A Chicago Tribune correspondent embarks on a mission to trace the oil from a service station back to its sources; the results are quite remarkable–enlightening and frightening and such–and are conveyed through a written article and an online video documentary (which, before you go, “aw, shucks,” has pretty remarkable production values). (Also, the documentary uses […]
A Travelogue of Addiction
Posted by Ben on August 8, 2006
https://www.swordbilled.com/a-travelogue-of-addiction/
Who doesn’t love a long-beaked echidna?
I sure do, I know that much. The IHT has an interesting article (and accompanying slide-show, which you can catch in the upper right-hand corner of the article page) on a scientific expedition in Indonesia which uncovered newly discovered species in an isolated chunk of jungle. The phrase “lost world” gets tossed around, but, you […]
Posted by Ben on August 7, 2006
https://www.swordbilled.com/who-doesnt-love-a-long-beaked-echidna/
Hawk, frog back from extinction
Hopefully they’ll get along okay. (Don’t worry–they will; they live in different countries.) In Colombia, a frog (the somewhat lackadaisically-named ‘painted frog’, Atelopus ebenoides marinkellei) is rediscovered, having last been seen in 1995. And in England, a hawk, troubled in the past, is doing better: the marsh harrier.
Posted by Ben on July 25, 2006
https://www.swordbilled.com/hawk-frog-back-from-extinction/
Anguished over loss of oatmeal, one of 3 Bears strikes back
…a woman came home to find a young bear eating oatmeal in her kitchen. The bear apparently entered through an open sliding glass door, broke a ceramic food container and started eating, West Vancouver police Sgt. Paul Skelton said. … Three officers who went to the home Thursday couldn’t get the bear to budge, so […]
Posted by Ben on June 20, 2006
https://www.swordbilled.com/anguished-over-loss-of-oatmeal-one-of-3-bears-strikes-back/
Count me in
I, too, would like to note that, for a mere $10,000, I could tell you that puppies sell. (The main point: a publisher [Nolo Press] spent hundreds o’ thousands o’ dollars to decide what would help it sell more books, and it decided that thing was a friendly golden retriever added to its covers.) P.S. […]
Posted by Ben on June 15, 2006
https://www.swordbilled.com/count-me-in/
Electrific
See how much juice various appliances pull, via this handy gizmo. (via Cool Tools)
Posted by Ben on June 13, 2006
https://www.swordbilled.com/electrific/
Yes, but to whom am I speaking?
“…and this is—it’s your full-time job? Mm-hm, I see. So— So— And, so how long have you been in the telemarketing business?” A borderline brilliant “counter-script” to use against telemarketers, presented in a lovely choose-your-own-adventure/flowchart format. Done up by the folks (folk? organization?) at EGBG, though it’s not entirely clear what EGBG is. Whatever it […]
Posted by Ben on June 10, 2006
https://www.swordbilled.com/yes-but-to-whom-am-i-speaking/
Snake! On a plane!
No, really! Monty Coles was 900m in the air when he discovered a stowaway peeking out at him from the plane’s instrument panel — a 1,35m black snake. “Nothing in any of the manuals ever described anything like this,” the 62-year-old Cross Lanes resident said. But the advice given 25 years earlier from his flight […]
Posted by Ben on June 5, 2006
https://www.swordbilled.com/snake-on-a-plane/
Rundown, Briefly
TV-B-Gone. Can anything this delightful be legal? (via Cool Tools) Too Real. Schizophrenics are apparently not fooled by optical illusions that trick non-schizophrenics. Curious. Oh, that makes it better. “We didn’t actually hover an Osprey over a mosque.” A while ago, Bell & Boeing put out an ad for a type of aircraft (an Osprey) […]
Posted by Ben on May 26, 2006
https://www.swordbilled.com/rundown-briefly/
Miscellany
Enter into thought about all the underplaces of London, in an interesting and highly photo-ridden post titled “London Toplogical.” Or entertain the thought of what “to call the food blech is an insult to blech” means, exactly. This and other insults that didn’t make the cut when slicing & dicing entries for Zagat guides. How […]
Posted by Ben on March 25, 2006
https://www.swordbilled.com/miscellany/