Ken's Blog

War & Peace - The Review

2011-07-22T02:28:00.001-07:00

So. I have now finished War & Peace. All 1358 pages.

To describe it as a novel is a bit false. There is in fact quite a lot of the book given over to discussion of the nature of warfare, the nature of the Russian-Napoleonic wars, the nature of leadership in warfare, and the nature of the free will of Man. Much of this was no doubt relevant when the book was written in the 19th century, but given the much changed nature of warfare in the latter part of the twentieth and start of the twenty first century I feel it is now superfluous outside of the historical context.

Tolstoy certainly pulls no punches in his analysis of historical figures and the historians who judge their 'Greatness'. His fundamental argument being that the decisions of 'Great' leaders have little to do with the course of warfare.

The story itself includes certain assumptions of knowledge that would no doubt have been fine for those living in Russia within the living memory of the Napoleonic wars, but for the rest of us require quite a lot of concentration to fathom.

All things being equal I can't help but feel that outwith the context of 19th Century Russia the same book could be rewritten to about a third of the length without diminishing the story, and removing quite a lot of the discussion relating to the will of man and so forth.

I'm willing to be open to the suggestion that it has lost something in the translation, there were the odd paragraphs that just plain didn't make sense...

Ultimately for 'Western' consumption a rewritten abridged version would probably be feasible, rather than a straight translation. Some things that are explained over the course of a chapter, could be just as enlightening in the form of a paragraph.

End of Volume 3, War & Peace

2011-07-17T11:22:00.000-07:00

End of Volume 3 of War & Peace. It's still war, but no battles currently ongoing

It's now War 7-5 Peace. War is keeping the ball and awaiting an appropriate opporcancity,

DEFCON4. Napoleon is in Moscow. The Russians, however, umny.

War & Peace Vol III Part II

2011-07-16T12:14:00.000-07:00

Part II of Volume 3 of War & Peace. It's War!

It's now War 7-5 Peace.War is giving Peace a right kicking.

DEFCON5. Napoleon is heading for the gates of Moscow.

War And Peace Vol 3 Pt. 1

2011-07-10T01:42:00.000-07:00

I am now up to Part II of Volume 3 of War & Peace. Since my last report we have mostly been in the realm of peace, although an emotionally turbulent peace for some. There has been the odd foray into war, and things are now heading inexorably in that direction.

It's now War 4-5 Peace. A high scoring game, I fully expect this one to go to extra time. After a bit of a battering from Peace with a goal on the counter by war. Peace are tiring from there efforts and war are pushing in the midfield.

We are definitely at DEFCON4, Napoleon having invaded the Polish territories, moving rapidly towards DEFCON5. We may have made it as far as DEFCON1 at the most peaceful moments with everyone back from the army, but those days are past.

War & Peace Vol II Part 1

2011-07-03T14:42:00.000-07:00

I have now completed part one (vol. II) of War & Peace. This one back towards the peace again, although we must be wary of the fact that there is much emotional turmoil ongoing

It's now War 3-3 Peace. There was a duel, but it wasn't fatal.

After a rather disappointing defeat, we are back at DEFCON 4. However, further warlike action is heaving into view over the horizon, so a return to DEFCON 3 would be prudent.

War & Peace Part Three

2011-07-02T16:18:00.001-07:00

I have now completed part three of War & Peace. A bit more of a backwards and forwards between the War and the Peace.

It's now War 2-2 Peace.

We are drifted towards DEFCON2 while visiting the home front, then rapidly back to DEFCON1.

Here endeth Volume 1.

War & Peace Part II

2011-07-01T15:04:00.001-07:00

I have now completed part two of War & Peace. Thinks have now definitely moved into war territory. No discussion of peace, but a hint of treachery in the air.

It's now War 1-1 Peace.

We are now definitely at DEFCON1

War & Peace Part 1

2011-06-30T11:46:00.000-07:00

I have now completed part one of War & Peace. For those who like an analytical approach it's so far been mostly peace with some discussion of war, definite evidence of war on the horizon.

For the sporting types, it's War 0-1 Peace but war is beginning to dominate the midfield and looks likely to launch a few forays into the eighteen yard box.

For those who remember the classic 'War Games' and prefer a numeric system with degrees of War and Peace, we started at DEFCON3 and were at DEFCON2 by the end of part one.

2011-04-02T03:41:00.000-07:00

2011-04-02T03:38:00.001-07:00

This is the latest and probably final configuration of my pedalboard.

2011-03-17T10:56:00.000-07:00

2011-01-07T06:48:00.000-08:00

Granite and tennis ball based isolation platform

2011-01-05T23:44:00.000-08:00

A picture of an Audio Technica Stylus taken with my USB microscope.

March of time

2009-03-01T10:58:00.001-08:00

New additions pictured above are a set of Phil Taylor World Champion 24g 90%W, these were on a special deal at A180 darts. They appear to be new-old-stock from around the millenium (copyright on the card said 2000). They do seem to be somewhat purist-like with the short plain section at the end of the barrell, but with the black/tungsten colour scheme of the world champion darts.
Next to these are John Part Hero Golden 24g 95%W. These are a superb dart with a little more grip than the John Part World Champion Golden darts due to the 'Taylor' grip and slimmer thanks to the slightly higher tungsten content. A very nice dart that may usurp the John Part Golden World Champion 23g in my affections, but still has a way to go.

2009-02-09T14:08:00.000-08:00

Tumbleweed....

Nothing much doing, the eternal search for a job continues.
I have got myself a Unicorn UniTool for changing dart points. In pictures it didn't look much more than a pop rivet gun bit in reality is a much more impressive beast. Don't ask how I know, but be careful if using it to put points in, it is possible to screw down too hard and squash the point... A bit aggressive for non-destructive point removal (leaves some impressive marks on the removed points), but quick.
I suppose the marks from the removal might constitute 'board grip' points for some people...

Christmas and New Year

2008-12-31T11:48:00.000-08:00

Hello.
Another few additions to my collections. As a Christmas present I got myself a Unicorn Dartmate, into which I have mounted my Nodor Supermatch board. So if I get a job elsewhere I won't have to drill holes in walls and stuff... I also got a couple of Winmau Blade III boards which were on offer at tesco. So I won't be needing any more boards for a while.
Above is a picture of my latest arrows, the fabled Unicorn Phil Taylor Phase 5s (95%W, 26g) and some B&W John Part (90% W, 23g) which I picked up off eBay.
The Phase 5's are certainly different in feel to anything else I have (even the Sigmas), but I do like how they impact the board.

Happy New Year

8~)

2008-11-08T08:57:00.000-08:00

Another couple of new additions...

On the left a set of Unicorn Catalyst 80% Tungsten 23g
On the right a set of Winmau Cyclone 90% Tungsten TiN 22g (Movable Point)

I was after a set of Movable Point darts just to try them, and saw these on the ebay, all they needed was a bit of a clean. Still not entirely sold on the concept but it would be a bit of a hole in the collection.
The unicorns I have no real excuse for...

Caved in...

2008-10-15T13:17:00.000-07:00

I caved in and bought more darts.
25g Bulls Sharks, TiN coating, 90%W
As used by Raymond Van Barneveld to win the PDC world title the other year.

The Passage of Time

2008-09-15T12:19:00.000-07:00

So, much time has passed since I last posted. My Brother and his wife have moved to New Zealand, I haven't bought any new darts, my oche has been buried under piles of stuff, my Micra has been replaced by a Mondeo (with towbar Yay!), and to top it all off a couple of weeks ago I crocked my knee while pulling my boat out of the water.
Much poking by the doctor revealed no apparent damage to the internals, so some form of muscular tweak. It has certainly improved and isn't far from being back to full strength, still taking it a bit careful to avoid further damage.

Also of note recently were the Olympics. Many things have been written, some good, some bad. I personally love the Olympics, if I went through life seeing nothing but Olympics I could be perfectly content. Highlights for me were in the sports I have been involved in myself, cycling and sailing. Medals everywhere! Chris Hoy and Vicki Pendleton were both awesome in the Mens and Womens sprint events, to have kept focused and to have upped their performances from the Worlds while everyone else languished behind was exceptional. On the water my highlights were Ben Ainslies Finn gold medal, another peerless performance while all around were losing there heads in the earlier windless races, followed by a dominant performance in the delayed Medal race. Kudos to Zach Railey, nobody really tipped him before the games, but he sailed a calm, consistent and intelligent series to secure the silver medal. Another highlight was the performance of Percy and Simpson in the Star, two ex Finn sailors who kept there heads in the medal race to win Gold when it was far from a foregone conclusion.
But all told it was an amazing event, as ever. Roll on Vancouver 2010.
But wait I hear you say, have you not forgotten something.
Indeed. The Paralympics are on. Unfrotunately with the much reduced coverage on the BBC I haven't been able to see very much of it at all, but what I have seen has been inspiring as ever. Maybe if less money was spent sending enough pundits and commentators and presenters and summarisers and teaboys and so forth to outnumber the athletes, they could have afforded to give us the comprehensive coverage the Paralympics deserves.
After the debacle of the Womens wheelchair 5000m when there was a large crash on the penultimate lap and an official decided to wander across the track as the remaining athletes comitted to the final sprint and nearly got flattened leading to the returning of the medals and a rerun, and then the issues with the lane orders in the Mens 800m race resulting in protests and withdrawals of protests which nearly resulted in a rerun, I feel the athletes deserve better too. I'm sure the Paralympisc is a serious logistical operation, but I feel it unlikely that there would be two different lane order documents for any events in the Olympics, and even more unlikely that a rerun would be ordered AFTER the medal ceremony.
These athletes at the end of a four year cycle of training and qualification deserve better, and hopefully over the next four years and beyond these issues will become a thing of the past, just another growing pain along the road...

2008-05-23T13:30:00.000-07:00

Well, the Bobby George ones are very similar to the Silver Tungsten ones, not surprisingly I suppose.
The Stubby John Part darts do feel quite good, nice and chunky but not so large as to cause me much trouble.
Think I still prefer the 'normal' JP signatures though.

2008-05-20T07:12:00.000-07:00

Not much movement on the darts front recently. Still haven't mounted my new dartboard as the old one is holding together well for the time being. Have acquired another couple of sets of darts:
B&W John Part Stubby 24g 90% Tungsten

B&W Bobby George 22g 95% Tungsten

I thought I would take a picture of all the Bobby George darts as the last one I took was a bit out of focus. The new ones are in the middle.

More new darts

2008-02-25T13:15:00.001-08:00

Another couple of additions to the collection.
I saw some 23g Unicorn Terry Jenkins on eBay, and I don't have any completely smooth darts so I though why not... Surprisingly no issues with grip, but I haven't tried with particularly sweaty hands...
And just for the hell of it, I got a set of 12g darts with a shark grip to them. Also got some mini flights which seemed like they would suit these darts aesthetically better than full size ones. Fairly easily throwable, but I don't think I will be using them as my primary darts...

Wwwaaannnhunderdandeiiiigggghhhtttyyyyy

2008-02-15T12:03:00.000-08:00

180!!!!!!!!!

My first 180... I assumed I was going to do my usual after the first two went in and hit the single... or the one...
Then I lobbed it (the one at the top). Couldn't see where it had landed until I got up close.. Still couldn't quite believe it... (Phil Taylor Purist Golden, Medium Gripper Shafts, Normal Flights for those who care about such things)
Yay!!!

The Pedalboard Returns

2008-02-09T12:57:00.000-08:00

Moving on from darts to guitars this errr... 'episode'. After running out of space on my pedalboard: (The ring modulator gave way to an EVH flanger...)
I decided a revamp was in order. So I ordered in some speaker cabinet covering to cover the wood, some more handles, and dug out the piece of wood I had used for a smaller previous pedalboard. So with staples and glue I attached the carpet-like stuff, then screwed the handles on. It then transpired the velcro on my pedals was of the wrong gender, so I had to redo all the veldro. I then knocked together a few george l's and away we went.
The signal path is the same as before, with the boss line selector in the loop of the noise suppressor, and then the overdrives in loop A, and everything else in loop B. The main board pedals are all powered by a one spot with daisy chains except the MXR EVH Flanger which uses an 18v PSU. I also got around to drilling four holes in the main board so that the crybaby will sit down on the board itself. The smaller board is powered by the power bank PSU except the Crossroads pedal which has its own dedicated supply, it is raised up on some little adjustable furniture feet I got from the local Homebase and all the PSUs and gubbins are underneath there. The signal path on the smaller board runs from right to left (UFO, TU2, Robot, Little Alligator, Crossroads) and then goes to the main board. The only other change is I drilled a small hole in the ring modulator so I could run an adaptor to the battery connection and run it from the power bank. The main output goes to the Marshall DSL-201, with the stereo out of the Chorus going to the Marshall g15RCD. The carpet isn't quite as grippy as the straight velcro was, but it certainly looks a lot better and is grippy enough enough that the velcro tends to unstick from the pedal rather than the carpet...

23g Copper Tungsten

2008-01-30T11:52:00.000-08:00

My 23g Copper Tungsten darts arrived from eBay this morning. Having given them a bit of a throw I can say they certainly do feel a bit different. A worthy addition to the collection I think. And top marks to the seller for including copper coloured bubble shafts and copper metallic flights...

Unicorn Sigma Pro and a new board.

2008-01-29T12:29:00.001-08:00

A couple of things arrived in the post this morning...
First, a set of Unicorn Sigma Pro 23g 97% Tungsten darts, leaving aside claims of aerodynamic superiority this is a good looking set of darts. The ringed barrels are some of the grippiest ringed barrels I have used, the weight of the darts is etched onto the front of the barrel next to the Unicorn logo, and at the back of the barrel next to the sigma logo is a serial number. Nice touches. The stems seem the same as medium slick sticks, except they are marked as titanium. The flights certainly look a bit different to most, sort of a sharpened kite shape, but seem to work fine. In the set you get two sets of the sigma pro flights, as well as a set of Sigma One shafts and two sets of Sigma One flights. Worthy of mention here is the quality of the packaging. The darts come in an attractive, relatively compact box, out of which slides the Sigma branded leather case (a deluxe version of the Unicorn Midi Case apparently). Inside the case are the three barrels with shafts with the other accessories in the pockets of the case. Also in there is a little certificate with the serial number and weight of the darts on it. Certainly a cut above the usual packaging of darts.
As to how the darts throw I am so far quite impressed, the barrels as mentioned are quite grippy but also seem to allow various different holding positions effectively. Further comment will have to wait until I have used them a bit more.
Downsides are the shafts loosening from the barrels easily, although I sorted this with o-rings. I also have irrational concerns over galling with the titanium shafts, which I doubt will be a problem with darts, but would be a scunner none the less...
Also new on the block is a Nodor Supamatch board. Although I am not quite ready to retire my Nodor Supabull II for various reasons it proved advantageous to buy a new board now. As to why I chose a Nodor.... well I like to be different, and have been happy with my Supabull II.
Bye for now
Ken
8~)

Darts

2008-01-27T08:06:00.000-08:00

Hello Chaps. I am a man of many interests. Amongst which is darts, not much of a player, but I have accumulated a few sets of darts so I thought I would stick some pictures up. Some of them are a bit out of focus but you'll get the idea...

Andy Fordham
1: Datadart Andy Fordham Vikings 19g
2: Winmau Andy Fordham Viking Raiders 1 22g
3: Winmau Andy Fordham Viking Raiders 2 25g

1: Unicorn t90/CC660 25g
2: Unicorn Sting 80% Tungsten 21g

Phil Taylor Darts
1: Unicorn Phil Taylor Purist Golden 24g
2: Unicorn Phil Taylor Purist (Scalloped) 24g

Harrows Mini Darts
I can hit the board with these, but have rather limited control of direction...

I might describe these as my 'Barney' darts:
1: McKicks Alan Glazier Shark Machine 80% Tungsten 25g
2: Hi Tec The Vice 85% Tungsten 23g
3: Grand Slam Triple B Ghost Grip 24g
4: Datadart Triple B 25g

These are my Bobby George Signature Darts
1: B&W Bobby George Stubby 80% Tungsten 24g
2: B&W Bobby George Silver Bobby 10% Silver 24g

1: Winmau Dennis Priestley Menace 1 15g
2: Harrows Eric Bristow 22g

Some Harrows darts
1: Harrows Boxer knurled 21g
2: Harrows Boxer 24g
3: Harrows Magnum 97% Tungsten 23g

John Part Signature Darts
1: B&W John Part 95% Tungsten 23g
2: Unicorn World Champion John Part Golden 23g
3: B&W John Part 22g
4: B&W John Part 21g Gold Coated

Bye for now
Ken
8~)

A New Dawn

2008-01-17T13:17:00.000-08:00

So. Having failed utterly to regain access to my old blog, I have resorted to starting a new one. Here is a link to the old one, for the stuff that is there.

http://lukepiewalker.blogspot.com/

Anyhoo, it is now January of 2008. The Olympics are steaming over the Horizon, and the Track Cycling World championships in Manchester are positively looming overhead. My tickets have arrived, my hotel is booked.... Yay!!!