Keeping Production Up. Sherman Tanks

Tanks, key weapon in WWII.  The Americans rushed the M4 Sherman tank into production.  Drawings were complete  by March 1941 (well before Pearl Harbor).  Pilot model was tested at Aberdeen proving ground in September 1941 , quick work.  First production models were coming off the line by February 1942.  again quick work.  Two hundred Shermans were sent into action with the British 8th Army for the Battle of El Alamein in October 1942.  That's a total of 18 months to go from drawings to action. 
   Upon introduction, October 1942, the Sherman, with a short barrel 75 mm gun was competitive with German tanks. However, the Germans shortly introduced new bigger tanks (Tiger and Panther) which were better than the Sherman.  The Germans had thicker armor and bigger guns. 
   Back in Washington, the Army Ordinance board wanted to introduce a heavier American tank, but Army Ground Forces (the generals in action in the field) feared a loss of production and held the Ordinance folks at bay.  It wasn't until the Battle of the Bulge in 1945, where German tanks clearly outclassed the Sherman, that Ordinance got the go ahead to ship the heavy M26 Pershing tank.  A few Pershings saw action before the end of the war and it was generally agreed that they were a match for the German Tiger tanks. 
   During the war US industry churned out 50,000 Sherman tanks, four times the number of tanks built in Germany.  During this massive production run, a number of really heavy duty design changes were made.  Engines for the first Shermans were 9 cylinder air cooled radial engines.  When this went into short supply  later production Shermans received twin GMC 6-71 diesels, or the Chrysler multibank 30 cylinder engine, or a Ford V8 of 500 horsepower, or the Caterpillar radial diesel engine of 450 horsepower.  Those of us who have done an engine swap in hot rods, are impressed with a production line that can do an engine swap and still churn out 50,000 units on time.
  The first Shermans had a bolted together cast nose on a welded hull.  Later models had a one piece steel cast hull, and even later models had an all welded hull. Again, impressive redesigns pushed into production with hardly a hiccup in output.  The early model short barrel 75 mm gun was replaced by a much longer barrel higher velocity 76 mm gun in American service, and the British had their even fiercer 17 pounder anti gun (75 mm but much higher velocity) installed in their Shermans.  
   In short, production was able to swallow five different engines, three different hulls and three different guns with hardly a hiccup.  They probably could have switched over to the M26 Pershing with little more effort and no drop in output. 

Selling off Power Plants to cut rates???

Heard about this on NHPR fm this morning.  The public utility commission is going to force Eversource (nee Public Service of New Hampshire, my electric co.) to sell off it's power plants.  Some coal and some hydro.  The buyer is only going of offer about $20 million for the plants.  The state allows that they are worth about $400 million and promises to make up the difference to Eversource.  This is supposed to raise my electric rate ONLY 0.4 cents a kilowatt hour.  I'm already paying 25 cents a kilowatt hour, which is the highest in the US.  Then there was some more fast talk about how all this would come out OK for ratepayers in the distant future.  No mention about costs to tax payers either this year or in the "out years".. 
   Which would force Eversource to become a poles and wire and electric bills company who buys the power on the spot market and passes the cost on to us ratepayers.  When the price spikes Eversource just waves its hands and says the spot market is rigged.  Last state to fall for this scam was California.  And when the CA electric bills spiked they impeached the governor, Gray Davis.  The special election CA held to fill the governor's office was won by Arnold.
  Sounds like some Concord sharpies are out to skin us ratepayers.    

Hillary takes More Flak, a Lot More

Fox News runs Hillary stories pretty much all day now.  They are not complimentary.  Even I am beginning to think this is over kill. 

And it Snowed, Again, Last night

Only an inch, but winter ain't over yet.  Damn. 

New England Town Meeting

Ayup, we still hold 'em.  Beloved of de Tocqueville, older than the Constitution.   Franconia Town Meeting started at 7PM.  Turnout was light, maybe a hundred out of a town of a thousand.  But the old Franconia people, Peabody, Foss, Lovett, Dinsmore, Walker, me, and others were there.  The town warrent (agenda) was mostly about money, the operating budget, the library budget, new snow plows and police cruisers, the dump funding, routine stuff of no ideological importance.
  Surprise, a floor motion to reduce the $1.6 million town operating budget by $54,000 passed.  That's a new one for Franconia, a well to do small town, full of democrats, and with a stiff tax rate.  Normally everyone grumbles about spending, but then they vote it thru.  This time, they actually cut the selectman's budget and it stuck.  Took a voice vote, two shows of hands, and a paper balloting, and it only passed by one vote, a lotta spendies voted against it, but it passed.  More of a symbolic gesture than real tax relief, but better than nothing.   
   It was 10 PM before the last town vehicle purchase was approved and meeting adjourned. 

Heat Wave.

It made up above 40F, first time this year.  Perhaps there is a spring hiding out there under all the snow?

Islamic ideology or Teen Age Angst ?

TV news has been upset over stories of young westeners, both boys and girls, going off the join ISIS.  The TV newsies take the position that the ISIS ideology must be so attractive as to pull young people into it, even just thru internet contact. 
  Perhaps.  but could it be these young people are fleeing terrible home situations?  Unloving parents, unsympathetic and boring schools, no jobs, no friends.  Could the idea of carrying an AK on the front lines, or finding a tall dark and handsome sheik with Rudolf Valentino looks to marry beat out being  on the bottom of a high school pecking order?