OK, first off, I will shamelessly point out that putting "Steampunk" as the first word of the title simply gets more attention.  Now on to the carbide lamp.

      I used to think these things had been around for ages, but it turns out that these lamps did not come into general use until the very last years of the 19th century.  (They were used primarily by miners, and cave explorers, as well…

      OK, for some reason, I was considering entering a post about how (in the United States) The European Grand Tour evolved into See America due to the onset of WWI.  The Grand Tour was something that only the wealthy could indulge in.  But the war sent thousands or "regular, everyday Americans" to Europe who would otherwise never have gone there.  This reminded me of the song "How Ya Gonna Keep 'Em Down on the Farm (After They've Seen Paree?)".  When I…

      I don't believe I have any talent when it comes to drawing, but I think I have managed to develop some skills with cobbling together visual images by computer manipulation.  By using this so-called skill, I've made something from the CR&A universe that I've been meaning to for a long time.  It's made using some found images, and various free fonts.  I've uploaded the image full size, so it may look better opened in a separate window.…

      For a number of reasons (see here), I've been collecting replica Confederate currency for some time.  Most of these bills include pictures of real people, mainly important individuals from general American history, or Confederate leaders of the time.  It wasn't too difficult to identify who they were, except for one of them.…