Darwin Award Nominees

There’s a new volcanic eruption in Iceland, with webcams set up:

and drones overhead:

(Isak Finnbogason’s drone work is spectacular, I recommend following his work on YouTube!)

The views can be spectacular, and I’m sure seeing it in person is a life-changing experience, much like seeing a total solar eclipse or a spectacular aurora display.

(Image from RUV.is)

When this volcanic field erupted a couple of years ago it became a hugely popular tourist attraction.

(Image from RUV.is)

Not entirely safe, to be sure, but once the eruption became more stable and they were reasonably sure that there weren’t going to be any toxic gasses emitted, the tourists were allowed to make a hike of a few kilometers in from the coast.

This eruption is more gassy, judging by all of the warnings that you see from the Icelandic authorities on various feeds, and tourists are supposed to be forbidden still.

(Image from RUV.is)

Not that that stops folks from walking in anyway. About once an hour or so today we would see someone wandering by the camera.

Which is annoying. Half a world away we’re wanting to see the volcano erupt, not someone who’s foolish enough to ignore all of the warnings to be there. And if you’re there, fine, good for you, but get out of the way! Don’t block the view of the camera!

(Image from RUV.is)

And risking your own daredevil butt is one thing, but bringing your kids along? Are you kidding me? That seems … reckless.

Then I think of some of the Christmas card pictures that get sent out from certain right-wing 2nd Amendment cultists who have younger children toting high-powered automatic weapons – maybe going hiking into an active volcano isn’t all that bad in comparison.

I’ve mentioned in the past (here and here) that WordPress gives out a little “atta boy!” if you post daily on your site. That daily streak continues.

Again, there were two days prior to this where consecutive day streaks were “broken” because I posted a few minutes after midnight – but I did post. If those streaks are added here, I would currently be at 1,192 days. That’s over 3.27 years. Not bad!

The next week may be challenging to keep that streak going. But the adventures should be epic!