Sorry for not blogging in a while. Once the new semester started, things have kicked into high gear. I've been doing a lot (and I mean A LOT!) of synchrotron data processing. I'm going back for the last time in two weeks, so I'm going through all my data to make sure I have everything covered. I'm also doing followup TEM work on the samples I analyzed two weeks ago, and starting to do sample prep for the next trip. All that and I've decided to take Don Burt's Ore Deposits class, mostly for employment reasons. It hasn't been so bad so far, but I think it would suck for undergraduates. I can see why all the undergrads hate Burt's petrology class.

Kelly goes back to Safford and Morenci this afternoon. Keep her in your thoughts!

So I'm trying to analyze my data from the synchrotron and nothing's working. Then I realize that they just put new parts in the x-ray microscope and rewrote some of the software to run it. They probably also changed the file format somewhat, which explains why I can't read the new files with the old software I have. Unfortunately, the new software requires the new version of IDL, which I don't have and can't afford right now. I'm trying to download the free "virtual machine" which only allows you to run software, but the website is running extremely slow right now, so I haven't been successful at it yet.

back in town. busy as all get out. gotta go!

I think I'm starting to go crazy from lack of food and sleep, too much repetition, and constantly staring at a computer screen. I'm talking to myself now, like the retard that I feel like. "Dint duh dile" = Print the file.

I drove out to Montauk Point yesterday after I started my morning "stack". I guess there's a famous lighthouse out there or something. I was more interested in all the glacial till. There are huge pieces of super-porphyritic granite (with feldspars the size of your thumb), awesome gniesses, and all sorts of igneous boulders. The sand there is, of course, made up of tiny minerals from these rocks, and I probably looked like a total idiot just standing there staring at a palm-ful of sand. There were these patches of purple sand too, which was composed of mostly mafics (I wish I had a magnet with me!) and a curious pink translucent mineral. It could just be rose quartz, but it was more the color of pink tourmaline. I tried to find the source rock for this pink sand, but I couldn't find it. I did find one egg-sized piece of a white (quartz? felspar?) rock with tiny pink minerals in it. It broke pretty easily, but the pink minerals were scarce, so you'd have to weather a whole lot of it to get a big patch of purple sand. And where would the mafic minerals come from? Oh well, next time I'm out there I'll try to remember to bring a vial with me. I did manage to collect a few cool pebbles, though.

It took two hours to drive out there and two hours back because of all the traffic in the Hamptons. I can't believe this major highway all of a sudden goes through the middle of these boutique-filled "villiages". Southhampton, Easthampton, Bridgehampton, and I'm sure there's a few more of them, too. At least Amangasset has a unique name. Then, when I got back, everything had gone to shit. I had to restart the stack halfway through...twice! Ultimately, I was up till after 1AM setting up the overnight stack.

Travelling to New York always sucks because of the time change. My goal is to get to Brookhaven by 5PM. Subtract 2 hr drive halfway across long island, 5 hrs of airline flights, 1 hr layover, 1 hr travel overhead, 3 hr time change, and I have to leave AZ at 5AM. This time I connected in Houston. The flight from Phoenix to Houston wasn't too bad. I slept most of the way. But I had to sit next to a fat girl on the way from Houston to New York. She was probably only a freshman in college, but she was oozing into my side over and under the armrest. Then she pulls out a Precious Moments coloring book! Ugh. There was also an actual monk on the plane. He was this big guy with a long gray beard, wearing a gray robe with prayer beads and a rope sash. I overheard someone ask what he was, and the monk said he was a Franciscan friar. What a crazy flight!

I'm blogging from the synchrotron at Brookhaven today. I've been really busy with sample prep and house stuff last week, so I haven't had time to blog until now. The x-ray microscope is taking a "spectral stack" now, which should take about seven hours. Nows my chance to eat and relax a bit.

Last week Kelly was out of town at Morenci, so I worked late at ASU to finish all the sample prep I needed to get done. But things kept happening. I had to plan for delivery of our new dishwasher, changing oil in my car and Kelly's car, hang out with friends that are in town for a couple weeks, and even my grandma died. Let me just say it was stressful to balance all these things, especially with all the emotional highs and lows. But I got everything done and my samples turned out well.

On a whim, I decided to check my biorhythm today. Turns out, in the next four days my intellectual, emotional, and physical cycles are all simultaneously at an all time low. Crap! Thank goodness I don't believe in that shit.

I'm done with the updates to my blog template.

Today is pissing me off. The dishwasher in our house is an old piece of shit, but it's under warranty so a guy has to come out and look at it. Of course, I can't schedule when the guy comes. Instead, I get a phone call yesterday that somebody will be out there between 11 and 3 'click'. It's already after 1PM now. At least I got some yard work done. There's some more weeds to take care of in the backyard, but I'm afraid I won't hear the doorbell out there.

Also, the lawn mower the landlord left us is also a piece of shit. Kelly, Jace, and I all tried to start it and failed. I have to call about that too after the dishwasher guy gets here.