MODERN EDUCATION

Wait, they excavated what?

(Thanks to lpd)

Comments

[Sondra]

waste management districts? Now that's a reason for video conferencing.

[U.O]

Sondra --

The kids need to learn about waste management so they can become informed and intelligent commentors on this blog ... HAR!

St. Judi --

What in He!! are you doing up at this time of nite? Get some sleep, girl!

Or not ... whatever you like ... um ... I'll just try to back out of this conversation quietly, and hope I haven't interrupted anything ... important ...

g'nite ... or whatever ...

[Brad]

They excavated a dinosaur bone. Based on it's size, they think they found a Tommynysaurus Lee.

[Son of a Charioteer]

30,000 year old dinosaur bone? Did I read that right?

[Bangi_Sizzles]

is that a burgeoning interest in ur pocket or...
oh, a dinosaur bone

[Son of a Charioteer]

Is this some kind of Creationist Dinosaur?

[Marvin]

wow, good point, SoaC. [Explanation] (so you humor-minded people needn't (word?) bother) I hadn't really read the article too thoroughly, but now that it's been pointed out...A 30,000 year old dinosaur bone would mean the Dinosaur lived in the Pleistocene Epoch of the Quaternary Period.
It is basically a scientific fact (he said dumbly) that 'dinosaurs' as we know them lived in the Mesozoic Era ('Age of the Reptiles'), which lasted from 245 Million Years Ago (MYA) to 66 MYA (exact #s vary, but who cares). About 30,000 BC, Palaeolithic peoples in central Europe and France started to record numbers on bones. So, if this 'dinosaur' were to have lived when they say, then that would mean Dinosaurs and Humans lived at the same time (not exactly popular opinion outside of TV). But then again, for 85 bucks I guess they got what the paid for.
[/explanation]

So, yeah, geology is fun! (what? that was paleontology/archeology? SO!?) Now, who wants to line up for my dissertation on the gneiss subject of the effects of blowout upon fluid discharge, with a little bit about how the right cleavage can drawdown any guyot your hartite desires?

[golfwidow]

Field trip, minus trip, minus McDonald's, equals bored students. You could have that in a regular class for free.

[Marvin]

I dunno, golfwidow, I'd enjoy it. But then again, I can't eat Bugles without thinking they look like horn corals. And if I wanted to, I could compare them to samples I collected in the field. Voluntarily.

*sigh*

But what else is the school going to do with the $500 budget they are left with after the bills are taken care of?

Books? 15% are still legible, so they're good for at least another 10 years.
More Teachers? Not when some teachers still have time to have a life outside of school duties
Alcohol? This is probably where the majority of the surplus goes (from my old school, anyway).
Field Trips? For $85? Heck Yeah! After all, aren't they in it for the sake (not the drink) of the kids?

Honestly, that started out in my mind as being funny.

[ErnieG]

Back when I was in school, the teacher would pull the shades and a dorky guy from the MPO Club would fire up the projector.(that's Motion Picture Operators - They even had a page in the yearbook.) The teacher would go to the teachers' lounge and kick back for the rest of the period. Dorky Guy had to stay close to the machine because the sprockets would slip at least twice every reel, causing the picture to lock on one madly vibrating frame.

Now they call this a virtual field trip and charge $85.00?

[judi]

thank you, son of a c. my point exactly. well, lpd's point exactly.

[Elegant Rap Fan]

For what its worth, I'm sure they just mistyped 30,000,000. But, anyway, since dating techniques are speculation based on assumption (there was no observation to confirm - and there is no scientific way to test a hypothesis that requires millions of years as a baseline), the 30,000 is likely to be just as accurate, maybe more so if the creationist (also untestable, but for entirely different reasons) folks are right.

[U.O]

M/GA -

Gneiss job ... You ROCK!

[Marvin]

Honestly, for some reason, I thought that said 30,000 pound dinosaur bone.

But in my defense, "It was cool" is a distracting sentence, left out all alone like that. Especially at 2:30 AM. (As opposed to 3 AM, which would probably have worked out better)

[Leetie]

A 30,000 year-old bone? You're supposed to seek immediate medical attention if it lasts more than four hours.

I bet the Mrs. was one happy dinosaurus.

[Leetie]

mmm.... dirty geology words...

[Brian B]

As someone who works in the waste management field, I feel compelled to defend the "field trip" to a waste management facility. My expertise is in wastewater management. Our facilities are capable of taking wastewater, and through biological treatment and filtration, putting out water that is most likely cleaner than what comes out of your tap. Our effluent can be used for non-potable water uses such as irrigation or returning the water via separate lines to be used as toilet water. Many times, it is simply discharged to receiving waters (creeks, streams, lakes, etc.)

Did you know that low-flow toilets have actually had an impact on my field? EPA guidelines for sizing treatment plants were written based on the older style toilets and have not been updated for new regulations. Therefore, many of our plants are volumetrically underloaded but have a higher concentration of waste. Yet another reason why low-flow toilets are the devil.

Also as a point of trivia, wastewater is only about 1% waste. The rest is perfectly reusable water after treatment.

Oh, and that was a pretty long-lived dinosaur if it just died 30,000 years ago.

That is all.

[Leetie]

I know what you mean, Brian. I've felt volumetrically underloaded for a few days now.

[Dirty Geology Word Extraordinaire]

Really, Leetie? So one might say you are in need of, um...maybe a megathrusting sinking shaft, with some overall compressional pressure exerted on both your basin and range provinces? Then maybe your well would be- *thwack* Ow!
*runs away from sock o' nickel barrage*

Aggghhhh! What else am I suppposed to do with my educational background?! And I learn better with hands on practice!

[Leetie]

*pant, pant*

[Christobol]

"And so class, thanks to the miracle of technology known as video conferencing, we are able today to take a field trip ALL THE WAY to Indianapolis. If it weren't for this wonderful technology, we might have had to spend an hour on the bus!"

I mean, couldn't they pick someplace a bit farther away? What's next, a virtual field trip to the cafeteria?

[insomniac]

(i'll leave it to Marvin to point out that 30 million years isn't right either ... oh, no i won't)

about 10 years ago, my wife went to a religous conference. included was a field trip to a local cave. the guide mentioned that she had been told that this was a church group and so pointed out that the watermarks on the side of the cave had been left there from the Great Flood. (i gather that bit of info. was 'extra'.)

[Marvin]

*runs by, throws a walkie talkie in*

thanks, insomniac, I was distracted by heavy panting somewhere up there ↑
*chhk*
but I think I already covered that 30 MYA wouldn't be right either, since I said that the Mesozoic ended 66 MYA *chhk* (but I did forget the mass extinction that wooda done all them lagging dinos in).
*chhk*
I guess I was right in my assumption that some nautiloid words would turn Leetie into a passive trailing margin. there are some headphones for you to plug in, Leetie...*chhk*

*chhk* *whisperwhisperifyougondwanatalkmorewhisper shadowswhisperhelpstobepanthalassawhisperjustgrabsometethys whisperwhisper*
*chhk*

[lurker]

Who would like to be the teacher who gets to take a class full of junior high school boys on an interactive video trip to the Grand Tetons?

[Eleanor]

Best 6th grade field trip memory:

On the crummy school bus to The CocaCola Bottling Factory!!!

Best movie Field Trip memory:

To The Museum in To Sir With Love

[Candy Tutt]

Two weeks ago on the Discovery Animal Planet I watched an hour-long special on dragons. Skillfully designed and executed, it was based on the supposition that dragons actually existed in ancient times. OK, stay with me here...

How do the schools that buy this video know that they're not watching a well-done but totally fictitious hoax?? Reminds me of a movie from years back about the faking of a lunar landing...

[Sondra]

I was misunderstood. The reason a virtual tour of waste management would be a Good Idea is to avoid the smell.

[Angie]

Thanks, Marvin, for explaining that to the science stupid around here. Or maybe it's just me. It's not just me, is it? It is?

*sob*

[notMarvin]

Don't worry, Angie, I dunno wht he ws tlkn abt, 2. Prolly made it all up, n.e.ways.

missing letters: aaaigoubabay

[wolfie]

Psssttt Marvin... wrong thread. What? Oh, branching out?
Nm... moving right along

*vanishes into shadows*

[RefulgentCore]

The next exhibit will be the excavation of a 500,000 year old dwelling built by 'cave men' with a special feature on how crystals embedded in the cave walls can capture and hold sounds for hundreds of thousands of years. If you hold your ear close to one of these crystals, you can hear an ancient cave man shout,

"WIIIIIILLLLMMMMMMAAAAAA!"

[U.O]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!

Tnx, Leetie ...

(I did not know [not knot no] dinosaurs wore pants ...)

[Madness]

[rant] how do YOU know dinosaurs weren't around 30,000 years ago? huh? were YOU around 30,000 years ago? [/rant]

actually, it's entirely possible that a) they "miscalcuated" the date, b) they misprinted the date in the article (the most logical and probably correct explanation) or, c) dinosaurs actually existed 30,000 years ago and we're just arrogant enough to not believe it.

fyi: geologists are sexy -leer-

[Geologist In Training]

I can't argue with your fyi, Madness.

[Madness]

-grins at GiT- i have a thing for geeks. i can't explain it. i see the glasses, the buttoned-up shirts, the little pen...gets me all squishy inside. it's like a disease. parade 10 chippendales and one nerd in front of me naked, i'll pick the nerd every time. -looks for a copy of scientific american to *cough* read-

[Madness]

-eyes Marvin curiously- only thing sexier than a geologist is an android that thinks he's a geologist -arches a brow-

(leaving the office now, so i'll let this post fester until i get to the office tomorrow -waves- -toddles off with a much-read copy of scientific american-)

[Marvin]

What a coincidence! I always considered following on the path of madness!

[Eleanor]

Marvin, your knowledge never ceases to amaze me - I am in awe! And I really mean it..

it's a good thing your brain is the size of a planet, so it can hold all that knowledge!

When you write your thesis for your Ph.D, I'd like to read it. :)

[AlanBoss]

Totally off topic, directed at Marvin, but for all to read...

Have you seen the promo material for Hitchiker's Guide? The movie looks like it's going to be great, but i can't get past the fact that they have dumbed down the Marvin's name (in the promo stuff, anyway) to "Marvin the Depressed Robot." What? Was "Paranoid Android" potentially offensive to, well, paranoid androids?????

[AlanBoss]

BTW... I've worked for Disney and I can tell you that the idea that they thought "Paranoid Android" would offend someone is entirely within the realm of possibility.

[Marvin]

AlanBoss, I have yet to do much more than watch the trailer a bunch of times. Hopefully they won't play up the 'Depressed Robot' moniker. 'Paranoid Android' is much more media friendly and appealing, imo.

[AlanBoss]

Marvin, I downloaded the Marvin (The Depressed Robot) screensaver and put it on my Mac. It's kind of nifty. Love Alan Rickman as his voice. I'm even getting used to the fact that he doesn't resemble C3PO. (I tried to put the "42" screensaver on but it screwed up my screensaver control panel royally.

[ghilie]

*singing earworm in head*

Marvin I love you
Marvin I love you
Remember, I'm programmed for you

Does anyone remember that song?

[killy]

BTW... I've worked for Disney and I can tell you that the idea that they thought "Paranoid Android" would offend someone is entirely within the realm of possibility.

[killy]

waste management districts? Now that's a reason for video conferencing

[Marvin]

BAD KILLY! BAD!!!!