- William Robert “Blanket Bill” Jarman, 1820-1912, lord of Jarman Prairie and first permanent Whatcom/Skagit settler — Part One (skagitriverjournal.com)
William “Blanket Bill” Jarman was one of those frontier characters who became famous by inventing and reinventing themselves several times over. That reinvention and redemption has become almost a cliche about the famous Western historical figures, but Bill made an art of it. His nickname is derived from one of the tall tales he loved to spin, a legacy from being a sailor in both the Atlantic and Pacific who deserted from the British Navy at least once and covered his tracks with more than one conflicting scenario. Born an Englishmen at Grave’s End on the Thames River near London, probably in 1820, he would make his mark by being one of the very first European settlers in northwestern Washington Territory and the first to live among Indians for a sustained period.
- What would it be like to stand on the surface of Titan? (planetary.org)
With its mountains of ice, dunes of hydrocarbons, and methane/ethane seas, Saturn’s moon Titan is one of the most intriguing and alien worlds in our Solar System. But while some of its vistas may seem similar to those seen on Earth, standing on the surface of Titan would be a very unusual experience.