I love creativity in all its forms. I love new stories whether it's in the children's section of the book shop or a new webseries. When I first stumbled upon Janelle Monáe's music, I was entranced.
Janelle Monáe's songs not only cover a range of topics, but different musical styles as well. But the best part is where the music comes from. She has created this entire fictional world in which the songs are actually by the main character. A story within a story. I love it! Without giving too much away, I really recommend getting your hands on both her albums - Metropolis and The ArchAndroid. The album art beautifully illustrates this new world as well. One of the first singles, Many Moons (link to official music video), recreates Monáe's universe and is a short film in itself.
Again, the depths of people's creativity has amazed me. I can't wait to see what else is out there!
Here I share my experiences of working as a coal geologist across the world. I also share what's currently catching my attention from the latest book to the weirdest webcomic.
Sunday 1 July 2012
The Perfect Geologist
I had a very interesting conversation with my manager the other day. We were going to inspect one of the furthest pits and were in the light vehicle for quite some time. I took the chance to try and find out how I've been doing at my new job - I was being very subtle, of course. The conversation turned to how potential candidates are being interviewed and what skills are considered crucial. My manager had a list of three things in the following order:
1) Safety behaviours - critical in the mining environment. Does the geologist put himself or others in danger with his attitude towards safety?
2) People skills - how the job is done. Is the geologist a good fit in the current team? Will he fit in or at least be willing to work within the team?
3) Technical skills - geological knowledge and related skills.
It was interesting that the technical skills landed at the bottom of the list. But, I have heard this argument before. One can teach technical skills, but people skills are trickier. Either you're a good communicator and get the necessary information across or you can't. Geology is a service to the production and planning teams. As a geologist you have to be able to convey the right information at the right time in the right manner. Learning how to use software can be done with a few training sessions. How not to aggravate your co-workers isn't something a session with Oprah can fix :-).
In the current job market with its boom and numerous opportunities, you need to show you're a cut above the rest. Your confidence in yourself and your ability to do your job may become more crucial than your actual technical skills. So don't be scared of moving between different mining operations or commodities. A good geo is a good geo - no matter if you're Vulcan or Minex proficient. (And, yes, I only added that last sentence to be able to describe someone as Vulcan. My Star Trek roots run deep :-)
1) Safety behaviours - critical in the mining environment. Does the geologist put himself or others in danger with his attitude towards safety?
2) People skills - how the job is done. Is the geologist a good fit in the current team? Will he fit in or at least be willing to work within the team?
3) Technical skills - geological knowledge and related skills.
It was interesting that the technical skills landed at the bottom of the list. But, I have heard this argument before. One can teach technical skills, but people skills are trickier. Either you're a good communicator and get the necessary information across or you can't. Geology is a service to the production and planning teams. As a geologist you have to be able to convey the right information at the right time in the right manner. Learning how to use software can be done with a few training sessions. How not to aggravate your co-workers isn't something a session with Oprah can fix :-).
In the current job market with its boom and numerous opportunities, you need to show you're a cut above the rest. Your confidence in yourself and your ability to do your job may become more crucial than your actual technical skills. So don't be scared of moving between different mining operations or commodities. A good geo is a good geo - no matter if you're Vulcan or Minex proficient. (And, yes, I only added that last sentence to be able to describe someone as Vulcan. My Star Trek roots run deep :-)
Monday 26 March 2012
The Magic of Reality
The Magic of Reality is a new book by Richard Dawkins. I've read a few of his books before so when I saw this one I thought it might be a bit of a repeat of what he's already written. But, when I noticed Dave McKean did the illustrations I immediately bought it.
Dave McKean has illustrated many of Neil Gaiman's books and graphic novels and I love his work. He also directed MirrorMask, a film based on Gaiman's book. He uses everything - inks, paper, models, photographs. It's truly creative and amazing. And his work in The Magic of Reality takes his art to a new level.
The book is about how wonderfully magical science truly is. Richard Dawkins has beautifully explained some of the more complex concepts arranged in chapters that each start with a question. Dawkins then looks at the more colourful myths around these questions and then turns to the science behind it.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It has one of the best explanations of natural selection, evolution and plate tectonics I've ever read. And McKean's illustrations are unique and bring the scientific concepts to life. This is the first page :-):
Dave McKean has illustrated many of Neil Gaiman's books and graphic novels and I love his work. He also directed MirrorMask, a film based on Gaiman's book. He uses everything - inks, paper, models, photographs. It's truly creative and amazing. And his work in The Magic of Reality takes his art to a new level.
The book is about how wonderfully magical science truly is. Richard Dawkins has beautifully explained some of the more complex concepts arranged in chapters that each start with a question. Dawkins then looks at the more colourful myths around these questions and then turns to the science behind it.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It has one of the best explanations of natural selection, evolution and plate tectonics I've ever read. And McKean's illustrations are unique and bring the scientific concepts to life. This is the first page :-):
Wednesday 14 March 2012
Wortel
One of the things I really like about the mine I'm working at is how many different cultures there are. Don't get me wrong, South Africa probably has the widest range of cultures in one country. At my new work, there are people from all over the world.
In my area, about half of the team are not Australians. There's South Africans, Indians and Indonesians. My geology supervisor us from Chile and the geology technician is an American. What I love is how everyone gets along and tries to understand each other even through some of the language barriers.
The workplace really has become global with many of my colleagues having worked in several countries. I think that more and more of your cv will be focused on how you can work in a team. How you get along with people who might have very different views and ways of doing their job.
We were about to go home for the day one afternoon when my colleague mentioned she'll be making wortel cake that evening. In Afrikaans, wortel means carrot and when I asked my friend, she replied that's what they call carrots in Indonesia too.
There's a good metaphor for life in that story about how some things may not be as different as you think even between cultures massive distances apart. We just started joking about who might have used the term first :-).
In my area, about half of the team are not Australians. There's South Africans, Indians and Indonesians. My geology supervisor us from Chile and the geology technician is an American. What I love is how everyone gets along and tries to understand each other even through some of the language barriers.
The workplace really has become global with many of my colleagues having worked in several countries. I think that more and more of your cv will be focused on how you can work in a team. How you get along with people who might have very different views and ways of doing their job.
We were about to go home for the day one afternoon when my colleague mentioned she'll be making wortel cake that evening. In Afrikaans, wortel means carrot and when I asked my friend, she replied that's what they call carrots in Indonesia too.
There's a good metaphor for life in that story about how some things may not be as different as you think even between cultures massive distances apart. We just started joking about who might have used the term first :-).
Saturday 18 February 2012
Best clock ever!
What's better than the ultimate scifi movie double trilogy Star Wars? What's better than those childhood favourite toys Lego? The two together in a friggin' alarm clock!
The photo shows my new clock in all its Dark Side of the Force glory. The black thing is my wireless mouse just to give you some scale :-).
When you push the head down, it has a light and acts as a snooze button. Don't you just love toy stores? When I saw this I couldn't resist. Who'd have thought I'd find my own Storm Trooper in the middle of Queensland in Oz?
The photo shows my new clock in all its Dark Side of the Force glory. The black thing is my wireless mouse just to give you some scale :-).
When you push the head down, it has a light and acts as a snooze button. Don't you just love toy stores? When I saw this I couldn't resist. Who'd have thought I'd find my own Storm Trooper in the middle of Queensland in Oz?
Saturday 11 February 2012
Smiling - The Universal Language
While travelling to reach my new job in Queensland, Australia, I stayed in Brisbane for a few days. The corporate head office is there and I needed to cross some t's and dots some i's. The company had made all the arrangements and I was treated like a queen. I knew transport had been arranged and it was with absolute delight that I discover a man in a suit with my name on a nice sign waiting for me at Brisbane Airport.
I had been travelling for the past 24 hours, but tried to keep up with the small talk. The man was in his late fifties and had a few stories to tell. One being the book he was working on. The ride into Brisbane was great and he answered all my questions and showed me some of the tourist spots as we drove. When I had to get back to the airport, Lady Luck intervened and it was the same smiling man who picked me up from the hotel. Since, I'd mentioned I was a geologist, he was ready this time with a joke (petroleum geologists and lightbulbs :-) and the following printed out:
I had been travelling for the past 24 hours, but tried to keep up with the small talk. The man was in his late fifties and had a few stories to tell. One being the book he was working on. The ride into Brisbane was great and he answered all my questions and showed me some of the tourist spots as we drove. When I had to get back to the airport, Lady Luck intervened and it was the same smiling man who picked me up from the hotel. Since, I'd mentioned I was a geologist, he was ready this time with a joke (petroleum geologists and lightbulbs :-) and the following printed out:
Top Ten Signs You Might Be A Geologist:
10. You have ever had to respond "yes" to the question,
"What have you got in here, rocks?"
9. You have ever taken a 22-passenger van over "roads" that
were really intended only for cattle
8. You have ever found yourself trying to explain to airport security
that a rock hammer isn't really a weapon
7. Your rock garden is located inside your house
6. You have ever hung a picture using a Brunton compass as a level and your
rock hammer as your hammer
5. Your collection of beer cans and/or bottles rivals the size of your
rock collection
4. You consider a "recent event" to be anything that has
happened in the last hundred thousand years
3. Your photos include people only for scale and you have more pictures
of your rock hammer and lens cap than of your family
2. You have ever been on a field trip that included scheduled stops at a
gravel pit and/or a liquor store
And the #1
sign you might be a geologist:
1. You have ever uttered the phrase, "Have you tried licking
it?" with no sexual connotations involved
The fact that he took the effort to bring me this was astounding. I've found that this kind of friendliness is part of most Australians. People aren't afraid to help - you just need to smile and ask :-D.
Sunday 5 February 2012
Sandpit
I'm working in a very large sandpit. This was how my career was summarized by my loving friends and family. The fact that I'm no longer in contact with any of them is a completely different matter, of course :-).
Open cut coal mining is all about balancing the sand or dirt to get to the black gold underneath. I've only been at my new open cut mine for three weeks, but I've learnt so much already. The diagram below illustrates the basics of open cut mining (as seen through the eyes of a geologist :-).
The first stage is clearing the area (after the correct environmental procedures and plans have been followed). Then comes the removal of the overburden. There are different methods of open cut mining. For example, strip mining or terrace mining. The method used depends on the geology of the area. How deep are the coal layers? How many coal layers are present? Are the rock strata horizontal or at an angle? Are there any structural features likes folding affecting the strata?
One of the biggest challenges is to remove the dirt above the coal without damaging or destroying the coal and then to manage the space available for dumping the dirt. This is done by deploying the correct machinery to the right stage in the process. The dirt is typically moved to sites where the coal has already been removed. One big thing I've learnt is the dragline never touches the coal. It only removes the overburden. The bucket on the dragline is too rough of a tool and easily scrapes away valuable coal.
I sometimes feel a bit silly at work when I don't know what the hell is happening or what people around me are talking about. But, the guys I work with are amazingly helpful. The geologist I'm learning from has been sitting with me and slowly teaching me the modelling software and how open cut mining operates. It's been wonderful. And, I'm loving being in the sun.
So it is a bit like playing in a sandpit :-).
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| The Sandpit I Call Home |
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| Open Cut Coal Mining |
One of the biggest challenges is to remove the dirt above the coal without damaging or destroying the coal and then to manage the space available for dumping the dirt. This is done by deploying the correct machinery to the right stage in the process. The dirt is typically moved to sites where the coal has already been removed. One big thing I've learnt is the dragline never touches the coal. It only removes the overburden. The bucket on the dragline is too rough of a tool and easily scrapes away valuable coal.
I sometimes feel a bit silly at work when I don't know what the hell is happening or what people around me are talking about. But, the guys I work with are amazingly helpful. The geologist I'm learning from has been sitting with me and slowly teaching me the modelling software and how open cut mining operates. It's been wonderful. And, I'm loving being in the sun.
So it is a bit like playing in a sandpit :-).
Saturday 21 January 2012
Under, Down Under
I'm typing this from an internet kiosk in a small town near the Queensland coast in Australia. I've just started my new job this week and wow. It's been wonderfully overwhelming! I'm loving the new office and I'm learning so much already about open cut geology and mining operations.
My trip to Australia was great. The company paid for business class seats and I had to get used to the air hostess calling me by my name. The food was amazing and your whole body could actually fit in the seat. My first stop was Brisbane at the head office. A small glitch in baggage labels resulted in my suitcase only arriving three days later. This meant I appeared at the corporate head office, on my first day, with a wonderfully colourful bunny t-shirt. Cue hilarious laughter! My HR contact at the office was very understanding and we had a good laugh about the entire situation. Especially after we realized I was also wearing purple Winnie-the-Pooh socks featuring the adorable Eeyore. I dressed comfortable for the long flight, all right? :-)
Other than my lost baggage, which was luckily recovered just in time for my flight to my future town, no other major travel hiccups occurred. It'll just take a bit of time to get my new house and mobile sorted out. In the mean time, I'm staying at the single quarters camp. This is great since I get fed three times a time and don't need to clean anything.
I've found it amazing how similar the geologist's role is from underground to open cut operations. The principles are very much the same - daily mapping, checks between actual and expected geological conditions, short- medium- and long-term planning and modeling, working with engineers and production teams. It's only the setting which is different. And I'm really enjoying being out in the sun versus the dark underground, but I can imagine that the hotter weather apparently coming in February is going to be a bit of a challenge.
Being away from home (and really away, not just a short 2 hour flight) is definitely an adjustment. But, with technology these days I keep in contact and it helps with the homesickness :-).
It's time to head back out into the heat - there's a reason Queensland is known as the Sunshine State!
My trip to Australia was great. The company paid for business class seats and I had to get used to the air hostess calling me by my name. The food was amazing and your whole body could actually fit in the seat. My first stop was Brisbane at the head office. A small glitch in baggage labels resulted in my suitcase only arriving three days later. This meant I appeared at the corporate head office, on my first day, with a wonderfully colourful bunny t-shirt. Cue hilarious laughter! My HR contact at the office was very understanding and we had a good laugh about the entire situation. Especially after we realized I was also wearing purple Winnie-the-Pooh socks featuring the adorable Eeyore. I dressed comfortable for the long flight, all right? :-)
Other than my lost baggage, which was luckily recovered just in time for my flight to my future town, no other major travel hiccups occurred. It'll just take a bit of time to get my new house and mobile sorted out. In the mean time, I'm staying at the single quarters camp. This is great since I get fed three times a time and don't need to clean anything.
I've found it amazing how similar the geologist's role is from underground to open cut operations. The principles are very much the same - daily mapping, checks between actual and expected geological conditions, short- medium- and long-term planning and modeling, working with engineers and production teams. It's only the setting which is different. And I'm really enjoying being out in the sun versus the dark underground, but I can imagine that the hotter weather apparently coming in February is going to be a bit of a challenge.
Being away from home (and really away, not just a short 2 hour flight) is definitely an adjustment. But, with technology these days I keep in contact and it helps with the homesickness :-).
It's time to head back out into the heat - there's a reason Queensland is known as the Sunshine State!
Friday 13 January 2012
To the wizard!
As I mentioned in my previous post, I'll be relocating to Australia soon to start my new job at an open cut coal mine in Queensland. I'm really looking forward to the new mine and different way of doing things.
One of the biggest things which struck me throughout this entire job-hunting and relocation process was change and the lack thereof. I had a chance to visit my potential job for the interview and could experience first-hand what it would be like to live there and what my colleagues would be like. I was amazed by how much things are different and how some things never change. I mean the entire setup is similar to what I've been doing - small mining town, half of the town works at the mine, the bigger cities and shops are at least an hour away, many 20 to 30 year olds come from other places to work at the mine. But, how the people view life and work is completely different from what I'm used to. It's amazing! It's like two sides of the same coin.
What also really impressed me is the incredible level of tolerance. Religious views, sexual orientation - these are non-issues. There's actually a complete lack of perceived tolerance because no-one believes there's a problem with what you believe or who you're attracted to. It was refreshing and made me realize how much even I still need to learn to accept people without judgement.
I'll be a bit quiet for a while on the blog, depending on how soon I can get my internet access sorted out. I'm off to see the Wizard of Oz! Woohoo! Wish me luck :-).
Tuesday 10 January 2012
Unemployed and Homeless
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| View from my window |
For the past few months, I've been itching to move onto something new in my career. That's the reason for being so quiet on the blog - the job hunting has been hectic. I've been working at a great company as a chief geologist at one of their underground coal mines. It's been wonderful, but I needed a change and want to gain experience at an open cut coal mine. I started looking for opportunities in South Africa, but then I thought of going overseas. I have a friend who's working in Australia and had a chance to visit the country. I could experience what it would be like to work there and had the chance to visit some of the potential jobs while I was on holiday. I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of opportunities there are for geologists.
The job applications, interviews, online psychometric tests and the final work visa process was quite lengthy. But, it's definitely yielded great rewards. I'm starting my new career next week as a mine geologist at an open cut coal mine in Queensland, Australia. The company employing me has made all my relocation arrangements and I should be moving into my new place at the end of February.
I'm really looking forward to the new job, people and town. I can't wait to sink my teeth into open cut geology and exploring Queensland. Until then, I'll just enjoy being unemployed and at the beach for my last few days in South Africa :-).
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