Take a look at historic Des Moines, WA!

While looking for the French word for fan-boat, I browsed through a book on Cajun French (if anyone has a need for this word, it would be Louisianans), but instead found “Dos brilliant et ventre criant”- referring to people who spend too much on clothing and too little on food!

The National Park Service has a really neat archive of historic photos, including this one of a child chained (for her safety!) to the deck of a canal boat.

Loyal reader John again sends a gem: geek t-shirts in France. Apparently English is the language of many geeks, or at least many geek shirt manufacturers: these vendors seem quite pleased that they are able to offer a few francophone togs.

After reading about the leech-driven Tempest Prognosticator in Fortean Times (FT186, “Animal Machines” p. 50), I hope to someday see one of the two replicas on display: one in the Whitby Museum, the other in the Barometer Museum in Okehampton.

Andy Richter rocks.

Hard on the heels of the Meryl Streep anniversary, another tragedy may have been averted by a brave, alert sibling. And really, how surprising is it that the sister didn’t just hand the infant to the dog and say “good riddance”? Oh, she might have regretted it later, but now she’ll be kicking herself for years at having missed the opportunity.

Maybe I’m just a sap, but I enjoyed the near-poetry of this excerpt from yesterday‘s Cascade Range Volcano Update:

Visibility is excellent and likely will remain so throughout the day. A steam plume is rising passively and drifting northward out of the crater. The plume occasionally contains minor ash, which falls out in the crater and on the flank of the volcano, darkening the snow.

Yesterday’s update also reassures us that the recent series of earthquakes at and near Mt Rainier is normal. Good.

Vintage frames, but in the UK- does anyone know of somewhere more local?

Spoke too soon! Here’s a few:
Allyn Scura
Vintageous
Eyeglasses Warehouse
Eyeglass.com
Vintageiwear

and apparently this guy in New York can make you a pair from your old broken-down pair and make any needed fit adjustments.

No, not waving with your fingers, but the fabulous 30s hairstyle: here’s how to.

They don’t seem to have a usable index page that I can see, so here’s what Google says.