Reading about what happened in the past is both interesting and informative – in the “don’t do that” and “here’s why” sense. Put another way, learning from what happened in the past can be applied to our future.
So as to , you know, not repeat history.
Not necessarily the same history. It’s the underlying lesson that matters.
Back in 1941, the German battleship Bismarck and her consort, the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, were headed out into the North Atlantic to do some commerce raiding. They ended up battling the British battlecruiser Hood and the battleship Prince of Wales, with the Germans destroying the Hood and heavily damaging the Prince of Wales in the engagement.
But the Bismark was also damaged. Fatally, as it turned out, in that one of the heavy shells that struck her caused a fuel oil leak and made it impossible to access some of the fuel oil stored in a bunker located in the forward area of the ship. And – here comes the lesson – the commander of the battle group, Admiral Gunther Lutjens, had for some reason failed to fully top off the Bismarck with fuel oil prior to the sortie. Thus, the Bismarck was forced to conserve fuel – in order to not run out of fuel on her dash back to German-controlled safe harbor in occupied French ports. She was forced to reduce speed. Which allowed her pursuers – basically the entire British Royal Navy – to close the gap enough that one of the British vessels, the aircraft carrier Ark Royal, was able to send out a flight of torpedo bombers that just barely managed to reach Bismarck. One of these scored a lucky – and fatal – hit on Bismarck’s stern, damaging her rudder such that the ship could only turn in a wide circle. “Ship unmaneuverable,” Admiral Lutjens reported to the Fuhrer. “We will fight to the last shell.”
This lesson left an impression on me – and it has kept me from getting into a jam not in principle unlike the one that confronted Bismarck all those years go.
It is apparently going to snow – again – here in SW Virginia and remain really (as in pig-bitin’) cold for at least a week. It is not unlikely the power is going to go out – again – as it did just the other day, after we got hit with both snow and ice, plus severe cold. I have a generator, which allows me to keep the lights – and the computer – on so that I can two-finger type articles like this one and keep EPautos’ wheels turning. But keeping the heat on is another matter and even more important.
That entails keeping the fire going and to do that it is necessary to have wood to burn. More finely, to have access to the wood – which does no good if it’s buried outside in the snow and cold. So I did what Admiral Lutjens didn’t do. I stocked up on wood. More finely, I just now brought in enough wood to have on hand to keep the fire going for at least three days, which ought to be enough to make it through to better weather and – this is at least equally important – give me the time to deal with any unforeseen problems that may arise over the next several days.
Admiral Lutjens assumed he’d be able to top-off Bismarck’s fuel oil bunkers while at sea. It is precisely such assumptions that sometimes result in things like what happened to Bismarck.
I try to avoid relying on assumptions – because of the consequences that often ensue. It is better to assume nothing – and prepare for everything. Because you never know what’s going to happen. But you can do things to prepare for what might.
. . .
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The “2024 hottest year ever” back in the news this morning on the local channel. Their website so far doesn’t include this story I’m thinking because they allow comments and they don’t want any truth telling via the commenters.
The newsreader (they certainly are not reporters) presented the story with such a solemn tone. No alternate to the narrative presented, no fact checking / questioning of the story line blaming it on burning fossil fuels. The add this year over last year, 2024 passed some degree rise threshold oh no!
The morons here eat it up, last election the voters failed to approve an initiative to remove the carbon tax scam which has driven up our gasoline prices that supposedly everyone was grousing about. The anti ads were just over the top. Forests will burn out of control, and the next ad grandma worried her grandkids will suffer from the air pollution from the nasty fossil fuels.
Every time I hear the news (radio, tv or print) one thought comes to mind, “The Lying F@#%$’s”.
Same, Ugg!
I miss the days when it was mostly just laziness and incompetence. . . .
When we find the Bismarck, we gotta cut her down – Johnny Horton, Sink the Bismarck
It’s a march too.
Have to chop up some vegetables and boil up some vegetable soup, beef soup bone, pearled barley, what you do when it is cold.
Being alive doesn’t have to be a constant battle.
Winter can be downright tasty last week 15 bean soup with ham via hambones. Boiled the hambones first for a nice broth & fall off the bone ham chunks. So easy even a lazy 70 something is willing to do it.
Motorcycle ride through burned out LA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-W2lE1bVlMc
Note how the motorcycle easily manuevers around dead cars, can ride on sidewalks, etc.
Good video – great ride. Makes me want to have
a bugout cycle…
That was a buddy’s evac plan if Mt Rainier hacked up a mudflow heading for his valley town. Hell with the car gridlocked roads, pack his Commander on the back of the Harley and the two of them head north on the paved walking trail just behind his house.
When we built our house in 2014, I made sure to have a wood burning fireplace built in a central location. I try to keep a bunch of wood piled up out back. I’d like to build a well in the back for water, but not electric. It would have to be an old fashioned hand pump just for emergencies.
Lucky for us, we hardly ever lose electricity here, even during the severe storms.
But life is fragile and I don’t think it’s possible to plan for every possible scenario. That’s where human ingenuity and know-how come into play in emergency situations. Being able to keep a level head and solving problems as they arise.
I have a generator for power outages that hooks up to the fuse panel and runs everything except heat and the 240v stove. For heat, I have a kerosene heater as my fireplace is just an insert and not good for heating the house.
It is good to have backups to your backups, plan ABCD,,,. Here in CA. many people lose their electric power for many reasons. I built my own backup system using a portable Lithium Iron Phosphate battery bank, a Reliance 10 circuit manual transfer switch, and a small 2000 watt Gas generator. It works well as a UPS for my critical loads, and can power my gas furnace and also my old washing machine if needed by jockeying the loads. I can get gasoline from my or my neighbors cars if need be with my potable electric gas pump. Maguiver out.
You mentioned having issues running the generator, did you get that resolved?
I don’t know the watts rating of yours, but the typical 3500 watt unit like mine you have to be selective what’s going to get powered and the first is the fridge then the freezer.
Note these are one at a time and NOTHING else hooked up – to start the compressor in these requires a big inrush of current or they will not start. Damage to the compressor starter can happen as a coworker found out while trying to run too much while the fridge kept cycling and not starting. Once running plug in a light or two is fine, for me it’s the blower fan on the gas fireplace which allows a toasty day!
Since I have a gas furnace I may make a connection mod so I can run it off the generator. Draft motor and main blower motor don’t take much to start and run.
Ready Killowatt can explain further I’m sure.
PS both my gas hot water heater and gas fireplace are old school pilot light piezo electric controller no outside power required- I will never give those up & will go out of state for a new water heater if WA keeps up with appliance ban nonsense.
Hasn’t gotten above the 20’s here for the past week or so and is really cold across much of the country as others have noted here. Sure could use some global warming about now, or maybe pipe in some of Al Gore’s boiling ocean water. We have gas heat which requires a small amount of electricity to run the controls and circ. pump; I have an inverter hooked up to a couple 12v deep cycle batteries that are on a battery maintainer to keep them up to snuff. I tested it last year and it was good for a couple days before I switched it back. Also keep both cars gas tanks full and could always run a cord into the house from there while idling the car for an extended outage. Hope I never have to but good luck to all the fools that converted to heat pumps to save the planet.
The Bismarck would have made port except for a skillful and lucky torpedo strike on her steering gear/rudder. That torpedo was delivered by a Fairey Swordfish, a fixed gear biplane little improved from those used in WW1. A biplane is slow, high lift/heavy payload, and steady, a very good platform for accurately lobbing a torpedo into the water from low altitude.
The Soviets had the world’s biggest biplane, the Antonov AN2 colt, in service on short unimproved runways well into Afghanistan. It was just the ticket for getting heavy loads into remote areas in wartime conditions.
Another lesson, old technology can get the job done.
Stay warm!
Lotsa’ wage slaves are gonna’ be leaning about the limitations of electricity real soon.
Germany is learning about the perils of weaking their energy infrastructure by going all in on “green” energy.
FAFO.
Thank god for that wood stove!!
It’s 30′ and snowing in my neck of Dixie. Probably had 2-3″ overnight. Unfortunately, I don’t have a wood burner or a generator/transfer switch. Gas fireplace is enough to heat the small house but that is dependent on gas being supplied.
One of the greatest innovations of the United States (and the western hemisphere overall) was the acknowledgment that the calvary isn’t coming and there’s no going back. Jefferson understood this, which is why he envisioned a society structured loosely around the homestead. You and your family would own land in order to be self-reliant. Practically speaking that meant you were responsible for managing your property as you saw fit. If your plantation was a wreck, that’s your fault. If you let undergrowth get too out of hand and fire consumed your crops, well, who was supposed to keep track of it?
Of course if your neighbor wasn’t keeping up on trimming the brush and that fire spread across the property line, there would be the need for redress.
The people who remained in Europe didn’t own anything. All land was property of the kings and lords (and still is). They made a bargain with the manor house, labor for shelter. Eventually the US fell into a similar trap, under the guise of “greater good,” but also because infrastructure projects like town gas lines require high capitalization and therefore are more likely to be monopolistic in nature. But town gas is much more efficient than burning wood or coal so the tradeoff might be worth it. You become more dependent.
Of course if your neighbor wasn’t keeping up on trimming the brush and that fire spread across the property line, there would be the need for redress.
What happens when the “neighbor” is the state of Commiefornia?
Asking for a friend
The concept of public land wasn’t really under consideration until the Louisiana Purchase. The states may have had territory but other than the District of Columbia the federal government didn’t own land.
I won’t even mention the idea of US territories.
The idea of a public commons originated in the Massachusetts colony, a proto-socialist idea wrapped up in religious belief. It ultimately failed to achieve their goals.
“Massachusetts colony, a proto-socialist idea wrapped up in religious belief. It ultimately failed to achieve their goals.”
Still the same . . . Still failing
LOL!
“Ship unmaneuverable,” Admiral Lutjens reported to the Fuhrer. “We will fight to the last shell.” — quoted by eric
Sounds like ‘president’ F. Joe Biden, desperately dumping out pallets of hundred dollar bills to NGOs and Israel and the Ukies, before his princely carriage turns into a ridiculous pumpkin pulled by mice.
One would not be surprised if a sunsetting, angry ‘Biden’ spitefully sets the White House on fire the night before the inauguration. Or Hunter, in a crack pipe accident.
Stand tall and keep warm, Eric. Ignore the deteriorating, out-of-control freak show in the imperial capitol.