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?

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:

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.

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 :-).

The Sandpit I Call Home

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 :-).

Open Cut Coal Mining

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 :-).

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!

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 :-).