Sunday afternoon at McBarge: the saddest McDonald's on earth

So we dropped by the McBarge this afternoon in North Burnaby. It was weird.

It just so happens that last week some local nutcase in Mission, BC announced he is planning to resurrect it as new restaurant and thinks it will be a draw for some ridiculous reason.

More after the jump:

Volcanoes can sneak up on you

So just imagine you are a Mexican farmer in 1943. You are plowing your crops one fine day in February when the ground starts to shake and cracks open, hurling hot ash and rocks into the sky. When 1944 rolls around, you have volcano in your goddamn backyard.

Pulido spent much of his off-time
being a badass

This is what happened to a pimp named Dionisio Pulido back in the day. Of all the problems a farmer could have to deal with, this would be by far the coolest. I wonder how it works since this all took place on his land, did he end up owning his own volcano? Awesome!

Before the volcano was born, Pulido reported being awoken by small earthquakes and tremors. Whilst plowing his crops as he normally did, he noticed a crack in the ground; presumably from the earthquakes he had been feeling. There is the strong rotten egg smell of sulphur in the air.

But it wasn't until a few weeks later when he found himself stricken with terror amazement.

The crack had grown considerably, and hot gas was now shooting out of it. I would be shitting my pants, but as you can see, Dioniso Pulido is old-school and he kept it real.

Day by day, this crack grew ever larger; spewing out hot ash, smoke and volcanic bombs, becoming a smoldering mound of ash and rock larger than Pulido`s house. Weeks later, the mound had become a large hill, now spitting lava into the sky.

God enjoys punishing sinners

The locals take this as a sign from God. Fearing the end, they pray for a miracle. They pray for the mountain to stop growing.

God does not listen.

Instead, the mountain continued to grow, reaching an eventual height of 424 metres (over 1,300 feet). Insane! The ever increasing monster buried the small village of Paricutin in deep lava flows; leading to the relocation of the entire town.

The awesome thing here is that scientists got to watch the entire volcanic process from beginning to end. That and the fact that Pulido gets the honour of 'owning' the youngest volcano in North America.



The volcano was officially named Paricutin after the original townsite.








Wksc.

Being a Shipbreaker in Alang, India is totally insane

Totally insane. Alang, India is one of several beaches around the world that specialize in 'Shipbreaking'. Massive tanker ships are beached in front of run-down shanty towns full of salvagers who make a living cutting apart floating skyscrapers with simple blowtorches.

Due to an annoying thing called 'Health and Environmental Regulations' that we have in developed countries, none of this crazy shit can be legally done in Europe or the Americas. Asbestos and PCB's (polychlorinated biphenyls) are strictly regulated in the United States and removal and disposal of these substances using American workers is an insurance nightmare as well as a breach of about every current health and labour law written.

Helmets? Shit, these dudes are wearing slip-on shoes!

So companies involved in salvaging and selling scrap metal prefer to send their ships to places like this to cut down on expenses and liability; the almighty dollar strikes again.

What you end up having are young men without any training whatsoever and minimal safety equipment climbing to the top of rusting steel behemoths, archaically slicing chunks off the hull, sending them crashing into the surf.



It is estimated that half of all ships salvaged worldwide end up here.







Wksc.