Time for me to get up on the soapbox for a bit...

One of the disturbing trends I've witnessed over the past several years is an effort by some politicians to change federal and state laws mandating the protection and evaluation of historic and archaeological sites. Some of these laws have been on the books for 40 years. The prevalent theory is that big business is behind the move, as weakened legislation would give them a green light to bulldoze archaeological sites without prior documentation in their zeal to erect more cell towers and big-box shopping outlets. Granted, the existing laws aren't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but they do provide for the evaluation of cultural resources within a project area under certain circumstances.

If the wanton destruction of archaeological and historic sites is something you're not happy about, please join me in contacting your Congressperson and voicing your displeasure on this issue. There is a discussion on what has been going on with the most recent attack posted on my website at the following link: http://www.archaeologyfieldwork.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=generaldiscuss;action=display;num=1113407473

I've been told that there is an article in this month's Archaeology magazine about the Potters Field cemetery excavation in Secaucus, NJ. I've been trying to track down a copy of the magazine locally (thus far without any success). When I do, I'll scan in the article and post it here.

I participated in this project for 7 months back in 2003. I had taken part in another cemetery excavation in Delaware before the Potters Field project, so I had an idea of what to expect. Still, digging up corpses is a taboo in our society for a reason. In many ways, it was a tough project to be on. However, I'm glad I did it, as I met a number of good friends during that time.

If you'd like to read about it, my former employer has a series of web pages about the Potters Field project at the following site: http://www.culturalresourcegroup.com/projects/secaucus1.htm

Brad and I have succumbed to the Ipod rage and have gotten ourselves new mp3 players. These continue to have more storage and are smaller in size as the technology progresses.

Having an mp3 player has encouraged me to begin downloading music again from the internet. I haven't been using Kazaa or any peer-to-peer file sharing services, but have been seeking out legitimate downloads. Many bands will offer one or two songs to download from their latest CD. There is also a ton of music offered online from lesser known bands. Here is one website which posts new finds every day - http://www.fingertipsmusic.com/

The Apple Ipod Shuffle has 1 GB of memory and can hold up to 240 songs. It's small enough that I can wear it around my neck witth a lanyard and not even know it's there. I might even try to listen to this when I'm digging holes out in the woods...

Brad has a new Apple Ipod Mini to listen to his audiobooks and music. With 4GB, there's an awful lot of room. Someday we're going to look back on these as archaic. My last mp3 player had only 64MB of memory.

Does anyone find this just a little disturbing?

A still from the classic 1973 Charlton Heston
film 'Soylent Green'

GM industry puts human gene into rice

Scientists have begun putting genes from human beings into food crops in a dramatic extension of genetic modification. The move, which is causing disgust and revulsion among critics, is bound to strengthen accusations that GM technology is creating "Frankenstein foods" and drive the controversy surrounding it to new heights.

Even before this development, many people, including Prince Charles, have opposed the technology on the grounds that it is playing God by creating unnatural combinations of living things.

Environmentalists say that no one will want to eat the partially human-derived food because it will smack of cannibalism.

But supporters say that the controversial new departure presents no ethical problems and could bring environmental benefits.

In the first modification of its kind, Japanese researchers have inserted a gene from the human liver into rice to enable it to digest pesticides and industrial chemicals. The gene makes an enzyme, code-named CPY2B6, which is particularly good at breaking down harmful chemicals in the body.

Present GM crops are modified with genes from bacteria to make them tolerate herbicides, so that they are not harmed when fields are sprayed to kill weeds. But most of them are only able to deal with a single herbicide, which means that it has to be used over and over again, allowing weeds to build up resistance to it.

But the researchers at the National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences in Tsukuba, north of Tokyo, have found that adding the human touch gave the rice immunity to 13 different herbicides. This would mean that weeds could be kept down by constantly changing the chemicals used.

Supporting scientists say that the gene could also help to beat pollution.

Professor Richard Meilan of Purdue University in Indiana, who has worked with a similar gene from rabbits, says that plants modified with it could "clean up toxins" from contaminated land. They might even destroy them so effectively that crops grown on the polluted soil could be fit to eat.

But he and other scientists caution that if the gene were to escape to wild relatives of the rice it could create particularly vicious superweeds that were resistant to a wide range of herbicides.
He adds: "I do not have any ethical issue with using human genes to engineer plants", dismissing talk of "Frankenstein foods" as "rubbish". He believes that that European opposition to GM crops and food is fuelled by agricultural protectionism.

But Sue Mayer, director of GeneWatch UK, said yesterday: "I don't think that anyone will want to buy this rice. People have already expressed disgust about using human genes, and already feel that their concerns are being ignored by the biotech industry. This will just undermine their confidence even more."

Pete Riley, director of the anti-GM pressure group Five Year Freeze, said: "I am not surprised by this.

"The industry is capable of anything and this development certainly smacks of Frankenstein."

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/science_technology/story.jsp?story=632444

IT'S PEOPLE!!! SOYLENT GREEN IS PEOPLE!!!!

Visit to the Silver State

I recently accompanied my father on a trip to see John and Vicki in Reno, Nevada. It was great to see them, and we had a wonderful time. Here are a few photos highlighting some of the things that we did while on our visit...

John and Vicki took us on a road trip to the Lake Tahoe area, which is about an hour's drive from Reno. The scenery encountered en route was impressive enough, but seeing the lake itself was the icing on the cake. It's easy to see how the rich and famous shell out big bucks to vacation in this area... 

A shot of the rugged terrain surrounding the lake. Many of these roads are impassible during the winter. 

The wind was really kicking up during our visit, as you can tell from looking at John and Vicki in this photo 

A shot of the lake, whose surface is at about 6225 ft. above sea level. This is the second deepest lake in the U.S., with an average depth of 1,000 ft. and the deepest part at 1,645 ft.

More interesting facts about Lake Tahoe from the U.S. Geological Survey: The water in Lake Tahoe could cover a flat area the size of California 14 in (36 cm) deep. This amount of water is enough to supply everyone in the United States with 50 gallons of water per day for 5 years.

My family was kind enough to indulge in my searching for two geocaches, one of which was near where John and Vicki live in Reno. This cache was located in a canyon that was reputedly haunted. We didn't find any ghosts here, nor did we find the cache on our first visit. Luckily it was close enough that we were able to return again on the following day...

This is a photo of my Dad taken from the same spot on our second visit to find the cache. Note the snow left over from the previous evening's storm. 

Vicki searches for the cache site 

I hurry to find an item to leave in the geocache container, as "muggles" (non-geocachers) close in on our location. 

A photo of White Lake, north of Reno. This isn't a bad photograph - the color of the water really appears to be as white as the snow capping the mountains in the distance. 

White Lake can also be seen to the left in this photo. We found the color and appearance of this body of water to be of interest, but unfortunately I couldn't find out much about it on the internet.

It is possible that White Lake may be an endorheic basin - a watershed which does not drain. A high level of solar evaporation leaving behind a concentration of salts and other minerals may be the cause of its white color.

On the way to Virginia City, we stopped at a scenic overlook that was dedicated to an early road builder. This shot depicts the basin in which Reno lies. It can barely be seen in the distance, to the right of the photo. 

A breathtaking view. Photos of this cannot do justice to the experience of being here... 

Dad at the overlook. The mountains in the distance were capped with snowfall. As we climbed higher in altitude, we finally reached that level where snow covered trees on the side of the road. 

Vicki admiring the scenery at the overlook 

Vicki spotted these wild horses outside of Virginia City 

Downtown Virginia City... This was a great place to spend the day, admiring the historic architecture, browsing through shops and boutiques, and reading historic plaques... 

An interesting juxtaposition of a dilapidated shack in front of a 19th century mansion. Some of the silver mines of the Comstock Lode that made Virginia City famous are in the distance.

Another shot of downtown. Many of these buildings still possess architectural elements original to their 1860-1880 construction. 

While in Virginia City, we had lunch at Ludlum's, which I believe is likely the world's smallest diner with seating for 8. I couldn't believe how friendly everyone was here! 

The railroad with Virginia City in the distance 

Climbing the mountain in search of our second geocache, in the vicinity of Virginia City. This cache was in a scenic spot that overlooks a historic railroad line 

Dad at the top of the mountain