the oredigger issue 19 - march 21, 2011

8/7/2019 The Oredigger Issue 19 - March 21, 2011

1/8

Volume 91, Issue 19 March 21, 2011

NEWS 2 FEATURES 3 SPORTS 5 OPINION - 7

~world headlines

~scientific discoveries

~tech break (pg. 4)

~Soap

~National tourney

~csm mens baseball

~minds at mines

~tims two cents

SATIRE 8~spring break is here

~you missed e-days

Controlled Source Electromag-netic (CSEM) surveying is becom-ing possible in shallow water aswell as deep, reported explorationadvisor Frieder Roth at the March10 Heiland lecture. He then ex-

plained the technical challenges ofshallow water CSEM surveying andoffered a few possible solutions.

The rst obstacle shallow waterCSEM faces is that of airwaves. Ac-cording to Roth, this phenomenonreduces target response in relativeterms. However, in absolute terms,the airwaves enhance the responsedue to multiple scattering. Thismeans that in shallow water, thetargets response is stronger, butso are the background distractionsdue to the airwaves. What we canlearn from this is the following: Ifwe want to identify and interpretthis weak target response here,we really need to very accuratelyhandle the background response,

concluded Roth.Data uncertainties tend tobe much higher in shallow waterCSEM than in deep water CSEM,said Roth. He then demonstratedthis with several 3D models aswell as a discussion of detectionlimit. According to Roth, detectionis primarily limited by multiplica-tive or acquisition uncertainties

Tech BreakMerger ManiaIan Littman

Asst. Business Manager

See Tech Break, Page 5

such as position, orientation, andcalibration.

Additionally, reducing additivenoise becomes important whenmultiplicative noise is reduced aswell. Most of this added noisecomes from the environment inthe form of magnetotelluric, oceanswell, and tidal noise and is spe-cic to shallow water CSEM. Roth

explained that the shallow waterenvironment is very particular andthat these noise types occur dif-ferently in different places aroundthe globe.

To further improve the effective-ness of shallow water CSEM, Rothpointed toward surface-towedsources for the answer. Whenthe water is just 40 meters or 60meters [deep], it actually makessense to tow the source close tothe surface and to suspend it frombuoys. The primary advantage ofthis method is a greater control ofdepth, pitch, and position, therebyreducing the overall data uncertain-ty. Productivity can be increasedby the faster towing speeds and

greater maneuverability comparedto the deeper towed sources andthe possibility of damaging subseainstallations is nearly eliminated.Additionally, when the uncertaintyfactors are held constant, sensitiv-ity remains roughly the same as inthe standard methods. But when asmaller, more accurate uncertaintypercentage is used, sensitivity

increases.Another frequent problem is

the discreditization of shallowwater CSEM. A main cause ofthis discreditization is a commontechnique known as up-scaling.Up-scaling is a process in whicheffective conductivity is assigned tonodes in a way that the assimilationgrid is much greater than the input

grid such that the nodes can betreated as resistors in either seriesor parallel. It is effective in deepwater, but much less accurate inshallow water. Roth explained howto increase the accuracy, We dontjust provide an input model, weprovide a bathymetry grid as well.That actually allows us to dene theso-called mini-cells, which providea much more accurate represen-tation of seabed. Additionally,Roth and his team also worked onimproving interpolation by takinginto account jumps in the verticalderivatives of electric eld. This candecrease error from ten percent toalmost nothing.

Roth also discussed some of

the difculties which necessitatethe solutions he presented. CSEMsurveying in shallow water is anemerging technology with a brightfuture, but there is still work to bedone. As Roth explained, Thereis not a silver bullet that will helpyou do CSEM in shallow water, butwe need to really improve in allthe areas.

Methane (natural gas) from coalbeds has long been a source ofclean energy. Abundantly available,it burns cleanly and requires mini-mal processing to be used as a fuel.

However, a supply problem is de-veloping. Coal beds have a limitedsupply of the gas, and it take a longtime to recharge the reservoirs. Gasdrilling companies initially makelarge prots on the gas, because itessentially pumps itself out of thewells. After a time, however, thepressure of the gas drops to thepoint where it no longer makessense to keep harvesting it.

Luca Technologies is a com-pany that has invested heavily in aprocess that they hope will enablegas companies to literally farmmethane. Dr. Joel Sevinsky, the Se-nior Principal Investigator at Luca,presented the technology from amicrobiologists point-of-view.

Sevinsky pointed out that com-panies are required by law to closedown their gas well operationswhen they cease to be protable,and that Luca has developed atechnology that he hopes will ex-tend that protability considerably.Many hydrocarbon reservoirs arealive with microbes, he said, todispel any thoughts that coal beds

are dead. These reservoirs can beenlivened with nutrients to generatenatural gas in real time, he added.Natural gas can be literally farmed.

The process of natural gasfarming is fairly simple. First, thecoal bed is drilled and the casing isdropped into the bore hole. Then,concrete is pumped around the

outside of the casing, sealing thewell. Water is then pumped out ofthe hole, and the lower pressureallows the methane gas to seepout of the coal and be collectedat the well-cap. The technologythat Luca is implementing involvesdrilling another well in the samemanner, but instead of water beingpumped out, water that is packedwith nutrients and minerals to re-enliven the microbes in the coal ispumped in. These microbes thenproduce methane at a rate muchgreater than natural processes.

What is actually happening,Sevinsky explained, is that thenatural process of reservoir res-toration is being mimicked. The

natural process takes thousandsof years, however, and Luca isdoing it in a matter of months. Theprimary focus at Luca right nowis understanding the differencesbetween various wells in termsof the microbial community, andfiguring out more efficient andenvironmentally-conscious waysof producing natural gas.

Improving underwater surveying

techniques in shallow waterDeborah Good

Content Manager

New technology leads

to natural gas farmingJosh Kleitsch

Staff Writer

Welcome back from Spring Break,everyone! AT&T is buying T-Mobile...and CenturyLink is buying Qwest. Thelatter story has been out for awhile,though only recently has the federalgovernment approved the wirelinetelephone giant merger. The formeris hot off the presses and is by far themore worrisome of the two stories.

First, some stats about post-merger AT&T (they are not going tokeep the T-Mobile name, I can tellyou that right now). The combined

company will have around 130 mil-lion customers, a full quarter morethan Verizons huge customer base.AT&Ts $39 billion purchase pricepegs each of T-Mobiles 33-plus-million customers at a little over $1100in value, if we are measuring by thatalone.

Of course, T-Mobile has more thanjust customers; they spent around$4.2 billion in the FCCs 2006 AWSauction to pick up large swaths of1700MHz spectrum, on which theyhave built a respectable HSPA+ (4G)network in many metropolitan areas,including Denver.

The Indian Gulch fre burns along a ridge near campus. By Sunday evening, it had burned 550 acres and threatened nearby homes.

Brush re getting too close for comfortSTEVEN WOOLDRIDGE / OREDIGGER

M i n e s S o f t b a l l

Crushes Adams

State 9-1

See Page 5


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n e w s march 21, 2011page 2

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

Oredigger Staff

Ryan Browne

Editor-in-Chief

Katie HuckfeldtManaging Editor

Robert GillBusiness Manager

Steven WooldridgeWebmaster

Barbara AndersonDesign Editor

Zach BoernerCopy Editor

Neelha MudigondaAsst. Design Editor

Abdullah AhmedAsst. Business Manager,

Sales and Marketing

Ian LittmanAsst. Business Manager,

Web Content

Trevor CraneContent Manager

Deborah GoodContent Manager

Stephen HejducekContent Manager

Shira RichmanFaculty Advisor

Headlines from around the worldLocal News

On March 17, former citycouncilman Webb Aldrich was

found dead in his home. Po-lice continue to investigate thecause of his death.

The Mines softball team wonboth games against AdamsState by score of 9-1 and 5-4 onthe afternoon of March 20.

The city council announced itwas considering restrictions onlive music on March 14. Initially,it planned to impliment per-performance permits, but laterdecided to consider Hours ofOperation and Maximum Deci-bel Level limits.

On March 20, The MinesBaseball team defeated MesaState in a shutout, 2-0. CSMis also introducing live videoon AmericaOne for all remain-ing 2011 CSM home baseballgames.

On March 20, a re, knownas the Indian Gulch Fire spreadover 550 acres. At last report of-cials were trying to determinewhether to evacuate 350 homesin a nearby subdivision.

On March 15, the U.S. Newsand World Reports annual rank-ing of engineering graduateschools placed CSM at 64th.Several of Mines graduate en-gineering programs also wereranked including chemical en-gineering at 49th, environmentalengineering at 34th and materi-als engineering at 26th.

Joshua Kleitsch, Staff Writer

Joshua Kleitsch, Staff Writer

Japan was struck by a 9.0magnitude earthquake March11, shaking buildings and dis-rupting normal life for much ofthe island nation. A 13-20 foottsunami washed away cars andboats, as well as damaging somebuildings.

Worries in Japan are increas-ing as elevated radiation levelsare being detected in foods suchas spinach and milk. The lev-els are low enough not to causeimmediate health problems,but many in Tokyo have started

stocking up on food supplies.The US and other allieslaunched a series of strikesagainst Libyan targets in an ef-fort to establish a no-y zone. USAdmiral Mullen has said that theUS will relinquish control of theLibyan operation to its allies in thenext few days.

Government spending isoff the charts, as Wash-ington ran its biggestever one-monthdecit at $225 bil-lion for February.The Congressio-nal Budget Of-ce is predictingthat Obamas

budget wouldincrease thedecit by $9.5trillion over thenext decade,versus the$7.2 trillion theObama Admin-istration is re-porting.

13 Somalisand one Yemeni

were indicted on charges of pira-cy and use a rearm in the com-mission of a crime as a 58-footyacht was discovered to havebeen hijacked and its ownerskilled. The pirates have not beencharged with murder, but the oth-er charges amount to 30 years tolife in prison for all involved.

Apple has ofcially releasedthe iPad 2, which shows im-provements over the original ver-sion. Apple claims the new iPadis 10% lighter and signicantlythinner, and also sports dual

cameras and a faster processor.The price starts at $500 and ex-tends to $829, the same as the

original.Wisconsin lawmakers have

approved the long-debated unionbill that would eliminate most ofpublic workers collective bar-gaining rights. Other states havetaken notice and are consider-ing similar action to balance theirown budgets.

T-Mobile USA, owned byDeutsche Telekom AG, could bebought for a reported $39 bil-lion by AT&T. The Department ofJustice would need to authorizethe transaction. If approved, the

merger would make AT&T thelargest wireless provider, by num-ber of subscribers.

Evanston, Illinois, US - Newcancer treatments in the form of dia-mond-coated chemotherapy drugslook promising. One of the primary dif-culties with battling cancer has beengetting the drugs to stay in the tumorlong enough to kill it. Tumors, overtime, develop pumps that evacu-

ate the drug before it has a chance towork. Researchers have been workingon a method of binding chemotherapydrugs to diamond nanoparticles, in anattempt to get the drugs stuck in thetumor. The particles are too large to bepumped out. With a longer drug resi-dence time, tumors are reduced in sizemuch more effectively.

Sapporo, Japan - The late Plio-cene era has long been used toroughly model what the Earths atmo-sphere will become in the near future.Until recently, the Pliocene era wasthought to show an Earth that wasstuck in a perpetual El Nino, which iswhen the temperature of the surfaceof the Pacic ocean is high relative to

the Atlantic ocean. Researchers atHokkaido University in Sapporo, Ja-pan, have started reanalyzing the evi-dence that supposedly showed thatthe Pacic ocean was warmer thanthe Atlantic ocean. New evidenceshows that, in fact, temperaturesback then followed the same El Ninocycles as we experience now.

Sussex, UK- Asian elephants are not as unintelligentas most animals, according to a new study by research-ers at the University of Sussex in England. Elephants havea higher level of cognition than many other animals, evenunderstanding how to help each other accomplish a task.The elephants, when presented with a task that they can-not do themselves, will wait until another elephant showsup to help. This level of problem-solving ability and cogni-tion of surroundings is rare in the animal world. In the study,it also became apparent that the elephants understoodwhy they needed help, not just that they needed help.

Bristol, UK - Creatures of thedeep apparently have greater audi-tory acumen than many believed.Researchers have been studyinghow different crustaceans respondto sound, and have found thatmany tiny crustaceans, such asshrimp and larval crabs, not onlydetect sound but also respond to it.The study showed that most inver-tebrates do not like noise, and tryto nd quiet places to live. Of thespecies studied, only larval crabsseemed to like to noise of the reefs.This new information holds implica-tions for off-shore sea trafc such astanker ships and trafc.


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f e a t u r e smarch 21, 2011 page 3


Soap makes a unique andpersonal gift, especially when itis homemade. You can also sellyour soap at a farmers marketor just use it yourself, and it is a

great way to get rid of old greaseand fat that would otherwise ndits way to sewers or landlls.

The process uses causticchemicals, so it is slightly dan-gerous, but if you follow generalsafety guidelines and keep yourwits, you should be ne. Youmight make a mess, but it shouldbe easy to clean up becausemost of the spills will be made ofsoap!

Ingredients you will need:

A large amount of animal fat orvegetable oil (I added some oliveoil to my recipe to make it milder).

Lye (NaOH) crystals: you canget this at the hardware store,usually located next to the drain

openers.Distilled water: you can use

tap water, but I wanted to makesure there were no dissolved min-erals that could ruin the soap.

Essential oils for a scent: thisis optional, but I think it helps. Iuse tea tree oil and jasmine oil.You can nd these at a naturalfoods or local drug store.

Tools you will need:

Safety equipment: rubbergloves, goggles, and an openbottle of vinegar within easyreach, just in case you need toneutralize any spilled lye. Lye isvery basic and caustic, and it willburn your skin, or any part of yourbody, for that matter. If you have

ever seen Fight Club, then youknow what I mean.

Chemistry Corner: How to make soap?Bryant Pocock

Staff Writer

A large glass or ceramic bowlto melt the fat and mix everythingin.

An accurate scale: it does notmatter whether you measure ingrams or ounces, but you mustbe accurate.

Something to stir with: you

can always just use a big spoon,but it will take a long time, andyou will get tired quickly. I use ablender for mixing.

Some kind of mold to pour thenished soap into: besides a cas-serole pan or plastic bin, you canalso use lengths of PVC or papercups to mold the soap into roundshapes.

Notepad, pen, and calculatorto make calculations.

You will also need a few moretools such as bowls, scrapers,etc.

Render and clean the fat:

Lay down some newspaperon a big table or counter space.You will need plenty of room to

make soap. To make soap, youneed some animal fat and oil.Vegetable oil will make a softersoap than saturated fat like lardor shortening, so it is a matter ofpersonal preference whether youlike a hard bar soap or a some-what squishier soap. Blendingseveral kinds of oil or fat togethercan give you a wide variety ofcharacteristics.

Most of my fat came frombacon and hamburger drippingswith some olive oil as well. It isimportant to make sure that youhave each kind of fat separatedand pure. Do not mix beef tal-low and lard together until afteryou have weighed them, as it willthrow off your calculations, andyour soap will not turn out right.

Then you must render and cleanthe fat. Rendering is the processof melting the fat to separate itfrom water or bits of meat. In mycase, I just fried my bacon andpoured off the extra grease intoa jar.

To clean the fat, you can either

boil it, lter it, or both. I rst l-tered everything through an oldsock and a coffee lter. Then Iboiled it in a big, tall pot with halfwater and half fat. This gets rid ofany water-soluble dirt or salt leftin the fat. Boil it for about 20 min-utes, then cover and let it cool ina fridge or cool location until thefat oats to the top and solidies.You can then scoop out the puri-ed fat and throw away the dirtywater at the bottom. Scrape anydirt off the bottom of the fat.

Measurements and calcula-

tions:

A big part of making soap isprecision. You need to weigh outingredients precisely so you have

them in the right proportions.Never measure by volume.

First, weigh out the fat. I mea-sured out 720g of lard and an ad-ditional 102g of olive oil.

In order to use the rightamount of lye and water, youneed a table of saponication val-ues. You can nd one set here:ht tp:/ /waltonfeed.com/blog/show/article_id/165

Since I am aiming for ve per-cent residual fat at the end, I usedvalues of 0.132 for lard, 0.129 forolive oil, and 0.38 for measuringthe water.

720g lard x 0.132 = 95g NaOH102g olive oil x 0.129 = 14.2g

NaOH

Total: 108.2g NaOHNow is a good time to put on

your gloves and goggles. Weighout the lye crystals into a bowl.It is alright to use plastic at thispoint because the crystals are notwet.

Calculate the total amount ofwater needed.

822g of total fat x 0.38 =

312.4g waterOn this last measurement, you

do not need to be too accurate.Just add a little extra water if youare not sure, since it will mostlyevaporate in the end. Put the wa-ter in a smaller glass bowl so youcan mix the lye in. I used a coffeepot because it is made of glassand has a pour spout.

Now carefully and slowly addthe lye to the water. Never addwater to lye, because it can spitout of the container and burnyou. Stir slowly as you add thelye, making sure to dissolve allthe crystals. The water will heatup due to an exothermic reac-tion with the lye, but if you mix it

slowly enough, it will not heat uptoo much.

Mix everything together:

Now comes the part whereyou actually make the soap. Keepyour safety goggles and gloveson because there is still a risk ofchemicals splattering.

Make sure that both the fatand the lye/water mixture arewarm (about 100 degrees Fahr-enheit). This will keep the fat fromsolidifying before it actually turnsinto soap. You can heat them inthe microwave if needed.

While stirring with a spoon,slowly pour the lye/water mixtureinto the fat. The fat will start toturn milky and thick as you stir.Once everything is combined,keep stirring hard. If you are using

a blender, this step will go muchquicker.

Once the soap is the thick-ness of pudding, test whetherit is ready by trying to leave atrace. Drip a trail from the spoononto the surface of the soap. If itleaves a trail for a few seconds,

that means it has traced and isready to be molded. If the trailquickly drops back under the sur-face, it is not ready and you needto stir it more. Keep the mixturewarm, and remember that youcannot stir it too much.

After it has traced, you canadd whatever scent you want.You can also add ground spicesor herbs. I added some nutmeg,ginger, and orange zest. Just donot add anything really scratchy,like coffee grounds, since you willend up making sand paper out ofyour soap. Also do not add any-thing with alcohol, acid, or anychemicals that might throw offthe reaction.

You can now pour the soapinto whatever mold you want. Iused a simple casserole dish. Af-ter it solidies, usually after a fewhours, you can cut it into barsand wrap it. You can also imprinta brand or logo into the soapwhile it is still soft. It is good tokeep most of the air away fromthe soap while it cures to preventcarbonic acid from forming on thesurface due to the reaction withcarbon dioxide in the air. Plasticwrap or wax paper works well forthis.

Now you have to wait. It takesabout 3 weeks for soap to fullycure. During this time, any excesslye will react with any remaining

fat. If you use the soap before thistime, it could irritate your skin.

Enhance your technical undergraduate degree with a Master of

Science in Engineering and Technology Management (ETM).

A growing number of engineers and scientists have taken

advantage of this unique graduate business education program.

Join us for an Info Session & Reception to learn about the

bene ts of the ETM Program and to meet the ETM faculty,

students, and alumni.

Wednesday, March 30th at 6:00 p.m.

Student Center, Ballroom C

Refreshments will be served

Please RSVP to [email protected]

Engineering

and

Technology

Management

Division of Economics and Business Colorado School of Mines

T e best

of both worldsGRADUATE STUDIES

http://etm.mines.edu/

FellowshipsAvailable

Join us!

With a selection of Tequila thatboggles the mind, this purveyor ofMexican cuisine leaves nothing to

be desired. This ne establishmentboasts the largest selection of Te-quila in town. With over 100 differ-ent varieties and brands to choosefrom, customers would be at a lossto pick one without the assistance ofthe very knowledgeable staff. Withprices per-shot ranging from $4 to$100, theres sure to be somethingfor everyone.

Tequilas serves authentic andtasty Mexican food, in addition to atheir selection of Tequila. Their lunchspecials include all the recognizablefare, with tacos, burritos, enchiladas,and quesadillas. The EnchiladasSuizo was very good, served with

The name saysit all at TequilasJoshua Kleitsch

Staff Writer

a side of refried beans and rice, andwas quite lling. Tequilas also servesa basket of their white corn tortillachips and cups of salsa with everyorder.

The service was quick and friend-

ly, but unobtrusive. The turnaroundtime on an entree was remarkable;from the time of placing an order toreceiving food was less than 4 min-utes. This is astonishing when com-pared to many other restaurants intown, though the time was 1:30 inthe afternoon. The total cost of alunch entree is decent, around $9.00with a tip.

Tequilas is very popular amongthe college crowd, primarily becauseof large portion sizes, low cost, andquick service. For those seeking aquick and lling lunch, or a relaxingatmosphere for dinner, Tequilas is anoption.

Student manager wanted for handing out fly-ers at the Colorado School of Mines. Must be a

Mines student.

Free summer storage/shipping/money in return

If interested, email [email protected] for more

info.


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f e a t u r e s march 21, 2011page 4


Geek Week...Peter Jaron, Freshman: Mechanical Engineering

ofthe

This weeks edition of Geek

of the Week joins the Oredigger

from the freshman class. A me-

chanical engineer and resident of

Weaver Towers, Peter Jaron sat

down Thursday to share a snip-

pet of his life with the Mines com-

munity.Do you consider yourself a

geek?

Of course! Like all good nerds

or geeks, I enjoy playing video

games, I do well academically,

and I have a good time in small

spaces... you know, the works.What brought you to

Mines?

Engineering has been a pas-

sion of mine for as long as I canremember, and Mines was the

best place in the state for that.What kind of engineering?

Mechanical. I really have no

idea what I want to do within en-

gineering so mechanical gives

me the widest range.

What is your favorite mem-

ory or experience from Mines

so far?

Carly Paige

Staff Writer

Probably watching an entire

season of Dexter in one week at

Mines Park. Just good times withgood friends.

Who do you currently fol-

low on Facebook/Twitter the

most?

Im a big fan of Family Guy,

and I found Stewie, which is

pretty funny.

What is the latest fad or

trend you caved and gave

into?

Im usually not a follower. I

think the last thing I did was get

a Facebook about two and a half

years ago. I dont think I could

imagine my life without it now

though.

What is your geekiest, most

embarrassing habit?

The fact that in high school Ispent more time at school then

I did at home during the robotics

season.

Robotics has a season?

Haha yeah, six weeks with

eight-hour Saturdays.Did you see any success?

My junior year we took first at

the regional competition.What is the worst part of

Slate food?

The fact that its Slate food!

They rehash the same foods butwith new names and the addition

of, maybe, cheese.

What are you most look-

ing forward to in the last five

weeks of the semester?

E-Days! Im excited to expe-

rience it as a freshman and see

what all the hub-bub is about!Picture yourself ten years

from today; what do you see

yourself doing?

Of course with a smokin hot

girlfriend and a fat wallet. But

hopefully in a nice, cozy desk in a

good engineering firm.

What is your go-to snack

food for late-night cram ses-

sions?

Cookies and milk! Lately Ihave been into Chips Ahoy, but

Ill try anything without nuts.

What advice would you of-

fer to incoming students?

Just dont worry about whats

coming ahead. Get excited, col-

lege is a lot of fun no matter how

you go about it. Dont be afraid

to be a little nerdy. There are oth-

ers here who follow that trend.

Geek of the Week, Peter Jaron, enjoys robotics and

video games.

CARLY PAIGE / OREDIGGER

Their 4G cell sites are connected

to the Internet via ber backhauls

(and probably some wireless tower-

to-tower links), allowing the carrier to

scale up capacity as they push out

upgrades to the top of the tower.

AT&T has spectrum and ber-fed

cell sites as well, but they have been

complaining that their spectrum po-

sition is too weak to deal with the

onslaught of data-hogging customer

devices, and stated in their purchase

press release that T-Mobiles added

bandwidth would help with that.

Of course, one convenient rea-

son for AT&T to make this takeover

is that now they will not have acompeting network, using a similar

wireless technology, who periodi-

cally peppers them with attack ads

stating how poor Big Blues network

is. The lack of this competitor means

that customers have one less place

to turn when looking for wireless

service; if approved, the AT&T deal

would leave only Sprint and Verizon

on the national wireless eld, with

Sprint weighing in at about half of

Verizons size and 40% of AT&Ts.

This brings up an important point.

What will the US government say

about the acquisition? They could

(and should, in my opinion) block the

purchase; AT&T and T-Mobile are di-

rect, erce competitors in practically

every market that T-Mobile serves,

and in every instance T-Mobile pro-

vides a bigger bucket of minutes or

data at a lower price than AT&T. That

said, AT&T could wave their hands

about bringing LTE service to rural

areas (to compete with Verizon) and

get the deal approved anyway. After

all, Verizons purchase of Alltel and

Cingulars (now AT&Ts) purchase of

the old AT&T Wireless were allowed

MergermaniaContinued from Merger on page 1 to pass, though neither of thesecompanies had as many subscrib-

ers as T-Mobile.

The bottom line is that, if the ac-

quisition is approved, customers will

be losing a solid wireless option in

most urban areas, though merger

conditions may make AT&T be-

come a 4G competitor to Verizon a

bit faster. The fear, however, is that

the shockwave from this acquisition

will pressure Sprint to be bought up

by Verizon, leaving only two national

cellular carriers. More likely, Sprint

will form an even closer alliance with

such regional providers as CricKet

and MetroPCS, possibly merging

with one or both to try to stay above

water as they switch from WiMAX to

LTE as their own 4G play. In short,

wireless consolidation will not stop

with this, and the results probably

will not be pretty for customers, ex-

cept maybe in terms of data speeds

(but not prices).

What are your thoughts about the

T-Mobile takeover? Post a comment

on the online version of this article.

Also, look for an online exclusive

later this week about what the Cen-

turyLink-Qwest merger will mean for

folks in the Denver area (hint: its sig-

nicantly less earth-shaking than this

acquisition).

From the rst unmanned cap-

sules to the fantastic array of

satellites and telescopes that are

launched every year, there have

been stunning stories of the mo-

ments that will capture the human

mind forever. Yet from the per-

spective of those living during the

height of the space race, it wouldbe surprising to see that humans

have not been to the Moon since

1972 or even made concentrated

efforts to go anywhere beyond

our pale blue dot.

From a brief glance at mod-

ern society, very few understand

the practical benets that space

sciences can have on the world.

While space travel is enormously

expensive and requires tech-

nological advances that toe the

line between reality and science-

ction, it has uses that justify its

sacrices. It may be difcult to

look at the Saturn V launches that

cost a total of a few billion dollars

and immediately see where the

investment has been returned,but a closer look reveals more.

The technology behind our mod-

ern society and its incredible sci-

entic advancements have been

made possible by the successes

of those missions. And without

the currently-doomed shuttle

program, the International Space

Station could not have easily been

assembled. Although the launch-

The stars

above Mines

John Bristow

Staff Writer

The rise and fall of American

space traveling costs are high, it is important

to remember that it is not just a

hangout for astronauts, but a

laboratory where scientic break-

throughs are being discovered on

a regular basis.

As for recent cutbacks, it is

unfortunate that the shuttle pro-

gram did not live up to its origi-

nal specications. But those were

cutting edge missions to places

nearly beyond imagination, at thetime, and now the main question

is what space travel can provide

today. But whatever the future

holds, we should never nd our-

selves without a eet of human

launch vehicles, whether they be

reusable or conventional rockets.

Maybe it is not quite time to

return to the Moon, land on aster-

oids, or establish bases on Mars,

but these goals should at least

be on the drawing board. While

not everybody endorses the high

budget that is required or even un-

derstands the practical scientic

knowledge that would return from

such missions, it would be difcult

to nd someone who truly does

not wish to see humans land onthe red planet within their lifetime.

Maybe it is time to start looking

back up and pointing where we

want to go in the vast cosmos

above. We know our own system

well through our army of probes

and satellites, maybe it is time to

see it for ourselves.

May the stars shine brightly in

your skies.

MINES INTERNET RADIO


5/8

s p o r t smarch 21, 2011 page 5


Baseball defeats Mesa State 2-0 to end weekend series

Pitcher Michael Fuller (#37) pitches the ball to rst baseman Elliott Riege

(#25) to get the out.

Charlie Basil (#13) slides into second to beat the tag on a steal in the 3rd

inning.

Jarred Wallace (#28) gains an RBI in the bottom of the second with a

double to right eld. Catcher Jordan Williams (#34) brings in the run.Elliott Riege (#25) makes the catch to get the out at rst in the 3rd inning.

Softball sweeps Adams State in Sunday doubleheader

Sarah Van Lingen (#3) beats the tag during Sundays game with Adams

State. Mines won both games 9-1 and 5-4.

Molly Thiebaut (#8) catches an ineld y-ball.Morgan Anderson (#6) picks up a grounder to force an out at rst base.

Teammates celebrate with Macy Jones (#11) as she hit a two-run home-

run. This is Macys fourth home-run of the season.

ALL PHOTOS STEVEN WOOLDRIDGE / OREDIGGER


6/8

s p o r t s march 21, 2011page 6


Trevor Crane

Content Manager

... kelly unkrich, Sophomore: Civil Engineering, softball

Athlete Weekofthe

In the past decade, only four

Mines Softball pitchers have held

their opponents hitless for an en-

tire game. Now, Lady Oredigger

Kelly Unkrich can add her name

to that list. Unkrich, a sophomore

from Highlands Ranch, Colorado,

became the fth Mines pitcher

since 2001 to toss a no-hitter dur-

ing a March 6 victory over New

Mexico Highlands University. In

just her second year of collegiate

competition, the civil engineer has

been named RMAC pitcher of the

week twice, pitched 20 complete

games and is currently on a six-

game winning streak.

The March 6 win was no uke.

Unkrich nearly threw a no-hitter

the previous day before a last in-

ning home run spoiled her chance.

A fearless competitor by nature,

Unkrich responded the following

day, striking out nine batters en

route to her rst career no-hitter.

In the two days of pitching, she

faced only 39 batters, struck out

15 and allowed only two hits. With

the wins, Unkrich improved to

6-5 on the season for the Oredig-

gers (6-2 RMAC, 11-11 overall),

who currently sit atop the RMAC

standings. As she and teammate

Libby Balogh continue to provide

solid pitching, Mines softball has a

bright future ahead. For her efforts

and performance this season, Un-

krich is this weeks Athlete of the

Week.

What was going through

your head during the nal in-

nings of your no-hitter?

Well, it is what I was st riving for,

because I was really close the day

before. But I was just focusing on

the game and trying not to get dis-

tracted. I tend to over-analyze and

over think things and then I do not

do very well. So I was trying not to

over think it.

Describe what you were

feeling after you had no-hit

New Mexico.

Afterwards, it was a relief be-

cause I did not have to worry

about it anymore. But I do not

tend to get too over-excited dur-

ing wins. I mean, I enjoy them, but

I just want to focus on one day at

a time.

What do you enjoy about

being on the softball team at

Mines?

I have to say, we have a diverse

team, age-wise and it is incredible

how well we mold together. And

we all already trust each other; I

trust every girl on the eld to back

me up.How has the team molded

so well?

I do not know what it is, really.

We just already know each other,

and it is like we already know what

each other are thinking.How is the 2011 season dif-

ferent with a rst year head

coach ?

With our [interim coach Kristie

Hawkins], everything is more posi-

tive and more fun. We denitelyhave the mentality of getting bet-

ter every day, but we are enjoying

the process.

What goals do the team

have for this season?

Our goal is always to get far-

ther in RMAC. We take one game

at a time and

just try to win

every game.What has

been the

hardest part

about being

a student

athlete?

The big-

gest problem

for me is pro-

crastination.

So this year,

I am work-

ing on getting

h o m e w o r k

done right

away to try to

stay on top of

things.

B e s i d e ss o f t b a l l ,

what else are you interested

in?

I played soccer and basketball

in high school and I still love to

play soccer. I like art too. I am into

art, family, and friends, really.What is

your favorite

part about

Mines?

I like the

people here

a lot. I live

in Highlands

Ranch, and it

seems like ev-

eryone there

is the same

type of per-

son. Everyone

here is differ-

ent and down

to earth. And

I like the small

campus feel.W h a t

would you

change at

Mines?

Parking. Yep, that is the one

thing.

Kelly Unkrich is the fth Mines

pitcher since 2001 to throw a

no-hitter.

The Mines mens basketball

team ended their season last

Monday, but not before making

school history one last time. Al-

ready breaking the single seasonrecord for wins, the Orediggers

held on for a 62-59 win over Ad-

ams State in the opening round of

the Division II NCAA Mens Bas-

ketball tournament, earning the

schools rst ever victory in the Di-

vision II form of March Madness.

Adams State had their chanc-

es late with an opportunity to tie

the game twice in the nal 15 sec-

onds. But Junior Gordon Galloway

blocked Robby Hanzliks three

point attempt with 13 seconds

left and after Brett Green gathered

in the loose ball and nished at

the other end to put, Mines was

ahead by ve. With one second

remaining, the Grizzlies pulled to

within three once again, but their

desperation three point attempt

missed at the buzzer.

Similar to last years opening

round game, in which Mines relin-

quished an 11 point lead in a loss

to top-seeded Minnesota State

Mankato, the Orediggers method-

ically built a 10 point cushion over

the Grizzlies to take a 28-18 point

halftime advantage. But unlike last

year, Mines was able to stave off

the Adams State rally and hold on

for the three point win.

Mines was once again led by

balanced scoring as three players

ended the game in double gures.

RMAC Player of the Year Sean

Armstrong nished with a team

high 14 points, Galloway nished

with 13 and Dale Minschwaner

added 12. Senior Drew Hoffman

scored seven, Green and Chris

Goutama each added six, and

Nico Mucci and Trevor Wages

nished with two points each to

round out the scoring.

The 18 point total was the low-

est allowed by the Orediggers

all season, an unusual defensive

stand for a team that is no strang-

er to high-scoring contests. The

victory brought the seasons win

total to 26, setting a new school

record for wins in a season. It was

the fourth time Mines had squared

off against the Grizzlies this sea-

son and the third in the previousseven games.

After defeating Adams State

in the rst round, Mines faced

second-seeded Fort Lewis. The

game was closer than the nal

score indicated, as the two teams

traded leads multiple times before

Fort Lewis pulled away for a 77-

65 victory.

Mines had faced Fort Lewis

the previous week when they fell

to the Skyhawks in the RMAC

Shootout championship game

72-67. And just like that game,

Mines once again fell behind early,

trailing 15-4 just ve minutes in.

The Orediggers rallied a couple

of times, and even led by two at

halftime, but were unable to re-

cover from a 14-2 Fort Lewis run

in the second half and fell to the

Skyhawks for the second straight

game.

In their nal game as Oredig-

gers, seniors Armstrong and Hoff-

man led Mines in scoring. Arm-

strong led all scorers with 19 and

Hoffman added 16.

2010-2011 was one of the

most successful seasons for a

mens basketball team at Mines.

Mines set a new record in wins

with 26, reached the NCAA tour-

nament for the second time, won

their rst ever NCAA tournament

game and were proud owners of

the RMAC Coach of the Year in

Pryor Orser and Player of the Year

in Armstrong.

The RMAC sent a total of

ve teams to the NCAA tourna-

ment and all were placed in the

Midwest Region. None of those

teams reached further than the

third round, and Fort Lewis ad-

vanced the farthest, losing to top-

seeded Minnesota State Mankato

in the round of sixteen.

Trevor Crane

Content Manager

As many students were busy

planning their spring break plans,

athletes from ve different varsity

sports competed at their respective

NCAA Division II National Champi-onships, hoping to earn an individu-

al title. Eight athletes from the wres-

tling, mens and womens track,

and mens and womens swimming

and diving teams each represented

Mines in their event. In honor of their

performance at the national level,

here are their results.

Mack McClain, Mens Track -

McClain, a senior, posted a time of

4:08.32 in the mile run, placing rst

overall and earning his third career

individual national championship

and the fth individual title in school

history. McClain currently holds the

record in the mile run at 4:02.70.

Mens DMR, Mens Track - Mack

McClain, Peter Jenkins, Ryan Han-

ley, and Ben Zywicki combined toplace second in the Mens Distance

Medley relay in a time of 9:58.18.

The nish is Mines fourth consecu-

tive top ve nish in the event and is

the highest nish in school history.

Ryan Hanley, Mens Track - Han-

ley, a sophomore from Anchorage,

Alaska, placed seventh overall in the800m run in a time of 1:53.91. It was

Hanleys rst appearance in an indi-

vidual event at the indoor champi-

onships and his best individual nish

overall as he earns his second and

third career All-American honors.

Jordan Larsen, Wrestling - Lars-

en, a junior from Bayeld, Colorado,

fell in his opening match against Tad

Merritt, ranked second in the nation,

by a score of 5-3. Larsen would

then go on to defeat Jake Varilek

10-4 in session two before falling

in his third match to fourth ranked

Matt Gille 5-1. Larsen was Mines

only representative at the champi-

onships.

Andrew Zerwick, Mens Swim

and Dive - Zerwick, a junior, placedsecond in the 200 backstroke in

1:47.52, thirteenth in the Mens 100

backstroke (50.17), and twentieth

in the 200 freestyle (1:40.71) at the

Mens Swimming National Champi-

onships. The second place nish is

the highest career nish for Zerwick

and shatters the previous school re-cord in the event. It is also the sec-

ond highest nish in school history

and the highest nish by an Oredig-

ger in the 200 backstroke.

Brianna Suppes, Womens Track

- Suppes, a sophomore, recently

broke her own school record in the

pole vault, clearing 120.5. Sup-

pes, one of two women represent-

ing Mines at the national champion-

ships, posted a no height mark in

the womens pole vault.

Kiera Benson, Womens Track

- Benson, a senior from Needville,

Texas, posted the eleventh best

preliminary time in the womens

60m at 7.64s, but did not qualify for

the nals. Benson currently holds

the school record in the event at7.52s.

National ChampionshipWeek wrap upTrevor Crane

Content Manager

Mines beats AdamsState in round one

COURTESY CSM ATHLETICS


7/8

o p i n i o nmarch 21, 2011 page 7


Dilemma #1

I recently got a test back, and I was very happy with my score. While going through the test, though, I noticed

some mistakes that the grader had missed. I really do not want grade to be diminished, but at the same time I do notwant to be walking away with a score I didnt earn. Should I bring the test to the teachers attention, and throw myself

on his mercy with the possibility of him lowering the test grade? I could, also, just keep my grade and be happy with

it. What is the moral thing to do?

Test Results Arent Always Clearly Positive or Negative

Responses to Dilemma #1

Honestly, if there were many mistakes made on grading the test then it probably would be best to take it to the

professor. By not doing anything you would be robbing yourself of a learning opportunity. Also, it will make the next

test you honestly ace taste that much sweeter. Sartre would say it would be bad faith that your actions or inactions

dont have an effect on society. An existentialist would tell you to focus on what applies the most meaning to your life

today, feeling accomplished that you understand the material or having a good grade? Or both? (Just because you

did well on an exam with a couple unnoticed mistakes doesnt mean you didnt work hard to understand the material.)

Courtney

According to the philosophy of Immanuel Kant, you should tell your teacher about the mistake. First off, Kan-

tian ideals are based on the thought that humans, being rational beings, are deserving of dignity and respect. Your

teacher, who is a human (hopefully), is entitled to know if he or she made a mistake because of his or her status as a

person, capable of rational thought. Also, you should do something not because it has the best consequences, but

because it is the moral thing to do. You shouldnt worry about how your grades will be affected; rather, you should

just let your teacher know the truth because it is the morally upstanding action. Another theme of Kants is that if anaction can be willed to be a universal maxim, it is a moral action, and vice-versa. Thus, if everybody were to withhold

this type of information, it could lead to grades in general being not based on effort at all. So, you should tell your

teacherit will mean youve done the morally correct thing. If thats not enough, just think about it: your teacher will

most likely let you keep the free points anyways.

Clayton Manning

I would suggest talking to your professor. According to Aristotles virtue ethics, for a decision to be moral, it must

be made for the right reasons, at the right time, and in the right way. While it might be hard to approach your profes-

sor knowing that your grade could be lowered, you would have the satisfaction of knowing that you were making a

decision for the right reasons. In this case, I would say that the right time to approach your professor is ASAP. Instead

of feeling slightly guilty every time you think about that test grade, you will instead have continued forming the habit of

behaving virtuously. It doesnt hurt that many professors at Mines are very understanding about these sorts of things,

and may already be aware of the mistakes that you found.

Virtue Ethics Enthusiast

Dilemma #2

I am a freshman here at Mines, and like most of you other freshman, I am looking for a place to live off campus next

year. I had been approached by a couple of upperclassman friends (lets call them roommates group one, or RG1)

that were looking for a roommate starting this summer. Everything had been set in stone for me to live with them, or

so I thought. A couple of weeks ago, they told me that another one of my friends living plans for next year might notwork out and that if they didnt, he wanted to move in with them. I was taken aback. They told me to start looking for

another place to live just in case the friend wanted to move in there.

So I did, and I found people to live with (RG2) and we started looking for a place. After we found a couple options,

RG1 told me that it all worked out and that I could move in with them. Now here comes the problem. Originally I

was obligated to RG1 and they were just as obligated to me. They broke that trust when they put my position back

up for grabs. Then I became obligated to RG2. So now I am wondering what I should do. Which obligation should

I honor? The original one with RG1? Or the new one with RG2 because RG1 nearly broke their obligation to me?

Homeless Engineer

Responses to Dilemma #2

You should stick with RG2, because you now have an obligation to them. Because RG1 metaphorically threw you

out on to the street, they broke any obligation that you had to them. If you leave RG2 now, you will be doing to them

what RG1 did to you. If you consider how you felt when RG1 told you they would rather room with one of their other

friends, this is exactly how RG2 will feel if you go back to RG1. As Kantian ethics say, you should universalize your

maxim, and in this case, if everyone constantly broke their obligations to and contracts with other people, no one

would trust anyone else ever again, and the world would be much worse off. For this reason, Kantian ethics say that

breaking your obligation to RG2 would be morally unacceptable. You have no obligation to RG1, but you do have an

obligation to RG2, and it would be morally wrong to break this promise.

Stick With Your Real Friends

This isnt really a case of two obligations; it is a case of determining which verbal contract is still active. When RG1

approached you about the room offer and you accepted it, it became a verbal agreement by both parties. They then

broke their side of the verbal agreement when they told you to look for somewhere else to live. At that point you were

no longer obligated to room with them next year. You and RG2 went off to nd a house and created a verbal agree-

ment to live with each other next year after nding a house. Ethically you are still obligated to live with RG2, since that

contract is still in effect. RG1 showed that you are not as valuable to them as you may have once thought, while

RG2 has shown no discrepancy on the subject. At the same time if you decide to room with RG1 next year you will

have displayed the same breach that RG1 did when they asked you to look for another place to live. All in all, room

with RG2 next year.

Nailo

In the situation regarding the roommate dilemma, the proper action would be to move in with the second

group. Based on the presented situation, a trust was broken between an individual and a group of roommates leav-

ing this individual stranded. As a response to this, the individual moved on in concern of his/her personal

New Dilemma

My roommate snores. As you might guess, this leads to many sleepless nights for me. I know we have lived in

the same room for several months now, but it has just gotten to be too much. I even have tried to go to bed earlier

to accommodate for the hours of sleep I lose per night. I wish I could say something to her, but she has made com-

ments about how well she has been sleeping, and I would hate to ruin that. Should I confront her and jeopardize ourfriendship or stick to the earplugs while I sleep?

Sleepless Roommate

We would love to know what you think Sleepless Roommate should do and the reasons that make you think so.

Do you have an ethical dilemma in your personal, academic, or professional life? You dont have to gure it out on

your own. Send your ethical dilemmas and responses to Sleepless Roommate to: [email protected] midnight

on Thursday, March 24th.

Be sure to let me know if you want your name printed or not and if you have a preferred nickname what it is. We look

forward to hearing from you.

Morals to your storyShira Richman

Ethics Columnist

Students always end up creating one or more really good stories while in

college. It is what makes college such an interesting experience. Sometimes,

these events get a little crazy or out of hand. That is why this week, Minds at

Mines asked students what the craziest thing that they had ever done was.

One time, during a Boys Like Girls concert, I

jumped over the guard rail onto the stage and got

to get a picture with some of the band members.

Since it was the last song that they played, se-

curity escorted me off the stage once the con-

cert was over.

Dani Nagler

Well I have a lot of crazy stories. Once, a

huge laser system was set up in Thomas

hall, so I put on tights and navigated my way

through the laser system making sure not

to set any of them off. One of the best parties

I ever went to was a sandwich and whipped

cream party. This party was crazy because it

consisted of everyone making sandwiches and

licking whipped cream off of attractive people. All

activities I was sober for.

Kyle Gough

I once stole a parking cone with a couple guys

from my oor. We then proceeded to break into a

janitors closet using a credit card and leave the

cone in there. When we returned to check if the

cone was still there, it wasnt.

Kyle Vanderveen

Stephen Hejducek

Content Manager

First round of tests

Minds at Mines

Tims

two entsTraditionsTim Weilert

Staff Writer

Tradition is one of those quali-

ties that separate the exceptional

from the average. There are a few

characteristics within tradition: pride,

community, history, and shared ex-

perience. On a macro level all of

humanity recognizes the traditions

that coincide with the stages of life:

celebration of a birth or marriage,

mourning and remembrance at fu-

nerals. Moving down the scale we

pass religious and national traditions,

nally arriving at the microcosm that

is CSM.

Stop and consider the multitude

of reasons why you came to Mines

in the rst place. In all honesty you

could have gone most anywhere,

but why choose Mines? My person-

al short answer: tradition.

Within tradition at Mines there are

multiple layers and type-categories.

On the prestigious/ofcial front there

are the traditions of science, engi-

neering, research, elite educational

experience and academic honesty.

As students we can appreciate

humbler traditions related to com-

munal living and fun traditions like

E-days, Senior Stetsons, and the M

climb.

Where is the controversy here? It

exists within two camps: the admin-

istration and the students. In order to

maintain a tradition both sides must

agree to honor a practice in one form

or another. However, the acceptable

form of a tradition is often debatable.

Living in a progressive society

we must be careful about how we

approach traditions. On one hand

it may be outdated or socially ir-

responsible to celebrate a tradition

as it was originally intended. On the

other side there is a risk of losing

some facet of originality in reforming

a tradition. An excellent case study:

the M climb.

Making freshmen climb a moun-

tain with a 10 pound rock is a pretty

fantastic tradition. However, given

an ofcial stance grounded in pub-

lic safety and the threat of legal ac-

tion, freshmen are no longer pelted

with water balloons. While debate

on this issue may still exist on cam-

pus, I would argue that this tradition

has become more progressive while

maintaining its original intent.


8/8

s a t i r e march 21, 2011page 8


proudlyservingallegrocoffee&tea

organicespressodrinks

hormone - freemilk

Do you work on Campus onSaturdays?

You can now get your AFPP(Afternoon Face PlantPrevention) at the Book & Brew

CSMs seniors showed some

confusion last week about the

scheduled break. Many at-

tempted to show up for class or

turn in homework, and a few pro-

fessors followed suit, worseningthe situation.

Others thought that they were

attending classes even though

they were not. Said mechanical

engineering senior John Noble,

Spring break? Isnt that in June

or something?

Those in charge of student life

claimed that this was probably

the result of capstone classes,

in which it is customary to have

three or more assignments given

over break. In one of my class-

es, said mathematics senior

Donna Collins, I had a probably

20- or 30-hour homework set,

plus a project proposal to edit

Students unsure aboutSpring BreakJaneen Neri

Slave to Work

and a chunk of my term project

that I needed to do. Of course

class was in session, dont be

silly.

Other students expressed a

similar level of denial, with one

threatening to go weep in a fetal

position if last week was actu-

ally supposed to be considered a

break.

The professors who remem-

bered that last week was spring

break were unapologetic. In the

real world, they said, students

should not learn to expect breaks,

vacation days, or weekends.

Keeping the homework load

steady is great job preparation,

said physics professor Darek

Skaro, since modern jobs re-

quire hires to do the bulk of the

work in their homes or while on

vacation.

Teachers also cited prepara-

tion for graduate school, resting

easy in the fact that most stu-

dents have not taken graduate

classes, and are unaware of how

light the postgraduate homework

load is.

In graduate school, said

Skaro, professors expect stu-

dents to take ownership of their

own learning, and will tend to

give shorter, more substantive

assignments rather than ooding

students with busywork. It is thus

essential to give seniors long, re-

petitive assignments to prepare

them for this workload.

Meanwhile, freshmen had

a different take. Man, I was

soooooooo busy over spring

break, said undeclared freshman

Adam Mitchell, I had a calculus

worksheet to do and a meeting

with my EPICS team.

I barely managed to squeeze

in time for WoW, ve parties, and

a road trip to New York. It was in-

tense. Many also expressed ex-

citement about E-days.

Sudoku

See solution at oredigger.net/satire

the oredigger issue 19 - march 21, 2011

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