Category Archives: random strategy topics

Strategy in the News: Ratcheting in the Ukraine; Foxtails and Camels

CRIMEA – News articles relating to Russia’s Crimea takeover have been unrelenting for the last month or more.   As well, there’s been much concern about potential incursions into other parts of the Ukraine, and for that matter, other former Soviet countries. A number of different actions and counter-actions have been reported, and many interpretations of the situation have been put forward.  But what do these moves really signify? Something we can call the Ratchet Strategy. Just a little history To understand how and why this strategy is being employed, we need a bit of context.  Then we can talk … Continue reading

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How to Defeat Control Strategies

THERE’S a cannon that’s already lobbed a couple of shells at you, creating geysers more nearby than you’d like. The gunner behind that cannon is your mortal adversary.  He knows that if you can get in close enough, your torpedoes will blow his ship to Kingdom Come – and him with it.  His advantage is long-range cannon power, and the stable platform of a battle cruiser to shoot from.  Yours is that you’re driving the fastest, most maneuverable naval boat afloat. Your engines are red-lining and howling.  You’re racing at his ship in your Patrol Torpedo (PT) Boat at maximum … Continue reading

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Control Strategy

TEA FOR TWO    Two young Chinese ladies, performing for passers-by, hold the handles of their teapots two arm-lengths away from teacups and unerringly fill them without spilling a drop.  The crowd is amazed.  How did they do this?  How could they control the tea so well as it was being poured? Answer:  by using a control strategy that is at the root of controlling nearly all processes. Look at the ladies’ eyes in the photo.  They’re not looking at the spout from which the tea is being poured.  Actually, they’re not even looking at the rim of the cup … Continue reading

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Pirate Strategy – Hey, it’s a business

DOWN TO THE SEA IN SHIPS After a couple of voyages as a youth, a certain young man took to the sea to seek his fortune in 1674.  He shipped out of London, bound for the Caribbean and Jamaica.  He ended up making 3 voyages around the world, and in the process became a superstar. His written observations and drawings of Galapagos Islands flora & fauna were reference works that Darwin took with him on the voyage of the Beagle some 150 years later (his materials were used by both Darwin and von Humboldt in the formulation of their theories). … Continue reading

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