Mammoth!

At school right now I'm helping with excavation of mammoth bones that were block lifted from a site in Northern California.  They were lifted from the ground in a chunk of soil and brought back to our lab so that we could figure out the best way to excavate them, and practice our block-lifting techniques.

 

Preparing the plaster cast around the bones to secure them.

 

Excavating slowly through the clay with a scalpel.

More to come soon!

Stuck in Traffic.

In random car-related news, I have now spotted Sidney Poitier and David Duchovny while driving around Los Angeles.

For those of you who knew me in my X-Files obsessed heyday, you'll understand how exciting the latter sighting was. Also, Sierra pointed out that Mr. Poitier is very old, and perhaps I should be careful.

More Conference Fun Time

Shortly thereafter, I attended a conference in Delaware. Perhaps more idyllic than Sacramento, but certainly not as fun. Again, I seem to have forgotten to take more pictures.

Dawn frolics through the Fairy Woods at the Winterthur estate. 

Conference Fun Time

I went to an archaeology conference in Sacramento. 

For some reason, this is the only picture I took. 

Music to my eyes

These are just a few strange signs I've seen recently. I think people often fail to think through what exactly their signs are going to convey.

In the stacks of the UCLA library:

The perfect setup for a really boring horror movie. 

At the Santa Monica pier:

What the sticker on the left covers up is an arrow connecting "Public Health" 

with "Non-migration" and completing the vicious cycle created by feeding 

seagulls. Think about that one for a minute. 

Rainy Day activities

LA is a challenging place to entertain guests when it rains, and Lorenzo happened to visit on a day with non-stop torrential downpours and flooding. To take shelter from the rain, we went to the Old Town Music Hall, to catch a Laurel and Hardy festival, featuring live organ accompaniment and a sing-along before the films.  Wonderful place. Then, because we were cold, we made a stop for hot chocolate.  

The Mighty Wurlitzer.

Lorenzo assesses the alleged best hot chocolate in Los Angeles.

Reboot...

Its been six months since I last posted. Unfortunately, school continues to get in the way of my photography.

But since my time in Los Angeles is rapidly drawing to a close, I thought it might be time for an update. My friend Lorenzo came to visit from Italy, and we made a trip to the Museum of Jurassic Technology. This is a fascinating and baffling establishment, as the name suggests. You should go there: http://www.mjt.org/

On display were failing plastic dice and confusing pseudo-scientific contraptions. I think I love this museum.