Every six weeks or so, I write a post for Old Bones, the blog of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. Here are links to my blogs, in reverse chronological order: May 2017: The ups and downs of international fieldwork based on my experiences working in Chile and Bolivia. April 2017: Some thoughts about submitting an abstract for the Society […]
June 2018: “Two new macraucheniids (Mammalia: Litopterna) from the late middle Miocene (Laventan South American Land Mammal Age) of Quebrada Honda, Bolivia” is published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, and a life reconstruction of the two new species (by Velizar Simeonovski) is chosen as the cover art for the June issue of the journal. The lead author […]
Other than water, beer is my beverage of choice. Although more and more craft beers are available in cans, at least half of the beer I drink comes in a bottle. Bottles are easy to recycle, but what about the metal caps? Metal cans are obviously recyclable, but most material recovery facilities have difficulties sorting out small objects […]
Want to learn more about the fossil history of South American mammals? Check out my blog, The Rafting Monkey. My posts discuss the latest research on South American mammals and fossil mammal sites as well as interesting tidbits from the archives of paleomammalogy. You can visit periodically to see what is new or sign up to get an email alert every […]
Hegetotheriids (also known as hegetotheres) were small to medium-sized mammals that ranged from the size of a rabbit (probably about 12-16″/30-40 cm ) to a beaver (about 3 feet/1 m long). Some hegetotheres were very rabbit-like in both their skull and skeleton (pachyrukhines; see below), whereas others had proportions more similar to a large rodent such […]
If you’re familiar with CrossFit, then you know that gymnastic rings are essential for many workouts. I’ve been doing CrossFit since 2005, but I never joined a CrossFit gym. As a consequence, I came up with a ring setup that I can carry with me and install as needed – usually at 121 Fitness on the CWRU campus or in our workout […]
Our 1920s home has a typical Heights basement that is humid much of the year. As a consequence, we use a dehumidifier to keep it at a reasonable level. (I’d prefer to not have to use a dehumidifier, but life is full of compromises.) Instead of just dumping all that water down the drain, I rigged up […]
Have a question about caring for your lawn, growing tomatoes, pruning an apple tree, or identifying an insect? If so, you can submit your question to Ask a Master Gardener and it will be answered by an Ohio State University Extension Master Gardener Volunteer like me. Master Gardener Volunteers are trained in a wide variety of horticultural […]
One of the many activities sponsored by the Institute for the Science of Origins at Case Western Reserve University is the Origins Science Scholars program. This multi-week program is held each semester and features presentations by local scientists followed by dinner and conversation. All of the talks are available online and are also broadcast on WVIZ/PBS ideastream. I’ve given four […]
Every six weeks or so, I write a post for Old Bones, the blog of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. I wrote a blog in May 2017 about the ups and downs of international fieldwork based on my experiences working in Chile and Bolivia. My April 2017 blog outlined some of my thoughts about submitting an abstract for the annual Society […]