The Superintendent of the Cold Spring Shops reminds me that SS Edmund Fitzgerald was lost with all hands on 10 November 1975. His entry was, of course, timely and contained informative links. See here for my previous entry, also made two days after the anniversary. Interesting.

Users of the Microsoft Train Simulator can sort of get in on the ore-hauling action (including delivering to ore docks with lake boats similar in appearance to Edmund Fitzgerald) by purchasing Michigan Iron Ore: The Lake Superior & Ishpeming Railroad.

Tip of the Wisconsin hat to the Superintendent.

Posted by: Country Pundit at 10:18 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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As far as I am concerned, there are two conferences in this country for NCAA Division I college football, namely the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Southeastern Conference. Thus, a brief recap of scores and a little worthless commentary.

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Clemson beats the Florida State University: Good. I hate FSU.

Virginia beats Georgia Tech: Good. I've got nothing against the Ramblin' Wreck, but I'm from the Commonwealth of Virginia, and loyalty to Virginia demands a cheer.

Miami beats Wake Forest: Bad. I've loathed Miami for years and I thought about going to Wake Forest once. Miami serves to sledgehammer Virginia Tech, and that's a good thing. Other than that, I've got no use for the Hurricanes.

Maryland defeats North Carolina: Good. I've got zero ties to Maryland, but it's the ancestral home of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and the Western Maryland Railway, so we like them.

The North Carolina State University leading Boston College: Bad. For some reason, I have a soft spot in my heart for BC. It might be because Clancy's Jack Ryan got his degree there.

UPDATE: Boston College defeats NCSU: Good.

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South Carolina beats Florida: Good. I used to like Florida but Spurrier was the reason. Viva the ol' ball coach, and see here for the AP article on the game. I figure Laurin Manning will be happy.

Alabama loses to the Louisiana State University: Bad. I grew up learning to cheer for the Tide, since they used to dismantle Tennessee in the 1980s.

Arkansas defeats Mississippi: Who Cares. I don't have anything against Mississippi, but this appears to have been a battle of two back marker teams.

Kentucky beats Vanderbilt: Bad. I like Kentucky at some level---hey, I'm a sucker for Ashley Judd in a Kentucky hockey jersey---but I have to cheer for Vanderbilt. Why's that? They're usually an SEC doormat, and I like to see the doormats come forward.

Tennessee beats Memphis: Bad. I hate Tennessee, and laugh at their athletic misfortune. Congratulations, you guys beat an unranked lesser school by a grand total of four points.

Georgia leading Auburn: Bad. I have no particular love for either team, but the best picture for South Carolina involves a Georgia loss. Waaaar eagle(s), in that case.

UPDATE: Auburn defeats Georgia: Good, for the foregoing reasons.

MODERN EDIT: A lot of traffic comes my way looking for Ashley Judd in a Kentucky hockey jersey. We shall chum the Google waters in search of hits!

Posted by: Country Pundit at 09:43 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Harrumph. I'm right hacked off about the recent Virginia election results, and with good reason. I managed to avoid falling headlong into a drunken stupor about the whole thing simply 'cause I reckoned that I'd find myself quoted in a local paper calling T.M. Kaine something unprintable.

Such an appearance would, of course, be immediately followed by an editorial tsk-ing "drunken Republicans for their lack of bipartisanship in launching unwarranted attacks against progressive candidates" or somesuch. Keeping that in mind, I (wisely) chose to avoid the whiskey.

After stewing for a couple of days, I thought of something literary as an inspiration for a one-liner response to the results. It is inspired by the Tom Clancy/Larry Bond novel Red Storm Rising, one of my all-time favorites.¹

I can't find either of my copies at the moment, so some details will be approximate, but here goes: The US Navy (personified by Ed Morris and his ship) has escorted an eastbound convoy to resupply NATO forces. The Soviets (through their subs and bombers) have picked off several ships in the convoy. Morris wonders how the merchantmen are holding up, and he gets his answer by way of blinker light.

I don't have a blinker light, but let me echo the sentiment of the unnamed merchie:

"THANKS FOR NOTHING, NAVY NORTHERN VIRGINIA"

No, I'm not bitter. Once the irritation wears off, I intend to write a little something approaching a vague manifesto for what the Tories might've called "The Way Forward".

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¹ So favored that I wound up calling my 'commander' file in M1 Tank Platoon II 'Terry Mackall'; moreover, I was tempted to dub my helo driver(s) in Jane's Fleet Command as 'Jerry the Hammer'. It is, however, sad to note that my favorite-named submarine in the novel doesn't make it out.

Posted by: Country Pundit at 01:26 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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12 November 1870: The Atlantic, Mississippi & Ohio Railroad is founded by Major General William T. Mahone, CSA (ret.) from three predecessor roads in Virginia. The AM&O stretched from Norfolk to Bristol, and is still largely in use by the Norfolk Southern Railway.

The AM&O is the direct corporate ancestor of the Norfolk and Western Railroad--- which in turn would become the Norfolk and Western Railway---which came into existence after the AM&O's sale at foreclosure in 1881.

As always, initial information for this came from the Norfolk and Western Historical Society calendar.

Posted by: Country Pundit at 01:43 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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In lieu of maintaining something over in the sidebar, I decided to centralize all Red Sox linking functions via means of a single entry. Therefore, you'll click over on a single link in the sidebar, and see what your humble correspondent uses to participate in Red Sox Nation.¹ This list will probably be dynamic, so check back occasionally. Additional posts will usually signify added content.

redsox.com - The official MLB-hosted site. It's downright hideous to look at, but one does get the company spin from it, for what that's worth.

The Soxaholix - A profane clip-art cartoon keeping track of the team and what not. Highly recommended for those over the age of 18.

Soxblog - Doesn't just cover the Red Sox, but does do it well. Currently, there's a rather in-depth take (defense of Larry Lucchino?) on the departure of Theo Epstein from the front office.

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¹ Try saying that without rolling your eyes. For what it's worth, I haven't ponied up for one of the 'official memberships' and I don't intend to. I don't need Larry Lucchino's approval to root for them, after all.

Posted by: Country Pundit at 01:21 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Notice to patrons:

This site is now the primary location for this publication. All subsequent operations will be here; all updates will occur here unless an outage occurs.

This site will be brought back on line, slowly but surely. That is all.

Posted by: Country Pundit at 01:14 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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