Adventures in Professional Development: Episode I–Fossils and You

I think my apartment is haunted. Next to my computer is a list of asked questions from my time here at Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry and every time I look down at it, a voice says, "Answer them! Aaaaanswerrrr themmmm. . . in a seeeeries of blog poooosts. . ." In an effort to appease this oddly specific and surprisingly concerned ghost, I have decided to finally initiate the limited blog series I seem to recall mentioning in my last post. What follows will be somewhat informative, possibly useful, and at the very least, some light reading to kill a few minutes of your day. Brace yourselves for the fantastical first episode of Adventures in Professional Development!

Things About Stuff and Other Miscellany

Before I even get started, I should be honest with everyone. The following paragraphs will contain little more than brain droppings. I do have some more in-depth topics that I wish to cover, but I'll be saving those for future posts. Today is just a transitional piece to provide an update on what's been going on in my life and in my head since I last wrote. I apologize in advance for the impending randomness. To be fair, it's actually a pretty accurate representation of how my mind actually works.

Blogiversary Isn't a Real Word

Apparently, as of today, I've spent the past year not blogging nearly as much as I'd like, but infinitely more than I did before. I could make this post a retrospective of the topics I've covered, but all of my previous work is readily available for perusal. Instead, I'll use this space to cover an event that took place seven months ago, because this way I kill two birds with one stone. For any of my readers that attended the Dino Shindig in Ekalaka, Montana, this will be a nice flashback. For everybody else, prepare to have your minds blown. (I may be overselling the magnitude of the event and/or the quality of my writing, but I'll claim artistic license.)

No Sale! Science Trumps Money in San Diego

The San Diego Natural History Museum today lowered the gavel on several fossils from their collection that were up for auction and science was declared the winning bidder. The museum released an official statement announcing cancellation of the sale scheduled for 19 November. The news comes only days after several notable paleontologists sharply criticized the museum's administration upon the original announcement of the proposed sale.

Adjacently Fossilized Dinos: The Science of Selling a Story

Peter Larson of the Black Hills Institute in Hill City, SD caused quite a stir at the 2013 annual meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. Apparently he presented a poster depicting research performed on specimens that are about to go to public auction, which seems to be in conflict with standards set by the scientific community. Larson also allegedly misrepresented his research in his submitted abstract and used the poster session to promote the fast-approaching sale. Unfortunately, Larson's history can sometimes precede him and cast a negative light on his work before it is properly assessed. I find that too much time can be spent examining the intent of an individual when the actions should be the focal point.

The Shutdown of the US Government

I won't be saying much about this topic. I merely needed a forum for sharing what I received in an email today from the Veterans Support Center here at MSU-Bozeman. I am fortunate to have enough money to make it through the shutdown, but the impact nationwide on many veterans is impossible to ignore. I understand that this situation affects everyone in the country, but I maintain a small level of bias for my brethren and also have an increased level of valuable information to offer on the subject.

The Liebster Award and Other Things Interesting

It's amazing how busy a summer can be for an unemployed college student. I haven't done half of what I intended when the spring semester ended, but I can't say my time has been wasted. As is my usual this time of year, I have spent a majority of the past two months playing babysitter for my sister. For the uninformed, four kids make reading difficult, especially when the book in question has dinosaur pictures in it. Luckily, I have managed to get some learning done and feel that I'm ready to springboard into some of the more brutal material.