Whatcha reading redux.

Everything cultural, pop or otherwise. Books, movies, music, comics, poetry, random cultural geekery.
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Weetabix
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Re: Whatcha reading redux.

Post by Weetabix »

I'm rereading Monster Hunter Siege to get back up to speed before my Nov 24 delivery of Monster Hunter Guardian in trade paperback.
Note to self: start reading sig lines. They're actually quite amusing. :D
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Windy Wilson
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Re: Whatcha reading redux.

Post by Windy Wilson »

There's a video maker over on Youtube who seems to have done in-depth discussions of just about every phase and element of the warship, especially pre-dreadnought battle ships, cruisers, and into the twentieth century and WW2.
I have to check him again, but I'm sure that he has not discussed the design of boat handling cutouts and if he gets around to this subject it will be considered brief, but runtime will be around an hour.
Greg wrote: Mon Nov 02, 2020 11:54 pm I've lately been reading and re-reading a few titles from D.K Brown. I've got 'Nelson to Vanguard', 'Atlantic Escorts' and 'The Grand Fleet'. I've also been reading 'Warships After Washington' by John Jordan.

One thing that has come up several times in the D.K. Brown books, and has also been mentioned in the other, ihas to do with the RN and ship's boats. As in, the RN had a real hardon for ship's boats and boat-handling arrangements. To such a degree that prior to WW1 multiple classes of RN capital ships had distinct design flaws that compromised their fighting ability because boat-handling arrangements were prioritized. (Boat handling arrangements were apparently an obsession with Jellicoe.)

Later ships/designs still show that the RN insisted in carrying WAY more boats than say the USN. Requirements for boat stowage and handling definitely led to lots of ship classes sacrificing fighting qualities. Weather desk space on a tight warship design is VALUABLE, not to mention displacement (and topweight). But they WOULD not let them go.

Look at pictures of Ark Royal (the one lost in 1941). It was enormously, RIDICULOUSLY tall (flight deck 66' above waterline) thanks to the double hangars, and you'd think she had enormous freeboard except for the equally enormous number of cutouts in the side for boats.Why?

I have yet to find discussion elsewhere specifically covering the inside-baseball on ships boats. Would be interesting if kind of a specialized topic.
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Greg
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Re: Whatcha reading redux.

Post by Greg »

Just finished "Destroyer of Worlds".

Sadly, I find myself of necessity rereading "Programming the Perl DBI".
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Greg
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Re: Whatcha reading redux.

Post by Greg »

Some time ago I read "How Dark the World Becomes" by Frank Chadwick, and found it to be really surprisingly good.

This week I've read the sequel "Come the Revolution", and also a separate book involving entirely different characters but in the same setting called "Chain of Command". I very much enjoyed them both.

The latter book is almost an extended love letter to the USN. No, that's not quite right, not to the Navy as a whole but rather to the Navy's small ship/boat crews. Also one RN reference, if you got it, that might make the room a little dusty.

I've also been reading "MySQL Stored Procedure Programming". I know how to have a good time.
Maybe we're just jaded, but your villainy is not particularly impressive. -Ennesby

If you know what you're doing, you're not learning anything. -Unknown
Sanity is the process by which you continually adjust your beliefs so they are predictively sound. -esr
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Netpackrat
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Re: Whatcha reading redux.

Post by Netpackrat »

I started to read The Silmarillion several years ago but didn't get very far into it. Picked it up again recently and finally managed to get through the whole thing.
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Weetabix
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Re: Whatcha reading redux.

Post by Weetabix »

Just finished an account of Stanley's search across Tanzania for Dr. Livingstone. Apparently, he really did say, "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?" It mostly felt like "Hard to get through the jungle/Stanley has a fever/shot some stuff/these chiefs want bribes to let us pass/Stanley has a fever/Gee, it's really hard to get through this jungle." Lather, rinse, repeat.

Giving Zebulon Montgomery Pike's expedition up the Mississippi a go.

Neither was/is as good as Undaunted Courage, though.
Note to self: start reading sig lines. They're actually quite amusing. :D
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Vonz90
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Re: Whatcha reading redux.

Post by Vonz90 »

Started Xenophon's Hellenica. It picks up right where Thucydides History of the Peloponnese War leaves off (which I read like a year ago).
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evan price
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Re: Whatcha reading redux.

Post by evan price »

The City Stained Red by Sam Sykes
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Captain Wheelgun
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Re: Whatcha reading redux.

Post by Captain Wheelgun »

I’m on a Larry Correia kick lately. Finished ‘Monster Hunter Bloodlines’ and now I’m reading ‘Gun Runner’.
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Vonz90
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Re: Whatcha reading redux.

Post by Vonz90 »

evan price wrote: Wed Aug 18, 2021 6:07 pm The City Stained Red by Sam Sykes
I read a few of those back in the day. Pretty good, but kind of like a twinkie.
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