Your Humble Scribe Is Currently Watching "Die Hard"
With Quiet Tom and Darling Daughter, whom have never seen it before. This is problematic, because it's a pretty engaging film and here I am trying to compose an Intro, which is tricky enough at the best of times. And even more so when I've got no idea of what to put in this Intro. Art!
I could, of course - obviously! - go on about the unending controversy about whether DH is a Christmas film or not. Except I won't, because whole families have been split irreparably on this matter since 1988.
Instead, let us abruptly switch track and instead focus on Elon Musk, because I found a BBC item about himself and Twitter. Elon, as you should surely know by now, recently acquired Twitter for an unspeakably huge amount, and in a display of Manglement for the ages has been messing about with his new toy instantly. He makes decisions on the fly, then abruptly changes course, leaving everyone confused.
Muskie
Having sacked half of his workforce, a lot of his managers have also jumped ship, because they didn't feel like 75 hours weeks on a 35 hour salary. Elon has stated that Twitter is losing £3 million per day, which amounts to £1 billion per annum, which is perhaps why he's put forward a poll suggesting that he step down as Chief Executive Officer of Twitter. Art?
Hmmmm well, this might allow him to appoint another person as CEO in place of him, which would get him off the responsibility of buying a company he tried to back out of. Then he could probably go back to running electric cars and trying for the Moon, and kind of forgetting about the £35 billion he spent on buying Twitter. The investors might not be quite so forgiving. Art!
I think that'll do for today's Intro.
Ladies And Gentlemen And Those Unsure!
We have a theme! The BBC, in their infinite wisdom, have put up another exhibition of photographs, on the theme of "Bright Lights". Thanks for that, Auntie, it makes the creative heavy lifting a little lighter. Art!
Courtesy Lucy Spiers. Thanks Lucy! She was impressed by the play of light on wet pavement ('sidewalk' to our South Canadian readers), being broadcast from the Fish & Chips truck. Yellow and blue - reminds me of a colour scheme that's been around a lot since February ...
Devin Stone And The Toys Of Terror
Our favourite Legal Eagle has suffered a split lip from these particular minions of mayhem: the 'Sky Dancer'. Art!
We presume when he was much younger. These things look quite harmless, until you fire them up, because those 'wings' are made of nice hard plastic, and they rotate at high speed to enable the SD to fly through the air. We may be able to capture an image of one in flight. Art!
As Devin pointed out, SDs are highly erratic in flight and frequently travelled in unpredictable directions, which was bad news for lots of kids, since they are launched at face level. Meaning lots of lacerations to the face, to eyes and to ribs and to teeth and even concussion.
Under official sanction, 8.9 million of these 'Spinning Death Helicopters', as Devin dubbed them (he might be biased) were recalled.
Lord Peter's Crossword
Another one where the solution raises even more questions than does the 'clue'. Here's the clue: "When all is read, then give the world it's due; And never need the world read this of you (2)."
And the solution? RD.
No, I don't get it either. There are Notes on a few of the Solutions, and this was one: "Refer to drawer". Well thanks, Dot, because that explains nothing. Let me Google this one.
Aha. This goes back to the ancient paper-based system of banking and cheques. If the party issuing the cheque did not have sufficient funds to cover the balance on the cheque, it would be rendered void by the bank and the payee would need to contact the party issuing the cheque. "You've stiffed me!" being a good opening sentence. Art!
Considering this story was written in the Thirties, one can see why Conrad, coming along eighty years later, would be unfamiliar with the term.
"The Sea Of Sand"
We left the Doctor battling dehydration in the Libyan desert, reduced to drinking water from a truck radiator. Hey, don't knock it till you've tried it!
Not a good sign. These derelicts must belong to the Italians
who captured the depot, and who were in turn overwhelmed by the bio-vores. The bio-vores who now stood guard over their
conquest.
Sarah!
Oh I hope that girl had sense enough to
get well away!
One
of those Italian desert cars would be a sensible and stylish way to travel
across the desert, lower in profile than the truck and doubtless faster,
too. What would divert the bio-vores
once he tried to drive the car away?
Well, how
about a truck mysteriously approaching the depot? That should do the job. He carefully pulled the steering column
apart, exposing the wiring and started the engine whilst putting the handbrake
on. The next part was to slowly release
the ratchet on the handbrake until it only just held, then put the truck into
first gear, lashing down the accelerator with a length of string.
Hefting his newly-acquired box of food, the Doctor jumped down from the truck and skulked, as he felt it , towards the nearest empty Italian car. The impetus given to the truck by his jumping from the rear must have jarred the handbrake loose, and the truck began to move slowly forward.
Crafty old Doctor! I note that, in addition to having stolen the TARDIS, he seems quite adept at stealing motor vehicles. A useful skill if not exactly a moral one.
A Sahariana. Yes they were real.
The Borgias: As Black As Painted?
Conrad came up with this question as a result of Ol' Dots infamous crossword, which suggested one needed protection when dining with the Borgias, because they were so thoroughly soaked in eeeeevil that they thought naught of poisoning a guest, just to keep their eye in. Art!
There were all sorts of other allegations, about sexual depravity, corruption, incest, poisoning, murder and hogging the port instead of passing it along.
The truth is that the Borgias did indulge in corruption and bribery, except they were, in reality, far less horrid than other powerful Renaissance Italian family dynasties. The traducing of Lucrezia, for example, seems to have been utterly without foundation. Murders attributed to Cesare would have been to his major disadvantage. And if Rodrigo had bought the papacy, so had many, many Italian clans.
What made the Borgias so detested was that old factor: they were outsiders. They originated in Spain, and were always seen as aliens in Italy. Nor were they all that successful, because unlike other native clans seeking power, they tried to motor their way to fame and riches, instead of working slowly over time. When they failed in their attempt and went back to obscurity in Spain, why, all their former 'friends' and 'allies' were happy to stick the knife in. Art!
Here we see Valencia, in Spain, where the Borgias originated from.
And with that I think we're done. DONE!
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