tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3319786799012800176.comments2023-10-13T03:51:03.655-04:00Magma Cum LaudeJessica Ballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13117925212295349320noreply@blogger.comBlogger734125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3319786799012800176.post-74193658658884962052011-04-13T12:24:45.599-04:002011-04-13T12:24:45.599-04:00Hi Jessica,
BlogFront.org is committed to uphold...Hi Jessica, <br /><br />BlogFront.org is committed to uphold the quality standards of blogging. We strive to maintain and promote only the most credible blogs in their respective fields. <br /><br />Spam blogs or "splogs" has been a problem for some time now and people are getting confused about which blog to trust. <br /><br />We would like to thank you for maintaining such a reputable blog. We know that it takes time, effort and commitment to keep such a blog and as such, we have added your blog as one of the top Geology Blogs.<br /><br />You can see your blog listed here: http://blogfront.org/geology<br /><br />You can also claim your BlogFront Top Blogs badge at http://blogfront.org/badges/geology<br /><br />Thank you for keeping your blog credible. Let's keep the blog revolution alive!<br /><br />Maria Blanchard<br />BlogFront.org<br />Blog RevolucionBlogFronthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10724214016305595014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3319786799012800176.post-56536617909305347782010-10-26T23:15:12.464-04:002010-10-26T23:15:12.464-04:00Man, I'm old. I saw this with a bunch of frien...Man, I'm old. I saw this with a bunch of friends in grad school. We made fun of the paleo dig in the opening scenes when they unearthed perfectly preserved bone by brushing loose sand away from it using large paintbrushes, the shotgun seismic demo that produced a perfect 3D image of a fossil instantaneously with no processing, and of course that Mr Spielberg assumed that San Jose, Costa Rica must look exactly like Tijuana.<br /><br />Oh, but the dinosaurs! This was the first great seamless pairing of live action and CGI. The raptors were pure genius, and as frightening as any movie villain in history.<br /><br />It almost made me forget how jealous we all were that 10% of the movie's budget would have funded all the paleo field work in the world for a decade!jrepkahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10624685961793402257noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3319786799012800176.post-89445341044857484562010-10-25T21:22:18.833-04:002010-10-25T21:22:18.833-04:00Again, I can't remember many of the details, b...Again, I can't remember many of the details, but I see the movie as a tongue-in-cheek satire of (and tribute to) the 50's monster movie genre.Lockwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05960762797349483760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3319786799012800176.post-78789612152549393822010-10-25T21:03:54.430-04:002010-10-25T21:03:54.430-04:00I love the way the movie doesn't take itself t...I love the way the movie doesn't take itself too seriously. (And the seismologist is female <i>and</i> a grad student!)Jessica Ballhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13117925212295349320noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3319786799012800176.post-27726701432219166472010-10-25T20:45:09.709-04:002010-10-25T20:45:09.709-04:00It's been a while since I've seen the film...It's been a while since I've seen the film, and I'm sure there's plenty I've forgotten, but one of the things I love about the film is the way it turns many sci-fi cliches upside down. The scientist-hero is female, of all things.Lockwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05960762797349483760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3319786799012800176.post-48145486016803483422010-10-17T14:58:17.071-04:002010-10-17T14:58:17.071-04:00Having gotten into geology relatively recently, I ...Having gotten into geology relatively recently, I do agree there is little knowledge of the geosciences at the university level. Most students at my school take intro geology because 1)they need a science credit and 2) they think it is easy, although perception doesn't match reality always. Supposedly Texas is supposed to add earth science as part of the new 4 years of science required to graduate from high school, but I suspect due to a lack of knowledge about geology and lack of qualified teachers most students will end up taking one of the other sciences for a second year. I did this myself in HS.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3319786799012800176.post-12687569859265067102010-10-15T10:49:59.397-04:002010-10-15T10:49:59.397-04:00I took an intro to geology class at my community c...I took an intro to geology class at my community college because I needed to understand geology terminology and history better. Wow, that was a hard class in terms of math and drawing skills needed along with the requirement to understand things in three dimensions. Geology requires a variety of skill sets found in every science topic - physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy - plus geometry, logic, statistics, the ability to wield a rock hammer... You have to be a pretty multifaceted thinker (I think) in order to do grasp earth science, whereas the other sciences are more "linear" and therefore, perhaps, easier to teach? Not that physics and chemistry are easier, of course, just, as I said, more linear.<br /><br />My brother majored in geology and then went on to teach high school science. His lesson plan subjects were biology and chemistry, but, loving geology and astronomy as he does, he slipped in a lot of that where he could. Once you have a passion for geology, I think, you want to share it. And it's everywhere - in everything.Kea Gileshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11211530812365532404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3319786799012800176.post-83363224428730690372010-10-14T17:52:35.826-04:002010-10-14T17:52:35.826-04:00I found it interesting (after wanting to be a geol...I found it interesting (after wanting to be a geologist for most of my childhood) that 1) that people thought Intro. to Physical Geology was <i>suppose</i> to be easy and 2) that is was actually hard. Obviously, all the reading I'd done in the previous 12 years helped out in GEO 101. I even took that Earth Science course in Va. because I really liked Egeology; I knew most of the non-Astronomy stuff already. When I took it (9th grade, 1990-91), it wasn't a "lab science" and one needed, iirc, at least 2 of those to graduate (3 for the Governor's Diploma). Most people didn't bother with ES.<br /><br />When I taught in Alabama, I noticed that more standards in the Earth Science (then 8th grade) curriculum were for astronomy than geology. The book was about half and half geology and astronomy. It seems they keep changing the middle school science curriculum here between integrated science and 3 distinct courses (earth, life, and physical sciences). Currently comprehensive education students at my alma mater don't have to take Geo 101! Which is criminal, imho, since they might end up teaching it without have studied since they were in 8th grade or even 4th grade.Marciepoohhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04431669840944884297noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3319786799012800176.post-8283272613428320972010-10-14T15:13:52.107-04:002010-10-14T15:13:52.107-04:00It's true, one of the best things about geolog...It's true, one of the best things about geology is going out into the field to do it - and, like in any science, there has to be some element of memorization. But I think that many useful experiments can be conducted in the lab - it just takes a little digging to find them, and some careful modifying to make sure that they're following a hypothesis-testing format. (It may be that these labs aren't showing up in intro texts, but that doesn't mean they don't exist!)<br /><br />For example, I've seen labs where sediment sorting is demonstrated with breakfast cereal, volcanoes with coffeepots, a great paleo lab proving (and disproving) "Jurassic Park" dinosaur behaviors based physiological data, etc. Getting out the play-doh to make folds was one of my favorite parts of structural geology, and impact cratering was all about dropping balls.<br /><br />Here in Buffalo, we are relatively restricted in the amount of time we can spend outdoors each semester, but we don't just switch over to memorization once we can't go outside anymore. Ease of setup doesn't really strike me as a valid excuse for shying away from geologic experiments, because they're really not that hard to do - and they all involve basic principles of chemistry, physics and biology, so it's not like they're deviating from the scientific method as it's applied in those fields.Jessica Ballhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13117925212295349320noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3319786799012800176.post-5448958690987394272010-10-14T14:16:12.537-04:002010-10-14T14:16:12.537-04:00I wonder how much of it has to do with the differe...I wonder how much of it has to do with the differences in the types of experiments one can do at a general level. I used to teach biology, chemistry, physics, and geology in a college prep high school, and it was far easier in a secondary school lab to mix chemicals, disect plants, or drop balls than to do interesting experiments in geology. <br /><br />To do interesting geology we had to go outside and look at rocks in the field, and I was fortunate enough to live in a place that was easy to do, but in many parts of the country its not as easy.<br /><br />Labs like memorizing rocks or using mineral properties were essentially memorization labs akin to memorizing the scientific names of plants in biology, something I definitely did not do. Also these kinds of labs focus on memorization, which in Bloom's' taxonomy is a lower order learning skill, often leading to the perceptioni that Geology is easy (Rocks for Jocks) <br /><br />Even in many of the college level intro to geology lab books I have looked at many of the "experiments" are interpreting photographs or answering questions about given data with very little in the way of testing a principle or hypothesis. Again the "good" labs are the ones we get out and make observations and measurments in the field something which is logistically harder to do.Philiphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04258206778601080248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3319786799012800176.post-89995882165876773562010-10-14T08:48:20.671-04:002010-10-14T08:48:20.671-04:00I probably should have gone into the state standar...I probably should have gone into the state standards bit, but I wanted to concentrate on the actual course requirements noted in that particular survey. My home state (Virginia) had some earth science requirements in their standards, but aside from a short unit in elementary school, I had almost no exposure to Earth science. (There was an optional class in high school, but it was an elective intended for people who didn't want to take AP courses.) I guess my point was that Earth science may show up in the standards, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's going to get taught in depth, like chemistry or physics.<br /><br />Glad to hear Colorado is up on their Earth sciences, though. Maybe I'll do a followup post looking at the state standards and how that translates to actual student exposure to the geosciences...Jessica Ballhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13117925212295349320noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3319786799012800176.post-57815385983923890442010-10-13T22:34:27.465-04:002010-10-13T22:34:27.465-04:00Two quick comments:
I will admit I have been out ...Two quick comments:<br /><br />I will admit I have been out of the game for a little while, but while a classroom teacher in Colorado, there was a significant portion of the state science standards was dedicated to the earth sciences. <br /><br />I agree with your idea of geology being a very inter-disciplinary science. We need the rules of chemistry, physics and biology to make geologic interpretations.Geology Happenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17009558103508195084noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3319786799012800176.post-70010010386066392502010-10-05T06:28:00.623-04:002010-10-05T06:28:00.623-04:00Hi Jessica! My Volcanology Group runs a Volcano bl...Hi Jessica! My Volcanology Group runs a Volcano blog (deliberately in Hungarian language). Following your announcement to have a Columnar Jointing week I posted selected photos from the exceptional nice columnar jointed volcanic rocks of the Carpathian-Pannonian region, eastern-central Europe. Visit: http://tuzhanyo.blogspot.com/2010/10/oszlopos-lavakozetek-kiveteles.htmlDr. Harangi Szabolcshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15486405817505812611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3319786799012800176.post-81042864072045034842010-10-03T15:57:23.320-04:002010-10-03T15:57:23.320-04:00Got you the coordinates of the St. George basalt o...Got you the coordinates of the St. George basalt on Google Earth: 37°09'29.64"N, 113°28'22.11"W.dinogamihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14959197175594052460noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3319786799012800176.post-43447513518214872452010-09-29T15:06:02.124-04:002010-09-29T15:06:02.124-04:00From Dave Tucker at Northwest Geology Field Trips:...From Dave Tucker at Northwest Geology Field Trips: <br /><br />Dear Tuff Cookie and friends of columnar jointing,<br /><br />I took Jessica’s comment about someone in Washington declaraing ‘Columnar Jointing Week’ literally and decided it would be quicker and easier to post pics of columns in Washington State rather than wait ‘for someone in Washington’ to declare National Columnar Jointing Week.<br /><br />The post and pictures can be found at http://nwgeology.wordpress.com/2010/09/29/columnar-jointing-in-washington/Jessica Ballhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13117925212295349320noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3319786799012800176.post-66668582368198302272010-09-29T11:24:43.440-04:002010-09-29T11:24:43.440-04:00(Wish I could figure out where, but Google Earth i...<b><i>(Wish I could figure out where, but Google Earth isn't helping today. Has anyone seen this abandoned water tank?)</i></b><br /><br />This picture is of a scene just north of St. George -- people drive right by it on I-15 all the time (between exits 13 and 16 from I-15), but only we select few know how cool it <i>really</i> is....dinogamihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14959197175594052460noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3319786799012800176.post-44171280243256517882010-09-29T10:54:31.743-04:002010-09-29T10:54:31.743-04:00I really like the picture of the jointed trachyte....I really like the picture of the jointed trachyte. Is that the name for such a radial cooling pattern (if that makes sense)? There's an outcrop in the Columbia River Gorge that exhibits the same pattern. I never knew what it was called though.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3319786799012800176.post-88177868376710941812010-09-28T12:49:26.971-04:002010-09-28T12:49:26.971-04:00Big move coming up, but can't post details yet...Big move coming up, but can't post details yet. Suffice it to say that I hate dealing with Blogger html messiness and I'm moving to a Wordpress-based platform...Jessica Ballhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13117925212295349320noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3319786799012800176.post-91000051142574484452010-09-28T12:47:55.459-04:002010-09-28T12:47:55.459-04:00Whhhaaaa?Whhhaaaa?Erikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15027387231045432722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3319786799012800176.post-88021911587411581332010-09-27T12:52:06.465-04:002010-09-27T12:52:06.465-04:00I think that quote comes from Albert Einstein...I think that quote comes from Albert Einstein...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3319786799012800176.post-65271490883620366152010-09-27T11:11:33.745-04:002010-09-27T11:11:33.745-04:00I love this post, in particular the title. Thank y...I love this post, in particular the title. Thank you. <br />DeniseUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07560826867121681648noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3319786799012800176.post-36164203129324263562010-09-21T19:39:49.948-04:002010-09-21T19:39:49.948-04:00the debris avalanche deposit
und the lahar top ten...the debris avalanche deposit<br />und the lahar top tenBanda in barbarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09573682791396956162noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3319786799012800176.post-5673618405048593052010-09-17T18:23:33.984-04:002010-09-17T18:23:33.984-04:00Nice Blog. The portuguese Blog Geopedrados - http:...Nice Blog. The portuguese Blog Geopedrados - http://geopedrados.blogspot.com/ - has linked your Blog...Adelaide Martinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15867061490651106074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3319786799012800176.post-39847475813509756302010-09-15T08:20:53.792-04:002010-09-15T08:20:53.792-04:00This is really some great advice. When I TA'd,...This is really some great advice. When I TA'd, I had to focus quite a bit of time and effort to the class I taught the first year becuase it was so foreign to me (teaching was foreign, not the subject). The second year was easier. Still, having this list for perspective back then would have been helpful!<br /><br />I love those lists at the top with the little checkboxes. Maybe I'll have to start doing that. ;)Silver Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03131032620978696727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3319786799012800176.post-85986642258477770352010-09-13T06:28:11.380-04:002010-09-13T06:28:11.380-04:00Very cool. If you find any eight-month-old zircon...Very cool. If you find any eight-month-old zircons, let me know.C W Mageehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09706100504739548720noreply@blogger.com