Things I Learned Over the Last Few Days

• Pangea was not the first supercontinent. There was one before it called Rodinia, and probably others before that one. They form every ~600 million years. Which makes sense -- being on a sphere, continents can only tectonically drift so far apart before they start coming back together again at the antipodes. At that point the thermal insulation effect causes a whole news series of rifts to form and the process begins again.


• You cannot cast silicon rubber onto untreated investment/plaster. Being porous it soaks up one of the components, leaving an unset mess at the boundary.


• Very few places that sell pewter quote prices on their website or want to deal with individuals at all.


• One of the best sources of obsidian in the country is a 6 hour drive away in Oregon. It's BLM land and you can take 100 pounds a day. I really want to learn how to flintknap now. 'Flintknap' is a relatively new word, only a few hundred years old. The entire art of lithic tool formation was reinvented in the western world upon the invention of the flintlock rifle.


• At least one teenage couple seems to think the small park across the street is a good place to have sex.


• Con audiences are far more receptive to The Grace of Tears than the average group of people. They even appreciated the commentary on the 5th postulate!