15:37 - And They're Off!

Conrad's Fingers Pound Away On The Keyboard
     Or they would if he had anything substantial to write about.  
     At Dogsitting Daughter's request, I got a cheap non-stick frying pan.  
     I bought a small calculator.  
     Oh, and some "Meerkat" sweets.
     That's all, really.  Oh, apart from the civil war raging in Andrevia, on the shores of the Black Sea, with NATO, the Russians, foreign mujahideen and various local militias all clashing.  Nothing else.

Flying pram.  Close enough.

Lycopodium Powder
     This just popped into Conrad's head earlier in the week (probably his brain-antennae picking up Radio 4), as a long-forgotten substance used in O Level Physics and Chemistry.  Lycopodium is a variety of moss, and the powder is made up of it's spores.  It has been used in experiments to give a visual presence to sound waves or electrostatic forces.  What it is best used for, is EXPLODING! in a safe way.

This is, very definitely, the unsafe way -

     Yes, you read that correctly.  Lyco powder is highly flammable, but it can be controlled in a manner say, TNT or Mercury Azide, would only be able to dream of.  As a result, it is widely used in stage effects.  And ice cream.

 - whereas here, The Amazing Pie-Roh  safely uses lyco - no, hang on, that's not right -

Monkey Island
     Conrad re-discovered this computer game(s) in a downstairs bookcase.  Dam' me eyes, it be many a year since Conrad played 'em games!  (That's Pirate-speak, to be said in a Robert Newton accent whilst rolling one's eyes and drinking grog).  All three are present, Monkey Island 1, 2 and 3.  Loved the first one, found the ending of the second rather silly and never got far with the third.  That may change.  I am off until May 19th, dogsitting, so - Conrad may weaken and load these into the PC.

The curse is, they're so good you spend DAYS playing them

Computer Games Generally
     Conrad, back in the day, used to play a lot of these.  Back then a Sinclair 128 was state of the art - 128K of memory, with wireframe graphics that required 1) A willing suspension of disbelief and 2) Imagination; games like "Elite" or ""Driller" and the magazine "Crash". Then it was an Amiga 600 and filled polygons - say hello "Campaign" and "Monkey Island".  Then it was a PC and "X-Com" and "Shogun" -
     Then the spell wore off (mostly) and Conrad has been game-free for many years.

Yes it had a built-in tape recorder.  I know, I know - "What's a tape recorder?"

Rowdy Roddy Piper
     I was delighted to see a posting over on FB advertising Roddy's tour of the UK, as this means he's still alive and kicking.

Alive and ass-kicking!

     You will recall that, back in the late 80's, Roddy fell on hard times and was unemployed, drifting from town to town and working where he could.  He agreed to let documentarian  John Carpenter film his efforts to find work - and we all know how that turned out - the exposure of a terrifying alien conspiracy on the United State's West coast.  John - out of a sense of mischief, one feels - deliberately ended filming at the point where Roddy was shot.  Apparently there was studio pressure for a happy ending, so John gave them the opposite.

Our hero, as we last see him

     Given that Roddy was in superb physical condition, close to medical facilities and with helpful people to aid him, it's not surprising that he survived.  But I an still angry with John for not providing closure!

Whilst on the subject of films ...

Condensed Films
     Once again Conrad provides you with all you need to make an informed decision, in the space of five words.  You owe it to yourself to read these!

FILM                                                        FIVE WORDS

Jaws                                                       Hunted shark eats people; explodes*
Big Trouble in Little China                         Little China has Big Trouble
They Live                                                Almost the most terrifying documentary 
Close Encounters of the Third Kind             Fairytale aliens, abductees return, schmaltz
Taken                                                      Do NOT p**s-off Liam Neeson!
Mary Poppins                                            A terrifying torment for Conrad

Edna The Animate Dog
     The reason why photo's of Edna tend to be whilst she's asleep is because she is, yea verily, animated.  Not just animated, at times she gets the "zoomies" where she desperately runs around the back yard, into the kitchen, down the hallway, back into the kitchen, out into the back yard again, then into the lounge - for a rest.
     Here she is in the Upstairs Lair, the only photograph of six that came out even faintly usable because - yes, she was being animated.

Edna, showing discernment in checking out Conrad's military history books

    Contrast this with an "Awww isn't she cute!" shot of her using Sally as an improptu bed

Seconds later, she ate the photographer ...

Contrast this with Jenny, sat in the same place for three hours:

"Yes, human?  I told you - only wake me for food.  Now, begone."