(no subject)
Why I'm a loser:
I went to Amazon.com to look up a book, and at the top of the page is an advertisement banner for "Your Inner Fish" by Neil Shubin. I got excited because I've met Neil, as he was Ted (curator at the Academy)'s advisor for his PhD at UPenn, as well as his research buddy. They went on excavations together and discovered some of the most important Devonian fossils showing the fish-to-tetrapod transition that have ever been seen.
Looking on the Amazon site, there's pictures of Ted and Neil in places I've been, showing off fossils I work with every week.
It may sound lame, but I sometimes forget that the people I see every week, who I joke around with about politics and the end of the world, the guys who take me out to lunch and offer their assistance in guidance - are actually famous in the world of palaeontology. If your not into palaeontology, it doesn't matter. But if you are, it's actually quite monumental that they've taken me under their wing for no reason whatsoever.
Another lame factoid: last week when Neil was on an NPR program promoting his book, he said that Fred was "The worlds best preparator." I also forget that I'm learning fossil preparation from a man whose lab has been visited by people all over the world and his techniques studied and copied.
In summary - I'm a loser, but to every other loser out there that has the same interests as me, I'm really damn lucky.
I went to Amazon.com to look up a book, and at the top of the page is an advertisement banner for "Your Inner Fish" by Neil Shubin. I got excited because I've met Neil, as he was Ted (curator at the Academy)'s advisor for his PhD at UPenn, as well as his research buddy. They went on excavations together and discovered some of the most important Devonian fossils showing the fish-to-tetrapod transition that have ever been seen.
Looking on the Amazon site, there's pictures of Ted and Neil in places I've been, showing off fossils I work with every week.
It may sound lame, but I sometimes forget that the people I see every week, who I joke around with about politics and the end of the world, the guys who take me out to lunch and offer their assistance in guidance - are actually famous in the world of palaeontology. If your not into palaeontology, it doesn't matter. But if you are, it's actually quite monumental that they've taken me under their wing for no reason whatsoever.
Another lame factoid: last week when Neil was on an NPR program promoting his book, he said that Fred was "The worlds best preparator." I also forget that I'm learning fossil preparation from a man whose lab has been visited by people all over the world and his techniques studied and copied.
In summary - I'm a loser, but to every other loser out there that has the same interests as me, I'm really damn lucky.