paleololigo

Field Work Travelog – Day 2, Rain, Camelot, and the purging of fluids

We camped last night, to save costs. We chose a Yogi Bear Jellystone Resort, which wound up being a noisy disaster. Revenge was ours, however, when thunderstorms put an end to the squealing of children at 3 am. Continue reading “Field Work Travelog – Day 2, Rain, Camelot, and the purging of fluids”

Field work travelog – Day 1, outrunning the Ohio-geists

Today is the first day of the month-long field season of 2014. Today is also the forest day of the the-day drive to get to the field area. Continue reading “Field work travelog – Day 1, outrunning the Ohio-geists”

Field Gear – What’s with All the Hammers?

Geologists use hammers. We all possess at least one of the easily recognized ‘rock hammers’ (I have four!). But we don’t all use the traditional rock hammer. And, as I showed in an earlier post, I often take more than one type of hammer to the field.

These five hammers will definitely be going to the field with me.

So, why all the hammers? What difference does it make?

Well, let’s look at the pros and cons of each type of hammer.Continue reading “Field Gear – What’s with All the Hammers?”

Field Gear – Quarrying and Collecting Fossils

Field Gear – Getting Into (and Out of) the Cave

The third week of our field season will be spent in Natural Trap Cave, which is a wonderful Pleistocene fossil locality.

The only problem is that is it a cave.

And a natural trap.Continue reading “Field Gear – Getting Into (and Out of) the Cave”

Field Gear – What I Need for Measuring Section

One of the myriad of things I wind up doing in the field is “measuring section.”

Measuring section is a means of determining the actual thickness of layered sedimentary rocks in an area. To do this, I need a couple of pieces of equipment:Continue reading “Field Gear – What I Need for Measuring Section”

Field Gear – What I Always Carry

I’m a vertebrate paleontologist, a geologist, and a geochemist. My research requires me to go out into the ‘wilds’ and study rocks and fossils in place, as well as collect rocks and fossils to bring back to the lab for further work. This process is called ‘field work.’

As I’m fixing to head out to the field in a little more than a week, I’ve started sorting through all my field gear, mostly to make sure I have everything, but also to fix what needs fixing, and get rid of any junk.

There’s a ton of equipment I might carry, depending upon my tasks for the day. Here, I’ll outline what I’ll always carry, no matter what I’m doing.

In this post, I’ll describe what I always carry. These are the basics that any student of geology or paleontology ought to purchase first.Continue reading “Field Gear – What I Always Carry”

Of Stress and Blogging

It’s July.

The summer has only just begun for my son (who starts 5th grade next fall), but I feel like my summer ‘vacation’ is already over.

Summers are hard when you’re an academic in a science that involves field work. Summer vacations – family time – are often lost to the necessity of travel to distant places that aren’t accessible at other times of the year. Then, as soon as you get back, it’s time to buckle down and prepare for the fall semester. No vacation for me.Continue reading “Of Stress and Blogging”

What We Did on Our NYC Vacation

We went to NYC last week.

We went specifically to see Devo in concert, which we succeeded in doing!

It was a fun experience for two middle-agers and a nine-year-old.

But we did so many other things, that I nearly forgot that we went to see Devo in the first place.Continue reading “What We Did on Our NYC Vacation”

Reflections on the Second Borealis Swordplay Symposium

Last year I attended the first-ever Borealis Swordplay Symposium in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. It was my first multi-day, immersive experience in the Western Martial Arts. Then, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I had about a year’s worth of sporatic classical fencing lessons already under my belt, and I knew I enjoyed it. When I left the symposium, I knew WMA was something I wanted to be a part of, but I wasn’t sure if I could do it. I wrote about the experience here.

2014’s Borealis was extended from a two-day to a three-day experience, with two days devoted to classes in the western martial arts and the third day devoted to a tournament, the Pas du Solstice Continue reading “Reflections on the Second Borealis Swordplay Symposium”