Saturd80's: Figgy Duff Edition

Figgy Duff was a group formed in Newfoundland in the mid 1970's, and who came to my attention about 1981. I grew up with Irish and Celtic music, and it remains one of my favorite genres. Figgy Duff's unique take on a unique folk culture that preserved their own version of Celtic music is a sound for which I have held deep respect and appreciation for about 30 years now.

Woman of Labrador... so beautiful, so sad:

Henry Martin... Pirates were not what we have romanticized them to be:

Geese in the Bog... a very evocative instrumental piece:

You Betcha

Coming up tomorrow, "Given choice between Trump, Palin, most registered voters choose suicide."

Cracks in the Innertubz

Apparently, blooger suffered a full-fledged meltdown yesterday, and radioactive debris from various blogs is scattered along breakdown lanes throughout the intercontinental information superhighway system. Stuff exists in my RSS feed that has apparently been extirpated from the actual virtual world, if you know what I mean. For example, I went to leave a comment on a very flattering piece by fellow PNW geoblogger Dana, and whaddya know, this page doesn't exist. Anyway (*blush*), you're very welcome, Dana. (Here's her home page, and maybe that wayward post will show up again... blooger says they're working on it.)So in the spirit of demonstrating that I'm not irritated- not in the least- here's a very pretty picture of some person swimming from Europe to North America, or vice versa; I can't tell which side is which. This is Silfra rift in Iceland, from epic4chan, and it truly looks like an experience that would broaden my view of the world. Or slowly widen it, at least.

Wednesday Wednesday

From Squidboo

Geology News in Photos

Today's In Focus feature is on the Japan earthquake, two months later. Above, a clock submerged by the tsunami records the waterline. I found these photos pretty shocking- the events at the time were plenty shocking enough, but the sheer quantity of debris to be cleaned up and disposed of is difficult to comprehend. A couple of others, #17 and #20, inspire my sometimes warped and generally tasteless sense of humor to caption them along the line of "Silly boats! U no belong there!"

Closer to home, The Big Picture has 30-some images of the flooding along the Mississippi River.There has been a slew of bad science journalism about this event, and the go-to site for accurate information and media corrections has been Steve Gough's Riparian Rap.

I spent my preschool years in Gallipolis, Ohio, and some of my earliest memories are of steamboats that still served as working tugs on that stream. I was in love with a boat named the Kathy R, and could recognize its distinctive whistle from miles away. In the spring of my fourth or fifth year, there was a flood that covered our yard- the ground floor of our house was several feet higher, and was not inundated. I vividly remember feeling like the house was afloat, no longer attached to the earth. I also vividly remember catching crawdads (as I grew up calling them), and being quite amazed that they were in the yard. I'm sure it's small consolation to the family above, but one, this flood will replenish your soil with nutrients and fresh sediment. And two, crawdads are exploring your farm. How cool is that?

Stay tuned as the geology world holds its breath in anticipation for upcoming excitement at Old River Control. I hadn't realized it until yesterday, but John McPhee's New Yorker article on that mega-project, which was later adapted as a third of his book The Control of Nature, is available online. If rivers or environmental engineering hold any interest for you at all- and they both should- this is definitely a recommended read.

Moonday: Dactyl

Dactyl is that itty-bitty dot to the right, the first known satellite orbiting an asteroid, 243 Ida, which is the larger body to the left. According to Wikipedia,

Ida's moon, Dactyl, was discovered by mission member Ann Harch in images returned from Galileo. It was named after the Dactyls, creatures which inhabited Mount Ida in Greek mythology. Dactyl, being only 1.4 kilometres (4,600 ft) in diameter, is about one-twentieth the size of Ida. Its orbit around Ida could not be determined with much accuracy. However, the constraints of possible orbits allowed a rough determination of Ida's density, which revealed that it is depleted of metallic minerals. Dactyl and Ida share many characteristics, suggesting a common origin.

Sunday Funnies: Third Blogoversary Edition

Yes, today marks the beginning of my fourth year of blogging. I could never have anticipated exactly how accurate my blog description/subtitle in the header would turn out to be.Savage Chickens

see more Celeb Look-A-Likes
What Would Jack Do?
Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Okay, I've visualized world peas. Now what? Sober in a Nightclub
Swans On Tea... Ah. I knew there had to be an explanation.
epic4chan
Skull Swap
Bits and Pieces

see more Lolcats and funny pictures
Non Sequitur
Sober in a Nightclub
I Hate My Parents

see more Very Demotivational
What Would Jack Do?
Wil Wheaton's Tumblr
Bits and Pieces
Questionable Content. This is, in fact, exactly what we do with hipsters who move to Oregon.
Surviving the World
Balloon Juice

see more Comixed
Sober in a Nightclub
Sofa Pizza
epic4chan: Marketing for Jayzus, satisfaction garonteed!

see more Celeb Look-A-Likes
Blackadder
EpicPonyz... so according to this, I'm somewhere between crazy and wise. I hope that's not news to anyone.
BizarroBlog
epic4chan... Stop plate tectonics! With duct tape!