Iceland is currently experiencing a volcanic eruption on Reykjanes peninsula (about 50 miles southeast of the capital Reykjavík). Luckily Iceland is extremely well prepared, and all the citizens are safe. Iceland — which sits on a tectonic plate boundary that continually splits apart, pushing North America and Eurasia away from each other along the line […]
Captain James Cook FRS (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, cartographer and naval officer famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and to New Zealand and Australia in particular. He made detailed maps of Newfoundland prior to making three voyages to the Pacific, during […]
[ed. note: UC#3 and UC#3-SU return from Japan.] Up with jet lag. Cleaned out eggs, cheese, rice, jalapeño and dubious ham from fridge and baked it up. Keeping with my mission to keep food waste from landfills and to test the scientific fact that you won’t get sick from spoiled food cooked above 165F (75C) […]
Sally the Intern shared a dream from two nights ago. She dreamed about “Pupusa”. Not the actual food item, but just the word itself. After consulting with the WLBOTT staff Freudian analyst / astrologer / sign spinner / Tourism Campaign Developer / Lighthouse Bulb Technician / tele-barber / underappreciated herring influencer / gastroenterologist / mySpace […]
Here’s a “night in the life of an elder” story: It’s 4 AM and I am up for my two-hourly hobble around the house a few times to work the cramps out of the new knee. As I pass by the stairs that lead to the command centre, I can hear a faint, high-pitched tone. […]
UC#3 and family continue their visit to Japan. He commemorates his visit with poetry: HaikuPork tongue link sausageFrom Kanazawa Lawson’sChoked on tough bits LimerickA samurai from Kanazawa was hungryHe went to find something to fill his tummyHe entered Lawson’s, 7-11 and Family MartAfter brandishing his sword, he was asked to departAlas, he had to have […]
Today we have an opportunity to reflect nostalgically on the Trans-Siberian railroad, and also practice our past tense! So…. Russia had a rail line that cut through the remote Siberian wilderness. A true marvel of engineering, at one point it had a 9.5 mile tunnel (the Severomuysky Tunnel). Since this was a critical piece of […]
[thanks to UC#1 for today’s topic] Another space-faring nation finally has a ground station. https://www.iybssd2022.org/en/burkina-faso-reaches-a-milestone-in-the-conquest-of-space/ Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso) might have done better with a bit lower volta. I expect their space exploration development programs were hindered by the lack of regulated voltas. I don’t think these stamps represent actual activities by this small […]
UC#3, the celebrated WLBOTT Poet Laureate, offers his reflections on his good will tour of Japan. In Kyoto- nice crisp weather, leaves in color, 17,000 well behaved Japanese students on field trips, our son [redacted] is tolerating us in a pleasant way. I am inspired to produce a haiku- Golden pagodaLeaves turning dark crimsonTime for […]
The Severomuysky Tunnel (Russian: Северому́йский тонне́ль) is a railroad tunnel on the Baikal Amur Mainline (BAM), in northwestern Buryatia, Russia. It is named after the Northern Muya Range it cuts through. The tunnel is 15.34 kilometres (9.53 mi) long, the longest in Russia (excluding metro lines).– Wikipedia Anna From Ukraine Says Hello Anna from Ukraine […]