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I lost my cell phone and I don't plan on replacing it. So if anyone needs to contact me it should be through e-mail (steweric@isu.edu or stew0205@umn.edu).

We (the geology department) defeated the biology department in the annual keg-off. We finished our full sized keg in 36 minutes. It was a good night. Our two departments have competed in the keg-off for somewhere around 15 years and geology has never lost despite always being heavily outnumbered (there are around 100 graduate students in biology versus 15 in geology). We also brought in a bunch of valuable undergrads and a couple of profs to help. One of our profs hushed the crowd and gave a rousing speech at the conclusion of the contest congradulating biology on their excellent effort, reminding us to respect our interdepartmental collegues, and at the end to "let the taunting begin!" It was great.

things are looking good out here in Poky. One of the first things i learned about grad school is the need for money. it's all about money. To get money you have to apply for a lot of grants. I think I applied for 7 student grants. My advisor got a 15,000 dollar grant to cover most of the field expenses for my thesis work this summer, but we needed more money to get mineral age dates (from zircons). We're starting to hear back and so far I'm 3 for 3 on student grants, for a grand total of around $3,400. Together with about the same amount allotted for dating in my advisor's grant, it looks like we'll be able to do the analytical work we were hoping to do. This also will involve a nice 3 week trip to Canberra, Australia next spring, which I am particularly excited about. It looks like we'll get to do some field work too in South Australia. Should be fun! Definately getting excited!

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