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Biker, Happy Joan of Arc Day!

Goatboy

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Biker! Happy Water Ski-ing Day!
Yup! It blew me away too, we've been flying longer than water ski-ing as on this day in 1925 - Water skis are patented by Fred Waller! (Though they were doing it in 1922).

Water skiing was invented in 1922 when Ralph Samuelson used a pair of boards as skis and a clothesline as a towrope on Lake Pepin in Lake City, Minnesota. Samuelson experimented with different positions on the skis for several days until 2 July 1922. Samuelson discovered that leaning backwards in the water with ski tips up and poking out of the water at the tip was the optimal method. His brother Ben towed him and they reached a speed of 20 miles per hour. Samuelson also achieved the first ski jump on 8 July 1925 using a greased 4 feet (1.2 m) by 16 feet (4.9 m) ramp. Samuelson spent 15 years performing shows and teaching water skiing to people in the United States. Experimenting further with the sport, Samuelson hooked up a line behind a World War I flying boat with 200 horsepower. He reached a speed of 80 miles per hour, making him the first speed skier.
Samuelson's first equipment consisted of barrel staves for skis. He later tried snow skis but finally fabricated his own design out of lumber with bindings made of strips of leather. The ski rope a was made from a long window sash. Samuelson never patented any of his ski equipment. The first patent for water skis was issued to Fred Waller, of Huntington, NY, on 27 October 1925, for skis he developed independently and marketed as "Dolphin Akwa-Skees." Waller's skis were constructed of kiln-dried mahogany, as were some boats at that time. Jack Andresen patented the first trick ski, a shorter, fin-less water ski, in 1940.
The sport of water skiing remained an obscure activity for several years after 1922, until Samuelson performed water ski shows from Michigan to Florida. The American Water Ski Association formally acknowledged Samuelson in 1966 as the first recorded water skier in history. Samuelson was also the first ski racer, slalom skier, and the first organizer of a water ski show.
Water Skiing gained international attention in the hands of famed promoter, Dick Pope, Sr., often referred to as the "Father of American Water Skiing" and founder of Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven, Florida. Pope cultivated a distinct image for his theme-park, which included countless photographs of the water skiers featured at the park. These photographs began appearing in magazines worldwide in the 1940s and 1950s, helping to bring international attention to the sport for the first time. He was also the first person to complete a jump on water skis, jumping over a wooden ramp in 1928, for a distance of 25 feet. His son, Dick Pope, Jr., is the inventor of bare-foot skiing. Both men are in the Water Ski Hall of Fame. Today, Winter Haven, Florida, with its famous Chain of Lakes, remains an important city for water skiing, with several major ski schools operating there.
Water skiing has developed over time. Water skiing tournaments and water skiing competitions have been organized. As an exhibition sport, water skiing was included in the 1972 Olympics. The first National Show Ski Tournament was held in 1974, and the first ever National Intercollegiate Water Ski Championships was held in 1979. The Home CARE US National Water Ski Challenge, the first competition for people with disabilities, was organized ten years later. The first patented design of a water ski which included carbon fibre was that of Hani Audah at SPORT labs in 2001. Its first inclusion in tournament slalom skiing was in 2003


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crosslandkelly

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Today in 1886 - The musical fantasy "A Night on Bald Mountain" by , was performed in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Mussorgsky was part of a group of composers referred to as The Five. The other four members were César Cui, Aleksandr Borodin, Mily Balakirev, and Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov. Their goal was to create a national school of Russian music that existed entirely without western influences. It was to be its own style of music with its own set of rules.
Towards the end of Mussorgsky's life, he became an alcoholic. Finding himself alone on too many occasions, he turned to alcohol to comfort his emotions. Unfortunately, this led to several alcoholic epilepsies and multiple trips to the hospital.

View attachment 24253

[video=youtube;gMmfaaiWMEs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMmfaaiWMEs[/video]
 
Goatboy

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Biker! Happy Royal Marines Day!

Biker! on this day in 1664 - The Duke of York and Albany's Maritime Regiment of Foot, later to be known as the Royal Marines, is established.
The Corps of Royal Marines, the infantry land fighting element of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy, was formed as part of the Naval Service in 1755. However, it can trace its origins back as far as 1664, when English soldiers first went to sea to fight the Dutch.
Early in their history, Marines were responsible for leading and repelling boarding attacks on the lower deck, while harassing the enemy from the upper decks with effective musket fire. At present, the Royal Marines are an elite fighting force within the British Armed forces, having undergone many substantial changes.
The 'first official' unit of English Naval Infantry, originally called the Duke of York and Albany's Maritime Regiment of Foot and soon becoming known as the Admiral's Regiment, was formed on Tuesday, 28 October 1664, with an initial strength of 1,200 infantrymen recruited from the Trained Bands of London as part of the mobilisation for the Second Anglo-Dutch War. James (later King James VII & II), the Duke of York and Albany, Lord High Admiral and brother of King Charles II, was Captain-General of the Company of the Artillery Garden, now the Honourable Artillery Company, the unit that trained the Trained Bands.
It was the fourth European Marine unit formed, being preceded by the Spain's Infantería de Marina (1537), the Portuguese Marine Corps (1610) and France's Troupes de marine (1622). It consisted of six 200 man companies and was initially commanded by Colonel Sir William Killigrew with Sir Charles Lyttleton as Lieutenant-Colonel. Killigrew had commanded an English regiment in Dutch service and many of the regiment's initial complement of officers had served there as well.
The Holland Regiment (later The Buffs) was also raised to serve at sea and both of these "Naval" regiments were paid for by the Treasurer of the Navy by Order of Council of 11 July 1665. They were also different in that they had no pikemen, every man being issued a musket. The Holland Regiment remained on the naval establishments until May 1667. The name "Marines" first appeared in official records in 1672.
The Regiment was very distinctive, being dressed in old gold, rather than the Red coat of the other regiments, until 1685. John Churchill, later the 1st Duke of Marlborough, was the most famous member of this regiment. A Company of Foot Guards served as Marines to augment the Marines of the Admiral's Regiment during the key sea battle the Battle of Solebay in 1672. Marlborough's conduct as an Ensign in the Guards during the battle so impressed James that he commissioned him a Captain in the Admiral's Regiment after four marine captains died during the battle. Marlborough served eight years in the regiment and led a battalion of the regiment in the land battle, the Battle of Enzheim in 1674. The regiment was disbanded in 1689 shortly after James II was deposed in the Glorious Revolution. The Buffs replaced them as third in precedence in the British Army.

Two marine regiments of the army were raised in 1690 and disbanded in 1696. They were the Earl of Pembroke's and Torrington's, later Lord Berkeley's. Each had twelve companies (948 men) and a Grenadier company (237 men) and again there were no pikemen, each man carrying a Dutch snaphance musket. In addition, each Marine carried a bayonet, which was unusual at that time. These two regiments participated in an opposed landing during the Williamite War in Ireland at Cork, Ireland on 21 September 1690 under the command of John Churchill, now the Duke of Marlborough.
On the Peace of 1697, two foot regiments raised in 1692, Mordaunt's and Seymour's were converted into Marines. In 1702, six Regiments of Marines and six Sea Service Regiments of Foot were formed for the War of the Spanish Succession. When on land, the Marines were commanded by Brigadier-General William Seymour, formerly of the 4th Foot. The most historic achievement of these Marines was the capture of the mole during the assault on Gibraltar (sailors of the Royal Navy captured the Rock itself) and the subsequent defence of the fortress alongside the Dutch Marines in 1704. In 1713, after the Peace of Utrecht, three of these Regiments were transferred to the Line, where they became the 30th through 32nd Foot, and the others disbanded. Only four Companies of Marine Invalids remained.
Six Marine Regiments (1st to 6th Marines, 44th to 49th Foot) were raised on 17 November–22 November 1739 for the War of Jenkins' Ear, with four more being raised later. One large Marine Regiment (Spotswood's Regiment, later Gooch's Marines, the 43rd Foot) was formed of American colonists and served alongside British Marines at the Battle of Cartagena de Indias, Colombia and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba in the War of Jenkins' Ear (1741). Among its officers was Lawrence Washington, the half-brother of George Washington. In 1747, the remaining regiments were transferred to the Admiralty and then disbanded in 1748. Many of the disbanded men were offered transportation to Nova Scotia and helped form the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Even though they were part of the Army, these Marines were quite nautical at times. Some Royal Navy officers began in these Marine regiments and some kept their Marine rank throughout their careers, one Royal Navy Captain even serving as the Captain of Marines on his own ship. They were used by the Admiralty to rig ships before they were placed in commission as the Royal Navy had no extra sailors - the law required that all sailors must be part of a commissioned vessel. It was another law, one which required that an entire Army Regiment had to muster before it could be paid, that led to their transfer to the Admiralty. This requirement was hard for the Marine Regiments to follow, as their Companies were stationed on many different ships.
On 5 April 1755, His Majesty's Marine Forces, fifty Companies in three Divisions, headquartered at Chatham, Portsmouth, and Plymouth, were formed by Order of Council under Admiralty control. Initially, all field officers were Royal Navy officers as the Royal Navy felt that the ranks of Marine field officers were largely honorary. This meant that the farthest a Marine officer could advance was to Lieutenant Colonel. It was not until 1771 that the first Marine was promoted to Colonel. This situation persisted well into the 1800s. During the rest of the 18th century, they served in numerous landings all over the world, the most famous being the landing at Bellisle on the Brittany coast in 1761. They also served in the American War of Independence, being particularly courageous in the Battle of Bunker Hill led by Major John Pitcairn. These Marines also often took to the ship's boats to repel attackers in small boats when RN ships were becalmed on close blockade. On 14 February 1779, Captain James Cook took with him the following Marines: Lt.Phillips; a Sgt; Corporal Thomas and seven Privates; besides Cook, four Marines-Corporal Thomas and three Privates Hinks; Allen, and Fatchett-were killed and 2-Lt Phillips and Private Jackson-wounded. In 1802, largely at the instigation of Admiral John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent, they were titled the Royal Marines by King George III.
The Royal Marine Artillery (RMA) was formed as an establishment within the British Royal Marines in 1804 to man the artillery in bomb vessels. This had been done by the Royal Regiment of Artillery, but a lawsuit by a Royal Artillery officer resulted in a court decision that Army officers were not subject to Naval orders. As their coats were the blue of the Royal Regiment of Artillery, this group was nicknamed the "Blue Marines" and the Infantry element, who wore the scarlet coats of the British infantry, became known as the "Red Marines", often given the derogatory nickname "Lobsters" by sailors.



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belzeebob23 said:
[h=2]Today was also the
The First Battle of Bull Run[/h]
In the first major land battle of the Civil War, a large Union force under General Irvin McDowell is routed by a Confederate army under General Pierre G.T. Beauregard.
Three months after the Civil War erupted at Fort Sumter, Union military command still believed that the Confederacy could be crushed quickly and with little loss of life. In July, this overconfidence led to a premature offensive into northern Virginia by General McDowell. Searching out the Confederate forces, McDowell led 34,000 troops--mostly inexperienced and poorly trained militiamen--toward the railroad junction of Manassas, located just 30 miles from Washington, D.C. Alerted to the Union advance, General Beauregard massed some 20,000 troops there and was soon joined by General Joseph Johnston, who brought some 9,000 more troops by railroad.
On the morning of July 21, hearing of the proximity of the two opposing forces, hundreds of civilians--men, women, and children--turned out to watch the first major battle of the Civil War. The fighting commenced with three Union divisions crossing the Bull Run stream, and the Confederate flank was driven back to Henry House Hill. However, at this strategic location, Beauregard had fashioned a strong defensive line anchored by a brigade of Virginia infantry under General Thomas J. Jackson. Firing from a concealed slope, Jackson's men repulsed a series of Federal charges, winning Jackson his famous nickname "Stonewall."
Meanwhile, Confederate cavalry under J.E.B. Stuart captured the Union artillery, and Beauregard ordered a counterattack on the exposed Union right flank. The rebels came charging down the hill, yelling furiously, and McDowell's line was broken, forcing his troops in a hasty retreat across Bull Run. The retreat soon became an unorganized flight, and supplies littered the road back to Washington. Union forces endured a loss of 3,000 men killed, wounded, or missing in action while the Confederates suffered 2,000 casualties. The scale of this bloodshed horrified not only the frightened spectators at Bull Run but also the U.S. government in Washington, which was faced with an uncertain military strategy in quelling the "Southern insurrection."
Bob
Click to expand...

Sometimes bob with the lenght of your posts, I don't think your showing us propper interest.
 
Goatboy

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Biker! Happy Steam-Powered Battleship Day!
Launching_of_Demologos_%281814%29.jpg

Biker, on this day in 1814 - "Demologos," 1st steam-powered warship, is launched.

Demologos was the first warship to be propelled by a steam engine. She was a wooden floating battery built to defend New York Harbour from the Royal Navy during the War of 1812. The vessel was designed to a unique pattern by Robert Fulton, and was renamed Fulton after his death. Because of the prompt end of the war, Demologos never saw action, and no other ship like her was built.
On 9 March, 1814, Congress authorized the construction of a steam warship to be designed by Robert Fulton, a pioneer of commercial steamers in North America. The construction of the ship began on 20 June 1814, at the civilian yard of Adam and Noah Brown, and the ship was launched on 29 October. After sea trials she was delivered to the United States Navy in June 1816. The ship was never formally named; Fulton christened it Demologos or Demologus, though following his death in February 1815, the ship was named Fulton.
By the time she was completed, the war for which Demologos had been built had ended. She saw only one day of active service, when she carried President James Monroe on a tour of New York Harbour. A two-masted lateen rig was added by the orders of her first commander, Captain David Porter. In 1821 her armament and machinery were removed. The remainder of her career was spent laid up in reserve; after 1825 she served as the floating barracks for Brooklyn Navy Yard. She came to an end on 4 June 1829 in a gunpowder explosion.
Demologos had an entirely unique and innovative design. A catamaran, her paddlewheel was sandwiched between two hulls. Each hull was constructed 5 ft. (1.5 m) thick for protection against gunfire. The steam engine, mounted below the waterline in one of the hulls, was capable of giving 5.5 knots (10.2 km/h) speed in favourable conditions. Although designed to carry 30 32-pounder guns, 24 port and starboard, 6 fore and aft, the Navy had trouble acquiring sufficient guns, and a varying number were mounted while in actual service. Demologos was also fitted for two 100-pounder Columbiads, one mounted fore and another aft, these weapons were never actually furnished to the vessel.
Fulton's design solved several of the problems inherent in warships powered by paddlewheels which led to the adoption of the paddle-steamer as an effective warship in following decades. By placing the paddlewheel centrally, sandwiched between two hulls, Fulton protected it from gunfire; this design also allowed the ship to mount a full broadside of guns.
The steam engine offered the prospect of tactical advantage against sail-powered warships. In a calm, sailing ships depended on the manpower of their crews to tow the ship from the boats, or to kedge with anchors. Demologos, with steam, might have found it easy to outmanoeuvre a ship-of-the-line in calm weather.
The innovative construction and steam power also fundamentally limited the role Demologos could fill. With an unreliable engine and a hull unsuited to seaways, Demologos was unable to travel on the high seas. The United States Navy planned to build a number of similar steam batteries, but none of these plans got off the drawing board until the USS Fulton of 1837. A number of European navies also considered acquiring the Demologos, but these inquiries came to nought.
The Demologos was ultimately a dead end in the introduction of steam power to the warship. Armed paddle steamers proliferated in the 1830s and 40s as armed tugs and transports. During the Civil War, the United States Navy operated a number of iron clad steam-powered paddle-wheel gunboats as a part of the Mississippi River Squadron. Known as City class ironclad gunboats as they were named after cities on the Mississippi River or its tributaries, these ships utilized a double-hulled configuration similar to Fulton's design, with the paddle wheel in the centre. The wheel was protected by armoured plate, allowing full broad-sides, as well as bow and stern shots. An example, the USS Cairo is on display at the Vicksburg National Military Park. Paddle-wheel propulsion, more usually side-paddle configurations, in military use continued until World War II with the USS Wolverine and USS Sable training aircraft carriers. These designs were typically limited to use in the Brown-water navy or on large lakes.
Steam-powered paddle wheel propulsion would ultimately be eclipsed by the introduction of the screw propeller in the 1840s, enabling steam-powered version of the ship of the line and the frigate before steam power was properly adapted for use in a Blue water navy.
​
 
Goatboy

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Epicurists take note,
Doner kebab 'inventor' dies in Berlin: -


The man credited with inventing the doner kebab has died.
Turkish immigrant Kadir Nurman has passed away at the age of 80 in his adopted city of Berlin.
He first set up a stall in West Berlin in 1972, selling grilled meat and salad inside a flat bread.
But he never patented his creation, thereby failing to profit from the doner's subsequent popularity.
His efforts were recognised by the Association of Turkish Doner Manufacturers in 2011.
The doner kebab, comprising of meat sliced from a rotating skew together with various trimmings, remains one of the most popular fast foods in Germany.
 
crosslandkelly

crosslandkelly

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Goatboy said:
Epicurists take note,
Doner kebab 'inventor' dies in Berlin: -


The man credited with inventing the doner kebab has died.
Turkish immigrant Kadir Nurman has passed away at the age of 80 in his adopted city of Berlin.
He first set up a stall in West Berlin in 1972, selling grilled meat and salad inside a flat bread.
But he never patented his creation, thereby failing to profit from the doner's subsequent popularity.
His efforts were recognised by the Association of Turkish Doner Manufacturers in 2011.
The doner kebab, comprising of meat sliced from a rotating skew together with various trimmings, remains one of the most popular fast foods in Germany.
Click to expand...

Now I'm hungry.
View attachment 24314

1991 - The U.S. Galileo spacecraft became the first to visit an asteroid (Gaspra).
View attachment 24315
1998 - The space shuttle Discovery blasted off with John Glenn on board. Glenn was 77 years old. In 1962 he became the first American to orbit the Earth.
View attachment 24316
 
Goatboy

Goatboy

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Iron Sky was a hoot, really enjoyed it. Reminded me off Mutant Chronicles in that b&w serial at the movies way.

[video=youtube;dv_nxnNKbDM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dv_nxnNKbDM[/video]
 
Biker

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Liked Iron sky a lot. The scene when the media president receives bad news and takes of her glasses was a homage to the bunker scene with Hitler that is parodied so often on youtube.

Found 'em click HERE first and HERE second.

Mutant Chronicles was sorta OK. The books are superb, but the film failed to excite me. I bought it on DVD watched it once then sold it on, just wasn't one I wanted to keep hold of. However Iron Sky is a keeper. very underrated film that. Hitler in the film clip above was right too.
 
crosslandkelly

crosslandkelly

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Biker said:
Liked Iron sky a lot. The scene when the media president receives bad news and takes of her glasses was a homage to the bunker scene with Hitler that is parodied so often on youtube.

Found 'em click HERE first and HERE second.

Mutant Chronicles was sorta OK. The books are superb, but the film failed to excite me. I bought it on DVD watched it once then sold it on, just wasn't one I wanted to keep hold of. However Iron Sky is a keeper. very underrated film that. Hitler in the film clip above was right too.
Click to expand...


Hahaha, those clips made me chuckle.:lmao:
 
Goatboy

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Take it you didn't like sucker punch either?

[video=youtube;GObkU0pIXzo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GObkU0pIXzo[/video]
 
Biker

Biker

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Goatboy said:
Take it you didn't like sucker punch either?
Click to expand...

au contraire mon ami. Loved it! But the dance/dream sequences really what made it for me. The rest was good but a bit too depressing. I was in a dark place at the time when I first watched it all the way through so maybe that influenced my opinion. The soundtrack is amazing! That's permanently on my MP3 layer.

White Rabbit is one of my favourite tracks off the album. I really like cover versions of famous songs and this one was done especially well.

You can listen to the entire sound track in the video below.

[video=youtube;seSlQLBNgPc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seSlQLBNgPc[/video]
 
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