Save geology; get a hoverboard!

(I realize the title may be a bit of a stretch, but bear with me, if you will.)

I'm really trying to keep up with this once a week post thing, but with work, school, and everything else going on, I haven't quite polished up the second post in my science/education/media series. While that waits, I'll hope you'll settle for post 1.5, which addresses a similar and equally (if not more) important issue that I'd like to touch on briefly: the closing of geology and geology related programs at colleges and universities.

Understanding the "Tree of Life"

A friend of mine (who can take credit for these posts in the form of a response, should he like to be recognized) recently asked me a question regarding the newly discovered hominid Ardipithecus ramidus, and the scientist who claims that "apes descended from humans". This immediately set off a number of alarms in my head, not in response to his asking the question, but in response to what I think are two issues facing science and scientists today: the lack of proper scientific literacy and education in the United States, and the role and influence that the media has when presenting scientific information to the public. These are both topics that have been brought up recently on the vertebrate paleontology mailing list, and while I didn't chime in there, I figure this is as good a place as any to speak up. This will be the first post in a series that I hope will shed some light on these issues, and help reach those who have questions similar to those of my friend. So let's get right down to business.

Happy Halloween!

Yes, I know. This should have been up 48 hours ago, and for that, I apologize. But Halloween is a busy time for me, and I didn't have the chance to make this post when I should have. Hopefully, you still enjoy it.

This year for my jack 'o lantern, I thought to myself, "What's really, really, scary?". And the only response I could come up with was, "Being attacked by a theropod dinosaur." Taking a visual cue from the wonderful mount at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, I present "Allosaurus v. Barosaurus", in Halloween style.