The Falklands War: Key dates

As the 30th anniversary of the Falklands War is marked on 2 April, here are the key dates in the conflict. Link to BBC webs site. -
Comment: When I think back to the Falklands I still clearly remember the shock I felt when I heard HMS Sheffield had been hit and badly damaged.

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Stalwart Playing in Mud Shobdon

I'd like one of these Stalwarts, they look a lot of fun  :)
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Bundesarchive Photos 1933 - 1945..+ all fields of WWII

Found this site that has a simply amazing collection of WW2 photos from the Bundesarchive Photos 1933 - 1945.  The range of photos is astonishing. Definitely worth a browse.  Link
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Radio Kills: Rommel’s 621st Radio Intercept Company

There is a great article on the 621st Radio Intercept Company on the Armchair General site: Link
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Friday Humour - Thomas The Tank Engine

A mother was working in the kitchen, listening to her five-year-old son playing with his new electric train set in the living room. She heard the train stop and her son saying, 'All of You B*****ds who want off, get off now, 'cos we're in a hurry! And all of you B*****ds who are getting on, get on now, 'cos we're going down the tracks'.

The horrified mother went in and told her son, 'We don't use that kind of language in this house. Now I want you to go to your room and stay there for TWO HOURS. When you come out, you may play with your train, but I want you to use nice language.'

Two hours later, the son came out of the bedroom and resumed playing with his train. Soon the train stopped and the mother heard her son say, 'All passengers who are disembarking the train, please remember to take all of your belongings with you. We thank you for travelling with us today and hope your trip was a pleasant one.'

She hears the little boy continue, 'For those of you just boarding, we ask you to stow all of your hand luggage under your seat. Remember, there is no smoking on the train. We hope you will have a pleasant and relaxing journey with us today.'

As the mother began to smile, the child added.......... 'For those of you who are pissed off about the TWO HOUR delay, please see the fat controller in the kitchen'.
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Company Of Heroes - Modern Combat

A new mod for the Company of Heroes PC game has just been released. 'Modern Combat' is exactly that, modern USA forces pitted against Chinese. Tried it out this morning with little Vulture, and we are well impressed. The dedicated web site for the mod is here.
Here's the trailer for it on U-Tube:
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Anglo-Saxon Christian grave find near Cambridge 'extremely rare'

An Anglo-Saxon grave discovered near Cambridge could be one of the earliest examples of Christianity taking over from Paganism, archaeologists said. See BBC Link -

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Top Gear - Ariel Atom - BBC

An old but classic clip from Top Gear of the Ariel Atom. I really do want one of these :) - -

Alike but very different

A friend of mine from the local MVT club swung by last Sunday to say 'Hi' in his 1942 GMC.  For two trucks from the same stable, there were some big differences between his CCKW 353 and my CCKW 352b1. 

1.  The 353 is 20" longer for a start, and as it doesn't have spare wheels behind the cab, the cargo bed can extend right up to it, so the cargo bed itself is about 25% bigger.

2.  The 353 closed cab (unsurprisingly) has an entirely different feel inside to the open cab, and is considerably smaller inside both in width and and depth.  You can get three people in an open cab, but only two in a closed.

3.  Underneath the bonnet the regulator and fuse box are different, as are the horn, air filter, and brake servo breather.

4.  The suspension fixing points are different, as are all three axles, plus the transfer case was a different shape altogether.

5.  The 90ft winch on the front of the 352 changes the look considerably. 

All very interesting in a anoraky truck kind of way :)  LOL  

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Guinea Pig

A sad day here at the Vulture's Roost.  One of our guinea pigs 'Chocolate' was taken ill a few days ago, and in spite of some (expensive) meds and TLC he continued to decline, so a last trip to the vets was in order this afternoon :(
Must confess I'm slightly gutted, of the two we have (had) he was my favourite, he had such a great little personality.
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Wakefield firm restores WWII Sherman tank

A tank which fought in one of the biggest battles of the Second World War has been restored in Wakefield.  Link
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Why are adults still launching tabletop war?

Warhammer 40,000 - set in a science fantasy universe - has just turned 25. Why are grown men still launching tabletop war? Article by Samira Ahmed on the BBC Web site. Link
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Comment:  Worth a read I felt.  Touches on the thorny question with GW of value for money....   A topic I've written on in this blog before...

Humour - Men Are Just Happier People

Men Are Just Happier People

NICKNAMES
If Laura, Kate and Sarah go out for lunch, they will call each other Laura, Kate and Sarah.
If Mike, Dave and John go out, they will affectionately refer to each other as Fat Boy, Bubba and Wildman ..

EATING OUT
When the bill arrives, Mike, Dave and John will each throw in $20, even though it's only for $32.50. None of them will have anything smaller and none will actually admit they want change back.
When the girls get their bill, out come the pocket calculators.

MONEY
A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he needs.
A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn't need but it's on sale.

BATHROOMS
A man has six items in his bathroom: toothbrush and toothpaste, shaving cream, razor, a bar of soap, and a towel.
The average number of items in the typical woman's bathroom is 337. A man would not be able to identify more than 20 of these items.

ARGUMENTS
A woman has the last word in any argument.
Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.

FUTURE
A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.
A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.

MARRIAGE
A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn't.
A man marries a woman expecting that she won't change, but she does.

DRESSING UP
A woman will dress up to go shopping, water the plants, empty the trash, answer the phone, read a book, and get the mail.
A man will dress up for weddings and funerals.

NATURAL
Men wake up as good-looking as they went to bed.
Women somehow deteriorate during the night.

OFFSPRING
Ah, children. A woman knows all about her children. She knows about dentist appointments and romances, best friends, favorite foods, secret fears and hopes and dreams.
A man is vaguely aware of some short people living in the house.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
A married man should forget his mistakes. There's no use in two people remembering the same thing!

M1 Abrams Tank - Stuck In the Mud

Came across this great little video of a US M1 Abrams tank stuck in the mud. The M1s gas-turbine engine certainly has a distinctive whine to it. - -

Wargaming.co

If you are into collecting Wargaming books, this is without doubt the place to visit. It supplies classic Wargaming and landmark sets of wargaming rules that have been key in the development of the hobby. Must confess I have most of the books already in my collection that I've built up over the years, but there are a couple I don't....yet.... :) Link
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MechWarrior Online Official Teaser Trailer

Hummmmmm, this game looks good :)
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Battlefront - Flames Of War

Battlefront the publishers of the well know 15mm WW2 rule set Flames of War (FoW), are about issue the latest version of the rules, Edition 3.  They have made the offer that anyone who bought a Hard copy of Edition 2 will be supplied with small A5 copy of Edition 3 if they contact them.  I took them up on this offer and E-Mail ed them a copy of me holding the last edition, and low and behold last Thursday the new little rulebook appeared in the post !  When I say little, at almost 300 pages, its actually quite chunky !  The mind boggles at how much it must be costing Battlefront to give all these books away.  Can you imagine Games Workshop doing anything like this ?  Maximum kudos to Battlefront is what I say !

MechWarrior Tactics

It's the year 3025. Hostile enemy lances are closing in all around you. As Commander of an elite mercenary company, it's up to you to ensure swift victory and make your enemies pay dearly. Your Mech Bay hosts a vast array of custom Mechs, each configured for a specific combat role. Choose wisely which Mechs to take into battle: your future as the leader of your lances depends on it.  Link
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PC Gamer has done a short review (Link) on this game which is due our sometime this year.  For Battletech enthusiasts (such as myself) this looks a much buy !  Can't wait !  :)
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Film - 'White Tiger'

This looks totally awesome ! Have no idea when its going to be released though. - -

The Scale Of The Universe

Zoom from the edge of the universe to the quantum foam of spacetime and learn the scale of things along the way! Learn the size of the Pillars of Creation and marvel at the minuscule scale of a neutrino! Link Comment: Nothing connected with the subject of this blog at all, but very interesting nonetheless.