Boring word stuff, plus horrible movies!!!

Today, we went over editing in word. I have already used many of these tools before, but my ah HA! moment was probably when I saw the options for identifying the editor (or editors) of the document. I didn't have any questions about how to do this as I have used most of this stuff before.

The worst movie ever was battlefield earth. I've never seen, but the reviews I saw of it were like this: Good points: It ended. Bad points: It started. That about sums it up. I saw some really bad ones on Mystery Science Theater 3000 as well, but I can't remember the names.

A Paragraph Analysis

I am investigating the facies of the cretaceous Dakota Sandstone and their potential for trapping fluids and gas. Right now there is huge demand for new sources of oil and gas. The high demand is causing prices to quickly climb to record highs. There is also huge potential for foreign supply disruptions. The Dakota Sandstone Formation is found at the surface and in the subsurface throughout a large area of the mountain west and has many prospects for oil and gas. There is active exploration in the Dakota Sandstone which illustrates the potential rewards of the Dakota Sandstone. The increasing demand and risk for disruptions of supply overseas highlight the need to find more oil here in in the Dakota Sandstone and in North America.

Web pages, cadavers... need I say more?

Well, today was good for getting me going on my geology web page/ portfolio. I really liked the ideas looking at Nicole's site gave me for my own site and so hopefully mine will look good when I'm done too.

When I was growing up, I thought I wanted to be a doctor because they made the big bucks while helping people. Unfortunately, I discovered I had an unfortunate propensity to pass out when exposed to excessively gory things such as when I got to hold a human heart ( I was able to pass it on before going down...). This then gave way to a desire to be a meteorologist which I held for many years before switching to business, then, finally, geology.

Give me CHOCOLATE anyday (webpages are nice too...)

I must say I really like the Geology dept. web page's setup. It is fairly easy to get an online portfolio going and it looks pretty good. I understood how to set it up and after I play with it a bit, I may have more questions. For now, I think I'm ok.

My favorite food is definitely chocolate... Mmm... Chocolate...

Abstract Teleportation...

Today I really appreciated the specific requirements for abstracts and the practice on simple stories. I can't think of anything I really needed more clarification on today...

If I had a superpower, I would want the ability to teleport anything (including myself) anywhere in the world in an instant. That way I could save the 15 mins it takes to walk to school and I would never need to fly or drive again...

If I had a hammer... I'd buy a nail gun (and use refworks)

I wasn't introduced to refworks until today. I love how you can check off the papers you want to reference online and then directly import them to the program and then pop them into your paper. It will take some doing to figure exactly how to do some things (like how word and refworks work together), but I should be able to figure it out.

If I could be a tool, I would be a nail gun. Why? Well first off it is a power tool. Secondly, it's a gun (which is cool... obviously...). Lastly, you can build things really fast and defend yourself with it. So... um... yeah... Have a good day!

Papers and Vacations oh my!

Well, today I got a lot of help with choosing my research topic. I had forgotten about the library's extensive library of journals so being reminded of that was very helpful. The proposal tips were also very helpful although a few of the principles will be difficult to apply with a class research paper as opposed to a project where there is field work/ laboratory work involved (and money required to do it...). Still it is good practice to try and apply all of them.

My dream vacation would be 3 months in Yellowstone where I would get to see Giant geyser and a major eruption of steamboat geyser along with many other geysers. I would also do a lot of hiking to back country geyser basins. That would be an awesome vacation...

Jobs n' Such

Today, I think it most useful to me to hear about the importance of researching the company beforehand and asking questions. It is easy to forget what is important to interviewers when you're going in. The most frustrating thing is trying to figure out what would differentiate me from everybody else. I heard a few good ways, but it seems like the best way is to just be creative with it, without being over the top.

What makes me unique is my experiences. Last year I did battle with cancer and I am still here. I have also had similar challenges during my mission. Those experiences are big part of who and what I am today.

Makin' Resumes with a side order of prank stories...

Well, today we went over resumes and CVs. I think what helped the most today was knowing what we were writing the resume for (grad school resume). I was still a little confused about what format would be best for this, but that is probably a matter of what I've done that could go on the resume as well as personal preference and style.

Now for best prank... Well, I can't remember any that I've done (though I have done a few) at the moment. The best one I can think of is one that my mom did to her brother. He came in one day and threw a shirt in her face saying, "Fix this!" and left without another word. So, she fixed it, but she carefully sewed each button hole closed in the shirt. Apparently it took a while before he realized that they were sewed closed... :-)

Learning Word

Well, today I tried not to fall asleep... Just kidding. My AHA! moment today was probably the tab tool. I didn't even know that existed and I can see how helpful that would be for things like the table of contents. I didn't find anything frustrating today with what we covered.

Now for my scar story... Well, I have a few to choose from, but the best is probably when I was messing around with an electric motor with a model airplane propeller attached. I was checking to see if it had power and holding it in my hand when it got a little out of hand and sliced my hand. It was a pretty good sized slice and I went upstairs to show the gruesome wound to my mom and uncles (I was at my relatives place). My Uncle promptly checked the wound and while he squeezed it I saw a cross-sectional view of my skin to the bone briefly and passed out cold. Later two of my Uncles (both dentists) stitched up my hand with lots of extra thick thread so now I have a nice big scar.

Style at the NHC

I looked at http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/today with an eye towards their type style. They use a sans serif type font. On this page my eye is drawn to the main title of the page and the map showing where the active tropical systems are. They use a fairly small type size for links that doesn't stand out much, slightly larger for the tropical system names, and even larger font for regional titles. The line length is short and heading oriented.

Well, if you're still awake... Go and look at the satellite picture of Hurricane Ike. It is pretty neat looking. On the left, Storm info -> Satellite -> Hurricane Ike Floater visible or IR.

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to my geology 230 blog!! The name of my blog comes from the schist in Wind River Canyon, Utah. My dad and I would often stop there and he would lament the fact that he couldn't have been there to name the area first. The reason was that he always wanted to name it "a pile if schist" (for obvious reasons).

Anyway, I will be writing here often over the next few months so stay tuned in!