I recently completed an internship in Trieste, Italy, the highlight of which was a day hike around the Tre Cime Nature Park in the Dolomites. On top of the incredible geology, the park features relics of the World War 1 front between Austria and Italy, such as the pictured trench and cave dug into the carbonate rocks. Besides tunnels, other war uses of the geology included the use of explosions to trigger fatal rock slides. I can't imagine fighting and hauling heavy equipment across (and up!) this rugged terrain. Read more
Military Geology of Tre Cime Nature Park
Cortney Random, Science & Technology, Society & Culture + alps, calcium carbonates, italy, limestone, military geology
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Earthquake vs. Desk
Cortney Science & Technology, Society & Culture + earthquakes
Most earthquake deaths result from collapsing buildings and objects. Stronger buildings are the best safeguard, but the steep cost makes them an unrealistic option for cash-strapped regions. Read more →
Life cycles of common metals
Cortney Education, Science & Technology, Society & Culture + coursera, metals, recycling
This post is from my notes for the first week of lecture in Wheels of Metals: Urban Mining for a Circular Economy on Coursera, and it highlights—for common metals (iron, copper, aluminum)—useful properties that makes the metal attractive for applications, what applications the metal is used in, where and how the metal is mined, how the metal is processed, and how it is recycled. Read more →
Overview of the Ocarina: Instrument of the Ages
Cortney Books, Movies & Entertainment, Society & Culture + instruments, legend of zelda, music, ocarina
I wrote this article in 2009 for another website I was running at the time. In this article, I cover my experiences with the ocarina, the history of the ocarina, selecting (or making) an ocarina, and how to play an ocarina.
At a renaissance festival, a musician lured me with whimsical melodies using a strange whistle-like device. Enchanted, I hovered over to her stand, where I discovered that she and her sister made ocarinas for a living, to my great surprise, because, although I had played The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, I never knew such instruments actually existed. A diehard Zelda fan and a lover of music, I stood staring at the shiny ocarinas of all shapes and sizes on the counters. Read more →