ballpoint

They're now reporting the true activity of the source is indeed 19 gigabecquerel. "Chief Health Officer Andrew Robertson said the small silver cylinder was a 19-gigabecquerel caesium 137 ceramic source commonly used in radiation gauges. “That may not mean a lot to people but probably more concerning is that it does emit a reasonable amount of radiation,” he said. Dr Robertson said the unit emits about two millisieverts of radiation per hour, which is the equivalent of having 10 x-rays in an hour". To compare, the maximum dose rate permitted for radiation classified workers in Australia is 20 millisieverts per year. Outback hunt for lost radioactive capsule - Australian Associated Press (aap.com.au)

Give him enough rope...

Lat week I said to my wife that my New Years resolution is not to say anything that will upset people, and I bet yours is to lose a lot of weight”.

I paused a film last night while I made a cup of tea. I've now lost my job at the cinema.

Greenland have launched their first ever national lottery . You have to be Inuit to win it!

Today I made my first bit of money as a photographer. I sold my camera.

Leather is “rated” based on its texture. Cows with abundant water sources typically have softer hides, rated “A”, but hides from cows living in hot, dry climates are typically "D" Hide-Rated.

I saw a weasel in the pub last night. You'll never guess what he asked to drink.

Just had a go on a OUIJA board. I asked it. "will I get sex this years"? The arrow moved to H then A then H then A, and this has been going on for 2 hours now.

It's not just on the front lines where convicts are being used. Russia's armaments factories are struggling so much to keep up production that Putin has announced anyone volunteering to work in them will be exempt from military service, as well as using convicts to build his weapons, also in return for exemption from service. One wonders just how effective they will be. Russia Turning to Prison Labor as It Struggles to Make Enough Weapons: U.K. (newsweek.com)

Very insightful analysis from a former intelligence officer who also served with the International Legion in Ukraine last year, seeing action, and witnessing the near instant effect of Poland's donation of T2 tanks to Ukraine. The superior Western ones hold much more promise, even in limited numbers.

Congratulations. You win.

Speaking of that history, there have been a number of posts on this, and other threads, along the lines of "stop fighting Russia, or WWIII will start". Very sensible advice. Let Putin take over Ukraine, so he can "rescue" the Russian speakers living there, in order to avoid a world war. If only the Allies had thought of that back in 1938, and allowed Hitler to invade Czechoslovakia unopposed so he could "free" the German speakers of the Sudetenland. Why, then there would have been peace in their time, and no WWII. I'm sure Putin, just like Hitler was with the Sudetenland, would be perfectly happy with Ukraine as a new toy to play with, and wouldn't immediately start casting eyes on the Baltic states, egged on by the West's laying down and rolling over. And how dare Ukraine provoke such an invasion by giving these Russian speakers a place to live following the break up of the USSR. Not only that, it then gave up its nuclear weapons, a sure sign of weakness in Russian eyes, and remained alongside it, sharing a border like a couple of estranged neighbours. Of course Putin had to invade. What else could he do? He's a manly, bare chested, staged judo fighting, horse loving man. He must have been seething at the thought of those Ukrainians doing their own thing, perhaps talking about him in a funny way. People would have laughed at him if he hadn't invaded. Well, no one's laughing at the clown now. (Note, because I know someone will rush to correct/argue with what I wrote: Sarcasm.)

It's perfectly OK to talk to yourself and it's perfectly OK to answer yourself. But it's totally sad that you have to repeat what you said because you weren't listening.