There are geological mysteries in Charles Darwin’s works. I’m still reading Geological Observations on South America, off and on between other things, and there are times when I want to poke him in the chest and say, “Ha! I know exactly why that is! You see, there’s this thing called plate tectonics… and that’s why [...]
Archive for February, 2012
The Woman Who Crossed the Cascades and Inspired Batman
February 28th, 2012
Dana Hunter I’m rather a bit in love with a dead woman. I met her in a moment of desperation, when I was running low on Dame Agatha Christie and had finished all of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stuff, and still had a yearning for turn-of-the-last-century detective literature. There she was, one of the helpful [...]
Accretionary Wedge #43: Proof That Geology Diagrams Aren’t Boring
February 27th, 2012
Dana Hunter I unfortunately missed #42, “Countertop Geology.” Everybody’s already seen the only countertop geology I have, which consists of random stone tiles placed on top of the hideous solid white Formica counters. Additionally, I was off the internets and completely missed the deadline. But I have returned for #43, “My favorite geological illustration.” Geological illustrations, one [...]
Weapons-Grade Cute
February 26th, 2012
Dana Hunter Cromm quit the battlefield. He had some pathetic snark about Toxoplasma gondii and drooling dogs. Pfft. We’ve got legions of cute cats. Victory! Victory! No wonder he demurred when I asked if he wished to continue the war. Of course, this sudden de-escalation in hostilities has left me with an arsenal and no one to unleash [...]
Mystery Flora: Rosario Bloom
February 25th, 2012
Dana Hunter The problem with putting together posts like this is that they make me itch for summer. Right now, it’s butt-ass freezing cold (by Pacific Northwest standards), peeing down rain, and the whole region seems permanently cloud-locked. Wah. For you, my darlings. For you, I’ll torment myself. Besides, I’ve just hit Chapter Three, “The Coast Range [...]
This, Of Course, Means War
February 24th, 2012
Dana Hunter When I came to the FreethoughtBlogs network, I expected I’d be joining a community of like-minded individuals. There might be minor disagreements, and sometimes things might get heated, but surely no one would start a lonely little war. How wrong I was. Crommunist, who is a man I used to respect**, has informed the internets [...]
Free Geology eBooks Bonanza
February 23rd, 2012
Dana Hunter Since getting my Kindle Fire, I’ve gone a bit mad. You can’t turn a bibliophile loose in an environment in which books that are not only free but good are readily available and expect anything less. I’ve not been on the internet much – too busy reading all those delicious free books – but when [...]
Some Nice Geology in Tommy the Movie
February 23rd, 2012
Dana Hunter Heh. Curiosity got the better of me, and I took a gallop through YouTube looking for clips from the movie Tommy. This was just before some of you started sending clips my way, and yes, I agree, “Pinball Wizard” is zany madness that the theatre doesn’t top. I don’t think anything staged post-70s can. I [...]
Mystery Flora: “They’re This Big and Blue”
February 22nd, 2012
Dana Hunter You’re racking up the successes, my darlings. Achrachno and Silver Fox finished in a dead heat identifying the flowers from Lava Butte: Ericameria nauseosa. Aspidocelis nailed the pretty purple tree: Paulownia tomentosa. That one almost made me decide to give up the Mystery Flora. It’s depressing to discover that your favorite purple tree is an [...]
Darwin: Geologist First and Last
February 21st, 2012
Dana Hunter Shall we play a word-association game? I’ll say “Darwin.” And chances are, you’ll say “Origin of Species,” or “Evolution,” or “Biology.” Charles Darwin laid the foundation for modern biology. He changed our whole conception of how species come to be, why a single simple organism could be the root of a riotously-branching tree, how “from [...]




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