Things are not going well in russia. Multi-kilometer long gas lines. Empty grocery shelves. No diesel to irrigate, harvest or transport the fall harvest. Burning oil refineries. And now – an enormous Wildberries (the russian Amazon) facility has burned to the ground. The facility is listed as 188,000 m2, or about 46.46 acres acres. Wildberries […]
A junior Elder recently brought a topic before the WLBOTT Security Counsel: Guano. She reminded us of the Guano Islands Act of 1856. Back in the 19th century, bird poop (guano) was the world’s premier fertilizer and a vital ingredient for gunpowder. The US government passed a law allowing American citizens to claim any unclaimed, […]
Yesterday, Elder DZ and I saw the World’s Rarest and Most Valuable Papyrus Fragment (WRMVPF). Also known as P52 (or 𝔓52), this papyrus fragment was on display at the University of Texas’ Harry Ransom Center. Prior to our adventure, we had a cordial breakfast of “eggs in purgatory”, tortillas, tomatoes, and avocado. Elder DZ drove […]
Yesterday, I plopped down on the official WLBOTT couch. On the TV was the Wimbledon Men’s Final. Recovering from the exhausting demands of my WLBOTT managerial duties, I had neither the will nor the energy to reach for the remote. But this led me to think: what sports would not be possible without modern material […]
Yesterday’s blott about yaks inspired our team to visit the Pamirs Mountains in northern Afghanistan. We were invited to a lovely village about an hour northwest of Ahaneh Masjed. We were greeted warmly when the WLBOTT team arrived in a quiet village way up in the Pamirs mountains. We were treated to a delightful buffet […]
We came across a delightful image on the Guardian web site. The photograph is by Daniel Malikyar. He has traveled to 55 countries, with many trips to his birthplace, Afghanistan. Daniel speaks fluent Dari, and that allows him to connect and understand with the people of Afghanistan. That Guardian photograph is wonderful because it quietly […]
WLBOTT Corporate HQ received the following email from Elder JimZim this afternoon: Challenge Accepted! We called an “All Hands On Deck[1]” to the WLBOTT staff of graphic artists. We fed them Elder JimZim’s verbatim email. [1] Mandatory unpaid overtime Some good results, but lacked a certain WLBOTT flair. Perch to the Rescue We’ve mentioned that […]
Today, WLBOTT proudly celebrates Elder JimZim‘s platelet donations. We are proud of Elder JimZim‘s generous spirit, and the sacrifices he has made over the past year. There have been challenges. Although not technically disqualifying, the pre-screening process revealed a record-high blood methane count. And because of his unique diet, the team had to put in […]
I remember as a kid, sitting in our apartment on an Air Force base in Germany, listening to the radio. As I recall, we had one English language radio station, run by the military. There was a daily classical music program that I’d sometimes listen to, a refreshing window in an otherwise dark and empty […]
LBOTT is visiting the Santa Bárbara Mission Archive-Library, located on the grounds of Old Mission Santa Barbara. But our WLBOTT tour group ran into a problem. We walked into this wonderful library, drinking our refreshing Slurpees and dressed in our Druid finest robes (except for Sister Magdalena, in her formal black habit), hoping to see […]