GeologyRocks

Some personal comments on ...

21 Reasons You Might Be a Geologist If ...

1. You own more pieces of quartz than underwear.
True.
... but only if you count grains in sandstone.

2. Your rock collection weighs more than you do.
True.
... by a factor of several.

3. Your rock garden is located inside your house.
False.
... but only just outside the front door.

4. You can pronounce the word 'molybdenite' correctly on the first try.
True.
... and 'chalcedony'.

5. You don't think of "cleavage" the same way everyone else does.
True.
... and cleavage / bedding relationships.

6. You think the primary function of road cuts is tourist attractions.
True.
... and will cross a multilane highway to check that the rocks on the other side are the same.

7. You find yourself compelled to examine individual rocks in driveway gravel.
True.
... and all the pebbles in my garden soil (they are glacial erratics you know)

8. You're planning on using a pick and shovel while you're on vacation.
Partially True.
... but a rock hammer is a definate possibility.

9. You have ever found yourself trying to explain to airport security that a rock hammer isn't really a weapon.
Partially True.
... airport security no, ferry security yes.

10. You never throw away anything.
True.
... just ask my better half!

11. You have ever taken a 17-passenger van over "roads" that were really intended only for cattle.
True.
... Oh yes, but not rolled one - yet.

12. You consider a "recent event" to be anything that has happened in the last hundred thousand years.
True.
... and Quaternary studies are just a bit too close to gardening.

13. You have ever had to respond "yes" to the question, "What have you got in here, rocks?"
True.
... many a time.

14. You associate the word "saw" with diamonds instead of "wood".
True.
... and I associate the word 'fountain' with 'fire' rather than 'water' or 'pen'.

15. You have ever been on a field trip that included scheduled stops at a gravel pit and/or a liquor store.
Partially True.
... certainly arrange field localities between pub stops.

16. You have ever hung a picture using a Brunton/Compass-clinometer as a level.
True.
... and to check the level of a pub bar when testing the isostatic compensation properties of the head of a pint of guinness

17. You were the only member of the group who spent their time looking at cathedral walls through a pocket magnifier during your trip to Europe.
True.
... and spend more time in a museum looking at the plinths than the exhibits

18. Your collection of beer cans and/or bottles rivals the size of your rock collection.
Partially True.
... but my beer glass collection does.

19. Your photos include people only for scale and you have more pictures of your rock hammer and lens cap than your family.
True.
... and coins of the world.

20. Your spelling checker has a vocabulary that includes the words 'polymorph' and 'pseudomorph'.
True.
... and 'porphyroblast' and 'poikiloblast' and ...

21. You have ever uttered the phrase 'have you tried licking it' with no sexual connotations involved.
True.
... and 'you don't have to swallow it' (distinguishing between silt/mud)

Adapted from a variety of sources including ...
http://fgms.home.att.net/rokhound.htm
http://www.qld.gsa.org.au/TQGFEB02.pdf