Optically Stimulated Luminescence Dating

I noticed while reading the Washington Post online that an ancient people, older than the oldest known humans in America, were here 15,000 years ago. The previous known holder of that honor, the Clovis people (of present-day New Mexico) are about 2,000 years later. Sitting here on the couch with the laptop and my husband in his easy chair across the room watching March Madness, I am hardly surprised that we are having a conversation about this.

He already had read about it on the bus in the New York Times.

I am hardly surprised that we are taking the time to discuss this topic, we are such a pair of nerds. I am certainly not surprised that we spent 10 minutes looking up and discussing optically stimulated luminescence dating, and researching its invention and application in measuring the age of these early man-made tools, shaking our heads in amazement. Imagine that the decay of the former traces of the presence of light is a thing that can be measured. Imagine having a conversation about it.

But I'm glad we did. Which just goes to show we are so nerdy we could have met on a dating site called "Optically Stimulated Luminescence Dating." We would have recognized the fellow nerd-spirit in each other and little light bulbs would have popped over our profile pictures.

As it is, we met just a little over 4 years ago on Match.com which, in my experience is not famous for yielding brainiacs. Had I not met Dan, I was actually thinking of starting my own dating site called Optically Stimulated Luminescence Dating. Thankfully, I met the one in a million and didn't end up getting sued by a nerd who had already nabbed the brand back in 1980.

It has been a stimulating 4 years, optically and otherwise.

New Images Up

As some may know, I am still struggling with nerve difficulties in my right (read: dominant, painting hand) and am finding creative expression via keyboard almost more than I can "hand"le. Both the ulnar nerve (that's the one that runs up the outside of the hand and wrist, through our funnybone) and the carpal nerve (that's the one responsible for the infamous carpal tunnel syndrome) are affected. Add to that the fact that at some point in the past, a chunk from the end of my ulna bone was broken off and is left loose in there to complicate matters.

I'm still painting, and blessed to be taking a watercolor studio course at Sacramento City College taught by Chris Daubert, and have finally gotten up the nerve to learn how to paint in oils. The oil class I'm taking is also a Sac City course, taught by artist Kathleen Noonan.

Some of my family and friends have been wondering why there are no new pics up of my work, so now that I have some, up they go! Here's one, and the rest will be in an album on my Quicksilver Facebook page. Thanks for the encouragement, it really helps!