Follow the Mome Raths

Monday, November 10, 2003

Mineralogy is Beautiful

No really, it is. It's like poetry or music, at the risk of sounding over-romantic or sentimental. Take all the silicates. They have very precisely ordered structures, but within them you can have substitutions that allow them to be many different things. With music, you have to follow precise and strict rules (no chord can be missing it's third, the circle of fifths), but within these rules any notes and any combination of notes can be used. Or a sonnet (iambic pentameter, 15 lines) with whatever you choose to say within it.
I say all this because I wrote my Min I second midterm today. There were two questions on it, which involved feldspars and pyroxenes, respectively. Initially looking at the questions, I realized that I didn't know the facts off the top of my head that the questions were asking for. But, I did know how their basic structures worked, what substitutions could occur, and other things like that. So using basic knowledge I answered the questions, correctly. I love things that are like that!

In other news, yesterday Allan and I went to West Ed. We window shopped for awhile, looking around at all the Christmas decorations. We decided that Old Navy definitely had the tackiest ones, these weird metallicky but not green streamers and stuff. We also went to the fossil and mineral store by the brick. The owner was thrilled when he found out I was in geology, and picked up one of his specimens, and told me I could have it if I identified it. It was kind of hard, because it was vitreous, greasy feel, but pale greenish-yellow with no apparent cleavage. I tentatively said fluorite, at which he smiled and said that no, it wasn't but it was something very close. So I guessed calcite and was right! Now I have a very nice piece of calcite to add to my collection. I also bought a blue goldstone pendant from him, because it was pretty and he was such a nice guy. Allan and I also saw Finding Nemo a the theatre, which was absolutely hilarious! I think I like the seagulls the best - "Mine! Mine mine mine mine mine!". Today I am going to West Ed again to the Killimanjaro (sp?) at IMAX with Michelle and some of her friends.

But right now I'm about to eat lunch of fettucine with a pesto cream sauce and smoked salmon. Not nearly as expensive or difficult as it sounds.

Karlie@1:42 p.m.