I have been wanting to write something about the La Conchita landslide for some time, and anniversary of its occurrence last week as recounted in the LA Times gave me something to hang it on. La Conchita is a hamlet on the Ventura/Santa Barbara County line along US 101 just south of here. Last January, …
Author: Reid Farmer
Green Pigs
It was all over the news services last week: researchers in Taiwan had bred transgenic green pigs that glowed in the dark. These pigs are green inside and out. Apparently the purpose is to aid in genetic research: “The scientists will use the transgenic pigs to study human disease. Because the pig’s genetic material is …
The Donner Party and Alferd Packer
One of the great stories of western US history is that of the Donner Party, a wagon train of emigrants bound for California. Their timing for the journey was bad and they were trapped by snow in the Sierras during the winter of 1846-47. They ran out of supplies, couldn’t find much game to hunt, …
Not Always at the Top of the Food Chain
This release from the AP has a humbling title – “Researcher: Early Man was Hunted by Birds.” Close re-examination of the skull of the “Taung child” one of the earliest discovered (1924) australopithecine fossils, shows damage at the rear of the eye sockets consistent with patterns seen in eagle predation of monkeys. We should always …
Steve’s Flint Cores – The How and Why
Knowing how much I like messing around with these things, Steve took this picture of two prehistoric flint cores in a museum in Turkey and sent it on to me. These are both very nice specimens and you can see the parallel flake scars down the sides and examples of the blades that have been …
Hasan Dag and Catal Huyuk
Steve’s post last week on Turkish Landscapes had a photo of a volcano named Hasan Dag that he traveled past on his trip. The following is a guest post on Hasan Dag and a nearby archaeological site from Janet Jones, an archaeologist and classics professor, who was on the trip with Steve: Everytime I see …
Big Surf
Over the last three weeks or so, we have had a number of storms and attendant swell here in Southern California that’s resulted in bigger than normal surf. There have been many days in this stretch that we have had waves in the 8-12 foot range. That has made these people very happy. My daughter …
Ancient Irrigation in Peru
This news release describes archaeologist Tom Dillehay’s discovery of irrigation canals in coastal Peru that may date as early as 6700 years ago. Recent research keeps pushing the inception of agriculture and urban life in Peru back in time. The pace of research in this important region has increased due to the more stable political …
For Sale on eBay
You can have your very own two-headed snake, for sale on eBay. Minimum bid is $150,000.
Breakfast on the Trail with Frank Hamilton Cushing
A while back Steve said we should do more food-blogging, doubtless inspired by the good things our blog-sister Roseann Hanson puts up at Three Martini Lunch. So I wanted to pull my weight in that regard, though not to short myself, a few weeks ago I did post a coot recipe that Rebecca O’Connor told …