As I am a known Kazakh- o- phile, everyone wants to know what I think of the Borat phenomenon (and I have also been asked if they do indeed drink horse urine: NO). I am no fan of gross- out movies and am obviously a big fan of free speech so I thought I would …
Latrine Practices and Health Risks
I really enjoyed this article from the LA Times that discusses research from the archaeological site of Qumran in Israel, thought by many to be the home of the religious community that produced the Dead Sea Scrolls. Apparently contemporary writings describe elaborate cleansing rituals involved with using their latrines and these have been confirmed through …
Update
Reader Rasmus Boegh has identified the source of the eagle photo in this post of May 24. “The animal on the photo is, without any doubts, a Red Fox. Furthermore, it is actually part of a series that was shot in Finland by Pekka Komi. This photo could give the mistaken impression that the Golden …
Contra “Peak Oil”
MSN also carries a Reuters release of a study from Cambridge Energy Research Associates attacking the simplistic application of the peak oil concept. From the release: “Cambridge Energy Research Associates said in a report that the world has some 3.74 trillion barrels of oil left — enough to last 122 years at current consumption rates …
Dirty Jobs
MSN Careers has an interesting piece up on the 10 Dirtiest Jobs in Science. In no particular order they are: Manure InspectorOrangutan Pee CollectorHot-zone SuperintendentExtremophile ExcavatorDysentery Stool Sample AnalyzerSemen WasherVolcanologistCarcass CleanerFistula FeederCorpse-Flower Grower I would say Hot-zone Superintendent is maybe the most dangerous, but for dirtiest, I vote Carcass Cleaner. What is your vote?
Around the Web
Things stack up when you are busy! Nanny state part one thousand and ???: Britain now is suggesting compulsory training in nursery rhymes for inept parents. Can’t make it up… While Beijing is pursuing a compulsory one- small- dog policy— not that Albuquerque mayor Marty Chavez wouldn’t do the same if he had the power. …
Surf Fishing
Most of us tend to think of Great Blue Herons as large, freshwater wading birds. Around here, they’re almost as likely to try their luck on the salt as this fellow is doing at Goleta Beach.
Lunch with the Blowhards
Last Tuesday I had lunch with Michael Blowhard and his wife at the Beachside Cafe at Goleta Beach. They were in town on vacation and we were able to meet up. Michael is the principal contributor to the group blog 2blowhards, a daily must-read for its take on culture, the arts, history, fashion, architecture, literature …
One More
Gorbatov is working on illustrating a monograph on the sakers for a German scientist. He knew I would like this one because it depicts petroglyphs at Tamgaly in the Kazakh steppes, where we have both seen sakers. (See “Sunhead” and other posts below). He confirms a rumor I have heard: these images are of horses …
Gorbatov 2: Sampler
Just a taste. A Turcoman falconer: “Sandstorm, Karakum Desert”. “Young Hunter”: Gos over water. “Berkutchi”: relatives of my dogs– really! “Seton’s Lobo”– for a Korean edition of the classic. Vadim painted these illustrations– in a two- page format– from backgrounds we sent, before he had ever been in New Mexico. Can’t wait to see the …