Fossil Hunting in Virginia

One of the best parts of my job is that it allows for a very balanced work/personal life and provides quite a bit of time allowing me to pursue hobby interests.  Usually when I travel for work I will look for something to occupy my down time.

I was able to stop on the southern James River, just above Surry, Va  last week and do a little surface collecting.  Because I'm not finding these in situ it's a little difficult to definitive identify them.

Right - shark tooth fragment, Concretion of scallops
Middle - Chesapecten Jeffersonius, Coral, Barnacles: Balanus sp.
Left - Chesapecten Middlesexensis (based on location to other samples)

Here's some background information on what we usually find on the James and the York Rivers.

Chesapecten, a New Genus of Pectinidae (PDF)

Mollusca From Themiocene And Lower Pliocene Ofvirginia AndNorth Carolina (PDF)

Setting up a home decontamination area

My previous post on food availability during the Chinese lock down got me thinking about setting up a decontamination area at home.  I'm lucky as I can stage this area outside of the normal living space.  We can come into the garage and have an area to remove outerwear and wash up before coming inside. The next step in is our mud room. Here we can switch in clean inside clothes and do any additional decon as needed.  I'm considering adding a UV light here and was wondering about the efficacy of consumer UV sterilization. 

How does UV light work?

What to Look for When Comparing UV Sterilization Devices
What is UV and How Does it Work?

 Some of the stuff out there is crap and there are some safety issues to consider.

 Bacteria Busters: Can UV lights really kill germs?

 UV Disinfection Is Flourishing — But Companies Need to Be More Cautious

Some of the very low end devices I saw used LEDs.  This is a case of you get what you pay for.  Cheap LEDs and the protective covering over them actually absorb the very UV radiation that is needed to be effective as noted here.

There is also the question of disinfection vs. sanitation vs. sterilization. Here's a scientific report on testing UV light and the deceptive claims of some companies.

UV light is used in CPAP cleaners in conjunction with ozone or activated oxygen. They don't rely on UV alone.  I expect that I'll  add a UV light that would be used in the mud room as part of the final decon process but I wouldn't rely on in alone.

Interesting View of Food Availability Inside the Chinese Corona Virus Quarantine

If you don't want to deal with the New Yorker the Reddit post provides a firsthand account of how a couple living is China is dealing with food shortage due to the corona virus lock down.  I was interested to not that they have an area where they remove and disinfect their "outdoor" clothes. They also discuss the need to grab supplies like masks early. Another comment I notes was the SARS containment efforts lasted 2 months. Current recommendations by DHS is to have 2 weeks of supplies on hand.

A Couple in China on Living (and Cooking) Under Coronavirus Lockdown

What the coronavirus forcing me in lockdown's taught me about cooking; plus, how to make Mantou