Geologists....What are they good for??

[Elliott]

I'm doing an appraisal on a oceanfront lot in a geological
hazard zone....you think we use weasle words....this is
how the geologist gets out of saying yeah or nea
(Its a requirement that the geologist approve if the
lot should be allowed as a residential site)

"Risks from unusual geologic events such as earhtquakes,
tsunamis, and the confluence of 100-year storms with maximum tide are, because of their low probabilities, difficult to accurately quantify. The geologic community cannot accurately predict when events will occur and can only estimate their frequency of occurence and their likely magnitude. Prospective property owners must assume responsibility for determing what level of risk they are willing to tolerate."

I guess they did their job.

elliott

 

[Frederick R. Ruffell]

At least the guy is being honest.

 

[Joe Birrell (NY)]

Sounds good to me.

I once asked my geo professor "what happens to geologist who work for oil companies, and millions of dollars later their drilling results in nothing more than a dry hole ?" His response - "they become professors".

 

[Ben Vukicevich SRA]

What are they good for???? This is great appraisal stuff.

"Prospective property owners must assume responsibility for determining what level of risk they are willing to tolerate."

I'm stealing that phrase for the 2055 and 2065 exterior only forms- because it's "difficult to accurately quantify" just what I'm appraising.
:lol: :lol:

I love those geologists-concise wording to put to good use.

Ben

 

[Anonymous]

QUICK, MY TICKER MEDICINE, MA!

Gee you know how to hurt a guy! Actually, when the oil patch died I tried to get a job at McDonalds, but all their geologists had master's degrees, so I became an appraiser.

Guess he's dishing out a little bit of the medicine we took as geologists trying to get a prospect drilled. First, you had to have an archeaologist, most whom didn't know a lightning strike from an ancient campfire. Then the biologists had to hunt for spotted owls. The botanists looked for rare flower species. By this time it gave the local Sierra Club time to find some spotted owl feathers and a few old arrowheads to plant on the site and really muddy the waters. (actually the arrowhead trick has been done, one oil company sent for a smarter archeaologist and found out the arrowheads were from Texas, but the site was in Wyoming.)

Being cautious is a geologists trait. This story is oil field old. An engineer tried to pin a geologist down for a firm opinion, and couldn't. Finally, he pointed to a cow in the pasture next to the drill rig and said, "What color is that cow?" The geologist replied, "black, on this side."

One geological note. I saw an environmental report that said it was impossible for earthquake damage in Northwest Arkansas because we were so far from the probable epicenter of the New Madrid fault 300 mi. away. But I have a risk map indicating the N. M. Fault quake equal to the 1812 ones would do serious damage in NW Arkansas and even into Kansas & Okla......During the 1812 New Madrid fault, chimneys fell in KY and church bells rang in VA, MA, and GA. Do not discount earthquake damage to masonry structures anywhere in the USA. Never. No matter how unlikely it may appear.

ter, Registered Professional Geologist # 25 Arkansas

 

[David C. Johnson]

<span style='color:darkblue'>Terrel:

My best friend (bass player in my high school band, boy scouts, drinking buddy for 25 years, etc.) is a longtime career GeoTech with the State of North Carolina (man, did they ask for trouble). I was best man at his wedding several years ago -- deep inside a damn cave somewhere in Kentucky (or W. Virginia or somewhere -- they tell me I had a real good time...). His wife was an NC Geologist with the D.O.T. too (but is now a free enterprise geologist consultant).

Ever see that half bald red-headed Irish School Janitor on the Simpsons? That character was patterned after this guy -- Absolutely to a Tee. He's only about 5' 10" but once lifted and held wise guy know-it-all ex-Navy Seal, new to his road crew, off the ground by the collar and the neck -- up against a hotel wall 'til tears came out of his eyes. He had repeatedly challenged his assigned task that morning (something to do with mounting the drill bit, I think) and had been a royal pain in the backend all that week out of town.

The office boss learned quick to give John the black sheep crew, but I hear they're the most loyal roughnecks in the department and have always turned out better site work than the rest.

As to Elliott's question,

If asked what all that CYA double-talk meant that Elliot should do:

"Risks from unusual geologic events such as earthquakes,
tsunamis, and the confluence of 100-year storms, blaa, blaa, blaa..."

I'm sure John would wink and say something like:

"Just what I just said ! -- Double up the foundation and Build the =====!!"

dcj</span>

 

[David C. Johnson]

<span style='color:darkblue'>Terrel & Others:

I spoke with my friend on the phone several days ago, and mentioned that I had made the preceding post (whereby I strategically left out the "half-bald Irishman" part -- hey, like I said, no need to ask for trouble). He said he liked the publicity and stuff, but actually the part about the guy being an ex-Navy Seal was wrong; it turned out to be an embellishment by the office secretary.

I asked if it was possible it might have been an embellishment by him and Budweiser instead? He said something like: "Hey! Now that's idea -- be right back!" Pop.

Kinda felt bad about slandering US Navy Seals, so I decided to make this follow-up post.

By the way, the cave was in northern Virginia, and called Luray Caverns.

Regards,

David C. Johnson</span>

 

[Ross (CO)]

Those who fail to remember (geologic) history are doomed to repeat it ..... or something to that effect. I am a rock doctor, one who put in his 11 years in the field and in the office, looking at rocks and their surface features, then probing and postulating how they continued at depth. Setting of dynamite in remote locations, hearing Spanish, hearing Arabic, meeting Eskimos. Drinking with Scots and Aussies. ( If you ever want to get in a ****-up and then a bar fight ... you want Scots and Aussies on your side, they are good blokes ) Some of my best friends were geologists and if our domestic oil industry had not soured in the mid-80's I'd still be searching for oil and gas. But I got squeezed out by market pricing and left that wonderful profession. Continually mystified by crystals and minerals and heading into the hills west of the city to seek that next motherlode does still occupy a few summer weekends. I drive around and always ponder what it would have been like to be at this spot 30 million years ago when ocean waves lapped up against deltaic advances --- now being of course 7,000 above sea level. Or, standing on top Pikes Peak on granite that is 900 million to 1.2 billion years in crystallized age, you know, give or take a few hundred million years. Many do not know the anguish of understanding these processes and seeing the records of many other processes that happened then, and are happening yet today somewhere else at the surface or at depth. Some folks pull their car over to take pictures or take a hike or take a leak.....I stop the car where the advantages are to look at rocks. Oh the joy and the pleasure. How wierd I must be, but know that I can not help it, for it is in my blood. ......Now, as this relates to appraising. I often wonder why someone builds, or buys, so near the edge of a precipice where unconsolidated sediments of young age fall easy prey to the winds and water and the simple force of gravity ! Why does someone want to live so close to the river that has overflowed its banks before, or the beach where hurricanes have scoured and mass-wasted the sands countless times ? People do know the risks and yet they tempt fate, once again. They takes their chances....and the insurance companies know that too. Thats why the premiums are high and some do not even wriet thet sort of coverage ! The geologist mentioned in Elliott's post was just providing a little heads-up to those who do not want to accept what the tea leaves and sand grains have written.

 

[Dee Dee]

Ross,
Were you a School of Mines grad? I've got a bizarre rock I found on my property that I'm going to haul down there to let the students/professors check out.
It's about 50lbs....can't decide what the heck it is. Perhaps fossilized bone or part of a tree, embedded in granite, it's unlike anything else I've seen in the area. I could e-mail you a pic if you'd like to make any guesses.

 

[Ross (CO)]

Dee Dee, No, not School of Mines. I learned my rocks in the "hard rock" country of New England .... then got shipped to the remote outpost of Pecos, Texas and got my start in awl and gaas there. You know, rattle snakes and dust and Friday night high school football under the lights ! So, you got some 50# rock with uncertain identity ? I say, you bring it down to the Springs to our next association meeting in mid-July. Mark your calendar for the 2nd or 3rd Wed. from about 5:30pm to about 8 or 9. Bring that chunk of "stuff" you got. P.S. --not likely is it a tree remnant "imbedded" in granite. The formation of granite and presence of trees, living or dead, are not similar environments, but I always enjoy listening to folks express their ponderings about earthly things. We'll "develop an opinion" about what that stuff is.....maybe it has market value !