The Delicate Sound Of Thunder

No!  Nothing To Do With That Pink Floyd Album
Although any excuse to mention a favourite band of mine, and which might, entirely by coincidence, bring in a few new readers.

"Here we have Dave, modelling the world's most uncomfortable suit."

     Here an almost aside, since it involves readers.  Yes, an aside already! If you object, may I remind you whose blog it is?  Thank you.  Can I proceed now?  Too kind! Last night I expressed relief that Blogger's tracking algorithm seemed to be back to normal, and there were only 21 hits on BOOJUM! all day long prior to posting yesterday's update.

Conrad, looking relieved.

     I spoke too soon.  When I checked back twenty minutes later, that number of hits had jumped to 634.  Surely we can't be that popular, can we?  <combs hair and straightens jeans just in case>.  Indeed, the final total for yesteryon climbed even higher, which Art will illustrate.  Art?

Thus

      Your humble scribe also doubts that he had an average of 434 people visiting every day in October.  But it's flattering.  Last time this problem occurred, a couple of years ago, it began in November as well, and persisted until the following May.  What caused and causes it is still mystifying - though one's pride is massaged by the error, so we'll let it persist for a little longer.
     None of which has anything to do with thunder, I admit.  Perhaps "The Delicate Sound Of Thunderbirds" would have been more accurate, as Yes!  We are back on the subject of futurologist Gerry Anderson's classic series.  This has proven to be a real gem for source material: thank you very much, Gerry.
     Yesterday we went on at length about "Fireflash", a giant airliner capable of travelling at Mach 6, powered by a horribly dangerous nuclear reactor that kills all aboard if they remain airborne longer than 4 hours.  I think Air Terrainean will have kept that in the small print.

      Yet what do we have here?  Art!

      Those are close-ups of T2 and T1, showing their ATOMIC POWER PLANT.  Let's just review this technical achievement, shall we?  These nuclear-engined aircraft regularly fly on missions that take hours and hours, with nary a sign of anyone's hair falling out or their pilots dying slowly or quickly, so obviously they don't have any shielding problems.  None at all.  In fact International Rescue seems fantastically blase about their atom engines, because recall T1 and T2 crash-landing: did either Scott or Virgil worry about reactor containment?  No!  No, they did not.  That must be some incredibly robust shielding, eh?
     But does Jeff Tracy share this technological marvel?  No!  No, he does not.  IR keeps this secret technology secret, thus condemning anyone on a Fireflash to an hideous end if the weather is bad or there's a headwind.  Just imagine how air transportation would be transformed if aircraft were able to use a safe and super-secure nuclear power source. But no, Jeff has to keep his little secrets.

How can you sleep, Tracy?  YOUR CONSCIENCE!  HOW CAN YOU SLEEP!

     Of course, I could be overthinking this ...

The Haul
I am probably guilty of "My Lunch" syndrome as it applies to social media; you know, where someone takes a photo of a sandwich on a plate and posts it with a breathless commentary on the filling and if it was butter or margarine and how much it cost and where they bought it and -
     You get the picture.*
     With Conrad you the reader do get occasional pictures of cakes, but that's because I baked them with my own fair hands.  What I am guilty of is posting pictures of all the books I buy, because I want you to feel, vicariously, the love of books.  Art?

     The top two are from a charity shop, and that volume which blares "TANKS" dates from 1977, so it's an interesting snapshot of what military kit was like 40 years ago.  They were <Mister Hand intervenes to redact a long, boring screed about cost and value, etcetera> N & M Press.  Impressive, nicht war?

"Amethyst"
Conrad is unsure if it was unsporting of the Codeword compiler to use this as a word.  I still solved it (of course!), and then wondered about amethyst itself.  What is it?  Where does the word come from?  Art?


                              Before                          After
     It is a purple variety of quartz, I am told.  Whoop whoop.** The name is derived from Greek, "A-" meaning "Not" and "Methyskos" meaning "To get well bladdered Intoxicated", as it was believed to prevent the wearer from getting drunk.  Since the Greeks of antiquity drank their wine watered-down, they probably had a job getting squiffy in the first place.

Okay, we've had "Amethyst" - now to be a smart-arse and end with "Zoo" for that full alphabetical experience.

"Zoo"
Is an abbreviation from the longer "Zoological Garden", the first of which was opened in the Allotment of Eden in 1828, in Satan's Seat London.  It was intended for serious scientific study of animals, and where does the word "Zoological" come from?  The Greek, of course, from "Zoon", meaning "Animal" and "Logos" meaning "Study".  Art?

The lovable 'Zoony' from Fireball XL5

     Not quite what I meant, Art - no, no, don't cower so, I'm not going to get out the elephant tazer.  Let us instead go out with what I really wanted -

A very guilty-looking lemur

     Now, because the motley thinks it's gotten away with no cruel, unusual yet amusing punishment today and has gone for a nap, let us very quietly move this ex-Civil Defence alert siren into the bedroom and CRANK IT UP!


     Hmmm.  Who knew a motley could jump that high?  


*  Do you see what I d - O you do.
**  Conrad, as you may have noticed, is not one for personal adornment.