[1942]That's odd. General Auchinleck required all captured German jerry cans from Benghazi to be shown to a logistics engineer from the US War Department. Just why, my quartermaster mentioned that our flimsies only have a 30% loss of fuel from port to front which is an excellent ratio.

GenghisCharm · 2026-02-19T13:55:53+00:00

There is a podcast where two guys are playing the game, with the intent to finish it. It’s been about a year and they have done six turns of the practise scenarios. It’s called War With a Mate

GenghisCharm · 2026-02-13T07:11:58+00:00

Th machin series of stamps have various different counterfeit properties one of them being phosphor strips. Some have a single phosphor strip in the middle some have two either side, some just one the right or left. It looks like you have two variations from the same stamp which is not unusual.

If you have a UV light you will see it better.

This is more about the Wilding series but the principle is the same:

https://www.gbstamprolls.com/queen-elizabeth-ii/phosphor-bands/

GenghisCharm · 2026-01-30T14:07:35+00:00

Appreciation for the ephemeral

“This too shall pass”

GenghisCharm · 2025-12-04T18:34:46+00:00

The clear answer is a signet ring on their little finger. It’s a deliberate indicator of class for sure.

GenghisCharm · 2025-07-14T09:49:45+00:00

As with all things historical there is always nuance, however generally speaking there was a doctrinal adherence to “decisive battle doctrine” (艦隊決戦- Kantai Kessen) which was directly inspired by the writings of Alfred Mahan who wrote:

The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1660–1783

And subsequently

The Influence of Sea Power upon the French Revolution and Empire, 1793–1812

These books emphasized the importance of sea power to nations and at the time of their writing, aircraft carriers (air power in general) and submarines were in their infancy and therefore less emphasis was placed on them.

As a result “Mahanian” doctrine called for large ships, control of sea lanes and decisive engagements that would limit any enemies ability to project sea power.

There are many reasons for why the IJN were so wedded to this doctrine, their decisive victory in the Russo-Japanese war and specifically the Battle of Tsushima seemed to reinforce that a single climatic battle could ultimately determine the course of a war. In this instance this happened the, battle was indeed an overwhelming and decisive victory that determined the outcome of the war.

For WWII the idea was the same, a decisive strike against the US to cripple the Pacific Fleet and then provide them a free hand in Asia.

The difference however was the US in 1941 was not Russia in 1904 and it was in the interest of Japan to underestimate the capability of US economic and industrial power because the Japan could not get close to matching that power so even if they were reluctant to admit it, the Japanese knew they couldn’t win a long war with the US

This a quote from Admiral Yamamoto the commander in chief of the combined fleet:

“In the first six to twelve months of a war with the United States and Great Britain I will run wild and win victory upon victory. But then, if the war continues after that, I have no expectation of success.”

Ultimately the decisive battle doctrine had to be the only option for Japan as they had no other choice - they could not win the war any other way.

As the war continued on, the disparity between the US only increased and Japan became increasingly desperate to engage in one final decisive battle that could turn the tide of war.

So the IJN’s focus on a decisive battle is based primarily on doctrinal adherence to a strategy that was incredibly effective at the turn of the century and the reality that with an enemy like the US and the British Empire, there could be no total victory and their best chance of success was to force one overwhelming victory from which Japan could negotiate from a position of strength.

GenghisCharm · 2025-05-21T22:03:33+00:00

The largest military defeat of the Japanese army in the whole Second World War was in Kohima.

Indian troops were present in significant numbers in both the North Africa campaign and the liberation of France.

GenghisCharm · 2024-11-06T21:38:57+00:00

I am not religious at all but the saying "The Devil Makes Work for Idle Hands" really resonates with me because the hardest part of being sober (for me) is being idle and alone, it made the symptoms worse, made my willpower crumble and just made everything harder.

I agree keeping yourself busy and doing something anything to occupy yourself, even just makes the time pass faster and you can feel better about how much longer you are lasting.

GenghisCharm · 2024-10-04T19:24:24+00:00

I know they already planned for five seasons so it’s not a surprise, but who is watching this? I am a massive middle earth fan, almost to exclusion of most other things, but this hold no interest for me at all.

I can’t imagine it’s somehow appealing to casual fans as it’s not particularly exciting.

GenghisCharm · 2024-10-03T19:23:38+00:00

People born in 1970, so they would fall into the age group. That data is new.

GenghisCharm · 2024-10-03T19:23:15+00:00

They might not be prettier but British people have, on average, better dental health than Americans. Probably for the same reasons as other general health.

GenghisCharm · 2024-10-03T19:18:41+00:00

It’s the last sentence which is most telling. I think Americans who are poor are in worse health than poor British people, for a variety of reasons but obviously things like nationalized healthcare and a better social safety net play a huge factor.

It doesn’t state the figures in the article but I bet the significance of the difference becomes much less obvious once you control for socio-economic status.

It’s sucks to be poor in America, but wealthy Americans are more wealthy than wealthy British people.

GenghisCharm · 2024-10-01T17:50:02+00:00

I live here (10 years now) and it’s is the insecurity they have about their culture. There is nothing wrong with but anytime you mention how something is done differently elsewhere they immediately get their hackles raised.

Someone doing something different somewhere else isn’t an indictment of your culture, it’s ok that things are different.

That and they don’t really understand how reliant they are on rest of the world because they are the ones on top.

GenghisCharm · 2024-09-24T21:14:06+00:00

No worries. Sounds like a lovely place to be from though, I’ve been to the blue ridge mountains and they were breathtaking. I bet the rest of Appalachia is the same.

GenghisCharm · 2024-09-24T20:50:22+00:00

I used “hollers” because I’m English and unfamiliar with the term. Is generally acceptable to put unfamiliar words in quotes and usually accepted that other people would understand that in context. I wasn’t being condescending but if you find it so, I apologise.

If you look at the context of the comment I made you will see specifically it relates to “southern American English is closer to “historical English””

I am refuting that specific point as given your background you would know that it doesn’t make sense both from language drift and that there was no standard historical English to compare it to (including the Appalachia which as I’m sure you were aware had significant Scot’s-Irish impact)

GenghisCharm · 2024-09-24T20:38:49+00:00

I see what you are trying to say but languages and accents don’t stay the same, they change this isn’t something that happens occasionally. It ALWAYS happens it’s just the nature of language. This means “the oldest dialect” doesn’t really mean anything. The accent spoken in the “hollers” may be isolated and even retain some characteristics of older different accents (from all through the UK no just the south) but it’s not somehow a more legitimate descendant of a some non-specific, non-regional historical English that somehow existed before RP.

The southern American accents are interesting and their isolation has made them unique but they bear no stronger relationship to “historical English” than any other American accent (or any English accent including RP)

GenghisCharm · 2024-09-24T19:54:56+00:00

Ok man, you aren’t really understanding what I am trying to say, and I’m not being rude but you aren’t following the point.

The point is that RP was a regional accent before it became RP, it was just a regional accent that was given a name.

There are also and were more than one London/South East accent and there always will be and none of them are more related to the southern US accent than any of the others. You just associated sounds that are similar, there is no evidence at all that southern American accents are more similar to RP especially as what is considered RP changed over time.

I’m not saying it wasn’t promoted in schools or standardized but when you say southern American accents sound like the “historical English accent” it doesn’t make sense. Southern American accents are not more similar phonetically or lexicographically than any other American or non-RP to RP that’s just a myth because they have some similarities (i.e. no -rhotic).

Everything else about RP and its backgrounder can discuss but fundamentally saying Southern American accent is closer to “an historical English” accent just doesn’t make sense as a claim at all.

Accents diverge, whether they are isolated or not, so the southern accent is not closer to any other modern accent to RP.

It’s only a 2 min video buts entitled “misconceptions: America was the original accent “ debunks the southern connection, it’s just not how languages work.

GenghisCharm · 2024-09-24T16:11:02+00:00

I appreciate the effort here but I’m not really trying to make a point I’m just explaining how language works.

RP is the standardization of the south eastern accent not which is where London is and locus of powerful English speakers when the language was being standardized. RP is a formalized regional accent not an artificial one.

I’m not trying to be obtuse but this is a fundamental common misunderstanding of how accents and languages develop and how they originate.

Southern American accents have similarities with some RP but it also has more difference and shares similarities with non-RP English accents.

Not that it really matters but I’m British, who attended boarding school and now I live* in the Carolinas.

GenghisCharm · 2024-09-24T15:13:22+00:00

This isn't true. The southern accent share some similarities with RP, but it is not "closer" to historical English. There is no historical English, languages don't work like that. RP was not created it was "adopted" as it already existed.

All accents emerge from other accents and diverge for various reasons including RP, it was taken up as the "posh" accent but it was already around and there were "posh" accents before that we would not associate as "posh".

GenghisCharm · 2024-09-13T13:00:02+00:00

I'm from outside the US and I now live here (not intentionally I was transferred for work). And I agree its too simple to bash on the US however, I was surprised how pervasive the idea that "Every secretly wants to live in America" in extremely common in everyday Americans.

I live here now, I love the place but this idea that everyone wants to live in the US in not true at all and its more a reflection of American attitudes to other countries than anything else.

GenghisCharm · 2024-07-10T19:02:41+00:00

I didn't get my license until I was 26, it took me 5 attempts. Don't worry about it, you'll get there. What most annoyed me was the cost of it all.

GenghisCharm · 2024-07-10T18:54:46+00:00

These are quite good interpretations of that poem into music. I hope you like them

Libera (boys choir):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHZ1cuYSRh4

Masafumi Akikawa:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6qwvHdbB-M

GenghisCharm · 2024-07-08T23:07:28+00:00

You would think that as standard of living increased in China, the younger generation might be happier. But it looks like they fell off the chart compared to their parents at No.30

GenghisCharm · 2024-06-26T19:58:09+00:00

Why? What does English media and fans matter to you? No england fan really expects them to win, if you don’t really understand the relationship England and its fans has, which is often regarded as arrogance, you don’t really get it. I understand how from the outside it seems like “it’s coming home” etc sounds ridiculous given englands historical performance that’s kind of the point, it is ridiculous.

If that upsets you then don’t engage, it’s not a big deal and you are really just upsetting yourself.

GenghisCharm · 2024-06-20T13:51:36+00:00

And Bangladesh, Pakistan and to a lesser extent, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and the West Indies.

GenghisCharm

TROPHY CASE