tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488098001848302815.post5258880523227853538..comments2024-01-09T00:28:09.127-08:00Comments on Harmonic Tremors: On laptop accelerometersJulianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14946326483548193256noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488098001848302815.post-89717184144220426982008-01-21T23:11:00.000-08:002008-01-21T23:11:00.000-08:00"TJ" is the much-easier-to-handle name for the Tho..."TJ" is the much-easier-to-handle name for the <A HREF="http://www.tjhsst.edu" REL="nofollow">Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology</A> in Alexandria. It's technically a Fairfax County public school, though its magnet reputation draws in students from all over northern Virginia - apparently over 2,500 people apply each year, but they only take about 450 per class. TJ is definitely one of those schools where overachieving is underachieving, which makes for a very high-stress environment, but now that I'm trying to get back into science school, I'm particularly glad I went to a place where the bar on science classes was set to more of a college level.<BR/><BR/>But an earth science prep program it definitely was not. We had to take two science classes per year, with classwork during senior year dominated by designing, conducting, and presenting an experiment in one of the various tech labs. And yet out of all of those classes and labs, there were really only two earth sciences classes: oceanography, which was apparently more marine biology than anything else, and basic Geosystems, which was required to be taught by the county, was assigned senior year, and was treated as a completely secondary course relative to tech lab and was barely taken seriously by anyone at all. If there had been elective geology-related classes earlier on, I would have taken them, but we had no such thing.<BR/><BR/>I don't know of any current Windows software that's equivalent to SeisMac, but I've also never looked. The Quake-Catcher Network software should work across several platforms, though, once it's finished. I'll let you know if I come across something else before then!Julianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14946326483548193256noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488098001848302815.post-71952601434694955102008-01-21T15:24:00.000-08:002008-01-21T15:24:00.000-08:00For those of us who know NOVA primarily as one of ...For those of us who know NOVA primarily as one of the best programs on television (yes, I figured out you were talking about northern Virginia) could you fill us in on the "TJ Kids"? I'm eager to learn about any earth science programs in the college prep years.<BR/><BR/>And on the main topic of the post, do you know of any SeisMac-equivalent software on the Windows side, Julian? I've got an XPlore tablet that I think must have an accelerometer and I'd really love to make a demonstration like this in my Intro Geology classes.<BR/><BR/>Thanks!Ron Schotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10020094512548523216noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488098001848302815.post-22265989497634930292008-01-16T06:19:00.000-08:002008-01-16T06:19:00.000-08:00I'm West Potomac class of 2003 - small world!We ha...I'm West Potomac class of 2003 - small world!<BR/><BR/>We had "Geosystems", which is what you took when you didn't want to try the AP classes. I skipped it in favor of AP Chem, but only because I knew I would be bored to death in it.Jessica Ballhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13117925212295349320noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488098001848302815.post-43464046088829375292008-01-14T08:41:00.000-08:002008-01-14T08:41:00.000-08:00Woah. What are the odds?I am, in fact, one of thos...Woah. What are the odds?<BR/><BR/>I <I>am</I>, in fact, one of those TJ kids - class of 2002. Were you also, or somewhere else in Fairfax County? Even at the time I was taking it, I thought of the geoscience class at TJ as an interesting subject made boring by how the class itself was structured.<BR/><BR/>Your current job sounds awesomely worthwhile. I hope schools pick up on what you're doing!Julianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14946326483548193256noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1488098001848302815.post-68200272397120235442008-01-14T06:58:00.000-08:002008-01-14T06:58:00.000-08:00Now this is a seriously cool idea. I have been jea...Now this is a seriously cool idea. I have been jealous of the SeisMac program for a while because (a) I don't own a Mac to use it on and (b) my laptop has no accelerometer. I would be extremely happy to get my hands on a plug-in version - the last time I had a working seismometer hooked up to my machine, it was on loan from IRIS and I had to give it back. :(<BR/><BR/>A NOVA transplant, eh? Do I <I>know</I> you? Are you one of those TJ kids? (I had the Fairfax County experience, and remember being quite disappointed with the Earth Science curriculum.)<BR/><BR/>Anyway, my current job is to promote Earth Science education - we have to convince people that it's not just the cop-out class for when you don't want to take physics, chem or bio!Jessica Ballhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13117925212295349320noreply@blogger.com