Rotab Nalu

Which Is "Ulan Bator" Backwards
You do remember my mention of Ulan Bator a couple of days ago?  Ulan Bator, capital of Mongolia?  Fortunately I remember, and my promise to explain what it was, and I keep my promises.*  So there you have it, although nowadays they have decided to go with the native pronunciation "Ulaan Baatar" but since this is BOOJUM! and I run it my way, we're going to stick with Ulan Bator.  Art?

The city

     I don't care if you object to our naming policy; get back to me when, oh, say Ceylon changes it's name.
     Here an aside.  It's a bit of a trek to get there, so there's not much reference in pop culture to Ulan Bator, although it does crop up in "Journey To The Far Side Of The Sun", featuring Roy Thinnes, the former architect turned undercover spy.  After that documentary series "The Invaders" came out his undercover days were over, so he became an actor.**

"I'm Air-Sea Rescue, Ulan Bator"

     And why have it backwards?  Well why not!
     (Actually, and I only just realised this, JTTFSOTS imagines a parallel Earth where everything is backwards to our Earth - thank you Steve!***)
     Now, time to wake the motley in a hospital bed and pretend it's been in a coma for  years and it is 2118!

When The Firefly Knocks -
This particular Firefly being a 30 ton tank, not a flourescing insect, and that knocking is the sound of an extremely high-velocity anti-tank round.  In today's earlier post we contrasted the size of one of these rounds with the more common 75 mm H.E. shell, and there's a big difference.  Art?

The tank in question

     For we are back discussing David Render's "Tank Action", and his observations on the Firefly.  One major disadvantage was that the 17 pdr gun barrel had to be secured whilst in transit, meaning any sudden emergency required a crewman to hop out and unlock it - and if it was an emergency, then probably under fire, too.
     The next item was the highly distinctive and enormous muzzle flash and report when the gun fired; an unwary tank commander leaning out of the turret at this point would have their eardrums split, and possibly also have their eyebrows burned off.

Not a Firefly but the principle is the same

     Teuton panzer crews were not daft, and realised that the Firefly was probably the nastiest thing they would come up against when fighting Perfidious Albion - except maybe HMS Warspite and her 1/2 ton shells - and they would try to pick them off soonest.  Hence that first photo's tank has it's barrel painted to break up the distinctive outline.

Conrad: Gloasting
I did win the last round of Pub Quiz on Thursday, and have neglected to do a bit of gloasting about it until now.  The last round win earns 4 beer tokens rather than three, and also an extra.  Art?

My 8 correct answers
(Yes I do know they're upside down)

      I think "Saturn" was my best answer, prompted by "Saturnalia" the Roman agricultural festival, which was the question.
     Not only did I get the beer tokens, I got an extra.  Art?

A bottle of whisky

     With teaspoon for scale.  I know what you're thinking,^ and I don't care that this is the world's smallest bottle of whisky, because I really don't like the stuff and would never drink it for enjoyment.  However, it is just the right size for the amount needed to make a Honey & Whisky Cake, and I'd hate to have to buy a full-sized bottle of whisky just to make an occasional cake.

     So there we are.

"Your Mission, Cat -"
  " - should you choose to accept it, is to infiltrate into The Humanz lair, and there, with your trademark subtlety and cunning, incapacitate the large, white-haired one who wears a perpetual scowl, and prevent him from writing in his notebook."

The evidence

     CAT:  Mission accomplished!

     Really, of all the places to sit, Jenny chooses either my paper, my book or my hand, surely none of which can be comfortable?  I dunno.  Katz!

Finally -
I decided that no recipe was going to get the better of me, for baking is about the only practical thing I am good at (if you discount nuclear weapon assembly), and so I had a second try at Spiced Applesauce Cake, except this time I used self-raising flour instead of plain.  Art?

Greek meet Greek

     This was a far more successful effort, browner and better risen, although still a touch doughy inside, so next time (if there is one) I may cut down on the amount of apple puree considerably - 5 oz. instead of 10.



*  Sometimes.
**  I have this right, don't I?
***  My subconscious, and the laziest element of the BOOJUM! editorial team
^  And one day I will return DARPA's "borrowed" telepathy helmet to them -