No, I'm not dead or anything...just needed to drop just about everything to put the finishing touches on a long overdue report, plus move a couple of other things off the plate. The report went into the mail yesterday!!! I'll be blogging regularly again shortly...
I am currently back up at one of my favorite places on earth: the Eagle Lake Field Station, this time for the annual Zooarchaeology Conference. Actually, this year the conference itself is on hold as we reorganize and plan for it in 2008. The Planning Committee just finished meeting and we have a great conference planned for next year! Papers, posters, workshops and guest speakers are all on tap...more as things develop over the coming year.
I'm catching up on some blog reading and will be posting again shortly. I finally got the connection going with the wireless up here and so can give everyone a play-by-play as things happen this week. Right now, though, we're getting ready for another "night drive" until midnight or so, then up at 4:30 to attempt catching some of those elusive Eagle Lake trout...
Til tomorrow...
Showing posts with label Blogging. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blogging. Show all posts
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Friday, July 06, 2007
Off Again to Eagle Lake - More Blogging To Come
No, I haven't gone away, just got extremely busy between field trips. As I noted earlier, I recently returned from the Eagle Lake Field Station after helping to teach a course on zooarchaeology (and kissing frog paunches!) and am on my way back up there - this time with some local Girl Scouts who have, quite frankly, outgrown the Camporee tradition and need something a little more intellectually stimulating. So I and their leaders will expose them to some Eagle Lake natural history (bat caves, night drives, skeletons, animal and plant identification, etc.). I've worked with Girl and Boy Scouts for a number of years now and enjoy exposing them to opportunities they might not otherwise get in this culturally myopic corner of California. I've also been talking to my colleagues and select townsfolk about getting a "science" camp started up at the field station. Again, the purpose being to expose local teenagers to science actually taught by scientists for a change. So my bags are packed (as is the fishing pole!) and blogging will be intermittent for a couple of days.
Certainly there is lots to blog about. I missed out contributing to the lates Blog Against Theocracy, so I owe Blue Gal a post, even one in retrospect...Mark contributed a comment on my AP Biology post that deserves further comment and exposure; there are some further efforts being made on behalf of the Hadzabe, and I've been in touch with several organizations in Europe who are moving forward on aid to them; Abnormal Interests and Claude Mariotinni have been engaged in a very interesting discussion on who can fully interpret the Bible that I naturally have some thoughts on...Jim West has also engaged on this matter. And speaking of Jim, I finally joined his Biblical Studies group and have been following along on some of the discussion (although I haven't posted yet, because, yes I am a group discussion novice and am not sure my Yahoo settings are set correctly...) - I was particularly intrigued with the discussion on political archaeology and ethnicity; I am currently helping the local Native American tribe out with some NAGPRA issues (Native American Grave Repatriation and Protection Act) that bears directly on the subject of determining ethnicity in the archaeological record and its political implications (but I have to finish the final report first!!).
So, I'm actually pulling some things together...back shortly with more animal encounters at Eagle Lake...
Certainly there is lots to blog about. I missed out contributing to the lates Blog Against Theocracy, so I owe Blue Gal a post, even one in retrospect...Mark contributed a comment on my AP Biology post that deserves further comment and exposure; there are some further efforts being made on behalf of the Hadzabe, and I've been in touch with several organizations in Europe who are moving forward on aid to them; Abnormal Interests and Claude Mariotinni have been engaged in a very interesting discussion on who can fully interpret the Bible that I naturally have some thoughts on...Jim West has also engaged on this matter. And speaking of Jim, I finally joined his Biblical Studies group and have been following along on some of the discussion (although I haven't posted yet, because, yes I am a group discussion novice and am not sure my Yahoo settings are set correctly...) - I was particularly intrigued with the discussion on political archaeology and ethnicity; I am currently helping the local Native American tribe out with some NAGPRA issues (Native American Grave Repatriation and Protection Act) that bears directly on the subject of determining ethnicity in the archaeological record and its political implications (but I have to finish the final report first!!).
So, I'm actually pulling some things together...back shortly with more animal encounters at Eagle Lake...
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Intermittent Blogging
Blogging may be intermittent through the end of next week. I'm heading up to the Biological Field Station on Eagle Lake for a couple of days to co-teach a class on zooarchaeology. The Field Station has internet capability but only on a limited basis...I'll try to post something from there but I can't promise anything. In case you're wondering what the area looks like, here you go... 
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Advise Your Kids - Northstate Science Is Rated PG
From Duane at Abnormal Interests, comes this little gem to help you decide if parental controls should apply to your own blog. And how is Northstate Science rated?
Apparently I use the word "dead" four times, "death" once, and (God help us!) "sex" twice (it must have been the "meat for sex" thing that took my blog out of the sphere of being family-friendly). Following Duane's procedure I ran it two more times but kept getting the same results.
I am not sure what to make of this. Seems like an archaeologist talking about the dead and death would be, well, kind of normal. Ah, we'll just blame it all on the sex....
UPDATE: Whoa! When I take Duane's advice in his comment and log off then back on I get 6 "Dead", 3 "Death", 2 "Kill" and (he, he!) 4 "Sex" references (although I don't know where those are coming from)...and now I'm at PG13 - Parents Strongly Cautioned...
UPDATE II: After several more attempts it seems to have leveled out at an R Rating with 7 references to "Dead", 5 to "Sex", 4 to "Death" and 3 to "Kill"....definately not in the family-friendly range anymore...
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Permit Me A Little Gloating
Who needs the Lassen County Times when you're getting picked up on Crooks and Liars?
(Yes, yes, I know....one does not a pattern make - of course that never stopped Ken Ham and Answers In Genesis...).
(Yes, yes, I know....one does not a pattern make - of course that never stopped Ken Ham and Answers In Genesis...).
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Saturday, March 10, 2007
A Disclaimer
One of those areas of interest to me that I have largely avoided discussing is the US Forest Service. The reason for this is, of course, because I work for the organization and like most employees work very hard at maintaining a distinction between my official duties and my personal opinions, beliefs, etc. (Contrary to what most “civilians” think, codes of ethics are drilled into us constantly and almost all public employees I know adhere to that strict code, often to the point of restricting their own personal freedoms outside of the workplace. The same cannot be said for politicians, however; despite being public employees under the same restrictions as the rest of us who work in government, I am constantly amazed at the daily egregious breeches of ethical behavior exhibited by politicians of all party affiliations. There is clearly a double standard at work…but I digress…). What few Forest Service issues I have directly commented on have been limited to those bits of information found easily on the internet – by anyone.
I may have to re-think staying away from Forest Service and other land management agency issues, however. In doing so, I must follow RangerX’s lead and post a disclaimer (I also hope that RangerX understands that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and won't mind that I used many of the same phrases in developing my own disclaimer!). The basic tenets of ethical conduct demand that I a) don’t use my position for financial gain (not bloody likely with blogging anyway!); b) don’t disclose “inside” agency information not already generally available to the public – more specifically, that I don’t use agency information (unavailable elsewhere) to entice new readers to my blog!; and c) that I don’t speak for the agency. Of course, with federal rules and regulations it’s never that simple (hey, this is the government!) but that’s the gist. I would also note, that for those of us on the bottom rungs of the government network, we must not only avoid the strictly legal definitions of ethics violations, we must also avoid the “appearance” of un-ethical behavior (something politicians don’t apparently have to sweat…just as long as they don’t violate the letter of the law! – most government employees have a higher ethical standard they need to abide by). So if it’s even potentially perceivable as an ethical lapse in judgment, I won’t be discussing it on this blog.
All this does not mean that I can’t have an opinion on Forest Service policies, activities, etc. I am covered by free speech rights as much as the next person. In fact, I think government employees often remain too tight lipped on issues, particularly when it comes to suffering criticism from outside the agency. Many members of the public feel free to criticize government employees, usually because it’s a “safe” thing to do. Most public employees won’t react, so a critic can bluff a lot of people with unsubstantiated BS and not worry about getting called on the carpet for it. I think it’s time to start calling the bluff. Feel free to criticize (it’s your right!) but prepared to do so only at your own intellectual risk. You’ll still probably win – most employees, even if they know you’re an idiot, won’t get in a public pissing match if only to avoid embarrassing the agency (again, public employees maintain a higher moral standard).
So, after all that, I point you to the disclaimer in my personal profile.
I may have to re-think staying away from Forest Service and other land management agency issues, however. In doing so, I must follow RangerX’s lead and post a disclaimer (I also hope that RangerX understands that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and won't mind that I used many of the same phrases in developing my own disclaimer!). The basic tenets of ethical conduct demand that I a) don’t use my position for financial gain (not bloody likely with blogging anyway!); b) don’t disclose “inside” agency information not already generally available to the public – more specifically, that I don’t use agency information (unavailable elsewhere) to entice new readers to my blog!; and c) that I don’t speak for the agency. Of course, with federal rules and regulations it’s never that simple (hey, this is the government!) but that’s the gist. I would also note, that for those of us on the bottom rungs of the government network, we must not only avoid the strictly legal definitions of ethics violations, we must also avoid the “appearance” of un-ethical behavior (something politicians don’t apparently have to sweat…just as long as they don’t violate the letter of the law! – most government employees have a higher ethical standard they need to abide by). So if it’s even potentially perceivable as an ethical lapse in judgment, I won’t be discussing it on this blog.
All this does not mean that I can’t have an opinion on Forest Service policies, activities, etc. I am covered by free speech rights as much as the next person. In fact, I think government employees often remain too tight lipped on issues, particularly when it comes to suffering criticism from outside the agency. Many members of the public feel free to criticize government employees, usually because it’s a “safe” thing to do. Most public employees won’t react, so a critic can bluff a lot of people with unsubstantiated BS and not worry about getting called on the carpet for it. I think it’s time to start calling the bluff. Feel free to criticize (it’s your right!) but prepared to do so only at your own intellectual risk. You’ll still probably win – most employees, even if they know you’re an idiot, won’t get in a public pissing match if only to avoid embarrassing the agency (again, public employees maintain a higher moral standard).
So, after all that, I point you to the disclaimer in my personal profile.
Monday, February 19, 2007
Happy Birthday To Northstate Science (Better Late Than Never!)
Well, Northstate Science reached its first birthday about two weeks ago (officially February 6). I knew it was coming and had planned on a "reflections on a year of blogging" post, but well, got busy and never quite got around to it. I did want to comment on a couple of things, however:
- I have come to really enjoy the blogging. It is certainly very therapeutic and clearly allows me to "vent" from time to time, although I'm trying to make an effort at more reasoned responses (my wife always says, "You don't talk that way in public!"). It has also re-kindled my interest in all those areas of science that got me excited in the first place...so my reading and researching have gone up dramatically since blogging (you have to understand, my "day job" is largely administrative, so the opportunities for active research don't come as often as I would like - most is done on my own time at a considerably reduced pace - it's much easier to have a beer at the end of the day than pick up a Binfordian treatise...). So if nothing else, blogging has forced me to get "back in the groove"...
- I clearly need to blog more regularly. In looking back over the year my posting average was well under one per day. Although I often bemoan not having the audience of a PZ, Ed or Afarensis, I clearly did not post often enough to merit the attention. I'm trying to change that this year and am shooting for a monthly average of more than one per day (so far I'm there). Let's see if I can do that and where it gets me in terms of attention in the blogosphere..
- I guess I did relatively well for the first year...I started with an average of about 60 hits per month and now I'm around 60 per day. I'm not sure if that's good or bad, but the overall trend during the year has been an increase in the number of visits. It would certainly be nice to be linked at more locations, but I'm sure that will come. I had a couple of off-the-wall spikes when PZ linked to some posts of mine, but if I can contribute my increasing success to anyone, it has to be to my anthropology buddies, Afarensis, Carl, Kambiz, Duane...and probably a few others to whom I owe some gratitude. B&B and Coturnix were the first to ever link to me, so these guys kind of gave me my start. I know there are others...my thanks to everyone!
If my large scale audience is only creeping up, I can definately say that my local audience is dramatically increasing. There are more people I see on the streets of Susanville who have begun to check out Northstate Science on a regular basis. That was one of my goals for starting this blog, as an "alternative" to other sources of information. Interestingly, I have done almost no advertising about the blog, either locally or via other websites - anyone who has discovered Northstate Science has done so either via word of mouth or through searches and links to my posts (hell, most of my relatives, including my mother, don't know I actually have a blog!). I might change that this year...
- Finally, I just want to say how appreciative I am of the broader community of bloggers out there, those I agree with and even those I don't agree with (yes, Kurt, that means you!). There are a number of people I would love to meet in person, buy a couple of drinks, sit around and talk "stuff" (Afarensis, Duane, Coturnix, Ed, Kambiz, RangerX, Jim West, to name just a few off the top of my head...oh, of course PZ!). I would also like to get to know some of my regular readers better, like Chuck who is only down the road about 30 miles...
So, here's to all of you...May this year bring the best to all of you and may I "meet" even more of you during the next 12 months!
All the best,
Chris at Northstate Science
- I have come to really enjoy the blogging. It is certainly very therapeutic and clearly allows me to "vent" from time to time, although I'm trying to make an effort at more reasoned responses (my wife always says, "You don't talk that way in public!"). It has also re-kindled my interest in all those areas of science that got me excited in the first place...so my reading and researching have gone up dramatically since blogging (you have to understand, my "day job" is largely administrative, so the opportunities for active research don't come as often as I would like - most is done on my own time at a considerably reduced pace - it's much easier to have a beer at the end of the day than pick up a Binfordian treatise...). So if nothing else, blogging has forced me to get "back in the groove"...
- I clearly need to blog more regularly. In looking back over the year my posting average was well under one per day. Although I often bemoan not having the audience of a PZ, Ed or Afarensis, I clearly did not post often enough to merit the attention. I'm trying to change that this year and am shooting for a monthly average of more than one per day (so far I'm there). Let's see if I can do that and where it gets me in terms of attention in the blogosphere..
- I guess I did relatively well for the first year...I started with an average of about 60 hits per month and now I'm around 60 per day. I'm not sure if that's good or bad, but the overall trend during the year has been an increase in the number of visits. It would certainly be nice to be linked at more locations, but I'm sure that will come. I had a couple of off-the-wall spikes when PZ linked to some posts of mine, but if I can contribute my increasing success to anyone, it has to be to my anthropology buddies, Afarensis, Carl, Kambiz, Duane...and probably a few others to whom I owe some gratitude. B&B and Coturnix were the first to ever link to me, so these guys kind of gave me my start. I know there are others...my thanks to everyone!
If my large scale audience is only creeping up, I can definately say that my local audience is dramatically increasing. There are more people I see on the streets of Susanville who have begun to check out Northstate Science on a regular basis. That was one of my goals for starting this blog, as an "alternative" to other sources of information. Interestingly, I have done almost no advertising about the blog, either locally or via other websites - anyone who has discovered Northstate Science has done so either via word of mouth or through searches and links to my posts (hell, most of my relatives, including my mother, don't know I actually have a blog!). I might change that this year...
- Finally, I just want to say how appreciative I am of the broader community of bloggers out there, those I agree with and even those I don't agree with (yes, Kurt, that means you!). There are a number of people I would love to meet in person, buy a couple of drinks, sit around and talk "stuff" (Afarensis, Duane, Coturnix, Ed, Kambiz, RangerX, Jim West, to name just a few off the top of my head...oh, of course PZ!). I would also like to get to know some of my regular readers better, like Chuck who is only down the road about 30 miles...
So, here's to all of you...May this year bring the best to all of you and may I "meet" even more of you during the next 12 months!
All the best,
Chris at Northstate Science
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