I'm Thunderstruck!

I first encountered this on Facebook a year or two ago and was duly impressed by it but also proceeded to forget about it. I saw it again on Facebook the other day and won't neglect to share it here this time. This remarkable Finnish redneck ensemble (Steve 'n' Seagulls) does a cover of ACDC's "Thunderstruck" and they nail it. Who knew? Another question: are they indeed imitating American redneck tradition or is that typical costumery of Finnish yocals?

Utter Bliss

Perchance earlier tonight I found this awesome trance track "Bliss" from 2009. It's another gem by Russian trance artist formerly Alpha 9 (at the time of this track) now known as Arty (true name Artem Stolyarov). Crank up your speakers and also enjoy the beautiful accompanying video.

Putin vs. Stormtrooper Redux

Last week I shared the hilarious Putin vs. Stormtrooper meme HERE not realizing this upgraded one was also out there. I neglected to post it with the original so here it is for your enjoyment and I designate it as MY meme-of-the-week.The additional Putin pursuers include Dr. Who in his phone booth, Atreyu riding Falkor, Doc Brown's DeLorean, Gandalf riding an Eagle, and Ironman to go along with the aforementioned and Photoshopped Imperial Scout Trooper on Speeder Bike.

My Refugio Fossil Fest 2015

The last time I got out of my cage to rockhound was on September 4, 2014... today was March 11, 2015 (four-year anniversary of the Great Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami, on an unrelated note). That is to say it has been a half-year and a week since last I rockhounded. Today I rockhounded. That was not "my" original plan for the day but often the best things in life are things that happen "off-the-cuff" or "spontaneously." Today I picked up a dear loved one from a medical facility in Long Beach and drove them home. On the way home we stopped at Refugio State Beach in Santa Barbara County on the Gaviota Coast to unwind. There I looked around in the newly-sorted cobbles on the "beach" as I have done in the past. Unlike in the past, I found an abundance of interesting and even unexpected things, all in a rather small section of beach and in only about an hour's time. Earlier this winter some fairly vigorous wave events churned this coastline refreshing the cobbles and stones along the coast. As many of you know this coastline is famous for its petrified whale bone and less commonly, petrified wood and even sharks teeth and on rare occasions, whole shark jaws and whale brain casts. Today's visit was my most fruitful one ever for any location along the Gaviota Coast and I recommend my rockhound brethren check this place before the summer wave pattern starts dumpting sand atop some of this material. Pictured below are each of the items I found today.

Balanced-rock monument

My search area looked like this.

The rocks generally looked like this.

This specimen appears to capture a turbidity zone on the ocean bottom which might have been a submarine landslide.

Calcite nodule/geode.

Generic petrified whale bone specimens.

Petrified whale bone vertebra.

Heavily silicated petrified whale bone vertebra. 

Closer view of whale bone vertebra.

Even closer view of same vertebra: note bone cell structure.

Petrified whale bone in matrix.

Odd-looking petrified whale bones in matrix are cervical vertebra.

Different view of previous specimen with alternating layers of bone.

Large, well-preserved petrified whale bone vertebra with both disks attached.

Close-up of silicated fossilized coral.

Petrified drift wood encased in worm-eaten concretion. All photos by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved)

One Helios of a Song

Tonight I discovered German DJ Oliver Lieb's 2012 techno house single "Helios" which immediately struck a cord within me following no new notable discoveries the past several nights despite all the songs I've checked on Youtube over the past couple of weeks. Perhaps it is just me but I like this... it is in tune with where I am at right now with all that is on my mind and in my heart. I love the atmospheric moodiness of it combined with the circular building up and maintenance of tension throughout the track.The cool part does not begin until about the 3-minute mark.

Graphic of the Day - American Aquifers

Being the geo-nerd I am I find this sort of thing intersting... my map fetish makes this sort of thing irresistible.
Courtesy USGS (all rights reserved).

Cal Poly Derp

derp

dərp/

informal

exclamation

exclamation: derp; exclamation: herp derp

1. 1.

   used as a substitute for speech regarded as meaningless or stupid, or to comment on a foolish or stupid action.

noun

noun: derp

1.

foolishness or stupidity.

Clearly none of them were engineering majors.

Watch the lawsuits fly now... and you think Cal Poly Greek life was under the gun before this happened following all the other things that have occurred this academic year.

The university administration weighed in on this to the student body with the following communique:

To the campus community,
Early this morning, we were made aware of a large student party in the neighborhoods to the south of campus that resulted in the collapse of a garage roof due to multiple individuals on the roof. As many as 10 individuals suffered injuries in the collapse, none of them life-threatening. Our thoughts are with those who were injured, and we are grateful to the first responders. We are also fortunate that the outcome was not worse.
This event raises significant concern about the judgment exercised by both the party organizers and attendees regarding the health and safety of themselves and others. Behavior like this has no place in San Luis Obispo and is counter to the expectation we have of Cal Poly students.
The university will investigate all aspects of this incident and will respond appropriately when the facts are known.
The Cal Poly community was fortunate this morning that the outcome was not life-threatening. We have a great concern for the health and wellbeing of our students, which means we must continue to work to make sure events like this do not occur in the future.
We will provide updates as we learn more about this incident.

Sincerely,
Jeffrey D. Armstrong                      Keith B. Humphrey
President                                          Vice President for Student Affairs