Twelve Favorite Books - An Instagram Challenge

A new challenge appears, thanks to Instagram. I’m posting my ten twelve favorite books over there, but clearly, that makes it a list that needs to go here too. (Note, most pictures are Amazon links, because most of my books are still tucked into boxes awaiting the completion of building out the library room.) And so, in no particular order…

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1. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress – Robert Heinlein. This is where the term “TANSTAAFL”, short for “There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch” originates. A short, but excellent story, it really ought to be required high-school reading.





 2. On Basilisk Station – David Weber. The first of the Honor Harrington novels, this is damn near a classic in its own right at this point. Best described as “Horatio Hornblower in space”, this series turns into a fantastic universe in its own right, with Weber gleefully pillaging historical inspiration for the background plot.






3. Lady Slings The Booze – Spider Robinson. The book that introduced me to Spider Robinson’s Callahan series, this is a fantastic combination of humor, adventure, and fantasy. Not something I’d hand to a younger reader though.






4. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams. British humour at its finest. I was thrilled to hand a copy of this off to my oldest son last month and pass the humor along to another generation.

5. Mr. Midshipman Hornblower – C.S. Forester. I read the Hornblower series before ever being introduced to Honor Harrington. Not only did it make me appreciate Weber’s work more, but the Hornblower series is great historical naval fiction in its own right.








6. Negotiate and Win: Proven Strategies from the NYPD’s Top Hostage Negotiator – Dominick Misino. Everyone can stand to learn to be a better negotiator. My father knew this when he gave each of his sons copies of this book. I learn something new every time I reread it, and the lessons I’ve learned have come in handy in the real world.

7. Great Fighting Planes – Alan Austin and Anthony Dicks. I have a lot of aviation books. This one is special to me, though, principally because it made its way to me via my grandparents’ suitcase after they took a trip to England in 1992.








8. Wind, Sand and Stars – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. One of the great early pilot novelists, this work speaks to the longing in the hearts of every pilot of every generation.






9. Heir to the Empire – Timothy Zahn. A Star Wars book? Here’s the thing, 1992 was not a great time to be a Star Wars fan. At that point, there were no movies to be excited about, no shows on TV, and few enough new books coming out. Then Timothy Zahn came, set a trilogy five years after Return of the Jedi, and introduced the fandom Star Wars most enduring villain: Grand Admiral Thrawn. Cold, calculating, ruthless, and brilliant, Thrawn is a brilliant villain almost as much for what he isn’t as for what he is. He isn’t evil. He’s not a Sith Lord. He’s just the greatest tactical genius the Empire ever created, someone who believes in what the Empire stood for, who wants to restore it. And he damn near succeeds. There’s a reason that Thrawn was one of the first characters from the old Expanded Universe to be re-canonized in the new continuity, via multiple appearances in the Star Wars Rebels TV show.

10. Wing Commander: End Run – Christopher Stasheff and William R. Forstchen. This is a huge sentimental favorite for me. Wing Commander will always have a place in my heart as my favorite video game series, and this novel is hands-down the best of the novelizations to come out of that universe. Set between events in two games, it’s a great space combat novel in its own right, giving characters that players have fought alongside in games greater depth and emotion than could ever be expected by a video-game tie-in novel.


11. Sam & Max Surfin’ the Highway – Steve Purcell. Can a graphic novel count in this list? It has to, even if I have to make it an eleven point list. Along with Douglas Adams, and Spider Robinson, Steve Purcell is most responsible for my sense of humor after discovering the original Surfin’ The Highway collection in my local library at fifteen. I still can’t pass a Stuckey’s without screaming about it in Max’s voice (usually into my motorcycle helmet, fortunately for everyone in my general vicinity.

12.   Goodnight Moon – Margaret Wise Brown. I’ve read a lot of books to my kids over the years. I’ve read Goodnight Moon so many times that I’ve pretty much got it memorized. We’re on our second copy, because the first was loved to death somewhere during Thing #3’s era of being read to. Someday, I hope to be reciting the book to my grandchildren. There’s something deeply soothing about reciting those words at night, then kissing a little one on the forehead and turning out the lights. “Goodnight stars, goodnight air, goodnight noises everywhere.”

Let's Play Light Fall, Act I

Following up last week's Light Fall Prologue, here's Act I of my Light Fall playthrough.




One of the things I really enjoy about this game is that the difficulty ramps up at a very reasonable pace. Act I is reasonably more difficult than the Prologue, and introduces a couple of new concepts. Act II, as we'll see next week, follows a similar formula, while revealing more about the world and the big adventure therein.

Around The Web - Five Whys

Hey, I'm published somewhere else again! I'm not sure how regular my contributions are going to be, but I'm happy to be contributing at least occasional articles over at The Motorcycle Obsession, and sharing my riding adventures with a new and bigger audience.

Check out my first article, Five Whys, where I answer five why questions about riding!

Top Piece of Advice For Younger Developers - Vlog 2018-21

If I had just one piece of advice that I would like to give to my younger self, it would be this.



Truth be told, I don't know if I would have actually listened to myself, but the fact remains, it's a lot easier to develop healthy habits in your twenties and maintain them, then to have to get started in your mid- to late thirties.

Let's Play: Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance - Battle Four, Mission One

Oh man! The same day that the new Han Solo movie comes out, we're on to the next chapter of X-Wing Alliance, and on a transport mission. The Otana may not be the Millennium Falcon, but she's a great mount for smuggling supplies, or stealing them from some Imperial suppliers.



This turns out to be a fairly easy mission. Defending the transports against the enemy fighters isn't especially difficult, and there's not too much opposition. Just get what you need, and get out before big trouble arrives.

Virtual Wings: Star Wars's Corellian Engineering Corporation YT-2000

“Hey, remember that ‘Ships of the Rebellion’ series you were doing? I found one more for you.” was how my editor started off the conversation. I honestly thought I was done. I’d covered every letter of the Alliance alphabet, moving from A- to B- and X, Y, and even Z. I’d flown every TIE variant the Imperials fielded, and even the Assault Gunboat and its weird offspring. Oh, and I’d flown a YT-1300. Not the infamous Millennium Falcon, I’ll grant you, but a YT-1300 none the less. What else was there?

“We’ve been going over some old records, and it seems like this Ace Azzameen guy flew a bunch of missions in his family’s YT-2000 transport, the Otana. The 2K ships don’t have nearly the collector value as the -1300 or -2400 series, but I found a guy in an Outer Rim sector who’s got one that’s still in flying condition. Want to try it out?”

Let's Play: Light Fall, Act Prologue

Starting a new Wednesday series for the next few weeks as I play through Light Fall, a gorgeous new action platformer from five person indie developer Bishop Games.



I first discovered this game at PAX South last year (2017) and have been eagerly awaiting its release ever since. It's got a great story, a lovely art aesthetic, and the folks at Bishop Games are some genuinely nice people who've been putting in a lot of hours supporting their game.

Around the Web - Twenty Things To Never Say or Not Say To Your Wife

Picking on click-bait listicles is like using a shotgun to shoot fish in a very small barrel, but it’s Around The Web Tuesday, and this article, found via Maggie’s Farm, just deserves a proper rewriting.

Image found via Stay At Home Mum

Presented, with my own commentary, is “Things No Wife Wants to Hear” from some website I’ve never heard of called BestLifeOnline. What’s really frustrating about this article is that the things to never say are pretty reasonable (though it could have been cut down to fifteen items). The explanations, on the other hand, are absolute rubbish, provided by professional therapists who make money by convincing people that they have perpetual problems which can only be fixed with more therapy.

So without further preamble, and in the style of Larry Correia, here's my take on twenty things to never say or not say to your wife. The original article's points are in bold, my responses are in italics.

1. You remind me of my mother.
   Yeah, don’t ever do this. Also, don’t say that she reminds you of her mother either. No good can come from either of these sentences.
   
2. Get over it.
   Don’t say this either.
3. Don’t take this personally.
   Look, just don’t say this to anyone, ever. Because any statement that you have to preface with this phrase, the hearer is going to take personally. Better to just not say it.
4. You’re just better with the kids than I am.
   You're only saying this to get out of something you don't want to do with the kids. Man up and do it.
5. I want a divorce.
   The article says don’t say this if you’re serious. They’re wrong. Don’t say this. Period. Even as a joke. It’s one of those things that gets inside your brain, and once it’s spoken, even as a joke, it’s going to start percolating back there. This sentence should be entirely obliterated from your conversation, unless you are absolutely, 100% serious about following through. 
6. Relax!
   This is just another way of saying “Get over it.” Don’t do it. Why you wanna go through it?
7. Why don’t we have sex like we used to?
   Do you want all sexytime to come to a screeching halt? No? Then don’t ask this. Things change, people get busier. Sex drives adjust. It’s reasonable and healthy to talk about what frequency you’d like to be doing the nasty, but before you to that, take a look in the mirror. Are you still the young stud you were when you two first met? Or have you put on a few pounds, maybe stopped trimming that unibrow as much, and are once again wearing that ratty t-shirt that she keeps telling you she hates? Fix yourself first, then have that conversation.
   
   Also, women are not automated loving dispensers where if you do the flawless ten steps, you get the same results every time. Sometimes you can do everything right, and something really is going on. But before you jump to that conclusion and start thinking zebras when you hear hoofprints, see the advice above. Look in the mirror. When's the last time you did the dishes, put away your shirts, or actually did one of those things she keeps asking you to get done? Fix yourself first.
8. You were so hot when we met.
   Key word here: “Were.” Past tense. As in, you’re not that hot anymore, what happened? If you say this, you’re an idiot and deserve to sleep on the couch.
9. Is that what you’re wearing?
   This is another colossally dumb thing to say. If you absolutely must question her choice of attire, frame it in the form of a compliment, i.e. “Honey, you look great, but I’m not sure your black cocktail dress is appropriate for an afternoon BBQ party at Bob’s house.” Either she’ll change, or she’ll tell you why you’re wrong. Either way, shut up and do not proceed further with this conversation.
10. Stop nagging me.
    Maybe she really is nagging you, but the odds are, she isn't. Shut up, say “Yes, dear” and move on. Better yet, get organized, start a Bullet Journal, and actually start getting things done around the house. Hey, it might solve phrase seven while you're at it!
11. Yes, that outfit does make you look fat.
    See also when to tell her “Relax”, or “Get over it."
12. What did you say?
    Now here’s the thing: you really should be paying attention, not half-listening for something important while checking the game scores on your phone. But, it’s better to stop, admit you weren’t listening, and ask her to repeat the past statement, rather than agree to host a play-date with the Millers next weekend because you weren’t really listening, and just mumbled “Okay” to her question. Also, she already knew you weren't listening. And if you're only selectively listening to her, why exactly is she supposed to be paying rapt attention to your words?
13. We’re out of money.
    If the budget is empty for the month, she needs to know. Financial responsibility conversations suck, but you absolutely have to have them, regardless of who the spender is. Ignoring the problem or covering it up will only make things worse later.
14. In a minute
    Do you mean you’re actually going to do it as soon as you finish whatever task you’re doing now? Say that. Do you mean you’re going to get to this new thing when Hell freezes over? Don’t say that, but at least acknowledge truthfully that you’re not going to get to it in her immediate timeframe. Also see thing #10. If you just got off your ass and did the thing, you wouldn't feel like she's nagging you to do it.
15. Did you finish?
    If you have to ask, you’re doing it wrong.
16. I know I said I would do it, but…
    See #14, In a minute…
17. I’m not attracted to you right now
    See “Yes that makes you look fat”, “I want a divorce”, “Relax”, and “Get over it.”
18. Calm down
    See “I’m not attracted to you right now”, “Yes, that makes you look fat”, “I want a divorce”, “Relax”, and “Get over it.”
19. I have an STD
    Did you get this from a past partner? Then it should have come up WAAAAAAAAY before getting married. Did you get it after you got married? Then you’re an unfaithful dumbass not even smart enough to properly use protection for your idiotic dalliances. Prepare to get screwed in court when the next words out her mouth are “I want a divorce.”
20. Silence
    After all of these things to not say, a reasonable man would conclude that if you are inclined to respond with any of these things, it would better to stay silent. No, says the article, you must say something! So damned if you do, damned if you don’t. If you absolutely must say something then, use something honest to buy time like “Can I think about this and get back to you? I’m not prepared to answer that right now.”

Monday Vlogging - Why Homeschooling?

Answering one of the most common questions I get when people find out that my wife and I homeschool our kids.



It's really not that weird.

Let's Play: Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance: Battle Three, Mission Seven

Remember Commander Kupalo? You rescued him along with a bunch of other Alliance prisoners captured on Hoth way back in Battle One, Mission Four. Well... It turns out that may have been a bit of a trap. Shocking news, right? So now we have to stop his shuttle, before he takes all the information we worked so very hard for on the last mission back to the Empire, along with the location of our fleet.



After the massive pain that was the last mission, this one is relatively straight forward. Kupalo will surrender his shuttle once you do enough damage to it, so be careful! Then it's just a matter of defending Storm Unit and AA-23 until they can jump back to the fleet.

Good luck!

Book Review: Daughters of the Night Sky

Daughters of the Night Sky by Aimie K. Runyan paints a tale of love, comradery, and inevitable loss, set against the backdrop of World War II on the Eastern Front. Based on the actual exploits of the Night Witches – Russia’s all female volunteer pilot squadrons – the book tells a story that few Westerners know much about.

One thing that Daughters of the Night Sky isn’t, is an aerial action thriller. To me, the air portions felt like the weakest parts of the book, serving mainly to move the plot of the characters along. Basic terminology mistakes, such as saying that German planes would “stall their engines” in trying to engage the Night Witches’ slow Polikarpov U-2 biplanes, take focus away from the story being told.

Combat isn’t the focus of the book, however, so I’ll leave my criticism of the author’s aviation errors at that. Instead, the focus is on the life of Katya Ivanova as she goes through the war, moving from initial navigator training through to the end of the war with the women of her squadron. Along the way we’re introduced to her comrades and squadron mates, and the man she falls in love with and marries.

In reality, the women of the 588^th flew near constant night bombing missions. Often flying eight or nine sorties a night, their primary role was to harass the nearby German camps and degrade the effectiveness of the enemy soldiers. By the end of World War II, their squadron had flown over 23,000 missions. For this, a squadron comprising a total of 261 women suffered 32 fatalities and 28 destroyed aircraft.

Katya and her squadron mates must deal with much more than German bullets, however. Sexist officers at every level cause nearly as many problems for the squadron as the enemy. The challenges push Katya and the others to work even harder, and show they are better than the male squadrons.

In the book, the author carefully tiptoes around the reality that the Easter Front was essentially two of the most grotesque mass-murdering tyrants the world has ever seen throwing bodies at each other. None of the main or supporting cast women that we meet are especially enthusiastic Communists, and several have a secret or two revealed along the way. It’s an understandable author’s decision not to include any particularly patriotic defenders of Stalin’s regime in the book, but it does detract a bit from the historical realism. It’s difficult to believe that none of the women who volunteered for flight duty were hardline Party supporters.

If you’re looking for descriptions of dramatic dogfights, tense cat and mouse battles with German fighters, and dramatic bombing runs, this book is going to be a disappointment. However, as historical fiction, it’s excellent and well worth anyone’s time.

Let's Play - Make Sail

Now in Steam Early Access, I did a preview for Make Sail a couple of months ago. A video does the game a lot more justice though, showing off some of the crazy creations that can be made, and really showing off the open world and loneliness feeling that the game inspires.




I really enjoyed my time with this game,and am looking forward to another playthrough when the developer gets the ending built.

Around the Web - Still Crushing The PAX East Content

Over at Marooners' Rock, we're still putting up a ton of awesome PAX East content. Here's a few of the cool things that you might have missed over the last couple of weeks:

Roarr! The Adventures of Rampage Rex Preview

Kaet Must Die Preview

State of Decay 2 Preview

Antigraviator Preview

Aimpad Interview - This is really a cool product interview!

Monday Vlogging - Beautiful Day For A Ballgame

Spring has finally arrived in South Dakota!

Let's Play Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance Battle Three, Mission Six

Absolutely, unquestionably, the most difficult mission I've run up against in this game.




Here's the thing. (MISSION SPOILERS AHEAD) As the Liberty makes a beeline towards the enemy Interdictor, it comes directly into the line of fire of the Imperial Star Destroyer. That's a problem, and it's a problem that can only be solved by killing the Star Destroyer before the ISD kills your home carrier.

I really can't tell if this is a mission bug or poor design, or if it was intended to work like this. It's a solution that goes completely against all of the in-game guidance, which suggests, at least, that the mission wasn't intended to be like this. Because the solution was totally counterintuitive, it took me a lot longer to figure it out.

Flying Tigers Companion - North American B-25 Mitchell

And so we come to the end of our aircraft companion series for Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China. FTSOC's final mission starts off by showcasing the North American B-25 Mitchell, an aircraft most famous for its role in the Doolittle Raid.

Fagen Fighters B-25J "Paper Doll" at the Sioux Falls Air Show in 2016. (My photo)

In the CBI Theatre, B-25s were primarily used as low-level Close Air Support (CAS) aircraft. Later versions of the aircraft saw steadily increasing quantities of forward-firing machine guns, which made them excellent for the job. USAAF B-25s also operated in the anti-shipping role against the Japanese navy, relying on skip-bombing and mast-level attacks to maximize their effectiveness.

Tail gunner's position view in IL-2

B-25s served in every major theatre of World War II, with surviving aircraft operating in military service in various countries into the 1960s. After being retired from military life, many aircraft found a second life as fire bombers and aerial camera ships. There are some forty-five aircraft still flying, many converted back from their second post-war life to once again represent warbirds.

IL-2's B-25J model in flight.

For simulator pilots, it can be a little bit more difficult to get behind the controls of a virtual B-25. FTSOC'S B-25 representation is okay, but obviously not a sim. IL-2 Sturmovik does feature a pretty solid representation of a B-25J, however, complete with usable nose, dorsal, tail, and waist gun positions.

Coffee is for Closers - Episode Thirteen - High School Never Ends

It sure feels that way sometimes, doesn't it? This zone adds a fourth tier for every location, so poor Yuri is going to be stuck here for a while.

Just Blame Me

I’m going to take a break from my usual Marooners’ Rock wrap-up posts to call attention to a totally different blog and post. A few weeks ago, Stuart Schneiderman over at his Had Enough Therapy? Blog, had a really long and excellent post called “The War Against Death”, which forms a discussion about Barbara Ehrenreich’s new book Natural Causes. The entire article is well worth reading, but one quotation from an article by Deanna Pai in New York Magazine, plus Schneiderman’s analysis really jumped out at me.

Pai says “But Ehrenreich’s analysis of our approach to death will resonate with anyone who’s ever had a serious illness, and she’s particularly incisive about the world’s collective need to know how others died so one can avoid making that same mistake, whatever it is. ‘Did she smoke? Drink excessively? Eat too much fat and not enough fiber? Can she, in other words, be blamed for her own death?’ she writes.”

Schneiderman adds “Can we blame her for her death? A sobering thought, to say the least. In a world where psycho professionals are beating the drums for non-judgmentalism, here we see the new accepted way of judging people. We do not judge them for their degenerate and decadent behaviors. We do not judge them for their bad manners. But, we happily pile on to the man with cancer because he ate too many fatty foods and did not eat enough fiber.

Blaming others for their deaths tells the living that they are better, that they have better, healthier habits. Does this allow them to believe that they have a say in when and how they die? I am hardly persuaded that it’s all about control. The term has become the psycho cliché du jour.”

What jumped out at in particular was the idea of people blaming others for bringing about their own demise. Here’s the thing. I love riding my motorcycle, and have no intention to quit until physically unable. I plan to get back in the cockpit and never stop committing aviation unless some physical limitations kick in. I’ll run until my body gives out (even though I still kind of hate it). Any one of those things could punch my ticket, as they have for countless people before me.

Much as I’d prefer a quiet, peaceful end in my hundreds, surrounded by three or four generations of family, it’s not something that everyone gets. I’m sure Crossfield, LeFon, Campbell, Salom, and all those others would have preferred that too, but that’s not what happened. I'm still not going to stop

I’ve talked about risks before, and risk mitigation, and the idea that risk can be managed, but never totally avoided. Call me a fatalist, but I take the view that when God calls me home, there’s no way around it. If that happens while I’m astride a snorting, angry Harley, or already cruising with the angels in a Cessna or a Mustang II, well, that’s just the way it’ll be. No doubt there will be some mental blaming by those who don’t know – “Oh, he shouldn’t have been doing that, it's too risky.” They’ll never understand the thrill of being alive that comes from melding with the road in a perfect turn, or slipping in a perfect landing at the end of a practice flight. 

Any of these things might kill me. But I’d also be dead if I stopped.

New Phone... Vlog 2018-18

A few likes/dislikes of the iPhone X after living with it for a few days. A bit of a fitness update too, as the second week of training comes to a close.

Let's Play Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China - Mission 12 - Final Flight

On July 4th, 1942, the American Volunteer Group disbanded, to be replaced by the 23rd Fighter Group of the United States Army Air Forces. Most of the members of the AVG would choose not to remain with the unit as it converted to an official USAAF group.




The final campaign mission is the perfect cap to the game's short campaign, allowing players to do a little bit of everything. There's some formation flying, a bit of turret work in a B-25, and finally one last swirling, hectic dogfight.

It's been fun sharing these missions. Next week though, it's back to Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance!

Flying Tigers Companion - Hawker Hurricane

We’re almost done with the Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China campaign, but there’s still two aircraft yet to be explored that figure into the campaign missions. The second I’ll talk about next week, since it doesn’t come into play until the final mission of the game, but the other I’ll cover today. The Hawker Hurricane, specifically the Mk IIB Tropical variant, has shown up in a few missions, flown by the RAF’s 232 Squadron and RNZAF’s 448 Squadron.

Hurricane V7476, which evacuated from Singapore to Australia.
Note the large tropical air filter under the chin. (Wikipedia)

Coffee is for Closers - Episode Twelve - She Went Back For What?

Finally away from Guro station, but back to high school? Well, at least Yuri can meet up with some of her friends from school. Wait, aren't they all supposed to have evacuated? Uh oh...

Around the Web - More PAX Content and a Where the Water Tastes Like Wine Review

Happy First of May everyone! Spring seems to have finally decided to stay for a while in South Dakota, so it's time to hit a few more links of what the folks over at Marooners' Rock have been up to lately.