Us Bad Boys

I Was Both Inspired -
 - and amused by Alison's efforts to repair or replace a dud monitor on our floor today.  She called one department, who referred her to another department, who referred her back to the original, who lied and said they'd never heard of her before, and then insisted she e-mail them with the request made in the Tosk dialect of Albanian -
     She did, eventually, manage to shame a couple of technicians sufficiently for them to appear, but only when she briefly left the floor.  Those technicians performed so fast Usain Bolt would have been impressed.
     "That," I thought in my characteristically, hatefully-humourous high-falutin'* way, "Reminds me of the Greek myth.  Who was it that got sentenced to push a boulder up a hill?"
     That was a rhetorical question, I already knew the answer*: Sisyphus.

Push!  Put some effort into it!

       King Sisyphus, to give him his correct title, was a byword throughout the world of classical mythology for slyness and deceit, thinking himself smarter than Zeus.  This is not really a sustainable position, as the one Greek god you really, really don't want to offend is Zeus.  So, ol' Sis got himself sentenced to roll a huge boulder up a hill, only for it to always roll away from him before he reached the top.
     Conrad did wonder why he continued.  Why not take a holiday from rock-rolling and travel the world, start a family, learn to play the guitar; after all, you've got eternity to work with, haven't you?

     Then, still thinking, Conrad dwelt on Prometheus.  He was one of the Titans and took the side of Zeus in the war against his own kind, which was where the smart money went as Zeus and the Olympians won.  Ol' Prom didn't remain on-side for long, as he stole fire and passed it on to humans.  Well, that serves those careless Olympians right, doesn't it!  You must always ensure your fire is securely locked-up at all times.  Prom's punishment was to be chained to a rock and get hen-pecked.  No, not by some lady with a sharp tongue, by an eagle with a sharp beak:  it dined on his liver every day, which liver then regrew overnight, to be nibbled upon next day.  For ever.
     Like Conrad said, Zeus:  not someone to mess around with.

Ouch!

     Still thinking, I remembered Tantalus, who got punished  by being chained to a rock - see a theme here, music fans? - in a pool underneath a fruit tree.  If he ducked his head to drink, the water flowed away; if he stood up to eat the fruit, the branches moved out of reach.
     Harsh stuff! I'm sure you'll agree.  Why was he punished so?  For being an ingrate: he stole nectar and ambrosia from Olympus (that is, the drink and food of the gods), as well as tattling the god's secrets.  Oh, probably the kicker, he had his son for dinner.  Not being given food, you understand, rather he was the food, in a sacred offering.  Zeus, to coin a phrase, went <ahem> canniballistic when he found out, hence the punishment, which also lead to the word "Tantalise".

Well, it could be worse, he could have an eagle going after his liver.

     As you have seen, all these chap's names end in "-Us" and they are arguably bad, which is where today's title comes from as Conrad is not bad.  Evil, quite possibly; just not bad.

Wow, after than unusually long Intro, let the motley begin!

And For Today's Coincidence -
It's a well-kept secret, which my revelations about might well earn me a visit from an eagle to dine on my liver, that there is an island on the Swale not shown on any maps, nor Google Earth, and where no boats go.  It houses an ultra-high security detention facility - a prison to you or me - with a very few select prisoners, and it is run by UNIT.  
     I know this, and the Prime Minister and leader of the Opposition, and probably CINCLANFORUK (Commander In Chief Land Forces UK), and that's it.  So the name "Swale" doesn't crop up very often.
     Except - which borough council did Conrad open post for earlier this week?
     Yes, you guessed it, Swale Borough Council.
     And what was in today's Metro?  None but this:

Ooer missus indeed

     This is really getting a bit much.  I'm getting grey hairs wondering what's going to happen next.

To Counter All That Text
Conrad, as you surely know, has given up hectoring and lambasting Facebook and Twitter over their bizarre Suggested Posts, and is consequently delighted to present this:

World War Two Quiz

     I didn't realise that there were 35 questions, but I persevered.  How did I do?

Not bad, eh?

     The question I flubbed was "How many major warships were sunk during World War Two", and the answer included U-boats, which I would challenge as "Major" warships.
     Still, 34 out of 35 - not bad, Conrad*!





* Aren't I clever