Think Snow!!!!

Well, it's almost mid-December and I have not personally seen a single snowflake. I think perhaps the snow gods were miffed because the leaves stayed on the trees so long this year due to the draught. Just like Calvin & Hobbes, we must appease them. So...do your part. Burn some leaves or do a snow dance. Go dismantle a snow plow or poor cement into a salt truck's dispenser! Think snow!!!I find it odd that Calvin's parents sort of look like my parents...hmmmmm.

Colorado Pictures (1998, 2000)

These are some of the pictures I had from Colorado when Jeff, Adam and I went out there. I put them to The Mountains Win Again & Escaping by Blues Traveler. They have been my favorite band since I first heard them while living in Colorado. It was one of the best experiences of my life and I guess I associate them with the Rockies. One of my friends at the YMCA of the Rockies (where I worked) was a big fan. I had heard of them, but never listened to them. I saw them on SNL while out there (we only received 2 stations) and a week later we went to see them in Denver at the Paramount Theater. We bought standing room tickets for $20 right in front of the stage. This is when John Popper was ginormous and all the original band members were still alive. They are still great in my opinion and John Popper's solo stuff is pretty swanky.

A Loss of Curiosity

For the past month, as I have written previously, I have been reading Cosmos by Carl Sagan. It has a few concepts it brings forth causing me to do further reading elsewhere before I can continue on with the book. This is why I have only read 180 pages in a month. Keep in mind, this book was published in 1980, so many things have come to pass in the world of science since Sagan finished this book. It makes it that much more interesting to read his insight. I came across one paragraph I found particularly interesting. He writes about how great it would be to send a roving vehicle to Mars to carry out advanced experiments in imaging, chemistry & biology. "Prototypes of such rovers are under development by NASA." writes Sagan. He goes on to write:

"Public interest in such a mission would be sizable. Every day a new set of vistas would arrive on our home television screens...[a] billion people could participate in the exploration of another world."

Sagan, C., Cosmos. Chapter 5: Blues for a Red Planet. p. 108.

The two rovers he spoke of, Spirit & Opportunity, have been on the Mars surface for nearly 3 years now. When they first landed, there was some hype. These two little rovers have out performed and lasted longer than anyone thought possible. They are still going to this day. But where is the hype now. We don't see the pictures on TV every night or hear stories on the rovers. This is just an example. It seems very few people take an interest in new things or even attempt to ask questions, much less seek the answer ( during a discussion, I actually had somebody I work with ask me if I thought there were other suns in the Universe).

Anyway, I hope to finish the book in the next week. I will then start "Don't Know Much About History: Everything You Should Have Learned in School, but Didn't" or something like that.

Cool Picture

I came across this picture a few days ago. It is now being used as my desktop wallpaper. It is a picture taken from one of the Mars rovers of Earth. It just makes you feel so small and insignificant. Wait...we are small and insignificant. It is weird to imagine that every person who has ever lived; every war ever waged, all of man's accomplishments and dastardly acts of horror; disease; the hustle and bustle of industrialization; mountains; vast oceans; plunging canyons; every species of plant and animal; and all of our fears and worries take place in that little dot. This is just one little dot in billions and billions of dots (maybe more). Some people take comfort in religion and faith...I take comfort in knowing we are nothing special and just a freckle on the gigantic eternal ass of the cosmos (I bet Sagan wishes he had thought of that line!).

(The speck in the upper right hand corner is just a blown up image of Earth, though it's hard to tell in this format).

Ghost?

I took this picture this afternoon at work. It looks like we have a ghosty!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!!!

Ghost Hunters at Waverly Hills

The show Ghost Hunters on the Sci-Fi Channel will be broadcasting live from Waverly Hills Sanitorium Halloween night. They are supposed to go live at 9 PM and be on until 3 AM. There will be numerous reruns on throughout the afternoon leading up to the live broadcast. They have caught some creepy footage in the past and it will be neat to see it live.

Pumpkin Picking, Pumpkin Guts & Jack O-Lantern

We have finally carved the pumpkin. It now has a personality. It turned out fairly well, even though my carving skills are less than surgeonish. We are not sure if our apartment allows lit Jack -O-Lanters, but we are being very cautious. Here are some pictures of the selection process, the slaying and the final result.

Pumpkin Carving

I will attempt to carve our pumpkin tonight. I will post pictures of the pumpkin selection process, close-ups of the pumpkin before his demise, and finally the Jack-O-Lantern when it is finished. I don't really have the best tools, but I can make do. I have a feeling my exacto knife will come in handy. I have also been thinking of the book, "The Pumpkin Smasher" we had when we were kids. I decided to research it online to see if any copies are available. It is out of print, but a few copies were on Amazon for $78. Too rich for my blood, but I would like to continue searching. I remember the story was perfect for kids at Halloween. Not too scary, not too silly. It was a great little mystery with perfect illustrations.

Cousin David, The Keg of Nails Thief

For any of you who do not watch football highlights (or give a damn about UofL football), cousin David was shown on ESPNU after the Louisville/Cincinnati game running with the "Keg of Nails" after UofL beat Cincinnati in the annual grudge match. The camera was on him for a good 7-10 seconds. It happens at about the 1:10 mark of the video.
http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3062719&categoryId=2564308&n8pe6c=2

UK v. Florida

I have scored a cheap ticket to the UK/Florida game this weekend. UK has done so well this year without me going, I am tempting fate by actually attending. If they lose, I will blame myself. For any true Kentucky fans, you know my predicament. They did beat a poor Georgia team last year while I was there, but it was still a big win. The game is at 3:30 on CBS, but I'll be in the upper deck away from the hubbub. I have never been to a Kentucky/Florida game (but considering we have not beat them in 17 years, it's probably a good thing), but I figured I couldn't pass up the opportunity. Maybe I'm just the luck they need.

Jeptha Knob

Sunday afternoon I took a little drive to Shelby County, just east of Shelbyville, to a place called Jeptha Knob. I noticed it on a topographical map of Kentucky, a round area sticking out like a sore thumb (or as Willow from Buffy would say "Wow, that thumb is sore!"). I investigated the area further and found out it is believed by many earth scientists (but not confirmed) to be an astrobleme, or a crater from an asteroid impact. The area has millions of years of erosion, so it looks to be no more than a group of hills to the average motorist passing by. Knowing more about it, however, one can definitely see it being an old impact crater. The valley below where all the farms and houses are are in the crater itself & the knobs are actually the deformed and metamorphosed rock layers pushed up and away from the crater. Not only have the knobs eroded greatly over millions of years, but the thick forested hill side, lush vegetation & thick soil deposit hides any outcroppings. I drove around the knobs a few times trying to find easy access points to explore. However, to our disappointment, it seems all the surrounding land is private and NO TRESPASSING signs were posted everywhere. We did drive up Jeptha Knob Rd. to a locked gate blocking the road. We walked up the road a little further and saw a couple of deer walking up on the hillside above us through the trees. Other than that, we did not see much, but we can always say we stood atop an astrobleme (supposedly).

Official Rock, Gem & Mineral of Kentucky...oops!

I found this funny, but typical. Past state representatives took it upon themselves to name the official rock, gem & mineral of Kentucky. Next time, ask.

• The official rock of Kentucky is the Kentucky Agate. Very beautiful, but technically not a rock. It is a type of quartz, so technically it is a mineral.
• The official gem of Kentucky is the pearl. Freshwater pearls are often found in Kentucky, but since most gems are considered minerals (and minerals cannot be made biologically), pearls are not really gems.
• And last, but not least, the official mineral of Kentucky...coal. Sure, it makes sense. But coal is not a mineral. It is a fossil fuel, aka, biologically made. Strike 3!

I love our government.

Montana Road Signs

Whenever I drive through a road cut, I have the bad habit of rubber necking around at the surrounding exposed rocks (even if I have seen it a million times). It gets really bad when I am driving in a place with different geological formations than I am used to (just ask Beth). While it is not the safest thing in the world, I have always wanted people to be aware of their surrounding geology, but you can't very well have a conversation with surrounding motorists when you are hurling at 70 mph. Here is an article about a new idea in Montana. They put up road signs in an effort to teach people about the surrounding geology. I'm still not convinced this is safe, but it is a neat concept.

Cephalopod v. Calamite

While working for the USGS a few years ago, I found this fossil in Goose Creek out U.S. 42 near Prospect, KY. I am not positive what it is, but my best conclusion is that it is a Calamite stalk. It is about the right size for a younger trunk (4-6 cm across) and is segmented just like the description says. It is also very common in the Devonian Limestone which borders the Cincinnati arch. Long, segmented tubes could also be the shells of cephalopods, however, this is more plant like. It does have rounded ends like a cephalopod, but that may just be from the erosion of the creek. If anyone is a fossil junkie and can let me know, I'd appreciate it.

Meteorite Hunting

I have had the urge for a long time to go meteorite hunting. Now that the weather is cool, I have been itching to go. I don't have a metal detector and don't know much at all about them. I am going to a place off Browsboro Road today call Burk Metal Detector Sales to get some ideas and ask for advice. I think it would be very relaxing, yet exciting to go out in the solitude of a open field and hunt for hidden treasures. While meteorites would be my #1 goal, coins and other interesting artifacts would also be exciting. I imagine it would probably be more searching than finding, but it sounds excellent. If anyone has any expertise or knows anyone who may have access to or is selling a metal detector, let me know. I am also looking for interested partners in this endeavor. I know Mark has expressed interest in the past.

(Sigh!) Part 2

Here is an interesting and disturbing story I saw on the James Randi website (Truth is Actionable)linked on Mark's blog. In the words of Maggie Simpson, "this is indeed a disturbing universe."

Limestone (A Rockhound Haiku)

Unimpressive, bland, caked with dirt

fallen and fractured

washing the slope in cold grayness

Harry Potter, Cosmos & Tom Robbins

I finally finished the last book in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, a couple of weeks ago. I was very pleased with the whole sha-bang. It was weird reading it because I have enjoyed these books for several years now and knowing it was going to end was a little depressing. I didn't read it as fast as the others because I was trying to savor it, like the last few sips of soda when you still have way too much popcorn. My suspicions ended up being correct for the most part and I am happy with the way it ended. I guess I can look forward to reading them again in a few years. It just sucks knowing the first experience of Rowling taking you through Hogwarts is a one time deal, never to be replicated.

I am currently reading Cosmos, by Carl Sagan. I haven't gotten too far, but I like it so far. The print is really small and reading it at night usually causes me to fall asleep a little more quickly.

Brother Kevin is going to lend me a few Tom Robbins books. I am pretty sure I will like them...I have pretty much liked everything he has sent my way so far. I loved Christopher Moore's Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal. But I did not care a whole lot for Moore's other books I have read so far (Fluke, or I know Why the Winged Whale Sings & Practical Demon Keeping). They were mildly entertaining, but nothing special.

Weird

I just realized I also refer to the Philippines in my profile. Weird!

Filipino Dreamo

I had a very strange dream last night. As usual, the seamless chronology of events that took place in the dream have become choppy and discombobulated as the day has gone on. Here is what I remember to the best of my hazy ability:

I was with an United States Army regiment somewhere in the Philippines fighting what I can only assume is the Filipino Army. We were hunkered down in a bunker (just a big hole with dirt piled up on one side of it) exchanging rifle fire with unknown combatants. The funny thing is, I never felt nervous. Every now and then, someone would heave a grenade and it would explode causing unknown damage. After awhile of exchanging fire, the battle began to die down and we received word we could get out of our bunker. I remember walking up out of the bunker through some tall brush and trees to the edge of a dirt/gravel road. Across the road, about 50 yards away, was a group of Filipino soldiers all sitting around in a circle under a low hanging tree. I stood there and watched them for a few minutes clutching a grenade in my hand. I knew I could take them out if I wanted to. However, my commanding officer walked up beside me and looked back and forth from the group of soldiers to the grenade in my hand. After a moments thought, he waved his hand at them and said"forget it," so we walked up the road.
After a few minutes of walking up the road (I was now by myself...not sure where everyone else went), I came across this large group of prisoners, mostly Filipino and many children, being guarded by a thin Filipino lady in a large brimmed hat, loose robe-like clothing and sandals. She carried a long rifle in her hands, but she wore a big smile. She looked at me and motioned for me to fall in line with everyone else. I didn't feel threatened. One little Filipino kid in a baseball hat was at the back of the line as was running around, picking up sticks and rocks, basically just being a kid. The lady with the rifle called to him in Filipino, apparently telling him to get back in line and stop fooling around. She didn't yell...it was more like a babysitter. Once the kid got back in line, I got in line behind him, and down the road we walked.

That is all I remember.