A desert rose is an intricate rose-like formation of crystal clusters of gypsum or baryte, which include abundant sand grains. The “petals” are crystals flattened on the c axis, fanning open in radiating clusters. The rosette crystal habit tends to occur when the crystals form in arid sandy conditions, such as the evaporation of a […]
[thanks to UC#1 and UC#1-SU for today’s topic] Between May and early August of 2016, a massive wildfire burned in the northeastern region of Alberta (the Fort McMurray area). The wildfire was the most expensive disaster in Canadian history. From Wikipedia: As a testament to the Canadian Government’s efficiency and readiness, there were no direct […]
It began simple enough…. an email exchange between UC#3 and UC#1: Gents- I know I’ve been a bit offline for WLBOTT, but I have a friend who is traveling to northern Alberta next week and she and I were talking and I recommended she take her engineering team to this restaurant in Fort McMurray. Looks […]
Wildberries – the Amazon of Russia A fire has broken out at a warehouse in St. Petersburg, days after workers were involved in a brawl at the site, with arson a suspected cause. Despite the encroaching flames, a guard continued to inspect the workers to make sure they were not stealing anything, Baza added. Eventually, […]
[Thanks to Sally the Intern for her assistance in today’s BLOTT] A friend of WLBOTT recently experienced some burst pipes (big freeze in Central Texas last week). We asked our AI friends to help us understand this situation.
One of the scariest aspects of TrumpWorld (and there are many) is that he is encouraging his followers to consider him the anointed one, the chosen one, the persecuted Christ. Trump shares bizarre biblical video saying God made him to be America’s ‘caretaker’ Republican gives full vent to messiah complex on eve of Iowa caucuses […]
Russia is having trouble keeping the lights on. I remember the optimism of the late ’90s, when we naively thought that Russia would be a grown-up country, we would all work together to make the world a more stable place, we could turn our nuclear swords into nuclear plowshares[2]. But greed and lust for power […]
In a town of 17,710 people, 10,000 came out to protest the sentencing of an anti-war activist. The protesters were armed with snowballs. The goon squad was armed to the teeth. The unrest on Wednesday – one of the largest reported demonstrations since the war in Ukraine began in 2022 – erupted amid the trial […]
WLBOTT recently held a focus group, trying to determine what species would dominate Planet Earth after humans succumb to their foibles, flaws, faults, failings, frailties, and general feet of clay. Some possible candidates: For 99.9 per cent of the history of life on Earth, the planet has managed perfectly well without human-style intelligence and if […]
The Korea–Russia Friendship Bridge is a rail bridge over the Tumen River. It was commissioned in 1959 as a replacement for a temporary wooden bridge. Located immediately downstream from the China–North Korea–Russia tripoint, the bridge is the sole crossing point on the 17 km long North Korea–Russia border. Planks are laid between the tracks making […]