Weird bone report

Andrew McKenna-Foster, the Natural Science Research and Education Director at the Maria Mitchell Association found this weird bone in their collection a few weeks back. Any guesses as to what it is??

It is very rounded and smooth; no identifying tags or location clues besides being here on Nantucket (which can be a red herring with all the trade and travel initiated by the whalers).

While I was looking around the web for some clues to this mystery, I came upon this site and really liked it, so I thought I would share it with you: http://www.neatorama.com/tag/fossil/

Lots of fun fossils on there, one of my favorites is a member of a family of giant armored turtles called meiolaniid which can be seen at the Smithsonian Natural History museum in DC. If you are ever in the area,  check out some of our greatest national treasures, the various free Smithsonian museums (19 at last count) on the Mall in DC:

Pump up the volume

Every morning I have been dragging my sorry butt downstairs to the shop to jog on my treadmill. This morning, our Labradoodle, Swegen, decided his new game would be to toss a tennis ball over, under, on, or around me as I am jogging. I'd like to say  a graceful dance ensued, a pas de deux of human and animal, but in reality, it led to a very quick coda with said dog getting to explore the snow outside on his own. 

Like almost everyone else, I enjoy listening to music while I jog. My treadmill has a TV which if connected would be another way to while away the blocks/miles, and I've tried to listen to comedy podcasts and NPR too, but each time, I tend to do much better listening to music. Once in a blue moon I'll forget my itouch or discover I haven't charged it and find out that I do much more poorly without the inspiration.  Even with a somewhat eclectic and not all that "beat happy" a play list (My Chemical Romance, Weezer, LIVE, Cake, U2, David Bowie, Flaming Lips, Muddy Waters, White Stripes, insert 90s grunge band here) my gait increases from one of a dead sloth to a mildly motivated Galapagos turtle.And as a certified geek, I know there is some science to back that up: http://www.acefitness.org/certifiednewsarticle/805/

“Music is like is a legal drug for athletes,” says Costas Karageorghis, Ph.D., from London’s Brunel University School of Sport and Education, one of the world’s leading authorities on music and exercise. “It can reduce the perception of effort significantly and increase endurance by as much as 15 percent.”

I am not specifically advocating for the following sites, but there are many on the web that let you find a series of songs at a specific beat per Minute (BPM) to help you exercise; try: http://jogtunes.com/ or http://www.runningmusicmix.com/and of course, Lifehackers.

So get out there or in there, keep the dog out of the way or entertained, and enjoy. 

spelling bee, quentin the quahog and a good blog to read

Many people think that there is not much to do on Nantucket in the wintertime; and for islanders, this is what we keep wanting them to think. But, it's not true, in fact, just the opposite. Winter is our time to socialize, to get out and spend time with friends, to take long walks in the Middle Moors, and to do things that make life on "the Rock" special. This is even more important this winter, when travel to "America" has been a bit more challenging.

Tonight, for example- there are at least 3 or more social events happening on island; all of which have the possibility of being uplifting, entertaining, and educational.

1) Sustainable Nantucket presents a screening of the Film "The End of the Line" with a Q&A with local fisherman:  more info at http://www.libraryinsight.com/eventdetails.asp?v=3&jx=nd&lmx=322281
2) one of the many "One Book One Island (OBOI): events this week. A showing of "The Tuskegee Airmen at the African Meeting  House; Len is organizing some music and the readings. http://www.nantucketatheneum.org/programs-events/for-adults/one-book-one-island-2011/
3) our normal Friday night event: trivia night at the Rose and Crown; we usually fill up two 6 person teams (boys and girls ;-)) Our team names are BassAckwards and Clueless; tonight's fun is a benefit for Family Planning and includes raffle items. Every week, almost everyone we knows shows up for trivia for a chance to win cash and bragging rights.

Speaking of bragging rights :-) the Civic League Team (Members include myself and Chris Lohmann and Peter Morrison) won our island Spelling Bee last week which is a benefit for the "Friends of the Nantucket Public Schools ( . Here's a picture of our team with our trophy and t-shirt costumes and a link to the story.  It was a hard fought battle- we have some amazing spellers on island, many of whom study and practice and come back every year (21 teams) and we just barely squeaked by Nantucket Bookworks! Example words: lederhosen, nachtmusik, dachshund, perestroika, knish, schloss, quixote (with the hard pronunciation), philhellenism, sayonara, sarsaparilla (both teams- down to two then, forgot the second "a" out of 4 "a"s, and jipijapa (pronounced "hippy-hopa").

the last two weeks have been full of other OBOI events, potlucks, superbowl parties, long chats in the produce aisle, seeing one another at the high school science fair, and competing in trivia and game nights. Quentin the quahog is our version Punxsutawney Phil. This year he squirted to the left indicating 6 more weeks of winter.

For the next few weeks, the political atmosphere will heat up on island as we prepare for Annual Town Meeting and our yearly elections as well as open a brand new public safety facility. Summertime, we become more serious, work 12-16 hour days, marvel/curse at the increase of population from 15,000 to 60,000 people not counting tourists, and while we enjoy the warmth, we look forward to our "social season".

If you have made it this far in today's entry, please go read and sign up for this excellent blog by my friend and colleague, Dr. Greg Smith! [http://natorder.blogspot.com/].... today's post covers a recent topic currently circulating among island biologists and conservationists concerning feral cats.

New Year's News

Right now I am completely redoing the UMass Boston Nantucket Field station website (http://umb.edu/nantucket    ---- new version live on Friday January 6th). It will be faster, stronger, and capable of leaping tall buildings. I should be able to update it more, just like I hope to update this blog more often.I've had a lot of help with that site and it shows.


Just like many typical Monday after the holidays: we have a very dead whale carcass on the sand on the south side of the island. I think it is kind of beautiful, bleached bone with very old and leathery skin. An observant and helpful beach wlaker reported it and if I get permission to post the pics, I will.

Len's blog has been excellent lately; check it out at http://athomewithmybooks.blogspot.com/
Resolution #7643........ post more often, even if you only have time to post something short. Here is the rest of my New Year's resolution that I posted on Facebook.Note: it sounded better in my head at the time.
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my lovely and intelligent friend G *****n (redacted to protect the innocent) asked about resolutions- I am not big on them- but here is my attempt this year:

most days will not be like today (for one thing 8-9 + hours of work makes this harder), but hope to make them more like this everyday. Do 1 thing for each person/entity in your life everyday including yourself. My list for today (1/2 done is)
1. For me- jog/run/walk 2 miles every morning on treadmill- done- bit hard with a wee hangover but I managed- passed the 200 mile mark on the treadmill- goal this year 400 miles
2. for hubby - my part of cleaning the house (1/2), cook dinner (tradition new years day dinner: duck, collard greens, black eyed peas not the band- or maybe the band) and make low sugar choc chip cookies- in progress
3. For dog - nice long walk from mile marker 5 almost to altar rock and back- done and beautiful this morning- did not get accidentally shot by deer hunters a plus
4. for cats - change litter box and order them a new water bowl, extra petting- thankfully they do not need much
5. For field station- meet with birders tonight at 700; organize shop downstairs (day off so only an hour for that - done)
6. For friends - hang out tonight for dinner and drinks at 800 (past Len's bedtime) -done
7. For "Greater good"/world or whomever"- recycle and pass along old clothes I get rid of today to someone who needs them (and has even less fashion sense than me which may be tough) and schedule first urban school trip to field station for 2011- work on blog- hey this is long enough to be my blog entry; even got rid of my old futon
Tada!: My resolution - do something for each of these above as best as I can everyday and don't beat myself up when I can't - should be on resolution list- be less wordy; but I know my limits :-)
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okay you can wake up now

I don't know if you are like me, but as soon as I list resolutions, I think of about 100 more I should have listed. Honestly, every day should be a new resolution day; like a self referential form of Groundhog's day. Maybe mine newest new one should be to watch "Zombieland" once a week. I am pretty sure I can keep that one.

last but not least- a cute youtube video of polar bears vs. scientific observation cameras (guess who wins)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tT0O2RyxnkY

Climate Change lecture tonight

Tonight I'll be doing a reprise of my lecture on Climate Change and its relevance for Nantucket.

"What is Climate Change and What Does it Mean for Nantucket?
Thursday, Dec 9. 6:30-8:30pm @ the Greenhound Building (Downtown NRTA bus terminal building near Wilkes Square)

Description: Marine Biogeochemist, Dr. Sarah Oktay, describes the current understanding of climate change science and explores the ways in which Nantucket, both the island and its inhabitants, may be affected.  (No charge)

For about 10 years during my research career in Galveston and in Boston I worked on identifying the sources for organic matter in the ocean using iodine isotopes. [one of several articles from that research, abstract only]: http://tinyurl.com/2a6axrk


I would also recommend you check out this video: "What's the worse that can happen" also known virally as The Most Terrifying Video You'll Ever See

Pictures of the day; Bob Prescott [Director of Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary on Cape Cod; Bob is also Massachusetts coordinator for the Northeast Sea Turtle Stranding Network] dissected this male loggerhead turtle here at the field station on November 30 with the rapt attention of the Lighthoouse School students and assistance from the Marine Mammal Stranding Team. It was extremely cold, loggerhead had been frozen for quite some time and there was hermit crabs in its stomach.

 

"Stroll" barrelling down on Nantucket

Stroll weekend is one of the nicest times to be on Nantucket. Check out this video to see what I mean. This is also the last weekend for 2010 for the Nantucket Clean Team to spring into action as we met Saturday morning bright and early at 800 at the Grand Union ("A&P") parking lot downtown to remove any shreds of trash before Santa arrived. WE got about 1/3 of a trick full before Sybille arrived with her huge haul from various parts of the island. The Nantucket Field Station is one of the primary sponsors of the Nantucket Clean Team and I have been lucky enough to be a co-captain with Bill Connell (the founder) and Grant Sanders (www.yackon.com) for 5+ years.

Last, but not least, check out this flash mob that showed up at Stroll (video courtesy of GenoTV) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MpW7GZuaiA

update on the dolphins in the harbor

Nantucket Harbor update:

from the Inquirer and Mirror web site and from updates from the Nantucket Marine Mammal Stranding team
dolphins and green turtle

a small fuel spill by docks in the harbor, with the current slim scallop harvest pickings, adding insult to injury.

The Town of Nantucket is starting to develop the Shellfish Management plan with the help of a local committee and the Urban Harbors Institute. The creation of a SMP is one of the many action items in our state approved Harbor Plan. I am the chair of the harbor plan implementation committee; come join us for our meetings, the next one is 500 November 18th.