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Saturday, 31 October 2026

Flip Flop!

 Ladies, Gentlemen And Those Unsure, We Have A Theme!

I bet it's been months since we last had one for either the whole blog or just the Intro, and thanks to walking Edna and Thinking Time, I came up with the following.  Art!


     I cannot be bothered to try and explain in plain english what one of these is, especially as it's a lot easier to let AI do the explaining.

"A flip-flop circuit is a bistable digital electronic circuit that can store a single bit of binary data (either a 0 or a 1) and hold that state indefinitely until directed to change by an input signal"

     I hope that makes it clear.  If not -

" Bistable States: The circuit has two stable output states, typically labeled Q (logic 1 or 0) and its complementary inverse Q' (the opposite value).

Clock Control: Unlike basic latches which react continuously to input levels, true edge-triggered flip-flops change their stored state only during a transition (rising or falling edge) of a clock signal. 

Sequential Logic: Because its output depends on both current inputs and the previous state it already holds, it serves as the foundational memory building block for sequential logic systems"

Art!


     Briefly put, flipflop circuits are basic memory storage in computer systems.

     Great!  Now we've got that esoteric technical information out of the way, and not coincidentally boosted the Word Count, let us move on.  Art!


     These are what you probably expected to see first: flip flop sandals.  We here in This Sceptred Isle won't be seeing any of these for another six months.  Their utility is in that they protect the feet in public spaces such as swimming pools or lidos, and allow the feet to remain cool in hot weather, a phenomenon I have often heard about yet rarely experienced.

     Incidentally, the flip flop is known in Antipodean culture as a 'Thong', which has led to misunderstandings amongst tourists.  Art!

Art!


     No, they aren't wearing sandals of any variety.  'Flip Or Flop' was a South Canadian reality television show where the two hosts, Christina Haack and spouse Tarek El Moussa, acted as real estate agents whom bought up houses in bad condition, renovated and attempted to sell at a profit - a process known as 'flipping'.  You might think this a rather lightweight proposition and maybe it is, but it was popular enough to last for 10 seasons and only ended in 2022 because the now-divorced couple found it too stressful to continue.  So some of you out there are still human SORRY WRONG FILM so some of you out there were watching it.  Art!


     I should explain that this still is from a 'CNN' news item of Friday that I bookmarked to come back to as the explanations sported are interesting and then some.  Hosted by the not-at-all ugly SORRY I MEANT talented and perceptive Erin Burnett, let's steal some of their graphics about Pig Daddy abandoning a gig on the stump in Iowa.  Art!


     Check out those numbers.  So, why did Cankles Von Yamteats bail on two states he was due to make appearances in?  O I thought you'd never ask - Art!


     "Look at this guy, he's way out of shape," is Mr Mashed Potato Brains' response to being asked why he wasn't going to Kansas or Iowa, which is his go-to answer when he's asked a hard question or one he doesn't understand.  The irony!  It burns!  

     "I'm not going to go to Kansas because he's doing so well,' is the explanation.  Let's once again boost some 'CNN' graphics.  Art!

 


     Abject proof Don Snoreleone cannot do simple arithmetic.  Rather than embarrass himself by counting on his fingers, he instead flies into a rage.  It could be worse, Donold, the numbers involved might be over 10 and you'd have to take your socks and shoes off.

     Art!


     This lady posits a few of the reasons DJ Tango might have bailed.

1)  He's tired

2)  He's not making much sense on the rally stages when he croaks out his speeches.

3)  The crowds are small.  Instead of stadia he's been booked into high school gyms.

4)  He's frequently getting heckled, which he does not like.  The poor dear.

5)  The candidates know he's as toxic as plutonium and don't want him there.

6)  Running away to Florida is a desperate expedient

7)  He may finally be paying attention to his staff's advice to STAY AWAY.

     Except this item wouldn't be in the Intro if it didn't involve flip flop.  So - Art!


I'm looking at a 'CBS'  news item about this,  where they can only speculate about why, in that Donold Judas Trump's ego may have taken offence at any or all of the suggestions above, so now he's going BACK to both Iowa and Kansas on Sunday.  To date, and I'm typing this on Saturday, the White House has claimed that the in-person appearances were due to advice from staff and supporters.  The Ice Cream Bandit Party is probably thanking them effusively.

                                           
     I also add a Comment from the Youtube clip above.  Art!


     Conrad is all for The Nodfather going off to two states since it increases the chances of him falling down the steps of Air Force One, a prospect that has J D 'Judge Death' Vance  rubbing his hands in glee.

     I should have bought more popcorn on the weekly shop.


'Yee Yee Life'

Yes, back to the vlog of Parker shooting progressively bigger guns at a rack of cast iron skillets, risking ricochets as the bullets disintegrate after piercing a pan or two.  Art!


     This is a '30 06' bolt action rifle, meaning it's 7.62 calibre, and the round was officially adopted in 1906.  I wish the South Canadians would stick with either Metric or Imperial instead of chopping and changing.  Art!

KERPOW

     For the fourth time, it only penetrated 3 pans.  

     Then Parker brought on the monster Barrett Light (!) .50, which fires the Browning .50 calibre round, initially intended for anti-armour use.  Art!


    Unlike his previous attempts, with the BL Parker isn't taking any chances as the bullet fragments from this weapon can kill or cause serious injury, so he dons a helmet and body armour, sensible chap.  STILL no ballistic shield though!  Art?

That's at least $5,000 of gun

     Art!

KERBLAMMM

     Net total: 4 pans holed.  Boom.


Warby Explicates

I mean the vlogger 'Paul Warburg' on Youtube, whom has been analysing recent Ukrainian drone attacks on Ruffia, where they are seeking to break the supply chains essential for orc food and equipment for when they get mobilised shortly.  Art!


     This was a facility that produced canned food for the orcs.  What's left comes ready-cooked!

     Art!


     Those ashy smears were once Su-34 fighter-bombers.  That makes 8 destroyed since September, out of a fleet of 140 aircraft, or 6%.  This is a serious loss since usually only 1 of every 3 aircraft in a modern air force are actually available at any one time, as others undergo maintenance or repair.  So they've gone from 47 available to 39.  Ooo-err Matron!  The other nagging question the orcs must be asking themselves is - how did the Kozaky know these planes were out in the open and vulnerable at this specific moment?  Spies from 'Atesh', the Russian resistance organisation?  South Canadian satellite data?  Ukrainian spotter drones or spies?  MI 6?  All of the above?  Art!


     This is the Ruffian refinery at Novykuibyshevsk, which got an absolute malleting, being hit by 11 Ukrainian drones simultaneously.  An attack on this scale will not merely disable the plant, as with only one or two drones, it will permanently remove it from operations.  So much for them holding off on refinery strikes before the South Canadian mid-term elections; here Prez Zed is thumbing his nose at the Orange Landwhale.  Who has no cards.  Art!


     Back in 2022 this would have read like science fiction.  Not any more.


You What?

Let me prod Art into semi-sentience with this burning bamboo skewer -


     YOU ARE CONTRADICTING YOURSELF!  If it's a 'dwarf' planet, a.k.a. a 'planetismal' than it CANNOT BE HUGE.

     Really.  Some people lack basic astronomical skills.


Finally -

Going out with another You What? moment from my newsfeed, which has revamped it's webpages but retains the ability to recommend rubbish.  Art!


     Goodbye!




Thursday, 29 October 2026

BOOJUM! - Now With Extra Added PAN!

Conrad Is Unsure How Long He Can Keep This Theme Going

We may have to resort to pots.

     ANYWAY yes, we are going to be returning to 'Yee Yee Life' and their undeclared war on cast iron skillets, though I'm nor sure if I've got enough material for a whole Intro, so I will introduce a little more violence against domestic objects to pad things out a bit.  Art!

     I have no idea.  Let's find out!

     CT informed that they were using birdshot, the lightest of shots, buckshot, which is used to hunt big game, and a 12-gauge slug, which is a solid metal cylinder used to destroy washing machines*.  Art!

Birdshot

     Doesn't look very chirpy, does it?  Might have some problems with the root log after that.  Art!

Buckshot

     CAUTION!  WARRANTY VOIDED!  Art?


     Big enough to fit a tennis ball through. So a MacBook will save your hide from birdshot but most definitely not the other two.  Art!


     The victims were set up for execution.  Neither hoover works, so they are going to be shot to death by a muzzle-loading black powder shotgun, which was very state-of-the-art in 1826.  Art!

Courtesy 'Jeffrey R. Hills'

     Art!


     They also shot a toaster oven, which had presumably ceased to toast, although it's not in the shooting clip here, only the results.  Art!


     The toast is ghost.  Art!

Courtesy of '1957Shep'

     "This is a Mac 90 and we're going to work this thing over a little bit" as he says.  His attitude is completely understandable and has been felt multiple times by any user of IT across the globe.  Art!

5 shots later

Art!


     Shep repositions it.  Good man!  Art!


     This time he uses a rifle (a Chinese copy of an AK), and as you can see from the soil scattered behind the Mac, these bullets are going straight through and out the other side.  After another 5 minutes he stopped to pay a close look at the wretched machine.  Art!

"Shep realised the resale value of his Mac had depreciated considerably"

  Art!




     Conrad suspects that they 'salted' the car with something explosive and flammable, since although the M2 has stopping power up to a mile away, it does not normally cause vehicles to explode.  Art!


      Yes, back to 'Yee Yee Life'.  Just before this clip Parker told Zack, the cameraman, that the Desert Eagle had gone through three steel pans, so the two skillets it had penetrated made them more effective bullet-stoppers.  Now for the 12-gauge (which is 12-bore in proper language).  The round used was a solid slug, as used by CT in our opening Intro intro.  Art!


     You might be wondering what shotgun slugs are used for, as destroying washing machines seems a bit niche.  Wonder no longer.
"Big-Game Hunting: Used to hunt large animals like deer, wild boar, and bears (including in dense brush or at medium range).
Rifle-Restricted Areas: Used by hunters where laws prohibit high-powered rifles due to safety concerns over long-distance bullet travel.
Law Enforcement and Military: Used for barrier penetration, disabling vehicles, or tactical breaching.".  You're welcome.  Art!

CAUTION!  WILL NO LONGER HOLD WATER!

     That's Pan Number 3.  The best so far.  Parker commented on the exit hole on Pan 3, which was larger than the others and may have been caused by the slug now travelling sideways.  Art!


     Here up is an AR15, in 5.56 mm calibre.  I'm not going to guess at the Pan Total as I've got it consistently wrong.  The bullet here has a green tip since the round contains more powder than a normal 5.56 and has a steel tip for armour penetration.                                                                                               
     Art!


     The bullet completely disintegrated on Pan 3, as is indicated by all the 'powdering' visible.  Art!


     Next up: an AK-47, firing a 7.62 x 39 calibre round.  Just to be clear, '7.62' is the calibre in millimetres, and '39' is how many millimetres long the cartridge case is - which means not including the bullet.  Art!


     It took out three pans, but what Conrad found interesting was Parker turning to check out the source of a sound coming from behind him, as he said 'Bigger and bigger stuff landing on the roof'.  I believe he means the roof  of their truck; you don't build domiciles on shooting ranges.  ANYWAY AGAIN what this means is that disintegrated bullets are ricocheting out of the pans, the design of which tends to send these bits back at the firer.  Were I them I'd be using a ballistic shield by this point.  Art!


     This, apparently, is a 'SCAR' rifle, which I shall have to Google about as I've never heard of it before.  Aha.  'SOF Combat Assault Rifle' in .308 calibre.  I wish they'd make their minds up and go all-in for either Imperial or Metric.  It's 7.82 mm calibre, so now we know.  Art!


     Still only made it through 3 pans.
     Okay, calling it quits there today as there are still another 4 mins 30 seconds waiting.  I hope you found all this mayhem entertaining, I certainly did.


A Blast From The Past
Here's a photograph from the Twitter account that I just Followed, 'The Daily Great War At Sea' that was taken 108 years ago.  Art!


     We are witnessing the Italian 'Dante Aligheri' passing the Ponte Girevole swing bridge at Taranto in 1918.  It was classified as a being a Dreadnought battleship, which Conrad rather doubts, given the multiplicity of sub-turrets and the suicidally-located small-bore weapons situated directly on the main gun turrets.  Italians demonstrating machismo, perhaps?  She served an uneventful First Unpleasantness, not seeing any major action.  Art!


     This is the old bridge, inaugurated in 1887, made of wood and steel, pivoted from pylons on the canal banks, connecting the Old Town to the New Peninsula.
     

Points And Laughs

Conrad freely detests the whole of the Trump Crime Clan, not merely Pig Daddy - hey I made that up on the spot, what do you think? - but the rest of the greedy piglets with their snouts in the trough.  They are on the stump, trying to drum up support for Trump and it's not going too well.  Art!


     Who on earth would shell out $2,499 to hear Botox Barbie repeat her ghastly father's lies and slanders?  Not very many people, it transpires.  I wonder if she's looking forward to her deposition in the BBC defamation case?

     Bring on the popcorn!


Another You What? Moment

Once again the newsfeed algorithm is throwing up peculiarities, yes, including more adverts for pans.  Art!


     What on earth, the Moon and Mars is this?  It's 4 feet long?  It plugs in and plays - what?  Music?  Different colour strobes?  Like a fountain?

     I'm not going to make the mistake of clicking on the link and getting bombarded with offers of similar.  Or oscilloscopes.  

     Bah!


Sad News Indeed

Not only have we been hit with the news of the death of Walter Koenig, best known for his role as Pavel Chekov in 'Starry Trex' (sp?) and if Art will get off his waffle-patterned posterior -

Mysterious Ruffian sole?

     He also played the splendidly saturnine and amoral 'Bester' in 'Babylon 5' whom occupied a verrry grey zone when it came to alliances or allegiances.  Art!


     Now I've just learned that Sir Patrick Stewart has waltzed off this mortal coil.  People will of course - obviously! - immediately associate him with 'Starry Trex The Nexus Gerontology' and 'The XYZ Men' (sp?) but Conrad also remembers his sinister turn in the Graham Greene adaptations where he was 'Karla', one of the topmost dogs in the KGB.  Art!


     He was also - was it Gurney Halleck? - in David Lynch' 'Dune'.  Let me check.  Yes!  There's life in the old brain cells yet.  Art!


    "For Duke Leto and House Atreides!" if I remember correctly.  Conrad unsure what significance the pug has.  David Lynch was weird.

RIPatrick.


     AND WITH THAT WE ARE DONE!



*  Perhaps.



     







*  Perhaps.