A Radiation Summation

Don't Worry -
 - this will not be all about Bequerels and Sieverts and Milli-Curies, nor yet a rendition of short-wavelength electro-magnetic signatures.  What I mean is that we are going to be skirting the fringes of some rather exotic chemicals, physics and concepts.  Hopefully BOOJUM! can get these ideas across to you without causing brain-stall, because radioactive isotopes are, frankly, hard homework.

A Water Hyascinth.  Just because.

     Anyway, I hope you recall yesterday's analysis of a potential bomb constructed from Hf178, which would go off with tremendous Ooomph.*  This isotope of Hafnium would yield up all it's stored energy in a femto-second when bombarded by gamma rays, resulting in a spectacular blast.
     Spectacular indeed!  I think we already worked out that a teaspoon of Hf178 would detonate with the explosive force of a 2,000lb bomb.  The thing is that the explosion would be in the form of gamma rays and X rays, which travel at the speed of light: 186,000 miles per second.
     This is bad news for anybody whom this appalling weapon has been used against, because by the time you see the flash of detonation, you already appreciate how a sausage in a microwave feels.  Cooked.

Or poached, we're easy.**

     If you want to vector this into those stolid movies of the Second Unpleasantness, where Ginger sees a shell being fired at Algy*** and shouts a warning, then Algy, at a mile distance from the explosion, would have all of 186000th of a second to take cover.    This would require stout running shoes and good reflexes be fatal.  Even if you were 186,000 miles away - or three-quarters of the way to the Moon - you'd only have a single second to take cover, and that cover had better be a couple of inches of lead.
     I can see that you are mightily worried about this technology, but don't worry!  It is doubtful t'will ever come to be, since Hf178 costs approximately £1 million per gram.  Pricey stuff indeed.
     Right, time to put the motley into a car boot with a passel of rabid weasels and drive over an assault course!

Hello Mum!^

Enlightenment Dawns
We are not talking about the birth of the Age of Reason in the eighteenth century, so don't worry about this being a long dry philosophical screed - although I could post some of my 5,000 word monograph on "Forbidden Planet" and how - no?  You're sure?  "Not even if it meant having your eyeballs rubbed down with sandpaper"?  Okay, I'll take that as a no.
      Where were we?  O yes.  Art?

Pay attention to the Thor character

     For several years that poster has graced my wall, and I realised that what appears to be wearing Thor's uniform and wielding his hammer isn't Thor.  Some strange zombie variant, I mused.
     Incorrectly!
     Whilst abstractedly browsing the "Marvel Year By Year" book, I came across this.  Art?

Also note thumbnail in upper left

      This is Bill Beta Ray, whom volunteered to be turned into a protective cyborg to protect his fellow aliens, whilst they were in suspended animation.  This self-sacrifice enables him to wield Mjolnir, so he must be kind of a good guy.  It is hard, by the way, to find any pictures of him absent his copy of Thor's costume, so congratulate me on finding this original.

Did I Say "Fewer Distractions" Yesterday
Yesterday our cyborg sentry cat, Jenny, was playing the fool by picking a fight with my notepad.  My Official Work Notepad.
     Jolly not on, Jen!
     Today she decided to take full possesion of it.  Art?

Convinced she is being helpful.

     Really, the nerve of some surgically-augmented mobile laser systems.  That's not all.  When a very ill-advised magpie landed in the back yard, Jenny was immediately at the glass doors, hissing and bobbing away.  BE QUIET, CAT!

Further Enlightenment
You may remember my post of last week, titled "A Polish Puzzle", about a mysterious piece of street architecture that had suddenly appeared in Royton, reminding me about a supremely paranoid short story by JG Ballard.  Art

The pole in question.  Well I think it has a pole-ish look to it

     Walking past it earlier this week, getting my exercise, I noticed a small pasted note on it.  "PROPERTY OF VODAPHONE" it read, so now we know who owns it:  a Digital Devilbox Deliverer.  Doubtless that enlarged section at the top houses a slave imp, which gets electric shocks in order to send out signals by Morse code.  Or  something.  I freely admit I'm not up on how the Devil's Digital Distractions work.

Finally - 
I have to post these here because of how I intend to introduce this on Facebook.  Sorry, but there it is.  Art?


*  Not very scientific, yet accurate.
**  "Easy" when referring to - O you see what we did.
***   Biggles reference there.
^  Conrad - raised by weasels!