Saturday, May 06, 2006

I think I'll go for a walk




Actually, it started out on the bike (doesn't it always...). Then I saw a cool bluff/hill/mini mountain and decided I should probably go up there. You know 'to see what I could see'. Getting up was a lot easier than coming down.
Here's something I realized climbing up:
There's nothing keeping those rocks up there other than a little friction; as compared to back east, where the rocks are firmly planted in clay-rich dirt. Not here. These rocks are gonna come down, it's only a matter of time, and the size of some of them is enough to keep me on my toes.
Book smarts applied to real life:
Slope is dependent on something called 'angle of repose". It basically means that the size of the grain dictates the slope; a chunkier pile will be steeper and a more granular pile will be flatter. But the gray area is this: Some parts are solid and you're great, and then other parts, you take a step that sends you on a bit of a slide. The moral of the story is four parts: the whole nature thing is cool (1), pay attention in Geology (2), but don't forget about the 'real-life' factor (3) and I am a nerd (4).

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