Tales Of Brave Ulysses

This is definitely worth reading. It’s a synopsis of a Long Now Foundation lecture earlier this month on long lasting, self organizing social systems. And Bali’s system of water temples which control the flow of water through the paddies is a perfect example.

Ah, Bali. I wish I was there.

Wow! This humongous cave in South America makes Pagat Cave look downright silly. It was just discovered in the remote interior of Venezuela and is called Cueva del Fantasma, or the cave of the ghost.

Take a good look at that picture. Look at the cave floor. Those two little things beside the pool are helicopters. They flew two helicopters into this cave.

Could this be real? Where’s Steve McQueen when you need him? The Los Angeles Daily News reported that a gigantic blob of tarry, black ooze welled up from underground on Monday, bubbling out of manholes, buckling pavement and actually shifting the foundation of an apartment building. Hot, bubbling tar caused the evacuation of the street as is poured through cracks in the pavement, turning the street into a black lagoon.

Apparently the location used to be an oil field, and the St. James Oil Co. was working a couple blocks away to extract leftover crude oil in the ground. The oil company injected high pressure steam into the ground to loosen the oil deposits. When the fire department ordered them to stop, the bulging pavement subsided, though residents of the apartment building were not allowed to return home until building inspectors could inspect it and declare it safe.