Thorsday

I've been sliding on some of my regular posts, no excuses, but basically I've had other stuff I'd rather do. However, this just happened a couple of minutes ago and it's too excellent not to share.

I decided I probably didn't have enough tobacco to get through until they open at 10 AM tomorrow, so I walked next door to Bad Habits, the local smoke shop. There were a number of customers just getting ready to leave, and as they headed toward the door, one called out, "Bye, Owen... I mean Odin." After asking for my preferred rolling tobacco, I asked "Odin?" and the clerk gave me a big grin and said, "Yeah."

Me: That's excellent!

Odin: (grins)

Me: You know, today is Thorsday.

Odin: That's my brother.

Me: (Pause) Your brother's name is Thor?

Odin: Yup!

Me: Oh, that is just too cool.

Odin: Thor just had a daughter, and they named her Loki.

Me: (Pause) Now that's cruel.

New customer: Your brother named his daughter after the Norse god of mischief? Isn't that just asking for trouble?

I love living in a well-educated community, where the next random customer can seamlessly join a conversation with a correct connection, and a hilariously appropriate observation. So there's Thorsday taken care for this week.

If You Have to Ask...

...you can't afford it. And if you're reading this, you almost certainly have to ask. Move along, peasant. (Photo from Demeur)

Sheep Rock, John Day National Monument

(Screen capture of the Sheep Rock webcam from a couple minutes ago; click for full size.) @helenasrox alerted me to the webcams at the John Day National Monument a few minutes ago, and the light over there is lovely today. The lower strata, dipping somewhat to the right, are in the John Day Formation, which last I knew was interpreted as ash deposits (fluvially reworked, not ash fall) from the older Western Cascades volcanism. The Cascades are currently confined to a fairly narrow axis of active volcanism, but in earlier stages, eruptions were more widespread, frequent and voluminous. John Day fossils record a excellent record of past life and evolution; according to the Science and Nature webpage at the site, "Here, scientists have unearthed countless fossils of land plants and animals dating back 6 to 54 million years as well as evidence of the dramatic climatic changes that have occurred." For example, the webcam page linked above claims 14 genera (genera, not species) of horses alone have been found there.

The small triangular facet at the top of the peak is Columbia River Basalt, I believe of the Picture Gorge member. Picture Gorge is just a mile or so south of Sheep Rock. In the picture below (from here, again, click for full size), the view is looking north into the gorge, and I'm pretty sure that's Sheep Rock poking up in the middle background.
As you can see, even though it may look in the webcam as if the CRB is flat-lying, it is gently folded in the area, but not as much as the John Day deposits, so this represents an angular unconformity. Incidentally, all too often, when a road goes right through some spectacular geology, as this one does, there's no convenient place to get off the pavement and look at it. I'm pleased to report there is a pullout- at least one- in the gorge. Terrific and enormous columns, though I can't remember if we found the petroglyphs that gave the canyon its name.

Another thing to notice is that even though Oregon has a reputation for being wet, that's really only the western third of the state. Most of the state lies east of the Cascades, in the range's rain shadow, and is fairly dry (though there's plenty of water at higher elevations).

Beautiful!

Mmm... Food!

Though he's better known for Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah, I listened to one of Allan Sherman's albums on my MP3 player a couple of days ago, and was reminded of how much I enjoy this song. I looked up the lyrics a moment ago, and was pleased to resolve a puzzle that has stumped me for... well, nearly 45 years, I guess... the location of Columbee, China. Well, actually, it's column B (on a Chinese menu).

Hey! I tried to find this a year or more ago. Another great song that was in the playlist, You Went the Wrong Way Old King Louis:

International Women's Day: 100th Anniversary

Via Orbiting Frog, I thought this was a well-done clip that is an appropriate way to mark the occasion. According to the narration, "Women do 2/3 of the work in the world, but get only 10% of the pay, and own only 2% of the property."

We can do better. We MUST do better. In the immortal words of Joe Jackson, "If there's war between the sexes, then there'll be nobody left." (If you prefer, Tori Amos, whom I adore, did a cover for her album Strange Little Girls)

Welcome To Oregon

"Things look different here." That was the slogan of a tourism campaign some years ago, which received a fair amount of good-natured ridicule. Another similar local slogan is "Keep Portland weird," which despite local insistence, probably did not originate in that city.

Okay, so these things probably come across my radar simply because I do read quite a few Oregon-based news sources, but it often feels like there is a lot of strange news coming from this odd state. Case in point: it was reported last week that a man in Roseburg awoke to find his dog had eaten a portion of his foot, including three toes. Turns out, he's diabetic, and had no feeling in his feet. The veterinarian involved conjectured that the dog smelled gangrene, and chewed off the affected tissue. I would point out that if the guy actually did have gangrene, and was oblivious to it, the dog may very well have saved the rest of his foot, leg, or even his life. Friday it was reported he was recovering well, and was expected to leave the hospital soon.

Now if I had a dog that had eaten three of my toes under similar circumstances, I would be grateful and more deeply committed to giving that animal a good life. But I can certainly understand that the quease factor might just be too much for some people. According to an AP story linked at OregonLive, the victim has decided to put the dog up for adoption. "The dog may soon be available for adoption at Roseburg's Saving Grace Pet Adoption Center."

Poor goggy!

Last Chance to See Discovery in Flight

According to Spaceweather.com

DOUBLE FLYBY ALERT: This morning, March 7th, space shuttle Discovery undocked from the International Space Station. This sets the stage for a spectacular series of double flyby sighting opportunities. The station and shuttle will be flying over parts of the United States and Europe tonight and tomorrow, appearing in the night sky as a closely-spaced pair of bright lights. This is also a last chance to see Discovery in flight, because the orbiter will be retired after landing in Florida on Wednesday, March 9th.

Check the Simple Satellite Tracker (http://spaceweather.com/flybys) or download our smartphone flybys app (http://simpleflybys.com) to find out when to look.

For the majority of my readers who aren't in the heart of the valley (i.e., Corvallis), do check to see if it will be visible from your location. The ISS is amazingly bright and well worth watching on its own. I've never been able to catch it and a shuttle together, and the chances to do so are becoming scant. For my fellow Corvallisites, we're having mostly overcast weather, but we've had a few sun breaks, so it's not impossible we'll get a chance to see too. The ISS and Discovery will pass almost directly overhead just before 7:00 this evening.