Loops And Hoops And Railway Lines

Do Not Worry!
For no, this is not an encomium about railway modellers or trainspotting <hack spit!> but rather about that constant concern of BOOJUM! - namely LITHIUM WAFER BATTE - er, no, not that either -  namely logistics.

Amateurs Logs and sticks.  Close enough

     There is an adage about military planning, which goes "Amateurs think about tactics, professionals think about logistics", or, if you want this in normal-speak, How Am I Going To Get My Daily Crumpets?  because no general ever can cope without his daily breakfast goods.  

Go to war on a crumpet

     I am afraid we are going on about the eternal debate concerning how good (or bad) the Teuton panzers of the Second Unpleasantness were, as opposed to how bad (or good) the South Canadian tanks of said engagement were.  I realise we are talking about an event over 70 years ago, and the simple fact we aren't strutting along doing the goosestep and speaking Teuton may skew your opinion in one direction, but I like to be thorough.
     Anyway, let us contemplate the Atlantic Ocean.  It is wide.  It is wet.  It is watery - a salient feature of oceans.  It also sat squarely between the South Canadian tank factories churning out tanks, and the European theatre, where said tanks needed to be in order to fight the foe.  Art?

H2O

     Thus, both James Holland and Nick Moran (better known as The Chieftain) have focussed on a feature the Sherman has by design.  Art?

Thus

     Those steel loops on the hull are to enable the tank to be lifted and lofted before being stored as freight in the hull of a ship, which will then travel across the briny deeps - stop me if I get too technical, won't you? - and deliver it to the ETO.  Art?

Thus

     Now, the Teutons moved everything by railway, which does not require any great strictures in terms of how big the item may be; hence you can design monstrous 60 ton main battle tanks and not worry how to get them to the front lines.  When the Teutons had to supply kit by sea, as in North Africa, they discovered that - surprise! - ships sink, most especially when they get great big holes shot in them.  There are many panzers rusting into oblivion at the bottom of the Med because you can't run railway tracks over deep water.


Egad!  I Am Aghast!
You know that bit from the poem about the Onion Lady (I think - it's been a while) when the mirror cracks from side to side - shoddy workmanship and poor materials with no Quality Control, methinks - and she bewails that she's undone -

Summat like

     What?  You were expecting pictures of ladies not wearing a lot?  Wash out your dirty minds!  Undone, that's me.
     No, I feel a colossal sense of worthlessness, because despite spending half an hour on it, I've only got 6 answers to today's Cryptic Crossword in The Metro.  6!  This is dismal.  If I were Parliament, there'd be questions asked.
     In my defence, I have to say it looks as if the compilers have been changed, which means a tortuous bedding-in process as Your Humble Scribe gets to grips with another's mind-set and weltanschaung.      O the trauma.

Erk
Your Humble Scribe is trying to hammer this content out at lunchtime, whilst eating lunch - who says men can't multi-task? - because I wasn't able to get much done before starting work.  We have had to switch desks in the office (AGAIN!) which means having to restart all your apps and Outlook, which takes time, especially Outlook, meaning there was less time to pound out some words of Wit, Wisdom and Wonder, and did I mention how much of a pain Outlook was being?
     And my StickyNotes was completely blanked.
     Conrad is angry!*

ANGRY CONRAD!
(What do you mean, how do you tell the difference?)

Thank You, Brain
If you follow the blog with any regularity, then you know odd words are always popping up in Conrad's brain for no good reason, certainly none I can explain.  My brain is there, and it works**, and that's about all I can vouch for.
     Anyway, what popped into my head twenty minutes ago but a speech from one of the villains from the BBC's premier dramamentary "Doctor Who". 
     "The International Brotherhood of Logicians is the most powerful mass intelligence in history", if I recall correctly - it's been a while.  Art?

Villain at port: Mister Klieg

     Conrad likes the concept of a villainous band of mental masterminds, bent on universal domination, because - Hey! who needs a democracy where an idiot's vote counts for as much as a theoretical logician with more degrees than a compass?  I'm sure I would fit right in there, without having to adjust all that much.      You have to wonder, however.  They thought it would be a good idea to wake up a bunch of Cybermen and try to negotiate with them?  Your Humble Scribe would describe that as a staggeringly bad idea, unless you come armed to the teeth and beyond.      I suppose the real question is why this abruptly cropped up in the consciousness of Conrad.  Answers in the Comments, please!

     Well, after nearly two hours from finishing work, I am finally home to finish off this serenade of sententious senselessness.  Thank you First Bus for providing a mobile sauna to help me sweat off the pounds and for producing that eager air of anticipatory suspense as one service after another doesn't bother to turn up.  True, I am a bit short of 1,000 words but since over 500 people have read yesterday's blog so far, I don't feel that pressured about it.

Pip pip!




*  I know I'm always angry, this time I'm even angrier than usual.
**  Mostly <the horrid truth courtesy Mister Hand>