Forget Rent... I'm Moving to the Smithsonian

Note: For the next couple of weeks, I am going to be fairly busy. This weekend I started (finally) finishing up the book in which I compile all the interviews I carried out with my dad about the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Disaster. I've been listening to all the interviews again, cleaning up the transcripts, and writing a couple of background chapters. The task is taking me longer than I expected because, frankly, it is somewhat depressing to listen to all of the Fukushima interviews again. I can only handle one or two before I need to take a break. I am persevering, though. I am also busy working on a couple of super secret (for now) guest blog pieces. I'm also doing my regular graduate school work for ~8-9 hours a day. As I work on these other projects, I am going to limit my regular blogging to the geology word of the week and the occasional picture of my summer digs in Laramie, Wyoming. So, to keep my blog readers entertained over the next few weeks, I am going to re-post some geology posts that I wrote on Skepchick before I started a geology blog. The first post is below. This post originally appeared on Skepchick in 2006 here. Enjoy!

Elephant in the Rotunda, Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Picture taken from wikipedia here.

There is nothing better than having an empty museum all to yourself. If I ever become wealthy, I think that I’ll rent out the great museums of the world at odd hours so that I can quietly appreciate them. Or maybe I’ll just hone my burglary skills and sneak it at night. I’m not interested in stealing anything, just enjoying the richness of the exhibits without all the lines, tourists, and misbehaving toddlers. 

One of my favorite books from childhood is From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, a book about a little girl and her brother who run away from home and live in the Metropolitan Museum of Art for a week or so. After all of the tourists go home for the day, the two children have the run of the museum, bathing in the public fountain, sleeping in an antique bed in one of the exhibits, and generally having a good time with all of the artwork and artifacts. After reading this book, I nearly packed a bag and ran away to the nearest big museum, which fortunately was several hours away. Running away from home is not easily accomplished by an eight-year-old stuck in rural New Hampshire with no public transportation.

Geology Word of the Week: C is for Coquina

Coquina rock. Image taken from wikipedia here.

def. Coquina ("co-keen-ah"):
A sedimentary rock consisting of loosely-consolidated fragments of shells and/or coral. The matrix or "cement" consolidating the fragments is generally calcium carbonate or phosphate. Coquina is a soft, white rock which is often used as a building stone. Coquina forms in near-shore environments, such as marine reefs. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, coquina is a loanword from Spanish meaning "shell-fish" or "cockle" (a type of bivalve mollusc). Also according to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word was first used in English (to refer to the building stone) in 1837 in the book The Territory of Florida by J.L. Williams.

My New Favorite T-Shirt

I just love this shirt.

Just before leaving the East coast, I picked up a new t-shirt. Isn't it great?

Chapman's Peak Nonconformity

Chapman's Peak Nonconformity, South Africa, May 2011.

On my recent trip to South Africa (see also my recent posts Sevilla Rock Art Trail, The Maltese Cross, The "Peace in Africa" in Port, and Cape Peninsula in Pictures), I spent my very last day touring around Cape Town with my fiance, my future sister-in-law, and her boyfriend. One of the things that we did just before I headed to the airport was drive along the Chapman's Peak Drive, a road just outside Cape Town that stretches from Noordhoek (which means "North Corner" in Afrikaans) to Houtbaai (which means "Wood Bay" in Afrikaans; the Afrikaans-English hybrid "Hout Bay" is commonly used). The drive follows the rocky coastline and provides breathtaking views. First constructed during World War I (and considered an incredible feat of engineering for the time), the drive was closed for a time in the 1990s due to safety concerns. The winding road is built on quite steep terrain and is frequently covered by rockfalls. However, the drive was re-opened in the 2000s (with reinforced safety features) as a scenic toll road catering to foreign tourists. However, there are many residents of Hout Bay and the surrounds who travel along Chapman's Peak everyday. Occasionally, the drive is closed because of weather or rockfall.

Finalists Announced in the 3 Quarks Daily Science Blogging Contest

Georneys didn't make it to the final round of judging in the 3 Quarks Daily Science Blogging Contest-- I guess ophiolites and geology words weren't the editors' cup of tea, and there was some stiff competition-- but that's fine. As I said, I'm thrilled to have just made it to the semifinal round and to have had so much support during the voting round. Since I'm relatively new to the science blogging scene, I'm proud to have such a strong following. Thanks again for all your support!

Here are the 9 finalist posts (6 chosen from the 20 semifinalists, and 3 wildcard entries added by the 3 Quarks Daily editors):

1. Cosmic Variance: The Fine Structure Constant is Probably Constant
2. Dr. Carin Bondar: Sacrifice on the Serengeti
3. Empirical Zeal: Blind Fish in Dark Caves Shed Light on the Evolution of Sleep
4. Highly Allochthonous: Levees and the Illusion of Flood Control
5. Laelaps: The Pelican's Beak - Success and Evolutionary Stasis
6. Oh, For the Love of Science: Prehistoric Clues Provide Insight into Climate's Future Impact on Oceans
7. Opinionator: Morals Without God?
8. Scientific American Guest Blog: Seratonin and Sexual Preference: Is It Really That Simple?
9. Starts With A Bang: Where Is Everybody? 

There are some great posts among the finalists, but I'm rooting for the geology-themed posts by Anne Jefferson of Highly Allochthonous and by Brian Switek of Laelaps. Good luck to them!

Geology Word of the Week: B is for Brunton

Brunton "Pocket Transit" Compass. Image taken from here.

def. Brunton:
A fancy, highly-precise compass used by geologists (and surveyors, engineers, archaeologists, etc.) for navigation and also to measure the strike and dip of rock layers in the field.

Semifinalists Announced in the 3 Quarks Daily Science Blogging Contest

The semifinalists were just announced in this year's 3 Quarks Daily Science Blogging Contest. These semifinalists are the twenty blog posts (out of 87) that had the most votes in a public voting contest. There are some great posts in there, including one by Anne Jefferson of Highly Allochthonous, one by Brian Switek of Laelaps, and two by my friend (and former Middle School classmate) Christie Wilcox of Observations of a Nerd. Congratulations, everyone!

I am also happy to announce that my post Geology Word of the Week: O is for Ophiolite is one of the semifinal posts. Amazingly, my post received the second-most votes! I am relatively new to the science blogging scene, so I'm humbled and very grateful that so many people voted for me. Most of all, I'm thrilled that-- hopefully-- many more people are now learning the word "ophiolite," which is one of my favorite geology words.

There are two more rounds of judging before the winners are announced. First, the editors of 3 Quarks Daily are going to select six posts from the top twenty semi-finalists. The editors may also add up to three "wild card" posts of their own choosing. Then, the top three final winners will be chosen by Lisa Randall.

Whether or not Georneys advances into the final rounds, I'm thrilled to be a semifinalist in the 3 Quarks Daily contest. Thanks again to everyone who voted!