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Bump time.

All this listening to Roman history got me re-reading some Roman-based alternate histories. I'm done with De Camp's "Lest Darkness Fall" and am wading through Turtledove's "Agent of Byzantium" stories. In both of these, Christianity features prominently. Between that and Gibbon's take on it, plus what I've learned about it, I've drawn one conclussion:

"We're at war with Eastasia! We have ALWAYS been at war with Eastasia!!"

Of course, this seems to be true for most religions.

I'm well overdue for a bump.

Unfortunately I'm beat from 1) having slept only 5 hours and then 2) having carried a box of aprox. 40 Kg up three flights of stairs. And worse yet the knowledge that all that work yesterday and all that effort today is completely and absolutely a waste of time.

Explain this logic:

Customer asks for a set of goods, specifying size, content and brand of each.
Customer then asks for samples.
Customer then asks for "technical specifications" of the goods offered.

Am I missing something here? I mean, if they want, say, one liter of cooking oil brand "1-2-3" (that's an actual local brand), a 620 gr. box of assorted Gamesa cookies, do they not know what it is? Do they need samples, a photo, descriptions, nutritional information and a listing of ingredients?

Quote: Nareed

I'm well overdue for a bump.

Unfortunately I'm beat from 1) having slept only 5 hours and then 2) having carried a box of aprox. 40 Kg up three flights of stairs. And worse yet the knowledge that all that work yesterday and all that effort today is completely and absolutely a waste of time.

Explain this logic:

Customer asks for a set of goods, specifying size, content and brand of each.
Customer then asks for samples.
Customer then asks for "technical specifications" of the goods offered.

Am I missing something here? I mean, if they want, say, one liter of cooking oil brand "1-2-3" (that's an actual local brand), a 620 gr. box of assorted Gamesa cookies, do they not know what it is? Do they need samples, a photo, descriptions, nutritional information and a listing of ingredients?

Your job fascinates me.

Quote: AcesAndEights

Your job fascinates me.

If you like, I can tell you all about it at WoVCon. I'll dare you not to die of either boredom or outrage ;)

Edit: if you have a notebook or even a tablet with an internet connection, I can even show you some stuff that should, by all rights, give you nightmares. If not, I've some nightmare stories, which unfortunately were too real.

Bump time.

If you've seen any movies set in Ancient Rome, you may have seen the letters SPQR prominently displayed on banners or in the walls of the Senate. They stand for "The Senate and People of Rome." Legionary banners were emblazoned with them, and they were carved on many government buildings. They symbolize the ultimate source of authority in the Empire.

So, when the legions from an empire based in modern day Turkey (Byzantium), whose members are mostly Huns, Alans, Boyars and other easter european tribes, led by a general from Thrace, commanded by an emperor from the Balkans, all march on the Italian paninsula ruled by the Ostrogoths, it's ironic those legions carry the banner saying "The Senate and People of Rome."

Doubly so since the Senate by that time was a municipal council in Rome, more or less, and a rubber stamp, if that, in Byzantium (or Constantinople, if you prefer). Triply so since that, too, was the banner used by the old Roman Republic.

Bump time.

In another Roman paradox, in the field of battle the Romans prized honor. This is natural, but they carried it to extremes. For example, a legionaire found dead from a wound on the back was not given an honorable funeral, and his family was shamed. I can see why a wound on the back would point to a soldier running from danger, but there are many ways in which a soldier facing the enemy squarely could find himself stabbed in the back.

Anyway, in politics the Romans heartily embraced back-stabbing, treachery and double-crossing with gusto. There was very little honor to be found in the halls of the Senate or the imperial palace. In the most extreme form, these maneuvers resulted in civil war: Augustus vs Mark Anthony, Constantine vs Licinius; or an unscrupulous courtier could cause a bad emperor to go worse, as it happened with Tiberius, or could cause a good emperor to be murdered, as happened with Aurelian.

Lest you think about simply letting the military take over, that was very much standard procedure. In Republican times, Consuls commnaded the legions. In Imperial times, most emperors were soldiers before ascending to the throne.

I don't know enough about todays' military to say whether thigns have changed much or not, but I suppose not. Except, perhaps, as regards discipline. I'm certain no modern Western army engages in decimation, for example, or flogging. In politics, though, things are exactly the same; albeit without assasination as a political tool (well, in most places; remember Leo Trotskyi?)

Bump time.

In a sad sort of way, a large portion of all Roman history is about who was in power and how he got there. This is also sadly true of most of the rest of human history. To be sure there are inspirational stories, like that of Publius Scipio Africanus, who rose to power based on merit and results. But also depressing ones like Septimius Severus, who betrayed his allies. And ambivalent ones like Augustus and Julius Caesar.

Bump time.

Roughly speaking, I've divided Roman history into the following periods:

1 The Monarchy *
2 The Republic under siege *
3 The Republic still under siege, but confident *
4 The Republic with regional ambitions *
5 The Republic with Mediterranean ambitions *
6 The Republic with Imperial ambitions *
7 The Republic falling apart *
8 The Empire pretending it's still the Republic *
9 The Empire wishing it were still the Republic *
10 The Empire falling apart *
11 The Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy *

(* Note: All periods with an asterisk are marked by internal conflict between two or more classes of Roman citizens, residents or subjects)

Of course, this leaves out the Eastern, or Byzantine Empire, which in theory thrived for another millennium after Rome itself fell.

We're overdue for a bump, but I can't find anything new or worthwhile to bring up. So I may as well update on the actual WoVCon:

There is some insatisfaction about the choice of venue, with each suggestion for improvement making things more complicated. What's needed is a nice, reasonably cheap place on the Strip which a) can handle large parties, b) is not so noisy as to make conversation difficult and c) not be a seafood joint.

Any suggestions?

Quote: Nareed

Any suggestions?

What about I Love Burgers in the Palazzo. We had a group of about 15 there for the G2E get together, all at one long table. I think they just had soft atmosphere music; nothing too loud. The staff were very accommodating too.

We could do some gambling at Treasure Island afterward, which we did last time. I'm afraid still not keen in playing at the Venetian or Palazzo.