maine
oracknows | May 5, 2015Every so often, real life intrudes on blogging. So it was last night when I had to go to a work-related meeting and didn't get back until late. Still, that means today's a perfect opportunity to do what I'm usually not very good at: A brief post. I've related time and time again how when antivaccinationists claim to be "pro-vaccine safety" or "pro-freedom" (the latter of which is the newest favorite meme used by antivaccine advocates to argue that they aren't antivaccine, or, as I call it, an antivaccine dog whistle), they're either deluding themselves or lying. I've pointed out how sometimes…
egrossman | February 2, 2015When negotiations over legislation to reform the 39-year-old Toxics Substance Control Act (TSCA) broke down this past fall, among the major points that remained unresolved were how a revised TSCA would treat state and other local chemicals management regulations and how – and under what timelines – the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would prioritize chemicals for safety review. As of early this year, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in the House and Senate have issued statements about their commitment to produce a bipartisan bill. Chemical industry trade associations and…
eklemetti | August 1, 2010Continuing my series where I try to define words of volcanic interest, the new Eruptions Word of the Day is a favorite of mine, mostly because my undergraduate thesis on Vinalhaven Island in Maine ended up dealing with a lot of these types of deposits ... so, without further ado, the word is peperite!
Now, what exactly is a "peperite"?
Well, a picture is worth 1,000 words, right (so that will save me some time):
Peperite in the Vinalhaven Diabase, Vinalhaven Island, Maine. Image by Erik Klemetti. Click on the image to see a larger version.
Let's make some observations:
The rock is full of…
awild | April 17, 2008
While googling about for the latest CD by the Rustic Overtones (Light at the End), I discovered that copies of Shish Boom Bam are now selling for as high as $350. Shish is the crappy old recording from 1994 when I used to play trumpet with the band, back when R.O. were all rosy-cheeked teenagers. Apparently the green jewel case is something of a collector's item. Now I can't even remember where I've put my single remaining copy.
zooillogix | June 5, 2007Two-tone lobsters are rare, only about 1 in 50 million share this mutation. They would be wise to increase the frequency of this variation however as it inevitably saves the little guy from the pot. Lobster shells have three primary pigment colors, red, yellow and blue. Occasionally lobsters lack one or more of these colors and because the two sides of a lobster shell develop independently, startling two-tone specimens are possible. Their less fortunate plain-Jane family members turn red in the pot because the heat frees the red pigment molecules, uncoiling them from the dark protein…