My Web Page
My Pages:
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History – The Early Roman Empire
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Sports – Judo, Football,
and Soccer
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Military – Naval Ships
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Moddom
– (A Great New Band)
Early Roman Empire
My interest in
the Early Roman Empire centers on the Second Punic War (218 BC – 202 BC). While there are better-known Carthaginian
and Roman generals such as Hannibal and Scipio, respectively, I have always
been impressed by two others: Hasdrubal
and Caius Claudius Nero. Duplicating
the feat of his brother, Hannibal, Hasdrubal marched his entire army over the
Alps into Italy. Nero’s legion
completed one of the most impressive forced marches in military history by
moving 240 miles in six days. This
gamble was not only against standing orders not to leave his assigned area, but
also it left only a token force between Hannibal’s army and Rome. After linking up with the legion of Consul
Livius, the combined Romans faced Hasdrubal’s army of Gauls, Balearic slingers,
and Numidian cavalry at the Battle of Metaurus River (207 BC).
While outnumbered
Hasdrubal’s army fought well to hold back the Romans until Nero again gambled
and outflanked the Carthaginian army.
Hasdrubal died along with 20,000 of his men. Nero then quickly marched his legion the 240 miles home to stand
between Hannibal and Rome. It was then
Nero’s “honor” to deliver a crushing message to Hannibal: the severed head of
his brother, Hasdrubal.
Ever get dropped
on your head?
The “gentle way” –
yeah, right.
Developed in
1883 by ju-jitsu master Jigoro Kano, the “gentle way” has been adopted as an
Olympic sport. However, I believe that
its emphasis on quality of techniques rather than the quantity of techniques
makes it an excellent base-style for free-style fighting. Judoka’s are tough, used to being slammed
around, choked, and having their arms broken – and that’s just in
practice. I prefer Judo over other
forms of martial arts for two reasons:
1.
Pride is left at the door.
You won’t last long in Judo practice if you don’t swallow your pride and
tap out 20-50 times during practice when
you’re being choked or an arm break is being applied.
2.
No holding back in practice.
Not only can you go 100% in practice and feel safe
knowing no one will die, but also you’re
expected to fight as hard as you can.
You can find out
more about Judo here:
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United States Judo
Association
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International
Judo Federation
Football – Charger Girls
Oh, the team’s pretty good, too.
Women are tough, exciting players and
they don’t flop to the ground like sissies as the men seem to be doing lately.
Find out more here: Women's Soccer World Front Page
Military
USS Tarawa LHA-1
The Tarawa,
commissioned in 1976 and my first ship carries a crew of about 950 sailors and
1,000+ expeditionary force Marines (who use all the hot water and generally
make a nuisance of themselves because they have nothing to do at sea). The ship's vast flight and hangar decks
provide room to operate, stow and repair Marine helicopters. The ship's well deck can be filled partially
with water to launch utility and air-cushioned landing craft. The Tarawa, named after the fierce World War
II Pacific Theater battle, also has one of the largest medical departments on a
combat ship that can be expanded to treat large numbers of wounded or can serve
as secondary berthing whenever needed.
Not
to be confused with SSBN 602 (1961-1981) of the same name (what sailor actually
gets into a ship designed to sink anyway?), USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72)
is America’s fifth Nimitz-class aircraft carrier. Abraham Lincoln’s keel was laid Nov. 3, 1984 at Newport News,
Virginia. Four years and $4.5 billion
later the ship was christened and began a series of performance trials leading
up to commissioning Nov. 11, 1989.
Deployed she carries 5,500+ sailors and Marines.
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