Barkeep49
01-03-2007, 09:50 AM
Who would you rather have as your offensive coordinator - Don Coryell or Bill
Walsh?
By choosing one as an offensive coordinator, that makes it an interesting twist than if I had to choose one as a head coach. Since I recall these two teams (the early 80s Chargers and the 80s 49ers Dynasty) fairly well, the choice comes down to which offensive philosophy was better (everything else, esp. personnel, being equal). There was no doubt that these two offensives were prolific and successful. To me, it comes down to time of possession and scoring percentages. I can’t find the numbers but I recall the 1984 49ers (for example) dominating time of possession, having one of the best passing and rushing offenses in the league. The 1981 Chargers (for example) were certainly a heavy passing team but only mediocre in running. But the interesting thing is that despite Walsh’s team being more balanced, they still put up similar Coryell-like numbers (4000+ yds passing and 30+ passing TDs). Plus Walsh’s offense relies more on reading defenses, checking off receivers and play-action (attributes I value highly) over timing patterns and forcing the ball into the receivers. So, I would rather have Walsh, by a long-shot.
PERSONAL
Just how old ARE you that everybody's making fun of how old you are?
I’ll be 47 this month. That makes me about 15 years older than the average FOFCer. But I share a lot of the same interests as most here which really makes any age gap irrelevant. The only difference is that perhaps I have had more time to do different things in my life, as well as can recall events that happenedwhen most here were really young or before they were born. But most folks here talk about the 1980s a lot and that's probably what I can relate to the most because frankly, I wasn’t into much growing up in the 60s and 70s except watching a lot of TV and reading/following sports teams/leagues.
Why did you choose the name, Buccaneer?
My favorite PC game before I started playing CivII in the late 90s was Pirates! Gold. I came across a very active forum of pirate gamers and while it was centered on Cutthroats (which I didn’t play), there were plenty of talk about Pirates! and piratical history. I wasn’t Buccaneer then but when I signed onto the Sideline in 2000 (and consequently other forums), I chose Buccaneer since that’s where I came from.
If yo were a real Buccaneer what would your name be?
Jumpin' Hidalgo Dagger (http://gangstaname.com/pirate_name.php)
What made you move from California to Colorado?
My family (mom, dad, my brothers and I) moved to California before my Jr year in HS in 1976. I then spent the rest of my HS years as well as my 5 years at SDSU living at the end of the California Dream period and after a few years, I really got into the beach scene. I had not been to Colorado until a family vacation to Durango in 1983 and then spending a glorious week in Boulder. I fell in love with the state and though I went off to grad school at Carolina in 1984, I always tried to go to Colorado (for Winter Break, Spring Break and such). After grad school when I became a consultant, one of our major clients was the company I work for now and they knew how much I loved coming to Colorado (I would spend weekends here before going back home to Kentucky) and asked if I would be interested in coming to work here. Except for several trips to Hawai’i, I came to believe that life is a mountain, not a beach.
You've been in a couple very different careers if I recall correctly. Software testing, cartography and maybe more I don't remember. What jobs have you had, and what prompted the career move when you switched professions?
Believe it or not, I have had the same career for over 25 years – it’s just the nature of the job had changed. My career has been in automated cartography or what became known as geographic information system (GIS). When I went to college (both undergrad and grad school), I primarily studied geography with an emphasis in cartography. Back then, automated cartography was fairly primitive (my favorite story to tell my colleagues was making my first computer map using punch cards) but like with all information systems, it evolved. After a couple of years of being a consultant, I landed here 18 yrs ago to build one of the first distributed GIS in the country. This job has taken me from being a Unix System/Network and Database Admin to a custom map maker to a mapping programmer and now with GIS fully integrated among other information systems, a full-fledge IT analyst and applications programmer/tester. I really prefer the creativity of making maps but they tell me I have way too much experience (as well as being too expensive) to be doing that so they get me doing more important things – like coming up with an enterprise-wise software development metric and testing standard. w00t.
You strike me as a bit of an independent spirit. How does fatherhood/family life fit into that?
It was a good thing I was a late bloomer and married when I was 36. From the time I was about 22 to 35, I certainly had a great deal of fun and freedom – able to travel a lot, pursue many of my interests and did a lot of interesting things. I could not have imagined being married and esp. having a child during those years so when it was time to settle down, I could look back on about 15 years of true independence – which was more than most people can say.
As far as my domesticated life the past 10 years, I have a 150 sq foot room/office (plus a 84 sq ft walk in closet) on the lower level that is all my own. There I have my bookcases, my card displays, my music, my photographs, a sofa and of course, my computer system. While I don’t travel as much as I used to, I do have my space.
What's your favorite meal? Books? Movies/TV Shows?
Meal: Colorado Lamb Medallions (or Rack of Lamb) with Wild Blueberry Sauce, Baked Potato, Sautéed Green Beans and Chocolate Ice Cream. If I want to eat more healthy, I would choose a grilled King Salmon.
Books: Historical Non-Fiction and Fiction, Geographical/Regional Studies, Baseball History, Everest Expeditions and Military History.
In general, do you think people misperceive who you believe you are or do you think that they have your personality pegged?
Yes, I do believe they have me pegged fairly accurately. I don’t believe in role-playing so I try to present myself as honestly as I can, both good and bad. There is, however, one major difference: I can read and write very well online whereas in real-life, I cannot hear or speak well at all.
GAMES AND SPORTS
What is your favorite version of Civilization? Why is this version your favorite?
That is not an easy question to answer right now. The choices are, for me, CivII MGE and CivIV plus Warlords. There is no doubt that the main game of CivIV, vanilla or Warlords, is far, far superior to the main game of CivII – in its breadth and depth but still keeping the simple and addictive to gameplay philosophy. However, you know how much I loved playing the CivII scenarios. I probably played more scenarios than the main game with CivII. The simple yet effective combination of the rules.txt and events.txt files (plus the highly and easily customizability of the various .gif files) produced very immersive and clever scenarios. The ones that came with MGE were fun and varied but then some of the later custom ones were brilliant. With CivIV, it is apparently not easy to design good scenarios, having to invest the time into Python scripting, 3D animations and if you want to do it right, programming in the SDK. I have not played the Warlords scenarios yet but if I wasn’t so engrossed into playing the CivIV Warlords main game, I would actually load up and play some of the new (yes, new) CivII scenarios.
Is your love of text-sims a result of growing up sitting around the radio trying to imagine what's going on?
I know this was an Old Man question but I’ll answer it here since it does have some truth to it. When I was a child getting into sports and learning about the leagues (around the time of the NFL merger and MLB re-alignment), I played countless hours of games I would make up using deck of cards and other gaming devices. I would, as I still do, keep volumes of logs and watch the teams/leagues unfold through the seasons I would create. There weren’t many games on TV, no internet and I would get Sporting News every so often. I had to visualize what was happening and as long as I could “see” that with the games I would play, I would have fun. No different than today.
Will you ever play in another OOTP online league?
No, I prefer the pace of SP.
Seriously, I recall a really interesting post a few years ago from Bucc regarding interest in text sims stemming from tracing leagues--not from a statistical or league performance standpoint, but rather from following the leagues organizationally. Care to talk a little about what drew you in to text simming and what you look for from games?
I am stunned that not only would you remember that post but also to recall the point correctly. What I look for in non-action games applies to text sims and non-text sims equally: to interact with the AI in such a way to see the consequences of short-term and long-term decision-making of a career. Specifically regarding text sims, my interest in real-life and in the gaming world has always been from a more macro view. I can sit here and tell you the history of baseball and the history of football (at least since 1970) – the ebb and flow of teams, dynasties and esp. franchise movements, logo changes and league re-alignments as well as playoff models. I cannot tell you any specific stats of a team or a player (except for the famous ones) – I just don’t care for that level of detail. That is no different than my interest in history. I can tell you nearly everything that went on during the American Civil War – the what, why and where – from the causes to the war itself and the consequences/changes resulting from it. But I cannot tell you anything about the 141st N.Y. Infantry nor can I tell you regimental positions in any battle (without looking it up). Another example would be baseball cards, which I have avidly collected off and on for 37 years. As a kid and as an adult, I would study the card designs (I can instantly tell you the year and make of any national-issued cards from 1948-1990) and as I look at the backs, I would be much more interested in the bio of the players and what teams he had played for (esp. the early minor years) but I wouldn’t care for the stats (as most kids had wanted to memorize).
Here’s why. As you can tell from the questions posed and the answers given, I have always been and will always be a “jack-of-all-trades, master of none”. That does not mean, however, that I am incapable of going hard-core on any subject matter or with any game. Even as I know what it took to do so, I have always chosen not to sacrifice my interest in other subjects or games to devote the time needed to become a master. (Just take a look at some of the hard-core Civers at Apolyton – trying to analyze and dissect every single detail of combat (for example). It is great that they can get into a game at that level but for me, I think it would lead to burn-out or not enjoying playing the game for what it is.) In other words, I have too many things that I am interested in and want to learn about.
So coming back to the question, I look for an equilibrium in games that will allow me to get what I want out of it without making that game an obsession that will take time away from other games and other interests. For sports text sims, I look to building a long-term career that I can look back through my logs and reflect on what had happened in the same way I read about the history of baseball or college basketball or football but in a way that I can manage the success of each season through GM-micromanaging and not coach-micromanaging.
Kind of a long-winded answer, sorry, but I felt this was a good place to throw in a few things.
How did you discover the Gothic series?
I was in a private forum of game reviewers and one of the games that was discussed was Gothic 1. I never had any interest in fantasy or D&D games or in CRPG and when I learned that Gothic was an action/adventure RPG with mostly human interactions (as oppose to aliens and weird characters), I got interested in trying it out because I had always loved playing adventure games (King’s Quest, Indiana Jones, Full Throttle, etc.). I was hooked right away for it had a good historical medieval feel with a compelling storyline.
When did you first play FOF? What drew you to text-based football and did you have a fondness for simulating football before FOF?
Right after Christmas of 1999, I bought Football Mogul. That was my first sports non-graphical game and what I remembered from that was how much fun I had trading, drafting and getting free agents. The game was kind of stupid (e.g., can add cash to make trades) so it didn’t last long. The summer of 2000 got me wanting to play that again but then I vaguely remembered reading a review in CGW about FOF. A search on the internet brought me to the Sideline and there I found I could purchase FOF2. What attracted me to these game was the off-season stuff (plus in-season trades). I played some football games on the Mac/PC during the 1990s, mostly Tom Landry Strategy Football and NCAA 99 but not FPS or anything manual (it’s hard to simulate football seasons/careers as oppose to games). I think it goes back to all of those years of trading, buying and selling sports cards and that’s what I get but of playing these games as well: transactional management as oppose to game management.
Okay, how do you really feel about Michael Vick?
Mercurial.
Tom Brady - the greatest football player of all time, or merely an inner-circle hall of famer?
Inner-circle once he gets his 5th ring.
How much pain was it to see the football franchise by your design win the league championship, yet not being the GM of that team?
It doesn’t bother me in the least. I enjoy reading and following along but glad I don’t have to go through the work to play.
Norm Rizzo or Nicky Lincoln?
Rizzo, without a doubt. He knew how to win games whereas Lincoln hasn’t figured that out yet. In the first 3 seasons before his arm fell off, Rizzo went 31-13 including 4-2 in the playoffs. Overall, he still won more games than he lost. I don’t thing Lincoln is much over .333. Also, in 57 games, Rizzo has won PotG 30 times. In 76 games, Lincoln has won it only 15 times. (Had to look all of these up.)
Does your libertarian beliefs affect your feelings about things like salary caps or is the world of sports different enough that you think there needs to be a different approach?
The world of sports certainly has its own governance, part dictatorship, part communist and part feudalistic. It what makes those businesses or confederacy of businesses work. From a consumer point of view, it is truly market-driven – we can accept or reject their product and if enough consumers reject a franchise, then it would be forced to go somewhere else or fold up. The federal govt. has no involvement in this even if they feel they should do *something*. [soapbox rant] On the other hand, I am appalled at how college football has become what it has, that’s not the purpose of colleges and universities. There should be a formalized minor league system of the NFL for college-age players (beyond Europe and Arena), just like in baseball, instead of the hypocritical games the athletes/AD/coaches have to play. Since most colleges are funded by the state and the federal govts., a reform like this would be tricky but they have built some of these programs up to where they think the only purpose of the university is for the football program. [/end soapbox rant]
[quote=albionmoonlight]Will there ever be another "golden age" of baseball (or any other professional sport), or is that just impossible in the ESPN era of overanalysis, hype, and sizzle over steak?[/quote]
No, it will only get worse as 25000-channels become the norm and 1026 of them will be 24/7 Sports Channels - one for each team plus the same number of channels covering what everyone else had shown. These, however, do not include the 24/7 Cam Channels that will allow us to follow the lives of every player just as we can watch live traffic and weather cams now. It wouldn’t matter that it would cost $19.95 per minute to watch and are filled with commercials 80% of the time, enough people will pay to make most of them profitable. If one becomes unprofitable, the team or university will literally cease to exist.
[quote=Ant]Excluding sports, what is your favorite genre when comes to gaming?[/quote]
Historical-based strategy, adventure and action games.
[b]HISTORICAL[/b]
[quote=JPhillips]What do you see as the turning point in the Civil War?[/quote]
There wasn’t one. Really. People like to know the one event that turned the war towards the victor but that’s too simplistic because like everything else, there were many turning points. Gettysburg was [u]a[/u] turning point, so was Antietam, Fort Donelson and a host of others. Civil War historians love to get cute and list the turning point as anything from Sumter to Appomatox (you think?) and anything in between, plus those picking a turning point as far back as the Constitutional Congress or the developments of the Plymouth and Jamestown plantations!
But to answer in the spirit of the question, I believe the turning point was not related to a battle or campaign. In all of the wars throughout history including today, it comes down to the will of the leaders to prosecute the war. In part, it is related to the will of the people wanting to fight but only in a small part because despite how unpopular a war can be, the leaders can overcome that in several different ways. In the American Civil War, it came down to the Union deciding to do what it would take to actual win the war with the Confederacy decisively defeated (despite loud calls to negotiate a peace).
It seems like the first three years of the war, the Union was hoping for a minor victory – just enough to end the rebellion and bring the country back together again. Lee and Davis, in their limitations, fought like it was a Napoleonic War and hoped for the one decisive victory (which never would have happened anyways) until they were forced to go on the defensive. The difference in turning the strategy towards a Union decisive victory was Grant taking command in the East. But it was more than just taking command of the Army of the Potomac. He saw all of the theatres as one and knew the Confederates had to be decisively defeated in the West as well as the East. It was almost as if a heavily favored football team played a close game for three quarters until they put their regulars in and scored three TDs in the fourth quarter to win.
[quote=JPhillips]What do you think was the primary cause of the Civil War and where do you stand on the "Lost Cause" version of Southern history?[/quote]
The primary cause was without a doubt, slavery. All one has to do is to study the debates in Congress for the 40 years leading up to the Civil War. Nearly every single issue that came up, whether western expansion, trade and tariffs, and monetary policies centered around the divisiveness between the Southern and Northern caucuses with slavery at the heart. A primary cause does not mean the only cause, however.
Regarding the “Lost Cause”, I truly believe that is one of the more embarrassing episode of American history and literature. The reason it came about was truly devious and purposefully deceptive and that it continues today to some extent is on par with some of the most notorious national propagandas of history. The early warriors of the Lost Cause movement (Wade Hampton and esp. Jubal Early) stated that their mission was to slander and deceive in order to protect and elevate Lee and to keep the notion of a Southern nation alive. They were able to wrap their mission in a cloak of Southern pride and the noble goal of duty and honor in order to sell it to the public. That many learned historians and authors fell for this deception, from Douglass Freeman to Margaret Mitchell to the folksy fiction of Shelby Foote, is shameful. Sorry to be so strident in my response. I recommend reading the insightful book, “The Myth of the Lost Cause and Civil War History”, a collection of essays edited by Gary Gallagher, professor of history at Univ. of Virginia.
[quote=WSUCougar]What moment in history would you like to be present for, particularly to photograph it?[/quote]
That’s a hard question. Most of the significant events in history would require a photojournalistic sense, which would be hard for me to do. In choosing one photograph that would convey a thousand words, I would like to have caught the surrender at Yorktown, particularly the embarrassed look on Cornwallis’ face as he tried to hand over his sword with the band allegedly playing World Turned Upside Down.
[quote=WSUCougar]What moment in history would you like to be present for, as a participant?[/quote]
A moment in history? It definitely would not be a battle since all of them would be a god-awful bloody and smelly mess. I had thought about the arrival of settlers in a new land (like the Mayflower pilgrims or the first wagon train to Oregon) but I would have witnessed sad, tired, emancipated, sickly groups of people. To chose one, I think it would have been cool to have been there on July 2, 1776 when the final vote was called and the declaration finally passed even though it would have been stifling hot and humid with an overpowering stench. On a more personal level, I would also chose to have been there when Jesus showed up to his mother and her friends after his resurrection.
[quote=DaddyTorgo]who is your favorite historical buccaneer and why?[/quote]
Sir Francis Drake. What he did was like someone taking the Space Shuttle, flying it to the Space Station, stealing all of their supplies, heading off to Mars, digging up tons of valuable minerals and then come back to Earth only to meet an IRS agent with a capital gains tax form.
[quote=Schmidty]If you could have 3 people from anywhere in history over to dinner, who would they be?
[quote=Surtt]And what would you serve?[/quote]
[/quote]
Mario Batali, Emeril Lagasse and Jacques Torres. I would rather eat during dinner than talk and I know whatever they would prepare, it would be great. Sort of like a Big Night.
[quote=Senator]Who would you like to see the run the country?[/quote]
We, the People (provided we learn first).
[quote=Surtt]Have you read Steinbeck's Cup of Gold: A Life of Sir Henry Morgan, Buccaneer, with Occasional Reference to History? If so, what do you think of the premise that you must remain a child at heart to accomplish great things?[/quote]
No, I haven’t.
[quote=sabotai]Other than the Civil War, what is your favorite period of history to read? And if the answer is another period of American history, what is your favorite non-American historical period to read about?[/quote]
My favorite non-American historical period is probably Ancient Egypt. They weren’t the inventors of some of the early techs but they certainly brought them all together to build a glorious civilization. Probably why the game Pharaoh is my second favorite of all time since it really brings each of the pharaonic dynasties to life.
A close second would be the history of technology or technological changes. To me, there is nothing more fascinating than the tech tree and the connection of technological advances through the centuries and millenniums.
[b]PHOTOGRAPHY[/b]
[quote=Ant]Since I recently learned about your passion for photography, I want to know what is the best way to take night shots without a lot of setup time?[/quote]
Depends what you want to photograph. If there is enough ambient light and no wind/breeze, then a long exposure would work. If not, then you would have to create your own light source (similar to photographing a dark interior). I have no experience in this, just remembering what I have read in the magazines.
[quote=Dodgerchick]Bucc, what advice you can give a novice photographer on how to take better pictures (besides the very obvious "keep taking pictures" advice).[/quote]
To me, there are three keys:
1. Light
2. Equipment/Film-Resolution
3. Practice ?
I believe light is most important (assuming outdoor, ambient light). Too many photographs look bland or uninteresting simply because it was taken in the wrong light (mainly during the middle of the day when the light is flat). 99% of the scenic photographs I took were taken either before 9:00am or after 4:00pm – particular right after the sunrise or just before the sunset. What this require, however, is flexibility in scheduling. Most people see a nice scene while they are driving along during the day and get out to take a photo. That’s cool if you want to show Aunt Ethel what you saw on your trip but it would not be a good photograph. What you do is spend the middle part of the day (9-4) scouting for places and angles (in relation to the sun) and come back before sunset or setup before sunrise the next morning. The only exception to this if you have diffused lighting during the day (like bright overcast). You can get good photographs of flowers under that light.
With proper equipment, you can get photographs that can be enlarged and still look good. I have seen way too many decent photographs (nice lighting, colors, etc.) taken with inferior equipment that end up looking like crap when enlarging it to something bigger than 5x7. The first rule is always, always, always use a tripod. That way you can go with tiny apertures (f/16 or smaller) and longer exposures. That really makes a big difference (assuming there’s no wind). Second would be the film or if digital, resolution. Most people shoot (or shot) with film rated ASA 200 or 400. It is impossible to enlarge those, even ASA 100 would be borderline. I always shot with ASA 50 on Fujicolor. I don’t know what the digital equivalent would be. The other part of the equipment is the lens. Most consumer lenses don’t take good pictures because the light/reflection coming in through the optics lacks clarity. The lens that I used for my 35mm photographs (like some of the ones you saw) cost $2000 retail. With this optics, film resolution and light, I was able to take 35mm slides that still look good when enlarged to 24x18. I think the same thing holds true for digital.
Practicing or “keep taking pictures” is good advice but for a different reason that you think. I read early on that the first 10-20,000 photos you take are throw-aways. I didn’t believe that but it ended up being very true. The reason is that if you take the time to examine the photo under loupe or high digital magnification, you will find flaws. You learn what all of the flaws could be through experience and then try to minimize them. That takes a lot of practice and a lot of very critical evaluation. (The best thing to do is to compare your photographs to any of the professionals in those coffee-table books shooting the same subject and learn how their photographs look so much better.) At the same time, though, take a broad look at your composition. You will come to learn about balance, symmetry, rule-of-thirds, complementary colors, tonal values, positioning, angles, etc. which become more important than how to take a photograph or what equipment to use.
[quote=terpkristin]As follow-on to DC's question, what camera(s) do you use on a regular basis?[/quote]
Sadly, I stopped taking photographs in 1998. Back then, I had couple of good Canon bodies with very nice lenses (20-80 zoom, 80-200 zoom, 50 macro, if I recall correctly) and for a couple of years, a 4x5 large format camera with a couple of lenses. I think it’s all digital now so if I were to duplicate what I did
back then, I would go with the finest resolution possible.
[b]POLITICAL[/b]
[quote=Ant]What events in your life caused your to steer your political affiliation as a libertarian?[/quote]
I’ve wondered that myself. I had always been an independent voter, never registering for a political party but more times than not, had sided with one of the two main parties when voting (for President, particularly). I have longed believed that the political problems in this country lies with Congress. You would feel the same if you grew up with the Congresses under McCormack, Tip O’Neill and Tom Foley with the Senatorial bulls of Kennedy, Byrd, et al. No wonder efforts like those of Sen. Proxmire turned into a quixotic quest. During that time, we were led to believe that certain Republican elements would counter the long-standing power and money grabs but as we have seen the past six years, that truly and emphatically was not the case. The years under those Speakers listed above prevented me from ever have voted for a Democratic congressperson and the past six have done likewise for the Republican side. The choice left is to vote on principle, either for a third-party candidate or for none of the above. Libertarian principles in the political world manifest themselves in the legislative branch, more so than the other branches and that’s where the political change has to take place.
Which leads to….
[quote=albionmoonlight]You are an observant and thoughtful Christian and a libertarian. In the current political climate, some would think of that as a contradiction (though I do not). Do you have any problems resolving those aspects of your personality?[/quote]
When it comes down to it, we give to Caesar what is his. The true libertarian principles apply to your own lives and those within your sphere of influence as well as your community. The actions, donations and sacrifices that you can do locally will make a greater difference in people’s lives. The more we can do of that and the more we can get others to do that, the more we will be able to meet the needs of others everywhere.
To change the subject a little, another view of this apparent dichotomy comes from the oft-stated motto “God, Country and Family”. There is no question that the freedoms we have in this country allow us to more easily provide for others. And the crux of nationalistic pride (in the many forms it takes) comes in preserving those freedoms. But what if it we didn’t have those freedoms or if those freedoms were significantly curtailed? Would we love God any less? Would we not love others as much? Our enormous wealth and freedoms give us not only the opportunity to provide to others but to be more materialistic, selfish and lazy. When we get to heaven, we would have to spend an eternity looking for our flag. What we can do here is to stop hiding behind a man-made flag and go in love to everyone, regardless where they are from.
[b]MISCELLANEOUS AND THE OLD MAN QUESTIONS[/b]
[quote=Bearcat729]So how you do see the final Harry Potter book playing out? Who lives or dies in your opinon. [/quote]
That’s a tough one. For some reasons, the author and publisher have marketed this series as children’s books, despite the overwhelming presence of evil, death and bad behaviors. However, in the end, the message has to be that good triumphs over evil and that the connection to loved ones would remain strong despite all of the crap going on. Wouldn’t this be the message JK (and any other parent) desires to pass along to their children? Harry loses a close friend in order for Harry to be saved, and Snape sacrifices himself in order for Harry to defeat Voldemort.
[quote=sabotai]Does your wife know about the crush you have on Zhang Ziyi?
[/quote]
It’s amazing to watch her perform. Such beauty and grace yet as tough as any action fighter (except for Chuck Norris of course). I don’t think she’s the “hottest” of all but in any case, my crush pales in comparison to my wife’s crush on Keith Urban.
[quote=stevew]What was it like growing up during the great depression? [/quote]
Believe it or not, it wasn’t much different than the previous decades or for a couple of decades afterwards. We lived in a productive rural area in New York State, growing a lot of our own food, supplemented by local grocers and farmer’s market. Never had much in the way of material possessions so we made do like we always had despite the shortages and rationings. [as told by my late-grandparents]
[quote=John Galt]Have you ever stormed out of your front door to tell neighborhood kids to get off your lawn?[/quote]
No, I just go to the front door and give them the snarling buccaneer look.
[quote=Pumpy Tudors]What were you doing when man first landed on the earth? [/quote]
Sleeping.
True story. From that moment on, whenever there was an Apollo mission, we would go out in the hallways at school and watch the lift-offs, moon landings, moon walks/drives or splashdowns on TV. I didn’t pay much attention to them, instead I would goof around with my friends or pick on the smaller kids. One time, my best friend and I were playing around when the teacher took us by the ears and dragged us back to class and then the rest of the class would file back quietly. I didn’t know what had happened or why the teacher got pissed at us. Only later did I find out that we were watching Apollo 13 as it happened live.
[quote=Ant]How did you feel when the washing machine was invented?[/quote]
A newlywed couple returned to their apartment after being on their honeymoon. “Care to go upstairs and do it?” the husband asked. “Shh!” said the bride “All the neighbors will know what we’re about to do. These walls are paper thin. In the future, we’ll have to ask each other in code. For example, how about asking, ‘Have you left the washing machine door open’ instead?”
So, the following night, the husband asks, “I don’t suppose you left the washing machine door open, did you?” “No, I definitely shut it,” replied the wife who rolled over and fell asleep. When she woke up however, she was feeling a little frisky herself and she nudged her husband and said, “I think I did leave the washing machine door open after all. Would you like to do some washing?” “No, thanks,” said the husband. “It was only a small load so I did it by hand.”
[quote=Ant]When the television was invented in your 20's, what was the first show that you watched?[/quote]
If you don’t tell my parents, I caught a burlesque show late one night on the Flapper Channel.
[quote=Ant]Where were you working at when the AFL and NFL merged?[/quote]
I was working very hard to find anything that had the new alignment on it with all of the logos and then I worked at re-drawing them. Never could get the Boston Patriots logo to look any good.
[quote=Pumpy Tudors]On that long-ass boat ride, did Christopher Columbus keep his spirits up, or did he ever lash out at you?[/quote]
He kind of kept to himself most of the time. The rest of us were too busy cleaning the scuppers and pulling splinters out of our hands and feet.
[quote=Pumpy Tudors]Were you ever a creative consultant for "The Flintstones"?[/quote]
Only in part. I made sure Betty was hot.
[quote=st.cronin]When I was in the service, my First Sergeant told me "Son, I have socks that are older than you." My question is, do you have socks that are older than me? (I'm 34.)[/quote]
No, I’ve seldom wore socks in the past 25 years. They never went well with loafers or Birks.
[quote=k0ruptr]What was it like filming Gone with the Wind?[/quote]
Excruciating. Vivian was too wound up and she smoked a lot. Clark had really bad breath. Leslie was a snob thinking he was a Duke or Earl of something. And Olivia wouldn’t let me kiss her.
[quote=Ant]What was the color of the zoot suit that you wore to the prom?
[/quote]
Didn’t go. I instead went to Grad Night at Disneyland wearing a dorky three-piece suit with shoulder-width lapels.
[quote=Ant]What did you name your first mode of transportation (which was a horse at the time)?[/quote]
A Preacher wanted to raise money for his church and, being told there were fortunes in race horses, he decided to purchase one and enter it in the races. However, at the local auction, the going price for horses was so steep he ended up buying a donkey instead. He figured that since he had it, he might as well go ahead and enter it in the races, and to his surprise the donkey came in third. The next day the racing sheets carried the headlines, "Preacher's Ass shows" The Preacher was so pleased with the donkey that he entered it in the races again and this time he won! The papers said, "Preacher's Ass out in Front" The Bishop was so upset with this kind of publicity that he ordered the Preacher not to enter the donkey in another race. The newspaper printed this headline, "Bishop Scratches Preacher's Ass" this was just too much for the Bishop and he ordered the Preacher to get rid of the animal. The Preacher decided to give it to a Nun in a nearby convent. The headlines the next day read, "Nun has the Best Ass in Town" The Bishop fainted. He informed the Nun that she would have to dispose of the donkey and she finally found a farmer who was willing to buy it for $10.00. The paper states, "Nun Peddles Ass for Ten Bucks" They buried the Bishop the next day.
[quote=SFL Cat]Have you had your mid-life crisis yet? If so, did you wind up with a trophy wife, a sports car, or a new version of your favorite text sim?
[/quote]
Not yet, as I mentioned before, I’m a late bloomer. I’ll probably have my mid-life crisis when I’m in my 50s. Hopefully I’ll be retired, living simply with my wife in some small-town in NH, away from evil temptations.
[quote=stevew]Why did you choose to reject King George I's offer of amnesty and continue with your pirate lifestyle?[/quote]
He would have put me on a ship where I would be cleaning the scuppers and pulling splinters out of my hands and feet, and knowing the Brits, my backside as well.
[quote=Bearcat729]Which city's pro team is doing more to damage the image of the pirate, Pittsburgh, Oakland or Tampa Bay?[/quote]
Ever seen Al Davis in one of his jumpsuits?
[quote=Raiders Army]Which commandment did you most despise when Moses came down?[/quote]
All of them. God had told us all of those things plus other things many times but because most of the people were too stupid to pay attention, He was forced to treat us like kindergartners and pin a message to our smocks.
[quote=Ant]Do you remember why the Mayan civilization vanished since you had a summer home in their village? And why did you stop working on the Mayan calendar?[/quote]
I really don’t know, when I arrived there for my summer vacation, there were horses pooping in my front yard and very smelly Spaniards pooping in their armor. I had to stop working on the calendar since I wanted to get into something else (figures), namely watching the Spaniards drop dead like boiled lobsters because they refused to take off their armor in that heat.
[quote=Ant]Since you were responsible for some of the hieroglyphics, was that just grafitti, simple doodles or is that some language you wanted to make up, like some sort of picture pig-latin?[/quote]
Actually, the pictographic hieroglyphics were the first comics. But the joke was on them because I gave their pathetic superheroes crappy powers like "talking to camels" and "extra-vulnerability". Besides, they worshipped a bunch of gods that looked like people, but with animal heads. Today, we're smart enough to see these creatures for what they are: team mascots. {I got nothing, these were lifted from a joke site.]
[quote=SFL Cat]If you could do one thing to each person who gives you a hard time about your age, what would that be?[/quote]
Answer their questions?
[quote=Schmidty]If you could strand 3 FOFCers on a deserted island in the Pacific Ocean, who would you pick?[/quote]
mrskippy, wignasty and HornsManiac. ?
[quote=CamEdwards]Was Eve as hot as some of the Renaissance painters made her out to be?[/quote]
No, they made her look like she knew how to use the Gillette Venus shaver. She didn’t.
[quote=HA]you are hiking in the woods and find $1,000 on the ground. you pick it up and feel happy about your good fortune. farther down the trail you see a group of guys littering, tossing their still-lit cigarette butts along the greenery and acting like assholes, and overhear one of them complain about the thousand dollars cash they dropped somewhere in the woods.
do you give the money back or keep it?[/quote]
Give the money back. I wouldn’t want to be squealing like a pig in the woods.
[quote=HA]have you ever dined on Rocky Mountain Oysters?[/quote]
Almost. A vendor at Coors Field served them but I tend to stay away from fried foods.
One day a man was visiting a small Mexican city. He walked into a restarant and was surrounded by a wonderful smell. He could hardly wait to try the local cuisine. He asked “What smells so good?” The waiter said “Once a week we have a bull fight around here. What you smell is Rocky Mountain Oysters from the bull. I am sorry sir, but you will have to wait until next week to get some because only one person can be served as there is but one bull in the fight.”
So the next week the man goes in and orders the Rocky Mountain Oysters. He is in luck because he got there and ordered them first. They were frying and he smelled the wonderful smell and could hardly wait. When they were brought out however, he was disappointed in the size of them. The ones he saw served the last week had been bigger. He ate them and before leaving he commented that they had been small. “Well I am sorry Señor, but sometimes the bull he wins!”
[quote=HA]you are fighting in a war during the Middle Ages. what is your weapon of choice? would it be a mace? a longbow? perhaps mounted on a mighty steed and charging downfield with a lance in your hand?[/quote]
A Wave of Death rune, otherwise it would be way too sickening to try to yank a sword or lance out of a gorged body. Besides, if I were to use a Wave of Fire rune, I would have to watch my enemies burn to death – not a good sight to see. With a Wave of Death, one shot and then I could go home and dine on
coarse gruel and unfiltered mead.
[quote=DaddyTorgo]Did God actually rest on the 7th day? And if so, what did that rest consist of? A tasty apple?[/quote]
No, He spent the whole day filling out environmental impact assessment forms. Apparently the head of the universal govt agency took exception to the volcanoes and wanted them permitted.
[quote=Fonzie]What is sex like?[/quote]
A husband comes home to find his wife with her suitcases packed in the living room. "Where the hell do you think you're going?" he says. "I'm going to Las Vegas. You can earn $400 for a blow job there, and I figured that I might as well earn money for what I do to you free." The husband thinks for a moment, goes upstairs, and comes back down, with his suitcase packed as well. "Where do you think you going?" the wife asks. "I'm coming with you...I want to see how you survive on $800 a year!!!"
[quote=Fonzie]So...cleric or paladin? BTW, for the latter you need to be lawful good. Does that affect your decision?[/quote]
Yes.
[quote=Fonzie]Can I have all of your stuff?[/quote]
A guy is driving out in the middle of nowhere, very lost. Finally he spots 2 houses so he goes up to the first house and looks in the door way. He sees an old lady yanking on her boobs and an old man jerking off. He is so freaked out that he goes to the next house and says "What's up with your neighbors?" and the owner of the house says "Oh that’s the Robinson’s, they're both deaf. She's telling him to go milk the cow and he's telling her to go fuck herself!"
Sorry, I know that didn’t answer your question, but I thought I would throw that in there somewhere.
Ok, time for one more question…
[quote=klayman]You find yourself stranded on a deserted island. Upon exploring the island you find a working computer that is only capable of playing an advanced copy of Sid Meier's Pirates! 3 and Emma Watson. Do you disassemble the computer in hopes of building a device that will help you and Emma get rescued, or do you live the rest of your life a happy man?[/quote]
Emma and I will spend the next two years playing an advanced copy of Gothic 4 (or completing Gothic 3, whichever comes first) until she is, ahem, of age. Then we will go off and find the nearest bank.
Walsh?
By choosing one as an offensive coordinator, that makes it an interesting twist than if I had to choose one as a head coach. Since I recall these two teams (the early 80s Chargers and the 80s 49ers Dynasty) fairly well, the choice comes down to which offensive philosophy was better (everything else, esp. personnel, being equal). There was no doubt that these two offensives were prolific and successful. To me, it comes down to time of possession and scoring percentages. I can’t find the numbers but I recall the 1984 49ers (for example) dominating time of possession, having one of the best passing and rushing offenses in the league. The 1981 Chargers (for example) were certainly a heavy passing team but only mediocre in running. But the interesting thing is that despite Walsh’s team being more balanced, they still put up similar Coryell-like numbers (4000+ yds passing and 30+ passing TDs). Plus Walsh’s offense relies more on reading defenses, checking off receivers and play-action (attributes I value highly) over timing patterns and forcing the ball into the receivers. So, I would rather have Walsh, by a long-shot.
PERSONAL
Just how old ARE you that everybody's making fun of how old you are?
I’ll be 47 this month. That makes me about 15 years older than the average FOFCer. But I share a lot of the same interests as most here which really makes any age gap irrelevant. The only difference is that perhaps I have had more time to do different things in my life, as well as can recall events that happenedwhen most here were really young or before they were born. But most folks here talk about the 1980s a lot and that's probably what I can relate to the most because frankly, I wasn’t into much growing up in the 60s and 70s except watching a lot of TV and reading/following sports teams/leagues.
Why did you choose the name, Buccaneer?
My favorite PC game before I started playing CivII in the late 90s was Pirates! Gold. I came across a very active forum of pirate gamers and while it was centered on Cutthroats (which I didn’t play), there were plenty of talk about Pirates! and piratical history. I wasn’t Buccaneer then but when I signed onto the Sideline in 2000 (and consequently other forums), I chose Buccaneer since that’s where I came from.
If yo were a real Buccaneer what would your name be?
Jumpin' Hidalgo Dagger (http://gangstaname.com/pirate_name.php)
What made you move from California to Colorado?
My family (mom, dad, my brothers and I) moved to California before my Jr year in HS in 1976. I then spent the rest of my HS years as well as my 5 years at SDSU living at the end of the California Dream period and after a few years, I really got into the beach scene. I had not been to Colorado until a family vacation to Durango in 1983 and then spending a glorious week in Boulder. I fell in love with the state and though I went off to grad school at Carolina in 1984, I always tried to go to Colorado (for Winter Break, Spring Break and such). After grad school when I became a consultant, one of our major clients was the company I work for now and they knew how much I loved coming to Colorado (I would spend weekends here before going back home to Kentucky) and asked if I would be interested in coming to work here. Except for several trips to Hawai’i, I came to believe that life is a mountain, not a beach.
You've been in a couple very different careers if I recall correctly. Software testing, cartography and maybe more I don't remember. What jobs have you had, and what prompted the career move when you switched professions?
Believe it or not, I have had the same career for over 25 years – it’s just the nature of the job had changed. My career has been in automated cartography or what became known as geographic information system (GIS). When I went to college (both undergrad and grad school), I primarily studied geography with an emphasis in cartography. Back then, automated cartography was fairly primitive (my favorite story to tell my colleagues was making my first computer map using punch cards) but like with all information systems, it evolved. After a couple of years of being a consultant, I landed here 18 yrs ago to build one of the first distributed GIS in the country. This job has taken me from being a Unix System/Network and Database Admin to a custom map maker to a mapping programmer and now with GIS fully integrated among other information systems, a full-fledge IT analyst and applications programmer/tester. I really prefer the creativity of making maps but they tell me I have way too much experience (as well as being too expensive) to be doing that so they get me doing more important things – like coming up with an enterprise-wise software development metric and testing standard. w00t.
You strike me as a bit of an independent spirit. How does fatherhood/family life fit into that?
It was a good thing I was a late bloomer and married when I was 36. From the time I was about 22 to 35, I certainly had a great deal of fun and freedom – able to travel a lot, pursue many of my interests and did a lot of interesting things. I could not have imagined being married and esp. having a child during those years so when it was time to settle down, I could look back on about 15 years of true independence – which was more than most people can say.
As far as my domesticated life the past 10 years, I have a 150 sq foot room/office (plus a 84 sq ft walk in closet) on the lower level that is all my own. There I have my bookcases, my card displays, my music, my photographs, a sofa and of course, my computer system. While I don’t travel as much as I used to, I do have my space.
What's your favorite meal? Books? Movies/TV Shows?
Meal: Colorado Lamb Medallions (or Rack of Lamb) with Wild Blueberry Sauce, Baked Potato, Sautéed Green Beans and Chocolate Ice Cream. If I want to eat more healthy, I would choose a grilled King Salmon.
Books: Historical Non-Fiction and Fiction, Geographical/Regional Studies, Baseball History, Everest Expeditions and Military History.
In general, do you think people misperceive who you believe you are or do you think that they have your personality pegged?
Yes, I do believe they have me pegged fairly accurately. I don’t believe in role-playing so I try to present myself as honestly as I can, both good and bad. There is, however, one major difference: I can read and write very well online whereas in real-life, I cannot hear or speak well at all.
GAMES AND SPORTS
What is your favorite version of Civilization? Why is this version your favorite?
That is not an easy question to answer right now. The choices are, for me, CivII MGE and CivIV plus Warlords. There is no doubt that the main game of CivIV, vanilla or Warlords, is far, far superior to the main game of CivII – in its breadth and depth but still keeping the simple and addictive to gameplay philosophy. However, you know how much I loved playing the CivII scenarios. I probably played more scenarios than the main game with CivII. The simple yet effective combination of the rules.txt and events.txt files (plus the highly and easily customizability of the various .gif files) produced very immersive and clever scenarios. The ones that came with MGE were fun and varied but then some of the later custom ones were brilliant. With CivIV, it is apparently not easy to design good scenarios, having to invest the time into Python scripting, 3D animations and if you want to do it right, programming in the SDK. I have not played the Warlords scenarios yet but if I wasn’t so engrossed into playing the CivIV Warlords main game, I would actually load up and play some of the new (yes, new) CivII scenarios.
Is your love of text-sims a result of growing up sitting around the radio trying to imagine what's going on?
I know this was an Old Man question but I’ll answer it here since it does have some truth to it. When I was a child getting into sports and learning about the leagues (around the time of the NFL merger and MLB re-alignment), I played countless hours of games I would make up using deck of cards and other gaming devices. I would, as I still do, keep volumes of logs and watch the teams/leagues unfold through the seasons I would create. There weren’t many games on TV, no internet and I would get Sporting News every so often. I had to visualize what was happening and as long as I could “see” that with the games I would play, I would have fun. No different than today.
Will you ever play in another OOTP online league?
No, I prefer the pace of SP.
Seriously, I recall a really interesting post a few years ago from Bucc regarding interest in text sims stemming from tracing leagues--not from a statistical or league performance standpoint, but rather from following the leagues organizationally. Care to talk a little about what drew you in to text simming and what you look for from games?
I am stunned that not only would you remember that post but also to recall the point correctly. What I look for in non-action games applies to text sims and non-text sims equally: to interact with the AI in such a way to see the consequences of short-term and long-term decision-making of a career. Specifically regarding text sims, my interest in real-life and in the gaming world has always been from a more macro view. I can sit here and tell you the history of baseball and the history of football (at least since 1970) – the ebb and flow of teams, dynasties and esp. franchise movements, logo changes and league re-alignments as well as playoff models. I cannot tell you any specific stats of a team or a player (except for the famous ones) – I just don’t care for that level of detail. That is no different than my interest in history. I can tell you nearly everything that went on during the American Civil War – the what, why and where – from the causes to the war itself and the consequences/changes resulting from it. But I cannot tell you anything about the 141st N.Y. Infantry nor can I tell you regimental positions in any battle (without looking it up). Another example would be baseball cards, which I have avidly collected off and on for 37 years. As a kid and as an adult, I would study the card designs (I can instantly tell you the year and make of any national-issued cards from 1948-1990) and as I look at the backs, I would be much more interested in the bio of the players and what teams he had played for (esp. the early minor years) but I wouldn’t care for the stats (as most kids had wanted to memorize).
Here’s why. As you can tell from the questions posed and the answers given, I have always been and will always be a “jack-of-all-trades, master of none”. That does not mean, however, that I am incapable of going hard-core on any subject matter or with any game. Even as I know what it took to do so, I have always chosen not to sacrifice my interest in other subjects or games to devote the time needed to become a master. (Just take a look at some of the hard-core Civers at Apolyton – trying to analyze and dissect every single detail of combat (for example). It is great that they can get into a game at that level but for me, I think it would lead to burn-out or not enjoying playing the game for what it is.) In other words, I have too many things that I am interested in and want to learn about.
So coming back to the question, I look for an equilibrium in games that will allow me to get what I want out of it without making that game an obsession that will take time away from other games and other interests. For sports text sims, I look to building a long-term career that I can look back through my logs and reflect on what had happened in the same way I read about the history of baseball or college basketball or football but in a way that I can manage the success of each season through GM-micromanaging and not coach-micromanaging.
Kind of a long-winded answer, sorry, but I felt this was a good place to throw in a few things.
How did you discover the Gothic series?
I was in a private forum of game reviewers and one of the games that was discussed was Gothic 1. I never had any interest in fantasy or D&D games or in CRPG and when I learned that Gothic was an action/adventure RPG with mostly human interactions (as oppose to aliens and weird characters), I got interested in trying it out because I had always loved playing adventure games (King’s Quest, Indiana Jones, Full Throttle, etc.). I was hooked right away for it had a good historical medieval feel with a compelling storyline.
When did you first play FOF? What drew you to text-based football and did you have a fondness for simulating football before FOF?
Right after Christmas of 1999, I bought Football Mogul. That was my first sports non-graphical game and what I remembered from that was how much fun I had trading, drafting and getting free agents. The game was kind of stupid (e.g., can add cash to make trades) so it didn’t last long. The summer of 2000 got me wanting to play that again but then I vaguely remembered reading a review in CGW about FOF. A search on the internet brought me to the Sideline and there I found I could purchase FOF2. What attracted me to these game was the off-season stuff (plus in-season trades). I played some football games on the Mac/PC during the 1990s, mostly Tom Landry Strategy Football and NCAA 99 but not FPS or anything manual (it’s hard to simulate football seasons/careers as oppose to games). I think it goes back to all of those years of trading, buying and selling sports cards and that’s what I get but of playing these games as well: transactional management as oppose to game management.
Okay, how do you really feel about Michael Vick?
Mercurial.
Tom Brady - the greatest football player of all time, or merely an inner-circle hall of famer?
Inner-circle once he gets his 5th ring.
How much pain was it to see the football franchise by your design win the league championship, yet not being the GM of that team?
It doesn’t bother me in the least. I enjoy reading and following along but glad I don’t have to go through the work to play.
Norm Rizzo or Nicky Lincoln?
Rizzo, without a doubt. He knew how to win games whereas Lincoln hasn’t figured that out yet. In the first 3 seasons before his arm fell off, Rizzo went 31-13 including 4-2 in the playoffs. Overall, he still won more games than he lost. I don’t thing Lincoln is much over .333. Also, in 57 games, Rizzo has won PotG 30 times. In 76 games, Lincoln has won it only 15 times. (Had to look all of these up.)
Does your libertarian beliefs affect your feelings about things like salary caps or is the world of sports different enough that you think there needs to be a different approach?
The world of sports certainly has its own governance, part dictatorship, part communist and part feudalistic. It what makes those businesses or confederacy of businesses work. From a consumer point of view, it is truly market-driven – we can accept or reject their product and if enough consumers reject a franchise, then it would be forced to go somewhere else or fold up. The federal govt. has no involvement in this even if they feel they should do *something*. [soapbox rant] On the other hand, I am appalled at how college football has become what it has, that’s not the purpose of colleges and universities. There should be a formalized minor league system of the NFL for college-age players (beyond Europe and Arena), just like in baseball, instead of the hypocritical games the athletes/AD/coaches have to play. Since most colleges are funded by the state and the federal govts., a reform like this would be tricky but they have built some of these programs up to where they think the only purpose of the university is for the football program. [/end soapbox rant]
[quote=albionmoonlight]Will there ever be another "golden age" of baseball (or any other professional sport), or is that just impossible in the ESPN era of overanalysis, hype, and sizzle over steak?[/quote]
No, it will only get worse as 25000-channels become the norm and 1026 of them will be 24/7 Sports Channels - one for each team plus the same number of channels covering what everyone else had shown. These, however, do not include the 24/7 Cam Channels that will allow us to follow the lives of every player just as we can watch live traffic and weather cams now. It wouldn’t matter that it would cost $19.95 per minute to watch and are filled with commercials 80% of the time, enough people will pay to make most of them profitable. If one becomes unprofitable, the team or university will literally cease to exist.
[quote=Ant]Excluding sports, what is your favorite genre when comes to gaming?[/quote]
Historical-based strategy, adventure and action games.
[b]HISTORICAL[/b]
[quote=JPhillips]What do you see as the turning point in the Civil War?[/quote]
There wasn’t one. Really. People like to know the one event that turned the war towards the victor but that’s too simplistic because like everything else, there were many turning points. Gettysburg was [u]a[/u] turning point, so was Antietam, Fort Donelson and a host of others. Civil War historians love to get cute and list the turning point as anything from Sumter to Appomatox (you think?) and anything in between, plus those picking a turning point as far back as the Constitutional Congress or the developments of the Plymouth and Jamestown plantations!
But to answer in the spirit of the question, I believe the turning point was not related to a battle or campaign. In all of the wars throughout history including today, it comes down to the will of the leaders to prosecute the war. In part, it is related to the will of the people wanting to fight but only in a small part because despite how unpopular a war can be, the leaders can overcome that in several different ways. In the American Civil War, it came down to the Union deciding to do what it would take to actual win the war with the Confederacy decisively defeated (despite loud calls to negotiate a peace).
It seems like the first three years of the war, the Union was hoping for a minor victory – just enough to end the rebellion and bring the country back together again. Lee and Davis, in their limitations, fought like it was a Napoleonic War and hoped for the one decisive victory (which never would have happened anyways) until they were forced to go on the defensive. The difference in turning the strategy towards a Union decisive victory was Grant taking command in the East. But it was more than just taking command of the Army of the Potomac. He saw all of the theatres as one and knew the Confederates had to be decisively defeated in the West as well as the East. It was almost as if a heavily favored football team played a close game for three quarters until they put their regulars in and scored three TDs in the fourth quarter to win.
[quote=JPhillips]What do you think was the primary cause of the Civil War and where do you stand on the "Lost Cause" version of Southern history?[/quote]
The primary cause was without a doubt, slavery. All one has to do is to study the debates in Congress for the 40 years leading up to the Civil War. Nearly every single issue that came up, whether western expansion, trade and tariffs, and monetary policies centered around the divisiveness between the Southern and Northern caucuses with slavery at the heart. A primary cause does not mean the only cause, however.
Regarding the “Lost Cause”, I truly believe that is one of the more embarrassing episode of American history and literature. The reason it came about was truly devious and purposefully deceptive and that it continues today to some extent is on par with some of the most notorious national propagandas of history. The early warriors of the Lost Cause movement (Wade Hampton and esp. Jubal Early) stated that their mission was to slander and deceive in order to protect and elevate Lee and to keep the notion of a Southern nation alive. They were able to wrap their mission in a cloak of Southern pride and the noble goal of duty and honor in order to sell it to the public. That many learned historians and authors fell for this deception, from Douglass Freeman to Margaret Mitchell to the folksy fiction of Shelby Foote, is shameful. Sorry to be so strident in my response. I recommend reading the insightful book, “The Myth of the Lost Cause and Civil War History”, a collection of essays edited by Gary Gallagher, professor of history at Univ. of Virginia.
[quote=WSUCougar]What moment in history would you like to be present for, particularly to photograph it?[/quote]
That’s a hard question. Most of the significant events in history would require a photojournalistic sense, which would be hard for me to do. In choosing one photograph that would convey a thousand words, I would like to have caught the surrender at Yorktown, particularly the embarrassed look on Cornwallis’ face as he tried to hand over his sword with the band allegedly playing World Turned Upside Down.
[quote=WSUCougar]What moment in history would you like to be present for, as a participant?[/quote]
A moment in history? It definitely would not be a battle since all of them would be a god-awful bloody and smelly mess. I had thought about the arrival of settlers in a new land (like the Mayflower pilgrims or the first wagon train to Oregon) but I would have witnessed sad, tired, emancipated, sickly groups of people. To chose one, I think it would have been cool to have been there on July 2, 1776 when the final vote was called and the declaration finally passed even though it would have been stifling hot and humid with an overpowering stench. On a more personal level, I would also chose to have been there when Jesus showed up to his mother and her friends after his resurrection.
[quote=DaddyTorgo]who is your favorite historical buccaneer and why?[/quote]
Sir Francis Drake. What he did was like someone taking the Space Shuttle, flying it to the Space Station, stealing all of their supplies, heading off to Mars, digging up tons of valuable minerals and then come back to Earth only to meet an IRS agent with a capital gains tax form.
[quote=Schmidty]If you could have 3 people from anywhere in history over to dinner, who would they be?
[quote=Surtt]And what would you serve?[/quote]
[/quote]
Mario Batali, Emeril Lagasse and Jacques Torres. I would rather eat during dinner than talk and I know whatever they would prepare, it would be great. Sort of like a Big Night.
[quote=Senator]Who would you like to see the run the country?[/quote]
We, the People (provided we learn first).
[quote=Surtt]Have you read Steinbeck's Cup of Gold: A Life of Sir Henry Morgan, Buccaneer, with Occasional Reference to History? If so, what do you think of the premise that you must remain a child at heart to accomplish great things?[/quote]
No, I haven’t.
[quote=sabotai]Other than the Civil War, what is your favorite period of history to read? And if the answer is another period of American history, what is your favorite non-American historical period to read about?[/quote]
My favorite non-American historical period is probably Ancient Egypt. They weren’t the inventors of some of the early techs but they certainly brought them all together to build a glorious civilization. Probably why the game Pharaoh is my second favorite of all time since it really brings each of the pharaonic dynasties to life.
A close second would be the history of technology or technological changes. To me, there is nothing more fascinating than the tech tree and the connection of technological advances through the centuries and millenniums.
[b]PHOTOGRAPHY[/b]
[quote=Ant]Since I recently learned about your passion for photography, I want to know what is the best way to take night shots without a lot of setup time?[/quote]
Depends what you want to photograph. If there is enough ambient light and no wind/breeze, then a long exposure would work. If not, then you would have to create your own light source (similar to photographing a dark interior). I have no experience in this, just remembering what I have read in the magazines.
[quote=Dodgerchick]Bucc, what advice you can give a novice photographer on how to take better pictures (besides the very obvious "keep taking pictures" advice).[/quote]
To me, there are three keys:
1. Light
2. Equipment/Film-Resolution
3. Practice ?
I believe light is most important (assuming outdoor, ambient light). Too many photographs look bland or uninteresting simply because it was taken in the wrong light (mainly during the middle of the day when the light is flat). 99% of the scenic photographs I took were taken either before 9:00am or after 4:00pm – particular right after the sunrise or just before the sunset. What this require, however, is flexibility in scheduling. Most people see a nice scene while they are driving along during the day and get out to take a photo. That’s cool if you want to show Aunt Ethel what you saw on your trip but it would not be a good photograph. What you do is spend the middle part of the day (9-4) scouting for places and angles (in relation to the sun) and come back before sunset or setup before sunrise the next morning. The only exception to this if you have diffused lighting during the day (like bright overcast). You can get good photographs of flowers under that light.
With proper equipment, you can get photographs that can be enlarged and still look good. I have seen way too many decent photographs (nice lighting, colors, etc.) taken with inferior equipment that end up looking like crap when enlarging it to something bigger than 5x7. The first rule is always, always, always use a tripod. That way you can go with tiny apertures (f/16 or smaller) and longer exposures. That really makes a big difference (assuming there’s no wind). Second would be the film or if digital, resolution. Most people shoot (or shot) with film rated ASA 200 or 400. It is impossible to enlarge those, even ASA 100 would be borderline. I always shot with ASA 50 on Fujicolor. I don’t know what the digital equivalent would be. The other part of the equipment is the lens. Most consumer lenses don’t take good pictures because the light/reflection coming in through the optics lacks clarity. The lens that I used for my 35mm photographs (like some of the ones you saw) cost $2000 retail. With this optics, film resolution and light, I was able to take 35mm slides that still look good when enlarged to 24x18. I think the same thing holds true for digital.
Practicing or “keep taking pictures” is good advice but for a different reason that you think. I read early on that the first 10-20,000 photos you take are throw-aways. I didn’t believe that but it ended up being very true. The reason is that if you take the time to examine the photo under loupe or high digital magnification, you will find flaws. You learn what all of the flaws could be through experience and then try to minimize them. That takes a lot of practice and a lot of very critical evaluation. (The best thing to do is to compare your photographs to any of the professionals in those coffee-table books shooting the same subject and learn how their photographs look so much better.) At the same time, though, take a broad look at your composition. You will come to learn about balance, symmetry, rule-of-thirds, complementary colors, tonal values, positioning, angles, etc. which become more important than how to take a photograph or what equipment to use.
[quote=terpkristin]As follow-on to DC's question, what camera(s) do you use on a regular basis?[/quote]
Sadly, I stopped taking photographs in 1998. Back then, I had couple of good Canon bodies with very nice lenses (20-80 zoom, 80-200 zoom, 50 macro, if I recall correctly) and for a couple of years, a 4x5 large format camera with a couple of lenses. I think it’s all digital now so if I were to duplicate what I did
back then, I would go with the finest resolution possible.
[b]POLITICAL[/b]
[quote=Ant]What events in your life caused your to steer your political affiliation as a libertarian?[/quote]
I’ve wondered that myself. I had always been an independent voter, never registering for a political party but more times than not, had sided with one of the two main parties when voting (for President, particularly). I have longed believed that the political problems in this country lies with Congress. You would feel the same if you grew up with the Congresses under McCormack, Tip O’Neill and Tom Foley with the Senatorial bulls of Kennedy, Byrd, et al. No wonder efforts like those of Sen. Proxmire turned into a quixotic quest. During that time, we were led to believe that certain Republican elements would counter the long-standing power and money grabs but as we have seen the past six years, that truly and emphatically was not the case. The years under those Speakers listed above prevented me from ever have voted for a Democratic congressperson and the past six have done likewise for the Republican side. The choice left is to vote on principle, either for a third-party candidate or for none of the above. Libertarian principles in the political world manifest themselves in the legislative branch, more so than the other branches and that’s where the political change has to take place.
Which leads to….
[quote=albionmoonlight]You are an observant and thoughtful Christian and a libertarian. In the current political climate, some would think of that as a contradiction (though I do not). Do you have any problems resolving those aspects of your personality?[/quote]
When it comes down to it, we give to Caesar what is his. The true libertarian principles apply to your own lives and those within your sphere of influence as well as your community. The actions, donations and sacrifices that you can do locally will make a greater difference in people’s lives. The more we can do of that and the more we can get others to do that, the more we will be able to meet the needs of others everywhere.
To change the subject a little, another view of this apparent dichotomy comes from the oft-stated motto “God, Country and Family”. There is no question that the freedoms we have in this country allow us to more easily provide for others. And the crux of nationalistic pride (in the many forms it takes) comes in preserving those freedoms. But what if it we didn’t have those freedoms or if those freedoms were significantly curtailed? Would we love God any less? Would we not love others as much? Our enormous wealth and freedoms give us not only the opportunity to provide to others but to be more materialistic, selfish and lazy. When we get to heaven, we would have to spend an eternity looking for our flag. What we can do here is to stop hiding behind a man-made flag and go in love to everyone, regardless where they are from.
[b]MISCELLANEOUS AND THE OLD MAN QUESTIONS[/b]
[quote=Bearcat729]So how you do see the final Harry Potter book playing out? Who lives or dies in your opinon. [/quote]
That’s a tough one. For some reasons, the author and publisher have marketed this series as children’s books, despite the overwhelming presence of evil, death and bad behaviors. However, in the end, the message has to be that good triumphs over evil and that the connection to loved ones would remain strong despite all of the crap going on. Wouldn’t this be the message JK (and any other parent) desires to pass along to their children? Harry loses a close friend in order for Harry to be saved, and Snape sacrifices himself in order for Harry to defeat Voldemort.
[quote=sabotai]Does your wife know about the crush you have on Zhang Ziyi?
[/quote]
It’s amazing to watch her perform. Such beauty and grace yet as tough as any action fighter (except for Chuck Norris of course). I don’t think she’s the “hottest” of all but in any case, my crush pales in comparison to my wife’s crush on Keith Urban.
[quote=stevew]What was it like growing up during the great depression? [/quote]
Believe it or not, it wasn’t much different than the previous decades or for a couple of decades afterwards. We lived in a productive rural area in New York State, growing a lot of our own food, supplemented by local grocers and farmer’s market. Never had much in the way of material possessions so we made do like we always had despite the shortages and rationings. [as told by my late-grandparents]
[quote=John Galt]Have you ever stormed out of your front door to tell neighborhood kids to get off your lawn?[/quote]
No, I just go to the front door and give them the snarling buccaneer look.
[quote=Pumpy Tudors]What were you doing when man first landed on the earth? [/quote]
Sleeping.
True story. From that moment on, whenever there was an Apollo mission, we would go out in the hallways at school and watch the lift-offs, moon landings, moon walks/drives or splashdowns on TV. I didn’t pay much attention to them, instead I would goof around with my friends or pick on the smaller kids. One time, my best friend and I were playing around when the teacher took us by the ears and dragged us back to class and then the rest of the class would file back quietly. I didn’t know what had happened or why the teacher got pissed at us. Only later did I find out that we were watching Apollo 13 as it happened live.
[quote=Ant]How did you feel when the washing machine was invented?[/quote]
A newlywed couple returned to their apartment after being on their honeymoon. “Care to go upstairs and do it?” the husband asked. “Shh!” said the bride “All the neighbors will know what we’re about to do. These walls are paper thin. In the future, we’ll have to ask each other in code. For example, how about asking, ‘Have you left the washing machine door open’ instead?”
So, the following night, the husband asks, “I don’t suppose you left the washing machine door open, did you?” “No, I definitely shut it,” replied the wife who rolled over and fell asleep. When she woke up however, she was feeling a little frisky herself and she nudged her husband and said, “I think I did leave the washing machine door open after all. Would you like to do some washing?” “No, thanks,” said the husband. “It was only a small load so I did it by hand.”
[quote=Ant]When the television was invented in your 20's, what was the first show that you watched?[/quote]
If you don’t tell my parents, I caught a burlesque show late one night on the Flapper Channel.
[quote=Ant]Where were you working at when the AFL and NFL merged?[/quote]
I was working very hard to find anything that had the new alignment on it with all of the logos and then I worked at re-drawing them. Never could get the Boston Patriots logo to look any good.
[quote=Pumpy Tudors]On that long-ass boat ride, did Christopher Columbus keep his spirits up, or did he ever lash out at you?[/quote]
He kind of kept to himself most of the time. The rest of us were too busy cleaning the scuppers and pulling splinters out of our hands and feet.
[quote=Pumpy Tudors]Were you ever a creative consultant for "The Flintstones"?[/quote]
Only in part. I made sure Betty was hot.
[quote=st.cronin]When I was in the service, my First Sergeant told me "Son, I have socks that are older than you." My question is, do you have socks that are older than me? (I'm 34.)[/quote]
No, I’ve seldom wore socks in the past 25 years. They never went well with loafers or Birks.
[quote=k0ruptr]What was it like filming Gone with the Wind?[/quote]
Excruciating. Vivian was too wound up and she smoked a lot. Clark had really bad breath. Leslie was a snob thinking he was a Duke or Earl of something. And Olivia wouldn’t let me kiss her.
[quote=Ant]What was the color of the zoot suit that you wore to the prom?
[/quote]
Didn’t go. I instead went to Grad Night at Disneyland wearing a dorky three-piece suit with shoulder-width lapels.
[quote=Ant]What did you name your first mode of transportation (which was a horse at the time)?[/quote]
A Preacher wanted to raise money for his church and, being told there were fortunes in race horses, he decided to purchase one and enter it in the races. However, at the local auction, the going price for horses was so steep he ended up buying a donkey instead. He figured that since he had it, he might as well go ahead and enter it in the races, and to his surprise the donkey came in third. The next day the racing sheets carried the headlines, "Preacher's Ass shows" The Preacher was so pleased with the donkey that he entered it in the races again and this time he won! The papers said, "Preacher's Ass out in Front" The Bishop was so upset with this kind of publicity that he ordered the Preacher not to enter the donkey in another race. The newspaper printed this headline, "Bishop Scratches Preacher's Ass" this was just too much for the Bishop and he ordered the Preacher to get rid of the animal. The Preacher decided to give it to a Nun in a nearby convent. The headlines the next day read, "Nun has the Best Ass in Town" The Bishop fainted. He informed the Nun that she would have to dispose of the donkey and she finally found a farmer who was willing to buy it for $10.00. The paper states, "Nun Peddles Ass for Ten Bucks" They buried the Bishop the next day.
[quote=SFL Cat]Have you had your mid-life crisis yet? If so, did you wind up with a trophy wife, a sports car, or a new version of your favorite text sim?
[/quote]
Not yet, as I mentioned before, I’m a late bloomer. I’ll probably have my mid-life crisis when I’m in my 50s. Hopefully I’ll be retired, living simply with my wife in some small-town in NH, away from evil temptations.
[quote=stevew]Why did you choose to reject King George I's offer of amnesty and continue with your pirate lifestyle?[/quote]
He would have put me on a ship where I would be cleaning the scuppers and pulling splinters out of my hands and feet, and knowing the Brits, my backside as well.
[quote=Bearcat729]Which city's pro team is doing more to damage the image of the pirate, Pittsburgh, Oakland or Tampa Bay?[/quote]
Ever seen Al Davis in one of his jumpsuits?
[quote=Raiders Army]Which commandment did you most despise when Moses came down?[/quote]
All of them. God had told us all of those things plus other things many times but because most of the people were too stupid to pay attention, He was forced to treat us like kindergartners and pin a message to our smocks.
[quote=Ant]Do you remember why the Mayan civilization vanished since you had a summer home in their village? And why did you stop working on the Mayan calendar?[/quote]
I really don’t know, when I arrived there for my summer vacation, there were horses pooping in my front yard and very smelly Spaniards pooping in their armor. I had to stop working on the calendar since I wanted to get into something else (figures), namely watching the Spaniards drop dead like boiled lobsters because they refused to take off their armor in that heat.
[quote=Ant]Since you were responsible for some of the hieroglyphics, was that just grafitti, simple doodles or is that some language you wanted to make up, like some sort of picture pig-latin?[/quote]
Actually, the pictographic hieroglyphics were the first comics. But the joke was on them because I gave their pathetic superheroes crappy powers like "talking to camels" and "extra-vulnerability". Besides, they worshipped a bunch of gods that looked like people, but with animal heads. Today, we're smart enough to see these creatures for what they are: team mascots. {I got nothing, these were lifted from a joke site.]
[quote=SFL Cat]If you could do one thing to each person who gives you a hard time about your age, what would that be?[/quote]
Answer their questions?
[quote=Schmidty]If you could strand 3 FOFCers on a deserted island in the Pacific Ocean, who would you pick?[/quote]
mrskippy, wignasty and HornsManiac. ?
[quote=CamEdwards]Was Eve as hot as some of the Renaissance painters made her out to be?[/quote]
No, they made her look like she knew how to use the Gillette Venus shaver. She didn’t.
[quote=HA]you are hiking in the woods and find $1,000 on the ground. you pick it up and feel happy about your good fortune. farther down the trail you see a group of guys littering, tossing their still-lit cigarette butts along the greenery and acting like assholes, and overhear one of them complain about the thousand dollars cash they dropped somewhere in the woods.
do you give the money back or keep it?[/quote]
Give the money back. I wouldn’t want to be squealing like a pig in the woods.
[quote=HA]have you ever dined on Rocky Mountain Oysters?[/quote]
Almost. A vendor at Coors Field served them but I tend to stay away from fried foods.
One day a man was visiting a small Mexican city. He walked into a restarant and was surrounded by a wonderful smell. He could hardly wait to try the local cuisine. He asked “What smells so good?” The waiter said “Once a week we have a bull fight around here. What you smell is Rocky Mountain Oysters from the bull. I am sorry sir, but you will have to wait until next week to get some because only one person can be served as there is but one bull in the fight.”
So the next week the man goes in and orders the Rocky Mountain Oysters. He is in luck because he got there and ordered them first. They were frying and he smelled the wonderful smell and could hardly wait. When they were brought out however, he was disappointed in the size of them. The ones he saw served the last week had been bigger. He ate them and before leaving he commented that they had been small. “Well I am sorry Señor, but sometimes the bull he wins!”
[quote=HA]you are fighting in a war during the Middle Ages. what is your weapon of choice? would it be a mace? a longbow? perhaps mounted on a mighty steed and charging downfield with a lance in your hand?[/quote]
A Wave of Death rune, otherwise it would be way too sickening to try to yank a sword or lance out of a gorged body. Besides, if I were to use a Wave of Fire rune, I would have to watch my enemies burn to death – not a good sight to see. With a Wave of Death, one shot and then I could go home and dine on
coarse gruel and unfiltered mead.
[quote=DaddyTorgo]Did God actually rest on the 7th day? And if so, what did that rest consist of? A tasty apple?[/quote]
No, He spent the whole day filling out environmental impact assessment forms. Apparently the head of the universal govt agency took exception to the volcanoes and wanted them permitted.
[quote=Fonzie]What is sex like?[/quote]
A husband comes home to find his wife with her suitcases packed in the living room. "Where the hell do you think you're going?" he says. "I'm going to Las Vegas. You can earn $400 for a blow job there, and I figured that I might as well earn money for what I do to you free." The husband thinks for a moment, goes upstairs, and comes back down, with his suitcase packed as well. "Where do you think you going?" the wife asks. "I'm coming with you...I want to see how you survive on $800 a year!!!"
[quote=Fonzie]So...cleric or paladin? BTW, for the latter you need to be lawful good. Does that affect your decision?[/quote]
Yes.
[quote=Fonzie]Can I have all of your stuff?[/quote]
A guy is driving out in the middle of nowhere, very lost. Finally he spots 2 houses so he goes up to the first house and looks in the door way. He sees an old lady yanking on her boobs and an old man jerking off. He is so freaked out that he goes to the next house and says "What's up with your neighbors?" and the owner of the house says "Oh that’s the Robinson’s, they're both deaf. She's telling him to go milk the cow and he's telling her to go fuck herself!"
Sorry, I know that didn’t answer your question, but I thought I would throw that in there somewhere.
Ok, time for one more question…
[quote=klayman]You find yourself stranded on a deserted island. Upon exploring the island you find a working computer that is only capable of playing an advanced copy of Sid Meier's Pirates! 3 and Emma Watson. Do you disassemble the computer in hopes of building a device that will help you and Emma get rescued, or do you live the rest of your life a happy man?[/quote]
Emma and I will spend the next two years playing an advanced copy of Gothic 4 (or completing Gothic 3, whichever comes first) until she is, ahem, of age. Then we will go off and find the nearest bank.