It's Like "Willard" with a Happier Ending

Using trained rats to detect land mines. These aren't regular rats, but those giant African pouched rats. Apparently it was a Belgian aid worker who had the idea (he'd kept rats as a kid). They're also training rats to detect TB in sputum samples.

Craft Update

Just applied for a table at this spring's Bazaar of the Bizarre; will see if my latest round of hat-making proves popular, or at least acceptable to the jury. I'm not sure they're bizarre enough, though.

Neverwas Haul

It's like someone took a slice of Deadwood and put it on wheels. Wish I could find more pics of the interior.

Actually, it also kind of reminds me of a sketch green_trilobite and his friend Jason Taniguchi wrote years ago, in which a writer tries to pitch his idea for a tv Western, which begins to sound oddly familiar:

RODDENBERRY: And the wagons, they're so high that the settlers need to use these long wooden beams to get down. They just climb on the beams and slide: Beeeeam down!

EXEC: Then how do they get back up?

RODDENBERRY: They just BEEEAM up! and there's this Black lady with a really loud voice! She's so loud she can shout messages to other wagons, and even other wagon trains! And so, her nickname is "Uheardme."

EXEC: "Uheardme?" (sighs.)