Donors Choose: Help Make Kids Adorers of the Good Science of Rock-Breaking

I want you all to take especial note of the Donors Choose widget in the sidebar. We have the opportunity to make a difference in kids’ lives, right here, right now. We can place science in their hands. As you may have gathered from my previous post, this is something I passionately believe must be done.

I’ve chosen out four projects having to do with geology. I want to get those rocks into those kids’ classrooms. I don’t think there’s any better way to give them an early adoration for the sciences than giving them a chance to do science for themselves. None of these projects need much money, but those few dollars could mean the difference between kids who fall in love with science early and never learning how much there is to love.

Project 1: Women and Hands-on Science.

This is a high-poverty, all-girls school in New York City that needs funds for science supplies, including a mineral kit and geology videos. For those of us who have wanted to see more women in STEM, I think this is an excellent place to start. Let’s get those girls some equipment! Amount needed as of this writing: $230.

Project 2: Science Rocks!

This is a moderate-poverty class in Gig Harbor, WA, whose budget suffered from cuts. They’re needing rock samples and hydrochloric acid, safety equipment, and a few other things in order to test chemical and physical weathering. I would’ve killed for a chance to bust out the hydrochloric acid as a kid! Let’s not make them go that far. Amount needed as of this writing: $469.

Project 3: Geology Rocks!

This high-poverty charter school in Baltimore, MD is looking for sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rock samples. Ms. Blake is looking to inspire a future geologist. Let’s make sure she can do just that. Amount needed as of this writing: $115.

Project #4: Rock Out: Learning About Rocks, Minerals and Geology.

This moderate-poverty class in Renton, WA, is looking for kits and literature for geology. And this is a teacher who’s not afraid to go above-and-beyond the grade level guidelines. This tells me she’s the kind of teacher who will cheer her students on rather than rein them in. She wants to inspire the next generation of seismographers, geologists, and gemologists. Let’s do this thing. Amount needed as of this writing: $291.

These amounts are paltry. We can get them there, people.

Every blogger on Freethought Blogs is participating. All of the projects they’ve chosen are worthy of support. So if nothing here catches your fancy, go peruse theirs. Make a difference in a child’s life. Give them science. Because, my darlings, when you do that, you are giving us all a future.

Oh, and incidentally, I want to show the Scientific American folks that Freethought Bloggers has a readership that can kick their readerships’ arses. I have faith in you, my darlings!

Donors Choose: Help Make Kids Adorers of the Good Science of Rock-Breaking
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ETEV Nominated for Open Lab!

Sorting through my Twitter feed this morning, I came across this rather remarkable tweet from my own beloved Chris Rowan, which I had to read a few times before fully absorbing:

What the schist?!

Open Lab? Srsly?!

And in such illustrious company, too! Our own Stephanie Zvan is nominated. So is our dear Digital Cuttlefish! PZ’s in the running. And Kylie Sturgess. Freethought Blogs is definitely well-represented!

In geo, I’m alongside Brian Romans, Evelyn Mervine, Chris Rowan and Anne Jefferson, David Bressan, Silver Fox, Jessica Ball, Matt Kuchta

And if you look at the totality of that list, you will understand why I feel rather like a miniature pony entered in the Kentucky Derby. It’s not a bad feeling. It’s a wonderful feeling. I’m not fussed about the finish line: I’m just happy to be running at all. And this post, in particular, is one I’d like more people to see, because it’s for the teachers, and the scientists, working their hearts out, who deserve to be recognized for making this world a wiser and more wonderful place. It’s about love of learning. It’s about adoring science, and creating more people with passion for this enchanting earth of ours. It was written for Anne Jefferson, who’s taking us back to school for this month’s Accretionary Wedge, and for all of those geologists who adopted me and are teaching me this good science of rock-breaking.

I’ve not yet migrated the archives, so I’ll place the post in question below the fold for those who would like to peruse.

And Chris? Muchas gracias, mi amigo. More than I’ll ever be able to express.

Continue reading “ETEV Nominated for Open Lab!”

ETEV Nominated for Open Lab!

Los Links 9/30

Regulars can skip this bit and get on with the links – as usual, I’ve loaded ye down with far too much awesome stuff.

Right, then, my dear new patrons of the cantina: Welcome to Los Links! The more detail-oriented among you might be howling about the date, but I assure you it’s correct. Los Links is a collection of bloggage and newsage that caught my eye from the past week. I stop collecting on Friday, and spend my weekend in frantic assembly, then present you my findings every Monday.

I wish I could provide a capsule description of each link, but that turned out to make this a monstrous task. I’ll happily go back to ye olden days when I could include a clever sentence or so for each and every link if some rich bugger in the audience would be so kind as to set me up with a trust fund. If I could quit my day job, I’d have plenty of time for the several books I’m writing, the blog, research for the blog, research for the books, the cat, geological outings, Doctor Who, Twitter, my poor neglected friends, and a sweet capsule sentence with each link. Rich buggers wishing to bequeath me some fundage can apply in the comments. You don’t have to be filthy rich, merely fabulously rich. My needs are modest.

Even without a wealthy patron, I do have time to break links up into useful categories, so if you’ve a particular area of interest, you should be able to find what you’re looking for relatively quickly. Hot topics that swept the intertoobz but probably won’t become enduring categories are at the top. Items I particularly want to impress upon you are in bold, but that’s not to say you should read only those. If it’s here, whether it’s bold or not, it’s something worth reading.

And before you go telling me how awesomely good I am at finding interesting stuff, please note: it’s all down to the folks I follow on Twitter. Thanks properly belong to them.

Right. Let’s get on with Los Links, then, shall we?

Continue reading “Los Links 9/30”

Los Links 9/30

At the Beginning of the Universe…

there was geology.

Oh, I know, some folks will tell you it was physics. Yes, there was that, too. And there might be a few who argue for chemistry, and we’ll grant them chemistry. Of course those things were there. Can’t have a universe without them. Not a universe like ours, anyway.

But geology was hiding within those things. As stars came together, as they began forging elements, as those elements exploded out into the universe and gravity gathered them together again, geology, like life, looked at all that lovely physics and chemistry and said, “Yum! I can do something interesting with that.” And oh, it did.

People think of geology as an earth science, and yes, earth’s where humans figured it out. Right there in the name, geo, planet earth. But other planets have rocks. And the elements that formed the earth were, like the elements that form us, born in the stars. Biology will still be biology when it’s applied to aliens. Geology is still geology when applied to other worlds, and we’ve beaten life twice now: there were rocks before critters, and we’ve gotten our hands on space rocks before space critters. So there.

So that post I linked to up above, that’s a post I want you to go read. Because my friend Ryan at Glacial Till, who is doing absolutely scrumptious things with meteorites, he’s teaching you geology from the beginning. Right from the beginning of time. And there’s another lesson within, one he didn’t state explicitly but is there, like geology at the beginning of time, hiding in plain sight all along. And the lesson is this:

You don’t have to give up the stars to study the earth.

You wanna be a geologist but study outer space? You can do that. Absolutely, you can. What are the inner planets called? Rocky planets, thankyouverymuch. What are asteroids? Rocks. Big ol’ space rocks. Moon’s got rocks. There’s rocks everywhere, all over solar systems, and sometimes, those rocks land on us. Sometimes, we land on them.

So yes, you can have your geology and whatever else you like. You can have your geology, and your astronomy, and your physics, and your chemistry, and your biology, too. You can have it all. Why do you think I love geology so very, very much? Because it’s got everything.

So get over to Ryan’s place. Let him show you where geology began, and where it will take you next.

Ryan's First Meteorite: "NWA 2965- Exposed interior of the meteorite. Also shown is a polished sample from a different portion of NWA 2965." Filched with permission of author.

 

At the Beginning of the Universe…

RCPM for Beginners

Right. So I’m meant to be doing a crap-ton of work tonight, but to hell with that for the moment. I’ve got a bottle of Roger Clyne’s own Mexican Moonshine that’s been sadly neglected, and some of you haven’t experienced the Peacemakers. This is not to be borne. So let’s have some official cantina videos, then, shall we?

This is one of their signature songs, Jack vs. José. I wish I could find a better copy, but it gets the point across and includes all of the relevant bits:

Note the traditions: taking tequila shots from the audience and borrowing a straw hat. That’s my Peacemakers. And when you see it live, it is magic. Simply that. For a taste of what it’s like and a glimpse of my Peacemakers tattoo, see here.

This next video was posted by Sithrazer, and is very much my sort o’ thing. Most of my music is actually metal from Nordic lands. This one has the special distinction of being a Finnish metal song that involves Mexico and tequila. I had no idea such a thing existed, and I am loving it:

Delicious! And Suzanne got us a bottle of Resposado, so we are set. This is why I loves me my Suzanne, amigos. She is just that awesome. Between her and Sithrazer, I am in singing sweet shape.

So this is me, my darlings, raising my glass to all of you and saying, “Salud!

 

RCPM for Beginners

The Obligatory Introductory Post, or "Just Who the Hell Are You?"

¡Bienvenidos a mi cantina! Mi casa es su casa. Pull up one of the nice comfy chairs, and have a beer. One thing you’ll discover is that geologists are mad for beer. It’s practically a job requirement. If, like me, you’re not quite so keen on beer, I’m assured that gin and tonic is just as acceptable. So is whiskey. Or rum. Wine’s a great geological drink, as geology is so much a part of making it. Or you could – oh, hell, any sort of alcohol’s okay with this crowd. Pour your poison of choice.

Right. We’ll just let the regulars get on with kicking the new furniture, then, and have some introductions. Hullo. I’m Dana Hunter. That’s not the name on my driver’s license, but it’s the name I go by in all situations aside from my workplace and among family members, who haven’t quite figured out that the name I was born with isn’t the one I most frequently answer to. It’s gotten to the point where I’m startled when I see my birth name on something. So, call me Dana, and I’ll know who you’re talking about.

So, we know what to call each other. Now on to the important stuff.

First important thing: I’m not a geologist.

Exploring Doherty Ridge with George’s rock hammer.

Yes, that is indeed me on an outcrop, with a rock hammer. I can pass for a geologist in a good light, I’ll admit. But I’m not a professional geologist. I’m not even in school. I’m entirely amateur. Thing is, I have this love affair with rocks, and I do a massive amount of reading and research. Most of my best friends are geologists, and they send me papers and answer questions and write amazing blog posts and sometimes, when we can arrange to be in the same state, take me out and teach me how to bang on rocks. This is how a total amateur gets away with writing about geology without screwing it up utterly.

I’m a writer. I write blog posts, and I am writing speculative fiction stories, and a novel that I will somehow manage to complete, and a book on geology or two that I turn to when the fiction won’t come. I’ve been writing ever since my mother told me I was old enough to tell my own stories at the age of six, and I haven’t ever stopped. That’s over thirty years, for those of you who are curious. Not well over, but still, over.

I’m an atheist. And not just any old atheist, not even just a New Atheist, but one of those dreaded Gnu Atheists. The only use I have for religion is occasionally cannibalizing the more interesting ones for bits of myth to put into stories, and as fodder for rants. My religious friends have grown used to this, and even occasionally egg me on when I take off after a particularly egregious creationist. You’ll not see me do that quite as often as my fellow Freethought bloggers do – I’ve got other things I’m busy with – but I do love taking the metaphorical rock hammer to Flood geologists especially. Fun as that is, though, I enjoy celebrating atheism far more. Life as an atheist is gorgeous. I’ve seen both sides, you see: I was a Christian (briefly, long ago), and for a while a pagan, and an agnostic, but none of that worked. Atheism works. Life has never meant as much, been so precious or beautiful or worth living, as it has since I finally accepted I was an atheist, full stop. I wish I’d had the courage to do it sooner.

I’m a raging liberal. Got me start in political blogging, actually, and kept on with that until I ran out of new and creative ways to call Republicans fucktards. You will notice, however, that there’s a sleek, shiny implement hanging over the bar. It’s the Smack-o-Matic, and you’ll see me lovingly take it down on occasion and apply it to some deserving Con. I’d much rather blog about science and SF writing and other things that make me intensely happy, but there are times that require furious anger, savage snark, and perhaps even a touch of satire, and I’m never out of practice.

There are some people who will groan (I’m looking at you, PZ), but I own a cat. She is what convinced me to never have children of my own. If she’d been a human, I’d be one of those wretched mothers on the teevee apologizing for my serial killer offspring. She hasn’t actually killed anyone yet, though not for lack of trying. However, she’s beautiful and sometimes disgustingly cute, and I love her beyond measure and blog about her on occasion. Consider yourself warned.

I, along with Ed Brayton, am a ginormous Peacemakers fan. I blog about them sometimes, too. They are my favorite band, and I will sound like a hopeless fangirl, but if you come along with me to one of their shows, you’ll probably not emerge without at least a deep fondness for them, so you’ll forgive me for it one day. The title of this blog, in fact, comes from one of their shirts. In tequila is truth.

That’s one thing that threatens my atheist cred – I practically (I say, practically) worship them. The other threat is Doctor Who. Steven Moffat, people. That’s all I’m saying, and those of you who love the show will know exactly what I mean.

Last but not by any means least, I am a woman. I sometimes write about things pertaining specifically to women, and I’m way past the age where I think we’ve won all the battles and misogyny’s harmless and cute. If that’s something that threatens your sense of self, this is not going to be a comfortable cantina for you. For those interested in creating a world where women and men are on equal footing, you’ll be right at home.

Right, I think that’s enough babbling about myself. I want to take a moment to tell you about my regulars: they are incredible people, a wise and wonderful mix of geologists and bloggers and science geeks and political junkies and atheists and writers and incredible people who make me want to be the best blogger I can possibly be because they deserve nothing less. Without them, my world would be a far smaller, much duller place, and I wouldn’t be writing this right now. Raise a glass to them, my dear new readers, and join me in saying, “Salud!”

Then raise another glass to the incredible folks at Freethought Blogs who inflicted me upon you brought me on board: Stephanie Zvan, whose writing brings me to tears, elevates me to heights of joy, and brings on a nice righteous outrage – sometimes in the same post. PZ Myers, who got me started on this whole science blogging thing and helped me over the threshold from agnostic to atheist. Ed Brayton, who’s not only one of my favorite political and religious idiocy bloggers, but is a fellow Peacemakers fan. Ophelia Benson, who has introduced me to subjects I never thought about and made me care intensely about them. Jason Thibeault, who is not only a fabulous writer but a genius at making this whole migration thing painless. Raise a glass to everyone at Freethought Blogs, those glorious freethinkers who are making this world a better one, one post at a time.

And raise a final round for yourselves. Without you, my dear readers, these words would be nothing more than pixels on a screen. If I ever write something that inspires you, touches you, moves you, just remember: without you, it would be a lonely echo in a void. People like to think writing is a solitary art, but they’ve just failed to notice that magnificent audience, reading and engaging and egging the author on. You lot, you’re marvelous. Don’t ever forget that.

Are we suitably intoxicated? Right. On with it, then. ¡Vámonos!

The Obligatory Introductory Post, or "Just Who the Hell Are You?"