Life, the Universe and Everything

Warning: This is a minority-interest geeky post! A Fortic Tank is not military item with tracks and a few bangy accessories. It's a sort of hot water tank and fits in an ordinary airing cupboard. Indeed, that's where I first met one. I'm sorry to disappoint those hoping for a story of romance in a plumber's merchant. It's still an interesting story though and as in the Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy, someone ends up with a bruised arm. In keeping with the tradition and to maintain the suspense, the leftness or rightness of the arm will not be disclosed until later. Anyway, every now and again, the immersion heater fails. The first time this happened was a learning experience. I turned off the cold water and opened the hot taps to drain the thing. Next I applied a huge spanner to the heater element and after a lot of banging and cursing got it to rotate. As I did this a few drops of water oozed out. I turned it some more and as there seemed to be a growing tric...

I don't like what I hear of the man but I think he's going to win. Unlike some of the recently departed leaders of nearby states, he's kept his nerve and doesn't worry too much about his image. The rhetoric from the EU and NATO is all mouth and he knows it. The chances of any effective intervention is remote: Effective intervention is pretty difficult A strong and nasty leader of Libya provides stability and certainty that our governments prefer to the uncertain alternatives. Telling him to stand down is simply playing to the gallery. He's got very good reasons to fight to the last man. There is no safe bolt-hole for him and his sizable family. To stand down is suicidal - or at the very least a route to a jail cell for the rest of his life. It may take some time but he's going to mop up this rebellion and kill a lot of people. He has no reason to do otherwise and it's unlikely anyone will give him one.