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Recent Posts
- Our Truly Amazing TV Debut: Behind the Scenes
- Holi in Bangladesh Part 2: the Ruined Roll
- Holi in Bangladesh
- Hashing Out Old Dhaka
- The Blog is Back: First Impressions of Dhaka, Bangladesh
- A Few Words About My Father
- The Sky is NOT Always Blue in California
- “Artisans” documentary series – final (?) episode
- Every Day is a Surprise. Also, People are A$$h0Le5. (part 2)
- Every Day is a Surprise. Also, People are A$$h0Le5.
Category Archives: Random Thoughts, Observations and Weird Stuff
Southern SuburbIndia: Kolams and Cows
Every morning, all across southern India, millions of women wake up at sunrise to draw what’s known as a “kolam” at the entrance to their home. Kolams are geometric designs hand “drawn” by sprinkling rice flour (or in some cases … Continue reading
Boys Beware: Views on Homosexuality in 1961
For a change from the standard fare offered on YouTube, it’s fun to stop by occasionally at the Prelinger Archives, a diverse collection of thousands of preserved films from the ages, all available for download in the public domain. In … Continue reading
Posted in Historical films
Tagged Boys Aware, Boys Beware, discrimination, gays, Girls Beware, historical, homosexuality, military, Prelinger Archive, Sid Davis
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Silly AFN Commercials
If you’ve had the pleasure of watching the Armed Forces Network which is produced for U.S. military and many other categories of government employees serving overseas, you’ll remember those irritating commercials. After you’ve been without AFN for awhile, according to … Continue reading
Posted in AFN Commercials
Tagged AFN, commercials, exercise, fitness, organized, sherlock holmes
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Photos from the Oregon Country Fair
Since 1969, the Oregon Country Fair has been a gathering of the wacky, existing as a three-day fair in Veneta (near Eugene) with a counterculture theme that attracts as many as 45,000 visitors. This year, those visitors included us. We … Continue reading
Posted in Other Places, Random Thoughts, Observations and Weird Stuff
Tagged "Oregon Country Fair", Country, Fair, Oregon, Veneta
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Final Stop in the Great Western States Odyssey: Crater Lake
In our continuing Western States Odyssey in a rented 31-foot RV, our final stop was a return to the place we had originally intended to be our first stop: Crater Lake. Unfortunately, we had gotten a late start and ultimately … Continue reading
Cliff Diving into the Truckee River
They say few things are as American as baseball, apple pie….and add to that “jumping into the old water hole.” As we headed west from Reno/Sparks, Nevada, the temperature climbed steadily toward the maximum it would reach that July afternoon … Continue reading
Reno and Squid Hats
…so the (teen) kids didn’t want to see the inside of a casino when we stayed overnight in Reno. Apparently gambling has gotten a bad rap in our family, which is not a bad thing as far as I’m concerned. … Continue reading
The City By the Bay
Marin County Coastline The latest turn in our Western States Odyssey took us into San Francisco. And if you’ve never had the opportunity, a great thrill ride is to take a 31-foot RV and drive it over the Golden Gate … Continue reading
Really, Really Big Trees
Our continuing RV Odyssey in the Western States today took us through what botanists like to refer to as Really, Really Big Trees. The Avenue of the Giants was particularly impressive – not really captured accurately by this timelapse: … Continue reading
Posted in Home Leave in USA, Random Thoughts, Observations and Weird Stuff
Tagged California, Fort Bragg, Harbor, Redwoods, RV
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More Adventures in ‘Murr’ca
Today was an eventful day in our Western States RV Odyssey. For those just tuning in, we are touring Oregon, California, Nevada and Idaho in a rented monstrosity of an RV, in order to satisfy a Congressionally mandated Foreign Service … Continue reading
The Great American Fast Food Odyssey – part 2
Yesterday I posted about our efforts to satisfy American fast food cravings while on “home leave” after a 2-year absence. And about how the menus change gradually, but how after two years the all-familiar fast food menus suddenly appear loaded … Continue reading
The Great American Fast Food Odyssey – part 1
Foreign Service Officers (i.e. U.S. “diplomats”) are Congressionally mandated to spend a decent amount of time in the United States between tours – presumably so that we maintain a good understanding of our home countries while we’re out representing America … Continue reading
Um…is that an accent I hear?
Ever come across a North American accent you couldn’t quite place? Well now, there’s an easy chart to figure it out. Someone has gone to the trouble of mapping it all out, using things like, do they pronounce “pin” and … Continue reading
Drones to Be Deployed in South Africa. Beer Drones.
Last week, I posted a few examples of the creative ways drones can be used to make life better (see “Got Drones” and “Build Your Own Plant Host Drone”). Now there’s one that tops them all, because it combines things … Continue reading
Posted in Gear, Random Thoughts, Observations and Weird Stuff
Tagged beer, drones, octocopter, Oppikoppi
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Found memories…and a lost roll of film
Here’s a fun mystery to try and solve. For my (recent) birthday, my kids went down to Otto’s, the local “junk and curiosities” dealer and picked out for me the newest additions to my growing vintage camera collection. In addition, … Continue reading
How to Get “Likes” on Facebook
All you need to do is make a viral video. I know, you’re saying there’s no way to make a “viral video” – all you can do is make a video and hope it goes viral. But there is an … Continue reading
Build Your Own Plant Host Drone
I recently posted about drones and how they’re being used. Here’s a much more humble drone – one that simply moves plants around your house to take advantage of changing sunlight. For the cost of $10-$15 (and a bit of … Continue reading
Got Drones?
Lately there has been increasing mention of the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for unexpected purposes. For example, both India and Namibia have been experimenting with the use of UAVs to control poaching, thanks to a $5 million grant given … Continue reading
Posted in Random Thoughts, Observations and Weird Stuff
Tagged drones, India, Namibia, poaching, robots, UAVs
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“Pooh” Creator AA Milne’s Secret Life in Propaganda
So it seems that childhood favorite author AA Milne, who created all of the wonderful “Winnie the Pooh” stories (along with some of my favorite childhood poems), also spent some time in World War I writing propaganda for a secret … Continue reading
Posted in Random Thoughts, Observations and Weird Stuff
Tagged Milne, Pooh, propaganda, PSYOP, WWI
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An Oshikandela, by any other name…
In our local grocery shop you can buy a couple of different varieties of yoghurt drink. Two popular kinds sit right next to each other on the shelf. I’m not a big breakfast eater; as I did when I lived … Continue reading
Posted in Namibia, Random Thoughts, Observations and Weird Stuff
Tagged Drinki, marketing, Namibia Dairies, Nammilk, Oshikandela
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Namibian Fairy Circles Mystery Solved AGAIN!
It’s fun to ponder those unsolved mysteries of nature we’ve all heard about from childhood onward. Last March I blogged that one of those “nature’s unsolved mysteries” was unsolved no more – Namibia’s “fairy circles.” Of course, depending on where … Continue reading
Another Wonderful Namibian Timelapse
While this one appears to be a commercial promo, it still does an amazing job capturing the photographer’s paradise that Namibia is, and can be for those willing to come and explore the country. Enjoy! NAMIBIA from Rufus Blackwell on … Continue reading
MySpace Resurrected, Photoshop to Close
I know, right? MySpace is back. I just got my invitation to join the new MySpace and decided to go and check it out. Based on what I’ve seen so far, I’m not too optimistic – though the younger crowd … Continue reading
Posted in Random Thoughts, Observations and Weird Stuff
Tagged myspace, new MySpace, photoshop, Revel, review
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Female Entrepreneur Launches Indiegogo Crowdfunding Campaign for Township Bicycle Touring Company
Here in Namibia, where income disparity is one of the highest in the world (THE highest, depending on whose figures you use) and unemployment hovers around 34 percent, small entrepreneurs in both the formal and informal sector are likely to … Continue reading
North Korean propaganda: Life in the USA
One of the worst things being done to the North Korean people can be seen in the video below. To our eyes the claims may seem ridiculous, maybe even funny. But for an entire people who are being kept in … Continue reading