At Home In The Wasteland Travel Blog

Seriously. Thanks to global warming and the subsequent thaw of Siberian tundra, Russia is increasing its exports of mammoth ivory: The trade, given a lift recently by global warming, which has melted away the tundra and exposed more frozen remains, is not only legal but actually endorsed by conservationists. They note somewhat grudgingly that while [...]

As most of you know, unless something amazing happens, (i.e., an opportunity in London or a winning lottery ticket and subsequent move to Hawaii) I’m planning to relocate to Houston in the near future. I get plenty of flack from my friends and family about this, because they tend to view Houston as a humid [...]

The life of a war profiteer is indeed a lonely one, if Efraim’s MySpace profile is any indication: He assures us, however, that he is a “super nice guy” who enjoys “chilling with my boyz”, business travel, and “fine scotch whisky”, which you can surely afford when you’re making a nice profit from those multi-million [...]

Check out Tucker’s awesome new toy: Yes, it is a plush pink high heel from the pets section of IKEA. He LOVES it. (And yes, he is wearing a t-shirt as well.) I have warned my roommates that they might come home one day only to find that I have left for Texas and taken [...]

It’s official – I am not going to federal prison! The IRS sent me another letter informing me that my tax snafu has been resolved and I don’t owe them $2,000. They even added a nice little “Thank you for your cooperation” at the end of the letter. Yeah, whatever, dudes.

With oil prices now at $100+ per barrel, companies are revisiting older wells that were shut down when it was economically unfeasible to produce oil from them. Many of these wells are located in southern California: Independent producers and major conglomerates alike are reinvesting millions in these mature wells, using expensive new technology and drilling [...]

Some of these entries in the Washington Post peeps diorama contest are hilarious. I especially loved Thrilla in Manila (photo #5). I had completely forgotten that the WP was holding this contest. If I had any artistic skill whatsoever, I would have submitted a There Will Be Blood diorama involving peeps. I would probably recreate [...]

Via the LATimes: Local water authorities have begun closing some of the state’s prime fishing lakes in an effort to keep an infestation of tiny quagga mussels from fouling drinking water supplies for nearly 375,000 residents and threatening fish populations. And where did these invasive species come from? The Soviet Union, in the 1980s: Native [...]

I think this is my favorite Putin quote to date: “You can build a pipeline or even two, three, or five. The question is what fuel you put through it and where do you get that fuel. If someone wants to dig into the ground and bury metal there in the form of a pipeline, [...]

Last week, a proposal to enact a severance tax on California oil production (remember Proposition 87?) that would fund public schools failed in the California Assembly. The initiative was spearheaded by outgoing Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez (D-Los Angeles), who explained the reasoning behind the initiative as such: “While California is facing billions in cuts to [...]