NO!
Not an infestation of the Lesser-Spotted Strangling Mugwort, nor an invisibility of snarks, nor yet self-replicating nanobots.
Actually - and yes, you may consider this a species of Aside - Conrad is a touch unsure that the apocalyptic 'Grey Goo' scenario will ever come to pass. This, lest ye be unaware, is the uncontrolled release into the environment of nanobots programmed to convert everything into more nanobots, who are programmed to convert what's left into more nanobots, ad exstinctio. Art!
You see, if these horrid little consumers are designed to not be very robust, then they won't last very long in the real world, what with heat, wind, rain, snow, ice and people's great big Size 11 boots. Instead of instigating the apocalypse, they might only prove to be a minor tourist attraction at where the Almasi Labs used to be in Budapest.
ANYWAY what I meant in real life was - H₂O. Water. April has been unpleasantly wet to date, more akin to "Thud thud thud monstrous April downpours" than the song lyric. Art!
The M25 at rush-hour recently
Where is there a reciprocal lack of water? O I thought you'd never ask! Palestine circa 1917, if you must know. Conrad says this since I have been reading the prelude to the Third Battle Of Gaza in "Official History Of Australia In The War Of 1914 - 1918 Volume VII Egypt And Palestine", a mouthful I shall contract to OHA. Art!
This is one of the Australian Light Horse formations in Beersheba, which is a bit spoiler-y, as it had originally been held by the Turks.
The Turks did not expect an attack on Beersheba, because there was no water present in wells or oases for many miles in front of their lines, wheras they had plentiful water at Beersheba, Sheria and Hareira. Water was the overarching consideration in the battle's pre-planning, both for men and horses; at this point in the First Unpleasantness, the battlefield was supplied by horse transport and men of the cavalry divisions went into battle mounted on horses, and a horse in the Middle Eastern climate needs lot of water, regularly. Art!
Khalasa in later days
Under General Allenby, the word 'impossible' was struck out of the dictionary, because he was jolly well going to get the water in place before the Third Battle Of Gaza. Do you see wha - O you do.
Thus: at Khan Yunis, wells able to deliver 130,000 gallons of water daily were developed. Wells in the Wadi Ghuzze were developed, able to deliver 300,000 gallons of water daily. A dam was constructed at Shellal, creating a reservoir of 500,000 gallons. Art!
Probably forbidden to swim in it
This reservoir was to supply the right-flank infantry divisions with water, it being carried in camel 'fantasses' to the volume of 20,000 gallons. Art!
There were still more preparations involving water supply. 60,000 gallons of water were carried forward and stored in the ancient cisterns found at Khasif.
The British had occupied the wells previously held by the Turks at Asluj, which had been smashed and blocked with masonry and concrete. The Australian Light Horsemen, seeing this as a challenge, got stuck in and cleared them in a couple of days. This permitted the installation of pumps, which then supplied canvas reservoirs via canvas troughs with sufficient water to supply a whole cavalry brigade. Art!
I believe that squarish excavation at lower port is one of the wells being decongested.
Water water water! You might go for a couple of weeks without food; you won't last a day in the desert climes without water, especially if you're doing any strenuous work. A horse might last a couple of days without water; after that Dobbin will have to go to the glue factory.
Water water water!
You Have To Be Kidding
We occasionally feature "Geography King"'s Youtube channel here, as he picks on interesting features across South Canada. Today I watched his short vlog on
"11 Interesting Natural Features & Locations in the U.S." and, true to form, he gives a geological breakdown of the features mentioned. Then he came to this one - Art!
This, gentle reader, is the "Great Dismal Swamp", an area of 750 square miles, which constitutes both a state and a national park, and as you can see above it is certainly swampy, and not the most inviting place to have a picnic. Art!
Here you see the aptly-named canal, constructed in 1805 and still going strong, although for recreational activities rather than freight and trade. It is a popular tourist destination, which must give the Mordor Tourist Board a twinkling of hope. Art!
 |
| The canal |
We may come back to Ol' Geo, whom Conrad silently snickers at. I mean, a King in a constitutional Republic!
You're Sure You're Not Kidding?
Conrad is still a little mystified at how his traffic on Blogger is being calculated. I mean, yes, I have been posting on Twitter an awful lot more than I used to, which may have boosted the number of visitors, except the totals leapt from an entirely credible 129 this morning to - Art!
A great big Hello! to the Ruffians reading this, you're willingness to have the FSB come a-knocking at your door for reading scrivel that slanders and defames Putinpot is admirable. Rather more surprisingly - Art!
Conrad can only suppose this is because we don't focus much on The Populous Dictatorship. But thank you anyway.
"City In The Sky"
The Doctor is conspiring to get both Ace and Captain Kirwin out of his hair, and Ace has provided a convenient gambit.
Mind you, if the captain did accompany Ace it would get these weapons
off the sphere, where a single accident could imperil the whole structure and
entire population.
‘Oh, couldn’t do that, Ace. Diseases, you know.’
Captain Kirwin rolled back her left sleeve to show a flexible metallic
disk attached to her inner forearm.
‘Bio-booster, Doctor Smith. I’ll
be immune to any disease for at least ten days.’
This earned her a frown; bio-boosters were dangerous. A person could go into metabolic anaphylaxis
if using them – unless they were rigourously fit and healthy.
‘You would be more useful Downstairs, Captain, than getting under my
feet in Arc One. We need to have eyes on
the Lithoi’s base.’
The Captain’s expression brightened, before she caught herself and
resumed the poker face. Patently, she
wanted to get Downstairs and lay eyes on the Lithoi.
‘I’ll give you a lift Downstairs,’ explained the Doctor, hurrying Ace
and Kirwin along. ‘First stop
Such a request struck Kirwin as strange; Ace was more used to these
apparent whims and understood there was a reason for it. They might get an explanation, or the Doctor
might silently remain amused at his own cleverness.
Taters, teabags and tetraethyl lead?
A Picturesque Plod
One of the screensavers that came up at random is of Kinbane Castle, which I'd never heard of. It sits on a promontory on the coast of County Antrim, looking elegantly forlorn. Art!
It was constructed in 1547, which is why it looks rather crestfallen, alongside the fact that the English ransacked it in 1551 and again in 1555. That didn't stop it from being inhabited for at least another hundred and fifty years. The central tower, or what's left of it, is clearly visible, but the curtain wall has mostly fallen apart. There was a southern tower which is said to have fallen into the sea thanks to the cliffs beneath it being eroded away, in 1839. I cannot find any pictures showing it when whole, so you'll just have to make do with the above.
Spoke too soon! Southern tower and curtain wall when intact
Finally -
I haven't put up the last bit of my 'Crisis Point' report as Richard has created his own, which I intend to read first before adding any more items about it. You haven't escaped, there will be more on this subject, count on it. In the meantime, please have a look at this. Art!
Yes, it's a British Mosquito in Czechoslovak service, NOT as part of the RAF during the Second Unpleasantness. The Czechs acquired Mosquitoes post-1945 and they flew with their air-force until the Sinisters made them use Sinister aircraft in 1950, the swines!
Pip Pip!
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