For the next 5 days I’m travelling - back from here to Canberra then back to here.
I probably will do no posts over this time although I hope to report a new development to the Hole here in a week or so - making it easier for the blog bunnies to find the wargame related stuff and for those interested in the traveller tales to find them.
In the meantime, three nights in aircraft and airport terminals, two nights in beds coming up. 
In a report, Sea Shepherd activists attack Japanese whaler, in the Sydney Morning Herald, there is a note of a conference in which:
Onodera spoke of the latest clash as he addressed a seminar in Tokyo with officials from 11 developing states that have recently joined or plan to join the deadlocked International Whaling Commission.
Japan is holding the meeting to win support for its position that the international body should allow “sustainable whaling”.
Western nations, led by Australia, strongly oppose Japan’s whaling.
The countries taking part in the seminar are Angola, Cambodia, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ghana, Laos, Malawi, Palau, Tanzania and Vanuatu, the Foreign Ministry said.
Of course, Laos is famous for its wonderful beaches and extensive pristine coastlines … not! Perhaps those Mekong River Catfish have gotten really really big 
Perhaps Japan is really just trying to stack the numbers at the International Whaling Commission - a fistful of dollars to the developing countries and the Japanese can continue to enjoy their whaleburgers - surely not!
Read the full article about this catfish at ESPN’s website - Thais catch 646-pound catfish in Mekong and for the Imperially challenged that is 293 kilograms. Its length was 9 feet, or 2.7 metres. Now that is a fish!
For more information too, see Giant Catfish Critically Endangered, Group Says on the National Geographic website.
It seems that the Australian War Memorial, being the proud possessor of an Albatros DVa and a Pfalz DXII, has decided to restore them for display in November this year (I guess as an exhibition on the Great War and to celebrate 90 years since Armistice Day).
The ABC had a report on it - you can read it at Rare warbirds restored in Canberra which contains info on the restoration as well as a couple of neat pictures. Best of all is the description of the camouflage of the aircraft which French aircraft expert Alain Vallet noted
When you have a look at this particular camouflage, you just see dots of colour but once in the air you just see a dark shade and we have experience with flying a 457 covered like this and it is the worst airplane to get a photograph of.You just see a blur, you don’t see a real shape, it is made to destroy the shape of the airplane. So it is lighter in colour on the underside of the airplane and much darker on the topside.
I, for one, will be hanging around there at that time.
Thomo’s Hole’s Gallery is back on-line thanks to the sterling efforts of Jeffro. I’m not sure what the problem was (like, was it me or something else). Will update this post later with details.
In the meantime, follow the link to the Gallery.
I’ll get the thumbnail views back on the sidebar later.
The following article is still copyright by Mal. Wright and is reproduced here with his permission. It provides a summary of the colour schemes applied to the warships of various nations.
Colour Schemes of WW1 Warships
By Mal.Wright. © Revised 2003.
At the commencement of WW1 the British were using a grey officially termed “Battleship Grey”. This was very dark, almost charcoal grey and can be easily Spotted in early photographs. During the first year however, this was changed to ‘mid’ grey, partly because of the shortage of dark pigments and the realisation that shortages might get worse as the War went on. The new shade proved better. In the mid war period, many Battlecruisers, had a panel of dark grey, or dark blue, amidships on the hull. This did not reach to the bow or stern. The length being usually, from fore turret to aft turret. It was intended to give a ‘shortening’ effect, when viewed at a long distance, to confuse the enemy as to range. New Zealand had a white ensign painted on both sides of her foretop. Black waterlines were discontinued in some areas, although major units, with the Grand Fleet usually continued the practice.
Torpedo Boats and Destroyers were usually black for early classes, but dark grey for newer vessels. Units of the ‘L’ class entered service in black, but soon changed to grey. War built units usually completed in ‘Mid Grey.’ By 1917 nearly all Destroyers and smaller were grey. Only a few torpedo boats continued in black, until the war’s end. On ‘Tiddly ships’ (Fancy) the practice of painting the metal areas around the anchor cables in Brunswick green was continued and most turret tops were in dark, flat, Brunswick Green on capital ships. Some may have used dark grey. After Jutland, the idea was adopted, of painting some turrets of Battleships and Battle cruisers, very dark grey. These were then marked with White calibration marks so that other ships could see the direction the guns were trained, even if unable to see the target, themselves.
Which turrets were painted this way, was deliberately varied from ship to ship in all classes, which helped within the squadron, when identifying units, in low visibility. The placing of aircraft flying off platforms was similarly varied.
Cortesine was a mid brown linoleum type decking used on small ships in areas where the crew required a good foot grip but timber would have been too heavy. Cortesine was also used on larger ships as an alternative to wood on high areas such as the bridge and bridge wings, where men had to stand for long hours on watch. This was to protect their feet from the cold of metal decks. Strips of Cortesine often ran along the decks of some ships particularly to torpedo tubes and etc. These formed an impression of footpaths running along the deck. Unlike other nations there is no evidence that the metal strips holding these down, were polished. On older ships that used coal, It was the custom, to paint the horizontal metal decks directly around the funnels black. This was discontinued on oil burning ships. Those with grey decks normally had the horizontal surfaces in a darker shade.
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I would not have believed it had I not seen it. Mind you, I spent time in Cairo and I can’t remember seeing it there. However, here in Saudi Arabia I can now tell the Egyptian guests at the hotel restaurant.
It is the buffet.
Spending a lot of time in the restaurant at the hotel (like almost every night) we get to see lots of different guests. The interesting ones were the Egyptians. They come to the restaurant to eat from the buffet (soup, salads, main courses and dessert). They are the only guests I have seen who walk straight in (not worrying about selecting a table), and fetch a bowl of soup. They then bring this back to a table, put it down and head back to the salad bar. They then load up a plate with salad and bring that back to the table. Then it is back to the hot foods and load another plate up and carry that back to the table. At this point there is a variation as some now will sit down and proceed to eat from all three plates whilst others will select some cakes from the dessert area before sitting down to eat.
Apparently, according to the locals, it is only Egyptian guests who are like this at a buffet. So, the walk is a constant traipsing between food and table.
I am having some issues with Gallery at the moment in Thomo’s Hole. So, unfortunately, none of the photos are viewable at the moment. To make matters worse, Jeffro, my resident technical expert, is up around level 70 in World of Warcraft (WoW) and WoW is taking up most of his free time at the moment.
I’ll pester him some more and leave a message here when access to the Gallery and the photos is restored.
The Sydney Morning Herald ran a report today on Aussie MPs get heated as Rudd freezes their pay. Seems the Prime Minister called for and the Opposition Leader agreed to a freeze on the salaries of Members of Parliament. Following is the classic quote from one Liberal Party member:
“Keep this up and you’ll fill the Parliament up with millionaires, creeps and drongoes”
To which I can only say:
Malcolm Turnbull, Wilson Tuckey and Christopher Pyne
Gotta love Aussie politics and politicians
Stupid - no other way to describe it. I was helping a friend and looking for some machinery. Came across a place called EC Plaza which lists many companies in China.
How stupid are these EC Plaza folks?
First I am sitting here in Saudi Arabia and inquiring for a friend in Mongolia - so I have to register on the site but because of super-stupid programming, they pick up my web server here in Saudi Arabia as my country and I cannot change it - so now Ulaanbaatar is in Saudi Arabia and the phone number is also a Saudi number.
Worse though, they presented me with a list of several thousand industry codes for me to select the code that applied to me. Hello fools, I am a buyer - that is, a customer. You make it easy for me or I go elsewhere.
If you are a business listed with them, I’d really think of using another portal.
So, according to EC Plaza, I am writing this blog entry from our Nuclear Reactor here in Ulaanbaatar, Outer Saudi Arabia.
There was the report this morning on CNN and other sources of a fire at Namdaemun (South Gate) in Seoul. This is one of my favourite historical places in Korea and a location most visitors pass at least one when they visit Seoul.
It seems as though the fire was the result of arson and the wooden part of the structure heavily damaged. However, I think that given the significance of the structure that the Korean government will start the process to repair and restore the gate as much as possible.
The Korea Times noted:
The fire occurred around 8:50 p.m., police said. About 30 fire trucks along with 90 firefighters rushed to the scene to bring the blaze under control. There were no reports of any casualties and the cause of the fire has yet to be determined, they said.
They later noted that:
Police suspect someone deliberately started the fire as a taxi driver, identified only by his surname Lee, said he saw a man in his 50s go up the stairs of the gate with a shopping bag, while he was waiting to pick up a customer in the nearby area.
Lee said he then saw a spark like a firework and reported it to police, adding the man came down the stairs afterwards. The taxi driver said he drove around looking for the man but could not find him.
Namdaemun is the oldest wooden structure in Seoul although I am not sure how much of the original wood survived even before the fire. It is so important to Koreans that it is officially National Treasure No. 1.
CNN also noted that
President-elect Lee Myung-bak visited the scene and deplored the landmark’s destruction, telling officials, “People’s hearts will ache,” The Associated Press reported.
The gate was closed to the public for nearly a century before being reopened in 2006 after a renovation, according to AP.
The Hankyoreh provided some history to the gate:
The landmark, officially called Sungnyemun, or “gate of exalted ceremonies,” was the southern gate of the walls that surrounded Seoul during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). It currently serves as a gateway to Namdaemun market, a traditional market that has been operating for centuries.Construction of the gate began in 1395 and was finished in 1398 during the reign of King Taejo, who founded the Joseon Dynasty.
I must admit to feeling a sadness settle over me as a result of the fire, even though it has been over a year since I was last in Seoul.
I do hope it is restored fairly quickly. I also hope that the Korean government authority in charge of protecting antiquities in Korea surveys their other charges and ensures they are protected as best they can be whilst still allowing the public access.
I have been working and travelling overseas for over 20 years now. IT has been a great field to work and travel in. Currently I am sitting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. My interests include History (especially Military History) and Naval History. My Hobby is wargaming.
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