Sometimes something annoys me and I can't stop thinking about it. I have to tell someone about it. That's part of why I started this blog (btw, I'm not dead!), so I'd have 'someone' to tell. If you're good at putting 2 and 2 together, you may have guessed I have someone to tell all that stuff to now :) and don't have much reason to write here. Except today, I can't stop rehearsing telling him about this annoying thing and I will only see CR briefly tonight and don't want to waste breathe on this stupid thing, and I can't tell Honu-Girl (because she is annoyed about the same thing and doesn't need to hear more of my ramblings on the matter and definitely doesn't need the background...although she'll probably read this), but I can't stop rehearsing what I'd say...So, y'all are the lucky winners of the totality of my thoughts on the matter at hand - Adopt-A-School and money.
A little background to this week's drama: My employer (state science agency) has been an AAS partner for about 20 years. Our current coordinator has been doing it for about 17 years. (I've been working here for 5.5 years.) To fund AAS activities apparently they used to do bake sales, t-shirt sales, etc and passing the hat until someone came up with the idea of a golf tournament to fund all the educational outreach for the agency. Somewhere along the way a bank account was set up to handle the 'education fund' monies. Most of the funds went to AAS activities, as I understand it, but some money was donated to water festivals and a few other similar events. As I understand it, the agency became AAS partners to support Earth Science education, in particular (which is why we partnered with a middle school), but not to the exclusion of activities to support all education, teachers, and students. A bone of contintion between the education committee and the AAS coordinator was how she spent money - most of the committee favored trying to target actual educational things (equipment, books, fieldtrips), she likes to do a lot of prize type stuff (snacks during testing week, good behavior rewards (candy), lunch for the teachers). No one has a problem with rewards and treats but there is only so much money to go around.
Last summer one of our agency lawyers noticed all of this and realized this was illegal, primarily the money part. Generally state agencies can't go out and under their name seek charitable donations, at least not ours (maybe some can, idk). This was decreed right before the golf tournament. There was some chaos, then the geological society stepped up and offered to handle the money, become a co-AAS partner. Well, the chaos sort of continued through the summer as the old bank account was closed, money handed over, etc. At the beginning of the school year there wasn't a budget to hand the AAS coordinator, the society officers didn't know how much had been spent in the past, how much to expect to be spent this year, or have a firm number for the amount that could be spent. (That last was easy to take care of, it just hadn't been figured.) And in the midst of this a second school had been added to our AAS partnership, which upped the amount spent by 150% or so.
This first half of the school year AAS-coordinator would spend money then turn in receipts to the treasurer and get reimbursed. Few, if any, questions asked. After a while the treasurer started to wonder when, if ever, he was suppose to say no - so the officers got together, looked at the money spent, the money raised in the previous golf tournament, other money potentially available, and what else might education money might be spent on. They also asked the AAS-coordinator to put together a budget showing what she wanted to do for the second half of the year .(I can' t remember if there were two meetings, or a bunch of emails and one meeting) After the discussion the AAS-coordinator was told how much was available to be spent in the second half of the year and which activities were thought to be key to our goals (science education or at least directly educational), but the final decisions on how to spend the money fell to her.
Yesterday afternoon, I was included in a reply (as one of the society officers*) to an email about an Earth Day contest at one of the schools that need judges and prizes. It appears in the email that the AAS-coordinator is also asking about additional funds (although maybe she's just mentioning that she'll be buying prizes already covered in her existing budget). The society president states he can't attend but maybe someone else can go and asks the treasurer if there's still outreach money available. Emails go back and forth, up shot is there's some money and clearly this is the kind of thing we really want to support. This morning we get an email from the AAS-coordinator about how AAS isn't just something 'she' wants to do, it started before she was hired, all our bosses since then have affirmed the commitment, she doesn't appreciate others telling her what she can spend money on, she can't plan if she isn't sure there'll be money to cover activities,...and some more stuff along those lines. Oh, and suggesting we need to meet with everyone involved to discuss all this.After this email, several of us on this hall were sputtering, semi-incoherent about it. The Pres replied reminding her why the society took over the funds, that money is not unlimited, and we gave her a budget - stick to it.
My thought: We gave her a budget, she should know if there are funds left to do this. If it is indeed something the school decided to do recently and she's asking for additional money to cover prizes (as it appeared in her email) then she needs to recognize that there might not be any more money. Personally, if it's between feeding the teachers lunch (teacher appreciation lunch is apparently the only other thing this school year) and giving prizes for the Earth Day contest, I'd go with the prizes. I think most teachers would say reward academic and creative effort before you feed us - it's nice to be appreciated but we're all here to teach and encourage the kids. And if she didn't spend so much money on candy for the students maybe she could spend money on stuff that is actually educational.
Well, I feel better now.
*I got roped into being the society newsletter editor. Go me.
Showing posts with label rambling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rambling. Show all posts
20 April 2011
27 January 2010
Confession Time
So, remember that boy (CR) that I was stressing out over back before Christmas? Well, I pretty sure he likes me. We've been hanging out together fairly regularly (except the week he had a killer cold) this month. Things are moving slowly, and I'm ok with that - we aren't spring chickens and both have ex-fiancés*. But I have a confession, and I don't know if I should share it with him yet or not - I've been having rather naughty thoughts about him all day today. I don't want to freak him out - we've kissed but we haven't played any tonsil hockey - and I'm sitting here thinking distractingly naughty thoughts about him, since late yesterday evening.
So if you walk past my office and I'm smiling and blushing while staring off into space, you'll know why.
*When plural is it the masculine spelling? Should I say fiancé(e)s? Since I had a fiancé and he had a fiancée. Can a former English major or some one who knows French speak up?
So if you walk past my office and I'm smiling and blushing while staring off into space, you'll know why.
*When plural is it the masculine spelling? Should I say fiancé(e)s? Since I had a fiancé and he had a fiancée. Can a former English major or some one who knows French speak up?
15 January 2010
Attitude Adjustment Needed
Last night while having dinner with CR, we briefly discussed alcohol drinking limits, teen drinking, etc. (very briefly, mostly in the context of our former teaching careers). I just checked and I don't seem to have ever written about this here before, so I thought I'd let y'all know my thoughts on this topic.
I don't think strict prohibition until the age of 21 works well. I think there's some allure of the forbidden (particularly with teens) but more importantly makes it hard for families to teach teens to drink responsibly. A progressive introduction more like the German's* have makes more sense to me. The parent of a young teen (14?) can order an alcoholic beverage for their child at a restaurant. (I doubt anyone requires documentation for the age of the child or the exact legal relationship of the adult and teen, I assume it's kind of at the discretion of the server/manager/...). Later (age 16 perhaps?) a teen can order alcoholic beverages as long as there is an adult in the party, again at a restaurant or café. At 18 one is an adult and has all the privileges thereof.
But more important than the laws are attitudes and modeling.(Please note I'm not an expert in the field, have not raised any children,...) If parents (and the rest of the family) model responsible behavior and have less of an 'all or nothing' attitude then the kids are less likely to binge drink. Notice I say "less likely" not "won't" because nothing, short of the absence of all alcohol, can completely eliminate binge drinking. Teens are, on average, impulsive, poor judges of risk, and susceptible to peer pressure - these three things together don't make teenagers the best decision makers. On the other hand they aren't completely imbecilic robots who do everything their friends say either. I think if parents drink responsibly around their kids, show a dislike for excessive drinking and talk about it, be honest about their own youthful excesses, and even let kids taste drinks if they want (did you like beer the first time you drank it?), the children will grow up with a healthier attitude toward alcohol. Research even bears this out.
I read an article (or heard a story on NPR) about a study+ that looked at first-generation Irish- and Italian-American families (parent's born in old country, kids born and raised in US). In general the Irish-American families practiced strict prohibition^ until one 18 years old; alcohol was often drunk outside the home; and drinking to drunkeness was accectable. In the Italian-American households children were given age-appropriately sized glasses of wine with dinner, alcohol was mostly drunk with the meal; and excessive drinking was not socially accectable. The researchers followed the children in these families into adulthood and the Italian-Americans were less likely to binge drink as teens and young adults and had a lower incidence of alcoholism than the Irish-Americans.
There will always be teens who get wasted every Friday night but maybe if we change our attitudes about alcohol and teens then it could be fewer?
*At least as I remember from discussions in class 15 yrs ago. And, no, I don't know about any other European nation's laws.
+If I had any idea where I'd read about this I'd link to it but I read the article at least 6 months ago.
^except for communion wine for the RCers, of course
I don't think strict prohibition until the age of 21 works well. I think there's some allure of the forbidden (particularly with teens) but more importantly makes it hard for families to teach teens to drink responsibly. A progressive introduction more like the German's* have makes more sense to me. The parent of a young teen (14?) can order an alcoholic beverage for their child at a restaurant. (I doubt anyone requires documentation for the age of the child or the exact legal relationship of the adult and teen, I assume it's kind of at the discretion of the server/manager/...). Later (age 16 perhaps?) a teen can order alcoholic beverages as long as there is an adult in the party, again at a restaurant or café. At 18 one is an adult and has all the privileges thereof.
But more important than the laws are attitudes and modeling.(Please note I'm not an expert in the field, have not raised any children,...) If parents (and the rest of the family) model responsible behavior and have less of an 'all or nothing' attitude then the kids are less likely to binge drink. Notice I say "less likely" not "won't" because nothing, short of the absence of all alcohol, can completely eliminate binge drinking. Teens are, on average, impulsive, poor judges of risk, and susceptible to peer pressure - these three things together don't make teenagers the best decision makers. On the other hand they aren't completely imbecilic robots who do everything their friends say either. I think if parents drink responsibly around their kids, show a dislike for excessive drinking and talk about it, be honest about their own youthful excesses, and even let kids taste drinks if they want (did you like beer the first time you drank it?), the children will grow up with a healthier attitude toward alcohol. Research even bears this out.
I read an article (or heard a story on NPR) about a study+ that looked at first-generation Irish- and Italian-American families (parent's born in old country, kids born and raised in US). In general the Irish-American families practiced strict prohibition^ until one 18 years old; alcohol was often drunk outside the home; and drinking to drunkeness was accectable. In the Italian-American households children were given age-appropriately sized glasses of wine with dinner, alcohol was mostly drunk with the meal; and excessive drinking was not socially accectable. The researchers followed the children in these families into adulthood and the Italian-Americans were less likely to binge drink as teens and young adults and had a lower incidence of alcoholism than the Irish-Americans.
There will always be teens who get wasted every Friday night but maybe if we change our attitudes about alcohol and teens then it could be fewer?
*At least as I remember from discussions in class 15 yrs ago. And, no, I don't know about any other European nation's laws.
+If I had any idea where I'd read about this I'd link to it but I read the article at least 6 months ago.
^except for communion wine for the RCers, of course
28 December 2009
Learning to Ride
No one's at work again today but I'm feeling more philosophical than crazy today. I'm listening/watching to an old Bones ep ("The Woman in the Car"). At one point Booth and Brennan are watching a video of a kid learning to ride a bike. Dad is a little nervous (his baby is growing up), kid is excited, Mom is worried. The mom keeps saying things like "Be carefull" and "don't let go" while the kid is saying "I can do it!" As the kid goes wobbling down the sidewalk, Mom says to Dad "How do we get him back?"
It occured to me that you never 'get them back' (kids that is) you just run along beside as long as possible. (note: I don't have any kids, just a much younger sister.) Parents (and older sisters) always want to hold on to their child, keep him or her at whatever age*. The job of a parent isn't to continue to hold on to the bike seat until all danger has passed. The job of a parent is to run along beside your child until you can't keep up anymore.
*Well, maybe not 11. Or 13, 15, and 17. I have a friend, who's now 25, that I've none since she was 11. The odd teenage years were not good.
It occured to me that you never 'get them back' (kids that is) you just run along beside as long as possible. (note: I don't have any kids, just a much younger sister.) Parents (and older sisters) always want to hold on to their child, keep him or her at whatever age*. The job of a parent isn't to continue to hold on to the bike seat until all danger has passed. The job of a parent is to run along beside your child until you can't keep up anymore.
*Well, maybe not 11. Or 13, 15, and 17. I have a friend, who's now 25, that I've none since she was 11. The odd teenage years were not good.
24 December 2009
Pink Rose = Friendship?
So, how's everyone? Have(ing) a nice Christmas (or whatever you celebrate)? I'm ok, except for the raging neuroses.
I guess you saw in my last post I went on a blind date. Since then we've been to lunch twice, he came to my church for our Christmas choir thing, I went to the church he attend here's Christmas choir program with a birthday dinner for our mutual friend before hand, and a random dinner* with our mutual friend, and one dinner and a movie. By my count that's 5 dates, more than I've been on in the last ten years.
All this romantic attention has my inner voices in overdrive - Am I sending the right signals? Bad body language habits! Are the signals confusing? Don't cross your arms! Smile. (not hard to do in his company) Am I sending any signals? Make eye contact. Don't ramble...- you get the picture.
Tuesday night when he walked me to my door I practically stood in it rather than let him come in. Not because I actually didn't want him to come in but because I was trying to figure out if it was too late to invite him in for coffee/tea/hot cocoa (I had to go to work the next morning) and wondering if he was going to hug me. Then he's leaning in for a hug and I'm thinking "kiss? on lips or cheek? Should I give him a peck on the cheek? hmm, his head hits right at my shoulder. Kiss now? Crap, missed my chance." Then Wednesday after the kind of random dinner I got a one-arm, diagonal, friend-hug, which starting me worrying if that meant something or not.
I've been feeling so much better the last year or so. Comfortable in my own skin, more confident, (usually) feeling competent at work, all that good stuff. This week I've gone back and forth between embarrassingly giddy because maybe a boy likes me to being terrified that I'll somehow screw this up (whatever 'this' becomes) to telling myself I'm being silly because I've known him less than a month. Basically I feel a bit like I'm 15 again. I suck at dating. Part of me wants to tell him that I haven't dated much (understatement of the year?), I'm not good at 'reading' people, etc while the rest of me shouts that bit down with "we don't want to freak him out"**, and one small part says "relax, deep breaths, you've only know him a few weeks, it will be OK, breathe damn it!"
I think the worst is those inner voices have started up their positive feedback loop of negativity, again. The loop gets interrupted when I get unambiguously good signals, like an email saying hi. (If it's not on the level of hitting me over the head with a club and dragging me back to his cave, it is up for interpretation.) Or if I distract myself, which is hard to do this time of year at work.
*Our mutual friend is the grad student who does fieldwork with me, RA. I was dropping RA off after field work about 5 and he'd invited me to eat with them, then mention CR would be there... I'm hoping CR didn't think it was weird I showed up.
**God help me if he finds this blog - he'll think I'm completely insane. Maybe I should have picked more anonymous screen name, made this a more truly anonymous blog. Too late now.
I guess you saw in my last post I went on a blind date. Since then we've been to lunch twice, he came to my church for our Christmas choir thing, I went to the church he attend here's Christmas choir program with a birthday dinner for our mutual friend before hand, and a random dinner* with our mutual friend, and one dinner and a movie. By my count that's 5 dates, more than I've been on in the last ten years.
All this romantic attention has my inner voices in overdrive - Am I sending the right signals? Bad body language habits! Are the signals confusing? Don't cross your arms! Smile. (not hard to do in his company) Am I sending any signals? Make eye contact. Don't ramble...- you get the picture.
Tuesday night when he walked me to my door I practically stood in it rather than let him come in. Not because I actually didn't want him to come in but because I was trying to figure out if it was too late to invite him in for coffee/tea/hot cocoa (I had to go to work the next morning) and wondering if he was going to hug me. Then he's leaning in for a hug and I'm thinking "kiss? on lips or cheek? Should I give him a peck on the cheek? hmm, his head hits right at my shoulder. Kiss now? Crap, missed my chance." Then Wednesday after the kind of random dinner I got a one-arm, diagonal, friend-hug, which starting me worrying if that meant something or not.
I've been feeling so much better the last year or so. Comfortable in my own skin, more confident, (usually) feeling competent at work, all that good stuff. This week I've gone back and forth between embarrassingly giddy because maybe a boy likes me to being terrified that I'll somehow screw this up (whatever 'this' becomes) to telling myself I'm being silly because I've known him less than a month. Basically I feel a bit like I'm 15 again. I suck at dating. Part of me wants to tell him that I haven't dated much (understatement of the year?), I'm not good at 'reading' people, etc while the rest of me shouts that bit down with "we don't want to freak him out"**, and one small part says "relax, deep breaths, you've only know him a few weeks, it will be OK, breathe damn it!"
I think the worst is those inner voices have started up their positive feedback loop of negativity, again. The loop gets interrupted when I get unambiguously good signals, like an email saying hi. (If it's not on the level of hitting me over the head with a club and dragging me back to his cave, it is up for interpretation.) Or if I distract myself, which is hard to do this time of year at work.
*Our mutual friend is the grad student who does fieldwork with me, RA. I was dropping RA off after field work about 5 and he'd invited me to eat with them, then mention CR would be there... I'm hoping CR didn't think it was weird I showed up.
**God help me if he finds this blog - he'll think I'm completely insane. Maybe I should have picked more anonymous screen name, made this a more truly anonymous blog. Too late now.
25 August 2009
Free To a Good Home
I think I could open luggage store with all the baggage I carry around. Sarah's post today (obviously not Gormenghastocabulary XI, 'cos lexiponage is always good) got me started at "I hate feeling like I'm suppose to wear make-up" and a few easy steps I wound my way to "I'm going to die alone* as the crazy old dog women".
I know I've mentioned my make-up baggage before but today I remembered the day my dermatologist (of all people) say to 19-year old me that wearing make-up regularly "would come" like make-up wearing was as inevitable as needing deodorant and shaving.
While I'm on the subject of beauty and baggage - I wish the dance studio didn't have giant floor to ceiling mirrors. It really ruins the feeling that I'm pretty and at least 20 lbs lighter when I dance if I catch a glimpse of myself.
*despite Nettie, my 5 brothers and SILs, 6 nieces and nephews, their spouses, and untold great-nieces and nephews by then,... being around.
I know I've mentioned my make-up baggage before but today I remembered the day my dermatologist (of all people) say to 19-year old me that wearing make-up regularly "would come" like make-up wearing was as inevitable as needing deodorant and shaving.
While I'm on the subject of beauty and baggage - I wish the dance studio didn't have giant floor to ceiling mirrors. It really ruins the feeling that I'm pretty and at least 20 lbs lighter when I dance if I catch a glimpse of myself.
*despite Nettie, my 5 brothers and SILs, 6 nieces and nephews, their spouses, and untold great-nieces and nephews by then,... being around.
04 August 2009
No deep thoughts.
What I want to know today (because y'all SO want to know my every thought) is when do I get a script writer?* Because I'm not having much luck creating my own meet-cute#.
*This is not brought on by watching some stupid romantic comedy. I watched The Blues Brothers last night and that music can't make you depressed. Just a general le sigh and damn even Jake and Elwood get girls, sort of.^
#for those not in the know
^ Actually Jake had one waiting in celibacy at the back of a cathedral until she decided for the good of humanity that he needed to die; Twiggy was waiting for Elwood at the hotel but he had to get to the Cook Co. Office of the Assessor&.
&It was dark and he was wearing sunglasses.
*This is not brought on by watching some stupid romantic comedy. I watched The Blues Brothers last night and that music can't make you depressed. Just a general le sigh and damn even Jake and Elwood get girls, sort of.^
#for those not in the know
^ Actually Jake had one waiting in celibacy at the back of a cathedral until she decided for the good of humanity that he needed to die; Twiggy was waiting for Elwood at the hotel but he had to get to the Cook Co. Office of the Assessor&.
&It was dark and he was wearing sunglasses.
03 August 2009
Another for the REALLY file.
Over on Free Range Kids, there's a post about kids, PE, nutrition, and health (inspired by this). I was going to leave a comment but I think I need a little more room to organize my thoughts.
Oddly, more PE, healthier lunches, and nutrition education doesn't make kids skinnier. Who would have guessed? It might have made the kids healthier but apparently they didn't check for that. I don't think this study means we should scrap PE (or daily PE) or not worry about what the schools feed them.
I don't think PE teaches kids to be healthier. It can give kids the tools to be healthier, if it's done right. It's possible to introduce kids to different sports and activities that they may enjoy for life. It may not but it might. Giving kids the basics of basketball will allow them, if they want, to join pick up games later in life. (BTW, you have to teach some of those basics. My little sister was marked down in PE in Kindergarten because she didn't know how to dribble a basketball. At my parents house didn't have a basketball hoop, a basketball, or anyone to have ever shown her how to dribble. Where was she suppose to have learned it?) Recess, I think, has an even better chance to help kids be healthier now and throughout life because it lets them choose the activity. We had tons more fun playing soccer or rugby (only for a few days then a teacher made us stop tackling) at recess (which we had every non-rainy/snowy day K-6*) than I ever had playing soccer or flag-football in various grades' PE classes. Recess tends to get dumped before PE in elementary schools because the classroom teachers get a break from the kids - often the only one they get all day. But recess is more important for the kids; they burn off energy, get to take a mental break, learn to negotiate rules, etc with one another, and a bunch of other important stuff. (I don't feel like looking all the benefits of recess up in my old pedagogy texts.) Anyway more PE may not help but maybe better PE could. Not everyone is athletic but helping kids have fun being active might help them be more active as an adult.
Healthier lunches and nutrition education, again, may not help in the short term but it might help long term. First of all "forcing" kids to make relatively healthy decisions at school will reinforce what they (hopefully) are learning at home. However, we have to keep in mind that kids are programed to prefer fat, salt, and sweets more than adults are. (There was a segment on NOVASscienceNOW on this recently.) Their tastebuds are different and you have to keep offering new foods before they'll really try it (ask any parent). We certainly shouldn't be encouraging junk food.
But in the end what kids learn in school can be unlearned at home. If a child isn't being encouraged to play outside, doesn't see his/her parents be active, is given unhealthy food to eat and has unhealthy eating modeled for him/her, I'm not sure what the school teaches will make the difference in the long run. And focusing on weight instead of health isn't helpful for anyone**.
*and if we were stuck inside several days in a row they'd figure out times a couple of classes could use the gym for recess
**If I found out a particular person was the reason my ELEVEN YEAR OLD sister (not one of the tallest or skinniest kids in her class but in no way overweight) was asking me this weekend if I thought she needed to lose weight, I will kick his/her ass up one side of town and down the other. ("I weighs 80 pounds now and I used to be 70lbs." [read in worried tween voice] I pointed out she used to be shorter, too; I'm not sure she's convinced.)
Oddly, more PE, healthier lunches, and nutrition education doesn't make kids skinnier. Who would have guessed? It might have made the kids healthier but apparently they didn't check for that. I don't think this study means we should scrap PE (or daily PE) or not worry about what the schools feed them.
I don't think PE teaches kids to be healthier. It can give kids the tools to be healthier, if it's done right. It's possible to introduce kids to different sports and activities that they may enjoy for life. It may not but it might. Giving kids the basics of basketball will allow them, if they want, to join pick up games later in life. (BTW, you have to teach some of those basics. My little sister was marked down in PE in Kindergarten because she didn't know how to dribble a basketball. At my parents house didn't have a basketball hoop, a basketball, or anyone to have ever shown her how to dribble. Where was she suppose to have learned it?) Recess, I think, has an even better chance to help kids be healthier now and throughout life because it lets them choose the activity. We had tons more fun playing soccer or rugby (only for a few days then a teacher made us stop tackling) at recess (which we had every non-rainy/snowy day K-6*) than I ever had playing soccer or flag-football in various grades' PE classes. Recess tends to get dumped before PE in elementary schools because the classroom teachers get a break from the kids - often the only one they get all day. But recess is more important for the kids; they burn off energy, get to take a mental break, learn to negotiate rules, etc with one another, and a bunch of other important stuff. (I don't feel like looking all the benefits of recess up in my old pedagogy texts.) Anyway more PE may not help but maybe better PE could. Not everyone is athletic but helping kids have fun being active might help them be more active as an adult.
Healthier lunches and nutrition education, again, may not help in the short term but it might help long term. First of all "forcing" kids to make relatively healthy decisions at school will reinforce what they (hopefully) are learning at home. However, we have to keep in mind that kids are programed to prefer fat, salt, and sweets more than adults are. (There was a segment on NOVASscienceNOW on this recently.) Their tastebuds are different and you have to keep offering new foods before they'll really try it (ask any parent). We certainly shouldn't be encouraging junk food.
But in the end what kids learn in school can be unlearned at home. If a child isn't being encouraged to play outside, doesn't see his/her parents be active, is given unhealthy food to eat and has unhealthy eating modeled for him/her, I'm not sure what the school teaches will make the difference in the long run. And focusing on weight instead of health isn't helpful for anyone**.
*and if we were stuck inside several days in a row they'd figure out times a couple of classes could use the gym for recess
**If I found out a particular person was the reason my ELEVEN YEAR OLD sister (not one of the tallest or skinniest kids in her class but in no way overweight) was asking me this weekend if I thought she needed to lose weight, I will kick his/her ass up one side of town and down the other. ("I weighs 80 pounds now and I used to be 70lbs." [read in worried tween voice] I pointed out she used to be shorter, too; I'm not sure she's convinced.)
30 July 2009
Reflection on the Field
No field work this week, the LiCor has been sent back to get fixed and recalibrated, but I had a couple of thoughts and one question on working in the field and with RA.
Question first. If it hurts RA's manly pride for me to carry heavy things or swing the machete then I'm not going to argue with him. I'll offer to do it but I'm not going to insist, it seems silly to make more work for myself and fight for it. Should I be more insistent? Am I not being feminist enough?
Most of my thoughts center on RA's apparent lousy sense of direction. When I said we needed to go a little further west for on collar and he said "I'm so turned around I have no idea where that is" I was a bit flabbergasted; west was heading towards the highway, which you could hear, also not up or down hill and we hadn't even been winding around much. He was pretty tired by then, so that was part of the problem. I'm sure he can get around with a compass; I've been with him when he was using one and I fairly sure orienteering is taught in [home country]'s army (otherwise navigating in areas without roads is much more difficult). I'm not sure if normally his sense of direction is as bad as it was out at the site or if it was a related to exhaustion, terrain, and/or not pay attention because that's what I was doing.
One of the few things I'm really good at* is visualizing in 3D. This is helpful for my job and some puzzles and I think it's why I my sense of direction isn't too bad. Drive me around for a while, stick me in the woods and I might guess north right 30% of the time (it'd be 25% of the time except when the sun is low(ish) in the sky I can get E or W, then turn 90°) but if I have a starting point, like I know the road runs generally N/S and I need to move due E to find a point (like what I was doing while placing collars) I can do it, or if I need a get back to a starting point I don't have retrace all my steps. It's like I map the route (detours around trees, thickets,... and/or from point to point) in my head, along with the lay of the land.
I used to be able to figure out what direction north (E, W, or S) most places around where I lived because most of the roads were fairly straight, for that matter I probably still can. They weren't in a grid pattern (except in DC, which was way outside my mental map anyway) but they were mostly straight. I knew which way, generally, my house faced (east) and could back track from where I was to home and figure out the cardinals. Things outside this map were connected by a much looser, cardinal-direction wise, road "network" of how you got places (like, route 7 runs through here, route 50 will take you to x and y) which could connect two destinations but not necessarily given you an idea of the distances (but possibly travel time) or which way you were going. (It never helped that sometimes to go physically south you went "north" on 495. And I only drove there for a year.)
I mostly have T-town "mapped" as a route network. Near downtown and campus the roads are regular enough that I could actually draw a map and I could include some of the more out lying roads. But when you get out of town a little ways the roads wind around so much that really keeping a clear picture of it in my head is hard, it becomes more of a general this road takes you to these roads or that place. Also there are a lot of parts of town I never drive through, no reason except I've just never needed, so those areas are completely blank in my mental map. I do have a better mental map of where different communities/places are within the county here than I did in Virginia; I think because I deal with maps of the county a lot and because of tornado warnings - I had to learn if a storm moving east near Samantha was going to threaten my house.
Do you guys have mental maps or road networks of where you drive (walk, bike,...) a lot?
*the other two primary ones being sleeping and counting to 4 (3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 12) in rhythm
Question first. If it hurts RA's manly pride for me to carry heavy things or swing the machete then I'm not going to argue with him. I'll offer to do it but I'm not going to insist, it seems silly to make more work for myself and fight for it. Should I be more insistent? Am I not being feminist enough?
Most of my thoughts center on RA's apparent lousy sense of direction. When I said we needed to go a little further west for on collar and he said "I'm so turned around I have no idea where that is" I was a bit flabbergasted; west was heading towards the highway, which you could hear, also not up or down hill and we hadn't even been winding around much. He was pretty tired by then, so that was part of the problem. I'm sure he can get around with a compass; I've been with him when he was using one and I fairly sure orienteering is taught in [home country]'s army (otherwise navigating in areas without roads is much more difficult). I'm not sure if normally his sense of direction is as bad as it was out at the site or if it was a related to exhaustion, terrain, and/or not pay attention because that's what I was doing.
One of the few things I'm really good at* is visualizing in 3D. This is helpful for my job and some puzzles and I think it's why I my sense of direction isn't too bad. Drive me around for a while, stick me in the woods and I might guess north right 30% of the time (it'd be 25% of the time except when the sun is low(ish) in the sky I can get E or W, then turn 90°) but if I have a starting point, like I know the road runs generally N/S and I need to move due E to find a point (like what I was doing while placing collars) I can do it, or if I need a get back to a starting point I don't have retrace all my steps. It's like I map the route (detours around trees, thickets,... and/or from point to point) in my head, along with the lay of the land.
I used to be able to figure out what direction north (E, W, or S) most places around where I lived because most of the roads were fairly straight, for that matter I probably still can. They weren't in a grid pattern (except in DC, which was way outside my mental map anyway) but they were mostly straight. I knew which way, generally, my house faced (east) and could back track from where I was to home and figure out the cardinals. Things outside this map were connected by a much looser, cardinal-direction wise, road "network" of how you got places (like, route 7 runs through here, route 50 will take you to x and y) which could connect two destinations but not necessarily given you an idea of the distances (but possibly travel time) or which way you were going. (It never helped that sometimes to go physically south you went "north" on 495. And I only drove there for a year.)
I mostly have T-town "mapped" as a route network. Near downtown and campus the roads are regular enough that I could actually draw a map and I could include some of the more out lying roads. But when you get out of town a little ways the roads wind around so much that really keeping a clear picture of it in my head is hard, it becomes more of a general this road takes you to these roads or that place. Also there are a lot of parts of town I never drive through, no reason except I've just never needed, so those areas are completely blank in my mental map. I do have a better mental map of where different communities/places are within the county here than I did in Virginia; I think because I deal with maps of the county a lot and because of tornado warnings - I had to learn if a storm moving east near Samantha was going to threaten my house.
Do you guys have mental maps or road networks of where you drive (walk, bike,...) a lot?
*the other two primary ones being sleeping and counting to 4 (3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 12) in rhythm
24 July 2009
Tales from the Field
The graduate research assistant (let's just call him RA) and I have been back out in the field (new test site, almost completely official!). Of course this time instead of starting the soil monitoring in mild, late spring like at the old site, we're starting in mid-Hell, (the months between early summer and early fall). We've gotten 3.5 days in and not a single reading thanks to equipment problems. (A people will crank their AC down pretty far, but even in Eureka they can't get below absolute zero.) So far our time in the field has consisted of installing the monitoring collars (pieces of 12 PVC pipe hammered into the ground at particular points in a semicircular pattern) and machete-ing paths for ourselves through the low branches and blackberry brambles. (love blackberries, hate blackberry canes).
So first off I'm using this older model GPS which has like a 10m accuracy which is about 3/10 of a sec of longitude or latitude around here. One collar is, according to the GPS location I got 9 meters north of the well (and some 40 or so west) when I can stand at the collar, look due east, and stare directly at the pump jack. I've decided if the location I end up at is within about 10 meters (according to GPS) then it's good even if my map ends up looking all squiggly.
That first day was shit hot and the RA wouldn't let me do much hammering when we were placing the collars. The worst part was when we went to lunch (BTW, did I mention Windham Springs is in MoBFN?) I must have sat outside the gas station (first 'civilization' we passed, 15 miles from the site) for 20 minutes waiting for RA to get done in the bathroom (not as bad as the prune juice day, did I tell y'all about that?). And RA was wearing short sleeves so he sweated off his bug spray and the little biting flys were having a feast off him that afternoon. I hadn't figured out how far a second of lat and long was before we went out so several locations were a little off, also two had typos and were WAY off. They had to be moved.
So the second day we went out with machetes and the 5-lb sledge. I was slightly better equipped - I'd brought work gloves and my tool belt. I could, kind of, carry the hammer in my rock hammer holster. We got the first path cut, and a collar moved without to much trouble. Except the RA was flagging fast. We start on cutting the 2nd path and moving that collar a good ways in. About 50 yards in RA rest his hand on a bank for a second and puts his hand in an ant bed. So I trade with him to do some cutting while he takes a break for a minute or two (and knocks ants off his arm). I decide to go to the right, around a small tree, rather than to the left to avoid the ant bed all together and find a wasps nest. I actual never saw it but when the buzzing started I walked as fast as I could (without tripping) back down the path saying as I passed RA "wasps, move, wasps, move NOW" About half way out he says "wait, I think they've stopped following." They hadn't, I got stung again. I only got 3 stings - one in each and and one in the arm - does bug spray repel wasps and bees? They didn't follow us all the way back to the road, thank goodness.
We get back to the truck, my partner is exhausted and wondering if we could have some AC. I reach in my pocket and the keys aren't there. I was wearing jeans (as usual for the field) so I figure I must not have actually gotten the keys in my pocket so they would have fallen out near the truck. No luck. As I remember it we cut N150, stopped at the truck for water (requiring unlocking and locking), then I put the keys in my pocket, stood in the minuscule patch of shade for a minute, walked down the road to where we started the N100 path and went into the woods. Luckily I was wrong about the re-locking the truck because then we wouldn't of had access to my phone or water. I searched around the truck, where I stood, and finally went back down the path to as close to the wasps as I dared. Then I went back to the truck, got my phone and walk to the well (around the bend and up a hill) to get signal. While I was calling my boss to have him come rescue us RA thought to check the other path. I was wrong about having hte keys when we came back to the truck because apparently they'd fallen out near it and he, luckily, saw them. No mean feat in grass over a foot high. We got several minutes of AC and I bought him lunch the next time as a thank you. The rest of the day went much better, except it was shit ass hot, RA was not up to the heat, and neither of us had much of a second wind after lunch (found a place closer than town, yay).
On the third day we just hacked our way through the brush and moved one collar. We had started on the path to S100 the trip before so there's already a good deal of work done on the first ~10 yard. I mean serious clearing 2 inch saplings, removing limbs up to 6-7 feet off the ground kind of work. Then I start directing RA where to cut the path. North, direction we needed to go, is pretty much directly uphill of where we were but the path has to wind a bit to go through the easier bits. RA has a tendency to drift left when I told him cut directly in front of him; when I told him to head towards his one or two o'clock he went straight ahead. Oh, and he has no sense of direction.* So I keep correcting us back to the east and we finally wind our way to the spot. The path definitely winds but it's not lots longer than a straighter path and it has easy access from the road. Further around, and more directly south of the collar, the hill was cut into to make the lease road so there's a 3-4 foot bank. I'm hammering the collar in the ground and RA who has been clearing the path as I go decides that it's shorter to go straight down the hill (true) and, hey, the woods are "more open" (also true, to a point) that way. My problem is three fold. For one he's already spent a fair amount of energy cutting a path, which he now wants to abandon but it's his arm (since he won't let me do much machete work). Secondly, the woods are more "open" because the trees are widely spaced where RA's heading, that means there's a lot more undergrowth that needs cutting and not necessarily the easiest way to go. But it's his arm and he's determined. Third and more theoretically, I want to minimize our impact; while we aren't actually taking out trees that would ever be sold (we're only taking out little, late starters, that'll probably get shaded out before they get very big) I don't want the land owner, if he ever sees it, to be pissed, but at this point RA has a big sharp knife and is swinging it around, so I follow at a safe distance shaking my head. I really don't understand making more work for yourself. Really, really don't understand it.
The last path we cut that day was really short, maybe 20 yards, into fairly open (at ground level) woods. These pines are taller creating deep shade, so other than some poison ivy not much undergrowth. We want paths were we don't have to stoop at any point, it's not much fun to not bend over with a heavy backpack. I had a little more energy than RA did at this point and the batteries were mostly dead so I went ahead to the collar, checked the location, and then started clearing my way back out. He was working on the one spot where it was tight, I was mostly cutting off small dead limbs. There was one point where I decided he needed to take out the bush because I just didn't have the upper body strength (or maybe my machete was getting dull) to get it. So I look at the path, I think it's clear, I can walk up-right the whole way, only one 'stump' in the way. I'll walk out, get a drink, and RA will be out a minute or two later. Five minutes later he's still hacking away at something - I don't know what it was. He finally staggers out exhausted and we leave. Again, I think he was making work for himself.
Yesterday we went back one more time for the last two paths. They both went fast and were fairly easy. The only real hiccup was I happened to park next to a collar that is on the side of the lease road. RA starts cutting down grass and weeds. At first I thought he was just clearing the area right around the collar, then he's moving towards the bank, then he's working on the bank. I asked where he was going. He hadn't noticed that he'd practically tripped over the collar to get where he was standing. Sometimes I worry about him.
Speaking of RA, I haven't heard back about the thermocouple. I guess I'll get keys and hope we go Monday morning. So if you see me at Jalapeños Monday with my pants tucked into my socks, you'll know why.
So first off I'm using this older model GPS which has like a 10m accuracy which is about 3/10 of a sec of longitude or latitude around here. One collar is, according to the GPS location I got 9 meters north of the well (and some 40 or so west) when I can stand at the collar, look due east, and stare directly at the pump jack. I've decided if the location I end up at is within about 10 meters (according to GPS) then it's good even if my map ends up looking all squiggly.
That first day was shit hot and the RA wouldn't let me do much hammering when we were placing the collars. The worst part was when we went to lunch (BTW, did I mention Windham Springs is in MoBFN?) I must have sat outside the gas station (first 'civilization' we passed, 15 miles from the site) for 20 minutes waiting for RA to get done in the bathroom (not as bad as the prune juice day, did I tell y'all about that?). And RA was wearing short sleeves so he sweated off his bug spray and the little biting flys were having a feast off him that afternoon. I hadn't figured out how far a second of lat and long was before we went out so several locations were a little off, also two had typos and were WAY off. They had to be moved.
So the second day we went out with machetes and the 5-lb sledge. I was slightly better equipped - I'd brought work gloves and my tool belt. I could, kind of, carry the hammer in my rock hammer holster. We got the first path cut, and a collar moved without to much trouble. Except the RA was flagging fast. We start on cutting the 2nd path and moving that collar a good ways in. About 50 yards in RA rest his hand on a bank for a second and puts his hand in an ant bed. So I trade with him to do some cutting while he takes a break for a minute or two (and knocks ants off his arm). I decide to go to the right, around a small tree, rather than to the left to avoid the ant bed all together and find a wasps nest. I actual never saw it but when the buzzing started I walked as fast as I could (without tripping) back down the path saying as I passed RA "wasps, move, wasps, move NOW" About half way out he says "wait, I think they've stopped following." They hadn't, I got stung again. I only got 3 stings - one in each and and one in the arm - does bug spray repel wasps and bees? They didn't follow us all the way back to the road, thank goodness.
We get back to the truck, my partner is exhausted and wondering if we could have some AC. I reach in my pocket and the keys aren't there. I was wearing jeans (as usual for the field) so I figure I must not have actually gotten the keys in my pocket so they would have fallen out near the truck. No luck. As I remember it we cut N150, stopped at the truck for water (requiring unlocking and locking), then I put the keys in my pocket, stood in the minuscule patch of shade for a minute, walked down the road to where we started the N100 path and went into the woods. Luckily I was wrong about the re-locking the truck because then we wouldn't of had access to my phone or water. I searched around the truck, where I stood, and finally went back down the path to as close to the wasps as I dared. Then I went back to the truck, got my phone and walk to the well (around the bend and up a hill) to get signal. While I was calling my boss to have him come rescue us RA thought to check the other path. I was wrong about having hte keys when we came back to the truck because apparently they'd fallen out near it and he, luckily, saw them. No mean feat in grass over a foot high. We got several minutes of AC and I bought him lunch the next time as a thank you. The rest of the day went much better, except it was shit ass hot, RA was not up to the heat, and neither of us had much of a second wind after lunch (found a place closer than town, yay).
On the third day we just hacked our way through the brush and moved one collar. We had started on the path to S100 the trip before so there's already a good deal of work done on the first ~10 yard. I mean serious clearing 2 inch saplings, removing limbs up to 6-7 feet off the ground kind of work. Then I start directing RA where to cut the path. North, direction we needed to go, is pretty much directly uphill of where we were but the path has to wind a bit to go through the easier bits. RA has a tendency to drift left when I told him cut directly in front of him; when I told him to head towards his one or two o'clock he went straight ahead. Oh, and he has no sense of direction.* So I keep correcting us back to the east and we finally wind our way to the spot. The path definitely winds but it's not lots longer than a straighter path and it has easy access from the road. Further around, and more directly south of the collar, the hill was cut into to make the lease road so there's a 3-4 foot bank. I'm hammering the collar in the ground and RA who has been clearing the path as I go decides that it's shorter to go straight down the hill (true) and, hey, the woods are "more open" (also true, to a point) that way. My problem is three fold. For one he's already spent a fair amount of energy cutting a path, which he now wants to abandon but it's his arm (since he won't let me do much machete work). Secondly, the woods are more "open" because the trees are widely spaced where RA's heading, that means there's a lot more undergrowth that needs cutting and not necessarily the easiest way to go. But it's his arm and he's determined. Third and more theoretically, I want to minimize our impact; while we aren't actually taking out trees that would ever be sold (we're only taking out little, late starters, that'll probably get shaded out before they get very big) I don't want the land owner, if he ever sees it, to be pissed, but at this point RA has a big sharp knife and is swinging it around, so I follow at a safe distance shaking my head. I really don't understand making more work for yourself. Really, really don't understand it.
The last path we cut that day was really short, maybe 20 yards, into fairly open (at ground level) woods. These pines are taller creating deep shade, so other than some poison ivy not much undergrowth. We want paths were we don't have to stoop at any point, it's not much fun to not bend over with a heavy backpack. I had a little more energy than RA did at this point and the batteries were mostly dead so I went ahead to the collar, checked the location, and then started clearing my way back out. He was working on the one spot where it was tight, I was mostly cutting off small dead limbs. There was one point where I decided he needed to take out the bush because I just didn't have the upper body strength (or maybe my machete was getting dull) to get it. So I look at the path, I think it's clear, I can walk up-right the whole way, only one 'stump' in the way. I'll walk out, get a drink, and RA will be out a minute or two later. Five minutes later he's still hacking away at something - I don't know what it was. He finally staggers out exhausted and we leave. Again, I think he was making work for himself.
Yesterday we went back one more time for the last two paths. They both went fast and were fairly easy. The only real hiccup was I happened to park next to a collar that is on the side of the lease road. RA starts cutting down grass and weeds. At first I thought he was just clearing the area right around the collar, then he's moving towards the bank, then he's working on the bank. I asked where he was going. He hadn't noticed that he'd practically tripped over the collar to get where he was standing. Sometimes I worry about him.
Speaking of RA, I haven't heard back about the thermocouple. I guess I'll get keys and hope we go Monday morning. So if you see me at Jalapeños Monday with my pants tucked into my socks, you'll know why.
03 June 2009
Wedding Weekend
I'll get the sad news out of the way first, then talk about all the fun stuff.
Q-tip wasn't around Sunday or Monday and I was starting to get worried because she's always around the house, hoping to slip in the door. Last night she drags herself up the front steps and she's all beat up. Her face looked funny, the right eye mostly swollen shut, cut at the tear duct is pussy, she's not closing her mouth... She sniffed at some food and took a lick or two of water and later some milk but not much; all she seemed to want was loving and to curl up somewhere soft. This morning she demanded attention. Her right eye was now open but obviously badly infected and so was her mouth. (WOW is that some seriously bad morning breath, btw.) She didn't protest one bit when I put her in the car or when we got out at the vet's. On top of the infection she had lost weight, was very dehydrated, and her jaw was broken. (The later probably the primary cause of the former two.) After talking to the vet and considering her age (about 14), I had her put down this morning. If she'd just come home Sunday maybe she'd have been alright. She was such a sweet kitty and her lack of grooming meant she didn't make me itch much. I'll miss her but she had a good life.
OK, done with the sad stuff.
Saturday my nephew got married. OMG, they are all (my nieces and nephews) so grown-up! The bridal couple looked very happy and in love. I managed to not actually bite my tongue or massively roll my eyes when the preacher read and talked about 'man being the head of his family the way Christ is the head of the church...' (I think it should be an equal partnership, regardless of what Paul wrote nearly 2000 years ago.) It was a nice ceremony. The only thing I really would have changed about the reception was the location; the room was too small. The groom's cake was deliciously sinful. The bride seem very sweet with, maybe, a feisty side. (The only problem I see there is that her father's name is "Rob" and we don't need any more Roberts in our family*.) And while I would never wish a baby on a pair of newlyweds they have several months to get used to being married and get settled a bit before my grand-nephew is born. After the wedding, we met at my SIL's parent's place for dinner, my family and hers, which was, as usual, very nice. Lulu, also as usual, cooked a fine meal and Sally made some wonderful brownies served with strawberries and real whipped cream. I was actually chocolated out after that. Then my bros, SIL, niece, and 2 nephews went to Nana Funks (in Lakeview (?), on the recommendation of the bartender at my big brother's hotel). NF has, I believe, the smallest dance floors I've ever seen but we cut a rug and had a good time. I think my nephew's were a little embarrassed by us but they stayed at our table. I decided to sleep at my brother's because after riding back to their house (and my car) the thought of driving almost 1.5 hours home was not appealing.
Sunday was Pentecost and we sang some pretty music and the choir is off all of June. (Yay! no rehearsal tonight!) Later I took Honey to the river for a quick walk and swim. Apparently the river is much more fun than the pond in our yard. Monday was a holiday, too. Officially it is Jefferson Davis' birthday but I was celebrating National Go Barefoot Day, which is appropriate because I stepped on some of glass in my kitchen despite not having broken a glass in months, and may still have a sliver in there. Alternative celebrations for Monday are:
So other than the glass and being worried about Q-Tip, it was a good weekend.
*We had 3 RTMs there (Jr., III, and IV/father, brother, nephew); I also have an uncle and several cousins named Robert. At a family reunion if you say "Bob" a quarter of the men turn around.
Q-tip wasn't around Sunday or Monday and I was starting to get worried because she's always around the house, hoping to slip in the door. Last night she drags herself up the front steps and she's all beat up. Her face looked funny, the right eye mostly swollen shut, cut at the tear duct is pussy, she's not closing her mouth... She sniffed at some food and took a lick or two of water and later some milk but not much; all she seemed to want was loving and to curl up somewhere soft. This morning she demanded attention. Her right eye was now open but obviously badly infected and so was her mouth. (WOW is that some seriously bad morning breath, btw.) She didn't protest one bit when I put her in the car or when we got out at the vet's. On top of the infection she had lost weight, was very dehydrated, and her jaw was broken. (The later probably the primary cause of the former two.) After talking to the vet and considering her age (about 14), I had her put down this morning. If she'd just come home Sunday maybe she'd have been alright. She was such a sweet kitty and her lack of grooming meant she didn't make me itch much. I'll miss her but she had a good life.
OK, done with the sad stuff.Saturday my nephew got married. OMG, they are all (my nieces and nephews) so grown-up! The bridal couple looked very happy and in love. I managed to not actually bite my tongue or massively roll my eyes when the preacher read and talked about 'man being the head of his family the way Christ is the head of the church...' (I think it should be an equal partnership, regardless of what Paul wrote nearly 2000 years ago.) It was a nice ceremony. The only thing I really would have changed about the reception was the location; the room was too small. The groom's cake was deliciously sinful. The bride seem very sweet with, maybe, a feisty side. (The only problem I see there is that her father's name is "Rob" and we don't need any more Roberts in our family*.) And while I would never wish a baby on a pair of newlyweds they have several months to get used to being married and get settled a bit before my grand-nephew is born. After the wedding, we met at my SIL's parent's place for dinner, my family and hers, which was, as usual, very nice. Lulu, also as usual, cooked a fine meal and Sally made some wonderful brownies served with strawberries and real whipped cream. I was actually chocolated out after that. Then my bros, SIL, niece, and 2 nephews went to Nana Funks (in Lakeview (?), on the recommendation of the bartender at my big brother's hotel). NF has, I believe, the smallest dance floors I've ever seen but we cut a rug and had a good time. I think my nephew's were a little embarrassed by us but they stayed at our table. I decided to sleep at my brother's because after riding back to their house (and my car) the thought of driving almost 1.5 hours home was not appealing.
Sunday was Pentecost and we sang some pretty music and the choir is off all of June. (Yay! no rehearsal tonight!) Later I took Honey to the river for a quick walk and swim. Apparently the river is much more fun than the pond in our yard. Monday was a holiday, too. Officially it is Jefferson Davis' birthday but I was celebrating National Go Barefoot Day, which is appropriate because I stepped on some of glass in my kitchen despite not having broken a glass in months, and may still have a sliver in there. Alternative celebrations for Monday are:
International Children's Day
Festival of Carna (either one works)
Discovery of the Magnetic North Pole
First recorded batch of Scotch Whiskey
the release of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band
Birthday of Marilyn Monroe, Andy Griffith, and Morgan Freedman
Death of James Buchanan, and Helen Keller
(all from the June 1st Wikipedia entry)
So other than the glass and being worried about Q-Tip, it was a good weekend.
*We had 3 RTMs there (Jr., III, and IV/father, brother, nephew); I also have an uncle and several cousins named Robert. At a family reunion if you say "Bob" a quarter of the men turn around.
17 February 2009
To shoot or not to shoot.
I kind of want to gush about Buffy growing up and telling the Watcher's Council off and all but that might lead to more ramblings about season 5 and lots of spoilers for Honu-Girl.* So instead I'll ramble on about photos, sketching, and computer-generated illustrations and their respective uses in geology, as I see it.
The Lost Geologist (who's temporarily lost his motivation, I'm sure it'll come back soon) posted an abstract and a fold sketch the other day. Based on the scale my guess is the fold is a detail of an outcrop. Silver Fox commented that she's (?) glad that some people still draw and not just use computers; TLG replied that they draw a lot in his program. I'm impressed by the quality of his sketch, my own tend towards the sloppy, but the art of sketching outcrops, hand samples, structures, sedimentary fabrics, etc. is alive and well. If not necessarily alive well in my hand:).
*Honu-Girl doesn't have nearly as much time as I do to sit around and watch TV. She has 2-legged children that demand attention, playing with, taking to soccer practice, real dinners, and tucking in. My children are 4-legged and the big one demands a scoop of food followed by tv watching w/wo snuggling every evening and the front door opened on occasion. The more couch time the better.
Bonus: I turned one ramble into three posts simply by being overly verbose!
The Lost Geologist (who's temporarily lost his motivation, I'm sure it'll come back soon) posted an abstract and a fold sketch the other day. Based on the scale my guess is the fold is a detail of an outcrop. Silver Fox commented that she's (?) glad that some people still draw and not just use computers; TLG replied that they draw a lot in his program. I'm impressed by the quality of his sketch, my own tend towards the sloppy, but the art of sketching outcrops, hand samples, structures, sedimentary fabrics, etc. is alive and well. If not necessarily alive well in my hand:).
*Honu-Girl doesn't have nearly as much time as I do to sit around and watch TV. She has 2-legged children that demand attention, playing with, taking to soccer practice, real dinners, and tucking in. My children are 4-legged and the big one demands a scoop of food followed by tv watching w/wo snuggling every evening and the front door opened on occasion. The more couch time the better.
Bonus: I turned one ramble into three posts simply by being overly verbose!
02 February 2009
Random thoughts from the Interweebs
I'm not sure how tall Chad is but he looks freakishly* tall in photos. I have a brother who is about 6'5" tall so I'm not easily impressed with tallness either. I don't think Pat looks weird in pictures. Is this because I remember when he was only 4 feet tall and got used to it over time? Because I haven't seen him hold a baby (a nephew) since he was only 5-foot something? Or is it something about how he's built that makes the difference?
And completely unrelated:
John** has a post about family entertainment for less than $100 a year. His suggestions sound all well and good but only if you can get internet for a good price. And have a decent computer. Mine's about 5 years old now and is I'm in serious need of an upgrade - either whole new one or big upgrades in memory/RAM/... And I'm not really good with the insides of the computer.
As for high speed internet goes where I live one's a little limited (not that other parts of town don't have limited options, too). Cable's never been run down to the house although I'm pretty sure it does run past the driveway; this, I think, significantly raises installation costs.*** And the intro price (cable and internet) is $69.99 for six months, they never say on the postcards and mailing what the regular price is. I'm wary of getting cable because of problems my folks had with thier line getting pulled down (3 times in 3 weeks). And I have no complaints with DishNetwork (except for one about their website). DSL is no where near my house. Satellite is a possiblility but I can't figure out if I'd have to buy the dish (and how much that is) and it costs almost 5 times what I pay now. I do OK with my dial-up and not spending much time on line at home.
Other points in John's post are good - libraries rock! Although I like to get new books every now and then (usually paperbacks, becuase they're cheaper, sorry) Cheap/free music is good if you have the bandwidth.:) I like the radio for newish stuff; most of the CDs I buy are stuff you can't hear on the radio. While I have varied music tastes most isn't all THAT odd - I'm okay with the classic rock, country, 90s and today hits stations when I'm in the mood for those, although I do own some CDs from those categories. I don't have a game system, just a couple of puzzle programs for my PC so not much spent on that front.
So my total is pretty low - I spend $59/month DishNetwork (150 channels, local broadcasters, and Starz), $11/month dial-up ISP; my telephone service is $24/month+taxes and part of that should be counted for internet, I guess. I don't have an idea about how my book, music, or video buying would work out per month, them being random and all. I rarely rent movies from the video store (maybe 6/year @ $5/movie); I borrow from the library more often and return on time! ($1/day fines add up fast.) There are a few other expenses that aren't quite the what John was talking about but should probably count, too; since I started knitting recently, I guess yarn and such (plus any other hobby related expenses) would count as entertainment as should the gas to drive to the park. Maybe, when I get a newer computer I'll revisit the internet options.
*no offense meant, please don't take any
**Don't'cha love how you can refer to people you've never met in real life by first name, gotta love the internet.
*** When I moved in to the house I called Charter and the girl said that installation was still $24.95 (or whatever) even though cable hadn't ever been run. But then they neither showed up nor ever called me to explain or reschedule.
And completely unrelated:
John** has a post about family entertainment for less than $100 a year. His suggestions sound all well and good but only if you can get internet for a good price. And have a decent computer. Mine's about 5 years old now and is I'm in serious need of an upgrade - either whole new one or big upgrades in memory/RAM/... And I'm not really good with the insides of the computer.
As for high speed internet goes where I live one's a little limited (not that other parts of town don't have limited options, too). Cable's never been run down to the house although I'm pretty sure it does run past the driveway; this, I think, significantly raises installation costs.*** And the intro price (cable and internet) is $69.99 for six months, they never say on the postcards and mailing what the regular price is. I'm wary of getting cable because of problems my folks had with thier line getting pulled down (3 times in 3 weeks). And I have no complaints with DishNetwork (except for one about their website). DSL is no where near my house. Satellite is a possiblility but I can't figure out if I'd have to buy the dish (and how much that is) and it costs almost 5 times what I pay now. I do OK with my dial-up and not spending much time on line at home.
Other points in John's post are good - libraries rock! Although I like to get new books every now and then (usually paperbacks, becuase they're cheaper, sorry) Cheap/free music is good if you have the bandwidth.:) I like the radio for newish stuff; most of the CDs I buy are stuff you can't hear on the radio. While I have varied music tastes most isn't all THAT odd - I'm okay with the classic rock, country, 90s and today hits stations when I'm in the mood for those, although I do own some CDs from those categories. I don't have a game system, just a couple of puzzle programs for my PC so not much spent on that front.
So my total is pretty low - I spend $59/month DishNetwork (150 channels, local broadcasters, and Starz), $11/month dial-up ISP; my telephone service is $24/month+taxes and part of that should be counted for internet, I guess. I don't have an idea about how my book, music, or video buying would work out per month, them being random and all. I rarely rent movies from the video store (maybe 6/year @ $5/movie); I borrow from the library more often and return on time! ($1/day fines add up fast.) There are a few other expenses that aren't quite the what John was talking about but should probably count, too; since I started knitting recently, I guess yarn and such (plus any other hobby related expenses) would count as entertainment as should the gas to drive to the park. Maybe, when I get a newer computer I'll revisit the internet options.
*no offense meant, please don't take any
**Don't'cha love how you can refer to people you've never met in real life by first name, gotta love the internet.
*** When I moved in to the house I called Charter and the girl said that installation was still $24.95 (or whatever) even though cable hadn't ever been run. But then they neither showed up nor ever called me to explain or reschedule.
23 January 2009
My Week
Tuesday: Mom had an appointment with her surgeon in B'ham so I picked Nettie up from school, brought her back to my office, then took her home and fed her.
Wednesday: Dad calls me at about 4:30 and says Mom's blood O2 sat is low and he's taking her to the ED, can I pick Nettie up after work? I pick her up, take her home (mine), feed her, and make her do her homework. Then I take her home (M&D&hers) so she can go to bed. Dad calls about the time she starts to almost settle in and asks if I can take Nettie to school in the morning because they are admitting Mom overnight for observation. Nettie and I return to my house and go to bed.
Thursday: I get Nettie up to shower; I shower; We both dress; I hurry her breakfest; get gas; drop Nettie at school; drive to work; and am only slightly later than what's been usual lately.
Dad calls mid-morning to say that Mom's had a small heart attack but is now doing fine. She'll go to the cath lab at 5. Can I take TR to her 1 o'clock appointment and then pick up Nettie? "Sure, I guess I'll just leave work at noon." Later he calls to say they decided to go ahead with the catherterization, he'll call when she gets out.
Around noon I leave work. I pick up some lunch, drive to Moundville to get TR, drive to town to drop her at Maude Whatley clinic, wait an hour, drive to Englewood to get Nettie, drive back to MWC, wait half an hour, drive TR to Moundville to her pharmacy, wait 40 minutes, drive her home, drive to the hospital with a breif stop to get food, finally get to see Mom. While driving to MWC the first time Dad calls and says Mom had 3 small blockages in the front of her heart all stinted now, she looked good heading to her room. About 5:15 Nettie and I get to the hospital.
My two older (half) brothers are there and a SIL. Bro1 and SIL leave (only suppose to be 2 visitors in the room), Bro1 might come back later. We sit with Mom, talk a little, I eat my Zalad. Bro2 decides later he's going to head home. He might make it back this weekend - being an accoutant (in B'ham) this is iffy in tax season, but he'll try (and his wife). Bro3, who is extranged from the 'rents, was called but didn't show. Nettie and I leave about 7. I drive her to her house she packs for two nights and days (she's spending the night at a freinds tonight) and we go to my house to sleep. I was exhausted. (If you've been keeping score that's 4 round trips to town for a total of around 100 miles.)
Friday: Woke Nettie up; woke myself up; both showered and dressed; hurried her breakfest; dropped her at school; almost forgot to write note saying she could go home with her friend; drove to work and was only normally (of late) late. I'm now at my desk trying to look like I'm doing work and hoping the day will just hurry up and end, because all I really want to do is go home, watch TV (not even read, really) and eat fattening comfort food.
Oh, and Mom's surgery scheduled for Monday may or may not be post-poned. The docs were going to decide that today.
WHOOPI.
Upate: Mom's spending another night.
Wednesday: Dad calls me at about 4:30 and says Mom's blood O2 sat is low and he's taking her to the ED, can I pick Nettie up after work? I pick her up, take her home (mine), feed her, and make her do her homework. Then I take her home (M&D&hers) so she can go to bed. Dad calls about the time she starts to almost settle in and asks if I can take Nettie to school in the morning because they are admitting Mom overnight for observation. Nettie and I return to my house and go to bed.
Thursday: I get Nettie up to shower; I shower; We both dress; I hurry her breakfest; get gas; drop Nettie at school; drive to work; and am only slightly later than what's been usual lately.
Dad calls mid-morning to say that Mom's had a small heart attack but is now doing fine. She'll go to the cath lab at 5. Can I take TR to her 1 o'clock appointment and then pick up Nettie? "Sure, I guess I'll just leave work at noon." Later he calls to say they decided to go ahead with the catherterization, he'll call when she gets out.
Around noon I leave work. I pick up some lunch, drive to Moundville to get TR, drive to town to drop her at Maude Whatley clinic, wait an hour, drive to Englewood to get Nettie, drive back to MWC, wait half an hour, drive TR to Moundville to her pharmacy, wait 40 minutes, drive her home, drive to the hospital with a breif stop to get food, finally get to see Mom. While driving to MWC the first time Dad calls and says Mom had 3 small blockages in the front of her heart all stinted now, she looked good heading to her room. About 5:15 Nettie and I get to the hospital.
My two older (half) brothers are there and a SIL. Bro1 and SIL leave (only suppose to be 2 visitors in the room), Bro1 might come back later. We sit with Mom, talk a little, I eat my Zalad. Bro2 decides later he's going to head home. He might make it back this weekend - being an accoutant (in B'ham) this is iffy in tax season, but he'll try (and his wife). Bro3, who is extranged from the 'rents, was called but didn't show. Nettie and I leave about 7. I drive her to her house she packs for two nights and days (she's spending the night at a freinds tonight) and we go to my house to sleep. I was exhausted. (If you've been keeping score that's 4 round trips to town for a total of around 100 miles.)
Friday: Woke Nettie up; woke myself up; both showered and dressed; hurried her breakfest; dropped her at school; almost forgot to write note saying she could go home with her friend; drove to work and was only normally (of late) late. I'm now at my desk trying to look like I'm doing work and hoping the day will just hurry up and end, because all I really want to do is go home, watch TV (not even read, really) and eat fattening comfort food.
Oh, and Mom's surgery scheduled for Monday may or may not be post-poned. The docs were going to decide that today.
WHOOPI.
Upate: Mom's spending another night.
21 January 2009
Random bits
1. Why can I change my password but not get sent my login name, DishNetwork??? (Which is apparently 1 letter short of the one I usually use)
2. Irish was all like "Mom, what are you doing? I don't want to be way up - oh, food.":)
3. Wow, does Ed's car look bad. And weird since it's been a while since I was somewhere with salted roads, or even close enough to such a place that I saw cars covered in road salt occasionally.
4. "Don't eat pork, don't eat bats, don't eat beetles, bugs, or gnats...Put four tassels on your cloak...A message from the Lord."
5. I can be a little anal about maps, precision, and accuracy; this can sometimes make my job unnecessarily difficult. But not as anal as the Kentucky Survey they report well locations as DD.xxxxxxxxxx0! (That's to less than a millimeter.)
6. My parent's are OLD.
7. (related to 6) Mom's surgery is Monday. They'll be doing it vaginally so at least the recovery shouldn't be too bad or long. Except for the anesthesia which will take about 6 months to completely clear her system if past experiences are repeated. Nettie gets to spend Sunday night with me.
8. At this rate I'll be back at Circuit City hoping they have an even better deal on Season 5 of Buffy. (Season 4 started $5 less than at B&N plus 10% off. The cashier had to enter the discounted prices manually!)
9. I should really get back to work.
10. If I start digging here I end up in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Danke, Maple Leaf.
2. Irish was all like "Mom, what are you doing? I don't want to be way up - oh, food.":)
3. Wow, does Ed's car look bad. And weird since it's been a while since I was somewhere with salted roads, or even close enough to such a place that I saw cars covered in road salt occasionally.
4. "Don't eat pork, don't eat bats, don't eat beetles, bugs, or gnats...Put four tassels on your cloak...A message from the Lord."
5. I can be a little anal about maps, precision, and accuracy; this can sometimes make my job unnecessarily difficult. But not as anal as the Kentucky Survey they report well locations as DD.xxxxxxxxxx0! (That's to less than a millimeter.)
6. My parent's are OLD.
7. (related to 6) Mom's surgery is Monday. They'll be doing it vaginally so at least the recovery shouldn't be too bad or long. Except for the anesthesia which will take about 6 months to completely clear her system if past experiences are repeated. Nettie gets to spend Sunday night with me.
8. At this rate I'll be back at Circuit City hoping they have an even better deal on Season 5 of Buffy. (Season 4 started $5 less than at B&N plus 10% off. The cashier had to enter the discounted prices manually!)
9. I should really get back to work.
10. If I start digging here I end up in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Danke, Maple Leaf.
02 January 2009
Curse the Darkness
Some thing I saw of TV the other night got me thinking about “curse” words. I understand the religious prohibition on blasphemy. Not necessarily the specifics – was stoning really necessary for speaking the secret name of God? – but the general rule I can deal with and vaguely understand. I can understand not using ‘damn’ as a general swear word unless you really mean you think that thing/person/rule/whatever should be sent to hell. I have even, unsuccessfully, toyed with not damning things lightly. What I don’t get is why other ‘four-letter words’ that have no religious connotations are also usually considered wrong to use by the religious and culturally are less polite than the religious ones (in the US at least). Now ‘fuck’, ‘shit’, and ‘ass’ are generally considered impolite ways to refer to sexual intercourse, feces, and one’s backside* and their derivatives, which may or may not have anything to do with the original meaning, are equally vulgar. One should certainly be mindful of one’s company when using these words. But, why do the religious care about them? They aren’t blasphemy – no taking of God’s name in vain, no casual damning of innocent inanimate objects.
The seven words you can’t say on TV are becoming more and more socially acceptable. One day you may even be able to say them on mainstream TV, at least in fleeting usages or, of course, in culturally appropriate situations^.As the “younger” generations work their way up into positions of power in the FCC things will change, slowly, if we can ever get the religious fanatics to shut up long enough to understand the difference between blasphemy and vulgarity.
This leads me to a tangent**: You may recall the wardrobe malfunction at the Super Bowl half-time a few years ago. Shortly after this, and the resulting kerfuffle, I heard a father commenting (a letter to Morning Edition perhaps?) that the SB is family entertainment and he didn’t appreciate his young sons being exposed to a nipple. I’d been watching that half-time show. Personally, if I were going to be offended by a brief flash of female bits I would have been doubly offended by the half-time show. Based on the comment of that father, dry-humping one another while wearing little more than a bikini is OK but the human body is bad. (I may be mixing my half-times up. The scantily clad, practically stripping dancers may have been another year.) Consistency anyone?
*Ass is perfectly acceptable if referring to a donkey, even in church.
^ This is why it’s OK that ‘fuck’ appears in every other sentence in Saving Private Ryan but it has to be beeped out of an Emmy acceptance speech.
**This is not particularly timely, I know.But we will be subjected to dubious singing and dancing during the Super Bowl half-time again soon.
The seven words you can’t say on TV are becoming more and more socially acceptable. One day you may even be able to say them on mainstream TV, at least in fleeting usages or, of course, in culturally appropriate situations^.As the “younger” generations work their way up into positions of power in the FCC things will change, slowly, if we can ever get the religious fanatics to shut up long enough to understand the difference between blasphemy and vulgarity.
This leads me to a tangent**: You may recall the wardrobe malfunction at the Super Bowl half-time a few years ago. Shortly after this, and the resulting kerfuffle, I heard a father commenting (a letter to Morning Edition perhaps?) that the SB is family entertainment and he didn’t appreciate his young sons being exposed to a nipple. I’d been watching that half-time show. Personally, if I were going to be offended by a brief flash of female bits I would have been doubly offended by the half-time show. Based on the comment of that father, dry-humping one another while wearing little more than a bikini is OK but the human body is bad. (I may be mixing my half-times up. The scantily clad, practically stripping dancers may have been another year.) Consistency anyone?
*Ass is perfectly acceptable if referring to a donkey, even in church.
^ This is why it’s OK that ‘fuck’ appears in every other sentence in Saving Private Ryan but it has to be beeped out of an Emmy acceptance speech.
**This is not particularly timely, I know.But we will be subjected to dubious singing and dancing during the Super Bowl half-time again soon.
30 December 2008
PSA for sales clerks
Acknowledging a costumer's existence can increase your sales.
Will you forgive me a mini-rant? I hope so, because I'm going to do it anyway. Customer service SUCKS in this town (maybe everywhere). Latest example:
Last night I went to Belks to look at shoes. Now, I'm not even sure they carry much in my size but I thought I'd try, since they are now the biggest bestest department store in town (Sears' shoe dept is very small; Penny's hardly carries anything in my size and was a sucky dept with rude service last time I looked, about 8 years ago.) So I look around a few minutes and start picking up shoes. One associate passes as he's putting shoes back in the displays, I think he said "hi". I end up with 4 shoes in my hand that I want to try on and want to ask if s/he can bring out anything similar in my size. (I know it's asking a lot of a clerk to have some idea of their stock but hey, why not try?) I stood about 4 feet back and to the side of the register counter and a couple of feet from a row of chairs, facing the register, attempting to make eye contact with a sales clerk. One is ringing up a sale, one put up a couple of shoes on the other half of the dept but mostly stood at the contour, the other two are putting shoes up, straightening up, etc. One of them looks at me, no eye contact, walks on, offers to help another customer, puts the shoe(s) where they belong, and returns to the counter. I stood there for several minutes in total. I put the shoes in a chair and said, mostly to myself, 'if they don't want to sell me shoes, fine I don't need buy shoes,' and leave the store. BTW, this was at approximately 5:15 (no where near closing time) and there were six-eight people in the non-"selfserve" part of the dept, only one of whom was actually trying on shoes while I was there. (Clearance shoes are stacked on tables.)
Maybe I've missed a change in how one suppose to get a shoe department associate's attention? Am I now suppose to walk into the stock room myself? Hit a clerk over the head with a shoe to get his attention? The stand near counter and/or chairs with shoes in hand has always worked before. Needless to say it will be awhile before I hit up thier shoe department again.
Will you forgive me a mini-rant? I hope so, because I'm going to do it anyway. Customer service SUCKS in this town (maybe everywhere). Latest example:
Last night I went to Belks to look at shoes. Now, I'm not even sure they carry much in my size but I thought I'd try, since they are now the biggest bestest department store in town (Sears' shoe dept is very small; Penny's hardly carries anything in my size and was a sucky dept with rude service last time I looked, about 8 years ago.) So I look around a few minutes and start picking up shoes. One associate passes as he's putting shoes back in the displays, I think he said "hi". I end up with 4 shoes in my hand that I want to try on and want to ask if s/he can bring out anything similar in my size. (I know it's asking a lot of a clerk to have some idea of their stock but hey, why not try?) I stood about 4 feet back and to the side of the register counter and a couple of feet from a row of chairs, facing the register, attempting to make eye contact with a sales clerk. One is ringing up a sale, one put up a couple of shoes on the other half of the dept but mostly stood at the contour, the other two are putting shoes up, straightening up, etc. One of them looks at me, no eye contact, walks on, offers to help another customer, puts the shoe(s) where they belong, and returns to the counter. I stood there for several minutes in total. I put the shoes in a chair and said, mostly to myself, 'if they don't want to sell me shoes, fine I don't need buy shoes,' and leave the store. BTW, this was at approximately 5:15 (no where near closing time) and there were six-eight people in the non-"selfserve" part of the dept, only one of whom was actually trying on shoes while I was there. (Clearance shoes are stacked on tables.)
Maybe I've missed a change in how one suppose to get a shoe department associate's attention? Am I now suppose to walk into the stock room myself? Hit a clerk over the head with a shoe to get his attention? The stand near counter and/or chairs with shoes in hand has always worked before. Needless to say it will be awhile before I hit up thier shoe department again.
18 December 2008
America-centric?
Let's put some numbers to this America-centric charge of the 100 things list in my last post.
First List:Items 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, and 17 give examples of geological feature (10/10) in the NA which can, most likely, also be found elsewhere in the world. Twenty-seven of the items on the first list are North America specific locations (total of 34 specific places); 14 of them are for geological features that may be seen on another continent (IDK if they are); for an additional 8 I'm not sure why we are 'suppose' to visit the locations so I don't know if they are truly unique geologically or just happen to be good examples of something that could be found somewhere else.
Bently List: Of the 45 specific places listed, 13 are in North America (3 in Alaska alone!). Off the top of my head that seems like a reasonable share considering the amount of land we're covering. For the geological features and activities he list examples in North America for ten of them (55 total, 11 with example locations) and most have non-American examples as well.
So both lists offer examples of geologic features in North America with or without non-NA examples. Bently clearly lists many more non-US places a geologist should visit. I think the America-centrism critic of the original meme may stem from many of the specific locations are in the US even though the geologic feature may be found elsewhere. I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt, so I'm willing to believe the original author simply gave examples he was most familiar with.
That said I think I like the Bently list better. It lists specific places of geological importance and then geological features. By separating them he avoids the danger of an over abundance of American locations making the list and stress that while a geological feature may be well repreesented in a given place it almost certainly exists in locations around the world. It also means that those of us who haven't traveled much (at least not yet) don't feel completely left out.
In the end, it's just a way to fill a post. (I've managed to make two posts out of it. :P) To find a true geologist life time 100 list we'd have to get geologists all over the world to submit suggestions of both locations and features and then figure out which were the most common and even then there would be arguements. Because everyone will have a different opinion of what one MUST do/see.
First List:Items 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, and 17 give examples of geological feature (10/10) in the NA which can, most likely, also be found elsewhere in the world. Twenty-seven of the items on the first list are North America specific locations (total of 34 specific places); 14 of them are for geological features that may be seen on another continent (IDK if they are); for an additional 8 I'm not sure why we are 'suppose' to visit the locations so I don't know if they are truly unique geologically or just happen to be good examples of something that could be found somewhere else.
Bently List: Of the 45 specific places listed, 13 are in North America (3 in Alaska alone!). Off the top of my head that seems like a reasonable share considering the amount of land we're covering. For the geological features and activities he list examples in North America for ten of them (55 total, 11 with example locations) and most have non-American examples as well.
So both lists offer examples of geologic features in North America with or without non-NA examples. Bently clearly lists many more non-US places a geologist should visit. I think the America-centrism critic of the original meme may stem from many of the specific locations are in the US even though the geologic feature may be found elsewhere. I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt, so I'm willing to believe the original author simply gave examples he was most familiar with.
That said I think I like the Bently list better. It lists specific places of geological importance and then geological features. By separating them he avoids the danger of an over abundance of American locations making the list and stress that while a geological feature may be well repreesented in a given place it almost certainly exists in locations around the world. It also means that those of us who haven't traveled much (at least not yet) don't feel completely left out.
In the end, it's just a way to fill a post. (I've managed to make two posts out of it. :P) To find a true geologist life time 100 list we'd have to get geologists all over the world to submit suggestions of both locations and features and then figure out which were the most common and even then there would be arguements. Because everyone will have a different opinion of what one MUST do/see.
05 December 2008
Ramblings, part infinity
I have half a rant about science literacy (inspired by Chad); a half a post to parallel Honu Girl; a exasperated rant about Ellen getting in an accident and the other lady not getting a ticket for an expired license (everyone was OK, cars are a bit bent up); and a ramble about psych meds, their effect on me, my ambivalence about taking them forever, why I wish I'd gone on the field trip this year but it's probably just as well I didn't because being on the edge of completely falling apart is SO attractive (or just makes me retreat to the point of being effectively invisible*). But all I want to do is crawl under the covers and stay there for, like, forever. (Yay, for a week of half-doses!)
*This artist does pretty well at urban-camo but visually blending in really necessary for being invisible.
*This artist does pretty well at urban-camo but visually blending in really necessary for being invisible.
23 September 2008
Hot? Y/N
So last night's Heroes premiere (don't worry, no spoilers) and Sarah's villain worship reminded me of something (which I don't think I written about before).
I saw some online "posters" for the upcoming Star Trek movie and Spock is kinda' hot. (so's Kirk) I turned the TV to 13 just before 8 last night as some of the stars were shaking hands etc, on the red carpet before the show began (BTW, is Hayden old enough to wear a jacket without a shirt? Especially when said jacket is in danger of exposing her mammaries? Hmm, 19, I guess so.) and when I saw Zachary Quinto, my heart skipped a beat. Pre-psychopathic break, mousy watch-repairman Gabriel Gray was cute, maybe he just needed some confidence. But Sylar just doesn't appeal to me.
The reason, I think, is that Sylar isn't a nice guy. I mean, really, he's a psychopathic killer - a really not nice guy. Sure he can be charming but don't forget he cuts people's heads open and pretty much kills anyone who gets in his way. His personality keeps me from identifying him as attractive. The actor is a good looking but the character isn't attractive to me.
If I don't know you then all I can judge attractiveness on is your appearance. Obviously no assessment of appearance, by me anyway, is purely based on the form of the face and/or body because how one carries oneself, one's facial expression, etc. is also factored in. But once I know someone then character and personality get added in. Personality can make or break attractiveness.
It's not like go walking down the street rating everyone's hotness. If I did, frankly, most people would end up falling into the "ok" category. Since, who he is is the biggest part of whether I find a man attractive most guys look alright, too me, to begin with at least. Some men definitely fall in to the "ooo, nice" category.* I think, oddly enough, I would discriminate among women better than men because it wouldn't be 'attractive to me' I'd be judging but rather 'attractive to the average male'.
For example: The then-VP of a company I used to work for was a jerk. He was jerk to his ex-wife (from what I was told), the employees who worked directly for him, the other division heads, other employees at the company... One day the secretary for our group was bemoaning embarrassing herself in front of him because she hated to make a fool of herself in front of a "good looking man, and [he] is a GOOD looking man." My other co-worker and I, looked at each other and did mini-eye rolls. After the the secretary left the room we both said, "good looking????" I suggested that maybe, if you don't know him at all? Neither of us thought he was all that good looking anyway. But to be honest, at that point (or now) I don't think I could separate his personality from my assessment of his looks.
So how does it work for y'all? Do you think Sylar's sexy? Or just Zachary Quinto?
*They are one of the few perks of working on a college campus while the students are here. Luckily most students don't look so young that I feel dirty admiring them, yet.
I saw some online "posters" for the upcoming Star Trek movie and Spock is kinda' hot. (so's Kirk) I turned the TV to 13 just before 8 last night as some of the stars were shaking hands etc, on the red carpet before the show began (BTW, is Hayden old enough to wear a jacket without a shirt? Especially when said jacket is in danger of exposing her mammaries? Hmm, 19, I guess so.) and when I saw Zachary Quinto, my heart skipped a beat. Pre-psychopathic break, mousy watch-repairman Gabriel Gray was cute, maybe he just needed some confidence. But Sylar just doesn't appeal to me.
The reason, I think, is that Sylar isn't a nice guy. I mean, really, he's a psychopathic killer - a really not nice guy. Sure he can be charming but don't forget he cuts people's heads open and pretty much kills anyone who gets in his way. His personality keeps me from identifying him as attractive. The actor is a good looking but the character isn't attractive to me.
If I don't know you then all I can judge attractiveness on is your appearance. Obviously no assessment of appearance, by me anyway, is purely based on the form of the face and/or body because how one carries oneself, one's facial expression, etc. is also factored in. But once I know someone then character and personality get added in. Personality can make or break attractiveness.
It's not like go walking down the street rating everyone's hotness. If I did, frankly, most people would end up falling into the "ok" category. Since, who he is is the biggest part of whether I find a man attractive most guys look alright, too me, to begin with at least. Some men definitely fall in to the "ooo, nice" category.* I think, oddly enough, I would discriminate among women better than men because it wouldn't be 'attractive to me' I'd be judging but rather 'attractive to the average male'.
For example: The then-VP of a company I used to work for was a jerk. He was jerk to his ex-wife (from what I was told), the employees who worked directly for him, the other division heads, other employees at the company... One day the secretary for our group was bemoaning embarrassing herself in front of him because she hated to make a fool of herself in front of a "good looking man, and [he] is a GOOD looking man." My other co-worker and I, looked at each other and did mini-eye rolls. After the the secretary left the room we both said, "good looking????" I suggested that maybe, if you don't know him at all? Neither of us thought he was all that good looking anyway. But to be honest, at that point (or now) I don't think I could separate his personality from my assessment of his looks.
So how does it work for y'all? Do you think Sylar's sexy? Or just Zachary Quinto?
*They are one of the few perks of working on a college campus while the students are here. Luckily most students don't look so young that I feel dirty admiring them, yet.
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