Stuff & Things

Bulldog Drummond at Bay
Author: Sapper (Herman Cyril McNeile) page 100 -

we should indeed be foolish if we were to blind our eyes to the fact that the temper of Europe at the present moment leaves much to be desired: much—ah—to be desired. You agree with me, Mr. Kalinsky?"

"I do, Sir James."

"Good. And though we have, of course, our recognised channels of information, and are closely in touch with the whole situation, it struck me that a little private and confidential chat with you might help matters considerably."

"You flatter me, Sir James."

"Not at all, not at all. Your interests are world-wide: you have a finger on every important pulse. Now, in brief, what is your view of the situation? I need hardly say that any remarks you may care to make will be for the ears of my colleagues and myself alone."

"Since you have done me the honour of asking me my opinion, Sir James, I presume you want a candid answer."

"Naturally, naturally."

"You do not, for instance, want me to prophesy smooth things, so that, with an easy conscience, you can return to your legislation for totalisators on greyhound tracks."

Sir James ignored the veiled sarcasm, though it did not escape him.

"I am sure that anything you may care to say, Mr. Kalinsky," he remarked with quiet dignity, "will be of great value."

"I doubt it," said the financier quietly, "because the gist of what I have to say may be summed up in one question. Why have you gone out of your way to make another European war inevitable?"

Sir James sat up with a jerk.

"Inevitable!" he stuttered. "Inevitable! My dear sir, we have led the way in every disarmament conference that has been held."

"Which would have been quite admirable if any other country had followed you. Unfortunately they haven't. They—forgive my saying so, Sir James—have merely laughed."

"What else could we have done? It was essential to follow the trend of public opinion in this country."

"Follow! Surely a novel method of regarding your stewardship."

"You misunderstand me, Mr. Kalinsky. It is essential that leaders should sense the temper of those they are called upon to govern. And I say frankly that this country would not stand for another war."

"I can quite believe you. Which is why, as I said to start with, it makes it even more unfortunate that they have brought it on themselves. Sir James, let us be perfectly frank. You, to day, are in the invidious position of a small boy telling two bigger ones not to fight. And the result in that case is that he gets kicked in the seat of his pants by both."

Ivor Kalinsky lit another cigarette, whilst Sir James fidgeted in his chair.

"Unpleasant," continued the financier, "but you asked for the truth. Governments to-day can be divided into three categories: dictators, knaves and fools. You have no dictator in England, and... Well, what would be the result, Sir James, if I offered you half a million down, here and now, if you would pursue some line of action dictated by me?"

"I should be shocked and horrified, sir."

"Precisely. But there are many other countries where a man in your position would be shocked and horrified if that offer was not made. And so we are only left with the third category."

Sir James flushed angrily.

"You speak bluntly, Mr. Kalinsky."

"In God's name, why not?" cried the other, thumping the table. "If you'd thought bluntly these last few years this situation would never have arisen. England would still have been the deciding factor in Europe. As it is, you are negligible. And your funny little men who preach pacifism, though they have never heard a shot fired in anger in their lives, flatter themselves that they deserve well of their country. No one wants war, Sir James, but the only way to prevent it is to take the line you have not taken. To stop two strong men fighting you must at least be as strong yourself."

"Come, come, Mr. Kalinsky, there is such a thing as an alliance."

"Who would deny it? Let us, however, look on your value as an ally. Your army is negligible, and there will be no time in the next war to expand it as you did in the last. Your navy is still a magnificent striking force, but, to be perfectly frank, what is it going to strike against? A few sea forts; another fleet? Who cares? The results in the big scheme of things would be negligible. And as a means of defence, out of date. Command of the seas is still important, but command of the air is infinitely more so. And there you simply fade right out of the picture. Just before you arrived, Sir James, I was standing in the window looking out over this great city of yours, and in my imagination I heard the drone of an attacking air fleet. I saw the holocaust below. It was no trumpery raid such as you experienced in the last war, and by which, so it would seem to the onlooker, you still set your standard. They were up there by their hundreds and the raid itself was the actual declaration of war."

"Really, Mr. Kalinsky, it sounds like an extract from the alarmist press. I can hardly believe that you are serious."

"My dear Sir James, your countrymen never have believed that anything was serious until it actually happened. But in the past you have had time to repair your mistake, and somehow or other to muddle through. In the future you won't have that time."

"There certainly wouldn't be much time if what you have described took place," agreed Sir James tolerantly. "And should any nation be so inconceivably barbaric, I don't see how we could prevent them."

"By one method and one method only: fear of reprisals. And that presupposes existing strength in the air as great if not greater than they possess themselves. Which is what you have not got."

"But what good would such a senseless act do, my dear fellow? If London was flattened out no other nation would be a penny the better off. Surely the utter futility of war as a road to material gain was amply proved by the last one."

"And you think that lesson has been learned? I envy you your complacency, Sir James. Further, if that is your considered opinion, why did you come here to-night? Our discussion is purely academic."

"Touché, Mr. Kalinsky, touché. I admit that I fear the lesson has not been learned; and I also admit that we have cut down our fighting forces to the nearest minimum. But the country simply would not stand any large increase in the estimates."

The millionaire shrugged his shoulders.

"That, of course, is entirely your affair, Sir James, and one on which it would be presumption on my part to express an opinion. If you are right there is no more to be said."

"But surely you agree with me that another war on a large scale would be an irreparable disaster to the world?"

"Possibly; possibly not. Who can tell? Just as there was no criterion to judge by before the last war, so there is none to-day. For the next war, Sir James, will be as different from 1914 as 1914 was from your war in South Africa. But in any event, whether it proves an irreparable disaster or not has got no bearing whatever on its coming."

"You seem to have definitely made up your mind that sooner or later it is unavoidable."

For a while the millionaire did not reply; then he nodded.

"Yes, I think I may safely say that my mind is made up. Sooner or later war is inevitable. And the whole point, Sir James, is whether it is to be sooner or later."

Sir James lay back in his chair with a worried look on his face.

"I must confess, Mr. Kalinsky," he said at length, "that such a very definite opinion coming from a man in your position is most disquieting. But surely you and the other big financial interests are against such a catastrophe."

"Certainly. But we are not all-powerful. Whether we like it or whether we don't, we can't stop it. The irresistible urge is there. At the moment it is under control, but believe me that control is very precarious. One spark, and the whole of Europe will be a roaring bonfire. And all that we can do is to try and control the direction of the flames."

"Grave words, Mr. Kalinsky."

"The situation is grave, Sir James. And England's unpreparedness makes it all the graver."

For a while there was silence in the room, then Sir James rose to his feet.

"I must thank you, Mr. Kalinsky," he said quietly, "for the frank way in which you have spoken. Needless to say I shall put your opinions before my colleagues. And I can only utter a pious hope that you may be wrong. Is there no limit to human madness?"

"If there is I fear I have not plumbed it," answered the millionaire. "Good night, Sir James; I hope to see you again before I leave England."

Well, there we were, the 10 husbands of the Dragon lady. Our mutual wife was a B-17E with bullet hole acne, a patched up tail, and joints that creaked and groaned even when she was trying to rest. Still, she was a thing of beauty who took us all there and back 82 times, twice almost giving her own life in a grand gesture that we might live, but survived because our love for her was just as strong.

you can imagine having to leave her. We each took a little piece of her away in our B-4 bags, kissed her mutilated body, left her there with tears of 100 octane dripping from No-1 and No-4 engines.
Don't ever tell us an airplane can't cry.

Before long that old hanger became a lavish combination Officer's and N.C.O.'s club where men could be men in the old style, fight the war any way they pleased, and forget the crazy old world outside.

it was the place of the Permanent Pass, the Big Open Post, the Fabulous Furlough.

Nobody was old there. When they felt that way they could find their places inside the Dragon lady and she would console them within herself and give them back their youth.

Archeologists Explain Mystery Of Ancient ‘Cave Of Death’
May 5, 2013

Image Credit: panyajampatong / Shutterstock

For over 20 years, archeologists have been recovering an unusually high number of large carnivore fossils from a cave near Madrid, Spain. According to a new report in the open access journal PLOS ONE, the saber-toothed cat, hyena and red panda ancestor remains found at the site are the result of these animals purposely wandering into the cave and then becoming trapped under mysterious conditions between 9 and 10 million years ago.

Fossils at the cave were first discovered in 1991, and archeologists subsequently uncovered over 18,000 fossils between 1991 and 2008 during two major excavations. Many theories have attempted to explain why such a large number of predator remains have been found in one location. These theories have included the animals falling into the cave and dying, carcasses being washed into the cave by water, and entrapment by an apex predator.

Another bizarre aspect of the site is the near absence of any herbivores, as about 98 percent of the fossils recovered are meat-eaters.

To examine potential causes of death, the Spanish and American researchers examined the geologic history of the cave, the age of the cave fossils, and the time frame of the animals’ demises. They started by looking into the fossilization process of over 6,700 preserved bones from different archeological levels in the cave.

By looking at the types of animals recovered, where the fossils were found, and the lack of fractured bones, the researchers concluded that the animals probably decided to enter the cave in search of prey and became unable to make their way out.

The team also suggested that the lack of herbivore remains may be due to the fact that the clearly visible cave opening was simply not attractive to animals in search of vegetation. The lack of herbivore remains was important for the researchers in ruling out the theory that the animal remains were transported to the cave by water.

“Most probably, carnivores got trapped and remained alive for some time,” the authors wrote. “Also, it is possible that carnivores were searching for water during drought periods and not necessarily for food.”

As the millennia passed, layers of sediment poured into the cave – covering up the animal remains and eventually filling in the cave. The researchers said this would explain why the cave’s ‘window of death’ only covers a certain time span.

The team also noted that fossils in this site are well preserved, most likely as a result of their deposition in the isolated and protective environment of the chamber.

In their conclusion, the team advocated further study of both the cave and the fossils that have been found there.

“Further research is needed in order to ascertain the causes of death of carnivorans inside the cavity but exhaustion, hypothermia or poisoning from drinking water or toxic gases are options to consider,” they wrote.

The team, which included Spanish researchers from the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas in Madrid, was led by M. Soledad Domingo, a paleontologist from the University of Michigan.

Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by Brett Smith for redOrbit

Read more : www.geologypage.com/2013/05/archeologists-explain-mystery-of-ancient-cave-of-death.html#ixzz4OHmdrfMZ
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Booming Sand Dunes
For centuries, explorers and naturalists throughout the world have described strange sounds emanating from sand dunes. Strange squeaking sounds are also produced by beach sand by simply compressing the sand with your foot or poking it with a rod. Some of the earliest references about "acoustical" dunes are found in Chinese and Mideastern chronicles dating back more than 1500 years. Marco Polo described weird sounds on a journey through the Gobi Desert, and Charles Darwin mentioned it while traveling through Chile. The sounds have been variously described as singing, whistling, squeaking, roaring and booming. Some accounts compare the sounds with distant kettle drums, artillery fire, thunder, low-flying propeller aircraft, bass violins, pipe organs and humming telegraph wires. Low frequency sounds are produced when closely packed sand grains slide over each other, such as an avalanche down the slip face of a dune. The stationary sand underneath apparently acts as a giant sounding board or amplifier to produce the enormous volume of sound. The sand must be very dry for sound production, and under a microscope the grains appear more rounded and finely polished compared with ordinary (silent) sand. Astronomers and geologists have speculated that this remarkable phenomenon may be common in the windy and nearly waterless sand dunes on Mars.

Quartz sand grains compared with cubical crystals of ordinary table salt (NaCl). Left: Angular sand grains from the Algodones Dunes; Middle: Rounded, highly polished sand grains from Sand Mountain, a booming dune; Right: Cubical crystals of ordinary table salt.

Acoustical "booming" dunes are rather widespread on earth, including the Sahara Desert, Middle East, South Africa, Chile, Baja California and the Hawaiian Islands. California has at least two documented areas with booming dunes, the massive Kelso Dunes of San Bernardino County and the scenic Eureka Dunes of Inyo County.

The massive white dunes of Sand Mountain, southeast of Fallon, Nevada.
This is one of the few booming (acoustical) dunes in the United States.

One of the best places to observe booming dunes in the western United States is Sand Mountain, about 16 miles southeast of Fallon, Nevada. A short dirt road north of Highway 50 leads to the base of the massive white dunes. Sand Mountain is composed of two "seif" (sword-shaped) dunes whose summits stand about 390 feet (120 m) above the desert floor. To really appreciate this acoustical phenomenon you must climb to the crest of a dune and then slide down the steep slip face. Going down with an avalanche of sand is sort of like riding down an escalator, ankle deep in sand. As the sand begins to vibrate the sound becomes quite loud, like a low-flying B-29 bomber or squadron of World War II vintage fighter planes.

There are several interesting legends about the mysterious moaning of Sand Mountain. According to Mary Holliday (Nevada Official Bicentennial Book, page 137), a large sea dinosaur or plesiosaur once lived and frolicked with its mate in ancient Lake Lahontan. Strong winds piled the lakebed sediments into what is now called Sand Mountain, completely burying the dinosaur under hundreds of feet of sand. Today the dinosaur moans for its mate and the deep blue waters of Lake Lahontan.

Where To See Booming Dunes In The United States

Dryness is essential for sound production in booming sand. Rain or high humidity will eliminate booming completely. Hot, dry days are best to experience this remarkable phenomenon. For more information please refer to the article about booming dunes by Jerry Schad in Omni Vol. 1, 1979: pages 131-132.

1. The Kelso Dunes consist of 3 groups of large barchan (crescent-shaped) dunes, 7.5 miles (12 km) southwest of the town of Kelso in San Bernardino County. Access from either Interstate 15 or Interstate 40 is by way of the paved Kelbaker Road and a short segment of dirt road that passes within 1.2 miles (2 km) of the southern edge of the highest dune.

2. Sand Mountain in western Nevada lies 2.5 miles (4 km) north of US Highway 50, about 16 miles east of Fallon. A dirt road leads to the soft apron along its base. From here it is an easy walk to the dunes.

3. The Roaring Sands or Barking Sands on the west coast of Kauai, Hawaii, near Mana run parallel to the coast for a mile (1.6 km). They are unique because they consist of carbonate sand--water-worn and wind-blown fragments of shells and corals. Under a microscope (or hand lens) you can actually see the pieces of shells and corals. Most other booming dunes in the world are composed of quartz sand grains.

4. Back beach dunes on the island of Niihau, Hawaii are known for their booming sounds. Beach sands along the Baja California coast may also emit squeaking sounds when shuffling through the topmost layer of sand during the dry season. This is particularly true in the Cape region.

5. Booming has been reported for the Eureka Dunes in remote Eureka Valley of northeastern Inyo County, California. Highway 168 (Westgard Pass Road) heads northeast from Big Pine in California's scenic Owens Valley. About 6 miles (10 km) from Big Pine, a paved road to Eureka Valley goes to the east and north. The road turns into gravel and winds through Eureka Valley, through the Last Chance Range, and eventually connects with Ubehebe Crater in Death Valley National Monument. A bumpy dirt road at the southeast corner of Eureka Valley leads to the sand dunes. These are the tallest sand dunes in California and the home of the rare Eureka dune grass (Swallenia alexandrae) that grows no where else in the world.

Barking Sands beach, a stretch of gleaming white sand dunes on the arid west coast of Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands.