Take the risk!

So a friend of mine is thinking of taking a new job in another state. She’s a bit nervous about it: taking a new job far away from home can be nerve racking and tough: will you make it? What happens if….?

Her prospect reminded me of the choices I’ve made. Thus far in life, I can honestly say I’ve never really regretted any of the big moves I’ve made. And in fact, some of the most desparate moves have turned out to be some of the best experiences.

Case in point: Right after I finished college, but before I went to graduate school, I had honestly no-fucking-clue what was gonna happen to me. I had no immediate job prospect, no where to really go live, and no way was I gonna stay in River Falls Wisconsin.

In a chance conversation with this other geology grad at my school, he mentioned going out to Denver to look for a job. I didn’t know the guy really that well, but I didn’t have anything else going on and I thought “what the hell…”

I packed up a backpack of clothes, and left my apartment in River Falls, I stayed at a friends house in Minneapolis until we were ready to go, and took off.

The geologist guy who drove out there (I didn’t own a car at the time), Tim, mentioned that he knew the rugby coach for the Colorado school of mines….on the morning we actually arrived in Denver, it turned out that Tim had the inter-collegiate directory of rugby leagues, and just randomly called the coach from a pay telephone at a gas station.

Since Tim played rugby at school, he just figured in his head that the coach of the school of mines would just let us live with him – no questions asked. Amazingly, the coach actually DID. Tim was a total fuck-up, and he would only get worse as I soon found out.

We moved into a spare bedroom with the coach, slept on the guys floor, and I called S. Morrice & Associates, an oil company that I had had an AAPG internship with the previous summer. One of the geologists at the company said that while they didn’t have any job openings, we were welcome to use their office conference room, the fax machine, and a spare computer to look for a job.

(On a Side note, the people who helped me at S. Morrice were some of the nicest and best people I’ve ever met. Despite not having a job, they hooked me up with a desk, a phone, unlimited use of the fax machines, etc..)

So there I was, a week out of school, my last $200 dwindling fast, sleeping on the floor of some random guy’s house, and in the daytime, searching for a job constantly at my former employer.

I felt pretty shitty. Tim was a fucking asshole, I didn’t own a car, I didn’t have any money, and I was leeching off of someone I had never met. Tim would drive us to the office, yell a lot, and overall just be a total dick about everything.

After about 2 weeks, the Coach from the school of mines asked us to leave (can’t blame him). I had just found a job, but because of how the job worked, I wouldn’t be paid until the beginning of the following month.

At nearly the same time, Tim had threatened to kick my ass for something, and steal all my shit. I had to get the fuck away from him, but I had nowhere to go, and only about $150. Tim is kind of a long story, but suffice it to say, I had to get away from him ASAP. Now, I wouldn’t walk across the street to piss in that motherfucker’s mouth if his teeth were on fire.

Luckily, I had JUST met this kid (Rob, another person who I owe a lot to) who was working at an internship for another oil company here in Denver, and to get away from Tim, with no money, I swallowed my last bit of pride and begged this kid to let me stay on his couch until I could get paid.

This was the catch though:

I couldn’t move in until after the weekend because the guy wouldn’t be home. This meant that I was completely homeless for a weekend. I had NO money, nowhere to go, and no prospects.

The previous summer, my Denver internship only paid $3.50 per hour, and I ended up living at a long-term shelter for the poor ($11.99 per week!) That’s another long story…that was a fucking crazy summer.

Anyhow, nowhere to go, nowhere to stay, no money, no car, nothing, just me and my backpack stashed at the office. I thought if it really came back to it, I could walk back up to the shelter and stay there for a few nights.

So what did I do? I asked out the secretary at S. Morrice and Associates. I didn’t own a car, so I told her I’d meet her downtown, and we could go to the art museum (luckily, it was free on weekends). We walked around for the day, and eventually went back to her place that night, got a pizza and watched a movie (I can’t remember to be sure, but I think she paid).

I actually fell asleep on her living room floor and woke up that morning, back hurting and cramped up….but I had managed to find a place to stay for that one night, and I met someone who was and is the awesome-est person on the planet.

That morning, I felt kinda weird, because she told me she’d drop me off where I lived, but instead I think I said something like “oh I’m supposed to meet someone for breakfast”…and I had her drop me off on east Colfax street, a major street in Denver, where I walked around and waited to get into that guys house.

I managed to survive for over a month on about $200 and no where to live. I managed to find both a job and wife – I eventually married that chick that let me stay on her floor when I was homeless once.

The moral of this story: ALWAYS take the risk, don’t be afraid of the world around you. One day you might find yourself walking the street homeless, but in the end, it might help bring together one of the most important parts of your life.

And since that time, my wife and I have moved from Denver, to Las Vegas, to Minneapolis, to Mississippi, and back to Denver. Each time it seemed to be a big risk, but none of it was a mistake. Sometimes we really struggled, but lately it’s been only getting better.

I’d never in a million years change what I’ve done.

Podcast Podcast Podcast

ok faithful readers who have Ipods....let me ask you this. Do you ever listen to podcasts?

I read an article on digg.com once that said that 90% or so of ipod owners don't listen to podcasts.

Suprisingly, I actually do. most of the time its for the bus ride to/from work. Occassionally I try out new ones, ones that end up being shit, but on the whole, I really like podcasts.

here's what I regularly check out:

Dissonance
Escape Pod
Have games, will travel
science friday
Issue oriented


I don't faithfully download every episode, but I download or 2 about every week or so. hooray!

Friday Geology Pic: Lake Superior

Lake Superior from Space!



I've been talking with some friends about a possible trip this year, and we're thinking we might head towards the Lake Superior area...specifically the North Shore (the shore that borders with northern Minnesota).

The great thing about Lake superior, is that 1. Its beautiful. the waters are blue, and overlooking the cliffs and the lake shores, the water is nice and clear.

2. Its geologically great. I went college up in the midwest, and unfortunately alot of the people and professors tend to focus on the glacial history of the area. Afterall, the glaciers created Lake superior, and its the absence of glaciers that are slowly draining the lake via isostatic rebound. But I think there's an even more elegant story along its shores, one thats far more dynamic and spans BILLIONS of years of geologic time.

Lake Superior kind of looks like a finger pointing to the southwest. Its has a long linear axis that trends NE/SW. This axis is actually the trace of what geologists call and aulacogen. Its basically a valley where the old north american tectonic plate actually tried to rip itself in half...it failed of course, and left this dramatic valley on the earth's surface. Similar events are taking place in East Africa right now, you may have heard of the east african rift.

The East African Rift is home to my single favorite volcano ever, Ol Doinyo Lengai - its lava flows BLACK and cools WHITE, definately check out the fucking sweet pics here. But I digress....

...Anyhow, much later, glaciers followed along this valley, and once they melted and receded, the valley filled up to form Lake Superior.

Whenever you drive along the North Shore, or even into the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, all the rocks you see are really really really old basaltic lava flows, and related sediments. these basalts formed as the plate was tearing apart, creating large fissure eruptions. Even though these flows are older than 1.8 billion years, you can still see some of their original flow features in exposures all along the shoreline.



Picture of Shovel point at tettagouche state park along the north shore of Lake Superior (its the ridge in the back). Shovel point is a thick exposure of basalt lava formed during the aulacogenic event back in the Proterozoic.

I think thats pretty cool. Most losers will only tell you about huge glaciers forming lake superior, but Lake Superior's beginning was actually Billions of years before the glaciers ever covered the land...and this lake of water, started as a valley of hellish LAVA.

BRITNEY THREAT!

So I found out today that Britney Spears used to be in a raging hardcore band that was immensly influential in the mid 80s, Britney threat:



thanks to Brent on the deathtalk board.



Original is a Minor threat picture posted in Maximum Rock and Roll back in the day:

EARTQUAKE!!!

So this kid is becoming a micro-celebrity because of his ridiculous video blogs (especially his "Last Blog Ever") posted, but I thought this one was classic:



I don't know....

Running!

Here's an interesting article about some crazy bastards running across the Sahara desert.

I started running a few years ago, running quite a bit actually, but no where near the level these guys are at.

Despite my modest running schedule, when I am running, I often fantisize about running the badwater ultramarathon . I'm pretty sure if you finish that race you earn the official title of "badass".

I actually heard an episode of "this american life" on the badwater ultra marathon...its the toughest fucking race in the world, in addition to 135 continuous miles, it starts in death valley and has a cumulative ascent of 13,000 ft. According to the radio show, people who run it often start to hallucinate, and are completely mentally drained by the end (in addition to being completely physically exhausted).

Maybe that will be my goal, the race at badwater...of course, I have alot of running to do before that.

5 things to make your blog better

Digg.com always has an article like this posted every few days. All of them forget the key thing to a successful blog: MAKING A POST to begin with!

As you may notice, I haven't made a post in awhile. Not because I haven't thought about this website much, but rather, because I've been too lazy to write anything.

Have you ever been just sitting at a computer, knowing that there's something you should be doing, and rather than just do it, you stare, get frustrated, do more staring, and then develop this overwhelming inertia that takes at least a day to get over?

Not much has been going on in life, thats another problem. Its easy to make blog posts when your life is full of colorful happenings.

To my credit, I don't live as boring a life as you think, each and every fucking day I get up is a complete adventure. Take today for example, This morning I got up, made some coffee and watched the morning news before work....and now that I'm at work I"ve actually received 4 work related phone calls! HAHAHAHAHA! just call me "Captain Fast and Furious"!!

ugh...Religious people are crazy, part 54983204

Check This out.

I mean seriously. really.

Check out this Awesome Bathroom Sink

While perusing the volumes of great geology blogs out there there, I came across this company that makes a pretty cool looking sink for your bathroom.

Friday Geology Pic: from one volcano to the next

I was fortunate enough to go see Mount Rainier and Mount St. Helens a few years ago. Both are spectacular for their own reasons. If you have the means, I'd highly recommend going and spending a few days at these places.

Rainier is immense, and one of the first times I saw some really cool glacial features close up. Its also the name of a great cheap beer thats perfect for post-field mapping geology trips.

Mount St. Helens was overwhelming. I was there before its most recent activities, everything was quiet, but even with that, the effects of the 1980 eruption were still very apparent. I'd like to go back and see it now, because even today there is potential for small activity at the Mountain.

This is a picture of me from the west flank of Mount Rainier. If you click on the picture and look in the background, right on the horizon, you can see a blue-hazed out Mountain sticking up, thats Mount St. Helens.

...And Now for a Deep Thought...

By Jack Handey:

I wish a robot would get elected president. That way, when he came to town, we could all take a shot at him and not feel too bad.


You know, alot of my readers say "Joe, why no politics on Cataclasis? all you do is post shit about rocks and music...surely you've got an opinion in this aggressive political climate!"


Well, I kinda really hate the day-to-day political discussions. Pundits kinda make me nauseous. Politicians pander way to much, and the majority of the media just seems like a bunch of petty bickering.

Here's a good example that really pissed me off:

Obama Apologizes because he's got no balls If your a politician and you think American Lives are being wasted in iraq, then fucking stand up and say it. Personally I think they are too.

What are they dying for and what are they over there for? I don't think anyone right now thinks thats an easy question to answer.

The comment was clearly intended to criticize our current administration. Media needs to convey the context, not just the meaning of the words in a sentence

I do think lives are being wasted, and thats not meant to disrespect the troops over there. Its a fucking middle finger to the liars who put those troops in place.

What Obama should have done is say just that "fuck you media, this is what I said...." but he didn't, he pandered and sold out and apologized.


and this too:

Edwards fires his bloggers because he's a big pussy.

Edwards actually looks like a great candidate, but firing your bloggers for offended the OPPOSITION! your a spineless FUCK.

you know what religious people need to hear?: "Get out of our government and take your bullshit dogmatic religious beliefs and FUCK OFF!"

If Edwards is gonna pander to these people then he'll pander to them as a president, waffle on the tough issues. Your a politician, have an opinion. if you think you have to change or silence your position on tough issues, you have no right to be a government leader.

I really want a political leader who is just that, A LEADER. Someone who stands up and cuts through all the media hype and bullshit.

Here's the candidate that I want to see:

1. S(he) is an antheist. who says, "religious people can suck my fucking ass". Our Current president said once that he received his advice from God. look at where we're at today...fuck religious people. they are the WORST fucking LEADERS we could possibly have in Government.

2. Get us out of the middle east. Certainly not an easy problem. I'd like to see some plans. your a candidate for president, lets get down to brass tacks, throw some maps across the meeting room table and formulate a plan to STOP WASTING LIVES IN IRAQ!

3. Socialized health care. My Friend Jay tells me all the time about his insurance problems, certainly we hear about it all the time in the news. its time to do something, make some good social change.

4. Free education for all. EVERYONE should have a free education all the way through a pH. D. if you maintain your grades, and do well, the US govt. will back you. I'd support a tax increase for this. there's so much data out there that shows there's a direct relationship between education level and standard of living. Schools can remain prestigious and competitive too. But ensure that everyone can get a college degree if they want it.

While we're at it, improve the schools. Make teaching a competitive position. massive pay increases for all teachers, make it so only the best of the best can get in.

5. Convict the Bush administration for war crimes, crimes against america, and for lying. Seriously. I think Bush should have a legacy, and that legacy is "if you fuck with america, you will be hanged for treason". Suspension of Habeas Corpus, Illegal wiretapping, WASTING LIVES in a lie of a war are all worthy of conviction, Bush, Rumsfeld, his entire cabinet, etc.. all of them should be in Prison for a LONG time. I really want to see this come to fruition. PRISON for what they've done to America.

6. Amending drug laws. the war on drugs is ridiculous, lets stop lying to our kids about it and start acting like we know what we're doing.

7. Someone who stands up for what they truely believe in! you will never be able to satisfy All americans. all you can do is be the person you are, stand up for what you believe in, and take a stand.

"I'm pro-choice I'll vote pro-choice across the board when I become president"
"Where do I stand on gun control? I'd allow hunting guns, and ban every-fucking-other-thing"
"I'm for allowing Biological scientists and the scientific community for the policing and policy making concerning stem-cell research, I'd never vote for legislation banning anything related to it"
"I'm a humnan being, during the course of my candidacy I might say things that sound stupid, it might come out slightly wrong, and the media might try to rip me apart over it, but let me be clear, before my candidacy is over, you will know what and how I will enforce my term in office"

These are the statments I'm waiting to hear. Since you'll never hear it from a politician, I will refrain from the daily retarded discourse over the "controversy of Obama's Middle name!" or "Obama dresses like a terrorist!" or "Fox News has a new Comedy show!"

Friday Night Fight...

As previously mentioned on Cataclasis, I went to a great show on Friday: All Shall Perish, The Warriors, and Terror. It was a great show, lots of energy, all the bands were tight, the music was loud, and the crowd was sufficiently brutal. (The Warriors are easily one of the single best bands working in hardcore today.)

Luckily only 1 fight broke out. Unfortunately it was right in front of me - I was standing right behind some kid that just start throwing punches.

The way I see it, Fights at hardcore shows can be categorized into two main groups: 1. The Thug fight, and 2. The out of nowhere crazy fight.

The Thug fight is pretty lame, its easy to see it coming. Here's how it works:

A Thuggish, jarheaded dink, usually sporting a pot-belly and really shitty prison-style shoulder tattoo (think Taz holding a 40oz of Colt45) walks into the middle of the pit during a given song. His lower jaw is pushed out forward, bottom lip is upturned in his toughest grimmace, and his chest is all puffed up. This pinhead proceeds to start a slow, ridiculous boot-stomp that completely goes against the grain of what everyone else is doing.

He's going into the pit looking for a fight,a and everyone around him knows it.

Guys like this are usually pathetic racist-skinheads, non-hardcore kids, and/or I hate to say it - Military people (yeah, military people are the worst, because they are usually in-shape, strong, have never been to a show, or only been to a few, and they can do alot of damage). Suprisingly with the resurgence of "tuff guy" hardcore (bands like Bury your dead, first blood, etc... I see alot of military people at shows, whereas in the past I'd never seen anyone in the army at a hardcore show)

Anyhow, someone hits the guy. Whether by accident or on purpose, someone starts something, a swing across the back of the head, a kung fu kick to the spine, an elbow to the throat, whatever....

Naturally the thug fights back. since these people are more often than not out of shape, its kinda funny to watch, a lot of wrestling moves are involved, not alot of punches are thrown.

Security is usually on top of people like this, because, like I mentioned, you can spot them a mile away. They usually last only 1 band and are routinely kicked out of the show before the headlining band even gets to the stage.


2. ....And then there's the "out of nowhere crazy fight". I hate these fights and unfortunately this is the type that broke out in front of me on Friday. It goes like this:


Seasoned hardcore kids are usually involved. Someone is circling through the pit, hits someone else, pretty straightforward. That person gets pissed off and throws a punch back.

...But then, out of fucking NOWHERE 10 people on each side of the fight (usually friends of the two people starting it) just start pounding on each other. its fucking intense, it can involve the entire pit, people around the pit, side fights break out, and security can't contain it.

Its especially dangerous for a few reasons:

1. You don't know who-knows-who..the guy next to you might be just some guy, or he might be the best friend of the girl that just got kicked, and therefore, he might be ready to pound the shit out of anyone that gets near, or he might not. Trying to break up this fight might implicate you with one side or the other, and invite people to pound your face in.

2. There's usually a lot of people involved. More than 5 at least, usually about 10 people total. this type of fight can either stop the show completely, or the band won't realize its a fight, and it will just snowball.

(One side note: the most fucking brutal show I've ever been to was Integrity in 1993 at Marty's in Mankato Minnesota. There was a lot was involved, enough for its own post completely, but suffice it to say, a MASSIVE fight broke out. Integrity didn't stop playing, and in fact made it worse, I ended up getting punched about 6 times, one of them by Dwid the singer for integrity and chipped up my front teeth. The fight lasted a good 10 minutes... The rest of the show was SUPER high tension, and Integrity, and already violent band, just aggravated to the point that the entire show was basically just a massive street fight...it was both beautiful and sickening)

Anyhow....

3. These fights quickly re-erupt. The fight starts, gets broken up be security, the bands tarts playing, and 2 of the guys who weren't initially involved are just pumping adrenaline now and the slightest fucking movement sets them off and the fight just keeps going.

This happened on friday. The fight broke out in front of me, security stopped it, threw out 2 people, and then as soon as the music started back up, the guy who was standing next to me started yelling "yeah motherfucker, you want this? lets go you fucking faggot...." etc... and BAM the fight started all over again.

What'd I do? I do what I always do when fights break out around me at shows: Hold your mouth shut, and breathe through your teeth (that way if you get hit, you don't have a great of a chance of chipping or breaking teeth), hold up both arms in front fore-arms horizontal. Then get in a lower stance, legs apart, ready to either back away or move forward (remember, the fight might also come from behind you!). Then, just fucking wait it out. NEVER push!

You might say that i'm kind of a wienie for doing that, but 1. I'm 31, I've neither the patience, nor the willingness to endure pain that I can easily avoid, and 2. I've been in real fights at shows, taken a side, etc... its the easiest way to get thrown out, and it usually ruins your night.

these days, I think fights really just ruin shows. hardcore shows can be some of the most adrenaline inducing, aerobic, ultra-power fests that make you just feel great...

Fighting ruins it all by killing the momentum and mood of a crowd, slowing down the pit, stopping the stage dives


Here's a classic example:



check it out, an awesome show, kids everywhere on the stage, people moshing, stage dives, looks like a great time, then two knuckleheads get into it, drag it onstage and before you know it, there's like 15 people involved, including the bassist for the band who throws his bass into the fray.

Geology Friday! On Monday!

Sorry all you faithful readers, I had a combination of Field Work and Beer Drinking session on Friday and neglected to update the blog with my Friday Geology Pic.

Here it is:




Check out the folds in the cliff in the foreground. There's another cliff in the background, near the horizon. The background cliff is the hanging wall of a thrust fault, and the foreground folds are a result of footwall rocks being dragged along the fault itself.

Folds and faults with the Devonian Dolostone: the Guillemette formation.

I love the look of rocks that are so brittle when hit with a hammer, but display folds like they were huge smooshed pieces of taffy.

good stuff.

Dinosaurs and dickheads

I saw this post over at Pharyngula today. I'd just like to echo the statement that PZ myers already made: What a colossal waste of fucking time.

This guy, he goes to college for 4 years, does a legitimate PH.D dissertation on Mesosaurs and says this:

“I was working within a particular paradigm of earth history. I accepted that philosophy of science for the purpose of working with the people”

You see, this douchewaffle is a fucking young earth creationist. So what he's saying is that he went to school for 4 years, learned all the stuff there is to know about his subject area, knowing all along that all the papers he's reading and all of the research he's pubishing is a lie, because the Bible is really true!

Luckily this pinhead has been relegated to the academic cesspool of shitty non-accredited christian universities; Liberty University, the conservative Christian institution founded by the Rev. Jerry Falwell.

I can't believe someone would waste that much time on that intensive of a course of study only to essentially reject it all. I'll hand it to the loser creationists, what they lack in intelligence they make up for in stamina and stubbornness.

2 Days to All Shall Perish

Drown in your Pattern life!

Enough ranting and raving! Back to some great geology.

One of the things I really like about geology are rocks that when you take pictures of them look like they'd make a really non-threatening desktop background on your computer. There are patterns in rocks that just kind of have a look about them - they just look interesting. Not only do they look cool, but most patterns in rocks are very diagnostic in helping you imagine the geologic history of that rock, or groups of rock.

I love sedimentary structures; structures that formed when the sediments within the rock were laid down. There's so much there.

Take for example this picture:



These are some ripple marks within a Tertiary-aged rock unit in central Idaho. Ripples are great indicators of where the sediments where deposited, in this case near a lake-shore. the wavelength and amplitude of measured ripple marks can tell you not only the water velocity at the time they were made, but also the direction of the water movement and even the water depth. Combined, you can paint a pretty vivid picture of earth's past just by looking at these patterns.




Here's a picture of a sand dune close up. eolian sands are so well sorted, just their perfect uniformity looks cool I think.

(the best part about the above picture is that if you print it out, rubber cement it to the back of a shadow box, add some colored seashells from petsmart's hermit crab section, and sell them at a Southern flea-market you can make $10's of dollars!)




Awesome picture of some pitted and chemically eroded Dolostone from a trip I took into mammoth cave. I think this picture turned out really neat for some reason. I had a student hold a flashlight up to this rock and then snapped a picture! the pitting is actually related to the bedding within the rock.





Converse to well-sorted sediments; we have a project site my company is working on in Utah, on top of a terminal moraine, where the sorting of the grains is so perfectly poor, it almost looks fake. This is kind of a bad picture, but look at the sediment in here. There's almost an equal share of every grain size in every portion of the exposed sediments.

Like if you grabbed a bucket of this stuff, sorted it all out according to its grain size, you'd have an equal volume of sand-sized stuff to an equal amount of boulders. It seems really fucking boring at first, but in nature its actually VERY difficult to have a large grain size distribution like this. There's no other force on earth, not oceans, not rivers, not lakes, not wind that will leave sediments like this, only glaciers. ...Well if you ever look underneath the table after a marathon Old-Country Buffet session, sometimes you can get a glipse of this phenomena amongst the biscuit crumbs and gravy.




its not just sedimentary rocks, like check out this picture of lava. it just looks cool. the vesicles, the color...just looks neat. rokz R sw3et!





And finally, one of the coolest looking rocks on the planet: the Banded Iron Formation in Northern Minnesota. I used to take students to this very outcrop every year. The layers are sedimentary layers of iron oxide minerals and quartz sandstone. they've been all compressed and squished in the eons following their deposition. cool shit.






....Am I crazy here? just re-reading this post makes me feel like a complete and total dork. I'm not sure what's nerdier, the fact that I look at rocks a lot and think about the patterns, and it appeals to me enough to take pictures of them, or the fact that I felt good enough about the pictures as to share them on this website (or ahem, that I have alot of pictures like this!).

Pet Peeve #4562340

One of my biggest pet peeves is people underestimating me. its HUGE. My wife says I'm far to sensitive to this, maybe so. but I can't fucking STAND IT when people treat me like I just got out of school, or that I don't know anything.

A lot of times at my work, I think people act suprised that I know things.

Here are a few examples:

1. Today, a guy asked me if I knew what a flow-meter was, and if I knew how to take measurements with it (a flowmeter is just a way to measure stream-flow). Measuring stream-flow is a basic - its one of the first things you learn in your geology classes. I've taken these measurements probably 100 times as a professional, and I used to teach the method to college students.


2. The first time someone asked me a real geology question, I gave them the answer, (it was about relay-ramp deformation in tertiary sediments in the great basin) and then at an office-wide morning meeting my boss said to everyone "hey everyone, Joe actually knows how to do geology!" That made me just fucking LIVID.

3. I had a guy ask me if I knew how to log well core, AFTER I had already done it on one of his projects.

I could go on and on.


I think what the bottom line is, is that I've been at this job for about 2 years and I think a lot of people still have know idea what my skill-set is. Most people think of me as "the guy you bring your GIS figures to when Sara or Andrew (other GIS people) aren't around".

I'm a good Geologist! I'm a decent Consulting Geologist! I'm actually 10 times better at geology than GIS. I could be even better if you just challenged me!

Cataclasis is on the Guest List!

I'm not one to gloat...ok I am.

but Today I got put on the guest list for this friday's hardcore extravaganza: Terror, The Warriors, and All Shall Perish.

My super-friend Matt is the drummer for all shall perish. he got me in.

Jesus's Middle Name does not stand for "hardcore"

So A few weeks ago, Digg had an article about "punks in the workplace". I can't find the article, but in it, there was a quote from a guy who said something like "yeah, I love casual friday's when I wear a short-sleeved shirt and all my tattoo's show..I love sticking it to the man".

Then, This weekend, I saw a commercial for "One Punk Under God". Apparently Jay Bakker (Jim Bakker's son) is a punk-rock minister.

Now. Seriously. Tattoos DO NOT make you punk, they don't even make you cool. Listening to Punk-music does NOT make you punk.

Trust me, I goto a lot of hardcore and punk music shows, I know a lot of kids that have tattoo's all the way down to their wrists, and most of them are witless shit-heads.

Punk, or rather the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) ethic, is just that, an ethic. Its about Living life yourself, whatever it is. Living outside of the established system, questioning everything about the society, including fashion.

Here's some things that are Punk:

1. Alexander Burkman (he wrote the blast - a crazy anarchist manifesto)

2. GG allin - I find this guy repulsive and his music worthless, but did he do what he wanted? I guess so.

3. Profane Existence - an old Frisco 'zine on the punk ethic, it was about resistance, all things punk, etc...

4. Any band that releases their first 7" without a label...completely punk rock, photo-copied sleeves and a pressing of only 500 records. Trading them at shows, selling them to whoever will buy.

5. DIY labels: there's a shit-ton of them. I can't even list them all.

6. Edward Abbey - A rebel if I ever read one. a real punk.

7. Kids who hand out 'zines. thats punk. no one takes the time to put together an old school 'zine on paper and trade it/give it out at shows. while the overwhelming majority of 'zines are shit, some (like K composite, Jawk, MRR, Profane Existence, etc...) are awesome.

Things that are not punk:

1. being a fucking minister in a predominately white church extolling the same fucking sermons your fucking loser father does for money..then getting tattoos and calling yourself "punk". FUCK YOU. FUCK OFF.

2. Getting tattoos. Then, going to work at Intertech and showing your tattoos on friday is not punk, its what we in the business call "sellout fucking poser". Real punks, real hardcore kids don't work for Office Depot...they work for collectives, or better yet, are gutter-punks, squatters.

3. The "tramp stamp" easily the dumbest tattoo I've ever seen. FUCKING STUPID.

4. Religion. it is physically impossible to be punk and be religious. sorry people, its just not happening. Nihilism, Atheism, etc... thats punk.

So, am I a punk? hell no, I"m a lame sellout.

Friday Geology Pic: Global Warming

Not the warming you think of. this abyssmal erie scene is actually from Craters of the Moon Park in Idaho. It looks kinda like you'd expect to see John Connor running around in. I took this picture a few years ago on a trip up on Idaho, and believe me, the entire scene isn't nearly as depressing as this photo appears.

Actually, its a young fissure-stype eruption lava field. When you think about the forces needed to create it, and the fact that there is some disagreement in the science community about how this large eruption happened and sustained itself, it doesn't seem so bad anymore...in fact its downright interesting. Worth the out-of-the-way drive to see if you have the time.

How Long? Not long, Because what you reap, IS WHAT YOU SOW!

Depressing news today.

"The report issued today in Paris, a 21-page summary of a much longer study on the science behind climate change, concludes there is a greater than 90 percent chance that greenhouse gases from human activity are responsible for most of the steadily rising average global temperatures observed in the past 50 years."


I'm actually glad this report came out today. Not only does it have huge implications for our near-future, but it will hopefully stem alot of the political douchebaggery concerning global-warming.

Its happening, and at rates that exceed our ability to control it. So maybe all the pundits and arm-chair scientists can stop the bickering and work towards solutions.

I found it a little depressing to learn that there really isn't much we can do about it in the short term, and that mitigation strategies focus not on the establishment of "greener" technologies, but on planning for the inevitable global changes that we face - Like not building in coastal areas, etc...

Amazing.

YOU KNOW WHAT DAY IT IS!!!

I'd post more, but I have to start the office circle pit!

What is Hardcore?!

The Bridge9 Records Messageboard had a thread yesterday that was something like "Post a picture that represents what hardcore IS". it was suprisingly great considering that the messageboard is overrun by hoards of new-schoolers and people that have previously threatened to kill me if I ever go to Boston (Ironically, it was because I told them their crew was too violent - its a long story for another day).

Anyhow. I saved a few of the pictures that I thought were great:



Awesome picture of Felix Von Havoc of Havoc records, rocking out in his band Code13. He used to be in a bunch of other bands, too I think. Havoc has been a staple of the Minneapolis hardcore scene for as long as I can remember. His dog (whose name was attila)tried to maul me at the old Extreme Noise record store in Minneapolis when I was in high school (Its still easily the premier hardcore/punk record store in the NATION). Felix just said "he doesn't like you". now thats hardcore.



Old mid-1980's picture of Bad Brains. Bad Brains is a fucking LEGENDARY DC band, if you don't know them, then you don't know anything. They were the first true hardcore band I ever saw in concert, they played with 7 Seconds. the Pay to Cum 7" record sells in the thousands of dollars on ebay. They are easily one of the top 5 hardcore bands of all time. their influence is just as widespread as the misfits or the ramones.



The high-five-stage-dive. fucking PERFECT. I mentioned in a previous post that people who jump from the floor speakers are crazy...here's the proof. This is what its all about.



Ian Mackaye on the right singing with Minor Threat. On the right is a young Henry Rollins, now more famously known for his fashion advice on VH1. Minor Threat is another fucking LEGENDARY band, and the influence of the DC scene in the early-to-mid 1980's is still apparent even in new bands today. You could write whole books about this, and I think people actually have.



And Finally...Earth Crisis Face tattoo man. HOLY SHIT! he got "earth crisis" tattooed on his FACE! Earth Crisis is the name of a Hardcore band from Syracuse, New York. They were really important to hardcore in the mid-1990's and really helped to usher in the whole Vegan Straight hate edge trend that still pervades alot of the scene. Great band for sure, but get their name tattooed on your fucking FACE? I don't know.

Apparently someone on the B9 board met him, and posted some better picks...this guy lives in Europe somewhere and apparently he just really really really likes hardcore. I guess he's a pretty nice guy.

Still, HE GOT "EARTH CRISIS" TATTOOED ON HIS FUCKING FACE!!!

Thats Hardcore.