Costumes are Fun

My kids used to love Halloween. I suspect they still do! Picking out a Halloween Costume was always a big deal and they always had very definite ideas of what they wanted to wear on any given year. My daughter was a witch so many times that I lost track!

I know its not Halloween, but there's nothing wrong with playing dress up year round. It can be a ton of fun. There's a great costume website where you can find costumes for any occassion. Whether you are looking for something for the kids so they can play dress-up or something for yourself to play dress up or go to a costume party, they pretty much have it all.

Check out their 4th of July costumes! You could have a blast at your 4th of July party dressed in any of those. And, of course, there's alway adult Halloween costumes. Like I said, there's something for every occasion. Check it out. It'll be fun!

Darvaz Uzbekistan is the Door to Hell

The Door to Hell is in Darvaz, Uzbekistan. Learn more about it and see photos and a video of it below.

The Door to Hell

Actually, I did a google map search the only Darvaz I see is in Tajikistan. Still, its close by, more or less, to Uzbekistan. I happened on a Russia-English website full of photos and the story of The Door to Hell. Who would've thought it existed? But it does. The locals named it that and when you see the photos you will understand why.

The story of this particularly odd phenomenon in either Tajikistan or Uzbekistan is that this huge burning crater opened up and has been burning for 35 years. Its just outside of the small town of Darvaz. Thirty-five years ago, geologists were drilling there for gas ... and apparently they found it. The drilling opened up an enormous underground cavern. It was so big that the entire drilling site and all of the equipment they were using could fit down into the cavern.

The problem was that the cavern was filled with gas so the geologists didn't dare go down into it. Instead, one or more of them had the brilliant idea to ignite the gas to burn it off so they could continue their project. They didn't want the gas escaping the big hole, which makes sense. And so they ignited it and its still burning thirty-five years later.

There's no way of knowing how much gas has been burnt in all these years. There's also no way of knowing how much gas is still down there because no one can figure out how to put out the fire. Apparently, it will just burn indefinitely.

I wouldn't want that gas bill. Can you just imagine the carbon footprint THAT is creating!!!

The Door to Hell - Photos


The Door to Hell - Video

Private Number Plates

You can get your own Private Number Plates for your vehicle. That is so cool! Its very simple to look them up online by going to the website linked above and do a search for whatever variety and/or combination of letters and numbers you want. There is a huge section of personalized number plates to choose from.

Once you make your selection, you really don't have to worry about a thing. They do all the transfer work for you.

In addition to all of that, they will buy quality private number plates so if you have a number to sell you can do that there as well. Just visit the website and click on the 'selling a number' link on the side bar and it will walk you through the process from there.

So what are you waiting for? Go on over and check it out.

Brussels Tells Scotland to Pipe Down!

Bagpipes are a sound that many of us associate with our ancestry. Its part of the Scottish heritage, but Brussels is telling Scotland to quieten down the pipes!


Bagpipes: Scotland the Brave (Video)

Oh, for the love of Socialism!!!! The European Union has decided to put a ban on noise. As with most Socialist organizations, they know what's best for everybody and make it their business to dictate behavior and common sense. I think they'd control people's thoughts if they could.

I read at Boston Maggie they have put a ban on noise and have sent word that the bagpipes of Scotland are going to have to tone it down.

THEIR high-pitched skirl has put fear into the hearts of Scotland’s enemies and sent sensitive tourists reaching for the cotton wool.

Now, however, the bagpipes are to be quietened by an edict from Brussels.

From this month, pipers must adhere to strict volume limits or risk breaking European Union health and safety laws. Bands have been ordered to tone down or wear earplugs to limit noise exposure to 85 decibels.

Typically, a pipe band played at full volume peaks at 122 decibels outdoors, noisier than the sound of either a nightclub or a chainsaw, which rises to 116 decibels. [source]

When the English conquered Scotland they tried to eradicate any elements of Scottish culture. They outlawed kilts, bagpipes and Gaelic. The English hunted the Scots down throughout the highlands to enforce the laws in a real effort to completely wipe out their national identity so they'd quit giving the English so many dadgume problems!

The Scots managed to hang onto they're culture even under those dire circumstances. They even overcame the discrimination to the point that they became the most elite military force for England .... wearing kilts!

As the bagpipe players say, you can't play bagpipes quietly. I hope they win their argument and keep the bagpipes playing. Do we really want to live in such a vanilla world that we can't tolerate the loudness of color, sound and culture? I don't.

Play on .....