geopractitioner

geopractice tales by Dr. Edmund Medley

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Geopractitioner

Greetings!  I am Dr. Edmund (Ed) Medley, a Geopractitioner, specializing in Geological Engineering. Most of my working life I have worked – practiced – geology, geotechnical/soil engineering and rock engineering. (The differences between the various “geo-disciplines” of geopractitioners are described here and  here.)

Medley, Lake Atitaken, Ont., 1972
Medley, Asilomar , California, 2022

In 1969 I started my random walk of a career zig-zag of various jobs by adventuring in mineral exploration prospecting in the wilds of Canada. I never dreamed then that my life would 50 years later have become a jig-saw puzzle of so many experiences, challenges, ambitions, successes and failures.If you are interested in a skinny précis of my life, it is summarized here.

I am in my mid-70’s and on a glide path to obscurity, my career fading. I longer have the push of ambition that I once had. But I am amazed and proud at how my geopractice evolved from the adventurous/foolish urges of a clueless/carefree 20-year old – who bullshitted his way into a mineral exploration job – to the retiring old man who can now relish relating a few accomplishments, without too much bs embellishment.

For 13 years this website was a marketing billboard vainly heralding my achievements and talents to attract consulting projects. It was a failure in that regard. So, the site is now remodeled as a library of stories, GeoTales, of my geopractice experience ranging from: silly mistakes to proud achievements; academic frustrations to research Ahas!; funny to serious projects; and, accounts of winning coveted jobs to the dismay of being fired five times. There are also some blunt opinions: a few lessons to share: and, hints to younger folk on what not to do/what to do in their geopractice. One is: get fired at least once!

My personal tales of family, travel, life success/failures, musings with poems and snapshots still appear on edmedley.com.

A Franciscan Complex melange – a bimrock – in Northern California

Go to my website bimrocks.com for information and musings on the characterization of  bimrocks, complex geological mixtures of hard blocks of rock embedded in weak, often soil-like matrix, such as melanges, fault rocks and weathered rocks. 

Recent Posts

  • M/S Lundefjell - workaway to a new life

  • Good Soil, Bad Dirt

  • The Vitality of Good Contacts

  • On Seeking Dirty Work and the Value of Shoveling S--T*

  • On the Rewards of Being Fired and Other Career Road Blocks

  • On Geonudity and Some Benefits of Your GeoEngineering Education

  • Schoolgirl Sirens

  • Ho Hum, Another Dirty Day in Paradise

  • Radio, Silence

  • Dear Joan, Devil's Club and Jello

  • What THEY Didn't Teach Dr. GAR at Engineering School

  • Puss-Puss

  • Ok Tedi

  • Hard Hats (1982)

  • Ox Head and other tools

  • Snow Jobs

  • Excellence is Not Convenient

  • PE, BE

  • My Toughest Project: Converting Cubic Centimeters

  • Careering With Job Lurches

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