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Post by ArcadiaGrey on May 7, 2021 22:19:31 GMT
MODERATOR POST
Poltics are a no go on the forum. Historical politics, yes, but baiting the thread to venture into current politics is low hanging fruit. If posters do it again, report and don't engage.
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I am as world trees have ever been since the dawn of time. I watch, I understand. And I remember.
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Post by Nyralim on May 9, 2021 17:09:48 GMT
Hi everyone, I'm pretty much an all constant lurker on the website here. But recently I got back into reading/watching history again as a hobby. So far I found some really treasure troves on this thread (thx all!). However, I pretty much encounter a lot of content is about Western history and mostly their point of view (France, Rome, HRE, England etc.). I wanted to brush up a bit and read up on other regions (like F.E. India) but having a hard time to finding a decent source (internet or otherwise)of information. Does anyone have online content or literature to recommended for this? Thanks in advance! The channel I posted above is not exclusively focused on the west, they have a variety of videos of different cultures, if you dig in to their video list you might find something that interests you. Here's a few samples.. Actually it may be worth trying posting in their comments you might get more help and a few recommendations/tips. *snip* Thx for the tip, I've been having a blast with the channel for several evenings now!
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Post by Sweet FA on May 10, 2021 0:00:52 GMT
Thx for the tip, I've been having a blast with the channel for several evenings now! Yeah you start watching one and then it's "oh that one looks interesting" and you end up going on a history binge for a few hours. I like the presentation and the attention to detail, it's well written and there's a nice variety of topics which does keeps things fresh and interesting as some channels tend to specialize/focus on one or two subjects which although well made and generally good can get a bit stale after a while. Learnt a few things I had never heard about before, which is always a good thing.
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Post by Sweet FA on May 10, 2021 18:54:00 GMT
It's always great to watch stories about the big characters and great events of history but I also enjoy learning about the more mundane everyday way of life of ordinary people, how they lived and the technology they used. I found the design/function of the roundhouse roof in these videos particularly clever.
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Post by rewindbutton on May 11, 2021 6:33:57 GMT
It's always great to watch stories about the big characters and great events of history but I also enjoy learning about the more mundane everyday way of life of ordinary people, how they lived and the technology they used. I found the design/function of the roundhouse roof in these videos particularly clever.
The area where we have a cottage in the country, is known for it's bronze and iron age settlements. Bronze artifacts have in fact been found just 10 yards from our house. Metal detectorists have asked for permission to come detect the land, but I've refused.
The funny thing is, there are these round shapes visible in a field by the river. They might just be large enough to be dwellings, but I'm not sure if they have ever been excavated.
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Post by Sweet FA on May 11, 2021 13:57:51 GMT
It's always great to watch stories about the big characters and great events of history but I also enjoy learning about the more mundane everyday way of life of ordinary people, how they lived and the technology they used. I found the design/function of the roundhouse roof in these videos particularly clever.
The area where we have a cottage in the country, is known for it's bronze and iron age settlements. Bronze artifacts have in fact been found just 10 yards from our house. Metal detectorists have asked for permission to come detect the land, but I've refused.
The funny thing is, there are these round shapes visible in a field by the river. They might just be large enough to be dwellings, but I'm not sure if they have ever been excavated.
Aerial views are usually one of the best ways of detecting settlement remains. I wonder if they are visible on existing aerial/satellite maps? If not a camera drone flown over the area (especially in summertime when parch marks appear) would probably reveal any obscured or normally hidden structure/settlement patterns.
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Post by rewindbutton on May 12, 2021 7:25:14 GMT
Aerial views are usually one of the best ways of detecting settlement remains. I wonder if they are visible on existing aerial/satellite maps? If not a camera drone flown over the area (especially in summertime when parch marks appear) would probably reveal any obscured or normally hidden structure/settlement patterns. Yes, I know; I once considered studying archeology. Three of the circles are visible in Google Earth, but there is a fourth circle near under a large tree. The terrain is hilly, so they are pretty easy to spot, particularly in july-august, like you said.
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Post by Sweet FA on May 13, 2021 4:17:54 GMT
A group of 22 Soviet tanks once came real close to the airfield he was in. The thing was, they didn't know he was there and held back to refuel. The devil doesn't claim the souls of his lackeys until they have run their course of evil. ...But he does harvest them in the end. Alternatively, you could say that this luck of Hitler's, was balanced by his "bad luck" when he was thinking and planning.
The redoubtable Dr Felton strikes again..
I've known about Foxley for years but this is a very concise video.
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Post by Lavochkin on May 15, 2021 16:26:07 GMT
[4k, 60fps, colorized] (1897) Sir Hiram Maxim testing his invention, the machine gun.
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Post by Captain Obvious on May 19, 2021 15:26:05 GMT
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Post by Lavochkin on Jun 14, 2021 2:57:26 GMT
A look at what North Vietnam(later the unified Vietnam under Hanoi) did with all the captured American military gear after the Vietnam War.
Their modernized M79 grenade launchers with optic sights look cool as heck.
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Post by c3cware on Jun 15, 2021 6:41:45 GMT
Operation Orchard -
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Post by Sweet FA on Jul 5, 2021 6:03:18 GMT
Interesting documentary on a little known forgotten backwater of the last gasps of the British withdrawal from empire. What happens when a commander goes rogue, disobeys orders and seeks to regain lost honour and get payback. All of it was ultimately futile, but the title is appropriate, it is very tribal in nature it's essentially: you kill ours we kill yours or an eye for an eye...
Echoes of Afghanistan strategy build and train local administration, police and military and then hand over power to "friendly" administration/allies. Failed then in the 1960's, failed with the Soviet Afghanistan occupation in the 1980's and failed now in the 2020's. It just shows that politicians, governments, security agencies and military planners ignore history at their peril, nation building rarely works, we need to heed the lessons of history, not repeat the mistakes of the past.
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Post by B. Hieronymus Da on Sept 28, 2021 16:45:11 GMT
Apparently the Soviet Union built its first toilet paper factory 1969. (a small step for mankind, but a giant leap for a man.) Same year USA landed men on the Moon. (a small step for a man, but a giant leap for mankind.)
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Post by B. Hieronymus Da on Sept 28, 2021 17:03:53 GMT
And this story was buried for a long time.
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Post by B. Hieronymus Da on Oct 6, 2021 22:04:31 GMT
I've heard this before...
...but this time it caught my interest, because he's an example of what he's saying himself. I would call the first example 4:30 of pink "pink". The second though 5:04, I would primarily call "rose", or maybe "rose magenta", or even just "magenta". It's functionally all those things, but primarily it's rose. And 'rose' is a Magenta, if we use the magenta label as an umbrella term for minus-green colors. While "pink" is a Red, if we use the red label as an umbrella term for red colors.
So yea, maybe people can't see colors they have no word for? That may be why so many people think red, blue and yellow are primary colors. Also, "BLUE" in the background, is written with a Cyan color.
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Post by Lavochkin on Oct 7, 2021 2:20:04 GMT
I've heard this before... ...but this time it caught my interest, because he's an example of what he's saying himself. I would call the first example 4:30 of pink "pink". The second though 5:04, I would primarily call " rose", or maybe "rose magenta", or even just "magenta". It's functionally all those things, but primarily it's rose. And 'rose' is a Magenta, if we use the magenta label as an umbrella term for minus-green colors. While "pink" is a Red, if we use the red label as an umbrella term for red colors. So yea, maybe people can't see colors they have no word for? That may be why so many people think red, blue and yellow are primary colors. Also, "BLUE" in the background, is written with a cyan color. Reminds me of this vid, which talks about how brown isn't an actual color in and of itself, but dark orange.
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Post by B. Hieronymus Da on Oct 7, 2021 18:11:33 GMT
Reminds me of this vid, which talks about how brown isn't an actual color in and of itself, but dark orange. I'm sorry but I only watched the start of that video. It was enough. I have no tolerance for watching him further. Thus, I feel forced to write an entire Essay. Of course browns are real colors. In fact it's an excellent example of what a “color” is. Let's first land on our feet. Imagine that we take a large set of different Orange and Brown color samples. Imagine that we assemble a large test population of normal people, with normal color vision, who have the words for 'brown' and 'orange'. Imagine that we explain to them that: “Of course the borders between colors are sometimes fuzzy for some color samples. And let us all recognize this; that some colors will lie, sort of, in between”. Imagine then that we ask them all, each of them individually, to sort the color samples into two groups, Brown and Orange, while ignoring those samples that they feel are in between. Do you believe that everybody will have the same samples in the Brown group, and the same samples in the Orange group? Disregarding that some may also have some “in-between” in one of their groups? I do believe that, and I further believe that I have then established that Brown and Orange are distinct and different colors. And that this is an objective fact. Now, on our feet again, let's continue: 'Hue' is not the same as 'Color'. The colors in Human color vision can be described by coordinates in a 3-dimensional volume. Color is a 3-dimensional attribute, because they are experienced through three different registrations of the spectrum that is reflected from a surface. But there are two different, possible coordinate systems that can describe the color. One has the strength of RED, GREEN, BLUE components as axes. The other has HUE, VALUE, SATURATION as axes. A brown color has a low value, low saturation, and can have an orange hue, but that doesn't make it a “ dark orange”. An orange color has high value and high saturation. Also, a brown can just as well have a yellow hue, actually anything from greenish yellow hue to red hue. And that makes them into different browns. Because there are many different brown colors. Human color vision is geared to weigh the spectrum of reflected colors as it relates to the illuminating light's spectrum. As fractions, percentage of the illuminating light's spectrum of wavelengths. This is the only evolutionary need. We need to recognize the same objects and environments, regardless if we see it in the mid of the day or the evening, regardless if we see it a sunny day or overcast. The world has to look the same. This computation is done partly directly in our Retina, by chemical means, and partly in our brains. Digital cameras need to do the same processing, for direct image output. And they do. Alternatively it's done by the development software, processing a RAW-file, on a computer, later. Back in the chemical days, we used different films for daylight and tungsten lamps, and filter packs to adjust color during printing. We do not see color as a weighing of the absolute reflected spectrum. That is wildly shifting depending upon the illumination, and would make it impossible to identify a color. The weighing always also includes the illumination and ambient light. For the same reason, light from a light emitting device, cannot be assigned a color, unless it is in the context of an established “Whitepoint”. Most displays, TVs, monitors, phones, adapt their output to what they think is your ambient light. I will go on and try to explain what color is, and how our color vision works. Color is light. Light (visible light) is electromagnetic radiation in roughly the wavelength range of 700 to 380 nm. Every color that we perceive is a weighing of three different, separate registrations of light. A *RED* registration, a *GREEN* registration and a *BLUE* registration. It is important to understand that there is an infinite or next to infinite number of different spectra that can make up any color. We cannot see or identify the spectrum. Only a weighing of three different registrations of the spectrum. Color is not the spectrum. The RED registration is most sensitive to the long wavelengths and then falls off. But the dramatic fall suddenly halts itself somewhat and sensitivity carries on into the short wavelengths, actually rises very slightly. The GREEN registration is not sensitive to the longest wavelengths at all, most sensitive to "medium" wavelengths and then falls off steeply into shorter wavelengths. The BLUE registration is even less sensitive to long wavelengths, but the most sensitive to short wavelengths. When we create a color from a light emitting devise, like a color display screen, we must mix portions of RED, GREEN and BLUE light to recreate the desired weighing that comes out as representing the desired color. This is called *ADDITIVE* color mixing. The only (almost, but nvm) colors needed in additive color mixing are red, green and blue. That is why your screen's pixels have red, green and blue sub-pixels. (In reality, there's a problem with cyan color components. A more perfect display could be done with 4 different pixels.) We perceive a weighing that has a low BLUE component as having a Yellow hue. We perceive a weighing that has a low GREEN component as having a Magenta hue. We perceive a weighing that has a low RED component as having a Cyan hue. A paint (or surface) does not emit light. It reflects light. White paint reflects all light. Black paint reflects no light. A paint or surface of color does not reflect all the light. Its color is due to that it removes parts of the light. When we create a color on a reflective surface, we must consider what we *REMOVE* from the white light. *YELLOW* paints mostly removes light perceived as blue. It is a "minus-blue". *MAGENTA* paints mostly removes light perceived as green. It is a "minus-green". *CYAN* paints mostly removes light perceived as red. It is a "minus-red". From this it comes naturally that we can create a color mixing system based upon CYAN, MAGENTA and YELLOW. This is called *SUBTRACTIVE* color mixing. And this is in fact the basis for most color printing processes as well as the old, film based color photography. But we need to hold our horses here for a minute. Because while we can mix every *HUE* from CMY, we cannot mix every *COLOR*. This is due to that our eyes' three different registrations of light overlap each other. There are other reasons as well, but this is enough to throw the entire beautiful cyan-magenta-yellow idealization into the wastebasket. And that's why printing use CMYK. It's still a compromise, only an approximation of color reproduction, but it's much better than CMY. But we can take something away from this: The fact that a paint subtracts something, and that color mixing is an exercise in removing red, green and blue parts from the reflected light. All mixing of colors with paints, is subtractive color mixing. There are no Cyan, Magenta and Yellow colors that are the “perfect subtractive, primary mixing color”. This is again due to that the three registrations that are weighed are overlapping each other. A simple mixing system spanning all colors is pretty impossible. But closer would be a system that is made up from 8 “primary” colors. Two cyans, two yellows, and four magentas. Why? We want one cyan that retains as much green as possible, beside the blue, even if that also retains some red. And we want one cyan that excludes as much red as possible, even if that also excludes some green. The two yellows and four magenta follows similar reasoning. This is however not how painters build their palettes. They follow many other considerations instead. Finally, let me point out a functional and distinct property that demonstrate that brown and orange are different colors: If you mix orange with a minus-green, you get a red color. If you mix orange with a minus-red, you get a green color. If you do the same with a brown, you get a darker color that will probably still be recognized as a “brown”. ( And if this is exactly what he ends up saying in the end? In the video I didn't bother to watch? I suppose I'll look the fool. I have to live with that.)
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Post by Sonya on Oct 9, 2021 10:35:28 GMT
It's always great to watch stories about the big characters and great events of history but I also enjoy learning about the more mundane everyday way of life of ordinary people, how they lived and the technology they used. I found the design/function of the roundhouse roof in these videos particularly clever. Imo it is not only far more interesting but more reliable source of information revealing our past, unlike written sources rewritten million times under orders of authorities to look like knights in shining armor and show the previous leaders and events as if they never existed or were morons. These are good videos. There is something similar called Museum of Wooden Architecture - Vitoslavlitsy: wooden houses, architecture, monuments, excursions to see mundane everyday life starting from the 12th century IIRC, events ec. Open-air type museum for more depth. Studying history using such methods is more interesting - be part of the past.
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Post by B. Hieronymus Da on Oct 15, 2021 21:41:53 GMT
This was a fascinating story. A flavor of 'Biggles', though they were Germans. Never heard of it before.
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Post by bear on Nov 30, 2021 2:35:16 GMT
The regional museum's (North Jutland, Denmark) archaeologists have been digging through a major burial site that stretches from the 3rd to the 6th century CE, and uncovered among other things, a nearly intact, very high quality 4th century drinking glass that, estimated by its design, is thought to have originated around the area of modern day Ukraine and Moldova. Another find in the graves, was a Roman medallion of Constantine the Great: I can pretty much guarantee that that glass is going to be copied and sold in their gift shops by next year. xD Interestingly, there's also evidence of grave vandalization alongside the usual graverobbing. Some graves show signs that the remains in the "coffins" (or rather, small boats) have been disturbed or the coffins were broken into, but the grave goods - even if expensive - were not touched. Whether the Roman connection is just traded goods, or if it was payment for either being paid to not ally with the enemies of Rome (or neutrality, if you will), payment to fight some neighbor that threatened Rome's borders, or if the individual in the tomb had simply personally been in Roman service as an auxilia... we don't know.
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Post by cribbian on Dec 7, 2021 10:24:53 GMT
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Post by Sweet FA on Dec 23, 2021 17:29:22 GMT
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Post by B. Hieronymus Da on Jan 2, 2022 23:50:45 GMT
Two of the Essex class Carriers returning home.
Both were refitted for jet aircraft with steam catapults and angled deck after WW2. Both participated in the Vietnam war, Shangri-La extensively so. Hancock was remade into a helicopter carrier at her end of career, and participated in the evacuation of the embassy when South Vietnam fell.
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Post by rewindbutton on Jan 10, 2022 16:28:17 GMT
[Disclaimer: My eyes are acting up again, so you’ll have to excuse the typos.]
This year marks the quatercentenary of the emergence of my family name. To put this into perspective, a reminder of what was going on in the world at that time: The Edo period had begun in Japan almost two decades ago, the Mayflower had dropped anchor in Cape Cod just two years before, and The Thirty Years’ war had begun in 1618.
Not much is known about my forefather, except that he hailed from Pomerania and that he ‘took the King’s shilling’ in 1622. The king in question was Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, currently fighting the Poles in the Polish-Swedish War. The historical records where my ancestor is mentioned are church records and the muster rolls of the Dalarna Regiment. There are some discrepancies though.
At that time the regiment had already adopted the allotment system, meaning that the troops were trained local (Swedish) professionals. A German mercenary doesn’t fit the bill, not yet at least. And the Swedish-Polish War had been going on for two decades already; it wasn’t a religious war, like the Thirty Years’ War.
And now the interesting fact: Swedish soldiers were recorded by their Christian name, by-name (think nickname) and place of birth. The by-names could be given by the captain and were usually short and practical, and often descriptive. For all intents and purposes, they were noms de guerre. But as practical as these by-names were, they make later tracking of people quite difficult.
Let’s say your name was Dieter Eiche (Oak), and your captain gives you the by-name Ek (Oak in Swedish), because you are a big sturdy fellow. From now on you are known as Dieter Ek from Grimmen. Did your name just change or not? And you were supposed to give up the by-name when you retire, but not all soldiers did so.
Let’s speculate further. So you are Dieter from Grimmen, the youngest son (pun intended) of the family, a poor peasant with no prospects. But you are a strong guy, and Germans are known for being mercenaries at this point. When you hear that the King of Sweden is paying top Taler for soldiers, you think that this might be your chance for fame and fortune. So you enlist and become Dieter Ek. And what do you know, you actually made it! You survived and made enough money to retire. And you got to know people too. Do you change your name back or not? You’ve heard that land is cheap in Sweden, and there’s no war there…
So our imaginary Dieter moves to Sweden, buys some land, marries and has children. 400 Years later his name can still be found in the church records. But is it Ek or Eiche? Or something else entirely?
As for my forefather, the Swedish by-name system makes further tracking of him almost impossible. But did the genealogist even get the year right? For me, 1632 would make a lot more sense. Gustav’s campaign was in full swing and he was in constant need of replacements. And statistically this was the time period when most of the German mercenaries were recruited. And since he was a protestant, there could be a religious reason for joining up.
Anyway, the story doesn’t end there. My ancestors emigrated again and fought for various kings and countries over the centuries. There have been peaceful times too; some were merchants, some fishermen, sailors, carpenters and shipwrights. There isn’t much to show for it all; Fires, floods, wars and civil wars have seen to that. And drunks, there’s been a lot of those too.
My motivation for writing this: Normally there would be preparations underway for a Grand Family Reunion, but I doubt there’s going to be a gathering this year. We didn’t survive this long by being stupid.
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