En Fuego!

by Neil Woodburn on

I don’t know where you are right now, but if it is anywhere north of the equator, you are undoubtedly melting away. I’ve been so caught up in the heat wave hitting Los Angeles (record temperatures of 118 this weekend) that I didn’t realize the entire planet was suffering likewise.

Okay, not the entire planet, but a good chunk of it according to this article from The Times (UK) titled appropriately enough, The World on Heat. Here’s the lead paragraph…

From San Francisco to Siberia, high temperatures have been melting electricity equipment, starting forest fires and killing people. The heat waves have coincided with a series of studies of global warming, none of which are optimistic.

Rather scary if you ask me. The article is short, but mentions some of the worldwide problems going on right now as a result of the heat. In France, for example, nuclear reactors are trying to keep up with the demand for electricity that’s always associated with heat waves by pumping hot water into rivers before it has had the chance to cool down.

More importantly, the article links to a handful of global warming studies and the Sisyphean efforts some are undertaking to stop this–such as the scientists in Austria who are covering parts of the Stubai glacier with a felt-like material to prevent it from melting and thus, decreasing Austria’s profitable ski season.

Ah, our wonderful planet. Be sure to get out and see some of it before it spontaneous combusts.

Boston’s Trash Island

by Neil Woodburn on

Spectacle Island was never a place to take the kids. The island, located in Boston Harbor, became a landfill site in 1912 as the rapidly growing city of Boston began dumping its trash there. Over time, the dump grew in size and became a post-apocalyptic nightmare of broken glass, twisted metal, and spontaneously erupting methane gas fires.

Today, it’s finally open for tourists.

Of course, there are a few changes. The island is now buried under sixty feet of dirt removed from Boston’s Big Dig public works project and covered with 28,000 trees and bushes recently planted by the city of Boston. Engineers also built a protective sea wall around the island.

Gas is gas, however. I’ve golfed atop an old landfill in Los Angeles where methane gas periodically seeped up through the soil and gave the place a real stink. I’m sure the same is true of the newly beautified Spectacle Island.

Nonetheless, tourists are making the trek on a daily basis to what is now, at 155 feet above sea level, the tallest island in Boston Harbor. And, no doubt, the smelliest.

Mongol Rally: Crappy Cars Only

by Neil Woodburn on

Today at noon in London’s Hyde Park, a handful of cars will embark on an 8,000 mile rally from England’s capital to the heart of Mongolia. What differentiates Mongol Rally from other long distance rallies, however, is that anyone can participate.

This is not a high-end race event where uber-expensive, supped-up automobiles with a host of support teams and the latest high-tech gear blow past poor African farmers wondering what the hell just came and went. No, this is a charity event where participants are actually fined if they modify their cars too much. Team Genghis Carnage, for example, will be driving a 1988 Nissan Micra which will undoubtedly have its share of problems in the harsh Mongolian steppes (or the streets of London, for that matter).

This is such a wonderful idea. Winning is not the aim of this event, but rather helping those less fortunate around the world. Instead of the above-mentioned poor African receiving a face-full of dust, he just might receive a cow instead. One of the major charities is Send a Cow. This organization “gives direct, practical help to poor farmers in Africa, by providing, cows and other livestock, training in livestock rearing and organic farming, and low-cost veterinary and advice services.”

So, give a cheer for Team Dude Where’s My Camel, Island Monkeys, The Fabled Hunters of the Mongolian Death Worm, Genghis the Menace, and many others as they head east towards Mongolia.

Weapon-Grade Barry

by Neil Woodburn on

Occasionally while traveling I accidentally find myself in a place where the police don’t want me to be. They usually make this quite obvious in one way or another. Riot gear is what usually tips me off and sends me scurrying the opposite direction.

In a suburb of Sydney, Australia, the police are incorporating a more terrifying tactic: Barry Manilow. Tired of too many “car enthusiasts” partying away at a city park, the local police are attempting to dislodge them from their nefarious activities by blasting Barry at top volume. Officials hope that cranking “Copacabana” up to ear splitting decibels will send the late-night, Midnight Oil-loving partiers fleeing for audible sanctuary.

Four weeks into the barrage, it seems to be making some impact. The campaign, however, is expected to last six months in total; that’s an awful lot of “Mandy.”

Tajikistan Blogs & Photos

by Adrienne Wilson on

Looks as if I’ve hit the jackpot and if you’re Central Asia bound searching for travel info then my friends you have struck blogosphere gold. (Or perhaps reaching blogosphere heaven would be better – I dunno.) Anyhow, it seems there are more Central Asian and Tajikistan blogs out there than my blind eyes could realize. Thankfully, I didn’t have to do too much of the searching. Neweurasia online is an amazing source of 411 for all the countries nay-sayers believe people never venture, but they’re wrong. In this Tajik neweurasia piece they do a phenomenal job pointing out Tajikistan blogs across the globe. One of which even came from a myspace member and most from a diverse round-up of people. My brain is almost to the point of explosion!

I’d love to sit and tell you more about this site, but it’s best to just go for yourself. Someone by the name of teokaye was also kind enough to leave the link to his Flickr pool of some very awe-inspiring Tajik photos. With that I’m off to check them out in detail. Hope you’ll do the same.