Trains and Turtles!

Today was Train Day 2009!

I took the kids on a Train Day today. We did this last year and it was a blast. This year Susanne and Gretchen tagged along too. It was a sort of cold and cloudy day but trains are worth it!

We started in Moorpark at the Metrolink station:

The kids are a year older but just as excited as last year. They LOVE the tunnels between Simi Valley and Chatsworth. They also got to see the buildings Gretchen and I work in as both are right against the train tracks.

And I think Gretchen was having fun too.

The kids think the Metrolink trains are cool because they have STAIRS:

We ended up at Union Station in Los Angeles from whence we took the Red Line subway to Downtown. Our destination was the Bonaventure Hotel – the one with the 32 story high glass elevators on the outside of the building!

The elevators drop you through a glass atrium roof and you have the feeling you’re falling into the glass:

You may recognize the hotel from a couple of movies as Gretchen pointed out. They have plaques on two of the elevators. Gretchen turned tourist for a moment to get pictures of them.

Yep, Clint and Arnold rode in these elevators.

After we ran out of elevators and stuff at the Bonaventure we took the subway to Chinatown so Susanne could look at the shops. They have a lot of those “mall” buildings where there is a large building full of little stalls for various vendors. In fact we found whole huge buildings full of floors and floors of crap from China. But we found a nice 24 quart stock pot for $14 instead of $40 or more other places!

Then we went into one last store and Susanne saw this:

Yes, two tiny turtles for $5. And she told me to buy them. Yep. We bought turtles in Chinatown.

Gretchen was a bit incredulous:

But the kids were really pleased and the turtles didn’t seem to mind:

Back in Thousand Oaks, Dishmaster Sarah kindly donated a small aquarium she wasn’t using and we made a quick trip to the pet shop for all things Needful for Turtles. The $5 turtles are now the $50 turtles but they are completely hypoallergenic and will not cause Susanne to swell up into a mass of itchy misery. So, yeah we have turtles:

Nate wanted to call them “A” and “B” and Peter wanted to call them “Nate and Peter” No way I’m going for that – can you imagine what happens when Turtle Peter dies? A and B also seem a bit close to home as that was Nate and Peter’s names respectively until they got official names. So I thought and it occurred to me that the turtles resembled something like this:

And this:

So may I present the Admirals Senyavin and Ushakov!

Book Year 2008 In Review

Anyone who knows me at all knows that I always have a book (or five), that I'm reading. I read almost 100% nonfiction with history, mostly of the military variety, predominating. In 2008 I read 79 books which is down from 83 in 2007 and well below the 163 books read in 2004. There were a couple of really long books in 2008 which kept the total down somewhat. It has to be a really good or important book for me to read something that is more than, say, 200 pages. I find that most really long books are books that could be cut down by a few hundred pages and not lose any value. However, in 2008 there were a number of really good long books.

Here are favorite books of 2008

Reviews for these books are posted on my Virtual Bookshelf in Facebook or Myspace or at Livingsocial.com under spqr2755:

Book of Five Rings, A
Caesar's Gallic Campaigns (Military Classics)
Decisive Warfare: A Study in Military Theory
Evolution of a Revolt, The
Japan's Battle of Okinawa, April - June 1945
On Strategy: A Critical Analysis of the Vietnam War
Sun Tzu: Manual for War
Warfighting: The Marine Corps Book of Strategy
Caesar: Life of a Colossus
Fred Janes Naval Wargame, The (1906)
Imperial Russian Navy, The
Richard S Ewell: A Soldier's Life
Stonewall Jackson: The Man, The Soldier, The Legend
Great Triumvirate, The

And here's the full list:

Military Strategy and Tactics

100 Unorthodox Strategies
33 Strategies of War, The
Art of Strategy, The
Art of War, The
Art of War, The: Complete Texts and Commentaries
Book of Five Rings, A
Caesar's Gallic Campaigns (Military Classics)
Decisive Warfare: A Study in Military Theory
Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why
Defending the Driniumor: Covering Force Operations in New Guinea, 1944
Dynamics of Doctrine, The: The Changes in German Tactical Doctrine During the First World War
Essence Of War: Leadership And Strategy From The Chinese Military Classics, The
Evolution of a Revolt, The
Evolution of US Army Tactical Doctrine, 1946 - 76
Japanese Art of War, The
Japan's Battle of Okinawa, April - June 1945
Lost Art of War, The
Military Methods of the Art of War
More Than 36 Stratagems: A Systematic Classification Based on Basic Behaviors
Napoleon and Modern War, His Military Maxims
On Strategy: A Critical Analysis of the Vietnam War
Polyaenus: Stratagems of War Volume I (Books I - V)
Polyaenus: Stratagems of War Volume II (Books VI - VIII, Excerpts and Leo the Emperor)
Principles And Maxims Of The Art Of War: Outpost Service General Instructions For Battles Reviews
Samurai Strategies: 42 Martial Arts Secrets from Musashai's Book of Five Rings
Seven Military Classics of Ancient China
Soviet Night Operations in World War II
Sun Tzu: Manual for War
Sun Tzu's Art of War: The Modern Chinese Interpretation
Tao of War, The
Understanding the "Victory Disease", From the Little Bighorn to Mogadishu and Beyond
Warfighting: The Marine Corps Book of Strategy
What Clients Love: A Field Guide to Growing Your Business
Ancient History
Caesar Completely Parsed: Completely Parsed Caesar's Gallic War Book I
Caesar: Life of a Colossus
Life of Belisarius, The: The Last Great General of Rome
Naval Warfare
Fred Janes Naval Wargame, The (1906)
Guide to the Soviet Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy, The
Imperial Russian Navy, The
20th Century Military History
9th Australian Division Versus the Africa Corps: An Infantry Division Against Tanks - Tobruk, Libya, 1941
Busting the Bocage: American Combined Arms Operations in France, 6 June - 31 July 1944
Desert Warfare: German Experiences in World War II
Nomonham: Japan Against Russia, 1939
Pastel: Deception in the Invasion of Japan
Soviet Operational Deception: The Red Cloak
Staff Ride Handbook for the Attack on Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941: A Study in Defending America
Unconditional Surrender, Demobilization, and the Atomic Bomb
Military Biography
Apostle of Liberty: The World Changing Leadership of George Washington
Generals of Gettysburg, The
For God's Sake, Forward! Gen. John F Reynolds, USA
Jefferson Davis; The Essential Writings
Richard S Ewell: A Soldier's Life
Stonewall Jackson: The Man, The Soldier, The Legend
War Between the States
1862 Army Officer's Pocket Companion, The
Army of the Confederate States Army Regulations
Battle of Chancellorsville, The
Battle of Fredericksburg, The
Battle of Shiloh, The
Battles of Wilderness & Spotsylvania, The
Campaign For Pea Ridge, The
Civil War in the Western Territories, The
Confederacy as a Revolutionary Experience, The
Confederate Cherokees: John Drew's Regiment of Mounted Rifles
Confederate Regular Army, The
First Battle of Manassas, The
Flags of Civil War South Carolina, The
In the Footsteps of J.E.B. Stuart
Second Battle of Manassas, The
Stonewall Brigade, The
They Fought Like Demons: Women Soldiers in the Cvil War
General American History
Great Triumvirate, The
Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different
What's So Great About America?
Political and Governmental Theory
Redeeming American Democracy
Disquisition on Government, A
Confederate Constitution of 1861, The: An Inquiry into American Constitutionalism
Two Treatises of Government and A Letter Concerning Toleration
What the Anti-Federalists Were FOR

More from the Virginia Trip: Fredericksburg

I finally had time on this Sunday evening to continue my blog of my trip to Virginia back awhile ago. I was there on business but Virginia is full of Civil War sites which are way more interesting than pictures of office buildings and insurance brokers!

Fredericksburg is located on the south bank of the Rappahannock river about 50 miles south of Washington DC and 50 miles north of Richmond VA.

In December 1861 the Union Army of the Potomac under its latest commander, General Ambrose Burnside was looking for some way to get through or past Robert E Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia and capture the Confederate capital of Richmond Virginia. General Burnside decided to suddenly move his army south and east from it positions facing Lee and slip across and around behind the Confederates by attacking across the Rappahannock at Fredericksburg. Burnside actually caught Lee somewhat by surprise when he moved his army but unfortunately the pontoon bridges that the Federals needed didn’t show up on time (actually for more than a week). Rather than risk a crossing without the bridges Burnside waited for them which allowed Lee to move his army into very strong positions in and behind Fredericksburg. At this point Burnside should have come up with another plan rather than try to frontally attack Lee’s dug in army but he didn’t’ The Union government and press were demanding decisive action and action they would get. On December 11 1861 the Army of the Potomac forced the river and occupied the town and on December 13^th they attacked Lee's army which was on the heights behind the town. It was the worst one sided slaughter of the war.

The most memorable portion of the battle is the attack on Marye’s Heights across a half mile of open ground. The Confederate defensive line was centered on a low stone wall half way up the hill backed up by massed cannons which covered the whole field.

This is the stone wall right after the battle.

Here is the stone wall from about the same spot in 2008:

It wasn’t a very tall wall:

There were a number of houses on the hillside when the battle was fought and amazingly one of them survived nearly intact:

There were a lot of holes of course but the ones on the outside were patched up. These on the inside weren’t:

Confederate General Thomas Cobb had his HQ set up behind the house next door to this one. Unfortunately a Union cannon hit the house and the splinters killed the general:

The Federal troops came on wave after wave and they were cut down wave after wave. Even the famed Irish Brigade could get no closer than 30 yards from the wall. The Confederates marveled at the extreme bravery of the Union troops who did all that human flesh and courage could do to carry out a pointless suicide attack. All told the Union lost more than 12,000 men in these futile assaults. As he looked on at the carnage his men were visiting on Federal troops General Lee said “It is well that war is so terrible otherwise we should grow too fond of it”.

Currier and Ives print of the Battle of Fredericksburg

The movie Gods and Generals does a very good reenactment of the Battle of Fredericksburg.

Now I'm on Twitter too....

Not sure how much use I will make of Twitter but I'll give it a whirl. If you want to check me out on Twitter go here: http://twitter.com/spqr2755

Remember Who's Got Your Back this Thanksgiving

As you gather with your families this Thanksgiving be sure to remember the men and women of the Armed Forces who have your back. They are serving in places like Afghanistan so you can have a quite Turkey day at home watching the Lions lose yet another Thanksgiving day football game.

Here is an article from Military.com which brings home what the troops are out there doing day after day. 30 Marines vs 250 bad guys - its not even close!

Virginia Trip – Harper’s Ferry, Winchester and Manassas

For me this was much better than Disneyland! I went on a business trip to Washington and Richmond several weeks ago. The schedule was pretty light so I had some time to go see some of the many Civil War sites. These are small states so it's surprising how much ground you can cover. It took the Federals four years to get to Richmond but it only took me a couple of hours. I took zillons of pictures - but I will spare you that ordeal and just put up a few highlights:

The first stop was Harper's Ferry which was the scene of John Brown's terrorist raid in 1859 and of a siege by Stonewall Jackson during the Sharpsburg campaign in 1862.

Here is the famous fire house John Brown held up in with his civilian hostages after things didn't go as planned:

My small camera doesn't really show how completely indefensible Harper's Ferry is. It is in a deep valley with high hills on three sides. Even the limited range artillery of the Civil War could reach any part of the town from the hill tops. Obviously the town suffered. This is the remains of the Episcopal Church which was destroyed in the 1862 siege.

I was tempted to go to Sharpsburg which isn't far from Harper's Ferry but that battlefield (aka Antietam), really deserves a whole day to itself. So with the remaining hour or so of daylight I went to Winchester which is maybe 20 miles south of Harper's Ferry. This is the center of the lower Shenandoah valley and a very important strategic site.

This house was Stonewall Jackson's headquarters where spent the winter months during 1861/62 (back in those days wars were pretty much suspended during the winter). From here Jackson went out and fought the Valley Campaign which established him as one of the great military geniuses of American history.

The next day I went to the Manassas (or Bull Run), battlefields (two battles were fought in the same area about a year apart in 1861 and 1862.

The National Park Service visitor center is very conveniently located on Henry House Hill which is the most important point in the 1^st Manassas battle (July 1861). This was the first large battle of the war. Both the Union and Confederate armies were mostly volunteer forces and were more like armed mobs than actual armies. The generals on both sides knew they needed a lot more work before they should try to actually fight their armies. Unfortunately the political pressure on both sides for a huge decisive battle to end the war in one stoke forced the armies together before either side was ready. The Union forces attacked and were winning the battle against the outnumbered Confederates up until the point they ran into General Thomas J Jackson and his 1^st VA brigade on Henry House Hill:

It's not much of a hill but Jackson put his brigade behind the hill with his cannons on top of the hill.

The Federal cannons were only maybe 100 yards away. At one point on the left end of the line they were only 200 feet away. At the other end of the 200 feet the 500 men of the 33^rd VA Regiment was taking cover in these trees:

Two Union cannons are just visible in the center of the picture. This is a great battlefield as they have cannons where they should be an a lot a good markers. Anyway, the 33^rd VA was tired of getting shelled at close range so they decided to charge the cannons. They were successful and this small incident in a huge battle was the beginning of the end for the Union army. Union infantry attacked Jackson's line and he ordered a bayonet charge which continued the rout started when the 33^rd took the cannons a moment before. Just at this moment more Confederate forces arrived on the Union flank and their whole army panicked and ran – about 20 miles all the way back to Washington DC. So the Confederates pulled out a huge win late in the game due to the stand of Jackson and the greenness of the federal troops. The Federals did get a measure of redemption at the 2^nd Battle of Manassas in 1862 when a Federal division under Reynolds made a heroic rear guard stand on this same hill thus saving the Union army under Pope from total destruction after the debacle of a battle earlier in the day.

1^st Manassas is where "Stonewall" Jackson got his name. When it looked like the Confederates would be routed from the field, General Bernard Bee pointed to Jackson's brigade on the hill and Jackson on his horse in plain view in front of his troops (remember that the Union cannons were only a 100 yards away), and yelled:

"Look! There is Jackson standing like a Stonewall! Let us determine to die here today and we will conquer, Rally behind the Virginians!"

The name stuck and both the General and his Brigade were known as "Stonewall" ever after.

Shortly after that General Bee was shot and killed on this spot on top of the hill:

This is getting pretty long so I will continue it later….

EVERY Game Should Have a Card Like This!

Yep, EVERY Game!