BOOJUM!: The Weeping And The Laughter

(Actually Just The Laughter)
Yes, another title cribbed from the Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Generally Conrad only weeps when he stubs his toe, knocks the pint over or eats an Asda Atomic-Chilli Pizza.

A Challenge!
I have just inherited a small book-case, viz:

The horrific sight of an empty bookcase!

The challenge being, how long will it take me to fill it?
Not long, gentle reader, not long.

Another Challenge!
This one in the kitchen. I planned to make gluten-free Apricot and Almond slices, except I didn't have any apricots and there wasn't time to go dashing off to Royton to get some.
So! Improvisation the name of the game. Conrad used cherries instead, chopped finely, then mashed with a potato-masher to the desired consistency.

Et voila! Looks good - taste utterly unknown as yet.

I don't think I've made this before, gluten-free or not, so it will be interesting to see if the cherry substitute works instead of apricots.

Challenge Accomplished
It took all of nine minutes. Here's the evidence:

I feel so much better.

Oh Rly?
Just spotted this on Facebook:

You bet you're not, matey! And not in a good way!

I did have a tagline for an imaginary film-poster, based on a long, thinly-plotted story I was writing about future-war: "We are not alone" - at the top of the poster. Mid-poster depicts Earth getting a right shafting from inbound MIEV's*, cities getting blammed all over the globe. And the tagline at the bottom read:"But we'll wish we were."
Anyway, come 2279 you'll get to experience the real thing. Lucky you**.

What Would The Doctor Do?
No, not your local GP!

This "The Doctor"

Truly, this entertainment is surpassingly wonderful and if Hom. Sap. is still making it by the time my invasion fleet arrives - well, we'll spare the UK.
I raise the point because one of those volumes filling the bookcase is for the Doctor Who scripts for 1974 and 1975. I well remember the trailer for the first Tom Baker series, "Robot" - this title wasn't known before the series debut so no spoilers there - and the quote given by The Doctor when the Brigadier exasperatedly call him up about fussing over a daisy:
"Exactly. And according to my estimation of the resistance to pressure of vegetable fibre, it was stepped on by something that weighed a quarter of a ton."
He blows on the flower and it vanishes into dust.
Great stuff!

Conrad's light reading matter for tonight, whilst watching the DVDs simultaneously of course.

The Drake Equation
NO! This is nothing to do with Sir Francis Drake, Ludwig Von Drake or firedrakes from Tolkein!
It was created in 1961 by Professor Frank Drake as a tool for calculating the total number of alien civilisations in our galaxy that might be able to communicate. The equation is:

$N = R_{\ast} \cdot f_p \cdot n_e \cdot f_{\ell} \cdot f_i \cdot f_c \cdot L$

The key: R_* = the average rate of star formation in our galaxy

f_p = the fraction of those stars that have planets

n_e = the average number of planets that can potentially support life per star that has planets

f_l = the fraction of planets that could support life that actually develop life at some point

f_i = the fraction of planets with life that actually go on to develop intelligent life (civilizations)

f_c = the fraction of civilizations that develop a technology that releases detectable signs of their existence into space

L = the length of time for which such civilizations release detectable signals into space

When originally created, "fp" was unknown. However, we now know that most stars in our galaxy have planets, and indeed we have figures for "ne", too. Unfortunately the other terms remain merely theoretical. But who knows - one day that interstellar telephone may indeed ring. Should Hom. Sap. answer it? Ah, that's a concept for another day ...