HOW MANY TIMES DO I NEED TO TELL YOU! Conrad does not make spelling mistakes, because 1) he is clever and well-versed in the ways of language, and 2) Spellchecker, even if Blogger's version is a peculiar South Canadian one.
What I refer to, obviously - O so obviously! - is "Pervitin", a supposed wonder-drug of the late Thirties as discovered by military medical staff in Nazi Germany. Art?
Pervitin. A gift of a name. |
Until, that is, it was found that repeated use risked sending you mad with an attack of the purple wim-wams, or killing you via cardiac arrest, and that you were useless at anything for a couple of days after using it. Take note of that; the use of methamphetamine came with significant health risks.
Let us now jump forward many decades, to a rather naughty South Canadian police officer, Michael Ellis, who palled up with a pal to create and run a meth lab.
A meth lab somewhat enlarged |
He managed to wiggle out of that one with only a short sentence, and then went on to establish "Metabolife", which sold diet pills stuffed with Ephedra, a drug very very similar to methamphetamine.
You can probably see where this is going already ...
Just like those unfortunate Teuton pill-gobblers, Metabolife's customers began to drop dead on a regular basis, at which point Metabolife promptly - ignored them. The whole management collectively crossed their fingers as the top strategy for dealing with the issue*. They were also busily
One such recipient |
I didn't mention the other thing about Metabolife - they were a pyramid scheme, too, which they tried to camouflage, as this is illegal
So. Beware naughty policemen who like making drugs, motley, okay?
More Aztec than Egyptian, one feels |
Time-Lapse Lego Builds: What Have I Stumbled Across!
I mentioned yesteryon that I'd found a time-lapse video, on Youtube, of a couple of miscreants assembling the presumably rather tricky "Creator" brand Lunar Lander in Lego, with a timestamp of 2 hours 15 minutes.
Predictably, I cannot find that exact same video again, though Dog Buns! did I find others! Art?
Dark Tourism
You want dark tourism? Well, try one destination that the Beeb mentioned: Pompeii.
You need a little background to this, namely that Pom was a very prosperous agricultural town thanks to it's fertile soils, which were fertile thanks to the previous activities of Mount Vesuvius, a nearby volcano.
Even if you've not heard of Pom, I bet you can work out how this ends -
The volcano went bang in November 79AD, burying the town in volcanic ash. Art?
The ruins |
Despite all the pain and death associated with Pom, it is one of the most popular tourist sites in all Italy - over two million visitors per year - thanks to the insight into the everyday life of Romans it provides.
Mount Vesuvius: the sleeping monster |
Now To Simultaneously Placate And Irritate My Ruffian Friend!
(The other one left in a huff). For today we are going to be looking at the Armata T-14, or T-14 Armata if we're being formal.
The T-14 is, without doubt, a very advanced piece of technology, and concrete proof that the Ruffians can be an inventive lot. Just to go over a few features: computer-controlled smoothbore gun; crewless turret thanks to autoloader; Afghanit anti-tank interception system; ceramic and explosive-reactive armour; low infra-red and radar signature.
Billions of tax-roubles at work! |
The thing is, this low production run implies a few other corollaries. I doubt this model is going to be sold for export, because the Kremlin wants to keep what few it has close to it's bosom. Then again, if they are so expensive and rare, they may well be kept out of combat.
CAUTION! Only ever to be deployed when wrapped in cotton-wool |
If you want a comparison, the Chally and Abrams have loads of real-time war fighting; they may be a generation behind the T-14, yet they are very much completely known factors.
There you go, Conrad being sensible for once. Cherish the moment, they're not common.
* I think they also whistled, too.
** Bad for Lego, great for strangling.
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