GeologicalScienceBlog - subjects include Geology, Climatology, Environmental Science, NASCAR, Beer, Property Rights, Random Thoughts, & Politics from a Christian Conservative/Libertarian/pragmatist viewpoint. As a Dad & Grandad, I am concerned about the overgrowth of government at the expense of freedom. Background - two degrees in Geology (BS '77, MS '90), started studying Geology beginning Senior Year of high school (1971 - 1972) <68>

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Thursday Videos - Gold Prospecting...

Any time there is a "jump up" in the price of gold, it rekindles an interest in mining wherever gold have been produced before, whether it be NW Arizona, California, western North Carolina, southeastern Tennessee, or north Georgia. The "employment situation" as it exists/as it has been engineered is also an incentive.

Another consideration is that gold panning can even be a source of relaxation. You can forget at least some of your problems when you are out in the woods, seated on an upside down 5-gallon bucket, looking for any appearance of "colors" in your gold pan.

When one introduces a "sluice box" into a running stream, using the force of water and the natural density of gold, you can magnify the quantity of sediment that you can "turn over" in a day. [Because of the issue of environmental disturbances to the biota of a stream, in some places sluicing is not legal. So consult the local laws and determine the status of the stream.

Without further delay, here are a couple of sluicing videos.



And this one is about how to build your own sluice box:



When this word "classifier" is used, that is to describe some sort of screen or sieve that is used to partially separate and remove the gravel from the stream sediments to be panned.

If you find the right place and "really hustle", you might be able to make a little cash from gold panning, but the best way to look at it is as a diversion, a way to have some relaxing time without expecting to "hit it big". I will try to post some more gold "panning" videos when time permits.

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Posted by: on-the-rocks / 7:42 AM 0 comments
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Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Postmodernism

I have meant to write about this for a while. [If I did already, please forgive. This is not the early stages of Alzheimer's, at the moment, I am a bit sick. I just wanted to get this "down on paper" so to speak to refine later and to avoid the pitfalls of my usual procrastination.]

A dictionary definition of Postmodernism is here, while the above-linked American Thinker article is here.

Briefly, from the American Thinker article (both links are highly worthy of reading):

"For a normal, intelligent person to get his hands around academic postmodernism is a daunting challenge: the literature of the movement, particularly of its most ardent proponents, is definitely -- deliberately? -- unperspicuous. Nevertheless, some basic principles that anyone can understand and that point clearly to a political matrix can be extracted from this intellectual miasma:

1) Rejection of universal, objective truth and meaning.

2) Rejection of universal moral absolutes.

3) Rejection of rationality.

4) Rejection of language as a way to convey objective information from author to reader. Postmodernism informs us that the reader is now in charge of deciding what the text says.

5) Rejection of individualism. An individual's concept of truth and rules of morality are determined solely by the group to which he "belongs," from which there is no exit.

6) "Truth" and "morality" are "social constructs" that vary from one group to another.

7) One group's "truth" and "morality" are as worthy and valid as another's.

8) Historical prevailing truth and morality are merely the opinions of the group in power and are designed to serve their goal of oppressing the powerless, the victims.

9) Because "truth" and "morality" are relative and "reason" is a futile delusion, victim groups must resort to raw power and, if necessary, deceitfulness to throw off the oppressive shackles imposed by the powerful. Lies, propaganda and bullying, sometimes even physical violence, are necessary armaments in the arsenal of the oppressed.

[Plan to add more, later.]

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Posted by: on-the-rocks / 9:09 AM 0 comments
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Why Modern Liberals Ain't - Those Old, Tired Liberal Memes...

are the source of another Facebook squabble. [Maybe not so much an open squabble, but perhaps some folks are "hiding" me, so as not to subject themselves to my Libertarian/Conservative viewpoints.]

Those memes are;

1) Conservatives/Republicans are anti-science because we oppose the Leftwing/government propogated AGW mindset and the proposed "solutions". [Some of these "solutions" are not wrong across-the-board, they should not be pursued simply because one has a phobia about carbon dioxide.];

2) Conservatives/Republicans are anti-intellectual, partially because of meme #1 and partially because our insistence on being logical clashes with the Postmodern mindset of the most radical liberals. This is not to say that the majority of garden-variety liberals are Postmodernists, but many admire "intellectuals" that are - sometimes just because they think they are supposed to. [Partially because they haven't yet found the courage to intensely examine their own philosophies and the reasons they hold the beliefs they hold.];

3) Conservatives/Republicans don't read books.

Maybe the reason that these memes "have legs" is because often Conservatives just blow off such allegations, instead of directly addressing them. Maybe we feel that they are not worth the trouble, but if we don't reply - firmly - some might take that as acceptance of the meme.

and, off on a slight tangent...

4) We are anti-teacher (and anti-education) just because we have a problem with the behavior of teachers' unions and the highly biased Liberal mindset of most college campuses. There are logical, Conservative arguments to be made in favor of unions, but many unions have lost sight of their original purpose - as part of our system of checks-and-balances. As for college academia, we have allowed Liberalism to seep into that realm, perhaps mistakenly thinking that they would actually be what they claim to be, i.e., open-minded and open to listening to other viewpoints.

[There is more to write, but I am a bit sick - nauseated for some unknown reason. May return later.]

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Posted by: on-the-rocks / 8:57 AM 1 comments
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Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Tuesday Videos - Rabidly Pro-Abortion



I wish some of these people could fast-foward 20 years and watch themselves. I hope they would be horrified. But some of them won't.

At least at the very minimum of humanity, they could take the solumn attitude that "it had to be done", instead of openly bragging about it.

Changing peoples' attitudes is the best way to lessen the number of abortions. How do we get them past this selfish stage? They holler about freedom with nary a word about responsibility.

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Posted by: on-the-rocks / 8:04 AM 0 comments
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Sunday, September 11, 2011

A 9/11 Remembrance...


[Updated and slightly modified from 9/11/06, 9/11/07, 9/11/08, 9/11/09, and 9/11/10. I think that these links and blogs still work.]

Because Each One Had a Name - The 2,996 Project

Who was Robert A. Lawrence? He was a husband to Suzanne and a Dad to daughter Toland, then 11 and son Bobby, then 9. [They are now 20 and 18.]

He was one of the 2,996 victims of 9/11. Robert A. Lawrence was 41 at the time of his death on 9/11.

He was a Mortgage-backed Securities Specialist for the firm of Sandler O'Neill & Partners. Sandler O'Neill and Partners was on the 104th floor of 2 World Trade Center. Of the 180 employees, 66 were killed.

Robert, despite his dislike of heights, began his career with Sandler O'Neill & Partners on September 10, 2001. It was one of those sacrifices that parents make in order to put food on the family table.We know that Tower 2 was partially evacuated after Tower 1 was hit, but because too many people were in the "it was an accident" mindset, workers in Tower 2 were given the "all clear" to re-enter the building at 9:00 AM.

At 9:03 AM, United Flight 175 slammed into 2 WTC (the South Tower), immediately impacting floors 78 through 84 of the 110. The impact isolated those above the crash by blocking stairwells and elevator shafts, through damage, debris, and fire.

Besides being a Husband and Dad, he was a Son, a Brother, a Nephew, a Cousin, and no doubt a Friend to many. From the online tributes, we also know that he enjoyed sports with family members, he liked to play guitar to entertain his kids and other family members. He had a sense of humor and he liked to organize events and meetings.

He was just another American engaging in commerce, bringing together the combined talents of "Wall Street" and "Main Street", both vital parts of American commerce, which the MSM tries to separate. [We can make our after-the-collapse judgments of mortgage-backed securities in another venue.]

This is one particular timeline of 9/11, because some want us to forget. [Some are saying, in essence, that it is "no big deal".]

Another 2,996 Project tribute of Robert A. Lawrence is by Matt Rooney at The Republic Square.
[2008 Update: I hope I continue to do some justice in this brief tribute with this brief yearly tribute. We need to continue our private efforts as the MSM is clearly devoted to hiding images from our collective view. Also remember how Keith Olbermann "had a cow" over the 9/11 tribute at the Republican National Convention. That sanctimonious bastard got torqued over the Republican Party's "exploitation" of 9/11, when most adults-in-the-room know that it is about reminding ourselves of why we continue to prosecute the War on Islamist Terror.]

[2010 Update: Does anyone remember that a certain current Vice President said that our current President "would be tested"? Most thought of a military/terror test (and that could still happen), but this Ground Zero mosque proposal - against the wishes of most of the 9/11 families and about 70% of NYC residents - could be another test, of our resolve and backbone. Weakness invites more attacks.]

[More links to the 2,996 Project and other info were posted on 9/12/06. Here is what I posted on 9/11/05. Go back and study some more.]

Because each one had a name.

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Posted by: on-the-rocks / 9:47 AM 0 comments
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9/11 The Falling Man Video...Lest We Forget

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