Across cultures, harbors have always been liminal spaces – between safety and peril, home and the vast unknown. Many traditions placed protective figures at the edge of the water, blessing or watching over departing sailors. Mazu From Elder G: Mazu is often depicted in art and statues wearing red robes, which legend says she wore […]
Category: Asia
In Turkey , where Elder JPZ and I lived (1966-1967) on a NATO base (I’m sure the Turkish government was not paying their 2% of GDP to NATO and the US was likely flying U2 missions from this base to spy on Russia), we lived in a modest ranch style home on the base. I […]
I really need to get on to real life, watch SNL, and what looks to be an exciting finish of the Masters tomorrow. But back to Quonset huts. As a structural engineer, Q Huts were an ingenious solution to providing shelter with pre-fabricated components that could be assembled remotely with no crane or foundation. So […]
At the WLBOTT Ag Extension Station, we’re trying to solve a mystery today. Recently, Elder MJ noticed these semi-spheres on a concrete pad at the WLBOTT Rodeo Fairgrounds near our central Texas HQ. You will notice that there are also some snail shells mixed in. There may or may not be squirrel involvement. Google image […]
From Elder JJZ: On a more serious note[1], really interesting connection between Japan and the establishment of the rice industry in Texas. We know many of the people or descendants mentioned in this article . They put up with a lot of bad stuff in the 1900’s but aren’t bitter, made a good life for […]
In the previous BLOTT, we reviewed Elder X’s claim that WLBOTT had a wanton disregard for reality. It should be noted that Elder X is from Canada. Because of the language barrier that exists between Canada and the United States, we’re not sure of Elder X meant wanton or wonton. First, we had to educate […]
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Pho the Love of God
Pho, the delicious Vietnamese soup, is always on the menu at the WLBOTT Test Kitchen and Cafetorium: The Ladle & Lube. Pho-rcaster: Fortunes and Pho In our tireless search to increase shareholder value, we will be opening a pho restaurant that includes certified, twine-based fortune telling. We are calling it Pho-rcaster. For a small fee, […]
There’s a pretty cool story about the Korean tidal energy project at Sihwa Lake. Here’s the net: Success! The International Hydropower Association has an interesting overview of the project: The 552.7 GWh of [annual] electricity generated from Sihwa tidal power plant is equivalent to 862,000 barrels of oil, or 315,000 tons of CO2 – the […]
Now let’s follow some semi-sequiturs related to The Golden Temple. A Conversation with Elder G Elder G: You’re thinking of the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India—also known as Sri Harmandir Sahib. It’s one of the holiest sites in Sikhism and home to the world’s largest free kitchen, called the Guru Ka Langar. Here’s a breakdown […]
WLBOTT has long been fascinated by the Sikh Golden Temple, in the Punjab region of India. We are especially fascinated by the free communal meals, called “Langar”, and the generosity and egalitarianism shown by the Sikh community. The Golden Temple (also known as the Harmandir Sāhib lit. ’House of God’, Punjabi: harimandara sāhiba pronounced [ɦəɾᵊmən̪d̪əɾᵊ saːɦ(ɪ)bᵊ], […]