Jigsaw Puzzle

As I was working today, I found this.I looked around and saw more bone chunks.

Then I thought, "These look like they fit together".

They did.

They're brontothere limb bones. The upper one is a radius and the bottom one is an ulna.

I think.

Dan

Thunder Beast (Brontothere)

This is what I've been mostly doing at work lately, but now the project is finished. We found a brontothere skeleton that's probably about 25% complete. I did all the prep on it and here are a few before and after pictures.

This block contained the pelvis, left ankle, and foot. The ankle was sitting right in the big hole in the middle of the pelvis. You can see parts of the right and left ilia in the upper right and the synsacrum (fused sacral vertebra) between them. In the center, triangular part the ankle bones are poking out.Articulated ankle (distal tibia, astragalus, and calcaneum) removed from the block.
Complete pelvis, well nearly complete, some of the thin bone from the ilia is missing.
This block was found next to the previous one. It was farther back in the outcrop, so the matrix (rock surrounding the bone) was really hard. It contined 1 dorsal vertebra, the rest of the left leg, and 10 ribs. The smaller blocks behind it were associated (fell off of the larger block). They contained a couple more ribs, other pieces of the ribs from the larger block, and another partial vertebra. Ribs are poking out at the top. The knee joint (tibia and femur) are visible at the bottom.
Nearly complete dorsal vertebra, only the left prezygopophesis and transverse process (sticky-outy parts) were missing.
Seven of the ribs from that block. You can tell that this guy was pretty jumbled up.

Articulated left leg. The proximal tibia and fibula are on the left, the femur is on the right. Incidentally, the proximal femur was actually in another smaller block with another vertebra smashed under it.
Of the entire skeleton, this is the only cranial element we found. It's an incisor (front tooth). I'm not sure if it's upper or lower, I'll have to look into that while I try to identify some of the more beat up bones. I'm fairly certain that there is more of this thunder beast out there, hopefully the skull or jaws are still there and didn't weather away 50 years ago.I've tentatively identified this brontothere as Eotitanotherium osborni based on the astragalus, hopefully my boss lets us go back to see if there is more and maybe we can nail it down better with a skull!

Take luck,

Dan

Sad but True

I saw this sign in Roosevelt, UT.


I guess the sun sets on everything, good and bad.


Rockin' down the higway,

Dan

So Long, Farewell

So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, adieu, 1994 Buick Skylark. You were the first car I actually owned, and the most comfortable car I've owned since. I don't know if you'll ever read this, but I wrote you this song to the tune of Seasons in the Sun by Terry Jacks. If you don't know the tune, the video will help you.

Goodbye to you, my trusted car.
I've driven you around so very far.
Together we saw Disney Land.
Went to college, high school, and
Junior high when times seemed grand.

Goodbye my friend, it's hard to sell,
but that's what happens. So, I'll say farewell.
Buicks don't pass 100K.
Three months you sat in the driveway,
Sold you, now you've gone away.

We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun.
Once you were my Grandma's,
But I sold you to Santa Claus.



The Buick took us on our "Honeymoon".
Grace "driving" the BuickThe Buick with 2 flat tiresGoodbye Buick, I hope Santa Claus's niece treats you well. Love,

Dan

Wake Up

I don't know if this happens to anyone else (Faith says it's weird) but every morning for the last while, I've woken up with a song already playing in my head. I decided that it would make an interesting blog post (for me) to write down the songs for each day. Here they are:

Tue, Mar. 24, 2009 - Friends in Low Places - Garth Brooks
Thu, Mar. 26, 2009 - Upside Down - Pound
Fri, Mar. 27, 2009 - Let's Get Married - Al Green
Sat, Mar. 28, 2009 - Changes - Phil Ochs
Sun, Mar. 29, 2009 - Carrying the Banner - Newsies
Mon, Mar. 30, 2009 - Oompa Loompa Song from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
Tue, Mar. 31, 2009 - Purple - Fat Amy
Wed, Apr. 1, 2009 - Saints and Sailors - Dahsboard Confessional
Thu, Apr. 2, 2009 - I'll Follow You into the Dark - Death Cab for Cutie
Fri, Apr. 3, 2009 - Oklahoma - Texas Line - Rascal Flatts
Sat, Apr. 4, 2009 - Take it Easy (Love Nothing) - Bright Eyes

What I find interesting is that these are songs that I don't listen to a lot, I don't even particularly enjoy some of them. I don't even have the Oompa Loompa Doopa Dee Doo song on my iPod. (Maybe I should get it.) Also, I haven't listened to the March songs recently, but the April ones, I have. I wonder if my decision to record them made any influence. Anyway,

Bucephalously,

Dan