I'm now half way through a 3 day weekend and its going rather well. Yesterday was a kick back, lazy day, this morning i went biking in the Santa Catalina Mountains to the north of Tucson and tomorrow im off out to a Pizza Hut all-you-can-eat lunch with my house mates for just $5! Looking forward to the ice-cream.
The Santa Catalina bike ride was amazing though - it was about a 40mile round trip i did from our apartment travelling North East and onto the Catalina Highway which eventually windes its way up to the top of Mount Lemmon at 9500ft from the Tucson basin floor at 2400ft. I biked to the mountain base and then a couple of miles up. The scenery was amazing although its going to take me a few months to build up the fitness to do the 80 mile round trip to the top! Theres plenty of photos in the album so check them out including my new "friend" warning about the high risk of forest fires (yes, even in November!).
This coming week promises to be pretty good aswell. I need to start on my Geology of the Solar System project involving modelling the Martian North Polar region, im off to a Wildcat (The UofA team) football game on thursday evening - the final home game of the season so it should be a good atmosphere. I'm not a American Football (aka. puffy Rugby) fan but its gotta be done, especially since its the university team (who admittedly arent going particularly well this season).
And finally, the news! Spain's royal family has the right idea when it comes to politics. At a press conference he spoke sternly to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez infront of the camera's saying; "Why don't you shut up!". I guess they dont get along that well! And from western Germany. A man recently had a visit from the Police after his car was found abandoned on a petrol station forecourt. It turned out he had filled up his car with petrol, paid the cashier and proceeded to walk home! How he didn't notice his car was missing from around his body i dont know!
S'all for now folks
Sunday, 11 November 2007
Wednesday, 7 November 2007
You've Gotta love it
Every now and then, i see something in America which quite frankly leaves me speechless and wondering if this great continent can get any more bizarre, A few weeks back it was watching the David Letterman show when he had some "invited guests" showing off some stupid stunts. One guy was able to kick himself in the head 30 times in 30 seconds, the next drank a glass of beer through his nose and the final used a blow gun and mousetrap to eat a piece of cheese! (Yeah, dont ask how he did it!). This week, however, America has surpassed herself.
Walking down University Mall, the main boulevard through campus, Axe Shower Gell Company had several lorry loads of paraphenalia set up to promote their new product under the slogan "the dirtier you are, the cleaner you can get!". With that in mind, they made people strip down to their boxers, sit in a bath and be covered in gunk-like-stuff reminiscent of Mr Blobby and Noel's House Party, and then roll down a grassy bank being sprayed with more gunk by a scantly clad blonde chav with a IQ of a goldfish. From this, they are then given a free shower using the new gel in a specially kitted out, glass walled lorry body! It was all very stupid and very pointless. They even had a cop on standby to "supervise" the place - what a day he had!
In good news today, the dollar hit another amazing low against the pound. £1 now buys $2.104 dollars and subsequently my rent and everything else i buy is getting cheaper and cheaper! Its fantastic! If it gets much higher, im gonna have to consider buying another guitar! Wouldnt that be a shame!
Walking down University Mall, the main boulevard through campus, Axe Shower Gell Company had several lorry loads of paraphenalia set up to promote their new product under the slogan "the dirtier you are, the cleaner you can get!". With that in mind, they made people strip down to their boxers, sit in a bath and be covered in gunk-like-stuff reminiscent of Mr Blobby and Noel's House Party, and then roll down a grassy bank being sprayed with more gunk by a scantly clad blonde chav with a IQ of a goldfish. From this, they are then given a free shower using the new gel in a specially kitted out, glass walled lorry body! It was all very stupid and very pointless. They even had a cop on standby to "supervise" the place - what a day he had!
In good news today, the dollar hit another amazing low against the pound. £1 now buys $2.104 dollars and subsequently my rent and everything else i buy is getting cheaper and cheaper! Its fantastic! If it gets much higher, im gonna have to consider buying another guitar! Wouldnt that be a shame!
Saturday, 3 November 2007
Ready to shoot the S.O.B
Wow - an awesome last few days - plenty of photos which ive uploaded into the online album (see top right), more to follow soon.
Friday we went on a night hike in the Tucson Mountains - still able to wear shorts and t-shirts despite it being a november evening! We didn't go all that far tbh, and it wasn't really a night hike - more of a "evening stroll in the mountains". We turned back when some American friends of ours couldn't go any further despite only being a mile or 2 from the summit of Wasson Peak which was slightly disappointing.
Saturday was even better and goes some way to explaining the title of this post. We went up to a state owned test ground between Florence and Phoenix to run a seismic survey in the middle of the desert. The lecturer taking the trip is as cool as lecturers can be - thats to say he turned up before we left Tucson with a BIG box of pastries to entertain us during the journey. The actual survey site was about 2 miles off the road on a pathetic excuse for a dirt track - interesting travelling in a minibus!
So we set up the equipment - 108 geophones, shot cables, computers and everything before starting to have some fun with sledgehammers and nail guns. After a short while, i managed to get a go with the nail gun and it turned out i did most of the shooting for the rest of the day. This is no ordinary nail gun either (you need a license for it to start off with! Whoops!). It uses mini-shotgun pellets which we use to fire a nail into a steel plate and create the source. Lets just say it was awesome fun! We had powerful walkie-talkies to communicate between the recording station and the shot "crew" - we hope to god that the military weren't spying on some of the stuff we were saying:
Friday we went on a night hike in the Tucson Mountains - still able to wear shorts and t-shirts despite it being a november evening! We didn't go all that far tbh, and it wasn't really a night hike - more of a "evening stroll in the mountains". We turned back when some American friends of ours couldn't go any further despite only being a mile or 2 from the summit of Wasson Peak which was slightly disappointing.
Saturday was even better and goes some way to explaining the title of this post. We went up to a state owned test ground between Florence and Phoenix to run a seismic survey in the middle of the desert. The lecturer taking the trip is as cool as lecturers can be - thats to say he turned up before we left Tucson with a BIG box of pastries to entertain us during the journey. The actual survey site was about 2 miles off the road on a pathetic excuse for a dirt track - interesting travelling in a minibus!
So we set up the equipment - 108 geophones, shot cables, computers and everything before starting to have some fun with sledgehammers and nail guns. After a short while, i managed to get a go with the nail gun and it turned out i did most of the shooting for the rest of the day. This is no ordinary nail gun either (you need a license for it to start off with! Whoops!). It uses mini-shotgun pellets which we use to fire a nail into a steel plate and create the source. Lets just say it was awesome fun! We had powerful walkie-talkies to communicate between the recording station and the shot "crew" - we hope to god that the military weren't spying on some of the stuff we were saying:
Shooter: "Are we ready to go?"
Recording Station: "Yep - nail the bastard"
Shooter fires the source: "Target destroyed! Well done boys!"
"Roger it!"
"Stop being a wussy - act like a man, fire it!"
"Try the O-N / O-F-F switch!"
And im sure theres many more i can't remember right not. All in all, a great day! So now its back to "office work". A geochemistry mid-term looms on tuesday and i still haven't got an email back from the lecturer about a question with the homework. Speaking of which ive got another one in on friday for solar system and a seismology poster to polish off.
New weekend is veteren's weekend - essentiall i get a 3 day weekend to do something. I'm thinking about biking up Mount Lemmon but it depends - its about a 75mile round trip and goes up to 9500ft so ive gotta be feeling good!
And to finish off with some news. Milan Baros, the ex-Liverpool now Lyon footballer got caught for speeding last week in the autoroute near Lyon. Police clocked him at 269kph (168mph!) in his Ferrari. Now, i for one know you can get away with speeding on the autoroutes in France so long as your careful but 170 is taking the piss! Singapore Airlines, who recently took delivery of the first Airbus A380 super-jumbo have issued a warning to all passengers who book a "private suite" on one of their flights. The rooms are not completely soundproof, so in the interest of other passengers, couples should not join the mile high club! (I hope no definition is needed!). In Munich, the "world's best bum" championships were won by a 19 yr old form Bulgaria. The competition saw over 100 competitors showoff their "ass-ets" to win some money and a insurance policy for their derrier! How low can you go! And finally, the USA never fails to provide news of the lowest and utter useless quality. In Washington this week, the annual "drag race" took place which basically involved a bunch of drag queens running 100m in high heals to win not very much! Stupid, pointless and embarassing but, at times, thats America for you!
Wednesday, 31 October 2007
Ok, where do i start! Firstly some news from the states. A man was arrested last week for commiting an 'assault by pickle'! I kid you not, the victim is pressing charges after he was involved in an argument and had 2 pickles thrown at him. I think he's just feeling abit sour. Secondly, in Madrid, a judge has sentenced a total of 21 people for various charges related to the 2003 Madrid train bombings. He got the right idea by giving them huge jail terms - 3 people each received a sentence of 40,000 years!
The car had to race one mile along a runway, turn around and race a mile back. The plane had to take off, accelerate a mile vertically and then straight back down and cross the start line (in the air). Obviously the plane won but not by much! The pilot absolutely gassed it aswell - putting on the afterburners whilst plummeting near vertically towards the ground! I love our RAF! Would the American's do something like that??? No, they'd probably shoot it down! Being a bunch of gun-ho plane enthusiasts!
Next, i'd like to clarify that 'sea-quakes' are a myth (you know who you are!), hence the name 'earthquakes' - they occur inside the earth! It is somewhat unknown for water (which is impossible to shear!) to produce seismic energy. Potential man-made sources for seismic exploration include - sledgehammer, buffalo gun, air gun (for marine seismic lines), dynamite, vibro-truck, nail gun, rolling a car off a cliff, nitro-glycerine or, as the Russian's effectively demostrated in the late 1950's, underground nuclear blasts!
I was going to rant on now about Max Mosley and his shear stupidity and comments on Lewis Hamilton but my friend Tim has done it admirably so i can't be bothered to compete. Go to: http://timnutt.blogspot.com/.
And, perhaps, finally. I hope everyone saw Top Gear last weekend because it had one of the best videos ever in it! Richard Hammond raced the Bugatti Veyron (without the pot plants in the photo!) against the new Eurofighter Typhoon strike plane.
The car had to race one mile along a runway, turn around and race a mile back. The plane had to take off, accelerate a mile vertically and then straight back down and cross the start line (in the air). Obviously the plane won but not by much! The pilot absolutely gassed it aswell - putting on the afterburners whilst plummeting near vertically towards the ground! I love our RAF! Would the American's do something like that??? No, they'd probably shoot it down! Being a bunch of gun-ho plane enthusiasts!
Sunday, 28 October 2007
Full Throttle For The Main Stream
Haven't blogged in a while so its about time to keep all you blogo-maniac's happy with another dose of news and irreverent mumbo jumbo from Arizona. Last week was a busy week but next week is busier. Ive got a geochemistry midterm to revise for (oh joy!), a big geochem homework assignment, a seismic modelling project, an exploration seismology homework, a geology of the solar system homework and Mars GPR project to start! Hmmm!
So aside from Uni work, not a lot went down last week. The weather was, well, sunny (again) and Liverpool lost in the Champions League (again!). Friday we went, briefly, to a Halloween party where, besides the enormous amounts of free food, not a lot happened. Yesterday i biked to the Tucson Mall about 4 miles away just to have a look around. These things are huge - kind of like the massive one's you get in England but there everywhere. I read somewhere that at some point in the 1970's, a new Mall was opening every 90 minutes somewhere in the USA! Thats ridiculous! Even in Tucson, theres 2 Fry's supermarkets within about 2 miles of each other - whats the point? If they just build one, it'll make people walk abit further and maybe get some much needed exercise. Whilst on that subject, i called in at Walmart on the way back (actually brought a pair of shorts but anyway) whilst looking on the rack for a suitable size, i came across several 48in waist one's - if people are that fat, they should make them pay more for their clothes - perhaps as an incentive to lose some weight! Whilst the old stereotype that every American is fat and unhealthy is very generalistic and doesnt apply to everyone, it certainly applies to a lot of people! And just before i finish this mini rant - some American's are indeed very very dumb! A week last Saturday i was in Wilcox for the day. When entering the gift shop there, i didn't have to try very hard to over hear a woman say: "I'm not as stupid as i look you know!" Before prompty falling over the door step! The moment was priceless!
Rant over, now i must get on with some work. Although there was some interesting geology related news this week. An auction house in New York is having a meteorite session - selling 52 pieces of space rock with estimates from a few hundred $'s to $1.3million. The pick of the bunch is the only meteorite known to have caused a fatality by direct hit! Experts say the 1kg fragment has become a collectors item since it fell in South America in 1972, killing a cow!
And finally, a comment from Mihai Ducea, my tectonics lecturer (who also strongly thinks that the University of Arizona's Geology Department is the best in the USA and possible the best in the world judging by the number of resources available!) - "I finally realised this P.O.S (piece of ...) state university is actually one of the best!"
So aside from Uni work, not a lot went down last week. The weather was, well, sunny (again) and Liverpool lost in the Champions League (again!). Friday we went, briefly, to a Halloween party where, besides the enormous amounts of free food, not a lot happened. Yesterday i biked to the Tucson Mall about 4 miles away just to have a look around. These things are huge - kind of like the massive one's you get in England but there everywhere. I read somewhere that at some point in the 1970's, a new Mall was opening every 90 minutes somewhere in the USA! Thats ridiculous! Even in Tucson, theres 2 Fry's supermarkets within about 2 miles of each other - whats the point? If they just build one, it'll make people walk abit further and maybe get some much needed exercise. Whilst on that subject, i called in at Walmart on the way back (actually brought a pair of shorts but anyway) whilst looking on the rack for a suitable size, i came across several 48in waist one's - if people are that fat, they should make them pay more for their clothes - perhaps as an incentive to lose some weight! Whilst the old stereotype that every American is fat and unhealthy is very generalistic and doesnt apply to everyone, it certainly applies to a lot of people! And just before i finish this mini rant - some American's are indeed very very dumb! A week last Saturday i was in Wilcox for the day. When entering the gift shop there, i didn't have to try very hard to over hear a woman say: "I'm not as stupid as i look you know!" Before prompty falling over the door step! The moment was priceless!
Rant over, now i must get on with some work. Although there was some interesting geology related news this week. An auction house in New York is having a meteorite session - selling 52 pieces of space rock with estimates from a few hundred $'s to $1.3million. The pick of the bunch is the only meteorite known to have caused a fatality by direct hit! Experts say the 1kg fragment has become a collectors item since it fell in South America in 1972, killing a cow!
And finally, a comment from Mihai Ducea, my tectonics lecturer (who also strongly thinks that the University of Arizona's Geology Department is the best in the USA and possible the best in the world judging by the number of resources available!) - "I finally realised this P.O.S (piece of ...) state university is actually one of the best!"
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