New Merchandise from Tucson - Part 2

We have been able to purchase some exceptionally nice Lamna species teeth as well as Megalodon teeth while here in Tucson. The latter are very nice indeed in that they vary considerably in color rather then being just the run-of-the-mill black. For the Lamna teeth one must always look for the cusps on either side of the main tooth. If the cusps are missing the tooth isn't as valuable.

The Lamna teeth are almost always white to a light tan in color and are very sharp!

The Megalodon teeth are the right in these pictures and the Lamna are directly above on the left.

Below, on the left are teeth from the mosasaur species globidens. These were shell-crushing aquatic reptiles that died out 65 million years ago. Most of you are familiar with the more common mosasaur teeth we sell, but these are entirely different and much rarer.

Below on the right are ammonites from Madagascar. These have been polished to expose the sutures that marked the separations between the internal air spaces the animal used for buoyancy.

Finally, we have also been acquiring some minerals specimens, and for the first time we have purchased some polished quartz crystals about 1.5" to 2" long. These are pictured below.

New Merchandise from Tucson

Here are some photos of the merchandise we have acquired here in Tucson. First we bought some fossil fishes from the venerable, jolly and highly knowledgable Bob Finney. We bought three larger plates and 65 unprepped 4" to 6" "singles". The latter will be put in our Fossil Prep kits we. The former are pictured here; the first is a triple plate with two Knightia and a Diplomystus:

The above place is ~18" x ~14". Next is a 12" x 12" plate with a large Diplomystus:


Finally, we acquired a very nice Mioplosus and preditory perch that lived in the lake 55 million years ago. This plate is 12" x 8":

Those of you who really like Fossil Lake fishes from Wyoming should stop by the Beagle next week to see these pieces in person.

Where we stay in Tucson during the TGMS

For those of you who have not visited our the home of our friends, Joe and Cheri, in Tucson we wanted to show it to you. We have enjoyed Joe and Cheri's hospitality for 6 years during our visits to the Tucson Gem, Mineral and Fossil show. In fact, it was Joe and Cheri's insistence that we stay with them and visit the show back in early 2004 that first brought us here.

Anyway, to take a look, visit this web site: www.longrealty.com/AZ/Tucson/85718/homes-for-sale/5441-E-Gleneagles-Dr-46575313, and take a virtual tour of their home, which is now for sale. Any of you wishing to purchase a new home in beautiful Tucson could certainly do far worse.

We'll be on our way again today for more exploring and buying. Keep watching for information on the new merchandise we will be acquiring.

Also, please post any comments, especially if there is something in particular you would like for us to acquire.

Let's take a trip to Utah to collect Trilobites

Well, while here at the Tucson Gem, Mineral and Fossil Show Carol and I found a group through which we can offer a trip for 10 to 12 persons to dig for Trilobite fossils in Western Utah. We'll have lots more information here, as well as on our web site, but the important thing is, "all fossils discovered during the (dig) belong to the person who discovers them! (n)o mater how rare or valuable they may be." We want to offer this trip to our Beagle Society and Science Club members and families first.

Those of you who went on the Great Montana Dinosaur Hunt will recall that we could not keep anything that was of significance to the permit holder. However, just like that trip, HMS Beagle will be handling all of the trip details including lodging, meals, access to the collecting site (over 300 sq. miles) and more. There will be bonfires each evening, fantastic scenery (the West Desert of Utah), workshops on digging techniques and field curation of specimens, and at leaast 20 different species of Trilobites can be found on this largely unexplored land.

The two gentlemen in the picture are Jake Skabelund and Jason Cooper. They will be the hosts for the dig. Let us hear from you if you think you will be interested in this experience.

Science Gifts Unwrapped: the Microscope

Here's a nice daydream for you. You've been given a microscope for the holidays, for your birthday, for St Swithin's Day... whatever the occasion, you've got a terrific gift on your hands. So now what do you do?

Science writer Natalie Angier put her view on the matter in this way in her excellent book, The Canon:

"Another fail-safe way to change the way you see the world is to invest in a microscope. Not one of those toy microscopes sold in most Science 'n' Discovery chain stores, which, as Tom Eisner, a professor of chemical engineering at Cornell, has observed, are unwrapped on Christmas morning and in the closet before Boxing Day... it wasn't until my daughter received a dissecting microscope as a gift, and we began using it to examine the decidus of everyday life, that I began yodelling my hallelujahs. A feather from a blue jay, a fiddlehead fern, a scraping from a branch that turned out to be the tightly honeycombed housing for a stinkbug's eggs. How much heft and depth, shadow and thistle, leap out at you when the small is given scope to strut..."

-- page 24

Almost any microscope will open up a world of wonder and amazement for you, if you give it a chance. Life on earth, after all, began with the very, very small. Much of what goes on in the world around us, and indeed passes unnoticed, is a result of processes taking place at the level so minute that human eyes require mechanical aid to see it. What is the largest and most successful class of living organism on the planet? If you said bacteria, then you're exactly right.

There are a few simple things to remember, before you even get started:

1. The microscope is only as good as its parts. By this, I mean that if you buy the inexpensive microscope with plastic optics and expect to be able to see wonderful things through it, you're probably in for a disappointment. It's not a universal law, as there are some good inexpensive 'scopes out there, but basically, you do get what you pay for. And I mean that in the nicest possible way.


2. Bells and whistles are good. You will find that the more flexibility that your microscope offers you, the more possible uses you will likely find for it. Interchangeable eyepieces and objectives, binocular / dissecting versus traditional design, multiple light sources with a rheostat, adjustable stages, compatibility with digital camera add-ons - these are just some of the things to consider. You'll want to get the most out of your microscope, so why not make it as flexible as possible?


3. Consider what you don't know. Then get a book. Two books, even. Books will give you some great ideas for basic sorts of experiments, and serve as a guide to the basic equipment that you'll need to go with your microscope.
   
   
   Here are some possible books to consider, from the shelves at the Beagle...
   
   

   
   
   • Star Levine's The Ultimate Guide to Your Microscope - colourful and well-illustrated, with lots of discussion of technique and the fundamentals of microscopy. Indispensible, especially for younger readers.
   
   
   • Richard Headstrom's Adventures with a Microscope - I'm a huge fan of Dover Books, and this is a wonderful reprint. Don't let the fact that it's almost 70 years old fool you - this is a great book, filled with lots of practical exercises and possessed of a quirky, idiosyncratic style. Headstrom also wrote Adventures with a Hand Lens, which I heartily recommend.
   
   
   • Georg Stehli's The Microscope and How to Use It - another Dover book; the discussion of microscope technology will interest anyone who likes to know about the history of science, but it is somewhat dated now. The rest of the book, however, is again full of practical, sensible suggestions for projects and explorations with a microscope.
   
   

   
   
   
   


4. Attend a class. Even audit a local university-level biology class, or look for a workshop (we've got one in the planning stages at the Beagle, watch this space for details). If you studied biology at university, or way back in high school, you'll want a refresher course.


5. Slides: making your own, buying prepared. Personally, I think it's good to do both. You can get a basic slide preparation kit from us, or put together your own, suited to your own interests and requirements.

It's your microscope: do what you want to do. The possibilities of the micro world open up just as readily as do those of the macro world with a pair of binoculars or a telescope: don't miss your chance to see all things miniature.

The Galileo Project

The International Year of Astronomy may be over but the celebrations of Galileo continue. This Sunday, January 31, at 4pm, The Friends of Chamber Music present Tafelmusik -- The Galileo Project: Music of the Spheres at the Folly Theater, 300 W 12th St., Kansas City, Mo. This concert will include NASA/Hubble Space Telescope images, live narration, and even some music by Galileo's father, the famed lutenist and music theorist Vincenzo Galilei.

In addition to the music and images, there will be a lecture beginning at 2:30 on "The Life and Inventions of Galileo," featuring facsimile copies of first edition books by Galileo courtesy of Linda Hall Library.

For more information check out http://www.chambermusic.org/Default.aspx?tabid=137

For tickets go to http://www.chambermusic.org/Default.aspx?tabid=194&CategoryID=2&List=1&SortField=ProductNumber%2cProductName&Level=1&ProductID=49

What We're Reading

You could imagine that we're a bookish lot, and to a great extent that is true. One of us, of course, is fond of claiming that he has no time for anything but work or school, but personally I suspect that such a statement is really just a cover for various nefarious activities. Nevertheless, it remains true that we tend to read a lot, each in our own areas of interest and speciality.

One thing that we are reading, however, is Michael Faraday's 1861 classic, The Chemical History of the Candle. Originally presented as a popular lecture, the Chemical History is a beautifully clear and cogent introduction not only to Victorian chemistry and physics, but to the fundamentals which we still must understand 150 years later. Clearly, cogently written and accompanied by a range of experiments, this book represents some of the best of 19th century popular science.

And further, these are experiments which cry out to be performed. Some of the demonstrations and illustrations are remarkably simple. Relying upon simple experimental tools, Faraday's demonstrations are just as impressive today as they would have been in the 1850s and 1860s.

At one point, we had considered attempted to re-stage Faraday's lecture, with a significant number of the demonstrations intact. It would take time and effort, but I think that it would be a great deal of fun and highly informative (aside from which, I'd love an excuse for a round of snap-dragon). Interested? Leave us a comment and let us know if you'd like to see and hear the words of Michael Faraday given new life.