August 30, 2014
Over The Edge

I woke up at 6am, groggy and fuzzy-brained. At 9am, I went back to bed. I got up around 1pm, ate something, and went back to bed around 4pm. I woke back up at 8pm, and here we are. I know what this is, I done played this game, and it ain't good.
Not only did I not accomplish anything, I didn't even attempt to accomplish anything. Ben-To! writeup? Nope, and I don't care. Wash dishes? Nope, don't care. Clean the living room? Don't care. Grocery shopping? Don't.
My friends, the potential exists that I'm dealing with a touch of depression. Please bear with me if I'm not funny or anything. Not, he says self-deprecatingly, that I ever was.
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1
Some days you just need to sleep in.
Posted by: Mauser at August 30, 2014 07:48 PM (TJ7ih)
2
At least you found a good photo...
Posted by: Vaucanson's Duck at August 30, 2014 11:15 PM (G6R3M)
3
It was in my "ducks doing things" file.
Posted by: Wonderduck at August 31, 2014 12:10 AM (eNsTS)
4
It was Saturday. It's allowed.
Besides, you did accomplish something in my comment section that warmed my heart.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at August 31, 2014 12:13 AM (DnAJl)
5
If only you could want to do nothing today, eh? Then you'd just have to get up and do the next Ben-To, or laundry, or whatever.
Posted by: RickC at August 31, 2014 12:20 AM (0a7VZ)
6
I did a load of t-shirts today, it's not that exciting.
Posted by: Mauser at August 31, 2014 03:07 AM (TJ7ih)
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One day is one thing. Just start fresh as soon as you can.
Sometimes you can get a lot of chores done by either getting up early and then sleeping in afterwards, or just doing something mechanically while your brain is still half asleep. (Assuming you're not so sleepy that you drop things or burn yourself.) Summer heat and sinus can make the day kinda sluggish, so early morning or late night are better times to do things in the summer.
Turn on your tunes, also, and do exercise even if you don't want to. It helps energize your brain. Obviously that's not the whole story with depression, but it does help. Going outside in the sunlight and getting some Vitamin D are also depression fighters.
So does a schedule or daily routine, as you probably know. There's something about "I have to do this because today is Thursday" that can get your body moving even when your brain is being gray and uncooperative. You can make a rational routine for yourself. It's harder when you don't have external pressure, but you can do it.
Posted by: suburbanbanshee@gmail.com at August 31, 2014 07:52 AM (iXS2r)
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Good luck. At least know that you helped this poor lunk out and that's something.
Posted by: topmaker at August 31, 2014 12:16 PM (2yZsg)
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By the way, he is loving Girls und Panzer.
Posted by: topmaker at August 31, 2014 12:17 PM (2yZsg)
10
I find myself wondering if that duck managed to get airborne before hitting bottom.
Posted by: Steven Den Beste at August 31, 2014 05:56 PM (+rSRq)
11
I assume the answer is "yes". I would think that for birds, if they feel themselves falling, then spreading their wings would be instinctive.
Posted by: Steven Den Beste at August 31, 2014 09:50 PM (+rSRq)
12
Think of it like the duck version of a waterpark ride, Steven.
Posted by: Wonderduck at September 01, 2014 01:33 AM (eNsTS)
13
I've had a four-day weekend in which the only productive activities have been mailing out a rent check, a little bit of house-cleaning, and calling the parents. (And I discovered that there is vodka that tastes like cake! ...this was a dangerous discovery...)
I suppose I have another day of weekend, but yeah, not planning anything productive tomorrow either. ;p
It's okay to lose a couple days to the blahs here and there. It's not time to worry until that becomes the default. If it does, get help, 'kay? (Take the advice of the drunk man at your peril. Cake flavor...)
Posted by: Avatar at September 01, 2014 02:06 AM (ZeBdf)
14
Vodka that tastes like cake? Do tell...
Posted by: Ben at September 01, 2014 08:04 AM (DRaH+)
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Ben, enter "UV Vodka" and "Cake" into your favorite search engine. There are probably other brands, but that one advertises on
the official sports station of The Pond.
Posted by: Wonderduck at September 01, 2014 02:50 PM (eNsTS)
16
Dammit, UV doesn't like West Texas. All their stores are east of I-35.
Posted by: Ben at September 01, 2014 05:43 PM (S4UJw)
17
I tried Smirnoff but noticed that UV also has one. Hadn't heard of the brand but I'll try it next time.
Was a little productive today - rescued my lost box of oversized manga from the terrible fate of still being at the ex's aunt's house. Got some sata andaagi for my trouble too. Other than that it's been nothing but fooling around on the internet, chatting with a local buddy, and playing a couple hours of Project Diva F...
Posted by: Avatar at September 01, 2014 11:46 PM (ZeBdf)
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August 27, 2014
Ducks In Anime: The Show That Keeps On Giving

-Tokyo ESP, Ep03
Here's what we've learned so far:
1) The penguin is named Peggy.
2) Peggy is a Magellanic penguin. This is not specifically said, but it's described as native to South America, and it likes to nest in the cracks and openings in cliffs. Combined with its apparent size and coloring, that pretty much narrows it down. Oh, it could be a Humboldt penguin, which even makes sense since there was an escape from the Tokyo Zoo in 2012 that evaded recapture for close to three months, but the coloration around the eyes is wrong.
3) Peggy is a superhero. No, seriously.
4) Peggy, like all people of good taste, has a rubber duck.
I've said it before, but there's been a dearth of ducks in anime of late. Quite annoying, that. Get with it, Production Staffs!
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Yeah, episode three was when I pulled the ripcord. Just too damn silly, especially in conjunction with the slaughter of episode 1. Total tonal bungee-cord experience.
Posted by: Mitch H. at August 28, 2014 06:15 AM (jwKxK)
2
Mitch, Ep04 marks the point where the series appears to settle down. If you liked it otherwise, give it another shot.
It's trying to mirror
GRZ. It's not as good, but it's trying.
Posted by: Wonderduck at August 29, 2014 05:47 AM (eNsTS)
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August 25, 2014
Tokyo ESP, or "Why Is Wonderduck Smiling?"
It should come as no surprise that things have been somewhat dour around Pond Central of late. Relaxing, certainly, but morale here is low. Over the past few weeks, though, I've noted the occasional good vibes being aimed at a currently-running anime named Tokyo ESP. As is my wont when I'm investigating a new series, I tried to avoid as much spoilerish information as possible. For the most part, I've succeeded... what I did discover was that it was based on a manga by Hajime Segawa.

That forced me to pay attention to what I had been hearing. See, Segawa was the mangaka behind Ga-Rei, the source material for one of my favorite anime, Ga-Rei Zero. Around these here parts, GRZ is best known as the first series to get an episodic writeup and pretty much the only truly good series to get that treatment. It didn't take me very long at all to decide that I had to watch at least a little bit of Tokyo ESP. After some digging around to choose a good translation, I downloaded the first couple of episodes.
So why, exactly, is Wonderduck smiling?
Note: if you're a fan of GRZ, do NOT read any farther, and DO watch Ep01 of TESP. Trust me on this.
more...
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August 24, 2014
Mini-F1Update!: Belgium 2014
No rain greeted the F1 Circus as they made their way to the grid, but cautious eyes were cocked to the skies. This is Spa, after all, and if it isn't raining at Spa, it's getting ready to. So did it? What sort of effect did it have on the race? And can anybody stop Mercedes from running away with this darn thing? THIS is your Mini-F1Update! for the 2014 Grand Prix of Belgium!
*THE RACE: Right off the starting line, it was clear that Lewis Hamilton, sitting second on the grid in his Mercedes, was going for the win. He quickly took the lead, all the while being hounded by Red Bull's 4Time Vettel. That threat ended at the end of the Kemmel Straight when Vettel missed the turn, letting pole-sitting Nico Rosberg back into 2nd place. Rosberg spent the rest of the first lap tracking down his teammate. On Lap 2, at the same place Vettel went off, Rosberg made the turn but attempted what may have been an overoptimistic move. The result was a shredded left-rear tire for Hamilton and a broken front-right nosewing for the man leading the Driver's Championship. Almost immediately, Hamilton began whining more than a jet turbine. His race was ruined, dropping from the lead to 19th in the space of one lap, while the tire carcass tore pieces of bodywork free. He would eventually retire the car, out of the points. Rosberg pitted for new tires and a new nose on Lap 8, relinquishing the lead to Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo in the process.
*THE END: And that's how it ended up. Rosberg's nose change forced him into a three-stop strategy while Ricciardo stayed with a two-stopper. This gave the Red Bull roughly a 30 second advantage, regardless of relative speeds on track. To be fair, Ricciardo needed all of it. Rosberg made his last stop with eight laps to go, and immediately began to rip two or three seconds/lap off of the Australian's lead. Surprisingly, much of this was down to the greater maneuverability of the Mercedes. Red Bull was carrying practically no rear wing in this race; this was great on the high-speed sections of the track, but cost them on the turns. Qualifying with such little rear wing in the wet must have been a nightmare! But Rosberg's charge fell short by about three seconds in the end. Twenty-five seconds later, Valterri Bottas brought his Williams home in third place.
*DRIVER OF THE RACE: Daniel Ricciardo was handed the opportunity to win his third race this season when the two Merc drivers made contact, and he grabbed it. In the end, with tires beginning to give up and a hard-charging Nico Rosberg on fresh rubber, the Australian could have thrown it away with a single error... yet no such error occurred. It may have been handed to him, but he still ran with it.
*TEAM OF THE RACE: Red Bull. They're clearly second-best this year, but it's a solid second, and a first-fifth today has made them contenders for the Driver's Championship as well.
*MOMENT OF THE RACE: If the accident between Rosberg and Hamilton hadn't've occurred, chances are they finish one-two. Now, however, Mercedes is saying things like "that was unacceptable" and "Nico was at fault" and "There will be team orders." This can't bode well for the team down the road. They'll still win the Constructor's Championship. They'll probably win the Driver's. But there's going to be a change down the road.
*SELECTED DRIVER QUOTES OF THE RACE:
"Freak yeah. Get yo freak on!" - Daniel Ricciardo
"It was British fans that were booing me on the podium." - Nico Rosberg
"Y'know, this is my fourth podium in five races. Bedammned!" - Valterri Bottas
"mrmrmrblrm mr rmmrbrrlrlmrmr rmrmrlrrlrmrbrmrmr mrmrm." - Kimi Raikkonnen
"So, having problems this season... let's change race engineers!" - 4Time Vettel
"(whine)" - Lewis Hamilton (note: this video really does capture his complains accurately... even the fireball)
So that's it for Belgium! In two weeks, we find ourselves in Italy for the fastest race on the calendar: Monza! We'll see you there!
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Hamilton must have been royally angry. Sounds like the team was, too.
Posted by: Steven Den Beste at August 24, 2014 10:32 PM (+rSRq)
2
Oh yes. Yes, they most certainly are.
Posted by: Wonderduck at August 24, 2014 10:55 PM (eNsTS)
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August 23, 2014
F1 Quals: Belgium 2014
So. We're back. It rained. What happened? Take a look:
In effect, nothing happened. Since it was wet from the get-go (though it didn't rain in Q1, the track was so wet it may as well have been raining the whole time), nobody was at a particular advantage or disadvantage. Which is weird... usually you'd see a Ferrari (for example) out in Q1, or a Caterham making it to Q3, or what have you... but not today. We almost saw 4Time Vettel fail to make it to Q3, but no, he cleared it at the last moment.
Lewis Hamilton's initial reaction to qualifying second was his usual whinyness, but it changed to remembering what happened last year. Then, he was the polesitter, and had his doors blown off down the Kemmel Straight by Seb Vettel on Lap 1. What's to say that won't happen this year?
Pay no attention to the two-second gap from the polesitter to the first non-Mercedes. Lots of reasons are possible for that: Merc could have a wet-weather setup on their cars, for example, or they just like the wet-weather rubber. It'll be a much smaller gap on raceday... which is Sunday! See ya then!
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August 22, 2014
Ben-To! Ep07
Ha-ha! I bet you didn't expect to see another one of these for a couple of weeks at the earliest, and maybe not for months and months. Well, you were wrong, weren't you? It's okay, it's totally understandable; it's not like I've had a great track record when it's come to the episodic writeups for Ben-To!. I admit that. Not only do I admit it, I embrace it. I cherish it. I make it my own. And then I crumple it up into a small little ball and throw it away, because this here, this now, this is the way things'll be done around here when it comes to our little show about food fights! If you smell what the Rock is cookin' Because Stone Cold said so Whatcha gonna do when Duckamania Dead man walkin' Vanilla midgets Y2J Rabid Wolverine Will somebody stop the damn match And besides, this episode is supposed to take place in a waterpark, and forgive me, but I just don't see any way that that can be bad. I don't. I really, really don't. Which probably means I haven't been reading my own writeups, but let's just go with it for now... I Am The Game. Welcome to Ben-to Ep07 is Jericho! Bang bang!

As the episode begins, Shaga shows up with four tickets to "Totally Hawaii", the newly opened theme park. Seems the conglomerate that runs Ralph Store ("...we do more than just Ralph!") runs the place and gave their employees free tickets. Macchan gave her tickets to Shaga, and since she no longer has any friends from The East, decided to offer them to Our Hero and the rest of the Half-Pricers Association. Our Hero, in a feat of mental ingenuity unsurpassed since man first put cheese on a hamburger, realizes this means swimsuits... particularly for the Ice Witch.

Needless to say, he is enthusiastic about this idea, and truth be told, it's kinda hard to blame him. I was enthusiastic about it when I first heard about it myself, and yes, I know that sounds rather lame of me. Yup, perhaps so, but then again, I also spend multiple hours typing episodic writeups for an anime about martial artists kicking each other nigh unto death for Happy Meals. Of course I'm going to be enthusiastic about a swimsuit episode! And since we're amongst friends here, you can freely admit the fact that you are too. Because you know the animation quality of the swimming scenes is going to be top-notch, and we're all here because of the animation quality of Ben-To.
more...
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1
Mmmm, that is a nice one piece, but you had to mention sleeveless turtlenecks....
Black ones especially. Maybe worn over a white skirt, and boots.
/drooling like Homer over donuts.
Posted by: Mauser at August 23, 2014 04:22 AM (TJ7ih)
2
I tried loco moco (haven't seen it with any meat but a hamburger patty, which lends me to believe that's the normal way of eating it here - because believe you me, if someone was going to replace it with spam, they would do that here.) It's... I have mixed feelings about it. It's not -bad-, by any means. It's just kind of... it never really comes together, y'know? I'm not convinced that the rice, gravy, egg, and meat taste better as part of one dish than they would separately.
Actually, it might work better with spam. Hm...
That said, any place that has loco moco will also have chicken katsu, or failing that, kimchi fried rice. Mmmm. L&L's katsu gives you like a pound of chicken in there, it's a little scary. Also, two scoops rice and one scoop mac, it's the land of the carbo load.
Posted by: Avatar at August 23, 2014 02:08 PM (ZeBdf)
3
I have to admit, I was expecting dramatic chipmunk.
Posted by: rickc at August 23, 2014 06:38 PM (0a7VZ)
4
How did you make this post move above one (F1 Quals) which was entered later?
Posted by: Steven Den Beste at August 24, 2014 01:59 PM (+rSRq)
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I made it a stickied post, Steven.
Posted by: Wonderduck at August 24, 2014 06:31 PM (eNsTS)
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I didn't know we had that ability.
Posted by: Steven Den Beste at August 24, 2014 07:21 PM (+rSRq)
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...the entire series is like a Ranma 1/2 gag stretched out to a bunch of episodes, isn't it? "Martial Arts Ramen Delivery" and "Martial Arts Ice Sculpting" and so forth.
(Oddly enough, during my last visit to one of our better Hawaiian places in town I had the Loco Moco just to be different. I concur with Avatar: It's certainly not bad, but it's never better than the sum of its parts. *shrug*)
Posted by: GreyDuck at August 24, 2014 10:53 PM (CUkqs)
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Re: the head tilt - it's possible because she's apparently tilting her shoulder up, thus less strain to the muscles.
I remember being skinny as a rail and a lot more flexible. It was just a long time ago.
Posted by: suburbanbanshee@gmail.com at August 25, 2014 10:44 AM (iXS2r)
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August 19, 2014
F1 on TV: Belgium 2014
The Summer Break is over. The assembled teams of Formula 1 have loaded up the transporters and taken the Circus on the road. Drivers have come back from their vacation spots, with Switzerland being a favorite in the past. And this high-tech road show is aimed directly at the Walloon municipality of Stavelot in the east of Belgium. There, in the vicinity of a small town named Francorchamps, is found a seven kilometer monster, the home of the Grand Prix of Belgium. Here's the track map:

Of course, the overhead map hardly tells the whole story of Spa-Francopants. Unlike most circuits on the calendar, Spa is all about elevation change. From Turn 01, the track heads generally downhill until it reaches Eau Rouge. From there to Raidillon, the circuit climbs steeply, then levels out until you reach Malmedy. From there until Blanchimont, the track descends, then climbs slightly back to the level of the start finish line. All of which is raced at high speed; only the Bus Stop chicane could arguably called "slow."
Unless it rains. The hoary old gag about Spa is that if it isn't raining, it's getting ready to. There's precipitation forecast for Quals, but the race is currently supposed to be dry... but this is the Ardennes. We've seen rain appear out of nowhere before.
Of course, the Legendary Announce Team will have their slickers and bumbershoots ready as they provide their live coverage! Here's the broadcast schedule:
FRIDAY
7a - 830a: Practice 2 live on NBCSN
SATURDAY
7a - 830a: Quals live on CNBC
SUNDAY
630a - 9a: 2014 Grand Prix of Belgium live on NBCSN
Of course, the good sprouts of F1U! will be all over the weekend. We'll see ya then!
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1
That German dude that you hate so much didn't design this one, did he?
Posted by: Steven Den Beste at August 20, 2014 07:10 PM (+rSRq)
2
Hermann Tilke? No, no. This track's been around for a very long time, though its current, shorter, version came around in the '80s. Thankfully, the Tilkemonster hasn't gotten his claws into this one.
Posted by: Wonderduck at August 20, 2014 09:29 PM (wmliA)
3
The drivers have been away playing in Switzerland (or somewhere) but I bet the engineers and mechanics have been slaving the whole month. I wonder if anyone has figured out why the Mercedes cars are so much better than anyone else's? And figured out how to do the same to their own?
How much redesign are they legally permitted to do mid-season?
Posted by: Steven Den Beste at August 21, 2014 05:18 PM (+rSRq)
4
The engineers... actually, everybody involved on the racing side of the businesses... were literally locked out of their factories for two weeks during the Summer Break. No work could be done on the cars, no design or parts remodeling, that sort of thing. It's a health and safety thing instituted a few years back.
If teams wanted to design and build a new car for every race, they could, there's nothing in the regulations against it. However, each new chassis/body piece would require crash testing to make sure it was safe on track. Caterham has done just that; they're debuting a new nose at Spa to replace the shovel. Well, better late than never.
Posted by: Wonderduck at August 21, 2014 05:27 PM (MBEMi)
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August 17, 2014
Ben-To! Ep06
They say that just claiming to have decided to continue on with a series that you dropped isn't enough: you have to back it up with action. Well, I did that to a certain extent with the writeup for Ep05, but one episode does not a restart make! Nope, it's gotta be at least two before you can take my claims seriously. And this, my good and dear, is the writeup for Ep06... or will be, when it's done. I mean, yeah, right now this is just the usual opening paragraph that usually has absolutely nothing to do with the writeup itself... it's more a chance for me to warm up. And by "warm up," I mean in the sense that a pitcher has to warm up before he comes into a game. Sometimes, I'm like the closer: jogging in from the bullpen with the crowd going crazy and a high-octane theme song blaring, with a rubber arm that needs but a few moments to get loose. And then there are the days where I'm the fleabitten, mangy old pitcher who needs an hour to get loose and only throws slop, junk and trash, all of it at 82 mph. But in the end, somebody has to get the outs, no matter how hot or bad the arm is. Good rule of thumb would be the longer this first paragraph is, the closer I am to being Jamie Moyer than Masahiro Tanaka. Well, either way, I'm in the major leagues. Which might be more than I can say about Ben-To!, but perhaps I'm being unkind.
The preceding warmup paragraph was written just about two months earlier. Much has changed in that time, to say the least. Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka tore a ligament in his pitching elbow, went on the disabled list, and realistically shouldn't be expected to return this season. Jamie Moyer is still old. Your scribe was put on waivers, then released. Funmation postponed the release of Ben-To! indefinitely. Heck, even the original viddy I selected for Trevor Hoffman went away. So yes, much has occurred... and yet, Ben-To! is still in the exact same place it was when we last saw it, just aching for us to return. And so we shall!

Surprisingly, this is kinda similar to the way I blog. Except I sit at a desk, use a tower computer, have an incandescent lamp above and to my right, and red accent lighting for the rest of the living room (not bedroom), and I'm a duck. Desaturation Lass up there is taking the events of Ep05 and making them into one of her yaoi fanfics, and that's just about all the lead-in we get this episode. It's actually rather disturbing. Not the lack of lead-in, her writing. I mean, very disturbing.

OH GOD WHAT DID THEY DO TO THAT POOR RABBIT?!?!?!
more...
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1
That is one hell of a stitch job, sir.
So everyone in this show is as nutty as all get-out, and nothing ever has to make sense, is what I'm getting from all this?
Posted by: GreyDuck at August 18, 2014 07:16 AM (CUkqs)
2
Martial artists in duels to the pain over day-old prepackaged meals, GD. That right there should give you an idea of what we're up against.
Posted by: Wonderduck at August 18, 2014 11:59 AM (SZL1X)
3
I had, in fact, managed not to take the premise into account when commenting. The error in my ways is duly noted.
Great eyecatch on this one, though.
Posted by: GreyDuck at August 18, 2014 02:36 PM (3m7pZ)
4
Nice stitch. I know some Anime seem to have a permanent vignetted border around them that can make a stitch impossible.
MPC doesn't have that limitation on screenshots, so that's what I use. I haven't been doing as many screenshots lately... it's a lot of work so you have to know if it's being appreciated.
Posted by: Mauser at August 18, 2014 02:38 PM (TJ7ih)
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I automatically assume it's appreciated. If I didn't, I'd be doing a half-arsed job on my writeups, because my writeups have screenshots.
I've already screwed up everything else I can think of, I'm
not letting my writeups go down too.
Posted by: Wonderduck at August 18, 2014 03:53 PM (SZL1X)
6
So... you don't think the Ralph Store was purposefully surrounded by a Dark Aura of Evil?
Oh, wait, that has to be purple and pulsing, doesn't it?
Also, you didn't mess up your job, unless you think guys stuck in Benghazi without backup also messed up. You worked harder than anybody could expect, and maintained loyalty to a company that wasn't loyal back.
Eat some eggs. They have good nutrients for building you back up after extreme stress, and they have a nice steady glycemic level. Oatmeal is another good food for this.
Posted by: suburbanbanshee@gmail.com at August 18, 2014 06:25 PM (iXS2r)
7
Point taken. Although wanting to do it right has totally stalled out a few posts that have been in draft stage for ages. Just too much work at work. Pesky day jobs.
Posted by: Mauser at August 19, 2014 05:37 AM (TJ7ih)
8
Pesky day jobs.
Yeah. Tell me about it.
Posted by: Wonderduck at August 19, 2014 08:34 AM (RUGfq)
9
Sorry. I wasn't thinking about that.
Posted by: Mauser at August 19, 2014 02:29 PM (TJ7ih)
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August 16, 2014
A Few Results
1) Rum & 7up is awful. Since I can only imagine that rum & orange soda is worse, drunkblogging is not going to happen tonight, if ever.
2) My internet connection is porpoising tonight, up and down, up and down, up and (mostly) down. In other words, I'm not going to get any serious (or even unserious) blogging done this evening as I use mu.nu to compose my posts.
3) There will be free ice cream tomorrow. It will be good. You will enjoy it. Yes, you will.
Oh yes... yes, you most certainly will.
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1
I demand a refund!
wait...
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at August 16, 2014 09:32 PM (DnAJl)
2
A while back you said you were going to tell us what was wrong with the third Madoka movie. I hope that's still on the menu.
Posted by: Steven Den Beste at August 16, 2014 10:22 PM (+rSRq)
3
Also, I'm glad the drunk didn't happen. Having been on the wagon for 19 years, it always worries me when I hear that someone else has, or is going to, fall off the wagon. 6 dry years is an accomplishment you should be proud of. Don't throw it away!
Posted by: Steven Den Beste at August 16, 2014 10:23 PM (+rSRq)
4
Eh, it wasn't a big deal, Steven. I stopped cold because my doctor told me that alcohol didn't mix well with my meds. It was only later that he meant "in excess", not "a beer or drink here or there."
I mean, I think stuff like the caffeine in a coke or pepsi (not to mention an "energy drink") would be a higher risk to me than a nice Sam Adams...
Posted by: Wonderduck at August 16, 2014 10:32 PM (iVCyL)
5
Vodka and Dr. Pepper are also absolutely awful together. It's like the worst cough medicine you've ever had.
On the other hand, Vodka, Sprite, and Orange Juice in roughly equal proportions is a nice combination. Maybe go lighter on the Vodka.
Haven't had that since College though. I only drink socially, and I have no social life.
Posted by: Mauser at August 17, 2014 02:31 PM (TJ7ih)
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I can't drink 7-up (or Sprite). When I was about 3 I got a terrible case of what we then called "stomach flu" (now known as norovirus) and I nearly died. I couldn't keep anything down, and I got dehydrated. I had to spend a couple of days in the hospital with an IV in my arm getting rehydrated. They also gave me 7-up to drink, which ordinarily we didn't drink at home.
Well, my parents saw this, and thereafter whenever any of us got stomach flu they'd go to the store and buy 7-up for us to drink (and quite often, to barf).
And so it is that I associate 7-up with being violently ill, and cannot drink it.
Posted by: Steven Den Beste at August 17, 2014 07:19 PM (+rSRq)
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August 15, 2014
Just A Note About Saturday
I'm going to do something here on Saturday that I've never done before... I'm going to do an episode review while drinking. Yes, that's right, there's a fair good chance I'll be drunkblogging Ben-To!.

I haven't had a drink in at least six years... I think once in a while I can have something, eh? I intend to leave all errors in the post, so in theory it'll get sloppier as the night goes on... and therefore funnier!
See ya then, fans!
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August 14, 2014
Too Much Skooma

There are days where Skyrim does stuff like this just to play with my mind, I know it.
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1
I think that's less "too much skooma" and more "not enough skooma".
Posted by: Avatar at August 15, 2014 01:00 AM (ZeBdf)
2
That's why you should use an up stroke for your killing blow rather than a down stroke. That way you'd be less likely to drive the corpse into the ground...
Posted by: Siergen at August 15, 2014 08:49 PM (8/vFI)
3
Seems like it was a cork-screw stroke since it also turned it upside down.
Posted by: Steven Den Beste at August 16, 2014 05:03 AM (+rSRq)
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Milwaukee Bridge
So there I was, cruising on the Milwaukee River one evening, munching on a lovely dinner and groovin' to smooth jazz, when I have this... epiphany. It's a simple thought, but one hit me with the force of a thousand chipmunks: photography does not have to be about ducks. Oh, don't get me wrong, ducks are fantastic things to photograph, just like pizza is a fantastic thing to eat, but man or Wonderduck cannot live on pizza alone... though I've given it a try once or twice in my life. But I digress: photography. Fortunately, the Milwaukee River has no lack of interesting things to take pictures of. UNfortunately, my skill at capturing said things in picture form is limited, at best. Still, it could have been worse:

clicky for poppy
I found this half-span bridge endlessly fascinating as I couldn't quite figure out if it was designed to raise or not. If so, it surely couldn't go very high, leading me to wonder if it wasn't something like part of a different bridge, salvaged and repurposed. Guess I'll never know, but at least I got a good picture out of it. Not easy to do on a bobbing boat and failing light.
Guess it's okay.
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1
Aha! I believe it's
this one; the second photo is taken from almost the exact same angle as yours. It's a
swing bridge, apparently. And you thought you'd never know!
Posted by: flatdarkmars at August 14, 2014 06:12 AM (0h1CL)
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How did...? Where in...? WHY did you...? HUH????
Posted by: Wonderduck at August 14, 2014 09:50 AM (8KjSa)
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In order: the Internet, the Internet, the ducks made him do it, I dunno either.
Posted by: Mikeski at August 14, 2014 01:57 PM (luDkn)
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...dammit, I need to get a picture of a duck on one (or more) of our dizzying variety of local bridges.
Not the Fremont or Marquam, mind you, those are interstate freeway bridges and they're way the hell high up and nope nope nope.
Posted by: GreyDuck at August 14, 2014 02:20 PM (CUkqs)
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Yeah, I Googled "Milwaukee bridges", which led me to bridgehunter.com (
of course such a website exists!), and at that point there were really only a couple that looked at all similar to yours, so it was an easy find. As for
why... well, I had a few minutes to kill before leaving for work, and I like knowing random things.
Posted by: flatdarkmars at August 14, 2014 04:54 PM (0h1CL)
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Wonderduck, considering the speed with which some of your readers retrieve such rare information, perhaps you should challenge them with something more useful, like asking for a cure for cancer, cheap endless energy, or the meaning of life...
Posted by: Siergen at August 14, 2014 05:12 PM (8/vFI)
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Greyduck, the Fremont and Marquam bridges are the only two that don't have pedestrian access of some kind, all the others it should be easy enough to manage. You could potentially wait for the annual bridge pedal, and get access to those two bridges then, completing the set. Although Tilikum crossing won't open until fall of 2015, so you'd have to go back for that one later.
Posted by: David at August 15, 2014 12:23 PM (dr1tX)
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David, don't you mean "Tilikum Crossing, The Bridge Of The People"?
*eyerolling reaches maximum RPMs*
But you're right, the bridge pedal would be the ideal time, though there are some other events which might suit as well...
Posted by: GreyDuck at August 16, 2014 11:45 AM (CUkqs)
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August 12, 2014
Just Because

You don't mess with Rondo Hatton. I just felt the urge to point this out, in case any of my readers was thinking of doing so. Don't do it. Just... don't. There isn't any need to mess with Rondo Hatton, no matter what you're thinking. Not even if you're drunk in a bar somewhere, full of liquid courage and testosterone. "I'm going to mess with Rondo Hatton," you're thinking, "and then I'm going to go put some sweet, sweet moves on Beverly Garland." And really, nobody would blame you for having carnal, libidinous, even fleshy thoughts of Beverly Garland, but if the entire process must begin with you messing with Rondo Hatton, well, I'm afraid you've just got to rethink your entire evening. Because you don't mess with Rondo Hatton. It's not worth it, man, it's just. Not. Worth. It. And it's not like Beverly Garland would be impressed with you for messing with Rondo Hatton. She's a classy dame and wouldn't go for that kinda stuff nohow. So are we cool here? You're not gonna be messin' with no Rondo Hatton? Solid. Because I don't want to hear about it if you do. I would be very disappointed. Don't get me wrong. Rondo Hatton doesn't need my help if you do decide to mess with him, for he is the type you don't mess with for a reason. He can handle himself, thank you very much. However, I say it again: don't mess with Rondo Hatton.
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I remember reading about this guy. Acromegaly is not a very nice disease.
Apparently in private life he was a very nice man, but was unlucky enough to be striken by a horrible condition.
Posted by: Steven Den Beste at August 12, 2014 09:05 PM (+rSRq)
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Also quite handsome before it hit. Don't mess with him.
Posted by: Wonderduck at August 12, 2014 09:41 PM (gagZT)
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August 11, 2014
A-Yup, Sure Do.
"I bet he has at least one Rubber Duck with a shower cap on."
-Mauser

As a matter of fact...
Posted by: Wonderduck at
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1
What is that, the
Psycho toy from a Hitchcock-themed duck line?
Posted by: Mitch H. at August 11, 2014 01:12 PM (jwKxK)
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That duck has, apparently, seen things.
Things it can never unsee.
Posted by: GreyDuck at August 11, 2014 01:13 PM (3m7pZ)
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Perhaps he's seen some of Kancolle comics at Danbooru.
Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at August 11, 2014 02:37 PM (RqRa5)
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Browsing the *boorus at all is something that requires the polarized shades of blocking that which can't be unseen, Kancolle or not...
Posted by: Avatar at August 11, 2014 03:39 PM (zJsIy)
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August 09, 2014
Ducks In Anime: It's Been Way Too Darn Long

-Najica Blitz Tactics, Ep05
I had to go back to a series that aired in 2001 to find this. C'mon Japan, you're letting me down here!
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You deserve an award: I watched Najica Blitz Tactics and noticed a duck! The regular response to "what did you notice when you watched NBT?" is umm... something else.
Posted by: Ben at August 09, 2014 11:35 PM (S4UJw)
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Who the heck takes a rubber duck into a shower?
Posted by: Steven Den Beste at August 10, 2014 12:22 AM (+rSRq)
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Look who you're asking....
I bet he has at least one Rubber Duck with a shower cap on.
Posted by: Mauser at August 10, 2014 04:44 PM (TJ7ih)
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"something else." --Ben
To be fair, there was no something else in the duck screenshot. There were probably an additional six or seven seconds of screentime without any something else, as well. (I didn't count.)
And OGH has it right; I don't recall the last recent anime I watched that had any duckservice in it.
Posted by: Mikeski at August 10, 2014 07:06 PM (luDkn)
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Why doesn't that duck have panties?
Posted by: skyhack at August 20, 2014 09:22 PM (wa1Z/)
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Because it has a top hat.
Posted by: Wonderduck at August 20, 2014 09:29 PM (wmliA)
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I googled "top hat and panties" just to prove it could be done.
Don't do it. Learn from my mistake.
Posted by: Ben at August 21, 2014 10:36 AM (S4UJw)
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August 08, 2014
"Girls" of the Kancolle Video
I probably should have done this last night, but I was too busy taking cold showers to do so. There are three Ship Girls shown in the video for Kantai Collection (or "Kancolle"), and I pretty much had no idea who they were. I mean, I know about the game, but I've never played and know nothing about how or when you acquire the shipgirls. Which isn't to say that I couldn't figure out some stuff on my own, or with a bit of research!
Obviously the first we see is an aircraft carrier, and I'll admit that on her, I cheated: I already knew the answer. She's the Akagi, the first full-sized carrier the IJN put to sea.

Ms Akagi is also one of the more popular shipgirls in the game, I gather, and has a figma coming out in September. But what of the second girl, the battleship? Well, I made a startling leap of faith considering we're talking about a game where the ships are young women, but I said to myself that they'd try and be historical about this. First, they'd have a ship that was fast enough to actually keep up with the carrier. Second, I assumed they'd have the correct amount of turrets.

That led, inexorably, to the only class of battleship the IJN had that fulfilled both criteria: the Kongo-class "fast battleships." Originally built as battlecruisers, refitted with more and better armor to upgrade their status before WWII, I guessed we were looking at the first-in-class (like Ms Akagi). As it turns out, I was right: Ms Kongo it was. Which brings us to the third shipgirl. I had absolutely nothing to go on whatsoever except for one quick shot.

The fishhook maneuver for the girl on the right told me she was a destroyer. She's clearly getting out of the way of the two big'uns, maybe after firing her torpedoes the way the IJN calls for. Either way, great, she's a destroyer. The IJN had thirty-quadzillion destroyer classes. I had no idea which one she was... except that I did. See, I knew that the "star" of the show was going to be Fubuki... which, curiously enough, was the name of the first-in-class of the first what we'd call "modern destroyer" design.

So there we have it. Akagi, Kongo and Fubuki. I've since read somewhere that these are some of the first shipgirls you can collect in Kancolle, so that makes sense too. I guess I'm surprised they didn't have one of the splendid Japanese cruiser designs in the video, but I'm not complaining by any means! January can't get here soon enough.
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So, if someone wrote slash about them, that would be 'shipping?
Posted by: Mauser at August 08, 2014 03:34 AM (TJ7ih)
Posted by: GreyDuck at August 08, 2014 07:18 AM (CUkqs)
3
Something struck me immediately about Fubuki: where are all the torpedo launchers? After looking at various pictures, apparently there's only one and it's housed in a low turret-like dome right in front of aft mast. Something was up with the IJN doctrine.
Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at August 08, 2014 09:15 AM (RqRa5)
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There are three: one between the stacks, and two between the aft stack and "X"-turret. See pg 144 of
Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy 1869-1945, by Jentschura et al.
Posted by: Wonderduck at August 08, 2014 07:23 PM (bAT/z)
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August 06, 2014
KanColle Anime
I am so aroused right now.
Yes, yes, this looks like something I might have some interest in. I would say so, yes. Oh my, yes indeed.
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I just looked at the Japanese web site for the series, at the Character section. Yamato only has two big turrets.
Posted by: Steven Den Beste at August 06, 2014 08:56 PM (+rSRq)
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That could SO be read the wrong way.....
Posted by: Mauser at August 07, 2014 01:22 AM (TJ7ih)
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My Shimakaze nendroid arrived in the mail yesterday. (Beat the hurricanes in...)
Posted by: Avatar at August 07, 2014 03:59 AM (ZeBdf)
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QUACK!

Posted by: Steven Den Beste at August 07, 2014 06:44 AM (+rSRq)
Posted by: Ben at August 07, 2014 08:26 AM (S4UJw)
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Apologies; the second part of my comment wandered off, probably do to use error. It was "It's possible the third turret isn't depicted in that picture, add it would be difficult to see clearly as on the figma."
Posted by: Ben at August 07, 2014 09:11 AM (S4UJw)
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If she just can't help from going off all the time, does she have Turrets Syndrome?
Posted by: Mauser at August 07, 2014 02:34 PM (TJ7ih)
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"Do these turrets make me look fat?"
Posted by: Siergen at August 07, 2014 05:07 PM (8/vFI)
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Oddly enough, I saw the trailer in a panel about 'World War Two in Anime,' where the host specifically mentioned Kantai Collection as the second best anime to watch if you want to see how the Japanese view Big Mistake Number Two.
C.T.
Posted by: cxt217 at August 10, 2014 08:06 PM (NpzKp)
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I wonder which one they consider the first best? That one about the modern Japanese destroyer that goes back in time?
Posted by: Steven Den Beste at August 10, 2014 08:22 PM (+rSRq)
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I wonder which one they consider the first best? That one about the modern Japanese destroyer that goes back in time?
Zipang is on the list, but this title was rated over all the others.
There was a great deal of mocking of the Axis Powers Hetalia, who so richly deserves it.
C.T.
Posted by: cxt217 at August 10, 2014 08:38 PM (NpzKp)
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August 05, 2014
Random Anime Picture #87: Say Hi, Jiro!

I just finished watching The Wind Rises, Ghibli's fictionalized account of the life of Jiro Horikoshi, designer of both the A5M "Claude" and A6M "Zero" fighters. I have mixed reactions. As far as Ghibli films go, it's far and away my favorite of all of them. Its no coincidence that it's also the least preachy of all of Miyazaki's films: the two go hand-in-hand.

IJN Nagato in background
It should come as absolutely no surprise that it's a gorgeous film. Again, it's a Ghibli. That's to be expected. There's just something about
The Wind Rises that doesn't sit right with me, and I think it's the main character. Jiro Horikoshi in this movie comes across as a completely dispassionate, yet heroic, leading man. Brilliant, relatively athletic, a leader of men, and he does it all with the same nearly blank expression on his face. Only when he's discussing airplanes does he begin to show some emotion... not much, but some. His wife is dying of tuberculosis? Blank look. Tokyo destroyed by an earthquake? Blank look. In Germany? Blank. The voice acting of Hideaki Anno, who sounds like he has a stuffed nose, doesn't help a whole lot, either.

Still, it's got the
Hosho in it. Which is always nice.
All in all, it's certainly worth watching. I'll give it 3.5 stars. It just could have been so much more.
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I recall some famous movie reviewer being really pissed at this movie because it didn't make him out to be some kind of monster.
Posted by: Mauser at August 06, 2014 02:27 AM (TJ7ih)
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I can believe it.
This review here basically says just that. I don't agree with everything he says, but there are parts... the dispassionate nature, for example.
I can't rate it lower than I did, but I can understand why someone else would. I just don't agree with it.
Posted by: Wonderduck at August 06, 2014 07:18 AM (bAT/z)
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The voice is provided by Hideaki Anno?
*The* Hideaki Anno?
Posted by: Ben at August 06, 2014 08:48 AM (S4UJw)
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None other, in his first major role. He's as good at this job as he is as a director of *Eva*, which is to say, not all that great.
Posted by: Wonderduck at August 06, 2014 11:13 AM (bAT/z)
5
I'm glad you finally got to see this movie. I think the portrayal of Jiro Horikoshi makes him out to be sort of like Wernher von Braun — a single-minded visionary with selective awareness of just what sort of people he's working for. The love story had its moments, but ultimately it ended up just demonstrating that nothing really mattered to Jiro except his airplanes.
Posted by: flatdarkmars at August 06, 2014 05:34 PM (0h1CL)
6
Well, the dispassionate thing is pretty accurate to the desired well-to-do or educated manly Japanese attitude between the wars. A man (and often, a woman of good breeding or noble training) never showed his true feelings on his face or in his conversation, and particularly if things were going badly. At the same time, people of sensibility were supposed to just suss out what these stonefaced people around them were feeling. And there was a lot more elliptical conversation consisting of significant uses of "Ah," by all accounts.
I mean, even the English thought the Japanese took it too far.
Posted by: suburbanbanshee@gmail.com at August 07, 2014 07:07 AM (iXS2r)
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August 03, 2014
Random Anime Picture #87: Say Hi, Tony!
For the most part, I really don't much care for Leiji Matsumoto's WWII OVA entitled The Cockpit. Of the three parts, only the middle one, "Sonic Boom Squadron", is any good. Which doesn't mean that the other two don't have a bit of eye candy.

This is from part 3, "Knight of the Iron Dragon," and that's a Kawasaki Ki-61 Army Type 3 Fighter, better known as the "Tony". It was the only Japanese fighter in WWII to use a liquid-cooled inline engine and proved to be pretty good, all in all. Over 3000 were built, and served all the way until the end of the war.
I still don't recommend The Cockpit, but it's not all that often planes like the Ki-61 get any love.
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I've read that by the end of the war, the Tony was the only fighter the Japanese had which was still competitive. (The Zero had long since been outclassed by the Hellcat and the Corsair, because American pilots had learned how to exploit its many weaknesses.)
Posted by: Steven Den Beste at August 04, 2014 11:16 AM (+rSRq)
2
Of course, by the end of the war Japan's pilots were inferior to America's pilots, due to lack of fuel and thus inadequate training. No plane can surmount that disadvantage.
Posted by: Steven Den Beste at August 04, 2014 11:46 AM (+rSRq)
3
It's the only early-war plane that was still competitive, yes, but not the only Japanese fighter that could fight on an even basis.
The Kawanshi N1K, better known as "George" was probably
at least as good as a Hellcat in both speed and agility, not to mention armor and self-sealing fuel tanks. It wasn't even with a Corsair, but it was in the same area code. There just weren't that many made (around 1000 of all types, including the floatplane version that gave birth to the design), and they all suffered from reliability issues. More were lost to operational problems than to combat.
Posted by: Wonderduck at August 04, 2014 12:18 PM (bAT/z)
4
Given that the Tony was powered by a licensed version of the famous Daimler-Benz DB 601 (The same engine used by the most common - and popular - marks of the Bf 109.), it is not surprising that it could hold its' own for so long. The Italians also licensed the DB 601 and built a capable fighter around it, the Re.2001.
As a side note - Eric Brown regarded the Bf 109 as close enough in performance to a Corsair that victory in combat would depend mainly on the pilot skill and the conditions of battle. That suggests the same would be true of the Tony, let alone the George.
Posted by: cxt217 at August 05, 2014 10:20 PM (JwUCI)
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