Stanislav Petrov died in May 2017, he was 77 years old and a Russian hero in my opinion. You might not have a clue who I am writing about but you should familiarise yourself and you should be grateful to him.

Stanislav has featured on this blog before because in 1983 he saved the world from nuclear war … probably. If he hadn’t been so very sensible, I might not have made it to my 13th birthday.

You’d think that his passing might have been worthy of outpourings of public adoration or a state funeral, but instead the world only just found out that he had died … four months later. And even then only by chance because German film-maker Karl Schumacher contacted Petrov’s family to wish him a happy birthday.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-41314948

The media is always full of over indulgent tribute stuff when some TV type or popstar snuffs it, but when a man who saved the world died, there was nothing, or thereabouts anyway.

Maybe he just wanted to go quietly. Petrov didn’t think he was a hero, he just thought he was in the right place at the right time to make the right decision.

As far as I am concerned though, his passing deserved more attention.

During the cold War, Stanislav preserved the peace and that made me reflect that the phrase oft used in connection with the dearly departed ought to be updated to “Rest In Petrov”, at least for a while anyway.
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At least two people that I know spent their entire working days yesterday stuck on the southbound M1 between junctions 14 and 15. In normal circumstances I would have been caught up in that traffic stoppage as well because my office is in Newport Pagnell (jnct. 14). But, as luck would have it, I had already planned to work from home. The upshot was that I had a productive day whilst my friends/colleagues had a very frustrating time indeed.

The motorway closure was prompted by the discovery of a suspicious package, initially feared to be a bomb, under a bridge. The bomb disposal team called to the scene proved it wasn’t but was instead a toxic chemical deposit, possibly hydrochloric acid. The police are keeping an open mind as to how the package got there, but terrorism hasn’t been determined at this stage.

I was very grateful that I missed the ensuing travel chaos but the whole incident made it clear just how vulnerable our road infrastructure could be to stupid people or those with malign intentions. With the UK’s terror alert at its highest level, it only takes a prankster, an inconsiderate fly tipper or a radicalised-nut-job-murderer to close down large chunks of our transport network.

I drove to work today on the M1 and my journey went without incident, which was a relief. I did get stuck in some stationary traffic for a bit but nothing that stalled me for too long. I did however find myself reflecting that maybe I should equip my car for unexpected and prolonged hold ups. Armour plating and a hazmat suit obviously won’t happen but a pot to piss in, a stash of wet wipes, a stock of dry snacks, some H2O and a good book would be a sensible start.  

And unexpectedly, but perhaps in an appropriate homage to the title of this post, that’s prompted a vivid flash back to being a parent to my much younger children. I thought the days of catering for every journey eventuality had gone – but I’ll go home this evening and check the loft to see if the porta-potty still exists.   

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www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-41334775

I recently completed a Kojak themed jigsaw puzzle from 1976 that I thought I’d write about. “Strictly Come Dancing” came back on the box last Saturday night and I found myself looking for a relaxing distraction whilst the Baldwin females monopolised the television.

Commenting on this puzzle appealed because its vintage credentials suit this site (and me of course) and, for a change, I fancied some subject matter that was light hearted and not too demanding. Though the puzzle itself was demanding because it was 750 pieces with no picture provided for guidance (more about that in a moment).

The puzzle called “Kojak – Crime Story Plus Jigsaw – No.1 The Stinger” was one of two produced by Detecto Puzzles and Austin Project Marketing in homage to the TV series and the famous detective that Telly Savalas made his own.

And let’s be frank, Kojak was cool. There can’t be anyone that grew up in the seventies that won’t be familiar with the legendary, lolly pop sucking law enforcer.

The concept for the jigsaw is solving a mystery. The box presents a story about a set of circumstances leading to the death of Edward J. Whyte and the puzzle, once completed, reveals who perpetrated the crime.

Making the thing was challenging for a few reasons aside from the number of pieces. The first issue was the lack of pictorial guidance. Even when doing the edges, I wasn’t sure how the puzzle should be orientated; there was every chance that I’d be making it upside down.

The second issue was that some of the pieces looked like straight edges but weren’t part of the outside perimeter.

The third issue was that there were loads of little odd shaped pieces. You would think you were searching for one piece when in fact you were looking for two or more to fill a normal-piece-shaped hole. 

Perseverance was the name of the game. And that was appropriate I guess; rather like the work that the police have to do to piece together crimes and apprehend bad people.

Persevere I did and only once I had solved the crime, did I go on line and see if I could find evidence, via Google, of the picture I had completed. Unsurprisingly I did and so could have saved myself loads of time. But it wouldn’t have been so much fun.

Most satisfactorily of all; all the pieces were present. Nothing lost during the passage of time, 41 years of it.

The picture features the victim driving his Buick station wagon moments before running it off the edge of a cliff. By way of a spoiler … the wife, Jo Ann, did it. She filled her husband’s thermos flask with wasps instead of coffee and when Edward opened his brew, he got attacked/distracted and ran out of road. The end.

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Seriously, jigsaw puzzles really are good fun

The news has been taken hostage by North Korea, its nuclear testing and the inexorable march towards Armageddon. It appears that there is no workable solution to the Kim Jong Un predicament. Sanctions are making no difference, the war mongering/rhetoric is simply entertaining for the country’s leadership and the Chinese/Russians won’t do their bit to close the DPRK down.

The situation is ironic in so many ways. The US and its allies invaded Iraq and toppled Saddam Hussain for weapons of mass destruction that he didn’t have … and yet there isn’t any collective will to invade North Korea where it does and is blatantly flouting them.

The Russians, invaders of the Ukraine and supporters of Assad in Syria, have been espousing diplomacy and urging the toning down of military posturing (whilst of course conducting their own large scale war manoeuvres).     

​We are all being preached to on a daily basis about climate change and global warming and our diesel cars are being pilloried whilst Kim Jong-Un is blowing up nuclear weapons with effects in line with 6.8 magnitude earthquakes.  

I have been giving the mess some thought and have come up with an idea.
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Using the combined financial might of the Chinese, Russians and the US, purchase North Korea and allow the entire DPRK leadership to retire in style and anonymity. Then draw straws for who owns the country (and, depending who won, potentially even re unify Korea afterwards).

I know that it sounds a bit bonkers and fairy-tale-unlikely but it’s perhaps not as ridiculous an idea as it might seem. The DPRK leadership, as unfathomable and Orwellian (think 1984) as it seems to be, must have some long game in mind and it probably isn’t mutually assured destruction. Maybe the whole nuclear weapons thing is just seen as some kind of “nice little earner”.

On the basis that war is undesirable, the alternative is just to leave the DPRK to make its bombs – what will the regime do with them anyway? If Jong Un ever launched a genuine nuke in anger ... his country would be annihilated. I can’t imagine Trump hesitating to hit the big red reprisal button.

Letting them get on with it, whilst keeping the sanctions tight, will deprive the DPRK of funding. The regime will have nuclear weapons but its people will be poor, hungry and living in the dark. Maybe the population will eventually revolt …

But as the army seems to employ most of them, maybe my idea of a money driven, corporate style take over has greater probability of happening.      

In the meantime, I am glad that I am not living in Japan. I can’t imagine how scary it must be for the Japanese when the air raid sirens go off without warning.

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