One Weekend At the Palace of BOOJUM!

It Began - Slowly
     Conrad didn't roll out of bed until late, because I can.  After donning my human disguise, it's then time to see what the world is up to via the BBC website, then to check my e-mails and then to see if my legion of loyal readers have been reading, loyally.
     Tut, readers, tut!  Not enough reading!  5 out of 10.  Must do better.

That Hex-and-Counter Wargame
     I realise this may send some of you to sleep, so I'll be brief.  I'm still making amendments to the current rule-set - which isn't complete - whilst watching "World War Z" and drinking beer*.  Here is half the sheet, which is still about six times bigger than your average game sheet.  About 56,000 hand-drawn hexagons, which took some four months to do; it would have been quicker were Conrad not continually watching films to kill the boredom.

Can't see the hexes?  They're there, believe me.

Facebook Sidebar Irony
     There's an advert for men's leather shoes there.  Sadly I had to put down a pair of mine today, the stitching had come apart where my feet were too wide.  I did resist for several weeks, mostly by wearing dark socks so the rips didn't show, but eventually I had to do the right thing.
     A moment's silence for Conrad's shoes, please.

In Memoriam. 

You may now proceed to the rest of today's blog.

"Get Your Ass To Mars"**
     That touchstone of accurate and timely information, the BBC website, has a feature on how India is looking to get it's Martian probe to the red planet before China:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24550971

In competition with Japan, too, in addition to Russia, the USA and ESA.  To quote Gene Roddenberry (I may have done in the past, but it bears repetition):"Did aliens build the pyramids?  No.  Human beings did, because they're clever and they work hard."
     We're sending the robotic probes to Mars now - I predict a manned - sorry, personned - mission there within my lifetime***.

Established by scientists, not Big Brother rejects!

Pumpkin
     We here in the UK only ever get these vegetables on sale at this time of year.  I use a saw to get the top off, and a melon-baller to scoop out the flesh, and a bribe to darling daughter to carve the shell.  The flesh is pretty bland, to be honest, and it needs plenty of flavouring if you're going to make soup or pie out of it.
     IIRC, Manisha - hello Manisha! - asked for Pumpkin Cheesecake from the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook, and since I now have a Giant Pumpkin Conrad supposes he'll have to honour the request.
     The giant vegetable currently reposes on the kitchen windowsill because it's too big to fit anywhere else.

A generic pumpkin picture, because mine is downstairs and I'm not going to trot off to photograph it for you.

So - Tanks?
     This is not cruel and un-natural punishment -

A tank.  Not what you first think of when the word "swim" is mentioned.

It's a Panzer III (count the return rollers) that's been waterproofed and is going to be dropped to the seabed so it can drive to shore.  My bet is that the genius who invented this didn't have to test it.

Tot siens!

*Multi-tasking man!
** Yes, it's a film quote.  No, I'm not telling which one, until tomorrow.
*** Although, unlike puny humans, Conrad's lifetime is well into triple figures.