Organization and Other Issues

I got some workable articles to get a headstart on my project. Printed them out last night. I have to get my stuff organized - both my paperwork, resources, and home environment. Being in college classes makes little time for that. At least now I have a bit of reading material - and again some older articles. I'm registered for a couple evening classes for the summer - Physical Oceanography and Written Professional Communication - both ought to be quite useful. But, as I said they are night classes - so that I can take care of business in the daylight hours. I can work on organizing everything of importance, and do some resume work and hopefully over the next few weeks do some very serious job hunting - need income to pursue my research. Hopefully, something in a scientific based consulting company where I can put all my many years of science classes and my research capabilities to some good use. No more pittance paychecks neither - I swear some companies must be trying to hire volunteers for the tiny amount they're willing to pay. I have school loans and living expenses like other grown adults my age. I have nothing against volunteering - as a matter of fact I'll look into that myself at the museum to get my toe in the door, so to speak. If I cannot get a job there that pays sufficiently, then I can at least volunteer there a few hours a week. It might even help in my research. But first things first - income has to come first - then I'll do the museum work on weekends. Got some insight from a professional aquaintance yesterday regarding comps and dissertations - it was very enlightening. Now I know what I have to look forward to - it's good to be prepared! But more on that later.

More Strategizing and About Me

Well, I've been busy with end of semester work - essay - presentation - labs - exam - not to mention filing my own income taxes. Yeah, I do that myself, too - mainly because the fees involved at official tax services like H&R Block - make my tiny miniscule refund a very moot point. It's not like as if I have all kinds of cool and money saving deductions - I can't even write off my tuition and fees - and I don't qualify for any of the other credits either. Maybe someday if and when I have things like income streams, a better job, plus other things to deal with, it will be better for me to just go the official route - but until then...

I have not been idle on my research - though it's mainly still strategizing. I did print out some good resources including a journal article from 1922 via JSTOR - I didn't realize they had articles that old. I attempted to read it but due to it's older language, I'll have to tackle it when I have more time to devote to the reading and interpreting and commenting. That's how I do it - by the way - I get an article or book and write commentary in the margins as I read it. If I get really on a roll then I'll pull out a notebook or some paper and start writing away. I heard some other scientists used to do this way back when - maybe some still do. This is why I prefer to have my own copy of the article or book - instead of borrowing from libraries etc. I have quite the extensive library - on all kinds of science topics. A friend of my brother's once told someone she was reading all these really cool books from a private library - mine. It needs some work - but at the moment my book collecting is on hold until I transport the vast majority of it to my new apartment. How I'm going to store the articles still needs to be determined - I have dozens going back at least ten years - since I started college.

As for the strategizing - it is continuing in fits and starts. I like to have a good workable plan laid out - so I know where I'm going with things. For one thing, I had to determine what my real world obstacles are. Lack of money, credentials, and experience - despite my many many years in college. For one thing, the geology bachelors degree fell through due to unforseen circumstances that I was unable to fix mostly because it was largely out of my hands. So, wanting to have a bachelor's degree in something I'd enjoy learning about and that might even give me an edge - or an interesting perspective - I changed majors to History and Philosophy of Science and being at the University of Pittsburgh - one of the best HPS departments in the world - I think I made an excellent choice. So, that's what my bachelor's degree is actually in - at least my first. Where my education goes from here remains to be seen. You already know my intentions on this. But now I'm trying to finish what I started when I first transferred to Pitt - and why I'm currently finishing up the geomorphology course I have been waiting and wanting to take for several years.

As for those obstacles: I've been figuring a way around them to the best of my ability. For one thing I've been attempting to get my own research projects up and running - hence the purpose for this blog. Yes, I mean independantly - with no help so far from advisors or professors - and I do not want to be talked into becoming a teaching assistant - I really really do not want to teach classes. So, I'm winging it - so to speak - an independant alternative - starting from scratch. I do feel as if fate has forced me to take this path - unforseen circumstances and all. Also, I'm going to look into any field trips I can take - or even maybe later on some volunteering at the Carnegie Museum. They do have field trips in the nicer months - and I bought myself a one year membership in January. So I'll be looking into those trips for the next several weeks. Volunteering later around work will also help build my experience. Hopefully, my independant research will give me the credentials and some alternative experience. I'll be looking into the Carnegie's summer field trips later this week - after my work is done for class. Be back later!

Still Strategizing

I'm always up for new and improved ways of approaching my projects. Right now I'm trying to focus most of my attention and free time on only the Pleistocene project - but interesting bits of information regarding others tend to come up. That's why I'm keeping this blog flexible for those bits that are interesting and seemingly important. Recently, I've added to my strategy. At the moment the main idea is to just stick primarily to one project until it gathers momentum and starts progressing at a much faster pace - then gradually add the next project until it too, is rolling along nicely - etc. Another part of the current strategy is to gather resources as I go along - literally. Basically, I'll print out articles that are pertinent to any one of my projects - or some other interests - even when I find them in the course of doing research for a class project. I'll also buy books on those topics - I've stockpiled quite an interesting library on such topics as evolution, extinction events, creationism, Einstein, ancient scientists and engineers, dinosaurs, genetics...I also kept most of my textbooks from my college classes - esp. science related ones.
I also tend to cover a topic as thoroughly as I possibly can - covering all the most essential evidence. My recent developments basically build upon this and bring forward past experiences.

One addition is to apply as much of what I have learned from all the classes, etc. , to as many of my projects as possible. For instance, those projects that will make the best use of Structural Geology, Geophysics, GIS, Genetics, Geomorphology, etc. I've been in college awhile - so the list is quite extensive. Part of this is due to the fact that I feel like my skills are rusting from non-use because they aren't being properly applied, secondly from a need to give myself an edge in my work, and finally to be prepared to defend my position as thoroughly as possible. My lab instructor just took his comps and mentioned what they're basically like - eight hour defense of your research with peers one day and professors and advisors the next - talk about nerve wracking. They basically determine whether you should continue in grad school and give - hopefully constructive - criticism of one's work so far. All semester I've been getting these bits of feedback about the whole post-graduation research work and what to expect from the real world of scientists - not only from class but also from a book I just finished reading - Feynman's Rainbow. Talk about immersion.

Another possible addition to my strategy is what I like to call The Contract - an intersting concept and learning tool that can be adapted to just about any subject - and in this case - my individual and collective projects. Educators should pay attention to this one. One of my grade school science teachers invented it. Basically each week she'd give us a packet of mini projects and exercises - some more fun - some challenging - all geared around the current class topic - plus a bit of extra stuff. The first page was usually a map with instructions to name the features marked on the map - continents, oceans, rivers, countries, mountain ranges, etc. Then there would be some matching, multiple choice, true & false, etc., questions. It was kind of like a take home test or quiz mixed with related "fun stuff " like word searches, logic problems, crossword puzzles, and at least one coloring page - usually of dinosaurs. Well, suffice it to say, I might be able to adapt that concept into an adult version specified to my projects. This could work. The "fun stuff" would maybe be a field trip to the museum to see an exhibit that has some important information to convey. There's one going on now over at the Carnegie on Strange Beasts: Past and Present that I've been meaning to see. Also, any lectures, conventions, workshops, or other events relating in some way to my work - or anything that sounds interesting. Hey, I need all the help I can get - esp. since I'm winging it at this point. And life sure loves to get in the way. Signing off.

Busy with Other Research

I've been busy the past few days working on a research project for the geomorph class I'm taking. It's mainly a little write up describing rock glaciers with some pictures added. I have to make a presentation out of it - I'll do a powerpoint version with the pics and my own commentary. Even if I print it out it'll look halfways decent. That's one of my personal mottos: if in doubt, use powerpoint! It works for me - apparently PowerPoint presentations are one of my strengths - I get my point across and usually do very well. I wish I had done this when I took Morphological Analysis years ago - my project for that class was about dinosaur morphology being a key indicator and strong evidence that they were warm blooded. Animals of such sizes just could not warm themselves enough in the sun - there's just not enough sunlight in a given day - like reptiles need to survive. There is other evidence to support this that I've come across - and it's why this is one of my many projects I have lined up. Hopefully, I'll have more to post later this week - preferrably on my Pleistocene project. Until then!

A Bit of Scientific Work

I've been busy - taking care of business mostly, but I have gotten a couple bits of research work done. A few weeks ago I typed up a research projects summaries list to get an idea about what projects I have lined up so far - but more details regarding them later. This past week I just added a couple that were initially forgotten. As for the official project I mentioned last time, I came across an article from back in December 2006 that seem to support my findings so far. Apparently, it has been determined that humans were the primary cause of megafauna extinctions in Australia at the end of that last ice age. The evidence was found in the Naracoorte Caves in South Australia. The species found were capable of surviving in various temperatures and clearly went extinct concurrent with the arrival of humans. One scientist mentioned that it is unlikely that the animals went extinct due to the overhunting because once the population got small enough the hunters would not have expended the energy and resources to hunt down the last remaining individuals. I must disagree with his assessment. Yes, the population would obviously have gotten down to such a small number of individuals to make hunting impractical. However, once a population gets to such a minimal number of individuals it is no longer viable and would likely go extinct as a matter of course. Any ecologist would know this. I am very surprised by his comment - though it may have been taken out of context for the article - which is entirely possible since a well known news organization ran the story. The one problem I have with the Overkill Hypothesis already accepted is that it limits the overhunting to only the Americas. This makes no sense because the more proof in a scientific investigation, the better. The more continents and species observed and the more evidence gathered - the easier to prove the case one way or the other. Why do we limit our research in this way?!