RE: Intellectus Ex Nihilo (Wal-Mart on Ice)

RE: Intellectus Ex Nihilo (Wal-Mart on Ice) (Full Version)

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RangerJoe -> RE: Intellectus Ex Nihilo (Wal-Mart on Ice) (2/21/2019 8:44:04 PM)
Airlift out the Malaya HQ and he might come with it. Just airlift out less than half so the main HQ does not transfer. Once enough of the HQ is relocated, then Slim should relocate as well. I am able to airlift out the Malaya HQ to Sumatra but it may be able to go elsewhere. You can check now to see if it will airlift out. That also will save the HQ for command HQ purposes until it disbands.

Canoerebel -> RE: Intellectus Ex Nihilo (Wal-Mart on Ice) (2/21/2019 8:46:44 PM)
I won't have anywhere left to airlift, when the time comes. The Allies won't have any bases closer than Port Blair, at 26 hexes (assuming I still hold that at the time, which is doubtful).

Canoerebel -> RE: Intellectus Ex Nihilo (Wal-Mart on Ice) (2/21/2019 8:49:22 PM)
Now I can slow down the posts. I posted a day-by-day account for two reasons - one, the journey to level six began to take on an air of interesting inevitability; and, two, I've been pretty quiet in the AAR and hoped the sudden activity would give Dave the idea that something big might be up somewhere.

BBfanboy -> RE: Intellectus Ex Nihilo (Wal-Mart on Ice) (2/21/2019 8:53:49 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Canoerebel Now I can slow down the posts. I posted a day-by-day account for two reasons - one, the journey to level six began to take on an air of interesting inevitability; and, two, I've been pretty quiet in the AAR and hoped the sudden activity would give Dave the idea that something big might be up somewhere. [:D] Tricky. tricky, Dan the Devious Deceiver!

RangerJoe -> RE: Intellectus Ex Nihilo (Wal-Mart on Ice) (2/21/2019 9:00:37 PM)
PBYs can airlift troops farther than 26 hexes, I think. I know that they can go a long way. It might even be able to go for the entire transfer distance. It might also depend upon if there is air support at each end of the transfer. You can also start now and if the Malaya HQ takes a lot of losses, then the HQ might transfer. It is up to you to try and see if Calcutta will work. My game is not open right now so I can't try it. Maybe even SSTs will be able to load some troops. If you want to have a lot of posts for psy-ops purposes, just post a picture of a tree that you took on a walk and maybe there will be six pages of comments . . .

erstad -> RE: Intellectus Ex Nihilo (Wal-Mart on Ice) (2/21/2019 11:44:36 PM)
quote: just post a picture of a tree that you took on a walk I suppose CR could take a smallish ficus on a walk. (A bonsai would be even more practical, but could be interpreted as showing sympathy to the enemy.)

Canoerebel -> RE: Intellectus Ex Nihilo (Wal-Mart on Ice) (2/22/2019 12:23:22 AM)
A week ago I did a tough 10-mile loop hike to the crest of Tatum Lead, a long, narrow ridge about 50 miles from home. It was a cool morning under a flawless winter sky. Afterwards, I quickly jotted down a little poem. The question is whether it's any good. To be honest, I think it's decent. Or, I should say, I think it fairly captures the experience that day. But ultimately I'm not the judge of the quality. I know whether or not I like something, and my opinion matters. But quality in writing is really judged by the reaction of the reader. So I keep toiling along, partly because I love writing and partly because I keep hoping that if I stick with it long enough, eventually chance (serendipity) will smile, so that the quality (that I hope is there) is recognized sufficiently that I can support myself by writing. That's a pretty tall dream! [image]local://upfiles/8143/B62F0ED1049545C5876B964D22354513.jpg[/image]

BBfanboy -> RE: Intellectus Ex Nihilo (Wal-Mart on Ice) (2/22/2019 12:58:43 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Canoerebel A week ago I did a tough 10-mile loop hike to the crest of Tatum Lead, a long, narrow ridge about 50 miles from home. It was a cool morning under a flawless winter sky. Afterwards, I quickly jotted down a little poem. The question is whether it's any good. To be honest, I think it's decent. Or, I should say, I think it fairly captures the experience that day. But ultimately I'm not the judge of the quality. I know whether or not I like something, and my opinion matters. But quality in writing is really judged by the reaction of the reader. So I keep toiling along, partly because I love writing and partly because I keep hoping that if I stick with it long enough, eventually chance (serendipity) will smile, so that the quality (that I hope is there) is recognized sufficiently that I can support myself by writing. That's a pretty tall dream! [image]local://upfiles/8143/B62F0ED1049545C5876B964D22354513.jpg[/image] More than just decent - it does communicate the experience in an almost surreal way, like a dream - too extraordinary to be real. Just one comment - remove the ending "s" in coves and draws and it sounds more like classic poetry.

Canoerebel -> RE: Intellectus Ex Nihilo (Wal-Mart on Ice) (2/22/2019 1:16:10 AM)
Of course! Why didn't I think of that? And I wouldn't have. I could've stared at that for the next two years and overlooked it. Thanks, BBfanboy.

CaptBeefheart -> RE: Intellectus Ex Nihilo (Wal-Mart on Ice) (2/22/2019 1:37:34 AM)
Great words, sir! That and other pieces you've shared with us. Good luck in monetizing that. I'd like to be a novelist while my wife brings in the paycheck. Maybe in a few years. I would probably exchange Slim when the end is looking close. He'd be worth the PP to keep safe. Cheers, CB

RangerJoe -> RE: Intellectus Ex Nihilo (Wal-Mart on Ice) (2/22/2019 1:48:16 AM)
Yes, that is nice. A picture or two might even draw more comments. Of course, if I would have been on that hike, you could have written about how a Life Flight helicopter rescued me. Although, in my heyday, I could out walk people who could outrun me. I even met a couple of hills called Agony and Misery but the gate to Heartbreak was locked. But then again, I did not know that I had asthma.

ChuckBerger -> RE: Intellectus Ex Nihilo (Wal-Mart on Ice) (2/22/2019 7:09:02 AM)
Only the path ahead kept me grounded so that I didn't walk into the blue // Did I walk, grounded, the path ahead? Or did I step blithely into the open blue?

Canoerebel -> RE: Intellectus Ex Nihilo (Wal-Mart on Ice) (2/22/2019 10:53:34 AM)
I think a lot about writing, since I sort of make my living doing it (I really make my living editing, but writing gives an assist). According to novelist Terry Kay, there are about 300 people in America making their living as writers. I assume he was referring to novelists and not including journalists. His point was that it's a tiny industry and very hard to make a living doing it. The odds may be a bit better than making the NBA but not quite as good as MLB or NFL. :) Even the best/most accomplished writers wrote with mixed success. I like a lot of Robert Frost's poetry but not all of it. Ditto the writing of Mark Twain and Jack London. I like some of the works of E. A. Poe and John Grisham but not a majority of it. I loved many of the early works of Kenneth Roberts, Alistair MacLean, Michael Crichton and Tom Clancy but not much of their later works (why they tailed off - writing under the pressure of big contracts, no doubt - makes a topic of its own). The great writers of the 1920s struggled - Steinbeck, Fitzgerald, Faulkner, Hemmingway, Stein, and on and on - while Zane Gray thrived. I've read most or all of Gray's nvoels. I enjoyed them as a youngster and thought their plots simplistic as an adult (but his descriptions of the western landscape are superb). I think Bill Bryson may be America's finest living writer but I don't like alot of his books due to (by my way of reckoning) the abundant and unnecessary vulgarity. By any measure, he's been remarkably successful. In my line of work, I meet alot of people who have aspirations to write. There's a common subconscious belief that if one can just get a book in print, fame and profit (not fortune) must necessarily follow (on the belief that America is so big that just a small percentage of the population buying will mean success). Just like there's a common assumption that writers only work when they have to and that not too often. Most writers resort to self-publishing on learning (to their dismay, usually) that no publisher is interested in their book on local history. I've known dozens who have done this. Not one achieved any real measure of popular success, though self-satisfaction in getting it done was usually immense. Few of them turned a profit and none to any marked extent. I've worked with a couple of authors whose talent is superior and who have broken into the mainstream with novels, non-fiction, or serialized writing....and not one of them has made a living doing it. They struggle like crazy and usually they made their livings otherwise (one as a physician, one in a major corporation, one as a teacher) and wrote later, during retirement years, and then to only minimal recognition and success. All of them continue to forge ahead, enjoying what they are doing and hoping that chance one day smiles on them. And there's an element of chance to it all. The right writer in the right place with the right product at the right time. So that Harper Lee becomes an overnight sensation...or John Grisham hits it big with his first rousing novel....or Stephen Ambrose toils and toils until he builds his reputation and finds a topic with mass appeal (WWII) rather than non-mass-appeal heft. This kind of stuff is as interesting to me as the weather and the maneuvings of baseball teams during the offseason (meaning, not many find it interesting!).

RangerJoe -> RE: Intellectus Ex Nihilo (Wal-Mart on Ice) (2/22/2019 12:21:35 PM)
If I remember correctly, Zane Gray was a New York City dentist, Louis L'Amour actually went over the ground. He also was from North Dakota and worked (among other things) as a cowboy. John Grisham was a lawyer if I remember correctly and did actually practice in court. He may have even been in a jury. A lawyer in a jury deliberating I think is another attorney's nightmare. Stephen Ambrose writes to a large target audience because all of the veterans and their families. Plus, a lot of that history is glossed over in school. A college history course textbook had four pages on WW I, four pages on WW II, barely mentioned the Korean War, and four pages on the Vietnam War. When one thinks of all of the social, economic, and technological changes because of those conflicts, it does not make sense to barely skim them.

Canoerebel -> RE: Intellectus Ex Nihilo (Wal-Mart on Ice) (2/22/2019 12:53:38 PM)
Yup, Zane Grey was a Big Apple dentist who grew up in Ohio. According to Bill Bryson, Gray had a massive collection of pornography. That didn't seep into his work, except he was fond of using the verb "ejaculated": "' Get away from my horse!' the cowboy ejaculated." He's also fond of the word supple. Grisham was indeed a practicing lawyer in Mississippi. Most of his early books were really gripping. Yeah, Ambrose was the right man at the right time to plug into the last decade of vigorous life of the aging WWII veterans, interviewing them, weaving their stories into compelling accounts. Funny how authors have favorite words. Alistair MacLean: "eldrich" and "ululating." Kenneth Roberts: "toothsome."

RangerJoe -> RE: Intellectus Ex Nihilo (Wal-Mart on Ice) (2/22/2019 2:18:27 PM)
In fifth grade, I preferred to read Zane Gray than go to school. I also read about PT-109 then as well. As an older brother said, school was boring . . . The first two books of Dune were good, the rest were a chore. I also noticed how the author went from "Drugs are great" to "No drugs is better!"

Bif1961 -> RE: Intellectus Ex Nihilo (Wal-Mart on Ice) (2/22/2019 4:18:49 PM)
Canoerebel the WITPAE warrior-poet.

RangerJoe -> RE: Intellectus Ex Nihilo (Wal-Mart on Ice) (2/22/2019 5:31:03 PM)
quote: Canoerebel the WITPAE warrior-poet. That would make him a WITPAE Samurai - the only thing is, I don't think that he ever plays the Japanese side!

USSAmerica -> RE: Intellectus Ex Nihilo (Wal-Mart on Ice) (2/22/2019 5:46:50 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Canoerebel A week ago I did a tough 10-mile loop hike to the crest of Tatum Lead, a long, narrow ridge about 50 miles from home. It was a cool morning under a flawless winter sky. Afterwards, I quickly jotted down a little poem. The question is whether it's any good. To be honest, I think it's decent. Or, I should say, I think it fairly captures the experience that day. But ultimately I'm not the judge of the quality. I know whether or not I like something, and my opinion matters. But quality in writing is really judged by the reaction of the reader. So I keep toiling along, partly because I love writing and partly because I keep hoping that if I stick with it long enough, eventually chance (serendipity) will smile, so that the quality (that I hope is there) is recognized sufficiently that I can support myself by writing. That's a pretty tall dream! [image]local://upfiles/8143/B62F0ED1049545C5876B964D22354513.jpg[/image] Good stuff, Dan! [sm=00000436.gif]

RangerJoe -> RE: Intellectus Ex Nihilo (Wal-Mart on Ice) (2/22/2019 8:16:51 PM)
Think about driving on this road, where it looks like you just might drive into the blue: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2056698/The-road-Norwegian-bridge-gives-motorists-fright-dont-worry-just-optical-illusion.html For some reason, I could not upload the picture so I gave the link to an online article.

Canoerebel -> RE: Intellectus Ex Nihilo (Wal-Mart on Ice) (2/23/2019 2:47:46 PM)
4/15/42 to 4/20/42 China: No changes in the MLR. The IJ stack a hex NW of Sian has show various movement dots but now seems stationary. I think this reflects some uncertainty about whether to attack Sian now, wait for reinforcements, or seek to probe flanks. Overall, the Chinese MLR is somewhat tenuous but holding. This is a fascinating part of the game. Burma: Under cover of KB, Dave has brought in reinforcements and probably supply and base forces, giving him a much more cohesive grip on the Burma and Malaya theaters. The Allied expeditionary army remains in the jungle, not quite surrounded. There's minimial hope for any part of them escaping, but they're drawing plenty of attention from enemy bombers and from some ground units. Bay of Bengal: I think KB is in the vicinity but temporarily off the radar. The Allies hold Port Blair modestly. Dave should come hard for it. CV Hornet has arrived, giving me three USN CVs, two RN CVs, and Hermes. If Dave splits KB to help in the Pacific, perhaps.... Singers: No enemy attacks. Enemy bombing is mostly weak and ineffective. Allied AA fire uses some supply but it's worth it. DEI: I still hold Batavia and Sabang, but those will vanish shortly. Cocos Island is still Allied and vacant. SWPac: An enemy combat TF has been posted at Lunga for weeks. Dave hasn't expanded his perimeter. Little enemy activity here. SoPac: Enemy subs around Fiji, Noumea and Christmas Island; otherwise, no enemy activity since Dave chased down Lex and killed her on Dec. 19. By the way, it turned out he lost three AOs up near Midway at the start of the chase. Man, he must've been low on fuel. Man, the thought of Lex still hurts. I'm in the process of turning Luganville and Efate into tough little bastions - not strong enough to risk alot but strong enough to require a real commitment. CenPac: Utterly quiet. xAKLs make regular runs to Midway without altercation. Supply up to 18k; forts about 4.25. NoPac: No enemy activity here ever. Here, too, I'm creating small redoubts - Kodiak, Dutch Harbor and Adak. Air War: The Allies have done well, with Dave having lost about 300 more aircraft. The air war has been relatively vigorous early on, which I prefer.

RangerJoe -> RE: Intellectus Ex Nihilo (Wal-Mart on Ice) (2/23/2019 2:58:37 PM)
quote: . . . By the way, it turned out he lost three AOs up near Midway at the start of the chase. . . Anytime that you can get Japanese AOs/tankers/xaks loaded with fuel, they seem to burn up. I have killed Japanese ships with four hits from the PTs 50 caliber machine guns. they didn't even show heavy fires nor damage in the combat report. Once the fuel start to burn, they just can't seem to stop the fire. So even fighters without bombs can sink those ships just by starting fires. It is a good thing to remember so you don't load ships with troops and fuel. If someone did and the ship was attacked and started burning, I guess that you could call it a gas barbeque . . .

Canoerebel -> RE: Intellectus Ex Nihilo (Wal-Mart on Ice) (2/27/2019 2:22:18 PM)
4/21/42 to 5/3/42 We are flipping turns - usually four to six a day. The turns don't take long, at this early stage of the war. This marvelous uncomplexity and the speed we're playing at is a great deal of fun. China: No changes in the MLR or the situation. Dave's has moved his forces around a bit in the Sian sector, which had previously been hot and very worrisome. He's either waiting for reinforcements or trying to figure out how to handle the strongpoint of Sian or both. This is the most troubling sector. Elsewhere, he keeps probing along the lengthy MLR, moving troops forward, only to find Chinese garrisons in good defensive terrain. At the moment, then, China is okay due to lack of enemy concerted attacks. Burma: Two Japanese divisions are facing a rag-tag bunch of Allied troops at dot-base Katha. 1st Burma division is the heart of the Allied defense, which thus far has withstood a couple of deliberate attacks. So far the Japanese have taken heavier losses. Elsewhere, the Allies have knocked out more than half of Magwe's oil. The isolated Allied expeditionary army is very slowly moving further into the remote jungles, hoping to somehow find a way to China. Dave is ignoring the units at the moment. Port Blair: Imperial Guards landed about three days back. My little bastion has proved weak indeed. There is an Indian brigade (trained from 30 exp. up to 46 at the time of attack) behind 3.98 forts (augh!) in jungle terrain and 100% prepped. I figured any enemy landing here would be hampered by lack of prep, but the IG came ashore in pristine condition. After two or three deliberate attacks, the base is about to fall. (Over at Sinabang, a mixed brigade landed against no opposition and got badly disabled, so IG must've been prepped.) KB is loitering around this area. Singapore: No enemy attacks. Supply down to about 130k. Subs are bringing it in from Colombo, but only about six of them. More will participate soon. DEI: Dave has take Batavia and all other occupied bases. The DEI is his, except for vacant island mop-up duty. SWPac/SoPac: Other than a couple of subs, no enemy activity. The Allies are working on defenses at Luganville and Efate, with small garrisons sorta on the order of Port Blair...which means I'm not confident. CenPac: Other than a couple of subs, no enemy activity. I've been working hard on Midway since the opening days of the war but it might be no more staunch than Port Blair. NoPac: A combat engineer unit and another engineer unit are Adak are building forts. This is too far forward and therefore vulnerable. I won't bring in infantry until forts are 4. Similar fort building is going on at Dutch Harbor and Kodiak. Air War: Japanese losses are 400+ Allied losses. This has been good, thus far. Political Points: To this point, I've only bought out a few restricted units. Most PPs are spent on army, navy and air force commanders. Experience: The game seems totally different this time around. I finally have enough experience that I (typically) know what I want to do, when and where. There's not a feeling of needing to be everywhere at once. There's not a feeling of needing to do something! quick! yesterday! Troops come in and go where they're needed. The West Coast, India and Oz are well protected. I've built almost no base facilities, instead concentrating on forts. It's fun to feel like I'm in control of the game rather than the game in control of me. And, nevertheless, I've got the usual troubles and some special self-inflicted ones (Allied expeditionary army, cough, cough.) Fun!

RangerJoe -> RE: Intellectus Ex Nihilo (Wal-Mart on Ice) (2/27/2019 2:39:43 PM)
For atolls, I understand that the armor seems to be the best defense since they come through the bombardments fairly well. Since they really don't need much support unless there are disablements or the unit is in a prolonged combat, strip out any soft elements with APDs, then send them to atolls. If there is only motorized support left, leave that behind as well if you want. What you end up with is a lot of AV for the stacking cost. Since the invading troops should not have a lot of anti-armor capability this early, that should really make it tougher on the attackers. The unit can use excess support from other units, if there are any extra support squads. Combat engineers are also good defenders since you won't need extra engineering units to build forts and repair installations. Again, after the forts are built, you can load the combat engineers squads in APDs and then load the non combat parts in transports. Unload the combat squads and send everything else to another base to build it up. Combat engineers not need the engineering vehicles to fight with since they do not represent bulldozer tanks and other such vehicles. Doing this with these types of units will also save PP on buy back costs and the time it takes for them to return. Since they will also have a lot of equipment they may also rebuild faster if the portion in combat is lost.

Canoerebel -> RE: Intellectus Ex Nihilo (Wal-Mart on Ice) (3/1/2019 11:32:23 PM)
5/4/42 to 5/15/42 China: The Allied MLR remains intact. Enemy units continue to probe and haven't yet invested Sian. Burma: SigInt reports reinforcements inbound, but at the moment the situation is stable. 1st Burma Div. is holding back two enemy divisions at Katha. The isolated Allied divisions are making slow progress through the jungle. Surely Dave will block their routes of egress and destroy them. But it'll be awhile. Bay of Bengal: Port Blair fell quickly and without much of a whimper. I think KB remains somewhere in the Andaman Sea. Where next? Does Dave have designs on Diego, Ceylon or India? Death Star is posted at Colombo under a bunch of LBA CAP. Singapore: No enemy attacks. Supply at 118k. About 25 subs now involved in the supply live, Colombo to Singers. Philippines: Unbelievably, the Allies still hold Clark Field. Dave couldn't taken it a month ago easily. He's content to destroy/disable 5 to 10 squads per day by bombardment. He has about 1600 AV. I'm down to about 480. If he attacked, it would be 3:1 with forts falling to zero. What's he waiting for? Two divisions, a mixed brigade and a ton of arty have been languishing here for months. DEI: Enemy air HQ at Koepang makes it too hot for my patrolling DDs to sneak in. He's reconning Wyndham and Darwin. I withdrew my guys two months ago due to supply woes. SWPac/SoPac: Enemy hasn't ventured forth. Allies continue their work on Luganville and Efate, which are forward observation posts. I think Pago Pago is mostly secure. A Marine RCT is inbound to Tahiti. CenPac: An enemy sub working the lanes between Midway and Pearl, but waypoints allow regular xAKL deliveries of supply. NoPac: No enemy activity now or ever. While little efforts are being made to improve Adak and Dutch Harbor, bigger work is being done at Anchorage, Seward and Whittier.

Canoerebel -> RE: Intellectus Ex Nihilo (Wal-Mart on Ice) (3/2/2019 2:00:46 PM)
5/16/42 to 5/18/42 Philippines: The Japanese take Clark Field in an 8:1 attack that destroys six units, the balance retiring to Bataan. Since that last base has long been out of supply, Dave need only advance a mixed brigade to finish off the Allies. As with every game of AE, the fall of Luzon will free up Japanese infantry, artillery and air forces. I'm interested in seeing if Dave finally begins a push somewhere in the Pacific, reinforces China, or has ambitions in India/Burma. We're nearing late May. The Japanese are powerful. But the Allies are by no means toothless. By this date in my game with John III (218 years ago, it seems), the Allies were organizing for an amphibious assault in the Marshalls along with a quick landing at Ramree Island that turned into an epic, month's long sea and air battle. I'm not working any such notions at the moment, though Allied troops are moving forward steadily. In this game, I haven't been on the defensive nearly as much as I was in the game, so I'm tyring to build up little strongpoints in places like Luganville and the Aluetians.

Bif1961 -> RE: Intellectus Ex Nihilo (Wal-Mart on Ice) (3/2/2019 2:46:11 PM)
Since there is no Corregidor in the game, when Bataan falls it stands for both and as you stated Bataan is out of supply and will fall quickly, it appears he will have many fresh units to employ elsewhere soon and you will know what his main axis of advance will be.

Canoerebel -> RE: Intellectus Ex Nihilo (Wal-Mart on Ice) (3/2/2019 8:26:42 PM)
He only has three infantry units involved: two divisions and a mixed brigade. So Luzon doesn't free up a real army, but it'll be interesting to see where they go. Thus far, three days after Clark's fall, he's still using the same bomber squadrons to hit Bataan. He might think it'll be a tougher nut than it actually will be. Meanwhile, the last enemy attack at Singapore was on March 30. He's prepping his troops. SigInt reports that Imperial Guards, which recently took Fort Blair, is included in that prep. So he's waiting on reinforcements and good prep before attacking again, I suppose.

Bif1961 -> RE: Intellectus Ex Nihilo (Wal-Mart on Ice) (3/3/2019 1:34:43 AM)
The the troops in PI might end up trying to crack the tough nut you have turned Singapore into.

Canoerebel -> RE: Intellectus Ex Nihilo (Wal-Mart on Ice) (3/3/2019 6:23:03 PM)
5/19/42 to 5/23/42 Bataan: The opening Japanese attack comes off at 2:1 and drops forts to 2. Bataan should fall tomorrow. Can you spot the detail that bodes ill for Japan? [image]local://upfiles/8143/9F3F08804262418F9ECBACE6AE8C408E.jpg[/image]

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