Days of Rock and Those Without: Part I

This weekend was a whirlwind. After a week of suck (I'm still not done my cross section), the weekend rolled through. Friday night was the Dickinson Jazz and Symphonic Bands Concert. El Bretto and the Wiser Weiser made an appearance which was really cool. They said they didn't recognize me in a suit. Understandable...

Saturday morn' I was up early to drive to Shamokin, PA for a geo field trip to the Bear Valley Strip Mine. Many of you have probably never heard of this place. It happens to be one of the most famous geologic sites in the United States. While we were there mapping, groups from four other schools passed through to visit. The mine was used in the 70s by Dick Nichelson to attempt to work out the kinematics behind the creation of the Appalachian Mountains. Pretty large scale important shit. Anyway, onto stuff the majority of the world cares about more, pretties:

Most of the mine. The center feature is an anticline (think upside down U) called the Whaleback. Between where I am standing, and the Whaleback, and the Whaleback and the far wall are synclines (right side up U's). There you are now learned...

This is a fossil of a tree. The card is 10 cm on the long side for scale.

This is a lake. It's pH is about 2. Skiny dipping anyone?

Pano of the Whaleback from the north side of the lake. North limb of north syncline.

Sunday I got up again to drive down to Fair Hill for some bike racing type action. It was my first expert race. And I will write more later. I have to go pick a room to live in next year.

Freak out week

I had a nerdy geologist moment last night at dinner.  I had just sat down in the caf, soaking wet in my kit from the day's rainy road adventure, and picked up my fork to mix my taco salad.  I went to fold the bottom layer of chips into the rest of the glorious creation and the entire pile slid, in one piece, almost off my plate.  My first thought: Oh no, the confining stress on my taco salad is greater than the tensor that I have applied.  Sigma 1 is vertical preventing me from mixing my salad.

Here is the diagram:

And this week is my first hell week for the semester.  Fun...

Rain, Rain, Go Away Dammit!

It's raining right now, and I want to go do a 4hr road ride.  It's too bad I don't have others to ride with... Nah I'm just whining.

Some pictures from the last weekend.  Saturday was Mike Kuhn's Extended Name Relay Thing, where the Cyclesports/Fast Forward Racing TOO team consisting of Myself, Jenny, Guest Rider Coling Bonnington, and Don, clocked a bunch of laps for 16th place overall after all the handicaps were taken into account.  Here are some of Don's prettys:

Half of the infamous Playground Possee with their sweet new bikes and kits.  Aaron (left) was killing it this weekend, clocking most if not all of the fastest laps

Some racin'

The Experience with new kit and sweet glasses as usual

Grrrrrr...

Passing the baton to Jenny for the last lap, came in just in time.

Don't have anything from Sunday's craziness, the Fawn Groove Roubaix.  Now if you're confused, this is a road race, although much of it was on dirt and gravel roads.  I made it through 2 laps unscathed in the Cat. 4/5 class Came in for 11th.  Had a shite start because my legs cooled down completely while we sat in staging.  Boo staging.  This weekend I'm just hanging out waiting for the rain to go away so I can ride... Looking forwad to next weekend which is jam-packed with Jazz Band concert Friday night (7:00PM Carlisle Theater, come out if you can!)  Structural Geology field trip all day Saturday, and the Fair Hill XC race on sunday.  It will be my first time in an Expert field, we'll see how that goes.  Should be fun...

problem...

I have no motivation to do work now... there are 5 weeks of school left... I have a 20+ pg paper to write (possibly for publication, at least internally), 3 exams, and numerous other class-work type projects.  Plus two posters for Structure... I just want to be done and sleep a lot... WAAA

In case you haven't seen it yet:

The last few weeks...

Mohr Circles have again fried my brain, so here are some pics w/ minimal words:

The Rockburn course hated my big, nobby tires

Cat. 2 start

Racin'

Rockin' the skinsuit

The 09 MACDC included a star-studded cast:

Yozell

Lichtenwalner, including awesome golves

Michaux's very own Brett Weiser, with Zach pointing at birds

Coach Kuhn

Out on the trail with my group

Rolling around pre-ride Sunday morning

Jeb likes mud

Kitchen helpers were awesome!!! All my favorite people here... except my mom, who is not pictured

Ethan!!!!!

That's it... Kuhn's relay is this weekend, as well as the Fawn Grove Roubaix (I'm doing a road race ???).  Should be fun...

*Pics from Don, because he takes awesome pictures