I just finished the semi-mediocre powerpoint presentation that I cooked up for the paper that I co-authored with the four other San Quentin teachers. I don’t really like powerpoints and when I do them I try to do something nontraditional. I just didn’t have time to do much with this one. Tufte be damned, I guess.
No, I didn’t come up with the title to the paper.
Spring break is next week and everyone is cranky. By everyone I mean me.
Stay tuned for more academic make-work!
So, while I enjoy browsing at the lovely little clothing boutiques around the Bay Area, the true hot ticket shopping is done at home:
Oh yes, the Forestry Suppliers 2007-2008 catalog has arrived. 700+ pages of tree ball carriers, reptile tongs, and crack hammer belt holsters. While I’m very happy as an archaeologist, when I was young I wanted to be a park ranger and this catalog fits both professions just fine.
They have a website too:
http://www.forestry-suppliers.com/
But the catalog just feels nice. On the to-buy shortly list:
Dirt guides!
Munsell Color chart, as mentioned in jlowe’s post:
http://whereinthehellami.blogspot.com/2006/10/when-is-brown-not-brown.html
And I really need a new compass.
A girl can dream.
A few weeks ago I desperately needed a photo scale, so I ordered it and threw in a plum bob for good measure. Plumb bobs are really nice to map with because when you position a tape measure over an area you are excavating (particularly if it’s a broad, areal excavation), it’s often hard to see where exactly that tape measure is in relation to the artifact/feature/whatever you are trying to plan map. So, you measure from a plumb bob string back to the measuring tape and it gives you a better reading than just estimating with your eyes by standing above it. I don’t think I’m explaining this very well. Nevertheless, plumb bobs are nice to have around.
Unfortunately, I didn’t notice the size/weight of this thing when I ordered it and ended up with a what could be described as a small missile. It’s heavy, too. Whenever I heft the thing, I immediately think about it falling into my eye. Though that might be a residual from being in grad school.
My next one will hopefully be about two inches long. I might keep this one though, in case I need to do some real cartographic violence.
Colleen Morgan 