Admin to the goo's New Writeupshttp://everything2.com/?node=New%20Writeups%20Atom%20Feed&foruser=Admin to the goo2018-09-17T09:36:52Zchest rig (thing)http://m.everything2.com/user/Admin+to+the+goo/writeups/chest+rigAdmin to the goohttp://m.everything2.com/user/Admin+to+the+goo2018-09-17T09:36:52Z2018-09-17T09:36:52Z<p>So you've got a <a href="/title/AR-15">rifle</a>, a pile of associated crap, and an objective to hit. Rather than trying to hang all that stuff off your belt, putting all the weight on your hips, you could use a chest rig. Current industry offerings can carry from two to eight <a href="/title/magazine">magazine</a>s worth of ammunition, plus radios, first aid kits, administrative supplies, maps, <a href="/title/chemlight">chemlights</a>, batteries, snacks, and so on. Putting all this stuff into the rig and slinging your rifle, you can get to work.</p>
<p>In the past, load-bearing equipment has generally been belt-based, with suspenders or full vests being seen as weight increased. Interestingly, it was the Chinese communists who developed an alternate solution in the form of the Type 56, or Chicom chest rig. A hexagonal piece of cloth with three magazine pouches in the center and two grenade pouches on each side, it is worn across the chest and secured in place by straps going over the user's shoulders. The Soviet Union would make a modified copy of this and use it<!-- close unclosed tag --></p>…Coyote (thing)http://m.everything2.com/user/Admin+to+the+goo/writeups/CoyoteAdmin to the goohttp://m.everything2.com/user/Admin+to+the+goo2017-08-26T08:49:23Z2017-08-26T08:49:23Z<p>If you paid attention to the news during <a href="/title/Operation+Desert+Storm">Operation Desert Storm</a>, or a decade later during <a href="/title/Operation+Enduring+Freedom">Operation Enduring Freedom</a> or <a href="/title/Operation+Iraqi+Freedom">Operation Iraqi Freedom</a>, you may have noticed an interesting peculiarity in the uniforms of the American personnel deployed therein. While the US military had possessed the forethought to design and produce camouflage fatigues intended for use in desert environments, they had neglected to do the same for load-bearing gear or body armor. This led to soldiers and marines being deployed in desert camouflage fatigues, with woodland or olive-drab flak jackets and load-bearing gear. The Army would address this problem by designing the <a href="/title/Universal+Camouflage+Pattern">Universal Camouflage Pattern</a>, the now-discarded grey-light green-tan digital camouflage that dominated the 2000s. The US Marines would come up with a different solution.</p>
<p>While the Marines had switched to digital camouflage, they still had two different patterns, one suitable for woodland operations, and one for deserts. Rather than try to make<!-- close unclosed tag --></p>…belt (thing)http://m.everything2.com/user/Admin+to+the+goo/writeups/beltAdmin to the goohttp://m.everything2.com/user/Admin+to+the+goo2017-07-13T05:24:24Z2017-07-13T05:24:24Z<p>In firearms, a belt is a method of feeding cartridges into the action of a machinegun. Early machineguns used cloth belts, though modern ones are almost exclusively metal. In the most basic form, a belt is a a length of cloth tapes sewn together to form pockets into which cartridges will fit snugly. The feed mechanism of the gun can either pull cartridges from the rear or push them through the belt entirely. Belts are considered disposable feeding devices, in contrast to <a href="/title/magazine">magazine</a>s. Belts or belt links are typically discarded after use. They are usually packaged in <a href="/title/ammo+can">ammo can</a>s or belt boxes for use.</p>
<p>Early cloth belts were sometimes reinforced with metal strips than ran crosswise on the belt and kept it from stretching. Cloth belts were used in early machineguns such as Maxim variants and early <a href="/title/Browning">Browning</a> designs. They tended to retain water and and could stretch, which is why they have been replaced.</p>
<p>Metal belts are either disintegrating or non-disintegrating, in addition to the push-throu<!-- close unclosed tag --></p>…Monitor (thing)http://m.everything2.com/user/Admin+to+the+goo/writeups/MonitorAdmin to the goohttp://m.everything2.com/user/Admin+to+the+goo2017-06-24T00:20:38Z2017-06-24T00:20:38Z<p>The <a href="/title/USS+Monitor">USS Monitor</a> heralded a new era in warship design. Facing off with the <a href="/title/CSS+Virginia">CSS Virginia</a> at <a href="/title/Hampton+Roads">Hampton Roads</a>, she fought the much larger (980 tons displaced versus approximately 4000, and two guns to ten) ironclad to a draw. The US Navy immediately saw the merits of the design, and despite the foundering of the original Monitor, several additional multiple-ship classes were built and put to great use during the American Civil War. Other navies worldwide began to emulate the design, producing their own monitor ironclads.</p>
<p>The development of the ironclad warship led down several paths, of which the USS Monitor was only one. Broadside ironclads such as the HMS Warrior and casemate ironclads such as the CSS Virginia, or the City-class gunboats of the US Navy, were others. The Monitor and her progeny were distinct from all earlier warship in that her main battery was contained in a rotating turret placed atop the hull, with very low freeboard. These ships were well armored, with six inches of armor<!-- close unclosed tag --></p>…Centurion (fiction)http://m.everything2.com/user/Admin+to+the+goo/writeups/CenturionAdmin to the goohttp://m.everything2.com/user/Admin+to+the+goo2017-05-13T22:19:57Z2017-05-13T22:19:57Z<p>Even at noon, it's dark here. I fight the pointless urge to swing the <a href="/title/image+amplification">image amplification</a> tubes up and away from my helmet visor. The thick brown haze is unrelieved in all directions, with a light <a href="/title/methane">methane</a> drizzle that's been going on for the past three weeks. Huddled in a small listening post, dished out of the surface and lined with insulation, the greyscale of thermal imaging shows very little. From the transformer I'm sitting on, trying to glean any extra heat I can, I can see the cold icy plain and the warmer power line half-buried in it. The plain is otherwise featureless, small chunks of water ice on a slushy, filthy substrate. The heating elements in my suit aren't keeping up because of the rain, perhaps I should move around a bit, try to keep blood flowing. Fishing around in the bottom of the fighting pit, I retrieve and buckle on my snowshoes. An IR spotlight comes to life with the flick of a switch, and I clamber up over the breastwork of the post. </p>
<p>My skis and poles are stuck into<!-- close unclosed tag --></p>…April 14, 2017 (personal)http://m.everything2.com/user/Admin+to+the+goo/writeups/April+14%252C+2017Admin to the goohttp://m.everything2.com/user/Admin+to+the+goo2017-04-14T20:02:01Z2017-04-14T20:02:01Z<p>After seven years of wondering and stress, I finally have an answer. Tuesday this week, I had a re-ocurrence of symptoms from <a href="/title/bolt+from+the+blue">August 2010</a>. A temporary loss of vision in my left eye coupled with a terrible headache. Since I'm currently enlisted in the Navy and only got in with a medical waiver, I figured I was finished. I wrestled with the decision to go to medical to get looked at, but in the end, my conscience won out. I could not in good conscience remain in the service if my condition would place my shipmates in danger. Yesterday, I went to the opthalmology clinic on base and was examined.</p>
<p>After a certain amount of poking and prodding, plus having my pupils dilated, the doctors told me about two related phenomena in the medical field: <a href="/title/overdiagnosis">overdiagnosis</a> and <a href="/title/incidentalomas">incidentalomas</a>. An incidentaloma is where medical imaging conducted for a specific complaint reveals an unrelated condition, usually benign growths or the like, but in my case it was the blood clot which resides in my<!-- close unclosed tag --></p>…