The Soviets’ ‘Land Battleship’

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For World War II tank buffs–the biggest tank ever, the Soviet Union’s T-35, the “land battleship.”

This monster, equipped with five (!) gun turrets, was just under 32 feet long and almost 11 feet wide, and weighed in at 54 tons. It was many times larger and heavier than anything the Germans had when they invaded Russia in 1940. But only 61 of them ever came off the assembly line, and most of them were lost in battle when they broke down due to mechanical failure and were abandoned by their crews.

It must’ve inspired more than a few anxious moments, to see one of these coming at you. But the problem was, the T-35 just didn’t work. It was very difficult to maintain, and who had the time or the equipment to maintain it? Sometimes bigger isn’t really better.

Well, it wasn’t the first super-weapon that didn’t live up to expectations; and it wasn’t the last. Something to keep in mind when designing–and paying for!–military technology.

Byron the Quokka: Bell Mountain Trivia Question No. 3

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My allergies are killing me again, and somehow I just can’t get up for covering any more nooze. So it’s time to hand over to Byron the Quokka…

G’day, mates! Byron the Quokka here, with Bell Mountain trivia question No. 3. I hope some more of you will play–nothing quite so blah as a game that nobody plays. And remember, the winner gets a bicycle–oops! I mean an autographed book.

Let me hit you with a question that’s only a little bit hard.

Question: Who was the outlaw who called himself “the king of Lintum Forest”?

I’ve never met another quokka who couldn’t answer this one, but the contest’s only open to you humans. Don’t ask me why. I guess we just like to see you folks enjoy yourselves. And we’re tryin’ to help Lee sell some books.

A Church of Blasphemy

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Image result for images of baltimore oriole and nest

This story is off-putting enough without my having to illustrate it. Instead, here’s a Baltimore oriole with its nest.

There’s almost nothing Christian left of the Presbyterian Church USA. They haven’t sold their birthright; they’ve tossed it out the window.

The Mount Auburn Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati–decide for yourself whether it deserves to be called a church anymore–recently held a “drag queen” worship service; while over in Virginia, another PCUSA “church” ordained its first “non-binary” pastor (http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=3315).

At Mount Auburn the choir sang, “God Welcomes All.” What–even the Nicolaitanes? Of whom Jesus Himself said, “which thing I hate” (Revelation 2:15). So, no–Jesus Christ does not welcome fornication into His church.

Instead of reading from the Bible, the “drag queen” in the pulpit read from some trash called “Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag.”

Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin…

Oh, you can repent anytime. And be forgiven. But if you put it off and put it off, and then the tower falls on you and you die in all your sins… well, then you put it off too long.

PCUSA, you’re dancing with the devil.

We’re Not Here

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We’re back to the hospital now, so Patty can have a mammogram. Then there’s the ear guy, the pulmonary doctor, and then back to the first doctor… This had better work.

I spent so much time in waiting rooms yesterday, had so much TV nooze chattered at me, that I went just about stir-crazy. I can’t imagine the psychological landscape of someone who watches TV all the time.

I pray this all works…

We’re Doomed! (again)

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(“We are so ****ed…”)

I hope you’re sitting down for this.

According to research by the University of Alaska, “If the current rates of greenhouse gas emissions remain unchanged,” the vast isle of Greenland may be ice-free–

–By the year 3000! (https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-blogs/climatechange/greenland-ice-sheet-could-completely-melt-out-by-the-year-3000/70008659)

Alas, alack, and welladay! Game over, man! Why, that’s only… only [breaks out calculator; hands trembling, drops it, picks it up, drops it again]… Good grief! That’s only 1,900 years from now! Everything’ll wind up underwater but the Himalayas!

Well, like, s***, that settles it–all power and all money to a global government, and maybe, just maybe, they can save us! Otherwise when the year 3000 comes around and you find yourself standing around without a lifeboat as the water level rises to your eyeballs–and that’s with you standing on the roof!–don’t blame the government. We told you we had to have absolute power over everything and everybody! We told you we had to have all your money! But you wouldn’t listen! You wouldn’t listen to Science! And now you see what happens to people who won’t listen to Science.

Pack your water wings, folks! It’s gonna get mighty wet in just another 19 hundred years.

‘What Do You Think? Or Do You Just Not Think at All?’ (2013)

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I like to re-post this every two years ago, for the benefit of readers who missed it last time around.

Why people believe in Global Warming…

What Do You Think? (Or Do You Just Not Think At All?)

You can go a whole day without hearing anything that qualifies as reasoning. If you spend a lot of time in the nooze, make it two days.

Somewhere down the line, you have to declare your presuppositions and start from there. The Christians’ presupposition is that the Bible is the word of God and therefor true. We reason up from there.

But the presupposition that all “science” is true… well, today’s settled science is tomorrow’s quaint little superstitions.

‘Holy, Holy, Holy’

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This hymn is an old standby, here with a glorious a capella rendition by the Altar of Praise Men’s Chorale: Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty. Background sets by God the Father, maker of heaven and earth.

A Get-Well Card to Erlene

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With all the doctor visits this week, we cannot but help but sympathize with you!

I have long maintained that anyone who can still say “Fap!” after seeing the doctor is far from being defeated.

Plus you have our prayers. Get well soon, Erlene.

Round and Round with Hamsters

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When I watch hamsters do their stuff, I always wonder: how fast would a human being have to run, for his legs to vanish in a blur of perpetual motion? What would that look like?

Another thing I wonder about: how come the hamsters don’t get horribly dizzy from spinning themselves around and around so fast? How long would it take you to get riotously ill, doing that?

Do We Need a Human Brain in a Monkey?

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There is no one who doesn’t want scientists to find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. But so far there has been no cure; because the animals whose brains they study just really aren’t similar enough to human brains to be worth that much.

So what we need, say scientists in Canada and China, and at Yale, is to inject human tissue into a monkey’s brain to make it much more like a human brain (https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/it-just-really-ethically-scares-me-caution-urged-as-scientists-look-to-create-human-monkey-chimeras)… And honk if you think this is a good idea.

See, they need a “better” animal to study, to experiment on. They are thinking of “biologically humanizing a large portion of a monkey’s brain.”

Uh-huh. And when the monkey turns around and sues you, what then? Like, just how human do you want to make the monkey’s brain? And is that really the sort of thing a righteous person does? Really?

Close observation of human patients–wouldn’t that be better?

Maybe–but not as much fun  as playing Frankenstein with monkey brains.