Sanity Prevails

Only Up To A Point, Though

What Your Humble Scribe means is that the tracking algorithm on Blogger seems to have settled back into reporting real figures, rather than over-the-top ones.  Today's total stands at 12, which is more credible than 279 or whatever it was on Friday.  There is no guarantee that this accounting glitch won't come back, so we're going to hold off celebrating it.

     And yes, this is one of the shortest Intro's we've had. Let me prod Art awake with this handy cattle-prod.

Conrad Coolly Contemplates

As you should surely know by now, Conrad is often to be found on a Sunday afternoon, taking a constitutional stroll into Lesser Sodom.  After scoping out what's going cheap at the Co-Op, I catch the bus back home.

     Well, not today.  First Bus are on strike until Wednesday, so I'd be walking to and from Royton, as Lesser Sodom likes to style itself.  Art!

What's wrong with this picture?

     I'll tell you because it's what you can't see that matters here.  No hills in the distance.  If the skies were clear there would be a view of Oldham Edge, but thanks to the ceaseless rain - which has not stopped since Saturday morning - you can't see anything but white drizzle.  So it would be a soggy Conrad who trudged mournfully back to The Mansion.

Much More Misery!

It was Ol' Tolky who observed that the pleasant is quickly described and passes equally quickly, whereas the unpleasant took a lot more describing and was far more interesting, especially if it wasn't you experiencing the unpleasantness.

     So!  Conrad carefully annotated a Youtube vlog created by Konstantin - called "Inside Russia" but actually now being done from Uzbekistan - that dealt with Ruffia's economic woes.  Art!

Big K. and family

INTEREST RATES: These have just been raised from 7.5% to 8.5%, which the Krembots will laugh off as only a single percentage point.  Sorry, but that's an increase of over 13%.   Not only that, Big K pointed out that it's exactly the wrong way of doing things, because it will slow down the economy.  The Central Bank, however, were faced with a bad decision or a worse one, and chose the former.  Further increases are likely, four words Ruffians wished were not true.

THE RUBLE: When I checked yesterday there were ₽90.5 to the dollar, whereas a year ago it was ₽50 to the dollar.  The Central Bank intervened a week ago when it hit ₽92 to the dollar, but they can't keep propping up the ruble and pay off the deficit.  As the CB observed "The weakening of the ruble has not yet been fully realised in everyday prices."  Or, to put it in layman's terms, there is worse to come and prices will go up.

Worth more than a similar-sized pile of  ₽₽₽

SALARIES: These have doubled in some trades and professions, because there are so few skilled workers, with up to a million having left Sinister Union 2.0.  If employers don't agree with the expectation of higher wages, then they won't have any employees.  There is now a shortfall of 35% in the Ruffian workforce.  This increase in wages will, of course - obviously! - increase inflation.  Art!

Close enough.  And, unlike rubles, you can eat it

CARLSBERG:  Unlike the majority of Western businesses, Carlsberg didn't pull out of Ruffia.  They have been harshly criticised over this, and were, supposedly, looking into selling the business.  Well, they hesitated too long and the Ruffians simply stole the whole lot, because that way they didn't have to pay anything.  Hard to feel any sympathy, to be honest.  Art!

The Ruffians also stole Danone.  Anyway -

RUSSIAN CARS: This one had Big K laughing so hard he had to stop and recover.  "You've corpsed!" I exclaimed.  His unrestrained glee came at news that about 65% of all Russian cars arriving at dealerships were incomplete, and that it could take up to 3 months to get their deficiencies corrected.  It left me a bit cold.  Perhaps you had to be there.  Art!!

Hot ticket Moscow showroom model

THE ECONOMY:  The Ruffian economists have turned their attention to the overall budget and are 'assessing' what expenditure is going to be cut, and by how much.  10%, equalling ₽450 billion, or £4 billion in proper money, is going to be trimmed off the 'Unprotected Budget Items', which, translated, means everything non-military.  Education, pensions, medicine, infrastructure - yep, all going to be cut.  Gotta keep funding Bloaty Gas Tout's war in Ukraine!  And if you complain, off to prison you go with a fifteen-year sentence and the probability of being sent to Ukraine as sunflower-fodder.

"Putin responded angrily to allegations of erectile disfunction"

     There was more but I think the point comes across; the Ruffian economy is suffering and it's only going to get worse.

"City In The Sky"

As the Big Crash occurs 'Downstairs', the Doctor and Ace have escaped into orbit aboard Arcology One.

     ‘Questions, questions!’ grumbled the Doctor.  ‘I come from Gallifrey.  Ace comes from London.’

     ‘Perivale, actually,’ she added, for veracity.  None of these space-peasants seemed exactly welcoming or trustful.   She couldn’t blame them, not really – seeing and hearing the Tardis appear from thin air would probably make them just the teensiest bit suspicious.

      ‘Who the hell are you!’ asked another voice.  Both travellers turned to see a lanky woman wearing a coverall that had silvered armbands, walking briskly towards them on the plastic pathway.  ‘And how did you get here – and what the – a police box?’

     Obviously she’s what passes for a police officer here, summoned by that red button I don’t doubt, mused the Doctor.  ‘Could we see one of the senior crew members?’ he asked, politely and positively beaming with enthusiastic charm and well-meaning.

     The policewoman looked unconvinced.

     ‘Look, Nat,’ said the big man.  ‘We just saw that thing over there materialise out of thin air and these two step out of it.  You’d better take them to see one of the Founders!’

     Ah yes, trust the Doctor to stage-manage an entrance.  Drama king.

Here's A Reminder - KILLER ANGLE GRINDER!

This is the last item in the list that I'll be covering, as 'Extension Cords' is simply too prosaic, and the Miter Saw is merely a variation on the Table Saw, except you move it downwards onto a piece of wood to cut it.  Art!

     You can immediately see one of the dangers involved; extensive sparking.  If you're near a potential fuel source, don't be.  Those sparks are glowing incandescent bits of mayhem just itching to start a fire.

    The other risk is of the blade breaking, because if it does this when in motion, you'll get sharpened bits of metal coming at you.  Your average AG spins at 8,000 revs per min, so you won't even get time to react if the blade breaks.  There are some quite ghastly pictures on teh Interwebz of AG accidents that I'm not going to link to but they're out there if you feel ghoulish enough to track them down.

Finally -

Hey, I can dimly see Oldham Edge, so perhaps the monsoon is breaking!

     If it is I may have to take Edna walkies.