History, Politics And Current Affairs

Nik-note: Woke with the core of this tale spinning through my wits, had to write it to be rid. As a result, I have made scant progress on Fresno #121, so may not post #118 this weekend. -- The Galactic Imperial Council's resplendent First Speaker watched the lone 'Human' diplomat stroll down the lon...

For reference, given the infamous Mk_14, with its persistent 'Non of the Above' magnetic & contact triggers plus wonky depth holding... Do we know what happened to the Bureau perps ?? What little I've read about it suggests scandal was 'hushed up' for 'Operational Security', lest provide 'Encour...

Could all go very wrong, very quickly...

What's the worst-case estimate ?
Needs about a week 'uncontrolled' before 'fender benders' begin ??

Then we'd have to wait for next 'Solar Max' to 'fluff' upper atmosphere per Skylab's premature fate and bring stuff down...

Ouch...

Given even a few amps provides enough voltage drop along bus-rail for 'routine' measurement...

So, 'Ring Main' ? Laminate bus-bar ? ( Better for higher-frequencies than 'solid'... )

Beat their tunnel-vision techs around heads with two-metre 'earthing' rods ??

IIRC, the CEP was further munged by skewed reporting. The UK press and 'pressed' Double Cross spies all reported strikes were long / short of Central London. Targeting was duly adjusted... Also, with UK weather variably 'Westerlies', their mid-Atlantic weather-ships hunted, sunk and U-Boot weather r...

Brrr... Our small corner of 'Big Pharma' partly dated from the 40s / 50s, so had things like several reinforced corridors as air-raid shelters. The back-up generators' building had an actual siren on the roof. It was LOUD. Really, really LOUD. Then, one day, without warning , it got tested. I'm 'wel...

I ordered some 'M6 Slotted Cross-Dowel Nuts' to connect several whatsits to what-evers. Courier e-mails said incoming, due, then delivered 1st Feb. But, it was not. Something else, different order, certainly was. So, where was my chunky baggy of cross-dowel nuts ? Not jammed in letter box. Not tosse...

I'm reminded that, before the alley-gates went in behind us, a trail-biker used to razz his LOUD machine up and down at unfortunate hours. No lights... Then a couple of kids, who'd contrived a skate-board / BMX 'jump' from some scrap wood, were driven indoors by a rain-shower that 'persisted'... You...

City of Fresno #117 Fortnight after fortnight, a Rock Tug commuted to 'Kieffer', gas-dived, eventually returned laden. The Tuggers would party, then start over. Fresno's waiting tankage steadily filled. Initially just 'Main Plant' grade, that was progressively refined. Such would continue for many, ...

IIRC, there was a UK driver whose party-trick for evading 'stinger' traps when chased, yet-again, yet-again for 'outrageous' driving, was to swerve off road onto verge, aim for the 'stinger' deployer. He put several in hospital, either side-swiped or due 'desperate leap'... All good things... Next t...

The forecast 'Bomb Cyclone' seems to have skirted NYNY region, headed off to the North-East... Reports seem confused, mostly describing 'sorta-Canadian' conditions across Florida, the Carolinas etc etc.. My contact in NJ indicates it passed some-what to his locale's East: Nasty, but seen much worse....

City of Fresno #116 I don't know if Doc. Meredith had discussed my case with the Gillespies, but the new 'prescription' was a fast-track to the Engineers' Workshop training courses. I would not be 'queue-jumping', though, as their initial, ad-hoc 'Modules' had 'refreshed' enough skills to lower imme...

AliEx summarily closed case as 'unsupported'. Ha ! Short of putting such 'spike covers' onto horn-tips of 'Hairy Coo' 'Sacrificial Goat' and pegging such beastie out when lightning radar warns a 'cell' is in-bound, then boxing-up remains for despatch... Snark: Hey, if AliEx will not act against 'Thu...

The Zenkthi were natural warriors. Their Zek sub-species were apex predators, devouring or enslaving less braw cousins. Three metres height, six strong-clawed limbs, fangs, osteoderms, big litters and an 'attitude' had taken them to the top of their planet's trophic web. After 'coercing' some unwary...

City of Fresno #115 Doc. Meredith just shook his head at my next clinic's results. Some-what exasperated, he said, "Mr. Kinson, your 'Off-Piste' activities are worthy, valuable, morale up-lifting etc etc, but they are so *not* that essential 'R&R' I prescribed. I swear you have a serious ta...

Ah...
Hasty google-search required, as that's a new term to me !!

A very few ranging shots would establish beyond doubt if target is the size of initial estimate, hence distance.
eg destroyer vs destroyer leader vs light cruiser etc...
Then it gets bloody...

A thought: Given periscope constraints, wouldn't U-Boot range-finders be 'coincident' ?? ( And, yes, need for multiple wide, wider, widest stereo optics for light, medium, heavy weapons' fire-control that spawned infamous 'FUUSOOO !!' masts. How else, in that era, could you reliably track, tackle mu...

Been a while, but I read some-where that 'Dazzle' camo scheme was surprisingly effective against one of the two main types of optical range-finder...

But the Germans preferred the other !!

City of Fresno #114 Commissioning both new 'Front End' Pods at a 'reasonable' pace allowed extensive cross-training in both theory and 'Hands-On' procedures. Though some of us ranked far, far beyond this level, it was logged on formal record. Plus, most of the young folk now fully appreciated the of...

IIRC, Greenpeace.US officially believe in 'Chemtrails', while Greenpeace.EU / UK officially do not...

This suggests a 'Cognitive Disconnect', does it not ??