That's What I Think

DC area, P.G. County, White Marsh Run, Hotbed for Dinosaurs

Think of this the next time you're walking around our nation's capital.

Until recently, evidence for dinosaurs in the northeastern United States was sparse, but over 900 theropod, sauropod, ankylosaur and ornithopod fossilized footprints have now been found just a short drive from the nation's capital, according to new studies.

The finds, which also include tracks for pterosaurs, a dino-era mammal and other vertebrates, suggest that Maryland was a hotbed for dinosaurs during the Cretaceous from around 98 to 121 million years ago.

"Based on the trace fossils, over two dozen species of dinosaurs were living in Maryland at that time," co-author Ray Stanford told Discovery News.

"Like my wife said the other day, 'These animals were everywhere,'" Stanford, a dinosaur tracks specialist from College Park, added.

He began to discover the Old Line State dinosaur footprints while looking for Native American artifacts along streambeds with his children. Stanford, whose living room is full of the tracks, explained that as water and human development erode such beds, "floats" can result. These are pieces of track-bearing substrate that hydrodynamically dislodge from their natural stratigraphic context during stream bank flooding.

"This is one instance where building booms and storms can benefit science," he said.

All of the discoveries were made either in Prince George's County, near Washington, D.C., or at the White Marsh Run area of Baltimore County.

So far, Stanford has described and published Maryland's first dinosaur track species (called an ichnospecies which translates to 'trace species'). It consists of both front and back footprints of a hypsilophodontid dinosaur. He named the new dinosaur footprint type or species Hypsiloichnus marylandicus, meaning "trace of a hypsilophodontid dinosaur from Maryland."

 

FREE Coffee to Bloggers - Sign Up to Beta-Test!

I just came across this link that is just too good not to share. I gather that a large portion of us in the blogging community drink caffeine, and most likely a daily cup of java.

Well, here's your ticket to getting FREE coffee!

Run, don't walk, to the following site for Joffrey's Java Beta Test and enter your blog and other pertinent info, to be chosen to receive your free sample of their premium blend, Jamaican Me Crazy.

VIEW OF THE ECLIPSE FROM COLUMBIA, MARYLAND

Photo by Tim Morgenthaler, Columbia resident

Last night I stood in the cool, crisp air delighted that the clouds had parted for many of us here in Maryland to catch this magnificent view that doesn't come around every day. A few of my neighbors ventured out to have a look. Their presence made me feel good to know I wasn't the only gal geeky enough to stand still outside of a perfectly good and warm apartment to stare at the moon. Why is it only during moments like this that we apartment-dwelling types get to meet our neighbors?

Anyway, it was fun, because it added some edge of excitement to a usually dreary post-workday winter evening. Tim and I made a half hour of it, viewing the eclipse and then hurrying inside to gather and emerge back into the cold with tripod, remote shutter release cable and his Canon Rebel Xti in tow.

Best of all, it gave us a good excuse to warm our hands and our insides with cups of hot cocoa (as if we ever needed an excuse anyway) once we came inside. Along with that, it was fun to hop onto this link to see what fellow Twitterers were saying worldwide in real-time about this very same eclipse.

Weather Permitting, Maryland May Glimpse Full Eclipse

From the Baltimore Sun:

Behind the clouds or not, at 8:43 p.m. (U.S. E.S.T.), the full moon will begin to slide into the Earth's umbra - the darkest part of the shadow that the planet casts into space.

Stargazers are worried about the weather forecast, but if the clouds part in time, Marylanders will get a good look at tonight's total eclipse of the moon - the last one visible here or anywhere until December 2010.

The eclipse will be visible simultaneously throughout the Americas and in Africa, Europe and Central Asia.

If the weather cooperates, this would be the first total eclipse of the moon visible in Maryland - from start to finish - since Oct. 28, 2004. (Last year's were cut short by moonrise or moonset; there were none in 2005 or 2006.)

Unlike solar eclipses - which require solar filters or other devices to protect the eyes from the sun's direct rays - lunar eclipses involve only reflected sunlight. They are safe to watch with the naked eye. Binoculars and telescopes are even better.

You can catch the entire spectacle anywhere the moon is visible, but a number of local amateur astronomy groups and observatories are planning public events. They will offer opportunities to see the eclipse, plus a bonus look at Saturn and its rings, through a telescope.

Saturn will be the "star" just below the moon, to the left. The true star above the moon is Regulus in the constellation Leo.

LOCAL VIEWINGS:

The science department at Howard Community College (Columbia, Maryland) is teaming up with the Howard Astronomical League for a viewing between 8:30 p.m. and 11 p.m. Meet on the roof of the HCC parking garage, 10901 Little Patuxent Parkway in Columbia. For weather updates, visit howardastro.org/eclipse/htm or call 410-772-4891.

A viewing in downtown Baltimore starts at 8 p.m. at the Crosby Ramsey Memorial Observatory at the Maryland Science Center. Visitors can look through any of several telescopes and ask questions of staffers.

"It will be a nice opportunity to catch Saturn in the telescope," said Jim O'Leary, director of the science center's Davis Planetarium. "The rings always bring oohs and aahs from visitors."

"We'll make every effort to be here if there's any chance of a break in the clouds," he said. Call 410-545-2999 after 7 p.m. for weather updates.

The public also is invited to the Maryland Space Grant Observatory on the fourth floor of the Bloomberg Center for Physics and Astronomy at the Johns Hopkins University.

The observatory will be open at 8:30 p.m., if weather permits. Call 410-516-6525 after 5 p.m. for weather updates. For directions, visit this link.

Reaching 100 Easier Than Expected (Yahoo News)

It's not just luck, it's not just genetics. ... It's lifestyle that seems to make a big difference in longevity, says a lead author of surprising new research, Dr. Laurel Yates of Harvard's Brigham and Women's Hospital. "It's get your shoes on, get out there, and do some exercise. These are some things you can do to increase the chances of a long life."

Web 2.0-er Soup Fights Communism With Keystrokes

Now that's what I'm talking about. A denizen of the Web 2.0 arena, Soup, which bills itself as a publishing platform or "online scrapbook," and allows you to post text, quotes, links, images, video and other files (or import to Soup from other online sources), railed against "The Great Firewall of China" recently. They changed their IP address in order to dissuade government censorship, at least for a little while.

By the way, if you don't mind a shameless little plug, here is my fledgling lifestream at Soup, with feeds pulled from this blog, as well as del.icio.us and Digg. If you haven't checked out lifestreaming, here are some of my related links to guide you on your way.

A Thousand Calories Burned Begins With One Small Step

This morning I began adhering to one of many small changes I hope to implement in my life over the coming months. Quite effortlessly, over the course of about four months, I have gained 20 pounds. Today, instead of getting that extra bit of sleep, I threw on a few layers of clothing, hat, gloves and athletic shoes, and took to the streets. I initially did so to burn calories, but I was amazed at how drastically it boosted my mental clarity, not to mention my mood. And, for the first time, I had energy BEFORE my morning cup of joe.

I also spied four deer grazing peacefully within a clearing in the trees far back from the road. By the time I hit the Beltway for the commute to work, I wasn't feeling the usual lethargy. 

For more inspiration, check out the Joy Fit Club on the Today Show site. 

The Good Samaritan That Recovered My iPhone!

You won't BELIEVE this! A guy who works in Alexandria, VA, found my lost iPhone on the Metro Friday and wants to return it to me. I had texted my work number out of the blue, to whomever had it, just in case. I covered every avenue I could think of, as I said in the previous entry. Still, I did not expect much. Everyone I knew told me, "Well, I think you saw that thing for the last time."

I get in today, check my phone messages at work, and there is one left by a guy named Daniel on Friday, not even five minutes after I had stepped out to head home that day. The downside was that the message was low in volume and difficult to make out, and when I called the number I thought I'd heard, it was for a hospital, and at that time, I didn't even know his name, only that he got to work at 11 p.m. and could be anyone working in that hospital. My spirits sank. Great news, I thought, but I still wasn't sure if it would pan out. I wondered if since it had been two days, and I'd not gotten the message and called him, he hadn't already pawned it or given it away. Then, just as I am worrying about this, he calls. Throughout three dropped calls on his end, we manage to connect. I carefully record his address, check and recheck it and note his mobile number. I'm picking it up tonight right after work! I can't believe that anyone would be so honest in such a metro area as Washington DC. If it all works out, I'm writing in to the newspapers about this one.

Now here, the story gets even stranger...I was in Daniel's same position 2-3 weeks ago when I found someone's lost phone in our apartment complex, just lying in the hallway on the carpet. A photo of a little girl dominated the phone's wallpaper, and I thought 'Oh no - someone will really be upset that they lost this.' I may not be the most religious person, but I am spiritual, and I knew what felt right to do. I picked it up, took it inside and posted a notice that I'd found a lost phone, and how the owner could reach me and give his description of it. No one ever called, and, after a week, Tim suggested it had been so long that I should probably just turn it in to Best Buy for recycling. But I didn't want to give up hope yet. I decided to hold onto it for a few more weeks, just in case someone should turn up. There it sat beside my computer, untouched, for weeks.

So, today, this same day that Daniel amazed me by being such a Good Samaritan and trying hard to reach me to return my iPhone, Tim calls me and says, "You'll never believe what just happened!" On this chilly Monday, when Tim's car isn't even in drivable condition, and he has no appointments, and no real reason to venture out anywhere, synchronicity strikes. One of the apartment maintenance workers walks up, out of the blue, during those few seconds Tim is outside fetching his coffee cup from the car. He asks Tim if he's found the phone that he dropped the last time he was in the building. Since he regularly works on so many different apartments and in other nearby complexes owned by the leasing company as well, he's not there on a regular basis. THIS is why he never saw the notice I posted. We had wrongly assumed that it was a tenant, and that's why we thought it would be recovered fairly quickly.

Tim said the guy described the phone in detail, and he went to retrieve it for him.

I'm truly amazed that these two occurrences happened on the same day. A skeptic would tell you that these are just two random unrelated coincidences; but I choose to think that serendipity shines on us once in a while, and that if we do good for others in this world, never expecting anything in return, we sometimes get lucky.

Isn't that something though? Wow, that's inspiration for a Monday.

Now, just to be on the safe side, I'm going out of my way in distance to drop by home to take Tim with me, because, good deeds aside, you never can be too careful. It's a long haul from Columbia, in this heavily-trafficked area, to Oxon Hill, MD (which is in Maryland, but might as well be DC for as far as it is). But hey, it's worth not having to fork out another 400 bucks! I may offer him a reward just because I'm really so grateful. Maybe he'll not accept it. Maybe he will. Still, it's cheaper than a new one!

Have any of you had any experiences like this before? If so, I'd love it if you would share those in the comments. I also had a humdinger of one about a month ago. Check out Synchronicity At Work To Merge Us, Lost Friends After 7 Years. I definitely believe there are forces at work in this world that are just as real as you, me and the frustration that comes from Beltway traffic on a Friday evening. Whoever was responsible... God, Buddha, Shiva... I thank him (err...it? her?) from the bottom of my heart.

 

My Lost iPhone and the Unbreakable iPhone Experience

iPhone "takes a dinging and keeps on ringing," apparently.

As for me, I'm having funeral services for mine today. The iPhone has many features, but, unfortunately, NOT a homing device for the owner to use to find its location.

I seriously want to cry or be sick or something. It was my lifeline, a combination mobile and home phone, and although I should have, I never backed up my photos, calendar, notes or anything. Now I am completely lost. How attached we can be to our technology. Stupid Apple, or it's either AT&T -- one of them -- does not offer the owner an option to get insurance on the phone. So, if you lose it, well, that's your tough luck.

Having still a shred of belief in good Samaritans, even in places like DC, and trusting in the power of Google, Craigslist, Twitter and other social media, I have posted everywhere I can think of, in the hopes that this someone will read and respond to my pleas. I also contacted the lost and found services where I work and sent in a request to the Metro's Lost and Found, because you never know. I called and called my number, left my email addys in many of the ads, and I texted the phone from different online sites, also relaying my contact info. 

This blog entry that I wrote already appeared in the Google Alert that I set. Unfortunately, there's not much more I can do beyond this, except maybe set another Google Alert for "found" AND "iPhone" AND "Metro" as keywords. 

I guess that's what I get for always being in such a hurry that I don't take the time to think twice or even notice my surroundings. I've got the whole routine of the commute to and from work so ingrained into my body memory that yesterday as I headed home from dinner with a friend, I fouled up. It was a later hour than I ever travel home, around 7 p.m., and my mind picked out just the word Greenbelt from the train operator's spiel; so I deboarded. I didn't realize he was saying what he says at each stop: "This is the Green Line to Greenbelt." I needed to get off at the Greenbelt Station, but, instead, it wasn't until I found myself on the downstairs level at the College Park Station, totally disoriented for a moment, that I realized my mistake. Luckily, I quickly made my way back up to the platform, and in less than a minute, I was back on my route. That just exemplifies how set in our ways we can get, so that the whole world outside of us becomes a homogenized backdrop whose details we miss, a mere blur in our peripheral vision that we must travel through to reach our regularly visited destinations.

Only In Iowa - Stranger Gives $100K To Couple At Bar

It's seldom that we encounter good news happening to ordinary people, especially during a time when it seems media coverage is generally about Soldiers dying (not that as a Soldier myself, I don't think that type of reporting is necessary; because it is), natural disasters, shopping mall shootings and the decline of the environment.

Although it is important to get the word out on our troops giving their lives overseas and the sacrifices they make, too many stories revolve around what celebrity has died or is facing a drug problem. Sure, those people have families and friends too, but what the American public needs is some positive news once in a while, something to balance the good with the bad and help us to feel that not everything in the world is going down the drain.

Take this report, for instance. It's almost like something out of a fictional novel or a movie. On a humdrum evening in Pella, Iowa, population 220 (as of the 2000 U.S. Census), a couple is lingering over a few drinks maybe, taking a break from being mommy and daddy, when a stranger walks up to their table and asks them to fill out any amount they wish on a blank check.

Maybe I'm a bit cynical, because my first thought would have been that the guy was a crook trying to get rid of stolen money so that no one could trace it back to him. Well? It's just how I think. You never can be too careful.

Thank goodness this couple was a bit more trusting, and this attitude paid off.

SITE-SEEING: If you want to read more good news, check out the Good News Network, one of my favorite sites for a daily pick-me-up.