Capn Bob

And them's good eats!

Can't go wrong with Galen...he earned his stripes patching up gladiators...as a point of interest, the SPQR mystery series has a fictional "Galen-type" as a recurring character...

You might want to pick up some of the Jamestown Rediscovery booklets...and they got lots of photos...*and* juicy murders...

Actually, I've wondered about that, myself. And do those fish really drink that water? After all...fish breed in it! .............And if it rains at sea, do the fish get wet ??? We really need the scientists to tell us these things !!! I think some university should fund a study.... >>>>> Cascabel

From LiveScience.com comes this report that cannonballs actually can sink ships! Who'd a-thunk it?! It even addresses the notorious Splinter Issue... Link is here--> http://www.livescience.com/history/090715-cannonball-ship.html Cannonballs Really Could Sink Ships, Study Finds By LiveScience Staff Long before the Navy used torpedoes, rockets and nuclear missiles to fire at the enemy, ship captains relied on more blunt weapons — cannonballs. But how effective were cannonballs at sinking battleships? New research shows that cannon fire could have brought down at least one battleship, a recently discovered 19th-century warship that sank off the coast of Acre, Israel. The ship's oak hull was unusually thick, leading researchers to question the possibility of cannonball penetration. Experimental firings of cannons at replicas of wooden warships have been carried out in other countries, but due to the cost and complexity of such experiments, they have been few and far between. In general, they were only firing demonstrations, and scientific data has not always been obtained. So it was still hard to tell for sure whether the cannonballs found in the wreck off the coast of Acre would have been capable of sinking this particular ship. University of Haifa's Yaacov Kahanov, who studies maritime civilizations and underwater archaeology, developed a unique model along with his colleagues that enabled firing experiments to be carried out on a reduced scale, thereby reducing costs, and enabling controlled, measured and documented experimentation. Five scale models of the ship's hull, based on the archaeological findings, were constructed and fired at using an experimental gun to shoot steel balls at 225-1,100 mph (100-500 meters per second), modeling the cannon fire of the 19th century. Despite the hull's strength, cannonballs penetrated it even at the lowest velocities. The lower the velocity, the more energy was absorbed in causing damage to the hull, and the more the wood splintered, which would have caused more harm to the ship's personnel. The results of this experiment, Kahanov said, are of much significance to the study of the vessel and to the study of naval battles in this period. Kahanov's colleagues on the analysis included additional researchers from the University of Haifa in Israel and from Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd., a weapons developer for the Israel Defense Forces.

Not right now, but sometime later today, I shall be munching on *German* potato chips...Hungarian flavour! (How do they get that Hungarian flavour? Well, first you take your Hungarians, then you grind them up to a fine paste...) No no no! You see, it's got paprika...likely Hungarian Sweet. Gives the chip something of a smokey and even slightly bacony flavour. Surprisingly, the chips aren't particularly salty, which is good.

Copied down. How is it in winter?

It is a known fact at my workplace that I can be bribed with Nik-L-Nips...those wax "bottles" filled with syrupy liquid. Yes, I admit it...when it comes to those, I am both cheap *and* easy...

This bein' Akron OH, there ain't much here of a nautical theme...not even with a canal theme, which is odd when you consider the role canals played in this city. So I gotta go where I can...like Azteca, the very local Mexican place...only 8 or so minutes away, and that's on foot, thats how local it is. Decent grub, good service, good price... When I'm at DisneyWorld...well, there's several places I favor. The Liberty Tree Tavern in Magic Kingdom has great crab cakes...the Bierkeller in the German Pavilion, Epcot (buffet style, but great burgerlichkuchen), and the Coral Reef...since it shares the aquarium with the Living Seas (or whatever they're calling it now), its the only place I know where you can see the seafood seeing you. And I do confess...I go to the local Red Lobster sometimes, too.

I might have one of them, too. There was a Joseph Curtiss in Blackbeard's crew at the Battle of Ocracoke, and while I do not really think there's a direct connection (Pa's side of the family's been here since the 1630's), I hope he might be a distant relation...from the side of the family that stayed in Jolly Old, mayhap? However, we *do* have a Joseph Curtiss in the family, at the right time, but since Neddy's Joe Curtiss fell in defense of ship and captain, and since the family Joe...didn't...I doubt there's a connection there. (Altho it would be nice). And I have no details at all regarding the family's Joe Curtiss or what he did. Bumsky.

Taking a little break from pyratical reading (namely cuz I'm out of new titles to read in my collection...so I'm reading "The German Way of War" and "Endkampf". Endkampf is of particular interest because it relates the end of WW2 occurances in a set of small German towns in middle Franconia, including and especially Bad Windsheim, which is the town I lived in during my year in Germany.

Time Team America debuts Weds July 8 at 8.00 pm with a look at Roanoke Island and Fort Ralegh. Time Team America is the long awaited (by me, anyway) version of Time Team, a long running and highly popular show in Britain (Channel 4) dealing with archaeology. Since I'm familiar with the original Time Team, it'll be interesting to compare the two versions. You can see a bit more info here---> http://www.pbs.org/opb/timeteam/ but for me, it's going to be a Must Watch.

Well, I'm not much of a movie go-er, but I did see "Up"...liked it a lot! I'm curious about the "Dark Shadows"...anyone know who might be playing Angelique? Or if there will *be* an Angelique? (How can there *not* be? Hottest witch EVEH!) And has anyone ever noticed just what miserable weather Collinwood always had? There was *always* a thunderstorm over the house!

I shall now...sing! Lift up your hearts, my heroes, And swear with proud disdain, The wretch that would ensnare you Shall spread his net in vain; Should Europe empty all her force, We'd meet them in array, And shout huzza, huzza, huzza For brave America. And a toast of rum to Benjamin Curtiss, my very own Rev War ancestor

Forget tonight...this is what I just had this morning for brekkers... I had a brotchen dripping with butter, three Nurnberger sausages (no worries, they're thin), and two Hartville chocolate chip cookies. I haven't had a German breakfast for so long, I feel like walking to Bad Windsheim...which would be a long and damp walk, now...

Does the Winslow (shudder) really exist? What *is* the Question to Life, the Universe, and Everything? (We know the Answer already, not that it's terribly helpful...)

Tomorrow being the Glorious Fourth, I'll be cooking up some BBQed ribs, sweet corn...and at some time during the day, a tottle of the Spirit of 1776...which be rum, of course. As for other nights...and days...well, I went out to Hartville today, and got me some hot smoked Hungarian sausage (do you think *you're* man enough?), some bratwurst, some onion and pepper sausage...*and* just to add to the fun, I got a certain package from a certain place called Germandeli.com, and in it...some *genuine* German brotchen, some Nurnberger sausage, and some Ungarisch Chipsfrisch..."besser fur dich!" I don't think I'll be worrying about what to eat for a few days. *Right* now, of course, there's a cat in the Germandeli box...but that's not for eating...

Don't forget Maple Sausage...

I have no movie featured trunk, but I *was* present at the making of a major motion picture...no pyrates in it, tho. It was when we were in Germany, up on the wall of Rothenburg (obT), looking down on one of the stadtplatzes, and we saw a very strange man indeed, all dressed in black, being filmed by, presumably, other very strange people. We had no idea what was going on, of course, but we found out later they were filming a scene of "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"...and the guy in black was the Child-Catcher General.

What?! Is no one cooking *SPAM*?

My cats make me smile...but then, so does a good day of flintknapping...

I just ate a small bag of Cheddar-Sour Cream chips and another small bag of Cheetos...I was on break at work Nutrition, thats the ticket, aye!

My father related to me regarding pumpkin wine the troops "made" in Vietnam. Very simple recipe...you take a pumpkin, scoop it out, put in some sugar, reinsert the mushed up insides, and cover. Since he was in the 56th Trans Co over there, repairing helicopters, they might have used the stuff for aviation fuel.

Now reading "Buccaneers of the Caribbean: How Piracy Forged an Empire", by Jon Latimer. currently on page 155

Just got finished reading "To Lose a Battle: France 1940", by Alistair Horne