The Oredigger Issue 5 Sept. 30, 2013

7/27/2019 The Oredigger Issue 5 Sept. 30, 2013

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T H E O R E D I G G E RVolume 94, Issue 5 September 30, 2013

The student voice of the Colorado School of Mines

w w w . O R E D I G G E R . n e t

Sports 11

Puzzle 12

Features 5

News 2

4th Annual

Community

Awards

2013

Homecomingweekend

This weeks

crossword

Football defeats

New Mexico

Highlands

Zach Snyder

Staff Writer

Golden honors Mines professor

Goldens mayor, Marjorie N.Sloan, honors select individualswho consistently work for thebetterment of life in Golden. Nowin its fourth year, the 2013 Com-munity Event bestows a handfulof prestigious awards on Goldenslocal heroes.

The first recipient of the 2013Community Award was CSM

alumnus Dr. Chuck Baroch. Heserved on the Golden City coun-cil for 13 years, with six of thoseyears as mayor. Baroch also has18 years of service in the GoldenCivic Foundation.

Ed Dorsey, the second re-cipient of the community award,works with a number of organiza-tions that serve Golden, such asthe Buffalo Bill Days committee,the Leadership Golden Board,and the Golden Urban Renewal

Authori ty (GURA).Preston Driggers, next recipi-

ent of the Community Award, re-mains responsible for the acquisi-tion of both Nor th and South TableMountains and the programs to

keep them open to the public.Driggers also works on the GURAboard and the project on GoldenRidge Road.

The next recipi en t was Dr.Hugh King, a professor in thechemical and biological engineer-ing department at CSM. King isthe co-founder of Namlo inter-national, a worldwide program

dedicated to providing educationto countries from Nepal all the wayto Nicaragua and even the US.

Th e fi na l re ci pi en t of th e2013 Community Awards is Dan

Thoem ke. Thoemke is a pastorwith previous history of servingas the chaplain for the GoldenPolice Department. Upon see-ing the isolated religious leadersof Golden, Thoemke threw to-gether a get-together of sorts tounify pastors which

eventually lead tothe formation of theTogether Church,the coalescing ofall pastors to fulfillGoldens needs.

Thoemke also runsthe Golden Back-p a c k p r o g r a m ,which gives needychildren a back-pack full of food for the weekend.

Following the award ceremony,Jason Roberts, a political activ-ist, took to the stage to give thenights keynote speech. Mr. Rob-erts founded Team Better Block,an organization whose main pur-pose is to revitalize blighted city

blocks and streets. Mr. Robertsoriginally started his career as anIT consultant and never dreamedof doing urban development. Infact, he referred to himself as a

just a simple, nerd by day androck guy at night for his day job incomputers and his heavy involve-ment in music.

After an eye-opening trip where

Mr. Roberts witnessed the magicof European street life, how blocksand their thriving ecosystemshave existed for thousands ofyears, the young and hopefuldreamer returned to his home-town of Dallas, Texas and had bigvisions on how to make it better.

The area Roberts hailed from inDallas was rife with bankrupt busi-nesses. Upon examining the cityplans, Roberts discovered that

all the failed busi-

nesses sat alongthe route of a nowdefunct streetcarpath . Wh i le thecommittee laughedfoolishly at Robertsp lan on want ingto bring back thestreetcar, Robert,with his backgroundin IT, designed a

professional-looking website topropel his plans forward.

The story made the local newsin how Jason Roberts and otherfounding members of the OakCliff Transportation Organizationhad started movement to bringback the streetcar to the small

part of Dallas. Although there wereno other founding members, lo-cal community members becameecstatic over the news about howthey might get a street car, andthe committee told Roberts thatthe ambitious project was notworth his time or effort. Eventu-ally Roberts secured a federalgrant for $43 million to reinstate

the s treetcar.Roberts looks at extremely run

down blocks and pictures how bigof a social community could existthere, essentially trying to trans-port the European pedestrian lifeinto American car culture. Evenin places like Dallas, where tem-peratures can rise to 104 degreesFahrenheit in the summer, Robertsfirmly believed that if there is an at-mosphere inviting enough, peoplewill come. There is a Dutch saying

that, There is no such thing asbad weather, only bad clothing.Even though most analysts

project that renovating blockswill cost millions of dollars andthe planning and tests to per-form alone will cost hundredsof thousands of dollars, Robertstook a handful of his friends andrefashioned the streets in a singleweekend, thus attracting busi-nesses to come back and openup shop.

Following a relatively straight-forward three step process, show-ing up, giving the project a name,and setting a date and publishingit (in a time span of weeks andnot months and years or even

decades), Roberts was able totransform his community intoa lively and safe neighborhoodwhose production outputs inrevenue among other benefits arequantifiable.

Continued on page 3 at

Golden.

The 2013 Communi-ty Event bestows a

handful of prestigious

awards on Goldens lo-

cal heroes.

The CSM marching band performs at the Homecoming game against New Mexico Highlands. The Orediggers were victo-

rious, and enjoyed the festivities as well. See more Homecoming photos on page 6.

MICHAEL RODGERS / OREDIGGER


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n e w s september 30, 2013page 2


Oredigger Staff

Deborah Good

Editor-in-Chief

Emily McNairManaging Editor

Taylor PolodnaDesign Editor

Connor McDonaldWebmaster

Lucy OrsiBusiness Manager

Arnaud FilliatCopy Editor

Katerina GonzalesContent Manager

Jared RiemerContent Manager

Karen GilbertFaculty Advisor

Headlines from around the worldLocal News

A hunter found human re-mains on a mountainside in a

remote area of southern Jeffer-son County on Saturday. Crewsreached the area on Sunday tobegin the investigation.

The Sinclair Renery near

Rawlins, Wyoming explodedFriday night. The explosion oc-curred in the renerys hydrogen

unit. The resulting re took re-ghters several hours to extin-guish. No one in the plant wasinjured and the re did not dam-age any buildings in the nearbytown of Sinclair.

Snow on I-70 caused fourcrashes Friday night. The inter-state was closed in both direc-tions at the Eisenhower Tunnelfor an hour.

The Rockies defeated theLos Angeles Dodgers 1-0 Sat-urday night. This was only thefth shutout for the Rockies.

Although Rockies right elder

Michael Cuddyer spent the nighton the bench, he got his rst

batting title in 13 seasons withone game remaining.

Gary Sinise, known for his

role as Lieutenant Dan in ForrestGump, donated $60,000 to theBlack Forest Fire department.

The largely volunteer re depart-ment lost a lot of equipment dur-ing the recent res, and Sinises

donation will help pay to replacethe equipment. The donation willalso help the department buy a

standing track vehicle to speedup re mitigation.

Bradley Wood, Staff Writer

Jacob Emmel, Staff Writer

Beijing, China - A 419-million-year-old sh

fossil may give greater insight into how the hu-man face evolved. Entelognathus primordialis, anewly discovered armored sh, possesses a jaw

structure resembling that of modern vertebratesand differs signicantly from those of related sh.

It uses the same three-bone system present incurrent chewing vertebrates in place of the col-lection of small bones found in bony shes. In a

commentary on the discovery, Dr. Matt Friedmanof the University of Oxford stated that it sug-gests a real antiquity to some of the most promi-nent features of our own bony faces. This mayallow researchers to trace dening characteris-tics of humans and other vertebrates much fur-ther down their lineage than previously believed.

Vienna, Austria - A new class ofthermoelectric material may allow formore efcient conversion of industrial

waste heat into electrical energy. Re-searchers at the Vienna University of

Technology created a new clathrateatype of lattice that traps atoms and mol-ecules in cagesthat holds ceriumatoms in a structure made of barium,

silicon, and gold. When one side of thematerial is heated, electrons in the ceri-um atoms move toward the cooler side,creating a voltage between the twosides. The team behind this discoverywill attempt to duplicate this effect us-ing more economically viable elementsto improve the materials marketability.

Cambridge, Massachusetts - Lightsaber-like lasers might not be exclusive to science ction after all. A group of researchers at the Harvard-

MIT Center for Ultracold Atoms has published the results of a study showcasing a new form of matter, called photonic molecules, in which pho-tons begin to interact with each other and act as though they have mass. In this state, achieved by streaming a weak laser into a rubidium-lled

vacuum, photons stay linked together but deect each other when they come into contact. According to Mikhail Lukin, the leader of the study, Its

not an inapt analogy to compare this to lightsabers. [] The physics of whats happening in these molecules is similar to what we see in the movies.

Greenbelt, Maryland - Data fromthe Curiosity rover revealed that Martiantopsoil contains approximately two per-cent water by weight. By observing thegases released after boiling dirt sam-ples, Curiosity found that, in additionto carbon dioxide, oxygen, and sulfurcompounds, the soil contains signicant

quantities of heavy water, rich in the hy-drogen isotope deuterium. Similar wateris present in Mars atmosphere, which

suggests that the soil has absorbed itand that the atmosphere and surface ofthe planet interact frequently.

This week, the UN Security

Council unanimously voted toenact a plan to eliminate all ofthe chemical weapons in Syriaby mid 2014. The plan includesinspections of Syrias weapon

stockpiles by experts and com-plete destruction of chemicalweapon potential. World leaderssupport the decision and see itas a big step towards peace inSyria.

Terrorist attacks in a shop-

ping mall have killed a conrmed

67 people, with many more still

to be accounted for. Preliminaryreports suggest that the attack-ers gained control of the mall withforce: by killing innocent security

guards. After gaining access andtaking hostages, the attackers

maintained control of the mallfor the next four days, at whichtime police and military forces re-gained control of the mall. Inves-tigations are currently underway.

The Ku Klux Klan has ob-tained a permit to hold a rallynear the famous town of Get-tysburg, Pennsylvania. Therally is planned on the site ofthe famous battle and thesite of the Gettysburg ad-dress. The leader of the

local chapter of the KKKhas been quoted in lo-cal newspapers sayinghis chapter is devoted toremoving Obama fromofce.

Venezuelan authori-ties have arrested 22people in connectionto a recent drug bust.Nearly 3000 pounds

of cocaine were found

on an Air France ight from Ven-ezuela to Paris. The drugs weresmuggled onto the plane by se-curity ofcials in Venezuela and

were being smuggled into Eu-rope by security ofcials at Paris

Charles de Gaulle airport. Sixpeople have been arrested inFrance; three were British andthree Italian.

Ninety-two children have beenrescued and 301 people werearrested in China following aninvestigation into a child traf-fcking ring. The ring appears

to have been targeting childrenin one part of China and mov-ing them to another part of Chi-na where they were being sold.Speculators blame Chinas one

child policy and lax adoption lawsfor the child trafcking problems.

Surgeons in China are grow-ing a replacement nose fora patient. They used transplanttechniques to grow a new nosefor a patient, Xiaolian, who losthis nose in a trafc accident. HIs

new nose is being grown directlyon his forehead. When the noseis ready doctors will transplant itto the correct place on Xiaolians

face.42 people are conrmed dead

in a building collapse in Mum-bai, India. So far, 33 people havebeen pulled from the wreckage

alive, while some are still missing.The cause of the coll apse has beattributed to poorly completedconstruction. Building collapseshave become common in Indiawhere they struggle to maintaintheir infrastructure.

CorrectionThe club rugby photograph

caption on page 1 of Issue 4(September 23) incorrectly listedthe score of the match as 6-3. Itwas actually 60-3. The Orediggerapologizes for any confusion.


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n e w sseptember 30, 2013 page


Hannah Rossi

Staff Writer

Clear technicalcommunication a must

According to Bruce Grewcock,

CEO of Kiewit Corporation, engi-

neers, scientists, mathematicians,

and other professionals often have

to communicate with politicians,

regulators, media representatives,

and members of the general public.

Many of these people do not enjoy

math or any of the other specialties

in which engineers are trained.

Grewcock lauded Mines for

producing great technically-based

peoplewith a heavy emphasis

on the math and the sciences, but

warns students that what youre

going to encounter in the real world

is some people that actually dont

like math. Youre going to encoun-

ter a whole bunch of people that are

going to have a tremendous impact

and inuence on projects you are

working on and business and the

industry and whatever you get in-

volved in, theyre going to have a

tremendous inuence on youI will

guarantee you will come across

people, some of whom might have a

technical background, but odds are

most of them wont. They dont get

it. Even the well-intentioned ones.

Grewcock said that to success-

fully interact with the necessary and

helpful non-technical people, stu-

dents and professionals must learn

certain skills that are rarely taught

in school. He claims that engineers

need to learn to broaden their in-

terests and perspectives, develop

communication skills, and ask peo-

ples opinions. Grewcock conveyed

that he believes that these skills, in

conjunction with a good sense of

ethics, can help engineers both on

a personal and industry-wide level.

Grewcock emphasized the need

for technically-based professionals

to create and maintain good com-

munication skills, pointing out that

everyone in this industry knows

what it is like to be treated to death

by Powerpoint. He said that stu-

dents need to focus on learning how

to communicate in their writings,

through spoken word and presenta-

tions, and by simplifying concepts

enough for those with different lev-

els of training or education to under-

stand the essentials of any idea.

Additionally, Grewcock stated

that students should take care to

learn how to listen to other people.

He claimed that listening to people

and asking their opinions is a very

important part of the job and that

the question What do you think?

can be a professionals most power-

ful tool.

In order to be able to really listen

to other people well and understand

their ways of thinking, Grewcock

said that engineers and others in

the industry need to broaden their

perspectives through intellectual

curiosity, which largely involves

asking questions whenever possible

or necessary.

Grewcock advised his audience

to be well-read, not just in terms of

technical journals, but books, mag-

azines, other journals, and other,

possibly unconventional, sources

of culture, news, and education. He

claimed that working to develop and

maintain these skills will help profes-

sionals with their people skills and in

creating relationships, which every-

one needs. Relationships are pow-

erful, Grewcock said, so he advised

students and professionals alike to

develop a tolerance for difference.

He said that students need to

stay in contact with people from

school and work to create and

maintain a network of contacts, as

well as seek out mentors once they

get into their industry. A mentor,

Grewcock said, can be a safe per-

son to vent to as well as somebody

to talk a professional through prob-

lems and provide him or her with

good, candid feedback.

Grewcock concluded by pointing

out that students here are part of a

very unique institutioneverybody

[in the professional world] knows

Mines and he said that developing

the skills he had mentioned would

help students and professionals to

be more successful and happier

personally and professionally.

He also advised anyone already

in the industry to try this way of op-

erating as it is never too late to get

started.

The trick was getting the ac-

tual members of the communityinvolved. While the government

can pay workers to renovate a

street, Roberts was able to rally

volunteers and changed what

were once dangerous ghettos

into a booming street filled to the

brim with people and business.

Ultimately, it is best to transfer

the ownership to the community

themselves so that the responsi-

bility lies within them.

Now, gaining large momen-

tum, the Build a Better Block

program has projects going on allover the world. It is not compli-

cated to champion change in the

world; it does not have to even

be that physically big to garnish

a truly meaningful impact. Rob-

erts believed that he was, not

a leader in any capacity, but with

any passion, anyone can be a

leader.

Goldens mayor honors community service leaders. A

Mines professor was among the honorees.

ZACH SNYDER / OREDIGGER

Golden, contd.from page 1

Kiewit CEO advises students on non-experts

Almost every student at Mines

takes a thermodynamics course in

their academic career. Whether the

topic is enjoyable or not, Muneera

Beach, PhD in Biochemistry and

Biophysics, explains the importance

of thermodynamics in technology

today. Beach works with a micro-

calorimetry. Microcalorimetry is es-

sentially the study of thermodynam-

ics at a microscopic level. This helps

scientists understand the complexbinding phenomena through heat

interactions. The two capital meth-

ods of microcalorimetry are Differ-

ential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC)

and Isothermal Titration Calorimetry

(ITC).

A UCSD graduate, Beach origi-

nally thought she would go to medi-

cal school. Realizing that she dis-

liked anatomy, Beach changed her

course and went for calorimetry, I

decided to get a Ph.D. and havent

looked back since. Being an ap-

plication scientist, Beach uses simu-

lations to help run experiments and

return reports for specic projects

for GE Healthcare. She has been

with the company since 2008.

More specically, Beach usesITC to measure the entropy, enthal-

pies, and stoichiometry of mixing

molecules. ITC utilizes two cells, the

sample cell and the reference cell.

The given molecule is placed in the

sample cell while the reference cell

typically contains water. A syringe

then injects the other molecule be-

ing measuring into the sample cell.

The sides of the cells have sensors

and the capability to raise and lower

temperature. The reference cell

matches the temperature change

in the sample cell to equate the dif-

ferential temperature for the entire

mechanism to zero.

During her seminar last week,

Beach covered three major ex-

amples of how ITC is used in the

modern world: biomimetic interac-

tions of proteins with functionalized

nanoparticles, polymer surfactant

complexes, and pharmaceutical ap-

plications.

These readings can be used to

calculate the enthalpy, entropy, orstoichiometry of the mixture caused

by hydrogen bonds and Van der

Waals attraction.

Measuring amino acid functional-

ized particles bonding with different

proteins can be used to modulate

enzyme activity. These experiments

can also show scientists how many

of the amino acids are bonding with

the proteins and how many of them

are bonding the same way. Amino

acids are placed in the sample cell

while the proteins are titrated into the

cell using the syringe. Beach points

out that these reactions can rely on

both electrostatics and hydropho-

bic characteristics of the molecules.

The temperature at which the ex-

periments occur is also crucial tothe results. Mixing the same amino

acid to the same protein can result

in vastly different numbers for the

enthalpy and entropy.

Polymer Surfactant Complexes

can also be analyzed using ITC. De-

tergents, cosmetics, environmental

health and safety, pharmaceutical

aspects and energy, are a few of

the areas polymer surfactant in-

teractions affect. Beach discusses

the concentration of sodium do-

decyl sulfate (SDS) when mixed

with polymers in water. She also

discusses the major difference one

ethyl group can make in a peptide

when being mixed with SDS. For

example, Beach compares polyeth-

ylene glycol to polypropylene glycol.

The two polymers produce opposite

concentrations of SDS when using

ITC. Beach explains that polyethyl-

ene glycol produces hydrophobic

effects while polypropylene glycol

causes enthalpic effects.

ITC also vastly affects the phar-maceutical industry. Beach ex-

plains a recent experiment done

to stabilize a certain protein using

polysorbate-80. Trials revealed that

pharmacists were overusing poly-

sorbate-80. After the correctly cal-

culated ratio was used, the proteins

were then able to disassociate in

the body during consumption which

allowed for the drugs to be more

effective. ITC can also be used to

measure the quality of proteins.

Companies wanting to measure

the activity in a protein could use

ITC to see reactions caused when

mixing proteins. Beach says that the

activity in quinidine antibodies were

recently measured using a similar

process.ITC can be used for a magnitude

of applications as Beach closes

with, size does not matter in ITC, as

long as you have a binding event.

She points out that ITC is used for

a vast and diverse amount of appli-

cations. Nanoparticle, proteins, and

polymers are just a few examples of

science utilizing thermodynamics to

improve products and medicine in

the modern world.

Probing microscopic thermo

Jordan Francis

Staff Writer

Zach Snyder

Staff Writer

Michael Bevans current re-

search seeks to design and ul-

timately manufacture a material

called perfect crystals. Perfect

crystals are particles of atoms

stacked on top of each other that

are so perfectly geometrically

aligned they behave with special

properties.

One ideal use of a perfect

crystal is to build a computer out

of them that theoretically couldrun at the

speed of light.

The immense

computing ca-

pabilities at this

speed are diffi-

cult to fathom.

Perfect crystals

are not natu-

rally occurring,

and previous

man made at-

tempts to pro-

duce them

have all been

futile. Many

who tried end-

ed up with mi-

nor defects at the atomic level.These defects had to do with

how the crystals stacked on top

of each other such as point-mass

flaws or line-ridge faults.

Bevan encountered some is-

sues when trying to create per-

fect crystals. By definition, these

perfect crystalline structures

cannot be undone and therefore

the setting of the positions of at-

oms in the perfect crystal is irre-

versible Additionally, the particles

themselves are extremely difficult

to control. Bevan said that the

greatest obstacle was trying to

image particles very close to one

another but, he added, thats

where the engineering kicks in

do the science then design.

With the use of total internal

reflection microscopy (TIRM),

Bevans project team was able

to measurably record the fidget-

ing movement atoms have when

they are close to each other.

One day in the lab, one ofBevans graduate

students randomly

discovered that ad-

justing the amount

of electrical energy

pushing particles

together can actual-

ly be changed incre-

mentally and thus

alter the behavior of

two particles close

to one another. Par-

ticles, while never

actually touching

another particle, still

get close enough to

stick, though Bevan

noted that, its ba-

sically levitation, it sounds likewitchcraft but is not that bad.

If all particles line up uni formly,

then the manufacturer generates

a perfect crystal which has a lot

of useful properties. Bevans re-

search continues on today, so

sometime down the line the lat-

est iPhone processor may be

powered by technology that feels

like it is straight out of science

fiction.

Zach Snyder

Staff Writer

Constructingperfect crystals

One ideal use of a

perfect crystal is to

build a computer out of

them that theoretically

could run at the speed

of light. The immense

computing capabili-

ties...are difcult to

fathom.


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n e w s september 30, 2013page 4


John Bristow

Staff Writer

Despite the appearance of

being a concrete and known sci-

ence, geology, due to the interpre-

tive nature of the discipline, has

plenty of differing interpretationsthat keeps the eld alive. These

debates often emerge in seminar,

as when Dr. Aaron Pietruszka of

the United States Geological Sur-

vey presented on the nature of the

magma chambers that feed one of

the most spectacular volcanoes in

the world, Kilauea. Through geo-

physical ndings, isotopic analy-

ses, and volumetric calculations

Pietruszka walked the attentive

audience through his steps to de-

termine that two small chambers

of magma, rather than one, feed

Hawaiis ery masterpiece.

Pietruszka said, [We have]

known for a number of years a

lot about the plumbing system [of

Kilauea], primarily from geophys-ics. In the system, the melt is pri-

marily from the mantle with a few

xenoliths thrown in for good mea-

sure. The magma rises from there

through a primary conduit starting

at about 60 kilometers down and

then it spends time in a summit

magma chamber that sits at 2-4

kilometers down. From there, the

magma either nds its way out at

Halemaumau or it travels down a

set of faults to erupt at PuuOo[a].

Since the movement of uid in the

subsurface causes minor tectonic

activity, the pathways used by

the magma can be determined

by compiling seismic activity over

time. As it would be revealed later,

there are some considerations totake into account, namely whether

or not the uid is magma or if it is

just simply hydrothermal uids.

Since determining the exact

nature of these systems takes a

lot of data and more than a few

assumptions, there is wiggle

room in terms of interpretation.

Pietruszka put up models for the

two major end members of these

interpretations, one being a fairly

simple system with only one mag-

ma chamber, and the other being

the model that he was there to de-

fend, the two chamber idea. Like

a well seasoned performer before

a show, Pietruszka announced, [I

am] going to try to convince you

that there are two small magma

chambers, before leading off into

the history of the competing mod-

els.

The rst step was to introduce

one of the crucial factors that is

needed to understand a magma

system, the size of the magma

chamber. For the most part this

is done by looking at where there

are earthquakes and nding a

spot without any. Since a uid will

not carry any sort of earthquake

through it, a blank zone in the data

indicates where there is a lack of

solid rock.

According to the data, there is

an area below Kilauea that ranges

from 40 cubic kilometers, if the

whole area is uid, to a measly

0.08 cubic kilometers if there is

slightly molten material surround-

ing the chamber. For his own PhD,

Pietruszka used geochemical data

and came up with a volume of

around 2-3 cubic kilometers.Beyond the size of the cham-

ber, shape is another important

constraint. This data is compiled

from ground deformation over

time, but due to the resolution

of the data, there is still room for

multiple interpretations. They

saw these ination centers rising

and falling, stated Pietruszka as

he displayed the data, it seemed

like there were two main areas

where activity was focused. Of

course other people have looked

at this data and have come up

with entirely different interpreta-

tions. Rather than two vague ar-

eas, data reduction can point to

one main spot. Pietruszka hinted

that this may not be correct giventhat recent geophysical studies

have leaned towards two magma

chambers.

The studies also added in a

mark of confusion to the inter-

pretation, rather than having two

chambers at normal depths, only

one was deep while the other

was interpreted to be extremely

shallow. Pietruszka admitted that

while it would help his interpreta-

tion to assume that the signature

represented a magma chamber, it

may also be an active hydrother-

mal system below the surface. To

his dismay Pietruszka announced

that the group that did the study

Findings suggest second chamber in Kilauea[was] really agnostic to if [the

data] were hydrothermal [activity]

or magma.

The most poignant geophysical

data-set is kinda the smoking gun

for magma, revealed Pietrusz-

ka. Microgravity measurements

at Halemaumau indicated that

mass was increasing, which gen-

erally indicates magma is intrud-

ing into the system. The current

thought behind the interpretation

is that a while back an earthquake

created a small void which is cur-

rently lling with magma, this ex-

plains why it was not seen before.

As the chamber lls up, it drives

the eruption at Halemaumau.

With the geophysics out of the

way, Pietruszka asked, how can

we use lead isotopes to conrm

these ndings? Given that his

specialty is in lead isotopes, he

was well prepared to back up the

geophysical work. In Hawaii, the

lead isotope signature indicates

mantle derived magmas, said Pi-etruszka. On top of the basic av-

erage signature, each of the erup-

tions has an individual signature

which can be used to determine

some of the basic properties of

how it behaved in the system. Be-

yond this, for some of the longer

eruptions, the signature will uc-

tuate based on the actual source

from which the eruption is draw-

ing, which may change over the

course of an eruption.

The fundamental principle

that Pietruszka drew upon was

that if there is a secondary mag-

ma chamber, the isotope ratios

should reect a different signature

than the primary chamber. During

the early stage of the recent largeeruption of the Kilauea caldera,

the isotopic ratios followed a sin-

gular path that was reected at all

of the sites. Then, as Pietruszka

revealed, something unusual

happened in the early 1970s:

the trend split into two different

groups based on location. [The]

interpretation is that there are two

different magma bodies, [which]

looks to correspond to the geo-

physics, said Pietruszka, then he

added, with an air of relief, this is

encouraging.

The isotopic data can also

be used along side a few well

thought-out assumptions to nd

out more about the magma cham-

ber. According to Pietruszka, the

chamber is likely cooled to some

extent by hydrothermal activity

near the surface. The residence

times that can be ascertainedby eruptions to help determine

the size of the chamber, which is

around 0.2 cubic kilometers pro-

vided the chamber exists.

To nish up the presentation,

Pietruszka took time to address

a few remaining questions about

the Kilauea system as a whole.

The rst venture outside the main

topic focused around guring out

if there could be another magma

chamber deeper than the main

system; unfortunately, the data

that can be used to make this in-

terpretation is sparse. We can put

up all the evidence for this on two

slides, said Pietruszka. The main

evidence surrounding the idea

concerns xenoliths.In igneous geology, xenoliths

are artifacts of the rocks which

a magma passes through. The

longer a magma is present in a

system, the more likely it is for xe-

noliths to be accumulated into the

uid. If there is a magma body at

depth, xenoliths should be pres-

ent from this chamber. Since the

rock types at depth are different

than the shallow rocks, an analysis

of xenoliths is handy in a system

such as the Kilauea volcano. Un-

fortunately for Pietruszkas curios-

ity, the current system will not re-

veal it through the magmas; Even

if a deeper chamber is there, we

[will not] see these effects be-

cause [the magma] is too hot. To

add another nail to the cofn, geo-

physical studies have not seen any

evidence for it. Pietruszka would

reveal later that despite that, thereis data that helps prove that there

is not a deep chamber.

The other concern brought up

that was somewhat secondary to

the main focus of the presentation

and concentrated on the current

state of the plumbing system. Pi-

etruszka put up multiple slides of

isotopic data and worked through

what it could mean. When the re-

cent eruptions at Halemaumau

began, the isotopic data was very

similar to what was erupting at

Puu Oo. This would mean that

the system possibly did not have

a secondary chamber, or that the

Puu Oo magmas are a much

later version of the Halemaumau

material. As the magmas kepterupting, their composition moved

away from that of the Puu Oo

magmas and started their own

trend.

If the trends stay separate, it

could indicate that the rift zone

that ends in the Puu Oo eruptive

site is not as related to the summit

zone as one thought. On the other

hand, if the magmas at Puu Oo

started reecting what is erupting

at the summit, it could help rein-

force the idea of the system hav-

ing one main plumbing pipeline.

Of course, added Pietruszka,

this is something we will work on

in the future.

A USGS scientist takes lava samples from Kilauea.

COURTESY USGS

Dr. Cecilia Diniz Behn and her

collaborators used data from ro-

dent studies to formulate a math-

ematical model to predict and

analyze sleep cycles in humans.

Normal sleep involves a con-

stantly changing cycle of wake

periods, rapid eye movement

(REM) sleep, and non-rapid eyemovement (NREM) sleep. All

people experience these three

phases at some point while

sleeping, but the frequencies and

tendencies with which they are

experienced seem to vary greatly

by person.

The data seems to suggest

that some of the key factors in-

volved in determining the propor-

tions spent in each stage while

Chris Robbins

Staff Writer

Formulating a model forhuman sleep cycles

sleeping were: the ring rate of

neurotransmitters in the brain, the

levels of adenosine (a nucleoside

that promotes sleep), and the

random excitatory inputs from

other parts of the brain.

Behn used

these three main

factors as vari-

ables to develop

formulae to dis-

play periods ofsleep under cer-

tain conditions.

As a result,

she found that

during any given

session of sleep

the transition between stages

was rather cyclical, meaning

there are changes between wake,

REM, and NREM phases on fairly

similar intervals under certain

constant conditions.

The results of testing the for-

mulae were shown to be quite

accurate, as the time predicted

in each state by the model was

quite close to times actually re-

corded in each sleep

state.

Behn believes

that understanding

sleep cycles is the

rst step to learningmore about the cir-

cadian system. This

research could also

help nd a relation-

ship between differ-

ent sleep cycles, the

bodys homeostatic regulation,

and the release of orexin neurons

(which are meant to excite certain

brain cells and promote wakeful-

ness).

Behn believes that

understanding

sleep cycles is thefrst step to learn-

ing more about the

circadian system.

Mines researchers turn food

waste to glass

Colorado School of Mines re-

searchers have provisionally pat-

ented a sustainable method to turn

organic food and agricultural waste

into glass.

The process uses organic waste

(such as eggshells, rice and wheat

husks, peanut shells and banana

peels) that is rich in the primary min-

erals that make up the most com-

mon oxides used in the manufacture

of windows, containers and special-

ty glass.

This discovery is not only a po-

tential cost-savings boon for glass

manufacturers, but also an environ-

mentally conscious way to recast

Mines research-ers turn foodwaste to glass

food waste as a valuable mineral

source for the advanced ceramics

and glass industries.

Organic waste can potentially

provide at least some of the metal

oxides required to produce glass

and glass-ceramics products. Thus,

glass manufacturing processes

provide a uniquely suited potential

route to recycle and reuse these or-

ganic wastes, producing useful glass

products and reducing the inux of

waste into landlls, said Mines re-

searcher Ivan Cornejo.

Cornejo, Ivar Reimanis and Sub-

ramanian Ramalingam are the co-in-

ventors of this patent and belong to

the Colorado Center for Advanced

Ceramics in the George S. Ansell

Department of Metallurgical and Ma-

terials Engineering at Mines.

Courtesy Mines Newsroom


5/12

f e a t u r e sseptember 30, 2013 page 5


Spirits were high going into

halftime during this years home-coming football game. The foot-ball team was in the lead, theweather was great, and the sunwas shining. Two clubs madean appearance during halftime,hosting events of great intrigue.

The Mines Activi ties Counci lwas the first organization to takethe field with the announcementof the 2013 Homecoming Queenand Beast. Nominees for Home-coming Queen were: AshleyHertzler, Erica Kellenberger, Kai-tlyn Hedberg, Lauren Lunquist,and Virginia Judge. Nominees forHomecoming Beast were: Bran-don Hunton, Kit Pfeiffer, Kyle He-ser, Scott McClary, and Oluwa-

seun Ogunmodede.Those nominated had to be-

long to an organization on cam-pus, and after a long week ofvoting on trailhead the winnerswere decided. The 2013 Home-coming Queen was Ashley Hertz-ler and the Homecoming Beastwas Oluwaseun Ogunmodede,known as Seun. In her fourthyear at Mines, Ashley is majoringin Mechanical Engineering and isan active member of Alpha Phi.Seun is in his fourth year at Minesalso majoring in Mechanical En-gineering, however he is also amember of the Colorado Schoolof Mines Soccer team. Thisyears winners were excited as

they donned their respective em-bellished helmets and the Beast

put on his beard.The second organization to

take the field brought the heat inthe wake of the Queen and Beast

recognition. The Up til Dawn or-ganization hosted a Buffalo WildWings Blazin wing-eating contestto raise money for the St. JudeChildrens Research Hospital.

Three groups, represent ing differ-ent aspects of the school, com-peted with three members oneach team to see who could eathot wings the fastest. Each grouphad to eat a total of 30 hot wings;10 hot wings a person. The threegroups representing the schoolwere the Residence Hall Asso-ciation, the Physics department,and the Mines Student chapter ofthe American Association of Pe-troleum Geologists (AAPG).

The American Association of

Petroleum Geologists took firstplace with competitors Adam,Nico, and Travis; taking secondwas the Residence Hall Associa-tion, and coming in last was thePhysics Department. However,the Physics Department was ableto raise the most money with ap-proximately $850 raised, whilethe Residence Hall Associationraised the second most at ap-proximately $200 and the Ameri-can Association of PetroleumGeologists raised about $95.Overall, the contest raised morethan $1100 for the St. Jude Chil-drens Research Hospital. Themoney will go towards the 1.8million dollars that it takes to op-

erate the St. Jude Childrens Re-search hospital on a daily basis.

Taylor Smith

Staff Writer

Homecoming aspicy fundraiser

Wafes are a decadent treat of-ten associated with breakfast foods.

They go well with fried chicken too.People all over the world have en-

joyed wafes for many years. With

the addition of chocolate, this deli-cacy can be transformed into atreat for anytime. Follow this recipeto make delicious chocolate wafes

that will satisfy any sweet-tooth.Ingredients:

Chocolate Wafe RecipeBradley Wood

Staff Writer1 1/2 cups our

cup sugar1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa1 tablespoon baking powder teaspoon salt

2 eggs1 cups milk cup vegetable oil1 teaspoon vanilla cup chocolate chipsDirections:In a large bowl, combine our,

sugar, unsweetened cocoa, bakingpowder, and salt. Thoroughly mix

John Bristow

Staff Writer

From a theoretical perspec-tive, stars are amazing to observe.

The sky is chock full of ticking timebombs just the blink of an eye awayfrom going supernova. In reality, thestars are frankly quite boring. Surethere are double stars and a fewof them glimmer and ash in a way

that can fascinate for a long while.Unfortunately for the night sky, stars

are more like the individual dots ofpoint in a pointillist painting ratherthan beauties themselves. Luckilyfor amateur astronomers, there arecertain dots with a bit more discern-ible magnicence than the stars,

and in astronomy terms, they are inour own backyard.

Planets have always fascinatedhumanity. Instead of progressingaround the sky like stars, plan-ets advance and regress over thecourse of months. It was this stellardance that inspired many of the ear-ly philosophers and later on, madenames like Copernicus, Kepler, andNewton household names. Very fewentities beyond the grasp of our at-mosphere have gotten so many sci-

entists and philosophers in troublemore than the planets. In terms oftheir reality, planets are funky littlebyproducts of stellar fusion and thenuances of gravity, with a bit of cos-mic thermodynamics and chemistrysprinkled on for effect.

Where stars are fairly simple interms of processes and composi-

tion, at least up until the very end oftheir existence, planets are diversechemical playgrounds. Just as Earthhas weather, seasons, and a vari-able surface, the other planets in thesolar system have amazing levels ofchaos that make them extraordinarilyfun to observe. With a good enoughtelescope and the right conditions,an astronomer can watch the sea-sons change on Mars, storms churnon Saturn, and meteorites plummetinto the depths of Jupiters clouds.

Some of the earliest reasoning forlife existing elsewhere in the universecame from old school astronomersnoticing the surface of Mars changeevery year, interpreting what was re-ally cyclones churning the surface asmassive scale agriculture operationsof a dying race.

A humble amateur may thinkthat these observations are madeby huge observatories on the high-est peaks of the world, but in reality,with a bit of patience, basic equip-ment can be used to documentthese changes. The rst target of

any observation should be Jupiter.The biggest sibling of the solar familyis large enough and bright enoughto easily nd. The only brighter night

objects being the Moon and Venus.The most basic of telescopes, andeven binoculars will be able to watchas the four main Jovian moonsprogress around the planet. The in-ner moons move so fast that overthe course of the night, they cancomplete a whole orbit. Rarely cantheir shadows be seen on the planet

itself. The next step up, is the nextplanet out from the Sun, Saturn.While Saturn does not have as manyobservable moons, nor does it usu-ally have weather that can be seenby casual telescopes, it does haverings. Of all of the wonders of thesolar system, none of them are quiteas grand as the rings of Saturn.

After touring the outer solar sys-tem, observations of the inner plan-ets have their own unique charm.With the exception of Venus, the

inner planets all have observablesurfaces. Mercury is hard to cap-ture due to its proximity to the Sun;though with a bit of patience, it ispossible to see the phases of Mer-cury. Much more drastic is Venus.Just as the Moon shifts from full tonew and back to full again, Venuschanges how much light is seenfrom Earth.

When it is on the far side of itsorbit from us, it is nice and round.Closer to us it can turn into a barelyvisible sliver. Finally there is Mars.

The ruddy complexion of the planetis easily seen, and during the plan-ets winter, white polar caps can beseen sandwiching the red. Duringthe spring and summer months the

front side turns black as the windswhip up the un-oxidized subsurface.

All of these can easily be seenwith a basic telescope or good bin-oculars, and there is one last stellarbody to check out before the depthsof space can be probed, the oneclosest to home, which will be cov-ered next week.

The Stars Above Mines

COURTESY SITE07

Planetary Observations

MonThurs

7:30am9pm

Friday

7:30am3pm

Saturday

10am3pm

Sunday

11am9pm

BringinthisCoupontoreceive

1FREEbrewCoffee!

OnWednesday10/2/13(1perperson)

ArthurLakesLibrary

dry ingredients, and leave a well inthe middle of the bowl. In a sepa-rate bowl, lightly beat the eggs witha fork. Combine the beaten eggs,milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla: stir

well. Add the eggs and milk mix-ture to the our mixture all at once.

Stir the batter with a whisk untilwell mixed, it should still be lumpy.Pour batter into wafe maker and

sprinkle chocolate chips into batterbefore closing lid. Be sure to greasewafe maker to ensure the wafe

does not stick.

MICHAEL RODGERS / OREDIGGER

COURTESY TRACING TRAY ( FLICKR)

Chocolate Wafes are a decadent breakfast treat for the hungry Mines student.

Homecoming Fundraiser raises over $1,100 for St. Judes.


6/12

f e a t u r e s september 30, 2013page 6


Festivities confrm: View is better at the top

The Homecoming Queen and Beast meet for the rst time.

After the days events, reworks lit up the sky on Friday.

No homecoming game would be complete without body paint.

Mines shows off its spirit as they take to the streets before the Homecoming game.

Mines defense brings down the ball carrier to help secure the Homecoming victory.

Competitors attempt to ignore scalding sensations as they devour wings at halftime.

The student section reacts to one of many touchdowns at Saturdays game.

MICHAEL ROGERS / OREDIGGERMICHAEL ROGERS / OREDIGGER

MICHAEL ROGERS / OREDIGGER

MICHAEL ROGERS / OREDIGGER

MICHAEL ROGERS / OREDIGGERMICHAEL ROGERS / OREDIGGER

JOHN BRISTOW / OREDIGGER


7/12



Jordan Francis

Staff Writer

Some geeks are content tosit at home, gather knowledge,game, read, and otherwise shutthemselves away from the outsidein keeping with the stereotypicalsedentary nerd lifestyle. Othersboldly venture out to see the restof the world, meet other nerdsfrom all walks of life, and work onprojects that require both traveland artistic capabilities. This is thekind of geek people can nd in

Computer Science senior KelseyKopecky. The Oredigger caughtup with Kopecky last week tolearn about her geekery.

[Oredigger]: Why did you

choose that major?

[Kopecky]: Cause I like solvingpuzzles and [because] CSU has acrappy Zoology department.

Whats been your favorite

class so far?

Creative Writing because ToniLefton loves dinosaurs.

Are you a geek and why?

Yes. You should just look at allthe stuff that covers the walls ofmy apartment and the stack ofvideo games [I have there].

Geek Week...Kelsey Kopecky, Senior: Computer Science

ofthe

What do you do with your

limited spare time?

Make costumes of nerdythings.

What is your favorite thing

about Mines?

Everyone else accepts my ran-dom tangents as normal.

If you were a superhero,

would you rather be an awe-

some but still relatively nor-

mal human like Batman or Iron

Man, or would you prefer to

have actual super powers?

Id want to be super-rich andinnovative, as long as I dont looklike buff Bruce Wayne causethatd be horrifying.

What is your greatest ac-

complishment?

Collecting all of the beads in

Okami.In a battle of wits, who

would win if the ght was be-

tween Dr. Stephen Hawking

and Professor Charles Xavier?

Xavier because he can controlHawkings mind. I mean, no mat-ter what, hes gonna win.

If you could be dropped into

any ctional universe, what

would it be and why?

[The universe of] Doctor Who

because then you could get to allthe other parallel universe, [which]

would also include some videogame universes.

If you could have your own

Pokmon, which one would

you want and why?

Both Weelees, which are fu-sions, [one] between Weedle andHitmonlee and [one between]Weezing and Hitmonlee becausethey would do wheelies on a bike.

What is your best nerd mo-

ment?

[It was] either making a StarFox costume or naming my petdegus after Tales of the Abysscharacters.

Do you have any plans for

the future?

[They involve] getting into web

development and making morecostumes.

Do you have any advice for

fellow geeks and Mines stu-

dents?

Embrace it because everyoneelse does too.

Do you have a favorite

quote?

Two wrongs dont make aright turn. - Sylvester McCoy asthe 7th Doctor from Doctor Who. Kelsey Kopecky collected all of the beads in Okami!

JORDAN FRANCIS / OREDIGGER

Perhaps the greatest comedyof the year, The Worlds Endhas certainly earned its spot onthe shelf of great movies. Fromthe comedic genius that craftedSean of the Dead, Simon Pegghas once again struck gold. JoinGary King (played by Simon Pegg)and his team of rapscallions asthey conquer the famed GoldenMile. The nal installment of the

Cornetto Trilogy brought in animpressive $8.7 million openingweekend in the US, earning it thehighest average viewings acrossthe country.

The story follows middle-aged

protagonist Simon King as he re-tells his high school glory days.The story climaxes at his friendsrst attempt at the Golden Mile,

a mile-long pub crawl comprisedof 12 bars.

After recall-ing the failedattempt toc o m p l e t ethis feat,King beginsa quest togather hisfour highschool palsand giveit anothergo. Despite

m e e t i n gsome resis-tance, Kinguses his witto con them into coming along.

The team revisits the sleepy townof Newton Haven, only to nd that

its inhabitants have all been butreplaced by alien robots.

Unable to escape, the groupnd themselves with no choices

but to nish the Golden Mile.

James Davis

Staff Writer

The Worlds EndEach member of the group gets

a chance to come to grips withthe mistakes of their pasts andnd closure despite the imminent

threat of possible destruction.Hilarity ensues as the cast ghts

their way through hordes of alienrobots, struggling for the lastpint at the pub aptly named TheWorlds End. King, whose life hasbeen less than successful, comesto the conclusion that his past isall he has to hold on to. This lastbit of motivation is enough for himto repel force the alien robots toee in fear at his unstoppable ig-norance.

Side-splitting comedy infusedwith a hint of drama keeps TheWorlds End at an accelerated

pace of pleasure. Relatable andfamiliar characters keep the audi-ence begging for more as the she-nanigans continue. The story takesa moment of emotional depth as

they look intothe sordidlives that fol-lowed Kingsgraduat ion,but promptlyreturns tothe shallowwade pool ofraunchy hu-mor to keepthe audiencel a u g h i n g .Like many of

Peggs lms,they also fo-cus aroundsome of the

better traits of humanity. Deter-mination, strength, and stupid-ity are brought out, proving to bethe main characters best weaponagainst the cold logic of alien ro-bots. The Worlds End is a guar-anteed crowd pleaser, and a muston every have seen it list.

The Worlds End a side-splitting

comedy, guarnteed crowd pleaser.

COURTESY FOCUS FEATURES

Twenty brand new songs.Twenty days. Experimental guitarsessions. Synthesis of old andnew beats. Creativity owing from

studio room to studio room asmultiple songs are recording at thesame time.

Justin Timberlake returns tothe music scene this year withtwo albums. Almost tantalizinglyplanned to increaseanticipation, the re-leases are scheduled

just a few monthsapart. The 20/20

Experience - 1 of 2is already one of thebest selling albumsof the year. It includesthe popular singlesMirrors and Suitand Tie. Jay-Z lendshis vocals to Suitand Tie and also ap-pears again on thesecond album, add-ing the appropriateamount of rap lyricsto soulfully enhance

Timberlakes pop art-ist platform.

Just this week,Timberlake is releas-ing the second part

of this collection, The20/20 Experience - 2of 2. Take Back the Nightis theonly single released prior to thefull album release. Take Back theNight denitely has a retro-soul

feel, ushering in the beginning offall and the closing of summer. Asthe song title implies, this compo-sition encourages the prevalenceof nightlife enthusiasm among theyoung, free, and beautiful. Men

Sarah Dewar

Staff Writer

The new Justin TimberlakeThe 20/20 Experience

and women alike can identify withthe message Timberlake relates tohis listeners.

Timberlake appeared on Jim-my Kimmel Live to promote hisnew album as well as to reinvigo-rate listeners with the feeling ofexcitement that was sparked withthe release of the rst album. He

observed that, the rst (album)

is a little more summertime; its alittle more virginal. The second halfis just a little more....slutty. This is

denitely apparent while listening

to both albums in sequence. If therst album is cocktail hour, then

the second album is most de-nitely the after-party. It is ofcially

time to have an amazingly incred-ibly time.

Drake also makes a vocal ap-pearance in this second album.Cabaret, the third song on The

20/20 Experience - 2 of 2, isexpected to be one of the morepopular songs on the album. Theheavier beat-loaded songs areplaced at the forefront of the al-bum. The album aptly transitionsinto a few slower, more thought-provoking songs. Drink You

Away and Amnesia are twosongs that represent this reective

portion of the album. Referringback to the progression of eventsduring a night out scenario, this is

the point in time whena past lover from aconfusing break upsuddenly appears inthe same room. With

Amnesia, the lyr-ics are applicable tomany individual sce-narios: Amnesia,every memory fadesaway till its gone/Where did you go/

Amnesia, went fromeverything to nothing/No we anymore, shesa stranger that I usedto know.

Unique to manyalbum releases in thepast few years, thesealbums include songsmuch longer than thetypical allotted lengthfor songs. All eleven

songs on The 20/20Experience - 2 of 2

album are longer than four min-utes and thirty seconds, with thelongest song surpassing elevenminutes. While this album is de-nitely not a quick listen, it is full ofsignicance and valuable melodies

that make the length an integralcomponent of the collection as awhole. Overall, this is a highly en-

joyable and recommended album.

COURTESY RCA RECORDS

Justin Timberlakes newest album The 20/20 Experi-ence is a highly enjoyable and recommended album.


8/12

f e a t u r e s september 30, 2013page 8


Calculus I is a standard rst-

year core class at Mines and onethe vast majority of students here

are familiar with. For this reason,it is not surprising that many stu-dents roll their eyes when GregoryJohnson uses his famous line,You dont know it because Ihavent taught you yet! What ini-tially sounds like hubris turns outto be gentle honesty as Johnsonamazes his class with a seeminglyimpossible equation. As the stu-dents release a sigh of realization,the professor turns towards hisclass with a grin on his face andasks, How about another exam-ple?

Johnson is currently in his sixthyear at the School of Mines, pur-suing a graduate degree in mathe-matics. This grants him the unique

position of being knowledgeablein his particular discipline, yet re-taining the understanding of thestruggles of the college student.

James Davis

Staff Writer

Math and dance collideHis natural gift for numbers is ap-parent. Johnson said,As far as Ican remember, math and numbershave always been easy for me. Hisnumerical exibility transitions well

into the classroom environment.

Johnson can describe mathemati-cal functions in different ways sothat every student gets the op-portunity to learn. Johnson is wellon his way to becoming a full-time

college professor, a personal goalof his when he completes his grad-uate degree program.

However, he is far from a onetrick pony. Johnsons mathemati-cal skills are rivaled by his moveson the dance oor. He explains

that as he was growing up, danc-ing was what was happening. Asearly as elementary school, John-son explored the many facets ofdance, including hip hop and Latinstyle dances. Once he attendedMines, he joined the local dancing

community, expanding his knowl-edge to ballroom dance and jazz.Johnson now gives dance lessonstwice a week, sharing his years of

experience with others. His favoritestyle of dance is Argentinian Ball-room, a less formal variant of theclassic ballroom dance. Johnsonhas also expressed great interestin parkour, or the efcient use of

the body to traverse objects. Hetrains several days a week in orderto stay in shape. This, combinedwith his regular workout at theclimbing wall, is part of his trainingroutine for his eventual applica-tion to the American Ninja Warriorshow.

Johnson also shared a few triv-ia facts about himself. His favoritenumber is a modest 17. He notedthat many mathematicians preferfancier numbers such as i and e,but 17 holds a special place inhis heart, as 17 was his numberthroughout his high school soccercareer. Also, surprisingly enough,his favorite dessert is not pie, rath-er it is cheese cake. It is sort of

like pie, he claimed. When he isnot teaching, dancing, or just be-ing awesome, Johnson is hard atwork on his graduate degree.

Gregory Johnson waltzes through classes

There exists an invention sosimple and innovative that it hasevolved to become an integral partof not only daily life but fashion aswell. Civilization has brandishedshoes for almost as long as re-corded history goes, so it is easyto forget something as simple asfootwear can be so vital to an in-dividuals outward appearanceand persona. The Vans Canvas

Authentic model of mens shoescombines both the common utilityof all-purpose shoes with elegant

style.During orientation week, fresh-

men break into their CSM 101sections to become acquaintedwith their new classmates whomthey will be learning the basics ofMines alongside of. Upperclass-men certainly rue the day theyhad to awkwardly navigate theirway through ridiculous ice break-ers. One of these ice breakers isknown as the shoe game. Playingthe shoe game is easy enough,with the rules being as complex asany other party game. In the smallgroup of ten or so standing in a

circle, every player removes one ofhis or her shoes and tosses it intothe center of the ring of people andputs the other shoe behind them.

Afterwards, players randomize theirposition in the circle so no one isstanding next to where their actualshoes are. The rst player picks up

a shoe of his or her choosing thenverbally describes the personality ofthe owner based on nothing but thetype and quality of the shoe alone.

Zach Snyder

Staff Writer

Vans still in styleAfter psychoanalyzing the anony-mous owner, the guesser makeshis or her best attempt at guring

who the shoe actually belongs to,going until the guesser picks right.

Humans subconsciously no-tice every single small detail, fromthe hair on top of a girls head rightdown to the shoes on peoples feet,even if they do not give that muchthought into it. Rugged tennisshoes probably indicate a physical-ly active person who loves outdooractivities, while delicate ip-ops

show off a relaxed and easygoingpersonality. The Vans Canvas Au-thentic emanate an aura of wantingthe best of both worlds of comfortand style.

Moderately priced at $50, theCanvas Authentic is comprised oftextile cloth equipped with a wafe

rubber sole and is available in avariety of colors. The shoe is spe-cically designed for skateboard-

ing, but other functional uses ofthe shoes include looking goodin school, going out to the mall tohang out, and even just traveling onthe go. The Mines Ballroom DanceClub actually recommends Vansfor dancing, and they have provedthemselves tting for getting into

the groove of Swing among otherdance styles. The best part of theCanvas Authentic shoe modelis they are very comfortable andfrankly they just look cool, thoughwith that in mind, do be aware thatwhile they can survive normal wearand tear, they do not fare well inbad weather. With thoughtful carethese shoes can keep the averageengineer at the top of the good-

looking pyramid.

Zach Snyder

Staff Writer

SWTOR: Addicting fun

The entire world has been tak-en over by League of Legends.However, Star Wars: The OldRepublic can denitely stand in

as a substitute for LoL for thoselooking for a change of pace anda break from the same old video

game, but perhaps not for thosenot wanting hard core gaming.Since LoL s inception ve years

ago, in 2008, and its beta ver-sion premiere a year after that,the completely free-to-play model

supported by microtransactions,all anchored by highly addictinggameplay with millions of playersworldwide has done its part todrastically alter the way consum-ers purchase video games.

While virtual token economieshave long existed before, wherea buyer can spend some amountof real money for an equivalentamount of electronicpoints or coins tobuy individual compo-

nents of a video game,Riot Games, makerof League of Leg-ends, has becomemassively successfulthrough this approach.

This business modelnow directly interjectsinto the spotlight ofthe competitive mar-ket and quickly hasbecome the prime ex-ample of how to attract buyers.Gone are the days where gamerscan only play on a several hun-dred dollar entertainment systemwhile paying for each individualgaming cartridge. Now, a playercan simply connect to the internet

and download a fully profession-ally developed video game thatwill certainly suck the player intohours and hours of game play.

At some point not too long agoin a galaxy very close, Star Wars:the Old Republic (SWTOR)

joined the imperial ranks of theFree-to-Play and optional buy

in gaming models. At its core,SWTOR is a massively multiplayeronline role playing game (MMOR-

PG or just MMO for short). MMOshave long existed in the videogame industry, where many peo-ple even outside those who playvideo games have heard of suchbig names such as World of War-craft. In many aspects, SWTORresembles many aspects of thetypical MMO like World of War-craft or Guild Wars. There is

just one tiny, indiscreet detail thatmakes SWTOR an extremelyunique experience that separatesit from not just other MMOs, butmany other video games at large:it is set in the Star Wars universeand follows story canon.

The Star Wars story datesback all the way to the last gen-eration. George Lucas brain-child set a new precedence forthe quality of the science ction

genre. Fast forward all the wayto 2013, when the Star Warsstory continues not in movies butin a video game. If anything can

be said about SWTOR, it wouldbe that this game is completelystory driven. Not only does thegame feel like the player is watch-ing a genuine Star Wars lm,

the game actually transports thegamer deep into an interactive

story where irreversible decisionshave to be made.The very beginning of the game

poises the player right away withan important decision to makeabout which story will unfold.Players get to choose from eightdifferent classes that go far be-yond the simple ghte r and healer.

After picking whether to ally withthe Republic or Sith Empire, play-ers pick the type of Star Wars

character they will play, such asthe heroic Jedi Knight or deviousSith Inquisitor, which ultimatelydetermines what story the playerwill live through. The college stu-dent who has dreamt about fol-lowing the suave path of HanSolo can do that by training as aSmuggler, or those just wanting toduke it out ailing a lightsaber can

learn the ways of the Sith Warrior.One of Star Wars greatest at-tributes is the sheer grandeur oflightsaber combat. Everyone re-members the duel between Young

Anakin slipping to the dark againstObi-Wan Kenobi on a volcanic

planet, and for just a split-second

the SWTOR player can feel likethey themselves are wielding theawesome power of the lightsaber.

Beyond the scope of feelinga part of the Star Wars universe,SWTOR is a relatively straight-forward MMO. For those unfa-miliar with the whole concept

of paying a monthlysubscription for avideo game instead of

just buying the wholegame outright, MMOsheavily reward timeplayed and dedication.Some players will nd

immense satisfactiondrudging through theentire games story,from level 1 all theway to level 55, butothers looking for justa quick-x of gam-

ing will not nd it here. SWTOR

costs roughly $15 a month for asubscription, which gives full ac-cess to all content in the game.

However, anyone with Win-dows and internet can downloada trial. Fifteen dollars goes to

pay for the servers. Each playercontrols a unique Star Warscharacter alongside thousandsof other players, really lending tothat whole phenomena of feel-ing part of an organic world. Thatbeing said, SWTOR should bepicked up by gamers willing to ac-cept commitment. For every hourput into this game, an unquanti-

able amount of enjoyment is paidback.

The Old Republic a fresh break for gamers.

COURTESY LUCASARTS

Hannah Rossi

Staff Writer

La Casa AlbaMaking its debut eight months

ago, La Casa Alba has been a hitamong locals. The family operatedestablishment on 715 Washingtonrecently replaced Santiagos, an-other local favorite who recently

moved locations. The youngestson of the Alba family and manag-er of the restaurant, Scott, grew upin Golden. While the family boastsbeing in Golden for over 30 years,Scotts mother is originally fromMexico.

Everyone knows that Coloradois not exactly a hot spot for greatMexican food. However, Casa Albabreaks the stereotype. Chiles Rel-lenos, Huevos Rancheros, andChilaquiles are among the authen-tic Mexican dishes on the menu tofeed the Mexican food craving sideof Golden locals. For the less exot-ic, everything from bacon burritosto chicken tacos are also amongthe many food choices.

We like to go on Saturdaysand get breakfast explains MinesJunior, Joshua Duran Shew. Casa

Alba opens at 6:30 am weekdaysand Saturday to feed the urges of

its customers such as Shew.Casa Albas menu consists

entirely of homemade recipes,explains manager Scott Alba. Itsrecipes that I grew up with. We eatthem at my house all the time, justa home cooked meal, remarked

Alba when asked about the menu.Albas mother is the secret behind

the recipes.Moms cooking is supported

by the entire family. We take the or-ders and do the clean up. But bestof all, we serve you, our custom-ers, the website boasts. The Casa

Alba website (http://www.lacasaa-lba.com/mexican/index.php) oc-casionally posts a recipe online toget feedback on the ingredients.

La Casa Alba recently startedoffering delivery within a ve mile

radius of the Washington/Highway58 Bridge for a small fee. The opendining area offers a great place tomeet or socialize while enjoyingyour favorite Alba dish. The restau-rant, which serves breakfast, lunch,and dinner provides a diverse

menu that hits the spot any time ofthe day. Golden locals looking fora home cooked authentic mexicanmeal should look to La Casa Albafor a pleasant experience.

La Casa Alba offers home cooked mexican for all tastes.

HANNAH ROSSI / OREDIGGER


9/12



Oredigger Fiction Column

Red Eye

In the distant future

Nobody can break an addictionuntil they decide that they want to

be unhappy.

I have lived in fear for three

years. The reasons for this fear

will become self-evident, and you

likely know them if you live in this

time, but rst I need to explain who

I am. My name is Mark Lehrer, a

third grade teacher in the town

of Badger, on the edge of Kan-

sas by Missouri. Its a small town

in the most traditional sense, and

before the long day we now nd

ourselves a part of, it used to be a

nice place to live. We had some of

the lowest crime rates in the state.

The land is as at as you might

expect, the sky is open and wide.

There was a time when this townwas shrinking, after the turn of the

century, but some attention came

back to the town in the form of

land developers, and surprisingly

enough the town grew. Enough to

build a new school, at least, which

was nished a little before I got

my teaching degree. Thats how

I moved to Badger. I dont know

whether Ill ever get the chance to

move away, not that it would help.

After I had been teaching for

four years, people started getting

sick. Everyone got it, and every-

one seemed to be ne at rst. The

doctors explained that it was a

weak pathogen, highly infectious

but mostly harmless. The ATCC

captured the culture for study, andepidemiologists spent their time

guessing at how the disease could

spread and mutate. It was a sim-

ple enough strain; the virus gave

the infected a short runny nose,

followed by a cough and rash. It

seemed close enough to the com-

mon cold that if it hadnt been for

how widespread it was, nobody

would have even noticed it was

any different.

And then people started to fall

asleep. It hit everyone at different

times, with no discernible rhyme

or reason. The scientists working

on the disease had no forthcom-

ing answers on why people were

falling asleep; they only noticed

that the victims, which includedamong their number a few fellow

researchers, had lowered levels of

acetylcholine and spasmodic brain

activity. They tried to keep their

concerns to themselves while they

looked for a cure, but as people

began to drop like ies, the general

public became aware that some-

thing was deeply wrong. People

everywhere were entering comas,

and not just those who would be

expected to due to concussion or

trauma. They fell asleep, as usual,

in their usual place in their own

homes, and failed to wake up.

The sickness that swept the

world may have been reason to

be afraid for most, but even as I

heard the rumors, I was not greatlyconcerned by its progress. No, it

was the aftermath of the sickness,

the sickness with no end in sight,

which kept me up at night.

At the time when people be-

gan to fall asleep, there were

some unrelated concerns over the

school budget. Like most towns

in Kansas at the time, Badger had

been feeling the brunt of shaky s-

cal policy, and we were forced to

make some tough decisions con-

cerning which teachers would stay

and who would be out of a job. The

administration ended up making

salary cuts and dropping some ofthe staff, which meant more work

for those who remained. Badger,

being a fairly small town to begin

with, could afford to increase class

sizes, so the change wasnt as

drastic as it otherwise could have

been. Still, I felt the brunt of the in-

creased workload.

I was never somebody who en-

joyed excessive work. If it had a

tangible purpose, I understood it; I

even encouraged myself to partake

in it, but never enjoyed it. So the

increased workload I experienced

was not welcome. Understand that

as an educator, I felt an obligation

to each student passing briey

through my classes to present the

ideas they were learning as clearlyas possible, to invigorate their

minds to the utmost. I decided to

teach out of idealism, and hoped

that my students would learn to

think not only with the cynicism

and realism that pervaded our

daily lives, but with some form of

the same hopeful optimism. This

ideal is, of course, one that takes

effort, and more students meant

more stress for me. This time was

something of a focused, harried

one, and I didnt focus on the dis-

ease while the media and doom-

sayers spoke of cataclysm.

Our town got the disease late,

which was in a way a blessing and

a curse. Perhaps the size of the

town, the infrequency of visitors,contributed. While we had few

sleepers in the early days, we also

remained nave of the ways society

was changing outside of our town.

Some people had been paying at-

tention to national news, and had

an inkling of just how things had

changed for the worse, but I re-

mained in the dark. I used to read

newspapers, or at least surf the

web, but in those days, my work-

load prevented me from anything

more than a cursory glance at

world events. My later mental state

was certainly a product of those

days, before my students began to

fall asleep as well. But thats jump-

ing ahead, so in order to avoid get-

ting ahead of myself, allow me tobacktrack once more.

The world outside of Badger,

frantically hurrying to combat the

disease, created teams to ght it.

Most were focused on merely re-

versing the effects, the damage.

They all failed; for all intents and

purposes, the sleepers were veg-

etables. Some of the more reason-

able teams looked at vaccination,

hoping to save those who hadn't

contracted the disease yet. Still,

those attempts usually only ended

in more sleeping test subjects. For

the sleeping beauties of the world,

there was no prince forthcoming.

Then, about ve months after

the outbreak was really noticed, a

team working on stimulants cameacross a formula that could pre-

vent the user from falling asleep.

Not only with regards to the eternal

sleep, but any kind of sleep. After

some renement, they perfected

it to mitigate the fatigue from stay-

ing awake. Simulated sleep, in pill

form. Countries around the world

declared it a godsend. They began

to mass produce it as soon as they

could. Everyone had the chance

to have it, and everybody used it.

They called it Red Eye.

In Badger, we didn't think we

would ever need the drug; the

town was the sort that eschewedunnecessary things, enjoyed sleep,

and hated change... and besides,

no sleepers had appeared yet.

Not until Danny Kirkland, a fth

grader, went, and others started

falling in heaps. The mood of the

town changed overnight. Everyone

stopped sleeping. The hospitals

set up life support for the sleep-

ers, and everyone pitched in to

keep them alive and comfortable.

At the time, hopes were still high

for an absolute cure. We were the

losing team, sure, but a comeback

was never off our minds. This isn't

exactly a new story, is it? It's what

happened, but seemed to follow

all of the conventions of disease-

based apocalypse. Which is tosay, more people fell asleep than

replaced them. We were losing al-

right.

It was, at this time, that the

commission organized to distrib-

ute the drug, the Consciousness

Preservation Commission, came

to town. They were largely funded

off of taxes, but also took dona-

tions from those who felt obliged

to give. They came to my door,

asking if I had anything to help

the sleepers. I gave them ten dol-

lars the rst time. The second time

I waved them off. The third time I

didn't even open the door, and

they stopped coming after that.

Epiphanies don't always hap-

pen all at once. They can comegradually. Not sleeping gives a

special kind of epiphany, where

one begins to mix dreams and re-

ality, until one is both awake and

asleep, all the time. While Red Eye

mitigated some of the fatigue one

gets without sleep, it couldn't en-

tirely replace it, so everyone who

hadn't fallen asleep was still always

tired, always distracted. Memories

became more difcult to hold onto.

Thoughts mixed and jumped un-

predictably. Still, people managed.

They held on.

And here's the thing about

epiphanies, man, they aren't all

that satisfying. I mean, at rst, of

course, you get that rush, and you

know something new, somethingthat nobody else knows, and you

get psyched. But it's like recogniz-

ing a big name actor in some lm

nobody knew they were in- know-

ing the actor isn't all that notable.

Nobody cares. You know it, but

it doesn't make you a part of the

movie. You're still just watching.

You aren't a part of that incestuous

circle of lmographic caricatures.

And you can choose to interrupt

the movie and annoy your fellow

viewers by pointing out the trivia,

or just shut up and carry that baby

to your grave. Epiphanies are noth-

ing. And everybody was hurting,

and feeling good about surviving,

and feeling better about having

those half-baked epiphanies, andnone of it was remotely satisfying

in the end, after the thrill was gone.

So the way it went, I taught my

class as the number of students

dwindled. I need not describe ev-

ery face as they passed out, some-

times individually, sometimes en

masse, but always towards the

same end goal. Children are of-

ten, if not always, less disciplined

than adults, and it was easy to

miss a dose of Red Eye. Some-

times they fell asleep in class, and

it was never so tragic as when you

knew they would never wake up.

I took my daily dose, but stayingawake did not keep me employed.

Two months after Red Eye was re-

leased, school was canceled. The

kids were all snoozing. We would

have no new researchers, at least

from Badger. And I would have no

more money after my savings ran

out.

Despite being thrifty with what

I had, nitude balks in the face of

decline. I had to nd a way to get

more money, but nobody was hir-

ing, especially in a place as small

as Badger. I offered my services to

every place in town. I even went

as far as Galena, and passed over

the state border to Carl Junction,

but the story was the same, and

I only ended up with a little lessgasoline. Eventually I stopped go-

ing anywhere, and the rest of the

world stopped coming to Badger.

Except for the CPC. I invested in

some seeds to see if I could grow

my own food. I terminated my elec-

tricity, canceled my newspaper. I

had no news, except what I could

bum off of others. Sustainabil-

ity seemed within reach. Except, I

needed Red Eye, like everybody,

and it cost fty dollars for a fteen

pill box. That was enough to make

it just over a week, while playing it

safe. For someone my weight, two

a day was safe. One day, feel-

ing especially apathetic about my

prospects, I only took one. I stayed

awake, though the fatigue wasworse. So I started doing that.

But even that couldn't last for-

ever. Until the plants grew, I would

have to continue buying food. I got

the cheapest stuff I could nd, and

used an old wood stove to cook it.

Rice and beans, mostly, with oc-

casional greens and citrus fruits to

avoid malnourishment. I couldn't

hunt, and was too much of an ani-

mal sympathizer to consider it seri-

ously. It was bare bones. I was hav-

ing hourly epiphanies, and decided

in that common form of cowardice

to keep them to myself. Some of

them appear in my journal, some

have never left my mind.

You see where this is go-

ing. Eventually, I had forty dollarsand no remaining Red Eye. I had

few options left. And I could have

sworn I had been seeing things at

this time, when I chose to write,

because I saw exactly what was

going to happen to me for the rest

of the day following and where I

would end up. I do not know if I

can prove its reality, at least, not

here, but it was a true premonition.

Like all epiphanies, it lls me with

wonder, and then dull dread. But

in the off chance it was not merely

a fever dream caused by my de-

bilitated mental state, a record of

having known it before it occurred

is contained in the following.

Rumor had it that the old dance

hall, a little out of town and by nowlong abandoned, had been repur-

posed for gambling. Initially, it had

just been gambling for cash, but as

I found it, it had grown into some-

thing of a casino for the miracle

drug. I, out of Red Eye, was in-

vited by a sanitation worker I was

acquaintances with to come by for

a chance to retain consciousness.

I agreed to visit the casino,

which had been created under the

table by what I had described to

me as powerful men. I went out

equal parts desperation and resig-

nation. I wasn't sure why of all peo-

ple a sanitation worker was help-ing me; I hadn't showered in days.

The guy came by to get me while

the sun was setting, and we set

off for the dance hall. We reached

the door, guarded by a stocky man

I recognized as the gas station

clerk. He let me in, while the sani-

tation worker stayed outside. I was

brought to a table with six chairs,

each with two Red Eye pills placed

on a plate. Two men and a woman

were already seated.

Entrance fee is thirty, I was

told from behind a curtain, and I of-

fered the requisite price. It was tak-

en roughly, and a chair was pulled

out for me. In the next hour two

more people, a man and a woman,

came through the door, each tak-ing a place at the table.

Each of these pills are full Red

Eye doses, and you are to take

them now. Nobody had even

touched the pills yet, but now

that permission was given, every-

one took them hungrily, including

myself. After consuming the pills,

the clerk from outside handcuffed

each of us to our chairs. Our narra-

tor continued.

You may recognize me as the

mayor of Badger, and I thank you

for coming tonight. Desperate

times call for desperate measures,

and when there is not enough to

feed everyone, individuals must

be sacriced for the greater good.

This rst dose places you all on aneven playing eld. Of the money

collected from all

The Oredigger Issue 5 Sept. 30, 2013

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Transcript of The Oredigger Issue 5 Sept. 30, 2013