myResearchSpace

The good news (for some of the approximately 57,600 Greenlanders, at least): Greenland now has much more control over its destiny, following the decision from Denmark to allow self-rule for Greenlanders (see the article at the Sydney Morning Herald). The not-so-good news: the following excerpt from this, and other, articles on this event is a ...

I was very proud of myself in the weekend. Some time after renovating our bathrooms at home, we found brownish water stains on the otherwise glossy white acrylic vanity tops. Not a good look. Guessing that these were some sort of iron oxide precipitate, I suggested that my wife try a mixture of lemon juice and baking soda on the stain. As you ...

I've been doing a lot of marking lately, and not much else, it seems. Certainly no blogging for weeks, sadly. The reason is my experience of one of the less salubrious hazards of cycling to work; about a month ago I came off second-best in a bingle with a car at a roundabout. I like cycling; it keeps me fit, reduces my carbon footprint and saves ...

Yesterday I could have had a very bad day. Things felt busier than usual, I felt less than well-prepared for a class, and to top it all off I forgot my USB thumb drive on which I had some material prepared the previous evening for a class. [USB drives seem essential small items these days, along with mobile 'phones. I have a gonzo theory ...

Two quotes from Bruce Cockburn appropriate to the Christmas season (and the mood it gets me in): ''This bluegreen ball in black space Filled with beauty even now battered and abused and lovely'' from the song ''Planet of the Clowns'' on the album The Trouble With Normal (1983) This was written in the early 1980s, and there seems ...

Musings on: Baveye, P. C. & Jacobson A. R. (2008). Soil science education and the ''age of money'': reflections and concerns for the near future. Water, Air and Soil Pollution 187:1-4. This was a guest editorial in Water, Air and Soil Pollution, and I decided it to be worth reading; there's much to be said for a catchy title. The topic ...

I apologize for lazy blogging, with a promise to not just do listings of news articles about soils. If something REALLY interesting comes up I'll let people know, but really that's not what this blog is all about. Unfortunately that means that I have to get motivated about writing up articles I've read recently. At least I have done the reading ...

Just rode my bike back from what will be my last lecture of the Semester. Just over half the class of Introduction to Geochemistry students gained (hopefully!) some benefit from working through past exam questions. I reminded myself, inadvertently, that there is not really that much to be said about a topic in three weeks of lectures. ...

This is not really a research issue - but having just completed a lecture, it occurs to me that I'm most satisfied with what I present when there is some sort of narrative structure to a lecture. Today's story discussed the development of models for adsorption in soils, gradually adding more complexity until the eventual conclusion (with a small ...

So I was reading a book, ''Bawshou Resecues the Sun'' to my daughter in the weekend and it occurred to me that this is yet another instance where soil appears in a significant folk story. ''Bawshou Resecues the Sun'' is based on a traditional Han Chinese story about the sun being stolen by the King of devils (variously, a powerful dragon). ...