Catching up: summer school

I taught Historical Geology as a summer class that was part of USU's pilot summer science course program. I had a tiny but mighty class - so despite the chaotic hard work of the compressed summer schedule, it was super fun. My whole class participated in a giant group project that was to make a Prezi of the Geology of North America. It is here.


Also, one of my students (with help from her toddler on one page) produced this impressive work!

Catching up: annual 4th of July cabin trip

This year there was a smallish Crocuta crowd for the 4th, likely because it fell on a weekday, but we more than made up for it by finding nearly daily reasons to create (and gorge on) feasts. One of these was to employ as many sun ovens as we could rally and fill them with delicious things that made our mouths water all afternoon as they cooked away on the deck...

5 sun ovens passively at work preparing an enormous feast

Carol's divinely good giant cookie bar of deliciousness

My best solar oven meatloaf yet

My cheesy potato & onion casserole

The end of the semester is nigh - scratch that - over!

When I originally drafted this post, it was still the semester... now that it's been over for a couple of weeks and I'm going to start teaching a summer course in another couple of weeks, I thought I'd better post these Grand Canyon photos sooner rather than later!!!


By sheer luck I was invited onto a private trip down Grand Canyon, there was a spot, and I snagged it. It was an excellent opportunity for me to take photos of the Canyon for my Android mobile game on Geologic Time that I built this semester. Yes, you did read that correctly. Soon I will figure out how to make it available for you, should you want it, and should you have an Android device to play it on. iOS is a long way off. Take your issues up with Apple.

So anyway, there I was minding my own business when suddenly I was surrounded by the most amazing opportunity that I didn't have the time or money for but absolutely couldn't possibly turn down. The following are a few of my fave photos from the trip.

 

There was a random petting zoo at a gas station in Scipio, UT. It had an ostrich.

 

It turned out that we were only taking one raft down the canyon, the rest of the boats were... DORIES!!! It was pretty epic. I got to row a dory for a little while, that was also pretty epic. Hi! I'm rowing a hand-built dory down Grand Canyon right now! Yup, that's right.

There was no point at which the views were tiresome.

This was the toilet system - also known as the "groover"...

We hiked up North Canyon, a slot canyon, which had outstanding rock formation walls. Hooray for lithified dunes having been carved by running water!

I did mention earlier that we never tired of the views...

...didn't I?

Mississippian-aged straight-shelled nautiloid fossils (in Nautiloid Canyon)

My "office" for a week.

I think I might have said something about the views before.

We hiked up to the Anasazi granaries above Nankoweap

 

They were high up there. Those Anasazi had some mad skills.

 

Finally, as is customary for whenever I am at Grand Canyon, it snowed. I have never been there in winter, and I have never been there when it didn't snow...

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?

faults

We went on a local field trip to check out the East Cache Fault, it's right at the mountain front, but when you're on it (on the golf course) it's pretty subtle. I took the liberty of labeling it clearly.


I also tried to capture it in panorama looking north from south of the golf course. Mostly I took the photos to try out a function in photoshop that I had just learned about: photomerge. If you've not discovered it, it's under "file" and "automate" and "photomerge". Then you just select your photos and photoshop totally figures out how to connect them for you, seamlessly. Pretty damn cool.

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!

shoplifting dog

Sometime before the fish incident, there was a bread incident, that might have gone something like this...

dog again

After the last cartoon, I was asked to continue and make a Quincy's Adventures series. Several weeks ago she was returned to our door by the husband of one of my geology PhD mates. What actually happened between escape and return by good samaritan remains a mystery, however the reek she brought back with her made me imagine this scenario (as doubtful as it may be in Logan, Utah in January...)

dog...

Below is a poorly (and hurriedly, and while laughing) drawn cartoon of what I came home to yesterday after school...

Goodbye 2011

In a last ditch effort to shove one backpacking expedition into the year 2011, I insisted on carrying my gear in to the cabin on skis despite the availability of a friend with a snowmobile and cargo sled. 4 of us went in to the mountains to have a peaceful and rustic New Years eve at "Doc Daniel's" cabin, built for USU forestry studies back in the 50's, and generally not used to its charming potential. We had gorgeous sun, and mostly nice snow (a bit of nasty ice in places), a lovely wood stove fire, and lots of tasty treats. It's really nice to shrug off the last remnants of my BC years and know that not one single part of 2012 will involve dealing with those particular administrators. Even though that's all part of the Gregorian calendar we currently abide by, it's still feels like a bit of closure somehow...

back in a winter climate

Ahhh, winter. It's been a long 6 years that I've lived without it and only gone to "visit the snow". So, with one housemate away (leaving behind Q, the dog), one exam and one final report left for the semester - a plan of "exhaust the dog so that majorly productive studying happens" was concocted.

A snowy night hike followed by a sunny x country ski the next day occurred and all participants had a great time, however the dog exhaustion only seemed to last the one evening/night. As I type this post (not studying) she is whimpering for "more skiing! more snowshoeing! more! yay!" which is just not going to happen today.

mountains in my backyard

behaving herself to pose for a photo... moments before tearing off after a deer or something

the snow here is ridiculously deep and dry powder, I hardly know what to do with it... but I am pretty sure that my snowshoes will be of inadequate size to contend, and I will sink like a stone when I use them...

"yay! I'm a dog! I'm bounding through snow nearly as deep as I am tall! wheeee!"

...And then, a couple of days later, we tried a real challenge: 4 dogs, 3 girls, 2 skis (each), and 1 Honda Element. We skied into Idaho- it was fantastic!

"treats!"