the oredigger issue 12 - november 25, 2013
TRANSCRIPT
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T H E O R E D I G G E RVolume 94, Issue 12 November 25, 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 7
Opinion 8
Features 4
News 2
Mathematicians
study the brains
functions.
Stars Above
Mines refocuseson Earth.
Minds at Mines
asks about
snow.
Mens
basketball is
victorious.
Jessica Deters
Staff Writer
Why do employers look favor-
ably on candidates with experi-
ence in engineering service? Why
does participating in Engineers
Without Borders or minoring in
Humanitarian Engineering make for
a strong resume? Greg Rulifson, a
Ph.D. student at the University of
Colorado-Boulder, is not only ask-
ing these questions, he is nding
tangible and logical
answers.
I do not know
anyone else, be-
sides Greg, who
i s i m p l e m e n t -
ing a systematic
methodology and
framework to un-
derstand some-
thing that to many
of us sounds trivial,
but we dont know
why its tr ivial,
Juan Lucena, professor and direc-
tor of Humanitarian Engineering at
Mines, said. Why do we join EWB
or why do we do humanitarian en-
gineering? Why would employers
even care or attribute value to a
minor in humanitarian engineer-
ing or a membership in Engineers
Without Borders? There are a lot
of answers as to why employers
Humanitarian engineering askswhy service benefts CSM students
Mines prepares to transition from autumn to winter. This week, many students will journey home to celebrate
Thanksgiving. After Thanksgiving, only Dead Week and Finals remain before students leave for Winter Break.
KATERINA GONZALES / OREDIGGER
attribute value to things like being
a member of EWB or being in the
HE minor, and, as far as, I know
Greg is the only one asking these
questions in a systematic way.
Rulifson, who is studying the in-
uence of learning through service
activities such as Engineers With-
out Borders on hiring decisions,
closed out the Humanitarian Engi-
neering Lecture Series for the fall
semester. Prior to enrolling in the
Ph.D. program at CU Boulder, Ru-
lifson earned his Bachelors Degree
in Civil Engineer-
ing with a minor in
Global Poverty and
Practice at the Uni-
versity of Califor-
nia, Berkeley and
worked on a tsu-
nami relief mitiga-
tion project to earn
a Masters Degree
at Stanford.
Rul i fson of-
fered insight into
the importance of
engineering service and how tobest market such experience to
employers. Throughout Rulifsons
research, he has interviewed a
dozen employers in civil, envi-
ronmental, and mechanical engi-
neering elds. Employers shared
their views on the importance of
engineering service and how such
service plays into hiring decisions.
You learn ten times as much
from a practical experience than a
theoretical. You might have a leg
up because you have (practical)
experiences, one employer told
Rulifson. Entry level students that
have that experience are about a
year ahead than what we would
see out of a regular program.
Rulifsons interviews allow
him to quan-
tify which skills
l ea r n ed v i a
en g in ee r i n g
serv ice pro j-
ects make ap-
plicants who
participate in
such service
projects more
appealing to
employers.
According to Rulifson, Employ-
ers want technical and professional
skills, practical skills, a holistic
understanding of engineering, pas-
sion, leadership, and international
experience. Working on engineer-
ing service projects allows for thedevelopment of all of these skills.
Engineering service is very
valuable, Rulifson said. Nobody
spoke to me (and said) its not
really that big of a deal actually. A
very key differentiator (in hiring) is
extracurricular activities that are
related to engineering.
It does not get you in the door,
but it helps, one corporate inter-
viewee told Rulifson of engineering
service experience. It absolutely
differentiates you once you meet
the minimum qualications.
Participating in Engineers
Without Borders and minoring in
Humanitarian Engineering will not
guarantee a job.
Rulifson reminded students
that they must still
have the minimum
qualifications and
must retain their
engineering knowl-
edge learned in
academia.
Youre not go-
ing to get away with
ditching all of your
schoolwork and
having (engineering
service) take over your life, Rulif-
son said. Youve got to balance
those things.
Engineering service does make
a difference when it comes hir-
ing time according to Rulifsons
research. Companies do findservice valuable and engineering
service in particular. So however
you feel like youve been most im-
pacted by the engineering service
that youve done and the more
effectively you can speak towards
it, then the better chances youll
have of having them know what
you bring to the table.
You learn ten times
as much from a practi-
cal experience than a
theoretical. You might
have a leg up because
you have (practical)
experiences.
Engineer ing service is
very valuable...A very key
diferentiator (in hiring)
is extracurricular activi-
ties that are related to
engineering.
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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 car crashed into the rstoor of an apartment buildingaround 3am at 872 Park AvenueWest. At least one person in-volved was taken to the hospitalwith serious injuries. The extentof the damage to the buildingis unknown at this time and thecrash in under investigation.
Federal agents raided severalmarijuana businesses this pastweek. The businesses may havea possible connection to Colom-bian drug cartels. The agentsbelieved that the businesseswere all one big operation.
Two men died in a tractor-
trailer crash in Trinidad Thurs-
day morning. The driver did notnegotiate a curve. This led tohim losing control of the truck.Neither of the men was wearingseat belts. The accident is stillunder investigation.
Paul Nohan died after fall-ing from the Narrows on LongsPeak on August 15. The BoulderCounty Coroner has ruled thedeath an accident.
A ruptured pipeline near Can-on City spilled contaminated wa-ter. This pipeline came from theCotter Corp. uranium mill. Thecontamination did not leave he
property.
James Davis, Staff Writer
Bradley Wood, Staff Writer
MIT, Massachusets - Scientists at MIT have created the newstandard in waterproof. Their new super-hydrophobic coating is 40%more water resistant than previously thought possible. This revolution-ary new micro ridge design has been inspired by waterproof objects innature. The micro ridges added to the surface of objects reduces thesurface area of water in contact with the surface and allows it to roll offquickly. Objects coated with this repel water so quickly that even in su-percooled conditions water rolls off before freezing. This breakthroughwill lead to more waterproof fabrics and airplanes that ice up less easily.
Two men were arrested in
the Saudi Arabian capital of
Riyadh for offering free hugs.
After observing the free-hugmovements in other countries,Saudi citizen Bandr al-Swed wasinspired to start his own. He at-tempted to brighten peoples dayby offering strangers free hugs,believing that it could make thecountry a happier place. The reli-gious police stated that the prac-tice was exotic and offendingpublic order. After the arrest, thetwo men were obligated to sign a
pledge stating that they would notoffer free hugs again.
Eye witness reports conrm theight of an unmanned stealth
craft in China. Claims made stat-ed that the drone, dubbed SharpSword, made a 20 minute testight in Chengdu. Earlier in theyear, Chinese drones were pilotednear contested territory in the EastChina Sea, increasing tension inJapan. These reports have made itclear that China is ready to join thewestern world with regards toadvances in unmanned aerialvehicles.
New tests done on ameteorite, titled BlackBeauty for its black,
glossy appearance, hasbeen conrmed as oneof the oldest Martianmeteorites collected.
Original tests on therock aged it at about2 billion years, but newtests suggest that it maydate back further than4.4 billion years ago. Ac-cording to scientists, thisis during the Red Planets
infancy. Many igneous rock typescan be observed, suggesting thatearly Martian formation experi-enced much volcanic activity.
22-year-old Norwegian
chess prodigy Magnus Carlsen
beats former world champion
Viswanathan Anand. Carlsendominated the tournament com-petition, only needing a drawagainst the former world championto earn the title. Carlsen took homea hefty $2.24 million for his victory.
After two months in prison, veBritish Greenpeace members
were released with bail. The or-ganization was protesting Russianoffshore drilling in the Arctic. Themembers were separated whenprocessed in the prison system,each living with Russian inmates.
The activists originally faced charg-es of piracy, but this was reducedto hooliganism.
Scientists in Spain have re-ceived funding to make anotherattempt at cloning the bucar-
do. The bucardo, also known asthe Pyrenean ibex, is a species ofmountain goat that went extinct inthe year 2000. Prior to its extinc-tion, tissue samples were collectedand frozen in liquid nitrogen. Theexperiments will study the viabilityof tissue samples after extendedfreezing. Lead scientist Dr. Alberto
Fernandez-Arias stated that thisis not an attempt to bring backan extinct species; it is just a teston cloning techniques. The clonedcells will be articially implanted infemale goats to test this.
NASA, Florida- NASAs Maven mis-sion launched this week with a nal desti-nation of Mars. The probe launched fromCape Canaveral Air Base on an Atlas
V rocket. The goal of this mission is to
orbit Mars to study its atmosphere andlearn if water ever could have existed onthe Mars surface. The probe has a tenmonth ight to the red planet with manymaneuvers along the way but if all goesaccording to schedule the probe shouldbe orbiting Mars on September 22, 2014.
Milton, Oxfordshire, UK- Genetically modied insects can be usedto combat themselves. A company called Oxitec has developed a genethat they breed into male insects that causes young female insects to
die as they develop. It is in use in Brazil to combat mosquito populations,in an effort to prevent the spread of deadly diseases. In Europe they arehoping to use this gene in olive ies to reduce the loss of olive crops.
Earth- The recent death of a star about 2,500 light years from earth isnow believed to be the brightest in recorded history. During the collapse,the star emitted large amounts of radiation into the universe. Scientistssay that had the star been within 1000 light years of Earth that life onEarth could have been adversely affected. Scientists also predict that astar will only implode that close to earth once every 500 million years.
CorrectionThe Oredigger misattrib-
uted the Geek of the Weekarticle in the November 18thissue. Jordan Francis was theauthor, not Katerina Gonzales.The Oredigger apologizes forthe error.
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Chris Robbins
Staff Writer
As one might imagine, theworkings of the human brain arean extremely complex subject,and while a great deal has beendiscovered in this eld over theyears, there is still much morethat remains a mystery. As partof her current research, Profes-sor Anca Rad-ulescu of the
Applied Mathdepartment atCU-Boulder ispart of an ex-ploratory studyon the brainsnetwork- l i keorgan iza t ionand interac-
tions withinthat network.
At this se-mesters nal AMS departmentcolloquium, she provided somebrief insight into this research inher presentation, Network Cou-pling, Dynamics and EmotionalResponses.
What Radulescu and her col-leagues were hoping to determinefrom this study was whether ornot a persons emotional imbal-ances were due to the circuitry intheir prefrontal lobe, particularlythe underperformance of regula-tory modules within the prefron-tal cortex. To test this hypoth-
Brain network structureunsurprisingly complex
esis, human subjects with varyingemotional responses (from noconditions to documented
schizophrenics) were exposed todifferent visual stimuli and empiri-cal data collected was of a timeseries via non-invasive imagingtechniques such as fMRI. Whilesubjects were exposed to thestimuli, these imaging techniquesmonitored and recorded signals
sent across cer-tain areas of thebrain. These re-cordings werethen converted tousable data andsorted by whetherthe signals werepurely randomwhite noiseversus pink-or
brown-colorednoise (emissionsthat seem to
have a preferred temporal scale)through the use of the signalsFourier spectra.
Upon analyzing the data andsorting the data into catego-ries by subject (low response tostimuli, high response to stimuli,low anxiety over stimuli, and highanxiety over stimuli), the resultswere rather interesting. Due tothe highest levels of noise be-ing transmitted to the amygdala,or excitatory, arousal nodes, thehigh response group also hadamong the highest releases from
the BA45 (Brodmann area 45,an inhibitory/extinction modulefound in the frontal cortex), which
was to be expected. However,the high anxiety class receivedthe smallest levels of noise to theamygdala in the study, yet alsoreceived the absolute highest lev-els of release from the BA45. Itwould make sense that the high-est levels of inhibitors combinedwith the lowest levels of exciterswould result in very low respon-siveness rather than high anxiety,but as the data suggests it is ac-tually the opposite.
Trying to make sense of this,Radulescu proposed a basic the-ory that high anxiety levels resultfrom weakened inhibitory devicesin the prefrontal lobe, makingeven the slightest noise within the
system difcult to extinguish. Us-ing the data as a starting point,Radulescu has developed a sim-ple model of the situation, and,at this point, it does a decent jobof mapping out the basic work-ings of this system. However, sheadmits that the model is still veryrough and in need of some edit-ing and that, for the time being,this basic understanding of thesituation will have to do. As partof her future research, she planson working out the issues withthe model and hopes to produceand even more accurate descrip-tion of the brains networkingstructure.
Radulescu and her col-
leagues were hoping to
determine...whether or
not a persons emotional
imbalances were due to
the circuitry in their pre-
frontal lobe.
Sarah Dewar
Staff Writer
Chris Van Allsburg wrote ThePolar Express in 1985. This chil-drens book has become a Christ-mas classic. Children and adultsalike all over the world have be-come enchanted with the story of alittle boy who awakes in the middleof the night to nd train outside hishouse, beckoning him to the NorthPole. The book itself has beautifulillustrations that incorporate thedarker shades that are associatedwith winter - rich reds, deep greys,thick greens. Each page draws thereader further and further into thestory, building anticipation, just asif he was going on the same jour-ney to the mystical North Pole aswell. Like most childrens books,the physical size of the book islarge and lends to an encompass-ing experience when ipping eachwide page.
The 2004 adaptation for screenbrought this wonderful story tolife in a fresh visual way. Execu-tive producer Tom Hanks led themovie both starring and narrat-ing the story. Chris Van Allsburgwas included as another execu-tive producer, which ensured theauthenticity and unique nature ofthe book being adapted into lm.The Polar Express has denitelybecome a must see, in addition toa must read, every Christmas sea-son. Accompanying the movie is astellar soundtrack, which includesthe astounding voice of Josh Gro-ban and the compositional genius
Polar Expressstill charming
Courtesy of Mines
Newsroom
The Maji Crew, sponsored byInternational Development Enter-prises (iDE), won the Trade FairChampionship Thursday, Nov. 21in George R. Brown Hall. Theirproject focuses on redesign-ing the value and filter for iDEsexisting pressure drip irrigationsystems to be more cost effec-tive and easier to use. Some oftheir design objectives includeirrigating a 1,000 square meterfield, providing a value to shut offwater and a filter that is easy toremove and clean.
Civil environmental engineer-
ing professor John McCray, se-nior research associate KathrynLowe and liberal arts and inter-national studies associate pro-fessor Juan Lucena are leadingsix students on the project withsupport from mechanical engi-neering professor Jered Dean.
Other winners include me-chanical engineering studentBrenda Shelly, who finishedfirst in the Broader Impacts Es-
Maji Crew winstrade fairCourtesy of Mines
Newsroom
An NSF RAPID proposal wasrecently awarded to ColoradoSchool of Mines researchers toinvestigate the potential impactson water quality in the Rim Firearea near Yosemite National Park.
The Rim Fire, the third largest
re in California history, was start-ed on Aug. 17, 2013, and burnedfor nearly 10 weeks destroying402 square miles of forest andwildlife habitat. It is the largestre in the recorded Sierra Nevadahistory and cost more than $127
Mines researchers earnNSF Yosemite grant
say Competition. The topic forthe essay assignment this yearwas to highlight specific ethi-cal responsibilities that weresignificant in a students projectdesign. Shelleys essay empha-sized environmental, economicand social impacts relative to thedevelopment of an autonomousunmanned aerial vehicle.
The full l ist o f the Maji Crew islisted below.
Maji Crew:
iDE (client): Ryan Weber andLeslie Light
Faculty Advisor: ProfessorJohn McCray
Technical /Social ContextConsultants: Ms. Kathryn Loweand Mr. Juan Lucena
Team Members : McLain Cow-an (Mechanical Engineering),Benjamin Fox (Civil Engineering),Michael Fremming (Civil Engi-neering), John Kuyt (Civil Engi-neering), Taryn Mantta (Environ-mental Engineering) and WhitneyWelch (Mechanical Engineering)
Brenda Shelley wins BroaderImpacts Essay Competition
million to ght -- $4.3 millionwill be used towards watershedtreatment to mitigate potentialdownstream impacts.
The research, led by MinesCivil and Environmental Engineer-ing Professor Terri S. Hogue alongwith her colleagues John Mc-Cray, Richard Luthy, and AlexisStichler, Chris Higgins, and Alicia
M. Kinoshita, will involve monitor-ing reservoir and regional streamsystem water quality as well asalterations in snow patterns andassociated spring runoff.
The Rim Fire threatened theOShaughnessy Dam and reser-
voir in the Hetch Hetchy Valley,which supplies water for the SanFrancisco Bay Area. It also has thepotential to impact the TuolumneRiver water system, which sup-plies water to San Francisco and29 other wholesale buyers in SanMateo, Santa Clara, and Alamedacounties.
RAPID proposals allow quick-
response research on naturalor anthropogenic disasters andsimilar unanticipated events.
The project is also supported byfunds from the NSF EngineeringResearch Center on Urban WaterInfrastructure.
COURTESY MINES NEWSROOM
CSM researchers recently received an NSF RAPID proposal to investigate the Rim Fires
effects on water quality in the Yosemite National Park region.
of Alan Silvestri.The overall message of The
Polar Express rings true for manyof us. It follows the experience of ayoung child. He believes in magicand in the existence of the NorthPole as more than just a symboliclocation. As he grows older, hecontinues to believe, even thoughhis friends and family are unableto share in his enthusiasm for themagic of Christmas. He keeps asmall bell, which he received fromSanta Claus during his trip to theNorth Pole, and he is able to hearthe bell ring throughout his entirelifetime. All of his friends and fam-ily slowly lose the ability to hearthe bell. Even as he grows old, theonce-young boy is able to hear thebell ring loud and clear.
This is an important message toall. Even when faced with the harshrealities of the world, where sciencedisproves magic, it is comfortingto fondly remember the time as achild, when the magic of Christmaswas experienced. Returning tothe feeling can be comforting andinspiring. The most creative andimaginative people in the world aresomehow able to maintain a closeconnection to childhood dreams- a sort of free spiritedness - thatis joyful and fun. Christmas is theperfect time to revisit childhooddreams and put ones current lifein perspective. Many dreamed thesame dreams as children, and it isimportant to keep those dreamsrelevant and to continue to pursuewhat those dreams have trans-formed into today.
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John Bristow
Staff Writer
Dear Fellow Astronomer,
It is not rare for me to get a
passing comment along the lines
of Wow, you are really into as-
tronomy. What sort of telescope did
you have as a kid? My answer of-
ten surprises people; in short I was
not into astronomy in my youth.
Sure, I thought black holes were
wicked awesome and I knew the
Earth went around the Sun, but I
had very little fascination with the
realm beyond our atmosphere. The
story I would like to tell is one part
thoughtful reection and a whole
helping of a basic plea.
When I started driving, I gained
the ability to see a world beyond
what my schedule had dictated be-
fore. No longer was I always home
by supper, and no longer was I
cooped up inside while the skies
did their dance. I knew of the moon,
I had seen it thousands of times,
but suddenly with my schedule
placed under my control, I started
seeing it more than ever. I found it to
be purely fascinating that one night
the moon would be high in the sky,
then a few nights later, at the same
time, it would just be on the horizon.
My world was not one of magic,but this observation astounded me
and inspired me to my core. After
a while, curiosity got the better of
The Stars Above Mines
COURTESY SITE07
Letter from the author
me and I began to borrow an old
World War I spotting scope from
my father so I could sit out and look
at the moon more closely. What I
saw astounded me even more than
I could have imagined; the areas
originally seen as gray smudges
were rimmed by spectacular moun-
tain ranges and sometimes craters
would stand out against the bright
surface. I was hooked. It would take
a few more years full of cold dark
nights to produce who I am today,
but every step has shown me more
than I could have ever imagined.
It would have been easy just
to get lost in the stars, living every
day with my head several hundred
kilometers up; fortunately every-
thing changed on one fateful night.
Just like children looking up at the
clouds and seeing shapes, I often
would look up at the stars and pic-
ture massive wisps of history pass-
ing above. Regardless of their ac-
tual existence, I would picture the
ancient gods battling, armies lead
on by hopes placed on a falling
star, and ancient stellar prophecies
abound. Then something went a bit
weird with my perception. I knew
space was a three-dimensional vol-
ume; but mentally, all of the stars
were about the same distance from
me; when suddenly, that shifted.
It started with a triangle of stars;
the dimmest star in the triad slid
away from me while the brightest
stayed near, and with that space
went from two-dimensional, to the
full on three. This would only be the
beginning, through the dizzying en-
counter with reality, I began to feel
more like a rock climber holding on
for dear life as the great void grew
deeper and deeper; it was exhila-
rating. It was at that moment, as I
gazed into the depths of space that
I became fully aware of the object
that was holding me close.
We live on a silent and forgiv-
ing mass of rock, clay, and metal.
Despite being such a small speck
in the whole of reality, the Earth is
something to be treasured. Regard-
less of theological or national views,
the Earth is an essential element of
being human. The species did not
start on Mars, nor Venus, or a moon
of Jupiter; while we will visit these
some day, we are all from Earth.
So here is my plea: appreciate
the whole of reality, from the Orion
Nebula to the shifting sands of the
Sahara. You are as much of a part
of the universe as any other star,
dust cloud, or tree. Beyond that,
never lose that drive to explore,
and if has already departed fro your
imagination, rekindle it. Every day
satellites and rovers send back ex-
citing news, unheard of species are
discovered, and the Earth slowly
churns below us. On top of all, may
the stars always shine bright in your
skies.
Jordan Francis
Staff Writer
Aquaman: The Trench: A new beginning
Aquaman is, without a doubt,
one of the most underrated super-
heroes of all time. He is part human,
part Atlantean royalty, telepathic,
able to withstand the pressures of
the ocean, super strong, extremely
resistant to physical damage, fast
on land and faster in the water, hassuper-hearing, and can command
almost any form of sea life. And if
all of that fails him, he is still fully ca-
pable of stabbing enemies with his
trident. In the hands of a competent,
well-versed writer, he is an engaging
superhero and a compelling charac-
ter, but due to a combination of prior
bad stories, poor use of the charac-
ter, and plenty of parody, Aquaman
has gotten a bad reputation as noth-
ing more than that guy who can talk
to sh. Interestingly though, during
the superhero relaunch of 2011s
The New 52, the creative team rec-
ognized Aquamans oundering rep-
utation. Rather than ghting the tide
of negative opinions surrounding the
character, they chose to incorporatethat into the story and highlight the
fact that no matter how much good
he does, Aquaman gets no respect
in his universe either. Aquaman:
The Trench dives headrst into the
DCnUs reimagining of Aquaman
and introduces both the characters
and the readers to the hero the world
always seems to forget.
The story is simple enough.
Aquaman, known to the few who
care enough to ask as Arthur Curry,
is in the process of establishing him-
self the city of Boston, trying to pro-
tect it even with the residents all but
laughing at him along the way. He
has arrived with his wife, Mera, an-
other denizen of the sea who stays
with him even when he decides that
he will not be starting a new life on
the surface instead of returning to
Atlantis as its king.
A short time afterAquaman starts
settling into his
new home, crea-
tures from the
ocean that look
like some strange
hybrid between
humans and
deep sea sh rise
up and begin at-
tacking the citi-
zens of Boston.
Aquaman and
Mera are sum-
moned and the
two of them ght
the creatures
back into the sea.
The two of themtake one of the
creatures bodies to a marine biolo-
gist named Stephen Shin, who tells
them that the creatures are likely
from one of the oceans deep and
dark trenches and were probably
searching for food on the surface.
Aquaman concludes that a species
living at such depths would only
come to the surface in a desperate
attempt to prolong their survival. He
and Mera go down to the colony and
nd cocoons full of people captured
from the surface. They break off the
wall of cocoons and Aquaman re-
luctantly ghts the creatures to give
Mera time to escape. Ultimately, he
is forced to use a volcanic vent to
collapse the trench on the creatures,
presumably killing them all, but he
and Mera do manage to save most
of the people
who were cap-tured and wind
up taking in a dog
whose owner did
not survive the at-
tack.
Soon after
the attacks, the
authorities start
investigating an
artifact that was
in the cocoons.
They are inter-
rupted by a group
of mysterious sol-
diers who attack
the investigators
and steal the ar-
tifact. Aquaman
grabs onto theirplane as it takes
off and discovers the soldiers are
Atlantean right before the plane ex-
plodes and leaves him stranded in
the desert. After the artifact plays
a recorded transmission about the
sinking of Atlantis, Aquaman is res-
cued by the Navy and returns home.
Mera, meanwhile, tries to get food
for the dog but winds up at odds
with some of the townspeople. After
saving a few people and being thor-
oughly confused by human nature,
Mera returns home with mixed im-
pressions on humanity and she and
Arthur set off to answer a new ques-
tion: who sank Atlantis?
This comic is a lot of fun, if con-
fusing at times. The writer and artists
do a great job of taking the reader
through Aquamans journey, making
them feel his frustration at the people
who constantly misunderstand anddemean him while showing readers
his pride, nobility, and drive to do
right despite the ridicule that seems
to follow him everywhere. The citi-
zens who underestimate him work
well with most readers impressions
that Aquaman is nothing special and
the story does a great job of slowly
but surely subverting that belief. The
artwork does a great job of sucking
the reader in as well, with a particu-
lar emphasis on shadows and facial
expressions and shadows that add
emotion and mystery to the adven-
ture. The art is realistic and visceral
for most of the books, but the misty,
golden look of the ashbacks pro-
vides a nice break and draws the
reader into Aquamans nostalgia.The writing, the art, the setting, and
the characters really combine to
make splash for Aquamans solo in-
troduction to the rebooted universe.
His interactions with others, be they
civilians, enemies, or his wife, are
realistic and understandable. The
revelations and discussions of his
and Meras past are sometimes con-
fusing, especially to new readers,
but such things are to be expected
when details are revealed in more of
a chaotic story format instead of an
expository monologue (though it is
funny that a reboot designed to ap-
peal to new readers is so confusing
for them initially).
The strength of this comic really
lies in its main characters, who are
both very believable, if initially a bit
one-dimensional. Aquaman is paint-
ed as the tragic hero, soldiering on
through tragedy and ridicule to con-tinue being a hero, even if he knows
that he is not anybodys favorite and
he spends a great deal of his time
proving his doubters wrong, even
when nobody is watching. Mera is
portrayed well as a sh out of water,
a woman who spent most of her life
in the sea but has given up almost
everything to stay with her beloved
Arthur and who will continue to fol-
low him, even when she cannot un-
derstand why he would sacrice so
much to protect the frustrating sur-
face-dwellers. However, her inter-
actions with Aquaman clearly show
that she thinks for herself and does
not trust him blindly and her dealings
with others make it clear that while
she is proud of her association withhim, she is much more as a person
than just Aquamans girl. The two
are memorable, fun, and perhaps
most importantly, imperfect. Char-
acter aws and secrets are hinted
at many times in this book, making
these somewhat alien characters
much more human to the audience.
Overall, this comic tells a good sto-
ry and does a great job of setting
Aquaman up to make some serious
waves in the new DC Universe.
COURTESY DCCOMICS
Fans in Colorado and across the
globe grabbed their blankets and
settled into theaters on Thursday
night as they waited for the premiere
of one of the seasons most antici-
pated sequels, Catching Fire.
Catching Fire, the second lm
in Suzanne Collinss The Hunger
Games trilogy, picks up a year after
Katniss Everdeens (Jennifer Law-
rence) and Peeta Mellarks (Josh
Hutcherson) dual victory in the coun-
try of Panems 74th annual Hunger
Gamesa nationally televised event
in which two children selected from
each of twelve districts are forced
to ght to the death until one victor
remains. The games function as a
reminder of the populous of the capi-
tals absolute power and the pain the
capital can inict should rebellions
occur. Katniss, about to embark on
a Victory Tour with Peeta through
the twelve districts and the capital,
faces the impossible task assigned
to her by President Snow (Donald
Sutherland) of diffusing revolution-
ary thoughts and spirits growing and
spreading in the districts. Witty back-
and-forth dialogue and reactions be-
tween the victor and president drive
the plot and offer insight into Snows
desire to destroy Katniss image as
a symbol for revolution and rebellion.
The exchanges between Katniss
and President Snow are tantalizing
and offer real insight into the struc-
ture and fragility of Panems system.
Portrayals of the capital captivate
viewers and lead them through the
diluted world that the countrys elite
enjoys.
Themes of the need and cost of
Catching Fireignites in theatresJessica Deters
Staff Writer
revolution as well as the importance
of sacrice for the greater good ow
throughout the emotionally charged
lm. Catching Fire proves to be
no heart-warming holiday ick but
rather offers insight into life under to-
talitarian rule and the importance of
revolting and regaining basic human
rights. The lm overows with pa-
thos, allowing viewers to sympathize
with and understand the horrendous
positions characters are forced into.
In addition to the emotionally
charged plot and well-developed
themes, the cinematography is sim-
ply breathtaking. Everything from the
portrayal of the victory tour to the
victor village, from the capital to the
75th annual Hunger Games, proves
mesmerizing. Costumes captivate as
well, as Efe Trinket (Elizabeth Banks)
returns in amboyant and bizarre yet
typically Capital costumes that chan-
nel everything from monarch but-
teries to Marie Antoinette. Katniss
dons her signature braid along with
stunning extensions of her girl-on-re
gown from the rst lm.
Though the books always seem
to be better, Catching Fire offers
hope to Hollywoods movie-adapta-
tion franchise. The lm ows impec-
cably, grabbing viewers and leading
them on a thrilling journey through
the dystopic world of Panem. Thank-
fully the lm lacks extensive back-
ground information, allowing the lm
to ignite immediately without dull
moments of rehash.
Whether a fan of the novels or
a fan of the rst lm, the incredible
cinematography coupled with a cap-
tivating cast and plot (not to mention
the breathtaking costumes) make
Catching Fire a must see for the
holiday season.
-
8/13/2019 The Oredigger Issue 12 - November 25, 2013
5/8
f e a t u r e snovember , page 5
w w w . O R E D I G G E R . n e t
Katerina Gonzales
Content Manager
The geeks at Mines come in all
different varieties with varying types
of geekiness. Compared to this
school, Im quite normal, laughed
Andrea Christians. But to those not
at Mines and even those not in ge-
ology, as Andrea is, she certainly is
qualied as a geek; both outstand-
ing and out standing in the eld.
Between homework, eld trips,
and watching Netix, Andrea found
time to chat with The Oredigger
about her geekiness.[The Oredigger]: Are you a
geek or a nerd and why?
[Christians]: Hmm. Wait, what is
the big difference between geeks
and nerds? Cause I feel like nerds
are more into school and stuffand geeks are more intogeeky
thingslike geeky shows and vid-
eo games and stuff.
I feel like Im a nerd most of the
time, but I am a geeky nerd, but I
do a lot of schoolwork [laughs].
What distinguishes you as
a geeky nerd? Or, what geeky
nerdy things do you like to do?
I have a lot of geeky shows that
I like to watch, like Doctor Who
is that geeky? Yeah, thats geeky. I
like sci- a lot. Like Star Trek.
I like to collect rocks. I feel
like my rock collection is pretty
nerdy. I got a lotta rocks. So cur-
rently, in my Colorado School of
Mines collectionIve got more at
homeIve got some uorite that I
Geek Week...Andrea Christians, Junior: Geology
ofthe
got up in Boulder, malachite that I
got went I went to Ouray, Ive got
some marble, Ive got some gold
and silver, Ive got some quartz
that I actually bought from the rock
museum, I have some dark pink
fossils, Ive got some coal that I
found once, and Ive got a lot of k-
feldspar. Ive got a lot of quartza
staple in a rock collection.
My family and I go on rock
hunting trips together when Im
on vacation, which is really nerdy
but really fun. One time we found
some really cool rocks and some
dinosaur poop. I know that sounds
gross, but its fossilized dinosaur
poop, called coprolite. Its really le-
git. Then this other time we found
this magnetized fossilized petried
wood. Its really cool; its sitting in
our backyard right now.Yeah. I like a lot of rocks.
Why did you decide to come
to Mines?
Well, like most people say, I ap-
plied because there was no essay.
I really liked that. But I mean, I had
heard about Mines before that and
wanted to go to school in Colora-
do because its much better than
TennesseeI had to get out of the
South. I dont know, it seemed like
a pretty cool school and it had geo-
logical engineering, which I wanted
to do at the time because my dad
was a geologist and it seemed
pretty cool and a like rocks. Also
I dont think theres a college with
geological engineering in Tennes-
see. But I love Colorado, so I was
like, Ive gotta get out there. Then
Mines gave me a scholarship, so I
was like, Why not?What do you do in your spare
time?
Watch a lot of Netix. Yeah.
Hang out with friends, more Netf-
lixCurrently Im watching Break-
ing Bad, and its pretty good. I
have to be like, People, dont tell
me what happens! I like to do out-
doorsy stuff when its not cold and
when Im not doing homework.If you could be a superhero,
who would you be and why?
Spidermanbecause hes Spi-
derman. He can climb on walls
he can shoot and sling spider web
thingies everywhere, and he just
swings. I just wanna swing around,
like down in Denver or New York,
and I would just do that all thetime. People would be like, Oh
my gosh, come help me, Im get-
ting mugged! and Id be like, Im
sorry, Im swinging around. I dont
wanna come down there! Im
gonna get me a Spiderman onesie.
I was gonna buy it, but theyre out
of stock right now.What advice would you give
to younger Mines students?
My advice would beoh, this
is a hard one. Id say make sure
youre doing something you like.
Dont just do it for the money.
Money is not your whole life. Dont
sell your soul. [coughs] petros.
[laughs]. No, my mom is a petro-
leum engineer, and she liked it.
Whats your favorite thing
about being a geology major?
We go on a lot of eld trips. Its
fun. Ive been on I think four eld
trips in the last three weeks. And
our eld session is one of the best
because we get to go around look-
ing at rocks all the time and its re-
ally fun. Its a tight-knit major where
everybody knows each other,
which is good and bad. But every-
body likes each other.
My professors wear a lot of an-
nel, which is really cool. Random
fact: if you ever want to see people
wearing annel, go into the geol-
ogy department. Khakis and an-
nel, man. All day, every day. They
say a lot of funny things a lot of the
time too. Theyre just funny people,
making a lot of rock puns.
What is your favorite rock
pun?
Its not rocket science, its rock
science.COURTESY ANDREA CHRISTIANS
Andrea Christians enjoys her tight-knit major and faculty.
The warm spices and chocolatey
goodness makes pumpkin brownie
mufns the perfect fall treat. These
mufns will impress all your friends
with little effort on your part. The
mufns take about thirty minutes to
make and fty minutes to bake. First
combine the dry ingredients:
2 c Flour
1 tsp Baking powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Cayenne
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
Then heat the chocolate and
butter on the stove at medium heat,
by putting them in a bowl over a
boiling pot of water.
6 oz Chocolate
1/2 c Butter
Keep stirring the chocolate and
butter to keep from burning and
make sure they dont get too hot.
Next comes:
1 3/4 c Sugar
4 large Eggs
1 Tbsp Vanilla
1/4 c Oil
Mix these with a blender for ap-
proximately ve minutes till uffy.If you dont have a blender some
good ol elbow grease and a whisk
will do the trick too, it may just take
a little longer. After the sugar, eggs
and oil are a light yellow slowly add
the dry ingredients. After their thor-
oughly combined split the batter
into two bowls and add the stars
of the show to each. In one bowl
add the warm chocolate and butter
concoction and to the other bowl of
batter add the pumpkin.
Spice pumpkin brownie mufnsElizabeth Starbuck-McMillan
Staff Writer1 1/4 c Pumpkin
The batter can be made into
mufns or brownies. Use a non-
stick pan or butter a tray to keep
them from sticking. To get the mar-
ble appearance add a little of the
pumpkin batter and then a little of
the chocolate batter alternating till
desired mufn size is reached (the
mufns rise quite a bit so it is rec-
ommended that you ll the mufn
tin halfway with batter.) For the nal
touch, sprinkle chopped hazelnuts
(or almonds) and white chocolate
chips if youre really feeling spiffy.
Finally comes the hardest part, bak-
ing the mufns for fty minutes (in
oven at 350.) This time seems like
forever with the warm aroma of the
mufns lling your home, but it must
be done.
These mufns are tasty and their
smell is so taunting they caused a
few of my friends to go against their
morals, stealing the mufns from
a well covered and labeled platter.
One friend, Erica French, said It
was the most delicious mufn Ive
ever had.
This recipe is simple for some-
thing with so much avor and so
delicious. The only areas the muf-
ns arent perfect in are the health
and nutrition wise they are little
much. Try to make the mufns on
the smaller side to avoid excessive
portions of sugar. The mufns could
also be made a little more healthy by
substituting applesauce for some of
the sugar and whole wheat our or
ground oats instead of the typical all
purpose our. Its fun to experiment
with recipes to nd a good balance
of tasty and nutritious, but this can
also lead to some interesting food.
Let your right brain have a little fun
and see what you can do with these
mufns the next time youre feeling
like you need a little spice in your
life.ELIZABETH STARBUCK-MCMILLAN / OREDIGGER
Spice Pumpkin Brownie Mufns bring a little spice to your life.
Hold On - Beach
girl wanders ontothe dance oorSarah Dewar
Staff Writer
Colbie Caillat released a new
single this month entitled Hold
On. The song was co-written
and produced by One Republics
Ryan Tedder, who worked withCaillat on her 2011 album, All of
You. This new track has an en-
tirely different sound than Caillats
previous recordings. Fans of Cail-
lat revel in her laid-back acousti-
cally driven songs, t for a sum-
mer day on the beach. This new
single showcases Caillat in a dif-
ferent light, with club beats and
strong rhythms layered behind her
voice. Frequent listeners of Caillat
may be slightly put off by this new
single while listening to it for the
rst few times; however, fans of
music can appreciate artists to be
condent enough in their abilities
and branch out from their comfort
zones, experimenting with music
in ways that they have never triedbefore.
In a recent interview, Caillat
revealed that she really enjoys
the creative processes involved
with being an musical artist. She
feels has reached a point in her
career where she feels comfort-
able with expanding boundaries
and exploring new genres that
she has not recorded before. It is
extremely exciting as a dedicated
listener anticipating work from art-
ists who spend time cultivating a
new sound and adding more di-
mensionality to their identities.
Hopefully, her newfound direction
will not prove to be disappointing,
as many fans of Caillat appreciate
her genuine approach to song-writing.
Her newest album is expected
to be released early in 2014, but
many details are still in develop-
ment. The exact release date is
yet to be announced, as is the
title for the forthcoming full length
album. This will be the rst album
from Caillat in nearly a year. Her
last album entitled Christmas in
the Sand was available during
the last holiday season. It is cer-
tain that this new album will not
be reminiscent of any album Cail-
lat has released previously. Expect
more upbeat tracks and higher
energy levels, perfect for dancing.
Caillat will not entirely transform
into a dance diva; her lyrics willprobably remain close to her pre-
vious works - mostly innocent and
encouraging - about romance,
friendship, trust, and love. It will
be the overall sound and presen-
tation that will change and pres-
ent itself in brand new packaging.
For fans who have seen Caillats
rise to fame in the past ve years,
it will be exciting to see a new era
develop for the artist.
-
8/13/2019 The Oredigger Issue 12 - November 25, 2013
6/8
f e a t u r e s november , page
w w w . O R E D I G G E R . n e t
Benjamin Elliott
Staff Writer
Oredigger Fiction Column
The Line
It is difcult to sleep without a
tent, and yet, I nd myself with-
out one. I suppose one does not
truly need one in this place. The
ground is soft enough, but the
endless day interferes with sleep.
I am tired, so tired, but I must
keep walking until I nd some-
thing to make a tent out of, or the
end of the Long Sands. Some
water would be a welcome sight,
but its been a long time since I
saw anything except for what I
continue to carry on me. I am be-
ginning to believe that there is no
end to the desert; that I will die
here before I complete my mis-
sion. Even with my equipment, I
wont last long when the water
runs out.
The horizon is a constantthing. If one could see the hori-
zon, one could always see where
one was, at least so far as one
direction went. The light sat
where it always sat, shining from
the desert across the edge of the
world. The orb lit the sky higher
than it had before- almost as if
it were taunting me. I was chas-
ing the light, but it was running
away, up above into the sky. Still,
I trudge on. There is nothing else
to do.
Back in the village, my people
are of the opinion that when a
man or woman grows too old to
serve the people, or become oth-
erwise incapacitated, that they
must make a choice. They mustchoose where they are to die.
The choice is usually made care -
fully. A person may choose to die
in the Long Sands, where their
spirit is received by Liren. Alter-
natively, they may cross into the
Long Snow, where their spirit be-
comes the possession of Vaden.
A person who does not make this
choice is shunned, hated even,
for their resistance against what
is, after all, a natural thing. They
will be received by neither Great
Spirit, until another chooses to
carry their spirit for them.
Liren and Vaden are known by
many names, in many villages. All
agree however, on certain things.
Liren is the Spirit of re, blood,light, action, violence, and love.
Vaden is the spirit o f ice, mystery,
darkness, preservation, knowl-
edge, and discipline. Lirens love
for Vaden, and her refusal of his
advances, is the oldest legend
told by my people; even to-
day, Liren races towards Vaden,
hoping to win her heart with his
laughter and energy. Yet, Vaden
still runs from him, hiding in the
snows she brings to hide herself.
These old legends speak of
the Great Spirits that are said to
inhabit our world- there are oth-
ers as well, but Liren and Vaden
form the greatest of the spirits.
The other spirits inhabit the Mid-
dling, where my people survive.Here the land is fertile, neither
too cold nor too hot, and the
hosterlillies grow. The plants are
small, but they grow quickly and
robustly. They are enough to feed
the people as we travel with the
changing Middling Line. So long
as Liren continues his chase after
Vaden, the Middling Line, often
known as simply the Line, con-
tinues to move towards Vaden,
and my people follow. We can-
not live as physical beings in theLong Sands, or the Long Snow,
for very long.
There is not much to tell of
my journey. It remains much the
same as it has before. A hardier
breed of hosterlily blooms at the
edge of the Long Sands, but
I have not seen one since I last
saw water. The suit I wear should
keep nutrients cycling through
me without much loss, but the
small losses will begin to add up.
My only hope is nding some-
thing my people can use, wheth-
er the palace of Liren, or simply
a place to live. The Line, though
it has long been our home, is no
longer livable.
As Liren continues to chaseVaden, the ground under the Line
has given way to water. Depend-
ing on how far towards Vadens
realm one passes, the water may
very well be ice, but hosterlillies
cannot grow on ice. Some mem-
bers of my village cut down into
the ice to conrm that water sat
below it, and no earth for a plant
to take root. To make matters
worse, the water seems to have
no end in sight. While the great
spirits may survive in such con-
ditions, we cannot. So a villager
and I set off in opposite direc-
tions- one towards the sun and
the Long Sands, and one away
from it, to the Long Snows. We
seek a home, at the very least.I have lost count of time, out
on the sands. The moons have al-
ways been a fair measure of time
on the Line, but I cannot always
see them in the sky as bright as it
is. I will nd my way to Liren, even
if it kills me.
I can glimpse the moon on the
horizon. It is the beginning of an-
other day. My muscles seem to
have every intention of failing on
me. I have nally seen it- Lirens
palace. It seems to be hung in
the sky, so I know not how I will
reach it, but my resolve is set. My
people are depending on me.
I stumble across the terrain,
distracted by momentary ripplesin the dunes, shifts caused by
the wind. But then, back again,
to the sight. Spires, all hung to-
gether like a hosterlilly bush,like
a womans hair by relight. They
shine as a metal does, immobile.
Yet I could have sworn they were
moving, by the ripple which has
moved to the air. It is a shroud of
heat, preparing to lay me to rest.
Not yet.
In an hour, I am closer. The
palace is more clear now, as a
crystalline fortress. It was not held
in the sky by magic, but rather by
pillars of glass, or perhaps salt,
raising it well above the surface.
In the center of the pillars appears
a stairway. The pillars themselvesare each tilted, and disappear
into the sand below. Were the
pillars hollow, a single one could
contain my entire village,I make
my way to the steps.
Lirens palace. I am at the end
of my strength- I know I dont
have enough energy for the jour-
ney back. Yet it is either surren-
der, or climb, and I cannot imag-
ine climbing these stairs. Each
step is as tall as a man, and open
to the force of wind and heatabove. I raise my arms to the
rst step, and somehow pull my-
self to the next. Tendons strain,
bones buckle. And I am one step
closer. I climb again. And again.
The progress is slow, but I can-
not stop. If anything were to hap-
pen to me, my village would die. I
heave and rise.
And I am at the top. An en-
graved circle is cut into the hot
glass (for now I am sure this is the
material of the palace). I crawl to
it. And then, I am gone.
I slip into a labyrinth. The light,
the heat, the wind, the grit, all
gone. It is dim, but not impossible
to see, and my eyes grow accus-
tomed to their surroundings. The
room I have entered is sparkling
slowly, quietly, and I hear the
chime of a quiet mechanism.
Before me is a console. I step
to it, recognizing its like. I have
seen consoles before, on long-
dead sand bikes and abandoned
settlements. I can only assume
that Lirens palace used to house
my ancestors, who traveled both
the ice and sands. Unlike the
ones I have seen, this one glows
with light. It is alive.
I am too dry to speak, but lay
my hand across the console. The
room lights up, as if the shutters
had opened up. Beams illuminate
the oor and walls, as the ceilinggrows brighter. I have been rec-
ognized. I sit against the wall. Li -
ren has granted me an audience,
and I am safe. I can now sleep.
I wake up, in the room again. I
am incredibly stiff, but pull myself
to my feet. I will go slowly.
I walk to the edge of the room,
and the wall opens to allow me
passage. I step into a walkway.
I whisper feebly, but it seems I
am not heard. I take small steps,
balancing on my blistered heels.
And what appears to be a
throne room appears. No retain-
ers of any kind inhabit this space-
perhaps I simply cannot see
them. The throne beckons, and I
step to it. I examine it- it is simplycrystal, like the rest of this castle.
I debate sitting down. Is it wrong
to assume the honor of lordship
here? I cannot decide, but in min-
utes, my legs have decided for
me. I sit.
I sink into the throne, as if it
were liquid. No time to cry out,
no time to shift. In the sitting po -
sition, I slip backwards into the
crystal of the fortress.
I smell citrus, and blood. I hear
the call of my father, beckoning
my brother and I to return to our
home to pack for the next migra-
tion. I feel the fur of a govoso, my
rst kill. I taste the sweat of my
rst love. I see the light. Oh, the
light. It overwhelms me. I smellthe embers of a reside. I hear the
cacophony of assembled musi-
cians. I feel the sting of a wound,
taken from the sharp thorns at
the base of a hosterlilly. I taste
the salt of the ocean, a moment
of great excitement, but also of
impending doom for my people.
I see the strike of a int, the shine
of the sun, the reection off of a
mirror.
When I wake once more, I amolder. A beard runs from my chin
to halfway down my chest. What
delirium, what madness, over-
took me? What re consumed
my years, as surely as I walked
the sediment of the world, as
surely as I found adventure in the
brooks of my younger years? I
have slept, and I have woken.
The palace is still quietly chim-
ing, and there are still no people
to be seen. I sli p through the hall-
ways, pass through rooms. Each
room contains a different dream.
In one room is a soldier guarding
a chest lled with ancient gems. In
another room is a row of horses,
heads bowed. In another room I
nd a perfectly preserved houseof cards reaching to the ceiling. I
do not come across the console
room, nor will I, ever again. The
palace has many rooms, but one
can never come across the same
room twice.
I pass through the invisible
city. There is a room with a full
feast prepared, but the guests at
the table are all skeletons. I do
not take any food. There is room
painted to seem like a dark place,
yet the light destroys that illu-
sion. A library makes up one of
the rooms, with books of all kinds
lining the shelves. The shelves
themselves lead from one side
of the room but do not seem to
terminate. I am certain that if I fol-
lowed them, I could nd any book
ever written. The next room is full
of writhing snakes.
When I have been walking
through the rooms of Lirens pal-
ace for some time, I stop to rest.
I am tired, and hungry here, yet
never seem to need to sleep or
eat. I would say I was dreaming,
but for the constant reminder of
the palaces constancy- all of the
walls, oors, and ceiling are the
same glassy crystal I have seen
before. This is the palace I saw
from the desert sands, I am sure
of it.
Next to the snake room, there
is a room where music is always
in the air. I passed on to the nextroom, where three bald people
sat in a circle. They would, each
in turn, make a sound, then wait
for the other two to follow. I tried
to communicate with them, but
they did not seem to notice I was
even there. The next room con-
tained a pyramid, at the head of
which was a three-headed cat.
Below was a crowd of cats, gaz-
ing up at their mutant leader. I left
here with a sense of awe in my
heart, which I do not know was
articial or simply inspired. The
next room appeared to be cov-
ered in spiderwebs, but on closer
inspection, each web was made
of a thin strand of paper.
I began to see a rhyme, a rea-
son, to the rooms and their se -
quence. I could, on leaving one
room, predict the kind of room
that would follow, and sometimes
even guess specics as to its
contents.
One room was a set of plat-
forms, some raised above others.
The surfaces were mirrored, pol-
ished, depending on their height.
It was as if I were crossing hills,
elds of grass and leaves and
trees, yet the whole room wassimply at squares of crystal. A
room was full of a smoke, which
made me cough. I somehow
passed from this one, only to nd
myself moving slowly, deliberately
in the next room. The room was
simply slower- there is no other
way to describe it.
Another room contained
countless boxes, inside of which
lived a tiny people. I was able
to communicate with them, and
they told me that I had been the
rst visitor from outside in some
time. They were too afraid to ven -
ture beyond the connes of their
room- I wondered at whether this
were a feature of the labyrinth
itself, or merely a facet of thepeople themselves. There was a
room where gears and clockwork
turned with ruthless efciency to
support some grand machine.
I could not understand its pur-
pose, but the valves and gauges
led me to believe it was some sort
of engine. Perhaps it was provid-
ing power to the labyrinth, but I
doubted it (in fact, it was much
more likely that it was the other
way around).
I never stopped at any room
forever. Though I found many
rooms pleasant, and some spe-
cial few blissful, I could not help
but wander on to the next one.
My purpose had not been forgot-
ten, but it was no longer whatdrove me. The rooms, the po-
tential of a world unimagined of,
were simply too fascinating for
me to stand still for long. I was
lled with curiosity.
I nally found a room, in the
center of which was a globe. One
side was yellow, the other side
blue. On one wall was a glowing
light, far brighter than I had seen
in most other rooms. This was my
world. I pushed on the globe, and
it began to spin. The color of the
globe began to mix as it span,
and the aggregate seemed a
green. My purpose had been ful-
lled, if indeed this room had any
bearing on the world I had come
from.Yet I continued to walk. I am-
bled ponderously into a room full
of owers I had never seen, with
cretins of some kind hiding in the
buds. They would scamper from
one to another when disturbed,
but otherwise seemed content
to poke at me with long claws.
In one room I climbed a stairway
that ended where it had begun.
Yet, on leaving the room, I came
across a room where numbers
and symbols covered the walls. It
was some kind of obtuse equa-
tion, I could not decipher nor
place any meaning on, other
than that it seemed impressive. I
walked on, nding a room where
a giant slept. A room with inatedplastic tunnels and slides. A room
with germane tries and amuse-
ments, but from which no reward
was forthcoming.
And then I came to a room
with no doors. It was in this room
I stopped, and it is in this room I
have been ever since.
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8/13/2019 The Oredigger Issue 12 - November 25, 2013
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s p o r t snovember , page 7
w w w . O R E D I G G E R . n e t
Jared Riemer
Content Manager
The Colorado School of Mines
volleyball team entered the week
ranked sixteenth in the nation and
were prepared to make a run at
the RMAC tournament champion-
ship. After a win in Tuesdays open-
ing round over Fort Lewis, Miness
hopes of capturing both regular
season and postseason titles came
to an end against Adams State, but
the lady Orediggers are still in good
shape to make the NCAA Cham-
pionships as the top eight in each
region make the tourney. Mines was
ranked No.2 in this weeks regional
ranking.
In Tuesdays quarternal matchup
against Fort Lewis, the Orediggers
controlled the match and wound up
with the 3-0 victory. In the rst set,
Mines took the early lead 7-1 and led
comfortably for the remainder of the
match, grabbing the 25-12 rst set
victory. The second set was much
the same, as Mines captured four
straight points with the match tied
at eight apiece, and rolled to the 25-
16 set victory. The third and nal set
was the closest as the three, as Fort
Lewis tried to hang on in the match.
Fort Lewis led late 20-18 after the
two teams traded points for the early
portion of the set, but Mines took the
next four points and seven of the -
nal eight to grab the 25-21 nal set
victory.
Leading the way for the Oredig-
gers were senior Melanie Wanna-
maker and freshman Alanna Wineld
who both recorded 12 kills. Wan-
namaker recorded her 12 on a .571
hitting percentage and added four
blocks, and Wineld on a .346 hitting
percentage to go with three blocks.Sophomore Danielle Johnson-
Hazlewood tallied 41 assists and
14 digs, freshman Abby Reuland
chipped in ve kills, two blocks, and
seven digs, and junior Sarah Pe-
karek added 10 kills, one ace, one
block, and six digs. Junior Cassie
Vick added 13 digs, senior Hannah
Season champs stumble in RMAC tourneyMargheim added ve digs, freshman
Taryn Huber had seven digs, and
freshman Samantha Fischer record-
ed eight blocks.
Friday nights seminal matchup
between Mines and Adams State
did not go as planned as the visit-
ing team knocked out the host 3-1.
The loss dropped Mines to 24-6 on
the year.
The Lady Orediggers captured
the rst set 22-25 in a hotly contest-
ed affair, coming back from down
three at 20-17. The second set
was another close affair, but Adams
State pulled out the 25-21 victory
after leading for most of the match.
The third set was back and forth
as both teams struggled to take a
lead. With the set tied 16-16, Adams
State won the next three points and
gained enough of a cushion to grab
the 25-20 win and two sets to one
advantage. The Orediggers won the
rst three points of the fourth set, but
soon fell behind 15-10. Mines fought
back from their decit to take the
17-16 lead, but their lead ended up
short lived as Adams State captured
the nal set of the night 25-20. The
loss was tough for the Orediggers
who had beaten Adams State ear-
lier in the regular season. As a team,
Mines recorded 10 service errors
and had an overall hitting percentage
of .212. Wannamaker led the team
with 17 kills and added three digs,
while Wineld and Pekarek both
contributed 16 kills. Wineld added
four digs and two blocks, and Pek-
arek recorded eight digs and three
aces. Johnson-Hazlewood recorded
52 assists and 10 digs, Corrine Din
contributed 11 digs and Margheim
tallied 15 digs.
With their win, Adams State
moved to the nals to take on Metro
State on Saturday night at Mines,
and Metro walked away with the vic-
tory winning three sets to none.
The Orediggers will learn their
NCAA postseason fate on Monday
during the Division II Volleyball tour-
nament selection show, starting at
5:30 pm.
The Lady Orediggers defeated Fort Lewis 3-0 in the quarter nals, but were stopped short
of their tournament dreams after falling 1-3 to Adams State in the seminals.
Seniors Cassie Vick, Melanie Wannamaker, Hannah Margheim, and Sarah Pekarek pose
with the RMAC regular season title before the seminal match on Friday night.
Chris Robbins
Staff Writer
Being on this team has been one
of my favorite experiences at Mines.
The hockey team is basically
what keeps me sane here at Mines.
Deciding to join the team was
the best decision I have made at
Mines.
According to the players them-
selves, the Mines club hockey team
is a fantastic opportunity for any
hockey players here at CSM. Be-
tween the fun of playing the sport,
the travels across the region, and the
camaraderie and friendships made
between teammates, the experience
of being a part of this club is certainly
worth the commitment to those who
enjoy the sport of hockey. The club
typically holds tryouts at the begin-
ning of each fall semester, and any-
one with some experience and inter-
est in hockey is welcome to try out.
The team generally has two late
night practices and two games each
week, which may sound daunting at
rst when added onto the already
hectic schedule at CSM, but as as-
sistant captain and club president
Chris Asmussen explains, Being at
Mines, we all understand the work-
load that could set in, so if someone
misses a practice here and there its
not a big deal. In addition to prac-
ticing and playing games locally
Hockey ices foesat Apex in Arvada and the Edge in
Littleton, playing in AHCA Pacic
Regions Division 3 leads to road
contests against teams across Col-
orado, New Mexico, and Nebraska.
Besides simply playing for the
love of the game, the Oredigger
hockey team also plays to win, and
has become more and more suc-
cessful and competitive over the
past few seasons. As team captain
Gabe Gusey points out, Mines
hockey has changed immensely
since a few years ago. Last year we
were happy to have the rst season
over .500 in Mines history. This year
we are 13-3 and actually have a shot
at making regionals, which would
without a doubt be a major accom-
plishment.
The team has one game remain-
ing on their fall schedule against
UCCS at the Ice Ranch in Littleton,
a team they defeated 7-4 earlier this
year.
Anybody interested in nding out
more about the club is welcome to
check out the clubs webpage at
recsports.mines.edu or simply talk
to some of the players and coach-
es. As stated by Gusey, Our team
has lots of intense competition,
and I would recommend joining to
anyone interested, so any aspiring
hockey players here at Mines should
denitely take the rst step and go
check it out.
Chris Robbins
Staff Writer
The Oredigger basketball team
improved to 3-0 on the season after
going on the road and taking down
the South Dakota School of Mines
79-65 on Saturday night.Mines started the game off hot,
jumping out to a big lead after a
16-4 run and never looking back.
The offense continued to stay sharp
throughout the rst half, where they
led by as much as 20 points and
went into the locker room up 47-33.
However, the opening of half number
two saw the Orediggers hit a bit of a
Basketball improves to 3-0slump. SDSM was able to ght back
to within six points only three minutes
into the half, but that would prove to
be as close as the game would get.
CSM pulled away the rest of the
game, and came away with the 79-
65 victory.
Four Orediggers ended the nightwith double-gure scoring, led by
Brett Greens 19 points to go along
with 18 from Brian Muller, 13 from
Trevor Wages, and 14 from Gokul
Natesan off the bench. Green had the
most well rounded night of the team,
contributing ve rebounds, four as-
sists, and three steals along with his
19 points.
Despite barely being beat by
SDSM in terms of shooting percent-
age from the eld and free throw
percentage, the Orediggers prevailed
in every other team statistic, out re-
bounding the Hardrockers and com-
pletely outshooting them from beyond
the three point arc. The Hardrockersalso committed more turnovers than
the Orediggers, leading to a 24-11
points off turnovers edge for CSM.
The Mines basketball team hits
the court again on Friday, November
29th here in Golden as they look to
improve to 4-0 against Northwestern
Oklahoma. That game tips off at 7pm
in Lockridge Arena.
Jared Riemer
Content Manager
The Colorado School of Mines
mens cross country team traveled
to Spokane, Washington this past
weekend and left with a top-ve n-
ish and three repeat All-Americans.
This was the fth top-ve nish in
as many years for the mens cross
country team after their second
place showing last year. RMAC ri-
vals Adams State and Western
State nished rst and fourth re-
spectively, with Grand Valley State
taking second, and Augustana
third.
Cross Country in SpokaneIn his nal cross country race as
an Oredigger, senior Andrew Ep-
person nished the 10k course in
a time of 30:44.6; good enough for
13 out of 246 racers, and claimed
his second consecutive All-Amer-
ican honor after nishing twenty-
ninth last year. Hometown boy Der-
ek Alcorn, junior, garnered his third
All-American honor after nishing
in thirty-third, just one spot ahead
of fellow junior Phil Schneider, who
nished the race by gaining 10 po-
sitions to claim thirty-fourth. Alcorn
and Schneider nished with respec-
tive times of 31:11.9 and 31:12.0,
and Schneider received his second
All-American award.
Rounding out the scoring for the
Orediggers was sophomore Marty
Andrie and senior Frank Socha who
completed the course in 31:49.1
(74th) and 31:54.0 (78th). Red-shirt
freshman Seth Topper made his
nationals debut nishing 117 out
of 246 in 32:30.9 and Sophomore
Drew Kerschieter nished 144 in
32:42.9 in his debut.
The lone qualier from the
womens cross country team, junior
Chloe Gustafson, nished a career
best 52 out of 244 runner with a 6k
time of 22:02.7. Her previous best
was 79th at last years nationals.
COURTESY CSM ATHLETICS
COURTESY CSM ATHLETICS
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8/13/2019 The Oredigger Issue 12 - November 25, 2013
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o p i n i o n november , page
w w w . O R E D I G G E R . n e t
Colorado winters are usually sneaky, coming in a time set aside for au-
tumn and making autumn a short three weeks or less. This season stayed
relatively dry and warm, but snow showed its face last week. Whether
welcome or long awaited, the presence of snow generates strong emo-
tions amongst CSM students. This week, Minds at Mines asked, What
do you think about the snow?
Katerina Gonzales
Content Manager
Colorado Snow
Minds at Mines
Its really tasty...as long as its not yellow.
Andrew Blaney
I dont really like snow because it means
its cold outside, even if its pretty.
Molly Baron
I dont like snow because its taunting you with
no days off of school.
Kelsey Kalmbach
Im denitely for snow.
Devin Thewlis
WOOOOOO SNOW WOOOOOOOO
Charlotte Adams
Tis the season to be jolly, so
why not start the season early?
Why not initiate the holiday festivi-
ties as soon as the trick-or-treaters
return to their homes to demolish
all of the candy they collected?
Every year as October comes to a
close, social media seems to erupt
with complaints about supermar-
kets already switching to Christ-
mas displays and neighbors al-
ready hanging lights and assorted
Christmas decorations. But why
are Christmas celebrators met with
such disdain?
Some people argue that Christ-
mas should not be celebrated be-
fore Thanksgiving. They believe
that Thanksgiving deserves recog-
nition and, by beginning the Christ-
mas festivities in early November,
Thanksgiving is simply overlooked.
Most agree, however, that Christ-
mas celebrations can begin on
Black Friday, but ostracize those
who begin celebrating earlier.
The holiday celebrations hand-
book for 2013 contains no restric-
tion on how many holidays can
be celebrated at once. Christmas
lasts for an incredibly short time;
for some the festivities end the
second that all of the wrapping
paper hits the oor. For others, the
celebrating continues all day, but
once the day comes to a close, ev-
eryone is faced with the depressing
reality that the Christmas season is
over. No more Christmas music or
brightly-lit houses synchronized to
festive songs. No more family visits
and eggnog. Only memories and
toys remain. So, why not prolong
the eeting season and enjoy the
warmth of Christmas for a tad bit
longer. Why not enjoy looking at
those Christmas lights and elabo-
rately decorated homes for an ex-tra three to four weeks? Why not
spend the majority of November
studying to Christmas music and
enjoying the holiday season? Life
is short. Why procrastinate enjoy-
ment, happiness even?
Comfort, joy, excitement, and
Starbuckss red cups ll the holi-
day season. Do not be a Scrooge.
Prolong the season of love, put up
those decorations and celebrate
Christmas now.
Wonderful Christmas timeJessica Deters
Staff Writer
KenKen PuzzlesHow to play:
1) Use numbers 1-3 for 3x3 puzzle, 1-6 for 6x6 puzzle, etc.
2) The heavy-outlined sections are called cages. In the upper-left
corner of each cage is a target number and operator.
3) Use the operator with the allowed numbers for the puzzle to solve
for the target number. The numbers you enter can be read in any order
to solve for the target number.
4) You cannot enter repeating numbers in any given row or column,
however, you may enter repeating numbers in a given cage so long as
they do not repeat in a column or row.
5) There is only one real solution for each puzzle.
See 3x3 example and solution at right for beginner practice. 123
312
231
6x6 Medium
4x4 Hard
COURTESY KENKEN
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