Main Entry: 1sem·a·phore
Pronunciation: 'se-m&-"fOr, -"for
Function: noun
Etymology: Greek sEma sign, signal + International Scientific Vocabulary -phore
Date: 1816
1 : an apparatus for visual signaling (as by the position of one or more movable arms)
2 : a system of visual signaling by two flags held one in each hand

for a semaphore illustration you can go to www.m-w.com.

i would like to note, with great joy, the use of exclamation point: "it preserves the tissues of the wood!"

go geek squad.

[a.ho]

here's some geek squad material for you all:

How Does Petrified Wood Form?

The process of petrification is not completely understood because researchers have not been able to duplicate the process in
the laboratory, where it can be observed and measured. But, certain conditions that must have existed for petrification to
occur are known. Oxygen, which causes oxidation or rotting of all types of materials, would have to have been kept away
from the dead plant material to prevent it from decaying before it was preserved. Most likely, the dead plant material was
deprived of oxygen by being buried by sediments settling in water covering the plants. Much of the fossil wood found today
is a product of ancient river and flood plain environments.

After rapid burial, the tree reacts to percolating water. Three things may happen. The log may disintegrate and not be
fossilized. The log may be reduced by compression to a coal or it may become petrified. If petrification takes place,
minerals from percolating water are deposited in fluid-filled openings in the wood. This process is called
permineralization and it preserves the tissues of the wood! In some situations minerals may also substitute for the woody
tissues of the log. This process is called replacement. Most petrified woods are permineralized . The entire process is not
fully understood but is being actively studied.

The final condition, necessary for petrification, is time. The mineral replacement process is very slow, probably taking
millions of years.

well, we'll just have fun working out these little kinks of the system.

5 thank you cards done, 5 to go.

work, work, work.....i'm not really doing anything. i lack focus................

yea! i'm here. the name is still a work in progress, they wouldn't let me use spaces in my name like they allowed Pool Party Kahle, so i'll have to see if it lets me now.

happy monday!

hey kiddles. welcome to the mac house blog, an appropriately geek-squaddish way for us to keep in touch. i demand that all your amusing stories be posted here. shannon, i'm looking in your direction.

[a.ho]