What I'm reading...

right now:

True North: Peary, Cook and the Race to the Pole by Bruce Henderson.

Yes, it's another look at the Arctic in preparation of my travels there later this year. It's full of personal struggle, high adventure and professional hatred - a high latitude drama.

Mush!

UPDATE: Mount Redoubt...

hasn't erupted - yet. The Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) web server has been overloaded because of all the media interest in the volcano. Here's a brief statement issued by the AVO on Friday:

"An AVO observation flight yesterday afternoon reported no sign of ash emission, but observed significant steaming from a new melt depression at the mouth of the summit crater near the vent area of the 1989-90 eruption."

We all know a watched pot never boils. Perhaps the corollary is that a watched volcano never erupts?

SATURDAY EVE UPDATE:

"Seismicity over the last hour has included the reappearance of periods of weak tremor at the summit stations. These signals are much weaker than the episodes from Friday afternoon. Observers from the gas/observation flight today report continued melting at the summit area. Holes in the ice continue to grow exposing more steaming rock. Volcanic gases continue to be detected."

The new ASUS netbook...

Eee PC 1002HA is a really, really cool piece of hardware. Really.

It comes with 1 GB installed DDR2 SDRAM but I added a 2 GB memory upgrade (~$20 and 15 mins) upon its arrival. It's small - having a footprint less than the area of a sheet of paper, it's thin - about one inch thick, and it's light in weight - just about 2.5 pounds with the battery. The brushed aluminum case is solidly made and is spiffy looking, and it has an ample keyboard (92% full size) though no keypad. The 10-inch screen is bright and clear and renders true colors. The teeny machine uses Win XP Professional operating system and boots quickly and quietly. Additionally, it automatically grabs wi-fi with a zest and is Bluetooth enabled. Here's the full spec sheet if you're interested.

Keep in mind that this is a netbook. While it has an internal 160 GB hard drive it does not have a CD/DVD drive of any kind. So to install software you either 1) download it directly, 2) use an external drive, or 3) mount a remote network drive. This limitation is not a deal breaker for me, but you should think about this before you jump.

But... (there's always a but) ... the right-shift key is located in an awkward place and will take some getting used to I'm afraid. I'd also like to be able to toggle the touchpad on/off using a function key. Instead you need to click on an icon in the tray on the task bar. Again, none of these minor issues is a deal breaker, but it does make one wonder if the people who design these things actually use them?

I have been using it for several weeks now, and so far I have downloaded Open Office (a free alternative to MS Office Suite), Picasa, Firefox, Thunderbird, and Google Earth among other pieces of utility software. I'm easily getting four hours per charge on the highest performance settings.

Netbooks are the fastest growing sector of the PC market right now and deservedly so. Be sure to look at one of these if you're in the market for a new laptop.

My younger bro and me...

sitting together on the basement stairs at ages 3 and 2, respectively. I am, of course, a university professor, and he is a medical doctor with a terrific family. Check out those cool dungarees.

Just think. Bill Gates was only a few years older when this pic was snapped. And I haven't even made my first billion dollars yet. I feel like such a failure.

Constellation of the month...

is Orion, the Hunter. Read more about one of the easiest constellations to recognize, especially right now shortly after sunset.

Finally, an answer to...

the age-old philosophical question: "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?" You may be surprised at the results of this definitive research:

DETECTION OF LARGE WOODY DEBRIS ACCUMULATIONS IN OLD-GROWTH FORESTS USING SONIC WAVE COLLECTION (.pdf file)

Brilliant. Simply brilliant. Every science student can use this article as a model for organizing and writing a technical paper.

Early morning jolt in Seattle...

was not due to Starbucks.

A weak M4.5 earthquake shook the Seattle-Tacoma area this morning around 5:25 am. The minor temblor did no damage (but woke many up) according to news reports. Yep, we did pick this event up on our own seismometer.

Teachable moment: Link to Seattle Urban Seismic Hazard Maps

Wise words...

"Electricity is actually made up of extremely tiny particles called electrons, that you cannot see with the naked eye unless you have been drinking."

— Dave Barry

An image of Earth...

from space showing the Mississippi delta, a highly-constructive fluvial-dominated delta (click to enlarge.) It should be obvious why the term "birds-foot delta" is applied to this landform. The Atchafalaya River can be seen on the left side of the image.

Image credit: Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite, 11 February 2005.

Arriving in the mail...

today (actually delivered by UPS) is a new DeLonghi coffee maker. Complete with digital programmable timer for on/off, an "aroma" mode, pause and serve function, two-hour auto-shutoff, and more!

The perfect convergence of technology and love of coffee.

Mmm. Java.

UPDATE: A bit larger than I expected but very nicely made. Too many buttons to press - I'll have to read the manual. I can't wait to bathe in the pleasures of "aroma" mode. I wonder if it has a USB port?

UPDATED UPDATE: I managed to run a full brew of plain water through the device despite sipping on a Cabernet.

BECAUSE YOU ASKED: Here is a link to the product. I was going to use it a bit before recommending it, but inquiring minds want to know. Thanks, SC, for your comment.

UPDATE: Mount Redoubt...

is still percolating with "seismicity remaining above background levels." The Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) issued an information statement yesterday outlining four potential eruption scenarios in the days/weeks ahead. They are:

1. a failed eruption,
2. an eruption similar to 1989-1990,
3. a large, explosive eruption,
4. a flank collapse.

The AVO predicts:

Based on all available monitoring data and AVOs knowledge of the volcano, scenario number two, an eruption similar to or smaller than that of 1989-90, appears to be the most probable outcome at this time. We consider one and three to be somewhat less likely, and scenario four to be much less likely.

Stay tuned. We'll see.

My recommendation for...

an American-made "green" car from Congressional Motors for my colleague SKO:



Alas, production models are unavailable at this time so SKO purchased a larger and less fuel efficient foreign auto.

LIDAR technology helps predict...

landslides in Oregon according to this article.

LIDAR is a laser-ranging technology that creates high resolution images of the Earth's surface in stunning detail, stripping away vegetation and showing the underlying terrain. Previously unknown geologic features can be seen clearly, including scarps and slumps, allowing for better understanding of unstable areas.

A new geologic guidebook...

to Mt. Rainier National Park is now available.

"Roadside Geology of Mount Rainier National Park and Vicinity" by Pat Pringle has been published by the Washington Division of Geology and Earth Resources.

A free, down-loadable version (308 MB) is also available at the link above.

Video tour of the...

International Space Station (ISS) is now available on YouTube. I commented on this in an earlier post where I found the video quite interesting. Expedition 18 Commander Mike Fincke drifts through all of the modules of the ISS and provides great commentary. All four parts are collectively about 37 minutes in total length.

Part 1 ISS Video Tour



Part 2 ISS Video Tour



Part 3 ISS Video Tour



Part 4 ISS Video Tour

The Sun - Earth connection...

and the influence on climate change is discussed in this webcast. The 11-year solar cycle exerts a powerful control on Earth's climate as evidenced by the Maunder Minimum (a prolonged period of extraordinary low solar activity) that coincided with the coldest part of the Little Ice Age.

Any objective discussion of the cause(s) of climate change must include this important mechanism. So why isn't it?

Intermittent volcanic seismicity...

continues to be recorded at Mount Redoubt in Alaska.

Status and updates: Alaska Volcano Observatory

News article: Anchorage Daily News

Active fumaroles at the summit, elevated SO2 gas emissions and harmonic tremors within the mountain all point to something happening soon.

White university vans...

make terrific rolling whiteboards on geology field trips (click to enlarge.)

Just don't use a Sharpie pen and remember to erase before returning the vehicle to the motor pool.

Honeybees...

can count to three.

Cutting edge research you can use!

355 extra-solar planets...

have been discovered since 1993. That is, planets outside our solar system that are orbiting other stars.

The next-generation James Webb Space Telescope - the replacement for the aging Hubble Space Telescope - is scheduled for launch in 2013 and will have the ability to image these objects and perform spectroscopic studies of their atmospheres.

What a great time for science.

Is there any doubt...

that Mount Redoubt in Alaska is on the cusp of an eruption? Earthquake activity beneath the volcanic edifice has increased markedly the last couple of days, a leading precursor to an eruption. Keep track of the activity:

Alaska Volcano Observatory

Stay tuned, volcano watchers. Something big may happen within days.

I'd like you to meet Donna,...

a bat biologist, my wife and sweetie pie who, 14 months ago today, finally succumbed to the ovarian cancer she had fought valiantly for nearly nine years. That's her, holding her straw-colored African fruit bat, Swoop.

I do not post this to generate any sympathy. I write this to boast that she was a cool chick. Smart. Creative. Strong. My best buddy.

I miss you Donna, and I think about you every day.

309 years ago today...

the last, great earthquake struck the Cascadia Subduction Zone. Researchers are confident in the exact date since the resultant tsunami was recorded in written records in Japan, and it correlates directly with oral histories of native Americans.

The geologic record also contains evidence of this event in the form of stratigraphic deposits found in the tidal inlets and estuaries of the Oregon and Washington coast. By studying a vertical succession of such deposits the recurrence interval for great quakes has been determined to range between 300 and 900 years along the northwest coast (with an average of 590 years.)

Tick tock. Tick tock.

Catch a laptop thief...

by using LoJack software. Just like an EWU student who had loaded the software onto her computer. When it was stolen the laptop was located and recovered by identifying the IP address of the thief. Cool.

Kinda takes the sport of chasing down the bad guys, though.

Because you asked...

I have posted this Kilauea update from the Hawaii Volcano Observatory for my colleague JT. Indeed, 2008 was an extraordinarily active year for the volcano.

Every geology student should put a visit to this active volcano on your "to do" list. There's no downside whatsoever - you have to go to Hawaii.

Increasing amounts of groundwater...

in the Rathdrum Prairie aquifer, according to the water level data that I have gathered monthly for nearly seven years from five large irrigation wells (click to enlarge.) In fact, groundwater levels today are four to ten feet higher than when the measurements began in March 2002. Moreover, the water levels at present are similar to those measured by Don Jacklin in the 60s and 70s when he was a teenager working the farmland.

Drink up, and drink deeply.

Grab some vitamin D today...

as it's the first sunny day in the last several weeks.

Sure, it's cold outside, but the Sun is out!

Teaching GEOL 001...

This is a rock.

Pay close attention and take good notes. There will be a quiz next week.

Major earthquake overdue...

on the Carrizo Plain section of the San Andreas fault, north of Santa Barbara, California. A new study to be published next week concludes that this segment has not moved since 1857 and is consequently long overdue for a major rupture.

Remember: Don't worry; be happy.

The mountain snowpack...

in the northern Rockies seems rather unremarkable right now, especially after the record snowfall in the area in December 2008.

January 2009 Mountain Snowpack Map

Further south, however, it does look like there may be high runoff in the Colorado and Rio Grande River basins when the spring snow melt occurs.

Wise words...

“To you I'm an atheist; to God, I'm the Loyal Opposition.”

-- Woody Allen

Here's a big downside...

to one form of sustainable energy. Wind farms are appearing on the landscape in rapidly increasing numbers as a clean energy alternative for power generation. Unfortunately, bat mortality is alarmingly high at these sites and there is concern of significant impact to certain species.

The description of the problem: Bat Fatalities at Wind Turbines: Investigating the Causes and Consequences

An interesting explanation of the cause of death: Bat deaths from wind turbines explained

Bats need friends.

Beam me up, Scotty...

Teleportation Milestone Achieved

When perfected this should make commuting a breeze.

It's a long lecture day...

in my hydrogeology course this Saturday. Since we've missed two Monday meetings due to a snow closure and a holiday, my students agreed to assemble today for a blitzkrieg of lectures in order to get back on schedule.

Thanks to all my fledgling hydrogeologists for enduring six hours of me flapping my gums.

Breaking News!

Series Of Concentric Circles Emanating From Glowing Red Dot

It's field work Friday...

for me on the Rathdrum Prairie, Idaho.

For nearly six years I have making monthly visits to wells owned by the Jacklin Seed Company in Post Falls, measuring variations in the static groundwater level through time. I'll share the results of this work in a time-series graph sometime next week once I get it updated with the very latest data.

As a friend says: "There are two types of people in this world. Those who measure things and those who don't." Guess which one I am.

Another look at the rime ice...

that has frosted our campus (click to enlarge.)

Keep on scrolling by...

if you're not a computer geek.

I just added 500 GB of network storage to the home network in my digital cottage in the forest with a Western Digital My Book World Edition. Thanks, bro, for the gift. The installation of the dual-drive unit was easy and clean. Just plug it into the router using an Ethernet cable and install the software. Transfer rate on the net is ~1.15 MB/sec. And it even has blue-glowing LED lights just like the satellite modem. Groovy.

Seriously, this will solve a growing problem that a lot of people may be experiencing, and one that will only get worse. My digital images were proliferating to an unmanageable level on four computers (home, laptop, office, and now my new netbook) and this will help me get them all organized. FYI, I like the free Picasa 3.0 as an image organizer and quick editor.

Social commentary detour (heck, I've got a Ph.D.... a Doctor of Philosophy, so I might as well use it.)

The day has finally arrived when we are able to carry the entire history of our lives in a package the size of a paperback novel. All of the digital media that we create - our work products - and that which defines us - our pictures and favorite music - can be encoded on devices that are ever shrinking in size. Pretty profound. And convenient. It's you on a thumb drive.

If you're into this kind of thinking be sure to read Ray Kurzweil's book Singularity.

Arriving in the mail...

today is a book on the history of astronomy from my nieces and nephew - a belated Christmas gift. They've figured out what their uncle likes at an early age. Smart.

Thanks, kids.

Did a comet kill...

the great mammoths, and perhaps also lead to the disintegration of the Clovis culture in North America?

That's certainly one of the leading hypotheses regarding the extinction of the dinosaurs about 65 million years ago, and the same mechanism may have caused a similar, but considerably younger, dying event about 13,000 years ago on this continent.

While an iridium anomaly has been found to stratigraphically mark the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary that coincides with the demise of the dinosaurs, the discovery of a layer of nanodiamonds in strata approximately 12,900 years old is also suggestive of a cometary impact. These microscopic diamond particles can only be created under high pressure and vaporizing conditions, hence the speculation that another fragmenting bolide may be responsible. However, there is no evidence of a crater of the right age, leading some scientists to speculate that the impact may have been an air burst phenomenon, or have taken place over a thick portion of an ice sheet.

I tell you, those falling space rocks will eventually get us all. Until then, don't worry, be happy.

UPDATE: An opposing study

An image of Earth...

from space, showing the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta in India, Bangladesh and Myanmar (Burma) where it enters the Bay of Bengal. Students that have taken my strat/sed course can surely identify this as a classic tidal-dominated delta, or at least they should be able to! (Click to enlarge.) Note the large plumes of suspended sediment being shed from this enormous watershed that drains the southern side of the Himalaya Mountains.

Credit: Image acquired using the Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) camera on Envisat (ESA) on 8 November 2003.

Wise words...

especially for geochemistry students:

"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate."

— Henry J. Tillman

Ice Age Floods...

National Geologic Trail has been established by the US Senate yesterday (but it still has to pass in the House.) The bill includes:

Promotion of a spectacular chapter in our state’s geologic history: the Ice Age Floods. The multiple floods more than 12,000 years ago occurred when an ice dam in today’s Idaho repeatedly broke and emptied massive Lake Missoula. The floods created the unique geology of Eastern Washington and, most significantly, cut the Columbia River Gorge through the Cascade Mountains.

The bill authorizes an Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail through parts of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. The National Park Service will manage the trail that will include interpretive centers, signs and markers, exhibits and roadside pullouts to tell the story of the floods. Both education and tourism interests will be well-served by the Ice Age trail, and we hope final plans will include Vancouver as a significant point of interest on the floods’ race to the ocean.

EWU geology professor emeritus Gene Kiver has been involved in designing the trail system. Thanks, Gene, for your diligent efforts.

Evolution disclaimer proposed...

in biology/geology textbooks by State Representative Gary Chism in Mississippi. Get this:

The State Board of Education shall require every textbook that includes the teaching of evolution in its contents to include the following language on the inside front cover of the textbook:

"The word 'theory' has many meanings, including: systematically organized knowledge; abstract reasoning; a speculative idea or plan; or a systematic statement of principles. Scientific theories are based on both observations of the natural world and assumptions about the natural world. They are always subject to change in view of new and confirmed observations.

This textbook discusses evolution, a controversial theory some scientists present as a scientific explanation for the origin of living things. No one was present when life first appeared on earth. Therefore, any statement about life's origins should be considered a theory.

Evolution refers to the unproven belief that random, undirected forces produced living things. There are many topics with unanswered questions about the origin of life which are not mentioned in your textbook, including: the sudden appearance of the major groups of animals in the fossil record (known as the Cambrian Explosion); the lack of new major groups of other living things appearing in the fossil record; the lack of transitional forms of major groups of plants and animals in the fossil record; and the complete and complex set of instructions for building a living body possessed by all living things.

Study hard and keep an open mind."

Here's the link to the proposed bill (in pdf format.) And just last week Louisiana approves new pro-intelligent design rules for teachers.

Sheesh. And we wonder why science education in the US is in decline.

Campus this afternoon...

with all the frosting provided by the otherwise dreary freezing fog (click to enlarge.) I think this is the most beautiful winter campus I've ever seen since joining the faculty. Enjoy it while you can - I'm glad I've got some pictures.

But I'll be reeeeally happy to see the Sun again. Someday soon. Please.

My biggest fear is...

that I'm going to forget my gloves when I travel to the Arctic later this year. Not global warming. Not super-eruptions. Not rocks falling from space.

Someone be sure to remind me, please.

Something else...

to worry about. Earlier this month it was reported that a flurry of earthquakes occurred at Yellowstone National Park. The press immediately seized upon the opportunity to speculate on the imminent eruption of the supervolcano.

Indeed, the Yellowstone caldera has a history of recurring eruptions on about a 600,000 year schedule, and we are about 640,000 years out from the Lava Creek event that created the present-day caldera and spewed tephra across a large part of the western US. A similar eruption would make the 1980 Mt. Saint Helen's event look like a diminutive firecracker for comparison.

I'm not losing any sleep over this, but then again, I don't live in Billings, Montana.

There are 1,017...

potentially hazardous asteroids identified to date in near Earth orbit. NASA's Near Earth Object Program has the charge of cataloging these dangerous bits of rock and ice that tend to fall to Earth now-and-then. And you were worried about global warming.

CAUTION: Don't go out without a hard hat.

Basket full o'...

crystals (click to enlarge.)

I am watching...

a video tour of the International Space Station (ISS) that is being broadcast on NASA-TV. Expedition 18 Commander Mike Fincke is floating through the orbiting outpost with video camera in hand, moving module to module, providing a running commentary and occasionally peeking out a window. Very cool stuff.

I am conflicted about the ISS. In terms of the human exploration of space it's a mission to nowhere. Sure there's some science and a lot of technology being developed on board, but in terms of the outward exploration of space it falls short.

Setting the goal of returning humans to the Moon has been long overdue in my opinion, and I am pleased that NASA is now tasked with that mission. Then onto Mars. Robot explorers are highly practical from the view of relatively low expense and zero loss of life, but someone needs to go to Mars with a rock hammer! I strongly believe that humans have a role in exploration of our solar system, just as Lewis and Clark, John Wesley Powell, John Fremont and many other early explorers mapped the terra incognita that once existed in the place of the now familiar western US.

I volunteer. Someone will have to cover my classes while I'm gone.

Congratulations...

to my colleague SKO who was sworn today as a citizen of the good ol' United States of America.

Welcome! Now don't forget to pay your taxes.

This absolutely nails it...

the definition of a geologist, that is.

What's all that shakin' goin' on?

In this case it's a very large earthquake near the Kuril Islands (northwestern Pacific) that was picked up on our own seismometer located in the lobby of the Science Building on the EWU Cheney campus (click to enlarge.) Check it out the next time you're in the building. Heck, jump up and down and make your own earthquake.

The USGS also provides detailed maps and information on this recent magnitude 7.4 earthquake. Looks like it was offshore east of the islands, in the oceanic trench, clearly in the subduction zone between the Pacific and Okhotsk plates. It was moderately deep at an estimated 36 km.

Man, just look at those S-waves.

Don't get hit on the head...

by falling crude oil prices. As stockpiles of the black gold increase due to falling demand, among other market forces, the price dropped below $33/barrel this morning, down from the record high of ~$140/barrel during summer 2008. Interestingly, oil is significantly less expensive than bottled water right now!

Given this dire economic circumstance, perhaps the major oil companies will need a bailout from the federal government?

The little rovers that could...

have performed far beyond expectations as their five year anniversary on Mars is upon us.

NASA's twin robot geologists, the Mars Exploration Rovers, launched toward the red planet on June 10 and July 7, 2003, in search of answers about the history of water on Mars. They landed on January 3 and January 24 PST, 2004.

Spirit, the first to land at Gusev Crater, is listed in "serious but stable condition" since dust collecting on its solar panels is limiting power generation. Opportunity is healthy, exploring the plains of Meridiani Planum, but is experiencing a "post-solar conjunction hangover" following a short communications blackout while Mars passed behind the Sun. It just needs to transmit a lot of accumulated data back to Earth.

You can follow the on-going mission here:

Mars Exploration Rover Mission

Shameless self promotion: I will be presenting an illustrated lecture in early April at Spokane Community College about the geology of Mars. The lecture is free and open to the public (see the Calendar sidebar to the right for date and time.)

Frosty photo...

of wild rose fruits on this frigid (18 F) morning in the ponderosa pine forest of eastern Washington.

Wise words...

"If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water."

--Loren Eisley, The Immense Journey

Opposable thumbs not necessary...

to be an intelligent and effective tool user:

Clever Critters: 8 Best Non-Human Tool Users

Now if I could only get one of them to clean my house.

The most worthless...

winter and spring weather forecast. Ever.

While perusing the on-line winter 2008 edition of the NOAA/NWS Weather Watcher of the Inland Northwest newsletter I noticed this gem of a statement buried at the bottom of the third page:

Long Range Outlook

The National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center forecasts that the winter and spring for the Inland Northwest has equal chances of below normal, normal, and above normal weather conditions, including temperature and precipitation. ☼

Nothing like stepping out on a limb.

Remember summer?

To refresh your memory, here's a snap of some visitors last year (click to enlarge.)

I wonder where they're vacationing?

What I'm reading...

right now:

The Arctic: A History by Richard Vaughan

Good, very detailed account of the Arctic from its earliest occupation to more modern exploration and scientific investigations. Surprisingly, it lacks a good account of the under-ice explorations at and near the North Pole by US, British and Soviet/Russian submarines.

Best read with a steaming hot cup of tea or java.

Wise words...

"A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools."

— Douglas Adams

Saturday night photo...

of another lousy sunset in wintry southern Utah taken the evening of 27 Dec 2008 from my desert retreat in the bucolic community of Castle Valley (click to enlarge.)

I have a goal...

of driving a Zamboni sometime this year.

During the holidays I was challenged by a good friend [JR in CV, UT] to live one of my dreams this year. I confessed that I had always wanted to drive a Zamboni (who doesn't?) Upon returning to the university I realized that, during lunch one day at The Roost in the new recreation building, we have a brand spankin' new ice rink on campus.

Perhaps realizing this dream is closer than I thought. Certainly something can be arranged. I will keep you posted on my progress, and hopefully provide pictures, too.

26 days...

until the 200th anniversary of the birth of one of my heroes, Charles Darwin.

Learn more:

Science News: Darwin's Evolution

WARNING: Reading this article may cause smoke to pour out of the ears of creationists and so-called intelligent designers. Have a fire extinguisher at your side.

My new toy...

Just bought a mini-laptop - a netbook - at the recommendation of one of my students [thanks DL!] I bit on this one after doing some comparative analysis:

ASUS Eee PC 1002HA

This thing has a footprint smaller than a sheet of paper and is ~ 1 inch thick. I'll post a review after using it a while.

I just love the smell of new electronics.

It's alive!

I can't help but be excited about the recent news that seasonal variation in atmospheric methane on Mars has been detected using ground-based and orbiting instruments. While not a conclusive statement of the presence of living microbes on the red planet, it does, nonetheless, support the notion that martians may still exist. Check out the story:

Whiff of Martian methane offers lively possibilities

I personally welcome our microbe cousins.

That's one small step...

This is the very first post to my fledgling blog,
The Bu Element. Welcome.

The primary purpose of starting this blog is to provide friends, family and students a window into my various activities and many interests. I expect to focus commentary primarily on science, photography, travel and digital gadgetry. What can I say, I'm a science geek.

Thanks for reading. You must not have much of anything else to do.