No. I was cut off from my spare water, due to a combination of fluke chances. It was one of those one-in-a-million things, and no, I'm not going into details. I merely mentioned it because that's when I felt the most awe towards the desert I love--when I was utterly at its mercy, without any of the trappings of civilization that most take for granted. I am fully capable of feeling awe. I simply express it differently than most.
~sigh~ Please watch the video I posted, and stop putting words in my mouth. I've never said anything about anything disproving any deity, and in fact presented an argument that specifically states that the notion that evolution disproves gods is a flaw that only Creationists accept (even Dawkins doesn't say that evolution disproves God--he merely says that it makes God unnecessary). You've got a chip on your shoulder and you're viewing my posts through its lens. That's hardly fair--I'm only responsible for what *I* say and do, not what others say or do.
YOU don't know. I don't share your ignorance of the history of life. In fact, I know a fair bit about the evolution of coral reefs. I studied one of three known Paleocene coral reefs in grad school.
This shows your ignorance of paleontology and vertebrate anatomy. Dinosaurs don't have cannon bones.
I mention this because frankly, if you don't know this (and it's not that uncommon as far as knowledge goes) how can we trust your interpretation of hominid remains? I mean, the entire hominid lineage reconstruction is based on osteology--meaning that people who study hominids are supposed to know that cannon bones are mammalian (artiodactylian, in fact). Please understand, I'm not saying that this error invalidates everything you've said--I'm merely saying that it calls your ability to interpret the data into question, and that it may behoove you to demonstrate your ability to interpret the data in more detail.
Don't presume to know what I've seen and what I haven't. I may have seen this, I may not have--at this point, you simply don't know.
I only say this because your habit of saying what I do and don't know, what I have and haven't said, and what I have and haven't earned is getting extremely tiresome. I'm asking you, as politely as I can, once again, to stop.
To set the record straight, I'd love to see such a display as you describe, but it's in part because it'd bring back fond memories (specifically, of the woman I was after before I met my wife--I used to go to the biology aquariums and help with the feeding to be alone with her). (As an aside, any college students should note that this is NOT a good idea--octopi feeding is not exactly conducive to amorous activities. Personally, I'd recommend helping a geologist with an x-ray defractometry experiment, since those take longer and you've got to wait for them to finish, which means you've got a fair bit of time to kill...)
I once saw a tenured professor, former president of the Paleo Society, ask a fireman with no formal training in paleontology his opinion on a fossil. I myself have contacted several amateur paleontologists regarding fossil sites and fossil taxa. I often talk to people without even the lofty rank of "amateur"--people who simply have found cool rocks for their kids. My science is one where amateurs can become equal to professionals, IF they are willing to put forth the effort. It's that caveat that most Creationists forget.
My point in providing you with a brief sketch of my professional biography was that you seem to have the impression that I'm some yahoo that doesn't know what he's talking about. That's not the case. Further, I wanted to establish that what you say about paleontology (it's not paleoscience, by the way--or at least, I've never heard it called that) you say about me, personally. I've found that people are often willing to make extremely harsh generalizations about fields of research, but are unwilling or unable to substantiate those statements when presented with specific instances for consideration. Finally, you have an annoying tendency to put words in my mouth. I want to put the facts straight. I've made my choices, and am willing to be praised or damned for them--but I'm not willing to accept adulations or condemnations for what I haven't said or done.
We're not. You've thus far evaded every direct challenge I've made to your generalized statements (except for the dinosaur cannon bone thing, which you got wrong). Puts you in a rather precarious position--I'm tempted to say you fall short, but doubt that the pun would be appreciated.
As for stromatolites, the strangest place I've encountered references to them (they're not a common feature in the Pleistocene of the Desert Southwest, or of Tethes during the K/Pg extinction) is the Anzo-Borego Desert. Not exactly a place you'd expect to find them, but certainly not an uncommon occurrence where you find surface water. Really bizarre, considering A-B is, well, a desert.
What we DO have is rock hammers, though. I have both a pointy-ended one and a chisel-ended one. We also have lots and lots and lots of practice at maximizing the damage done by the rock hammers. And we spend a lot of time out in the middle of nowhere. Not exactly conditions in which Sheldon Cooper would fair well....
