Random Asides
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Oh, Meteorite, Strike Me Down!
I like meteorites. I want one to strike my apartment, just as this house in New Jersey was struck by a meteorite. So, come on meteorites. Why aren’t you crashing through my apartment here in Somerville? I live on the top floor of the building, so you can land very nicely, right in my room or possibly my bathroom. Don’t…
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A Different Kind of Life on Mars
When I was a sophomore in college, I went on a field trip to Death Valley and Owens Valley with my volcanology class over spring break. At the time, everyone was very excited about the Mars rovers. I was buying a soda in a grocery store and saw the above “Weekly World News”, a fine newspaper that I read on…
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Happy New Year!
Well, I was hoping to have a really good year-ending blog entry for you all, but the social obligations of the season (combined with the fact that my space bar is sticking, making typing really frustrating) have jumped in the way. Thank you all for an amazing year. I get so much inspiration, humor, and education from you guys, making…
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Original Cynicism
I’ll probably get kicked off the blog for saying this, especially after Rebecca’s post about airborne, but… Hello, my name is Stacey, and I take Vitamin C. I live in a warm climate and every year, in the dead of winter, I vacation up north. More than once I’ve gotten the flu on day 2 and spent my entire vacation…
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A Girl Named Galena
Galena (Lead Sulfide) Crystals I met a little girl named Galena the other day. I was surprised at her name, which is also the name of a common, shiny, silver mineral. The young girl was about ten years old and knew all about the mineral after which she was named. Apparently, her mother is a geologist who now teaches Middle…
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The Scale of Things
There are shapes, colors, and patterns everywhere, and I marvel in how the same patterns often exist at vastly different scales. I have found myself looking at a rockface, admiring the small, swirling, black-and-white folds in metamorphic gneiss or migmatite. Looking out at the wider landscape, I often see the swirls echoed. The thick rock layers composing the mountain are…
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How tight should a t-shirt be?
One of the things I’ve always struggled with as a woman in a field where girls are rare (entomology) is just how girly I should be. Now, anyone who’s actually met me is probably thinking this isn’t much of a struggle–I mean, I do have 3 times the number of power tools than the average guy, and I am seen…
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Post-Exams and Pirates
My finals ended two days ago, and I’m still in my recovery period. I slept in until noon, ate junk food all day, and watched four episodes of “CSI: Miami” as well as other mediocre television that I can only tolerate after wearing out my brain. I can’t believe I actually watched an episode of “Laguna Beach” today. This show…
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