The following list contains the websites I visited most often when I studied optical mineralogy; these sites saved my butt on more than one occasion! A lot of the sites overlap in information, but sometimes a particular site had that key picture or explanation that was essential for me in understanding a concept. I've organized the sites into two groups depending on whether they focus on explaining mineralogy properties or identifying specific minerals. (Image from Geoffrey Clarke.)
12 great intro to optical mineralogy resources [updated]
Cortney Education, Science & Technology + earth science, geology, minerals, optical mineralogy, petrographic microscope
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Very awesome animated map of current global wind conditions
Cortney Science & Technology + atmosphere, climate, earth science, winds
Head on over to earth.nullschool.net to see animated global wind conditions and be prepared to spend a few minutes just staring; it's very hypnotic. How does it stack up to what you would expect wind patterns to look like? One thing that popped out to me was the clearly northward position of the ITCZ relative to the equator. Read more →
Unbricking a soft-bricked Samsung Note 8.0 (and then rooting it!)
Cortney Science & Technology + android, bricked, note 8.0, samsung
I soft-bricked (the device would still power on and flash the Samsung screen before going dark) my Samsung Note 8.0 a few months ago after attempting to root it. After many hours of attempting to fix it, I decided to sell it on Craigslist. When people tried to lower my price to ridiculous levels, I ended up trying to fix it again. This is what I did to recover stock settings (note that the binary was still being recognized as official). And when you're ready to try rooting your device again, head over to Unlockr for a super-easy method that worked for me.
Whale sharks: like a sir
Cortney Random, Science & Technology + like a sir, memes, whale sharks
According to Wikipedia: "Known as a deity in a Vietnamese culture, the whale shark is called Ca Ong, which literally translates as Sir Fish." After reading this, an image of the whale shark posing in the "Like a sir" meme dressings immediately popped into my head. As if whale sharks weren't cool enough.
Better image below the fold.
Sponging dolphins: cute & clever
Cortney Science & Technology + biology, delphinids, dolphins, marine mammals, porifera, sponges, tools
Did you know that dolphins use tools, and look adorable while doing so?
Bottlenose dolphins in Australia's Shark Bay like to snack on seafloor-dwelling fish (like sandperch), a food choice that presents two problems. First, these fish lack swimbladders and therefore cannot be echolocated effectively; second, the substrate they inhabit is scattered with sharp rocks and shells, which obscure the fish and conspire to injure a dolphin's nose. One group of dolphins came up with a clever way to enjoy their benthic prey: they harvest sponges and wear them on their faces. The sponge protects the dolphin's rostrum while it digs around in the seafloor, until it runs into a fish and scares it out of the ground to be eaten. After about an hour, when the sponges become too worn down to serve as a shield, the dolphins replace them with fresh ones. Furthermore, the dolphins pass the knowledge of sponging on from generation to generation. Read more details in this scientific paper.
Sea sounds: sci-fi seals, screaming manatees
Cortney Science & Technology + biology, manatees, marine mammals, ocean sounds, pinnipeds, sirenians, spectrograms
You've probably the playful whistling of dolphins and the majestic songs of whales, but some marine mammals just don't get the appreciation they deserve when it comes to acoustics -- probably because they sound creepy or hilarious.
How to get published in Biological Conservation journal
Cortney Science & Technology + biological conservation, henry david thoreau, peer review, research, richard primack, scientific publications
Richard Primack, editor-in-chief of the journal Biological Conservation and professor at Boston University, came to the Duke Marine Lab to give a presentation on some of his research -- which used famous poet Henry David Thoreau's journal to track changing flowering dates and thereby track global warming. I rather enjoyed his talk.
Primack also discussed his position as editor-in-chief of Biological Conservation, and shared the following common reasons for why papers get rejected, which I'll share.
All about Squilla empusa, the American mantis shrimp
Cortney Science & Technology + beaufort, biology, invertebrates, mantis shrimp, squilla empusa
Note: This was written for a school project. It will be featured as a chapter in an Apple iBooks textbook released by Duke University about Beaufort marine invertebrates.
Latin Name: Squilla empusa (Mantis Shrimp)
Taxonomy: Animalia (Kingdom) > Arthropoda (Phylum) > Crustacea (Subphylum) > Malacostraca (Class) > Hoplocarida (Subclass) > Stomatopoda (Order) > Unipeltata (Suborder) > Squilloidea (Superfamily) > Squillidae (Family) > Squilla (Genus)
All about Mnemiopsis leidyi, the sea walnut comb jelly
Cortney Science & Technology + beaufort, comb jellies, invertebrates
Note: This was written for a school project. It will be featured as a chapter in an Apple iBooks textbook released by Duke University about Beaufort marine invertebrates. Image from Wikimedia Commons.
Latin Name: Mnemiopsis leidyi (Sea Walnut)
Taxonomy: Animalia (Kingdom) > Ctenophora (Phylum) > Tentaculata (Class) > Cyclocoela (Subclass) > Lobata (Order) > Bolinopsidae (Family) > Mnemiopsis (Genus)