Drilling Day

So today I posted this pic. from my job site. I was the geologist on site supervising the installation of replacement monitoring wells. Here is the field pic sent from my cell phone:

If you read this post before 18:30 EST then all you saw was the image. It's way to tough to add text. So here I am now in the comfort of my bedroom office typing away.

Back to the drilling. As far as drilling goes it does not get easier. The weather was bright sun 53 deg. F. 6 wells. No soil sampling. Drilling in sand. 30 feet deep. Done. The other big factor is that these two guys are the best and fastest drillers around. They start early, work through lunch and get the job done.

All I had to do today was ID the well location and check it with the construction manager with the utility plans and say "drill there, 30 feet, 15 feet of screen. flush road box".

It was a good day to be a geologist.

Bicycle cellphone charger

Surfin' today I came across this new invention by Motorola...below is the text.


Motorola’s Bike Charger for Mobile Phones
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 01.10.07
Science & Technology (alternative energy)
The big news of the day might’ve been that Apple had finally taken the wraps off their iPhone, but the greener gossip was to be found in the Motorola camp. This communications giant was unveiling a more modest gadget, yet of immediate utility to umpteen million folk, in what are termed ‘emerging markets’. Their particular do-dad is a battery charger for mobile phones that is powered simply by riding a bicycle. Motorola’s CEO, Ed Zander rode a bike into his recent keynote speech to highlight the technology. He reckoned it would be of use to the multitudes of people needing communications, but still lacking in grid connected services. "Farmers in Senegal use the phone to monitor crop prices. Health workers in South Africa use their phones to locate records while dealing with patients," he said. And it seems that rural China is a prime market for Motorola, who suggested that in a country with 500 million commuting cyclists, there are also five million new mobile phone subscribers every month. India, Asia and Latin America are in their sights too. ::Motorola. Via Engadget, Textually, and Vancouver Sun.

This as an occasional bike commuter seems like an invaluable tool. Plus I can imagine the other applications for such a device; such as: laptop charger for one. It could make blogging on long distance bike tours easier.