There was little activity last night.

I spoke with the Manager and she knows the adult relative of the culprits. She let her know that she is responsible for her guests and relatives whether they live there or not, and that she could lose her housing if she continues to allow them to run free without supervision. We have far too many parents these days who are afraid to parent. They are more interested in being friends than parents.

Now we wait and see how well the message was received.

I took some photos of some rocks I have lying around through the AmScope stereoscope.

By popular* demand** I am posting them here and have started a new album for them.

*popular = @Emma1017 is popular
** demand = She suggested nicely

A few gold nuggets magnified. These pics are posted on my website in my Gold Gallery album:






Compare to what Pyrite Crystals look like:


The Moonstone piece I recently polished has a nice hidden feature:

at 20x magnification


Zoomed in to 40x magnification:


Zoomed in at 120x magnification:


This is a piece of Fuchsite, also known as Chromium Mica. It has blue, green, and clear crystals with silvery chrome mica. The tiny red specks are rubies embedded in the stone.


While gold panning, I found a couple of pieces of raw platinum.


I didn't know if it was silver or platinum. Silver has a hardness of 3 on the Mohs scale, which means you can scratch it with a copper penny. Platinum is harder at 4.5 - 5 so a penny won't scratch it, but a piece of glass or a knife blade will. It didn't scratch, it fractured instead into a bunch of tiny fragments.


And finally a piece of Tree Agate. Tree Agate is not a true agate because it is not clear like Moss Agate. Tree Agate is usually white but has the same dendrites that give it the look of branches, ferns, or moss inside. The green dendrites are caused by a mixture of iron oxide and manganese oxide that give it a green color.


Some stones look better as they are and magnification does not reveal anything spectacular. I have several specimens of large Calcite clusters that are really cool. But magnified you only see one or two crystals, so it is rather unimpressive. I have those listed on my Etsy store with closeups of the crystal pockets. If you want to see those, they are at loridee605(dot)etsy(dot)com Since those were not photographed with the stereoscope they are not included here.

If I find more to add to the album, I'll post a link to those.
This concludes this morning's rock porn. Thank you.

@Lori Dee
Dear Lori:
Fantastic photos.
The magnification reveals much hidden beauty.
Thank you for sharing and posting.
Please keep your updates coming.
Hugs,
Danielle

Lori the photos are beautiful.  Thank for posting them...way cool!

Far more interesting than the boring granite from the hills (extinct volcanos ) that we have here, more interesting is the fossils found in the sand and gravel beds formed when it used to be a shallow sea.

@davina61

We have that here too. The entire Badlands was once oceanfront property. As the Black Hills rose, the area became dry, but there were lots of fossils of sea creatures left behind. Next, the dinosaurs moved in. The Badlands is famous for T-Rex skeletons. If you can find it, watch the movie Dinosaur 13. It is about a local team of paleontologists who uncovered the largest most complete T-Rex ever found. Nicknamed "Sue" after the woman who discovered her, she now resides at the Denver Museum of Natural History after a very lengthy court battle with the government. Locals here fought the government tooth-and-nail to keep her here but eventually lost the battle.

We have to be careful about collecting fossils here. Federal Regulations prohibit it on Federal land without a special permit. Those permits are only given to credentialed paleontologists. So most rockhounds just claim it was found on private property to avoid any issues.

I still maintain the Moonstone is the most beautiful thing... ever. It's like a rainbow trapped in ice.

Quote from: Sephirah on August 02, 2024, 02:55:05 PMI still maintain the Moonstone is the most beautiful thing... ever. It's like a rainbow trapped in ice.

I found a supplier and they market it as "Rainbow Moonstone".
You called it. Right on the money.

Quote from: Lori Dee on August 02, 2024, 01:12:57 PMWe have to be careful about collecting fossils here. Federal Regulations prohibit it on Federal land without a special permit. Those permits are only given to credentialed paleontologists. So most rockhounds just claim it was found on private property to avoid any issues.

Because if dudes in suits can find a way to own petrified dinosaur bones, you can bet your bottom dollar they'll try to. I just have to shake my head at this. It's just dumb. "If you're not Sam Neill you're not getting in" is just silly.

I hope no property is stolen or damaged in your area Lori.

Catalytic converters and electric vehicle charging station wires are ripped off a lot nowadays.

Chrissy

Since my neighbor's car was stolen (she got it back), we have had 8 burglaries. People are breaking into cars and ransacking them taking anything of value: pocket change, GPS, clothing. Management put a warning in our newsletter and the Resident Council is warning people about locking up and not leaving valuables. With a couple of us walking the lot at night, hopefully, we can put an end to this.

I am not confident it will happen until arrests are made. And those are not in the immediate forecast. So we patrol and take care of our own.

WE had a spate of thinks like that, turns out drug users financing their habit.

Lori, 


Can you move to a safer area?  If you want to, that is.


Chrissy

Quote from: ChrissyRyan on August 03, 2024, 11:47:51 AMLori, 

Can you move to a safer area?  If you want to, that is.

Chrissy

I have considered it. Financially, I cannot yet. I renewed my lease on my apartment so I am stuck here until August 2025. The biggest issue is cost. I am in one of the lowest cost of living states with no state income tax, and sales tax is only 4%. Places that are more LGBTQ-friendly are very expensive.

Last year, I was trying to decide what I wanted to do. I tried to buy an RV that I would live in full-time. I could winter down near the CA/AZ border where I can rent a campsite for 7 months for $189 total. Then as the desert warms up, I could slowly work my way north and spend the summer here. That way, I could prospect year-round, and if any location becomes hostile I can just turn the key and leave. No worries about breaking leases or transferring utilities. Just go somewhere else.

Then parking becomes an issue. Here, an RV parking space (overnight) can cost more than a hotel room. In the summer during terrorist tourist season, everything is expensive. And I don't want to have to drive an RV to appointments and grocery shopping. An option is to get a truck and pull a trailer. I can drop the trailer at a campsite, and drive the truck to run errands.

I am looking at various options. Right now, none of them are affordable. I would prefer to spend money on my transition instead. If my VA Claims evaluation swings my way, I will be able to afford both. I still won't know the decision until Oct-Nov timeframe and with time still on my lease, I have plenty of time to make plans.

(PS: if I get an RV, it WILL have a machine gun nest and sniper's perch... just in case of a zombie apocalypse). 

I am lucky to have a garage to store my little chick car!
It is a tight fit when I have the lawnmower on one side and the storage cabinets on the other side.
The average car thief may have trouble getting inside my car when it is parked safely in the garage!

I've been studying the advantages of my bow and arrow for defense. It is relatively silent and doesn't create a tell tale flash in the dark. Home field advantage.  Did you know that Major League baseball parks aren't standardized?

Quote from: Maid Marion on August 03, 2024, 01:50:52 PMI've been studying the advantages of my bow and arrow for defense. It is relatively silent and doesn't create a tell tale flash in the dark. Home field advantage. 

That's why mine are air rifles. No flash. My scope is optical, with no lasers. My "sniper rifle" is a Benjamin Prowler. I like how the silencer is incorporated right into the barrel. At .22 gauge it is more powerful than a BB gun. At long range, it is hardly lethal, but it will leave a mark and lots of pain.

I have no plans to use it against a person. I don't carry it when I am walking the lot. I wear my Daily Carry for that. The rifle's purpose is when I am upstairs, see something and cannot get downstairs in time to prevent a crime. Then it comes in handy as an AT&T Tool.

Remember the old AT&T commercials? "Reach out and touch someone." Yup. That it will do.

Just be careful and wise.  Lots of places are expensive.

It would be good to be in a safe neighborhood.

Chrissy

Make this a thing.

@Lori Dee
Here is the car to get that will not get stolen....  HUGS, Danielle

      https://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/chameleon-xle/2859849

Sephirah and Danielle are both great ideas. They had me laughing.

Similar to the "Chameleon," I encountered something in Illinois. I was still in training for residential security system installation. We had a job on the West side of Rockford, in a very "not nice" neighborhood. We arrived at the house. Junk car in the front yard where grass didn't dare try to grow. The front windows were covered in plywood and the house needed paint.

When we went inside, it was night and day, just like that car. Some of the nicest furniture I have ever seen. The place was decorated like something you would see in magazines. Nice paintings on the wall, everything was very tastefully done. Even the carpet looked brand new.

After the installation was done and we were heading home, I commented that they should do some work on the outside of the building so the neighborhood would look nicer. But all the other houses looked similar. My Lead Technician said they do it to keep property taxes low. Since the entire neighborhood looks the same, home values in that area are as low as they can go... thus they pay the lowest taxes in the city.

I don't have anything fancy because I live within my means. Much of my furniture was given to me but is in good condition. I'll be buying a new (used) vehicle this Fall and probably a new recliner. I replace things as needed and when I can afford them.