Better view of the shark teeth!

 

Here is a pic of the actual shark teeth we found!

Starting from the top going across is #4, a deer tooth, and second row, number 5 is an alligator tooth.  The cone looking thing on the bottom is from a squid and oldest fossil, at least 70 million years old. The shark teeth are at least 30 million years old along with the alligator tooth.  The deer tooth has got to be the most recent though I am not sure exactly old.  I do know that deer started appearing around 40 million years ago, so maybe it is as old as the shark teeth.  How it got there, I don;t know...washed into the creek from somewhere else or maybe it got dragged into the water by an alligator?

Heading back up there soon!

Happy New Year!

 

Into the New Year, we charge!!!

2021 In The Rearview Mirror

 

It was a fun year!

I succeeded in 2.5 out of 3 resolutions.

I resisted tyranny successfully and went on a successful fossil hunt.  #3 was "getting back in shape"  Made some progress, but still long way to go! :-) 

Michelle and I went on 4 trips in 2021, twice to Arizona and twice to Florida and a couple of days ago, we went on a fossil hunt!

We did out research, found the site, and plunged in.  I was worried at first, navigating a steep slope down, wondering if it was even legal to be there, and hoping I did not sink up to my ankles in creek mud.

The gravel was so thick, it was like walking on solid ground.  We found nearly 20 shark teeth!  

There were two major experiences this year that jumped out at me....marching out, step by step out of the Superstition Mountains while suffering from borderline heatstroke (stay calm and patient) and daring to overcome obstacles to get our fossils.....long trip, down the slope, stepping into the water, and finding what we came to find!

Good lessons to take into the New Year!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

 

Dimetrodon is not a dinosaur!

 

The Nazis apparently seem to have returned to Europe and there seems to be a chapter here in the US.  You see enough of that, so let's talk about something else.  It does not matter what the "public health" dictators say, I am still ignoring them.

I had a debate with another patron (no mask either...) over Dimetrodon.  He said it was a meat eating dinosaur.  I corrected him, telling my new friend that it was indeed a carnivore, but it was not a dinosaur.  It was a synapsid and closer to mammals than dinosaurs.  After he looked it up on his phone, he agreed and offered to by me some cookies.

I took an apple instead.

Lots of what we do know is usually speculative.  Nonetheless, we have complete skeletons of this animal and the two things you notice are the sail and the teeth!

My friend said Dimetrodon was the state fossil of Texas, where he was from.

And he was a Cowboy fan.

What did you expect? :-)

Happy Thankgiving!

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

China and Taiwan

 

Ever since the Chinese Communists drover the Chinese Nationalists off the mainland to the island of Taiwan in 1949, Beijing has vowed to take over the island and unite to China.  There have been some harsh words between the two and occasional shots fired at each other, but no war.  

At least not yet.

Over the last year, the tensions between the two have ratcheted up.   Taiwan has been protected by the Taiwan Strait, the small size of the Chinese Navy, and a US security guarantee. Chinese planes have violated Taiwan's airspace and th4 People's Republic of China's navy has expanded tremendously, clearly with the intention of taking Taiwan and challenging the United States for Pacific domination. 

A Chinese invasion of Taiwan would be difficult since it would take six hours for marines to get across the strait and the Taiwan.  There are only so many beaches to land on the island.  Taiwan has been waiting.

Beijing is not stupid.

Whatever China has planned, it will be indirect. Some sort of clandestine strike would work best.  The main reason is that Taiwan is the world's leading producer of semiconductors. That could be the reason for the US could get pulled in.

So, what China needs to do is win before US forces arrive.

Could a paralyzing Chinese strike on America be planned?

The Twenty-first Century might get interesting real fast.