I went to Paris for a geomorphology conference and all I looked at was this giant mirrored structure...

So I got to present at the 8th annual IAG (International Association of Geomorphologists) conference in Paris, which was a pretty awesome conference in terms of learning cool geomorphology stuff - but, as a tourist, I pretty much sucked. You would barely even know that I was IN Paris. Oh well, the "Geode" was super cool looking and it was right at the Cite des Sciences, which is where the conference was.

La Geode: view from Cite des Sciences

La Geode: late afternoon

  

La Geode: sunrise, as seen from the apartment

 

La Geode: sunset, as seen from the apartment

  

La Geode: fooling around with mirrors like a funhouse

The above is only a very small fraction of the photos I took of the Geode. I think I have 200 photos from Paris and 190 of them are Geode-related. Anyway, below is the majority of the other 10 photos.

  

Hilarious diorama in the window of an apartment I walked by daily on my way to the Cite des Sciences

 

Ultra creepy window... "decoration"? of a hair salon... with dude playing piano inside (as inexplicable as the dolls...)

 

Oh look! It's the Seine!

Sweet lion sculpture and some sort of famous structure in the background

I spent almost my entire time in the Louvre within the confines of the basement Egypt exhibit. Because it was AMAZING. Look at the freaking detail in those hieroglyphics!!! Look at the face! The feathers! I was completely blown away.

And then I saw the mummies. The Egyptians mummified EVERYTHING. Scarab beetles. Ibises. Cats, dogs, crocodiles, small rodents. They even had sarcophagi. I think I looked at mummies for an hour, and then an announcement went over the PA system that they were closing in 15 minutes so I dashed off to find the Mona Lisa...

...but I got distracted by Roman mosaics, which were spectacular as well.

I did take a moment to look up at the Eiffel Tower as well. It's definitely a neat structure, it's no Geode... but it's pretty neat.

Two derbies

Our team has a connection with the demolition derby show in Ogden, so some of us went down to exchange volunteer time (timing between car hits) for roller derby promotion. Timing cars was actually kinda fun... must remember ear plugs next time!!!

 

Check out the car that came down from British Columbia! I don't understand the penguin... but whatever...

 

Pretty setting for an ugly event.

  

This guy from Idaho liked our logo so much he painted it on his truck.

 This guy was quite the dancer across the way in the audience... I think his "vest" is made out of balloons???

And then, this weekend my old roller derby team made the drive from Bakersfield to come play my new roller derby team. It was a blast, and a lovely reunion and a good bout and we won!

Visit from Sister

Lulu came out to visit, and building on the theme of weird California, I immediately took her out to see the "Metaphor: Tree of Utah" that Utah is not famous for.

Metaphor.

Then we drove a little further along to the Bonneville Speedway.

It was a lake, thus we could set no land speed records.

Since it's winter, we went cross country skiing a couple of times. The first of these times it was too warm to ski... so instead I accumulated huge wads of snow above and below my skis and plodded along awkwardly on ski-stilts.

 

Lulu did enjoy that we got to ski into Idaho though.

Conveniently there was a derby scrimmage on this weekend as well, so some watching of derby got to happen for Lulu as well. Here Roll X and I are doing something useful AND the photo isn't blurry. Success!

Antarctic Adventures - King George Island & Hope Bay

King George Island was a "where can we land for just a little bit to please please please get a break from being on this ship" stop.

Day 14:
Stormy swells, sea ice and rain
Caused us to detour again
The Brazilian base
Was a haunted place
Where whale bones, among wreckage, were lain

Whale vertebrae make good chairs

The following day we set foot on the Antarctic Peninsula at Esperanza (Hope Bay), which is a base that the Argentines operate year round in an attempt to "colonize" Antarctica. They get married and have babies there. Yes, they do.

Day 15:
At Esperanza we arrived
To Adelies in 4-wheel drive
A hike near Mt. Flora
On the peninsula
Then a passage, through pack ice, survived

Icebergs are neat

Jellyfish? What? Why? How?

Really cool erratic with a fault perpendicular to bedding

Totally freaking awesome plant fossils that I didn't take for fear of Argentinian jail

 

Adelie penguins refusing to give me a hug

 Adelie penguins in "4-wheel drive"

 

A rainbow in a cloud

Things you don't expect to read in a paper...

So I'm casually reading this paper that discusses the prototype and implementation of a system of "SpaceTags", which are this sort of set of digital objects, time and space limited, overlaid onto a real-world place. Difficult to explain, sorry. You can read it yourself if you wish, it's not long (reference below). Anyway, there I am, casually reading, when I see this:

I read it a few more times... yup, definitely suggesting that this application can be used to solicit sex from strangers. WTF?


Then later I saw this figure, which is definitely not the most illustrative figure I've ever seen, but moreso, they are using a spastic raptor and a lion to lend symbology to these SpaceTags. WEIRD.



Tarumi, H., Morishita, K., Ito, Y., & Kambayashi, Y. (2000). Communication through virtual active objects overlaid onto the real world. Paper presented at the International Conference on Virtual Environments

voltage + chocolate... why?

Included in my heavy course-load this semester is a Geo-Mechanics class. Our professor brought in the book Rheological Methods in Food Process Engineering for examples of material properties and their reactions under different stress regimes. For me, things like the data table outlining various materials (Newtonian, shear-thinning, etc.) and their properties and property values was hilarious because it also listed example foods, like "fish paste". Imagining the rheological behavior of fish paste under shear stress makes Geo-Mechanics highly entertaining. I downloaded the book and began perusing for other gems. This is my favourite so far...

Why do you think one needs to zap chocolate with various voltages? Why?

Niter Ice "Caves"

This weekend I went on a geology field trip to the Niter Ice Caves, which is a really odd name for this (singular) lava tube. There was, however, ice in it. In the form of super cool looking ice stalagmites! They were way too much fun, I kinda wish I could have a "garden" like this of my own to wander though. Talk about a wonderland.



Of course, some idiots have to ruin every geological wonder out there, and just about every wall in the entire 1/2 mile long lava tube was covered in stupid graffiti.


On the drive after the lava tube we spotted this pipe that was leaking off the side of the road. This produced more ice wonders of a completely different, and equally delightful, nature. I suppose something will have to be done about this pipe, but meanwhile it is gorgeous!

Field Vehicle?

Last Friday my grad geomorphology class went out on a field mapping excursion -- new to me:

• geomorphology
• mapping geological deposits younger than the preCambrian (this was Quaternary)
• mapping units (that are covered in grass) from afar
• antidunes

There are two incredibly awesome things in this picture; I challenge you to identify them.

This is Cutler Narrows, where we went mapping. We were on that darker pointier hill, mapping that lower slumpier unit across the Narrows.

My geomorphology posts will become more coherent once I learn more stuff about geomorphology... probably...

M is for...

M is for marriage... as in the marriage of Dawn and Ramon

photo courtesy of Kilometres, who had a much better vantage point than I

yum!

M is for "Mrs Kermit" or whatever the heck that is hanging off the back of the truck flashing us as we drive home from the wedding


M is for mountains... as in the Sierra Nevada mountains at their northernmost extent, almost at the boundary with the Klamath mountains, where I escape every July to breathe the clean air and take photos of flowers that I can never remember the name of.

This is Skye running through the shot of paintbrushes and some kind of flower that might be trillium, but I can't remember.

This is Loki looking mostly confused and a little bit terrified.

This is Kiki looking condescendingly at Loki, and also basking in the sun.

These are obviously dragonflies, possibly mating, and also, my favourite part of this photo, is the translucent thing clinging onto the reed below the dragonflies. Qu'est-ce que c'est?