The gateway to all the embodied knowledge of humankind It has been said that Google is the gateway to all the embodied knowledge and history of the human species. Ever! If one delves into the inner workings of Google one finds an amazingly complex and powerful beast, but a beast who’s power can be harnessed [...]
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Common Ground
Geology is in essence an observational science. There is a limit to the amount of geological experimentation that can be carried out when one is dealing with Planet Earth. So geology is advanced through observation. Take for instance the geologist’s role in mapping out a potential ore body. Often weeks, if not months, are spent [...]
Italian Spaghetti, Swiss Chocolate and Galvanised Wire Mesh
It has been a hectic ten days what with lugging a bag between Milan and Zurich (or Romanshorn to be more precise). Firstly let me apologise if you have tried to get hold of me over the last ten days or so – being in the northern hemisphere is not conducive to communication although I [...]
Italian Spaghetti, Swiss Chocolate and Wire Mess
It has been a hectic ten days what with lugging a bag between Milan and Zurich (or Romanshorn to be more precise). Firstly let me apologise if you have tried to get hold of me over the last ten days or so – being in the northern hemisphere is not conducive to communication although I [...]
An Expansive Tale
It is often the small things in life which turn out to be important. And they are often overlooked. Take for instance heaving soils. The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that a quarter of all homes in the United States have some damage caused by expansive soils and in a typical year they cause [...]
On the Slippery Slope
I have just had the pleasure of calculating the stability of pit sidewalls for a coal mine in Mpumalanga. The excavations are in excess of 20 metres deep in a number of instances and the mine wanted to if they could reduce the number of benches cut in the sidewalls without comprising safety. As you [...]
Life on the Slippery Slope
I have just had the pleasure of assessing the stability of the sidewalls of an open cast coal mine in Mpumalanga. The excavations are in excess of 20 metres deep in a number of instances and the mine wanted to whether they could reduce the number of benches cut in the sidewalls without comprising safety. [...]