Valuable Local Fossil Site Needs Your Help!

This is an e-mail we received from one of our very good customers:

Hello Paleo fans. A recent visit to the Worthenia site at I-635 and H(ighway)9 revealed to me that the site is rapidly being overgrown by seedlings of the notorious honey locust tree. This is an ominous developement, as this means that in about 2 years the seedlings will form a near impenetrable thicket, complete with long thorns. This site is one of our member`s favorite collecting locations. The site is highly valuable education wise, as it is a fine first collecting site. I first considered returning with a weed eater, but, I think the hardy seedlings would rapidly regrow. Does anyone have a large capacity sprayer they can use? I just have a small unit that won`t finish the job with one filling. I think I would want to do this quickly, as this may not be legal. Please e-mail me, or call me if you can help, or if you have advice. 816-781-5719 Ron

Mineral Identification Workshop: Follow-Up and Bibliography

While we're on the subject, thanks to everyone who came out for the mineral identification workshop on Saturday, 8 August. We had a lively time and I hope that everyone got something out of it. If you missed it, and are interested in attending a future session, let us know in the comments or by emailing me. I felt that we could have covered more experimentation and less discussion, but as this was the first time out, I wasn't sure how time would ultimately play out. Future sessions will have more direct work of identification, and a lot more discussion of reactions and the chemistry that governs them. It will give me an excuse to do more reading and practising, after all...

In the meantime, here's the bibliography from the workshop. This is by no means every book out there; rather, it is just a selection of what I used in putting together some of the tests and gathering the necessary background material.

Bibliography

• Audubon Society. Audubon Society Field Guide to Rocks and Minerals. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1978.


• Landauer, J. Blowpipe Analysis. Second, Revised Edition. Translated by James Taylor. Bradley, IL: Lindsay Publications, 1984.


• Lewis, J. Volney and Hawkins, A.C. A Manual of Determinative Mineralogy with Tables, 4th Edition. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1931.


• Peck, Donald B. Mineral Identification: A Practical Guide for the Amateur Mineralogist. Tucson, AZ: The Mineralogical Record, 2007.


• Pellant, Chris. Rocks and Minerals (Smithsonian Handbooks). New York: Dorling Kindersley, Inc., 2002.


• Pough, Frederick B. A Field Guide to Rocks and Minerals, Fifth Edition. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1988.


• Sinkankas, John. Gemstone and Mineral Data Book. New York: Collier Books, 1972.


• Vanders, Iris and Kerr, Paul. Mineral Recognition. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1967.

Useful Websites and Journals

• Mindat.org


• Mineralogical Record Magazine


• Rock & Gem Magazine


• Rocks and Minerals Magazine


• WebMineral.com

Thanks again, and happy rock hunting!

Philosophy of Science Presentation: Bibliography

Thanks again to everyone who came out last night for Ginger Nedblake's presentation on the Philosophy of Science. Mystery noises aside, it seems as though a good time was had by all.

As promised, the rest of this entry is part of Ginger's bibliography from the presentation. Email us if you have questions, or post them in the comments. Thanks!

Free Resources

• Mid-Continent Public Library has a link for cardholders to online back copies of Philosophy of Science journal


• The Linda Hall Library of Science and Technology - Peirce Studies


• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy - the site includes an RSS feed for new/updated entries

Partial Bibliography

• An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science by Rudolf Carnap


• Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder - The Introduction to Philosophy course you wish you had.


• Godel, Escher, Bach: and Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas R. Hofstadter
  


• Philosophy of Science: A Very Short Introduction by Samir Okasha (part of the Oxford Very Short Introductions series - watch for them in the store!)


• A History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell - a classic


• Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge by Edward O. Wilson

Finally: Challenge Your Own Assumptions: Examples

• Animal Liberation by Peter Singer


• The Life You Can Save: Acting Now to End World Poverty by Peter Singer

Thanks again to everyone, and we'll see you next time!

What is this?

Okay everyone; what is this? If you think you know and can not only identify this piece of laboratory apparatus, but can fully explain for what it is used and how it works, then we will give you 10% off any one, in-stock item in the store (telescopes and microscopes excluded). The discount may be used for on-line purchases.

To claim your discount be the first to email (1) a correct identification, (2) a short explanation (a single sentence should suffice) of its use and (3) a description of the labeled parts, in the illustration, and their purposes to jfk@hms-beagle.com. I will be the sole judge of the completeness of the answers. Your answer must be receive no later than midnight, Monday, the 17^th of August, 2009.

The winner will be notified by return email. The details of how to claim the discount will be in that email. Good luck.

==JFK==

Platte County's Parks & Recreation Sales Renewal Passes!

We wish to thank all of our customers and clients who patiently listened to us and read the literature we stuffed into your bags in the weeks and days leading up to the vote last Tuesday (August 4^th) that affirmed the County's request to renew the sales tax for parks and recreation. As we explained to you, both one-on-one and in our various meetings in the store, we think that this is great for Platte County and Parkville and should help us proceed with our stated plans of building an astronomical observatory south of English Landing Centre. We're very glad that you listened and that you voted.

==JFK==

Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Kids Do!

We at the Beagle are firm believers that every child is born a scientist and will remain a scientist until exposed to someone or a setting that turns them against a life of scientific exploration. Children should be expected to explore, experiment and question. To this end we want to know if there are students, parents and/or teachers out there that would like to participate in a series of workshops in which we explore some of the "dangerous" experiments and demonstrations that are always intriguing and exciting, but which shouldn't be done without a lot or foreknowledge and appropriate planning and safety preparation. If you are interested please post a comment and contact us for a follow-up on our plans.

Make: KC

Join us for an organizational meeting for
Make: KC
Tuesday July 14, 2009
6 pm to 7 pm: Maker Show and Tell
7 pm to 8 pm: Organizational Meeting

Do you enjoy creating new inventions or taking things apart to see how they work? Maybe you’ve seen some of the Do-It-Yourself projects but you’re not sure how to finish certain parts. This is an opportunity for tinkerers, inventors, makers, artists, and crafters to share your knowledge and inspiration with others from young to old in a family friendly atmosphere. We are planning for this meeting to include some show and tell projects using Arduino microcontrollers, as well as organizational topics and planning for future events as we launch this new group.

The meetings will be held at H.M.S. Beagle, 180 English Landing Drive, Parkville, MO. We have already had interest expressed by the editors of Make Magazine, and it looks like we can expect their wholehearted support.