Behind the news

FOSSILS ROCK
At The Geological Society of America annual meeting earlier this week, scientists publicized the findings of a rock, 330 million or so years old, with full-body imprints of three ancient amphibians. (Read more about theancient amphibians) The rock was sitting in a museum for years and noticed by David Fillmore, a 62-year-old retiree who had worked in computer science for 30+ years and got interested in fossils after reading about some of the first fossil explorers. He ended up going back to school in geology, graduated two years ago, and is still digging around looking at fossils with one of his professors Edward Simpson at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania. "I'm retired and I'm 62. Instead of watching TV, I'm studying that
specimen (the one with the three full-body imprints), studying footprints."

ROCKIES
Yes, it was crowded at the post-Series rally for the Rockies on Wednesday. But it was held in Skyline Park so that it would look like a lot of fans showed up and filled the park (it's a block long, a quarter of a block wide). Not quite like the lined streets through downtown for the parade after the Broncos won the Super Bowl (twice!) or the rally at Civic Center park after the Avs won the Stanley Cup, but the Rockies didn't win the big title either, so all in all, it met with expectations.

NREL
The new research support facility being built at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden will one day get some of its heat from biomass, such as wood chips from thinning forests in Colorado. A mechanical engineer there says don't worry that the lab is going to cut down trees for heat. They say thinning goes on enough with forest-fire prevention that they will not require additional cutting. They also say there will be a symbiotic relationship, with NREL getting wood chips in winter from those who typically sell mulch in spring and summer and don't have much of a market in the winter. When the sellers need to fill demand for mulch, NREL won't need to heat its building.

MUSIC NEWS:
Chin Up Chin Up plays with the Ponys at the Larimer Lounge this Saturday, 11/3, late. Have a listen to "This Harness Can't Ride Anything" off the new album. $12 tix or $10 in advance