Musings & Thoughts for Saturday, May 20, 2023, or: Weekend Update, Part the First


It’s almost noon as I sit here at my desk in my corner of Lithia, Florida, on Saturday, May 20, 2023. I’ve been up since 7:30 AM, which – per my usual schedule – amounts to “sleeping in late.” Oddly, I don’t remember checking the time before I fell asleep trying to watch Star Trek;Continue reading “Musings & Thoughts for Saturday, May 20, 2023, or: Weekend Update, Part the First”

Tempus Fugit (Countdown to the Big Six-Oh Edition): Then (1973) & Now (2023) Revisited


“We don’t really grow up. Our toys change with time.” ― Nitya Prakash In February of 1973 – around the same time that Sam Ervin, a Democratic Senator from South Carolina, was named Chairman of the Senate Watergate Committee, and the Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Denmark became the first Christian organization to officially accept gay marriageContinue reading “Tempus Fugit (Countdown to the Big Six-Oh Edition): Then (1973) & Now (2023) Revisited”

Gamer’s Thoughts (A Haiku)


Joystick, keyboard, mouse Monitor screen glowing brightly. Just one more game-turn!

Old Gamers Never Die: ‘Regiments’ – Lessons Learned from the Battles of Grasleben


Introduction – Regiments: A Game About Cold War I Released During Cold War II I grew up during the second half of the first Cold War between Russia (then the core republic of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) and the Free World led by the United States and its allies. For almost half myContinue reading “Old Gamers Never Die: ‘Regiments’ – Lessons Learned from the Battles of Grasleben”

Old Gamers Never Die: Completing My First Operation in MicroProse’s Real-Time Tactics Game ‘Regiments’


“Winning isn’t everything–but wanting to win is.” ― Vince Lombardi I did it. I won my first victory as a combined arms field-grade commander in Regiments. As you know from previous posts in the Old Gamers Never Die series, I recently bought this cool new game developed by a small European studio, Bird’s Eye Games,Continue reading “Old Gamers Never Die: Completing My First Operation in MicroProse’s Real-Time Tactics Game ‘Regiments’”

Musings & Thoughts for Saturday, July 16, 2022, or: A First Look at Bronco’s Biography, and Other Leisure Pursuits


Hi, there, Dear Reader. It is late morning in Lithia, Florida, on Saturday, July 16, 2022. It is a humid, hot summer day in the Tampa Bay area. Currently, the temperature is 84°F (29°C) under mostly cloudy skies. With humidity at 78% and the wind blowing from the northeast at 5 MPH (8 KM/H), theContinue reading “Musings & Thoughts for Saturday, July 16, 2022, or: A First Look at Bronco’s Biography, and Other Leisure Pursuits”

Old Gamers Never Die: To Play or Not to Play a ‘Cold Waters’ Campaign…That is the Question


Hi there, Dear Reader. It is late afternoon in Lithia, Florida, on Sunday, June 26, 2022. It is a sizzling – and not in a good way – hot summer day here in the Tampa Bay area. Currently, the temperature is 88°F (31°C) under partly sunny skies. With humidity at 67% and the wind blowingContinue reading “Old Gamers Never Die: To Play or Not to Play a ‘Cold Waters’ Campaign…That is the Question”

Book Review: ‘SSN’ (originally published as ‘SSN: Strategies of Submarine Warfare’)


The Inspiration: Tom Clancy’s SSN On November 16, 1996, Simon & Schuster Interactive released Tom Clancy’s SSN, a computer video game/submarine simulator based on the Improved Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered attack sub USS Cheyenne (SSN-773). Co-produced by Clancy Interactive Entertainment and Virtus Corporation, SSN was a single-player third-person perspective game set in what was then theContinue reading “Book Review: ‘SSN’ (originally published as ‘SSN: Strategies of Submarine Warfare’)”

On the War in Ukraine: Russian Cruiser ‘Moskva’ Sinks, Moscow and Kyiv Have Conflicting Narratives About the Incident


Putin’s War Suffers Setbacks As you probably know, Russia’s war in Ukraine – a blatant act of naked aggression that Vladimir Putin’s government euphemistically calls a “special military operation – is not going well for Moscow or the much-vaunted Russian military. Instead of a 21st Century blitzkrieg and a quick victory culminating in Russia’s captureContinue reading “On the War in Ukraine: Russian Cruiser ‘Moskva’ Sinks, Moscow and Kyiv Have Conflicting Narratives About the Incident”

Old Gamers Never Die: Hunting Soviet Sub Tenders in Arctic Ocean is No Cakewalk in ‘Cold Waters’


The Time: 13 November 1984, 1300  Lima The Place: The Arctic Ocean The Mission: Intercept and sink a Soviet Don-class (Soviet designation Project 310 Batur) submarine and any REDFLT submarines it might be replenishing and/or rearming. These sub tenders are high-value targets and are likely to have support from submarines, surface ships, and naval aircraft. If youContinue reading “Old Gamers Never Die: Hunting Soviet Sub Tenders in Arctic Ocean is No Cakewalk in ‘Cold Waters’”