March 29, 2005

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  People may have their views on the SLC, but let me ask you this: What’s in your skyline?

  At the same time, you have to deal with unplesentness. For example, on campus this week, an awareness campain has tried to educate some of the ignorant with signs like “Gay is real” and “Transgender people are real.” Some idiot has altered some of the signs to read, “Gay is a real choice.” This is what happens when evolution is stymied, people that deserve to die without procreation keep pumpin’ out the kids, making the world a hateful, dark, and deteriorating place.

  So, with the SLC, I guess you take the good, you take the bad, you take them both, and there you have, my opening statement. Sit Ubu sit, good dog.

  Anyways, on to much happier subjects. Monday was Alysen’s Bday. It was very happy. Over the last week or more we;ve been attached at the hip and grinning from ear to ear. I do all that annoying stuff that I hated in the past and thought I’d never do. I can’t help it, she’s got me all disconbobulated (in a very good way).

  Lately, I’ve been busy. And, I know what you’re thinking, but no, Alysen is not a factor. It’s just school and thesis work. The great thing is I just take all that wasted lonely sad time spent watching TV, playing video games, and spacing out — and spend it w/ Alysen.

  

  This is where I’ve been spending a good chunk of my time: 105 in the Mines Building, the crushing room. I’m into my thesis min seps. I’m mostly gonna be picking Biotite, Muscovite, Kspar, etc. in mylonites to date fault movement as part of my thesis. Since many of you have done similar activities, I thought I’d give y’all a tour.

  

  We don’t have central compressed air, we only have this thing that smells like motor oil. It takes a few minutes to ‘warm up’ and push out air, but if you wait too long, it makes a high-pitched squeek and looses pressure fast.

  

  This is our rock crusher. It is very loud and shood fall apart… wait for it… now.

  

  We have many sieves. The problem is no one (I mean NO ONE) uses the lab correctly. Everything is dirty and dusty. I spent a full day just trying to get the major surfaces free of dust and grains. All of these sieves have decades of stuck grains from who knows what.

  

  So I have selected a few and have taken them under my wing. After hours of work, they are clean. It also makes every sample run better, because grains are much easier to remove from the mesh after 20 minutes than after 20 years.

  By the way, an artist’s blending tool is the greatest thing ever to pick sieves. Safe, durable, and cheap (only $1-2)! When they’re dull, just resharpen. But honesty, they hardly need to be sharp, it’s more the flick and puch, rather than pick, that does the job.

  

  Can anyone read any of that writing?

  Here’s my little list going. I’m supposed to do 20 by the end of the week. I’ve done 4-5. Not good. So, if you’re looking for me, I’ll probably not be in my office, I’ll be crushing/seiveing/picking to my heart’s content…

  

  • 9:04 pm
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