In September 2011, Christie’s in London sold an Enigma for more than $208,000. Another Enigma goes up for auction at Bonhams in Knightsbridge later this month.
http://www.independent.ie/and-finally/enigma-machine-for-sale-at-auction-3280024.html
Laurence Fisher at Bonhams said, “"Many machines were picked up by the Allies as souvenirs during the final stages of the Second World War and as such, in later years, tended to be mixed and matched, where rotors, outer cases and head blocks were replaced with another machines' parts. This one has all elements bearing the same serial number, making this totally complete and original throughout."
Replicas and build-your-own devices are noted at several internet sites.
Friday, November 2, 2012
‘The Demographic Collapse of Pagan Rome’
“Official Roman documents and texts of every kind from as early as the first century, stress again and again the pernicious consequences of Rome’s low and apparently declining birth-rate.”
As cities became smaller and weaker, “the Empire survived …only through the continual importation of barbarians and semi-barbarians. Far then from being a threat, the ‘barbarians’ were seen as a means by which Rome might make good manpower shortages. The problem was that no sooner had the latter settled within the Imperial frontiers than they adopted Roman attitudes and vices.
“Quite possibly, by the end of the first century, the only groups in the Empire that was increasing by normal demographic process were the Christians and the Jews, and these two were virtually immune from the contagion of Roman attitudes.”
http://gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/
As cities became smaller and weaker, “the Empire survived …only through the continual importation of barbarians and semi-barbarians. Far then from being a threat, the ‘barbarians’ were seen as a means by which Rome might make good manpower shortages. The problem was that no sooner had the latter settled within the Imperial frontiers than they adopted Roman attitudes and vices.
“Quite possibly, by the end of the first century, the only groups in the Empire that was increasing by normal demographic process were the Christians and the Jews, and these two were virtually immune from the contagion of Roman attitudes.”
http://gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/
What to do, what to do?
At Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference, American speakers denounce Israeli influence on U.S. government. Right on, brother. Right on. It’s about time … What’s that? Sponsors? Uh, American oil companies, US Chamber of Commerce, Boeing, Saudi Arabia … What’s that got to do with anything?
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/detail/big-oil-underwrites-anti-israel-conference?f=must_reads
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/detail/big-oil-underwrites-anti-israel-conference?f=must_reads
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Waffle House and big storms
FEMA director uses the “Waffle House Index” to “determine where its resources are needed most. Here’s how it works. The Waffle House chain has a huge number of stores located in the Southeast and Midwest in areas that frequently see devastating storms. As such, it has created an enviable corporate culture so attuned to disaster recovery that Fugate knows, ‘If you get there and the Waffle House is closed? That’s really bad. That’s where you go to work.’”
From WSJ: “The company fully embraced its post-disaster business strategy after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Seven of its restaurants were destroyed and 100 more shut down, but those that reopened quickly were swamped with customers.
“The company decided to beef up its crisis-management processes. Senior executives developed a manual for opening after a disaster, bulked up on portable generators, bought a mobile command center and gave employees key fobs with emergency contacts.”
http://hotair.com/archives/2012/10/31/nobody-better-tell-the-nyt-editorial-board-about-the-waffle-house-index/
From WSJ: “The company fully embraced its post-disaster business strategy after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Seven of its restaurants were destroyed and 100 more shut down, but those that reopened quickly were swamped with customers.
“The company decided to beef up its crisis-management processes. Senior executives developed a manual for opening after a disaster, bulked up on portable generators, bought a mobile command center and gave employees key fobs with emergency contacts.”
http://hotair.com/archives/2012/10/31/nobody-better-tell-the-nyt-editorial-board-about-the-waffle-house-index/
And another thing
On Bid and Destroy last night, the main character and his son found what looked like a typewriter carrier in a closet. They set the carrier on a desk and opened it. I said to myself, “It’s a code machine.” The reality stars said, “Looks like a typewriter.”
My guess: 1. You have never seen a typewriter; 2. The script says you say, “Looks like a typewriter.”
The star then said something about, “And it’s written in German.” So I figured the thing has to be worth $2,000 - $5,000.
At the end of the show, back in the shop, the stars had a local antique dealer appraise stuff found in the old house. The antique dealer said the code machine was an Enigma machine, worth maybe $100,000.
The machine did not look like an Enigma. There were no cipher wheels. I am not an expert, but I do know a little about military intelligence and a little about old code machines.
That’s not the point, though.
The point is, these reality show people fond an Enigma machine in a closet in an old house in New Hampshire.
At another house for tearing down, the same people in another episode found a Harley motorcycle. In tall grass. Standing up. With no dirt on it.
Some things are on the other side of believability.
My guess: 1. You have never seen a typewriter; 2. The script says you say, “Looks like a typewriter.”
The star then said something about, “And it’s written in German.” So I figured the thing has to be worth $2,000 - $5,000.
At the end of the show, back in the shop, the stars had a local antique dealer appraise stuff found in the old house. The antique dealer said the code machine was an Enigma machine, worth maybe $100,000.
The machine did not look like an Enigma. There were no cipher wheels. I am not an expert, but I do know a little about military intelligence and a little about old code machines.
That’s not the point, though.
The point is, these reality show people fond an Enigma machine in a closet in an old house in New Hampshire.
At another house for tearing down, the same people in another episode found a Harley motorcycle. In tall grass. Standing up. With no dirt on it.
Some things are on the other side of believability.
Obama is arrogantly stupid
I don’t usually mess with race stuff, because racial stories generally are stupid.
But this one, the president of the United States saying blacks and Hispanics are the future hewers of wood and drawers of water … Is the man that stupid?
"My target is anybody who is out there, wants to work but doesn't have the skill set to do it. When you look, a lot of those communities are communities of color and we're going to be putting in resources to make sure that we are training those folks up. And, by the way, that's good for America generally. If we don't have black and Hispanic kids who can compete, you know that's the fastest growing population, and that's our future workforce and America will decline economically unless everybody is able to get the opportunities that they deserve."
http://washingtonexaminer.com/obama-dispatches-election-lawyers-all-across-the-country/article/2511996#.UJA_poVqNIk
There is so much wrong and demandingly simplistic in Obama’s statement. Particularly is he talking down to his audience – “skill set” as an example. And what does “that's good for America generally” mean? Is there a sense in which having a job is not good for America?
All-around stupid.
But this one, the president of the United States saying blacks and Hispanics are the future hewers of wood and drawers of water … Is the man that stupid?
"My target is anybody who is out there, wants to work but doesn't have the skill set to do it. When you look, a lot of those communities are communities of color and we're going to be putting in resources to make sure that we are training those folks up. And, by the way, that's good for America generally. If we don't have black and Hispanic kids who can compete, you know that's the fastest growing population, and that's our future workforce and America will decline economically unless everybody is able to get the opportunities that they deserve."
http://washingtonexaminer.com/obama-dispatches-election-lawyers-all-across-the-country/article/2511996#.UJA_poVqNIk
There is so much wrong and demandingly simplistic in Obama’s statement. Particularly is he talking down to his audience – “skill set” as an example. And what does “that's good for America generally” mean? Is there a sense in which having a job is not good for America?
All-around stupid.
Halloween rant
This is a day long, considering yesterday was Halloween, but a Tuesday TV news story really wrinkled my journalism thinking. The story was one of those annual Halloween safety things that has been TV staple since the late 1970s, when unsubstantiated stories first started rumoring around.
Thirty-something years ago a newspaper somewhere in the Midwest ran a story about poisoned Halloween candy and razor blades in apples and oranges given to kids doing trick or treat.
Stories about kids and danger-danger Will Robinson take a life of their own, since we became a society of fear, maybe when Commies were in closets, maybe the somewhat inherent racism of the country – black folks moving into the neighborhood or white folks always keeping a brother down.
After the poison and razor blades, newspapers began a new necessity – the somebody’s gonna get your kids stories at the end of October. TV news picked up the stories, or made their own, each medium finding public safety officials to talk about safety and psychologists to educate us masses on why crazy people do what they do.
I can’t recall a single verified incident of a madman giving poisoned candy or bladed fruit to trick or treat kids, but truth always takes a back seat to public fear. Add in sexual predators, and you have the makings for several days of stories.
The TV story was on a Little Rock station, the lead story, with an anchorperson talking about Halloween and candy and how can parents know which places are safe? Segue to a reporter person who talks about a telephone application that enables you to find where registered sex criminals live. The reporter person then was standing in front of a boarded-up house in a poor neighborhood, saying some addresses obviously were wrong.
Then (this is the really good part), the reporter person was standing in an upper-middle class neighborhood, in front of a half-million-dollar house, commenting on safe neighborhoods, and two kids were sitting on the concrete driveway, next to the street.
Here’s a reality: Parents in $500,000 houses do not let their kids sit on the driveway near the street in the middle of the afternoon. And another reality: Kids who live in $500,000 houses do not sit on the driveway. Ever. That’s why video games were invented – to keep kids off driveways.
Here are a couple more realities: Parents know whether all or parts of their neighborhood are safe, and they don’t let Halloween kids go in the unsafe parts.
Watching the TV news story, Priscilla said, “Is she saying poor neighborhoods are unsafe, but richer ones are safe for kids?”
Yes, she was.
And in Little Rock, Arkansas, we know who lives in which neighborhood.
Thirty-something years ago a newspaper somewhere in the Midwest ran a story about poisoned Halloween candy and razor blades in apples and oranges given to kids doing trick or treat.
Stories about kids and danger-danger Will Robinson take a life of their own, since we became a society of fear, maybe when Commies were in closets, maybe the somewhat inherent racism of the country – black folks moving into the neighborhood or white folks always keeping a brother down.
After the poison and razor blades, newspapers began a new necessity – the somebody’s gonna get your kids stories at the end of October. TV news picked up the stories, or made their own, each medium finding public safety officials to talk about safety and psychologists to educate us masses on why crazy people do what they do.
I can’t recall a single verified incident of a madman giving poisoned candy or bladed fruit to trick or treat kids, but truth always takes a back seat to public fear. Add in sexual predators, and you have the makings for several days of stories.
The TV story was on a Little Rock station, the lead story, with an anchorperson talking about Halloween and candy and how can parents know which places are safe? Segue to a reporter person who talks about a telephone application that enables you to find where registered sex criminals live. The reporter person then was standing in front of a boarded-up house in a poor neighborhood, saying some addresses obviously were wrong.
Then (this is the really good part), the reporter person was standing in an upper-middle class neighborhood, in front of a half-million-dollar house, commenting on safe neighborhoods, and two kids were sitting on the concrete driveway, next to the street.
Here’s a reality: Parents in $500,000 houses do not let their kids sit on the driveway near the street in the middle of the afternoon. And another reality: Kids who live in $500,000 houses do not sit on the driveway. Ever. That’s why video games were invented – to keep kids off driveways.
Here are a couple more realities: Parents know whether all or parts of their neighborhood are safe, and they don’t let Halloween kids go in the unsafe parts.
Watching the TV news story, Priscilla said, “Is she saying poor neighborhoods are unsafe, but richer ones are safe for kids?”
Yes, she was.
And in Little Rock, Arkansas, we know who lives in which neighborhood.
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