent
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: Direct X 11.0 compliant 4 gb
DirectX: Version 11
Storage: 8 GB available space
Sound Card: DirectX 11 compatible
Additional Notes: Joystick and keyboard
RECOMMENDED:
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows 10 64-bit
Processor: Intel Core I7 6800k or equivalent
Memory: 16 GB RAM
Graphics: Direct X 11.0 compliant 8 gb
DirectX: Version 11
Storage: 10 GB available space
Sound Card: DirectX 11 compatible
Additional Notes: Joystick with twist handle rudder or Joystick with rudder pedals
Definitely need the recommended or better, otherwise you have to turn those beautiful graphics way down!
I don't think Mrs BillB will accede to me getting one with those specs. I got my "retirement" gift 10 years ago when I finally turned 60 and got my AF retirement (I finished up in the Reserves). That was a new HF/VHF/UHF Amateur radio transceiver with accessories.
DeleteThat's a pretty great gift right there.
DeleteThe story goes that Dornier was pitching an airplane to some British carriers. They gave a ride with some stick time to one of the chief pilots. As he flew it, the instructor/demo pilot asked: "Have you ever flown a Dornier before?"
ReplyDeleteThe chief pilot said: "No, I haven't." He paused a few seconds and then added: "But I have shot down a few of them."
Second story: A Lufthansa flight called for taxi clearance. The pilot on the radio made his request in German. The controller admonished him, in English, to speak English. The Lufthansa pilot complained: "I am at a German airport, flying a German aircraft for a German airline. Why must I speak English?"
Somebody else broke into the freq, anonymously: "Because you lost the bloody war, Fritz."
When I was in NATO, we Americans abided by all of the German rules for use, no matter how senseless. The Brits pretty much ignored them, for the reason stated above.
DeleteI have a book on the shelf written by Robert Buck (Flying Know How). He was an instructor / check pilot in the 40's to about 1970. He told a story about a BOAC pilot that had a hard time with some instructions at the Schweinfurt airport due to accented English, and the German controller snapped, "Haven't you been to Schweinfurt before??" The pilot said, "as a matter of fact I have, but this is the first time I've landed." :/ IIRC, etc. etc....
ReplyDeleteYup, I've heard that one. Priceless.
Delete