Columbia

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Near The Burgess Shale

We stopped yesterday in the small town of Field, in Yoho National Park in British Columbia. It's the western side of the Continental Divide from where we were in Banff National Park. Here we are looking north from Field over the Kicking Horse River Valley. Field, which has a picturesque setting beneath Mount Stephen, below, was built for the construction of the railway and it looks like a model train village today. Railway workers began uncovering unusual fossils in the area. Charles Walcott came in 1908 to explore the trilobite bed near Mount Stephen. A year later, nearly 100 years ago, he discovered the Burgess Shale, which he named after nearby Mount Burgess. Walcott, head of the Smithsonian Institution, spent many years excavating the fossils and returning them to his museum. The Burgess Shale lies within Yoho National Park but you can only visit there in summer under the direction of licensed guides. We had a look-see in the information center and then headed to Calgary to fly home. Years ago, I had read Stephen Jay Gould's Wonderful Life and the brief visit to Field made me want to find the book first thing upon returning home. Gould writes that "the invertebrates of the Burgess Shale...are the world's most important animal fossils. Modern multicellular animals make their first uncontested appearance in the fossil record some 570 million years ago." These fossils represent a record of the Cambrian explosion and "they are precious because they preserve in exquisite detail...the soft anatomy of organisms." Gould writes lyrically: The animals of the Burgess Shale are holy objects -- in the unconventional sense that this word conveys in some cultures. We do not place them on pedestals and worship from afar. We climb mountains and dynamite hillsides to find them. We quarry them, split them, carve them, draw them, and dissect them, struggling to wrest their secrets. ... They are grubby little creatures of a sea floor 530 million years old, but we greet them with awe because they are the Old Ones, and they are trying to tell us something. Since the book was first published in 1989, Gould's interpretation of the evolutionary significance of the Burgess Shale has come under some criticism. (You can read some of the criticism in Amazon's reviews of the book.) Also, other Cambrian fossil sites have been found in Greenland and China. However, you can't mistake Gould's true enthusiasm for the story of the Burgess Shale, and its breakthrough role in helping us understand the history of life on earth....

Icefields Parkway in Banff National Park

Today, we travelled up the Icefields Parkway from Lake Louise. We didn't make it all the way to the Columbia Icefields but we saw lots of incredibly beautiful mountains and glaciers. I took this picture near Glacier Lake. The next photo, I believe, has a view of the Crowfoot Glacier. I've been reading How Old is that Mountain? by Chris Yorath. In answering the question in the book's title, Yorath uses a metaphor that will stay with me longer than most of the geological terms. He said it's like a new house built with hundred-year old timber. The rock was formed first long before the forces that "deformed" the rock and created the mountain. The sedimentary rock in the Banff National Park was formed about 610 million years ago but the mountains were created 90 to 60 million years. In addition, glaciation and erosion continue to change the mountains as well as carve the valleys between them. I was disappointed not to get further north. (Ok, I'll admit that I didn't top off the gas tank before leaving Lake Louise and there were no services along the way, so I had to turn back fearing we might not have enough gas for the round trip.) I wanted to get to the Columbia Icefields and ideally all the way to Jasper. The sight I wanted to see was Mount Athabasca, which is described as the hydrographic apex of North America. That is, water from this mountain drains in three possible directions -- west to the Pacific, east to the Atlantic and north to Hudson. Yorath writes that it is the "one point on which a mountaineer can pollute all three oceans with a single act." I will have to come back again. There's lots more to explore. I want to see the Canadian Rockies in other seasons but this glimpse of early winter is really wonderful....

Odor threat jeopardizes Dorchester condo plan

It is billed as the crown jewel of Columbia Point, a glittering new seaside neighborhood of luxury condominiums, fine dining, and shopping on a rare available parcel of Boston waterfront, on the shores of Dorchester Bay. But before a shovel is in the ground, developer Corcoran Jennison says the entire $1.5 billion project is in jeopardy, citing an unusual concern: ...

Home in East Bay and in the Scenic Columbia Gorge

We have two homes to swap, about a day's drive apart, a one bedroom (can sleep 4 )in the Easy Bay, one transit stop past Berkeley, with WI FI, Sat TV, and all the comforts in a nice safe area with lots of shops, restaurants, etc only 1 and 1/2 blocks from transit station with frequent trains to downtown S.F. only 1/2 hour ride. Our other place has 3 bedrooms and 2 baths (master has jacuzzi tub), vaulted ceilings throughout,WI FI, SAT TV, plus a sitting room with a hide a bed. We have a big fenced back yard on quiet private lot away from the street. The Columbia Gorge is a protected National Scenic Area and tourist destination, it's truly amazing and there is lots to do year round. We are flexible and open to anything except cold and wet, cold, dry, and sunny O.K. Happy Travels!

June House Swap Vancouver Island, Canada for Santa Cruz (aptos)

Vacation swap our Vancouver Island home in Campbell River, British Columbia, Canada, for a similar home in the Santa Cruz area for 1-4 weeks during June/July 2009. Dates are flexible but must include the June 20th weekend. Campbell River is located approximately 3 hours north of Victoria on the east side of Vancouver Island. It is the eco-adventure center for the North Island and is well known for its spectacular scenery, wildlife, world class kayaking, mountain biking, hiking, fishing and golf. Our 3+ bedroom, 4 bath, two level home is situated on a semi-waterfront ridge with an unobstructed 180 degree panoramic view of the ocean, Discovery Islands (Quadra and Cortes to name a couple), and spectacular snow capped mountains of the British Columbia mainland. All marine traffic to and from points north, including Alaska, must pass through Discovery Passage immediately in front of our home. Spotting three or more cruise ships at one time through our large picture windows, or from our multi-level deck and landscaped yard is a common occurrence. The tranquil setting close to everything allows you to set your own pace. For all you nature lovers seeking summer fun, adventure or just plain relaxation, this is the vacation opportunity for you. For the sixth year in a row, Vancouver Island has been listed in Condé Nast Traveler as the best island off North America in its readers’ choice survey. See link below for pictures of our home and surrounding area. http://picasaweb.google.com/Marphil72/SearchResults?authkey=kfWUD5uSsW8#

Sixth severed foot found in British Columbia

Yet another severed foot in a shoe has been found in British Columbia. For BB readers who may have lost count, this is the sixth foot that has turned up in the region in 14 months. As my brother Mark says, it may be evidence of "the ultimate foot fetish." Not sure about that, but something is definitely afoot. From CNN: The shoe -- a left New Balance running shoe -- was found about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday on the south arm of the Fraser River by a Richmond, British Columbia, couple, police said... Four of the five feet discovered between August 2007 and June 2008 were in running shoes made between 2003 and 2004, and the other was made in 1999, according to police. Royal Canadian Mounted Police have released photos of the shoes, hoping someone can help identify the remains. Apparent 6th severed foot found in British Columbia Previously on BB: ? Posts about the saga of the severed feet...

Vacation Swap Santa Cruz for Vancouver Island, Canada (aptos)

Vacation swap our Vancouver Island home in Campbell River, British Columbia, Canada, for a similar home in the Santa Cruz area for 1-4 weeks during June/July 2009. Dates are flexible but must include the June 20th weekend. Campbell River is located approximately 3 hours north of Victoria on the east side of Vancouver Island. It is the eco-adventure center for the North Island and is well known for its spectacular scenery, wildlife, world class kayaking, mountain biking, hiking, fishing and golf. Our 3+ bedroom, 4 bath, two level home is situated on a semi-waterfront ridge with an unobstructed 180 degree panoramic view of the ocean, Discovery Islands (Quadra and Cortes to name a couple), and spectacular snow capped mountains of the British Columbia mainland. All marine traffic to and from points north, including Alaska, must pass through Discovery Passage immediately in front of our home. Spotting three or more cruise ships at one time through our large picture windows, or from our multi-level deck and landscaped yard is a common occurrence. The tranquil setting close to everything allows you to set your own pace. For all you nature lovers seeking summer fun, adventure or just plain relaxation, this is the vacation opportunity for you. For the sixth year in a row, Vancouver Island has been listed in Condé Nast Traveler as the best island off North America in its readers’ choice survey. See link below for pictures of our home and surrounding area. http://picasaweb.google.com/Marphil72/SearchResults?authkey=kfWUD5uSsW8#

Defrag Starts with Look at Strategic Intuition of Apple, Google

Google and Apple took pages out of the playbooks of other companies to create the powerhouse desktop computers and search engines we benefit from today, Columbia Business School Associate Professor William Duggan says. At the Defrag conference, Duggan discusses what he calls the strategic intuition of Steve Jobs, Larry Page and Sergey Brin that led to their accomplishments. - DENVER Apple and Google revolutionized the PC and search engine markets, respectively, but company leaders borrowed their key concepts from others who came before them. That was the crux of the Defrag opening keynote speech here Nov. 3 from Columbia Business School Associate Professor William ...

Getting Wired for Life

From British Columbia comes the news article Getting 'wired' for life. It deals with the increasing shift of job skills to the Web. Include in this is a need for information literacy. This article details a K-12 curriculum for it.From the article:Even in the home, technological literacy is becoming increasingly important as the information we need -- even for everyday tasks -- is shifted to the Internet.Knowing how to gather, process and manipulate data is as essential in today's quickly changing landscape as traditional numeracy and literacy skills.The provincial Information Technology program suggests a curriculum that begins with an introduction to technology in Kindergarten to Grade 3; demonstrating an awareness of it and using it for problem solving in Grades 4 to 7; applying information technology, considering careers, and discussing cultural, ethical and legal implications in Grades 8 to 10; and in Grades 11 and 12, using sophisticated information technology tools to solve complex and varied problems.Still, each school and classroom offers a different approach.The challenge for students and teachers is to develop an understanding of the fundamentals of information literacy and the tools required to prepare for, and participate in, an evolving information-based society.

DR G Ross Roy interview - Chairman of the Bard

WHEN DR G ROSS ROY HEADED back home to Columbia, South Carolina, last month after his most recent visit to Scotland, he had a cast of Robert Burns's skull in his luggage.