October 1st of last year was the official launch of Partial Ellipsis of the Sun or PEOTS.
I published the first post with terrible formatting, just one hand-drawn image, and a few mission paragraphs. Jan's was the only comment (thanks, jan!).
The PEOTS logo was introduced ("Looks like a sun with three eyes" was RoRo's comment):
Over 23,000 page views and nearly a year later, I am quite pleased with the growth and interest in PEOTS, astounded with your loyalty (especially jan, lego, Paul, Joanne, and David) and humour, and generally am much happier with the combination of formatting and images.
The most popular post, about petrographic thin sections, was viewed over 800 times:
Petrographic Thin Sections, Deadlines, and Nature's Stained Glass
It was written right after my trip to Kaua'i, Hawai'i. This blog has chronicled that trip, my unexpected trip to the playa that holds the Burning Man Festival in Nevada,
as well as local trips to beloved Kunming Park in Denver with even more beloved Maizie:
Thank you for traveling with me on these journeys, adding awe, humour, and encouragement. The gezellig nature of your company has warmed my heart, cooled my jets, humbled me, prodded me, and most importantly, made me laugh and learn every single day.
I welcome this quizzical look and am happy to see both birding and Nevada Basin and Range extensional geology have resurfaced here at PEOTS more than once.
We may not have Neil de Grasse Tyson and PLUTO:
Neil de Grasse Tyson says Pluto is "happier" not being a planet
but we do have plenty of PLUOTS:
as well as lots of untranslatable gezelligheit.
Thank you for being here.
Gratefully,
Steph
Radiologist "Selfie": Embedded True North Arrow?
I have wondered this (Here's hoping this week's PEOTS HEADLINE DID NOT FEEL LIKE YELLING!):
Detail:
Tour de 300 Metres (not referred to as Tour d'Eiffel)
Detail: well, look at that engraved detail at St. Ambroise. . .
And the entire map. . .
Merci!
Smith College West Mountain Day picnic, 9/29/14:
And, even though Neil is not "here," he is wearing a distinctive sun vest. Could the ellipsis be just a wee bit lower, out of view?!
ReplyDeleteI do wonder if Neil actually said Pluto was happier. . .;-)
Delete. . .And if any of you think Neil sports a "come hither" look in the above image?
DeleteIt has been a good year on the blog. Happy Anniversary!
ReplyDeleteI've mentioned the Internet Scout Report previously, but 3 items from this week's issue may bear re-posting.
ReplyDeleteAlphaGalileo
http://www.alphagalileo.org
AlphaGalileo is designed for science journalists, but anyone with an itch for breaking academic news will enjoy this research-rich site. Readers may browse by region, including Africa, Asia, Caribbean, Europe, Latin America, Middle East, North America, Oceania, and this Scout Editor’s favorite: Extraterrestrial. Next, try trawling the site by Science, Health, Society, Humanities, Arts, Applied Science, and Business for the latest illuminating research in each of these fields. AlphaGalileo also issues News Releases, usually five or six paragraphs long, that cover particularly interesting research findings. Best of all, since the Scout Report previously covered AlphaGalileo back in 2007, the site has dropped its membership requirements and visitors can browse more freely than ever.
-----
The Stanford Astrobiology Course
http://web.stanford.edu/group/astrobiology/cgi-bin/
Where do we come from? Where are we going? Are we alone in the universe? According to The Stanford Astrobiology Course, these are the three basic questions the field of astrobiology attempts to answer. Amazingly, the entire course is offered online. Click on Where Do We Come From? for a romp through the history of life, from the Big Bang through Darwin. The Where Are We Going? link will take readers to eight lectures about the future of life, while the link Are We Alone? navigates to seven lectures about the search for life on other planets. Anyone curious about their place in the cosmos should find much to ponder in these hours of lectures from some of the most popular professors on the Stanford campus.
-----
Open Science World
http://openscienceworld.com
Open Science World, a webzine designed to link cutting-edge researchers with the general public, is frequently updated and remarkably diverse. Most posts clock in at a readable few hundred words. Most are dedicated to a particular, newly published research paper. After reading through Monthly Features and Recent Posts, try browsing the site by category. With eleven to choose from, including Academia, Earth, Maths & Physics, History, and Technology, readers of all stripes will find much to ponder on this erudite site. The complimentary Leave a Reply feature allows readers to keep the conversation going with comments, questions, and challenges.
jan, three intriguing possibilities. The Scout Report is terrific; I am on their e-mail list.
DeleteThat dog is just havin' waaaaay too much fun! (You know which picture I'm talkin' about.)
ReplyDeleteShe cracks me up almost every day, Paul.
DeleteAbout a half hour now until the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution spacecraft's scheduled Mars orbit insertion. Some of the materials at that website may be appropriate for your 5-year old mavens.
ReplyDeleteI will check it out. Thanks, jan. And, at least one is already 6!
ReplyDeleteDark Lightning
ReplyDeleteGreat graphics and only 4 minutes. . .
DeleteMore cross-pollination from that other blog?
DeleteMaybe. . .
DeleteSteph,
ReplyDeleteThat’s not Neil de Grasse Tyson! It’s Neil de Grasse Neville, the long-lost Neville Brother.
Paul,
Yes, we sure do know what Maizie picture you’re talkin’ about! (Looks to me like she’s rolling over a “Ruff! IRA.”)
Maizie’s barrelrolling antics remind me of the kittenish Noosie on the newel post. (There was a 10-foot drop down the stairwell between the newel post and me when I snapped this photo. She did this often. Whenever Noosie would feel herself losing balance or slipping, she would promptly right herself, hop down to the floor, and trot away as if she had never been in any peril whatsoever!
Seriously, Steph, congrats on what we all hope is the first of many PEOTS years. PEOTS is simply an excellent blog. You and the commentors on this site who are not named Lego (that is, the ones that actually know something about science) keep us all informed, entertained, alert, hoppin’ with happiness, and rolling over with laughter.
Look forward to this second year with relish.
LegoKeepRollin’
Thanks, lego, for your steadfast support and cross-pollination efforts!
ReplyDeleteLove that Noosie photo. . .
I believe you are onto something with Neil Neville.
Just added a photo of the pool today. Swimming outside in September on a perfect, nearly autumn day is my idea of heaven.
Here's to another good year in science and writing.
Steph
Ebola
ReplyDeleteMore on Ebola from Dr. Daniel Bausch
DeleteYeah, very different story than when we first discussed it less than 6 months ago. As feared, the urban setting made all the difference.
DeleteYes, and an urban setting with this severe hardship (Dr. Daniel Bausch):
Delete"But it's not like there's 500 workers [in Sierra Leone]. You probably could name all the nurses in the country and it might not get to 500."
That and hiccuping as an Ebola symptom were new to my frame of reference about the disease.
Why am I thinking radiologeist? If you figure it out, let me know.
ReplyDeleteTrue Poltergeist?
DeleteCouldn't decide between this and this.
Deletejan:
DeleteIf you're implying any similarity between me and those pictures, I resemble the comparison!
Although Never the Twain Shall Meet. . .
DeleteI am glad you couldn't decide, jan.
ReplyDeleteGAITED COMMUNITY
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in grad school, learning to stick micropipette electrodes into leech neurons, colleagues were working out the control of locomotion with a swimming leech prep. They'd dissect and pin down one of the ventral ganglia in the middle of the leech, while leaving the bow and stern free to swim in the petri dish while recording.
ReplyDeleteThe other thing your video reminded me of was this video of a bear recorded last month in suburban Morris County, NJ, where I live.
Economical comment (replying to both of your topics, jan): "There's a sucker born every minute. . ."
ReplyDeleteSteph (Utah 80/80 semiotic economical crew)
Are you implying that bear is bogus? New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife people said he's real, that he had injuries to both front legs, most likely from being hit by a car, and that he was getting better and was expected to make a full recovery. On the other hand, last weekend, NJ had it's first fatal bear attack in over 150 years, so maybe he got really pissed off.
DeleteNaw, jan, I believe the bear is real; simply wanted to make a clever comment.
DeleteMy friends in Palisade had a baby bear in their yard, right next to the peach and plum orchard.
Watching that bear, it became very obvious to me how we got legends like Bigfoot, Sasquatch, Yeti, etc.
DeleteIt was quite fascinating. . .
Delete(no yelling) See above comic just posted ;-)
ReplyDeleteSet your cochlea trembling: Have you tried the crunch of Sweet Tango?
ReplyDeleteCalling all Francophiles--Lego, ron? (See new images of Paris Map thrift store find)
ReplyDeleteSteph,
DeleteNice find! Like most everything francais, even the maps are mini-works of art.
I especially like the second map you’ve posted… the one in which la tour eiffel’s tip is probing a rue praised in song by Brewer & Shipley…
Oh wait, maybe Tarkio Road is in Missouri. Never mind.
LegoLittela
Ooh la carte?
DeleteYou know, that torque vector never did make sense to me.
DeleteIn Paris, it's torte vector, non?
DeleteA friend who lives in Paris found this: 1925. The background tinting is different but the black engraving in the same. We had narrowed it to 1919-1936 before finding the link.
Delete@Maizie:
ReplyDeleteIf she makes you dress up in one more silly costume -- BITE HER!
Civil disobedience be damned.
Maizie says she kind of likes her costume, Paul! In fact, she relishes it. . .
DeleteFrankly, I think it's the wurst.
DeleteTofurkey Dog
DeleteIn yesterday's crossword, Will clued GEOLOGIST with "Fault finder?" I don't think that was very gneiss.
ReplyDeleteHmmm, jan, I have received the "You're even gneiss to a fault" greeting card more than once. True. North.
Delete"Plutomania: The consistent adoration of the planet we grew up with and a refusal to re-classify it because some egg heads got the decimal place wrong. Fight the power. Pluto forever."
ReplyDeleteRich Trapp (at A Word A Day)
Did any of you ellipsis fans notice the . . . under Neil deGrasse Tyson's sun vest in the photo above?!
Beautiful writing and carving of pens in this short TED talk: PEN
ReplyDeleteToday is Mountain Day at Smith! The bells rang and all classes are cancelled. Perfect day for a bike ride, a swim, a hike!
ReplyDeleteHmmmm, Mountain Day was always in October back in the day. Wonder if it is being called earlier due to climate change, a new college president, or a combination of these factors?
No matter, IT'S MOUNTAIN DAY!
RoRo!
DeleteSome of you here may know we are Smithies. . .This video of Smithies singing about Mountain Day in an apple orchard is fun, especially the end!
Smithies
Any of you girls happen to be a Smithie?
DeleteMight as well link to this as well.
DeleteI never met a llurgical art I didn't like, jan.
DeleteOpted for a picnic at Kunming Park to celebrate with another Smithie ;-). Mountain Day ought to be a worldwide thing. . .
Here's a geology question that sounds like a joke. A photography show we saw the other day included an exhibit on the current sand shortage afflicting some impoverished African country. Sand shortage? How could that be? So, I Googled it, and it turns out, there may be several global sand shortages. Construction needs one kind of sand, fracking another, it seems. Is this for real? Or is it just a matter of distribution and transportation? Isn't it just ground-up rock, for crying out loud?
ReplyDeleteNo, it is not "just ground-up rock!" The grains of sand are spherical, weathered to the shape which makes it so prized for fracking and construction. Like fossil fuels, it takes time to make a good sand or sandstone. There's a bunch of good sand up where Lego hangs out in WI. Yes, it is partly a distribution/transportation thing.
DeleteHarumph! "Just ground-up rock!"