This landslide is from 1995. This landslide was on Monday. Both images are of the hamlet of La Conchita, Calif., where 27 are now missing (CTV) in a tragic carbon-copy disaster. The media has drawn out the story of the torrential rains, but the LA Times [LA Times, possible subscription] has painted out a troublesome pattern of apathy and man-made causes leading up to Monday's repeat disaster. I'm reminded vaguely of Love Canal.

Needing more bookmarks. What are alternate blogs I could look at when things are really slow? Boingboing and memepool are all headlines, and kuro5hin is a bit too IT/slashdotty. I agree there are tons of them if I just look, but I'd like to know your favorites. I prefer cool diaries from interesting people or travelogues, rather than just links to Flash games and jokes, but I'd be happy to hear your favorites anyway.

Subterranea Britannica, an awesome gallery of underground and cold war structures throughout the UK. Visit abandoned Tube stops, a failed Channel tunnel attempt in 1880, air raid shelters big and small, a sulphur mine. There's even East German sites, Maginot line forts, and more.

Explosive coin shrinker. Dubious scientific merit and questionable safety standards combine to illustrate the concept of the "shrinking dollar".

Curious George: Finding a good family doctor. What are the tricks for finding a family doctor in the US who values quality in their work? I live in Austin, Texas and I don't know anyone who's made enough doctor visits to have formed any opinion. Are the ratings sites (see right hand ads) worth the money? Or is it best just to take my chances?

Fifth strongest earthquake since 1900, a magnitude 8.9, occurred off of Sumatra last night. Close to 5,000 are dead from tsunamis and collapsed buildings. It is the strongest earthquake on record since the 1964 Alaskan disaster.

Taking it from the pony (NSFW). I accidentally found this while searching Google Images for ponies. I've seen hentai before, but it looks like this artist has crafted one of the oddest niches I've ever seen.

Curious George: You can't install that OS! Has anyone had a problem where Windows 2000 does not run on a major brand-name computer? more inside

The Greek Dark Age remains a mystery. Between 1100 to 800 BC, the written record in Greece ceased altogether. Urban culture was decimated, and art reverted to a more primitive form of simple geometrics. Civilization reverted to a basic subsistence lifestyle. What happened? Nobody's really sure, but many theories abound. Get the quick and dirty with this great kids writeup. Even the controversial author Velikovsky wrote a treatise on the subject.

Tallest highway bridge in the world, and 15 years in the making, the Millau Viaduct opens tomorrow. It crosses the Tarn River valley at a deck height of 807 ft (246 m), more or less, depending on your source for the numbers. The towers have a height of 1,118 ft (341 m). The press has posted their typical microscopic photos for the plebes, so I tried digging around for better pix: 1, 2, 3, 4. Any better/newer ones?

Curious George: Where's the best place to raise a family?
a. Urbs b. Suburbs c. Rural areas More importantly, why? more inside

Curious George: Tax writeoff?? It seems like every month I hear someone use that timeless phrase, "Yeah, I guess I'll buy it. I'll just write it off on my taxes." I have a question about this. more inside

Curious George: Learning clarinet. Can anyone recommend a good beginning music book for the clarinet? more inside

Maps are latest casualty of government secrecy (PDF). For the first time since WWII, the U.S. defense mapping agency will curb public access to aeronautical maps, charts, and databases next year. Slated to become historical relics are the famous TPC charts and other worldwide chart sets, online maps and SPOT imagery, and the only source of detailed free worldwide airport data. Reasons include "avoiding competition with commercial interests", i.e. the Jeppesen monopoly and conceivably ESRI. What's left are a paltry offering of historical maps.

Curious George: Supermarket poppies. For a couple of years now I've been reading about the U.S.'s efforts to throw $750 million at shutting down Afghanistani poppy fields. But thousands of tons of poppy seeds are found nationwide in supermarkets and bagel shops. Where do they come from? And why aren't they being cultivated for narcotics? Is McCormick behind the overthrow of Afghanistan?

Ultimate housing failure (images). In 1956, 2870 apartments rose skyward in St. Louis. It was hailed as an incredibly forward-thinking model of public housing, and was Minoru Yamasaki's first big design before he moved on to create the WTC. Few could have guessed that the complex would become a dystopia that would result in its demolition 16 years later. Practically nothing is left of the site. Some called it a failed attempt to being NYC sociology to the Midwest, others called it a "disgraced monument to Bauhaus idealism".

Wigger Comix (NSFW) OK, this isn't going to be one of the shining jewels, but hey, it's a slow day on MoFi.

Curious George: Noisy neighborhood? I ran a poll on my phpBB site and found that 17 out of 45 people who responded had a noise problem in their neighborhood that bothered them. These users aren't old folks, either; most are in their 20s. Only 38% said their neighborhood was quiet. How is the noise at your place, and where do you live?

Ripoff Reports. Use a search query for your hometown and see which companies have complaints stacked up against them. Pretty neat consumer advocacy site, especially for those unfortunates who have a pro-biz local BBB that sucks.

The Roman Empire site. (Very slow T-Day postings here so I figured I'd pull something out of my hat). We've all heard about the orgiastic depravity of Caligula. Nero started out full of virtue and good heart, but eventually decided to start killing his kin (meanwhile placing himself in national talent shows!) Carinus had nine wives, and Elagabalus was a spitting image of Caligula. A good place to explore how far power corrupts. There's also more mundane info such as monuments, images, and more. more inside