Winnie The Pooh - Evil Genius!

I Have Grossly Slandered Pooh In The Past
What with "The Thermonuclear Terror Of Winnie The Pooh".  Pooh has never been involved with the development, deployment or use of fusion weapons, let me make that clear: it was an utter canard created purely for shock value (like most of this blog).
     Although - have I mentioned this in the past?  - one has to wonder about the mindset of a character who thinks it's perfectly acceptable to wander about naked from the waist down.  Art?

NO COMMENT.

     Here an aside.  The mere mention of this children's character in the Populous People's Dictatorship is enough to get you serious jail time.  Yes, really, for critics of the PPD's Dictator-in-Chief, Xi Jinping, have taken to comparing him with the Bear Of Very Little Brain But A Considerable Waistline.

See Xi

     Rather than trying to diet, Xi will have you arrested instead, which might be satisfying, Xi old chap but you're going to have to make that lifestyle change at some point.  Think of the cholesterol.  Thankfully the comparisons end with his size and shape and not his propensity to go naked from the waist down.
     Anyway, the person I really wanted to mention here was Alan Alexander Milne, the creator of Pooh.  Interesting chap.  Did you know he was a Mathematics graduate?  Or that his tutor at one time was another literary fellow you may have heard of: Herbert George Wells?  Or that he played cricket with J.M. Barrie, Conan Doyle and Plum Wodehouse?
     Well he did.  He also had a long career in writing well before Pooh came along.  I think it's about time for a picture.  Art?

"No, Mister Bond, I expect you to die!"

     No, Art, I meant a picture of Ol' Al.  Shall we try again?

Nothing says "Stiff Upper Lip Brit" than a bow tie

      Given that he was 32 when the First Unpleasantness broke out, Ol' Al joined up like all the Stiff Upper Lip Brits and was commissioned in 1915.  He was injured a week into the Somme campaign, after which he was sent home to Blighty, and was then sought out and recruited into Military Intelligence, thanks to his extensive background in literature and publishing.
     This is where the "Evil" and "Genius" bit comes in.  Ol' Al's brief was to compose propaganda lauding the Entente powers and lambasting the Central powers.  Sadly we have practically no knowledge of what he wrote, since his department, MI7, destroyed nearly every document they had created during wartime.  Secrets staying secret and all that.
     We can imagine, though, can't we?

"The Hun, the Hun,

Is utter scum.

For he steals the honey,

And his pants are undone."

     "Hey," thought Milne.  "I've got something there!"
     Okay, do you think the motley can escape from the middle of these many acres of Giant Venus Flytraps?

Perhaps.  Or, perhaps not.

Gerry Anderson:  Futurologist
I'm telling you, this guy either had a crystal ball that really worked, a time machine or knew the reality cheat codes.*
     You will recall BOOJUM! going on recently about autonomous military vehicles, which are not quite with us yet, as their human operators have not yet been taken out of the equation.  Art?

Killer robot prototype

     While you might call that a self-propelled machine-gun, there are larger, more heavily-armed examples, like the Warrior.  Art?

25 tons of bad news

     This thing carries a couple of machine-guns and a Rarden cannon that will end anything short of a Main Battle Tank.
     Why is Your Humble Scribe chirruping about this scary kit?  Because the subject of Unitron came up last night, in a Youtube clip about the best non-SPECTRUM pieces of kit on "Captain Scarlet".  Art?


     The Unitron is an autonomous military vehicle, not only mounting a whacking big gun, but also flamethrowers, quite beside machine-guns.  It can survive multiple close-range hits from high-velocity cannons, drive through burning barricades and absolutely WILL NOT STOP until it's target is dogfood.  Clearly, we are not far from bringing these things to the battlefield in real life.  Once again, whether that's a good thing or bad is probably down to perspective.

Hayabusa Bang Booster
Yes it does rhyme.  Okay, Hayabusa is the Japanese robotic probe that made asteroidfall with Ryugu, dropping various instrument packages and sending back pictures of the surface.  Because mankind cannot resist mixing a little mayhem in with their scientific research, Hayabusa sent down an impactor designed to explosively propel a slug into the asteroid's surface, shattering it and hopefully allowing access to the juicy, edible interior of Ryugu.  This will not have been affected by exposure to space, making it, as I said, juicy and edible.  Art?

Before                                             After   

     It may not look much to you, but that's a crater 20 yards wide in the second photograph, or double the diameter they expected said crater to be.  This throws up all sorts of speculation as to "Why?", which is probably down to Ryugu being a bit of a wimp.
     Some answers might get generated when Hayabusa descends into the crater to take samples.  Watch this space!

Today's Most Eagerly Awaited News
I kept this one till last because I'm a swine like that.  As you will no doubt recollect, Wonder Wifey is off on a cruise, which means Conrad is dog-sitting, with all that entails.**  For most of today Edna has been sleeping on the other chair, even when the hated and detested laptop was put away, because she likes to make a point.  Art?

Edna, spurning the Human-Shaped Cushion

     Disarmed by waking up to sunshine this morning, I put off walkies until nearly 11 ante meridian, which serves me right, as the clouds had rolled in and it began to rain the instant we left the house.  My days, the sacrifices I make that you know wot of!




*  They exist, right?
**  Lots.  It entails lots.  Correct diet, exercise, sleeping arrangements, playtime, etc.