Jerry Carter

Barite vs Baryte One of the biggest arguments you can have these days in international mineral nomenclature is 'is it barite or baryte?' The Story of Barytes - a 1920s publication from the US! Americans tend to ...

Recently ran across an excellent article by @jolyon.bsky.social concerning the proper name for barium sulfate. The historical review is first class. www.mindat.org/a/barite_bar...

The strange chemistry of Mexican coke | Reactions Science Videos - American Chemical Society Mexican Coke’s label says “real sugar,” but lab tests found none. What’s going on?

I've always thought that Mexican Coke was somehow better than the corn-syrup version from the US. The chemistry makes the sugars essentially identical - though the Southern version has far more sodium. No surprise that RFK Jr is wrong - again.
www.acs.org/pressroom/re...

That’s a surprising number of cubes in matrix.

That’s amazingly good.

Followed here and unfollowed on the Bad Place. Great to have you and your excellent analysis.

One giant advantage for SpaceX is the sheer amount of data being transmitted via Starlink for diagnosis. This seems to have shortened the duration of previous reviews. I assume that Blue Origin and others also have far more bandwidth available than was the case in the last millennium.

Transportation secretary nominee vows to review SpaceX launch license fines President-elect Trump’s pick to lead the Dept. of Transportation says he will review fines levied by the FAA against SpaceX for launch license violations.

I can't speak for this mishap, but there has been some congressional dissatisfaction with previous fines.
spacenews.com/transportati...

There have been FAA investigations after many of the SpaceX Starship test flights. Also a few by NASA. I have yet to hear credible concerns about their integrity.

FAA Requiring Mishap Investigation For Blue Origin Stage 1 Landing Failure | TalkOfTitusville.com As expected, the FAA is requiring an investigation into Blue Origin’s New Glenn’s first stage failure during its descent towards an attemp

Looks like a similar investigation is being required for BONG after the failure of the booster stage landing. Both cases make perfect sense. talkoftitusville.com/2025/01/17/f...

The lazy approach to field collecting: let the rocks come to you.

Correction: David Tennant, not Tennent.

Gaiman’s behavior rightfully should be called out and current and potentially future works revisited in light of his personal life. But, I will be the first to admit that the impact on Good Omens season 3 is very painful. Sheen and Tennent have excellent chemistry and deserve far better.

Thank you. Brings back memories.

YouTube video by RHINO Warren Zevon - Werewolves of London (Official Audio)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6M8...

Great summary of modern communication by Tom Fishburne.

Rational or Not? This Basic Math Question Took Decades to Answer. | Quanta Magazine It’s surprisingly difficult to prove one of the most basic properties of a number: whether it can be written as a fraction. A broad new method can help settle this ancient question.

Fantastic result in number theory proving at a broad class of number are irrational. We’ve long known the irrationals are infinite and uncountable, but could prove only a small number to be irrational such as pi & e and certain sets like sqrt(p) for p prime. www.quantamagazine.org/rational-or-...

Yes, but you need to aim in front of a moving target. Complacency is a real risk for Western countries.

Happy holidays to everyone 🦋. Pentagonite (Xmas tree habit), Wagholi quarry, Pune, Maharashtra, India. #MineralMonday #RocksInTrees

Fantastic to see you here.

Interesting to see so many imperfections and low quality cut in a museum collection. This suggests the stone is either old, from an unusual locality, or has an unusual history.

The color is reminiscent of phosphophyllite.

I remember that phase. Enjoy it while you can.

‪Nothing says Merry Christmas like a dying evergreen tree.

Every year we find old needles which are, of course, the Ghosts of Christmas Trees Past.

#Christmas #AirFreshener

Thank you for calling my attention to this article. Nature always seems to have additional surprises.

Hope to see you at Bucknell for the Patriots League championship.

Probably not as bad as children’s string concerts. Ah, those delicate sounds of cats being strangled. 🙉

Literally crystallizing from thin air! Sulphur crystals forming at a volcanic vent, Sulphur Banks trail, Volcano National Park, Hawaii, United States. #MineralMonday #Geology

Smooth flowing lava over only slightly older pahoehoe. Notice that both are still glowing. Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō eruption, north of Chain of Craters Road, Volcano National Park, Hawaii, United States. (1/3)

World's oldest pearl discovered near Abu Dhabi The 8,000-year-old pearl will be displayed at the Louvre Abu Dhabi from the end of the month.

Amusing that the 'World's oldest pearl' is 8000 years old. I see that fossilized pearls from the Cretaceous era are known. I'd never considered before just how old these can be. www.bbc.com/news/world-m...

Nicely transparent for sillimanite. The species reminds me of a junior curator with whom I worked at MGMH. She enjoyed calling it Silly-Man-ite, knowing quite well the correct pronunciation.