Mexican Proof Fence

So, if we build a fence at the USA-Mexico border to keep out illegal immigrants, um.... who will build the fence? Golden State Fence might be working themselves out of a job.

Career and Christmas lists

My last post was from Montana and I there is a pretty good story of why I was there and how I got to where I am now. Maybe I'll be able to tell it next weekend when I have more time.

The Porfolio Career

The last couple of weeks I have been in Loma Linda, CA working pretty much non-stop on my thesis. Its amazing the amount of work that goes into one of these things. It has made me wonder why I ever wanted to be a biologist in the first place. I don't really have time to writing a post to my blog, I have a draft due to the Graduate School office on Monday morning, but I have spent half of my day trying to make my figures look nice in Illustrator with little success ("fatal error, not enough memory") and I need a brake.

So I'm not really considering giving up on biology, but I am going to have to think about maintaining a positive cash flow in some way after I graduate. I have recently come across the concept of the "Portfolio Career" which I think may be just for me. It is a term that was coined in the 90's to describe the increasing mobile and decreasingly blue collar American work force. There really are no garaunteed 30 year career type jobs anymore, my father was laid off from Case IH twice. So the portfolio career is more plastic allowing the employee slave individual more control over their schedule and the direction of there cv. In theory it is indivualised, reflecting your interests and personality. Instead of the one job you have multiple part-time and/or temporary positions combined with self employment and profitable hobbies. Actually, a lot of positions I have been seeing in biology are 3-6 months or maybe a year, so this may be for me. It sounds like fun (better than a dreary 40 hour work week), which is why I wanted to become a biologist.

So I've been thinking up the perfect cocktail of profitable/semiprofitable employment for after graduating. I think the ideal portfolio career for me includes the following.

1. 15-20 hrs/week at a semi-stable part-time job with a real employer, preferably with benefits.
• co-op, landscaping, coffee shop (Starbuck offers health insurance to parttime employees)
2. 20-40 hrs/week consulting
• I really enjoy consulting.
3. Run a small research farm
• I am interested in ways to increase profitability for part time farmers in urban and suburban areas.
4. Research - as much as I am hating writing. I still kind of feel a pull towards research.
5. Teaching - I would like teach a class or two at a community college
6. Temporary field work around the country.
7. I would like to work on waterfowl migration tracking and counting in Nebraska
• owl surveys sound fun
• I have a friend that worked with eagles in Arizona
• These are pretty competitive so I just have keep applying until I get one
8. Local issues
• bike paths, public transit, greenways, public gardens

Although, not a requirement of the portfolio career, I think most of the things on my list are related and would contribute to an ecology and sustainability themed CV.

Christmas list

Now of the second part of my post that I wanted to get out to people. Some people have been wondering about what to get me for Christmas. Please don't buy me anything. Jeff has written a very important and informative post about the state of poverty/wealth on this planet. Here is a song i like to illustrate it. That's part of the reason I ask for nothing. Another is that I already have more things than I can carry with me and I really don't want any more things until I have a place to put them.

However, some people can't help themselves so I will provide you with a list of things that I will accept without immediately re-gifting.


Free or almost free things - for friends and family that weren't planning to get me anything but now are because I'm asking you for it:

* Plant a tree for me -- Send me a picture and a location of where the tree is. Try to plant something native to the region you are in. Something that will live 10-20 years


$25-$50 for friends and family that were actually planning to buy me something

* Gift certificate to KIVA.org - A $25 gift certificate here will become part of a micro-loan to a small business owner in a 3rd world country. After 18months, if the loan doesn't go in default. I will be able to withdraw the money or re-loan it to another needy business person.
* A lift ticket to Whistler.


>$50 - This one is for the complete stranger that is feeling generous

* An acre (more or less is fine) of land. Just looking for a place to grow a little food and put my stuff from the last 27 Christmases.
* A job - preferably something like I talked about in the beginning of this post.



Ok, I've wasted enough time. Back to my figures.

Montana

Things that are a waste of time

The Google

We think this is funny.

BUSH: Occasionally. One of the things I’ve used on the Google is to pull up maps. It’s very interesting to see — I’ve forgot the name of the program — but you get the satellite, and you can — like, I kinda like to look at the ranch. It remind me of where I wanna be sometimes. link

Things that are Food

Which of these things is not food?

Waldon Pond and New England

In the beginning of September I went to Boston to collect some data at Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology. I stayed at the Boston Backpacker's Youth Hostel on Friend street, which I would recommend despite being hit on by the manager. The place has a dozen names so it's more important to know that it's on Friend street at North Station.

I had never been east of New York City before so after my work was finished I wanted to see what else there was to see. I decided to rent a car and drive for a couple days. That turned out to be way more expensive than I had expected. Between the airline ticket, car rental and hostel I could have driven my own truck there for cheaper.

I picked up my car at 1pm on Saturday with 48 hours and unlimited miles to see New England. My goal was to visit Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.


Walden Pond
I went directly to Concord to see Walden Pond. Ceri asked me, "So that must be kind of a pilgrimage for you, huh?" It's the birthplace of Ecology, environmentalism and American naturalist thinking/writing. Looking at a bird book I had purchased at the Harvard Bookstore I discovered that David Allen Sibley lives in Concord as well. I am a biologist that believes that ecological balance is the most important issue for our survival. So, I guess it really was a pilgrimage.

I wasn't quite sure what to think actually. It was $5 to enter the parking lot with no guarantee of actually find a place to park. After finding a questionable parking spot I packed my lunch and binoculars into my backpack and set off through the woods in the wrong direction.

My immidiate reaction was that this was far from the solitude Thoreau must have experienced. About 500,000 people visit every year. It was difficult to take a picture of the pond without a swimmer or kayak in the water. It's kind of crazy.

I walked around the pond, most of which was fenced off because of erosion on the banks. Some people were jumping the fence to get to the water. I wasn't sure if Thoreau would have approved or not.

Mostly I was thinking about how things had changed in the past 160 years. At the time Thoreau moved there it was the only spot of woods left with most of the surrounding area having been deforested for lumber and conversion to agriculture. The area around Walden was too sandy for agriculture and so was spared. Today it seems like there a quite a lot of trees to there might actually be more forested. I had always thought of Thoreau as living in solitude for the two years he was there but in reality, he was only a couple miles from town and his parent's land. It was a 10 minute walk to the rail road. Today that rail road is a commuter rail and probably sees less traffic now than when it was used for mail and freight.

New England

When I saw Thoreau's cabin the first thing I thought was, "I could live here." It was pretty much perfect. On further thought though, I am a bit more of a materialist than Thoreau and would need another building to store my bike and climbing gear and what have you. But presently, I have almost all of my stuff in a 5x5 storage unit so I think I could get buy with only a slightly larger building. If only I could just find some land to build on.

So that's what Walden Pond was like for me.

New England

I was wanting to get to Portland, Maine that night so I only spent two hours at Walden Pond. The drive to Maine is short but it actually took me about 6 hours to get there. I made the silly mistake of taking the surface road rather than pay the toll on the interstate. In New England the average speed limit is 35 is seems. It has a way of testing your patience.

I slept in the trunk of the rental car in a Denny's parking lot in Portland. It was quite comfortable actually. Portland is on a sort of peninsula and has a bike path running most of the way around it. The next morning I got up and walked on the path watching birds and people walking their dogs. Portland I quite nice, I wouldn't mind living there sometime.

At around noon I started toward the white mountains in New Hampshire. There are no interstates in that direction so it was once again very slow traveling. I was able to stay calm by listening to NPR. Click and Clack accompanied me to the Mt. Washington vistas.

The rest of the trip was driving and little stopping. As slow as I was going I thought I should just head back to Boston. But I stayed focused on the goal traveling down I-91 in Vermont to I-89 back into New Hampshire and listening to the episode of This American Life where Diane Cook's boyfriend Jorge doesn't want to be "That Guy" and John Hodgeman describes his experience at the Mall of America. I slept at Walmart in Manchester.

As I drove south into Massechusets the next day it was it was 9am and I knew there wasn't enough time to go to Connecticut and Rhode Island, but it was only like 40 miles away and the goal was to go to the states I hadn't been to before. So I drove through about 5 miles of Connecticut, got lost in Providence, RI and the whole time I was watching the clock and gas tank pushing to get back to the rental place before 1pm Monday. I was speeding towards Boston and thought I would have a good 1hr and 15min before my car was due back, but no, I got lost like 4 times just trying to find the place. It was very frustrating. At one point I could see the parking lot where I needed to get to but there was a fence across the road. It was really unbelievable how far I had to drive to get to the other side of the fence. Boston is full of one ways and crooked streets 5 or 6 point intersections. Don't drive in Boston if at all possible. I got to the rental place at 12:59 and thought I would be fine. But I had to use the restroom and the screwed me in the end. When I gave my receipt to the lady to check me in it was 1:05 and I had to pay for another day of insurance and an hour of car rental, which happens to be only half the price of a full day rental.

So, I guess it's nice to have seen all of those states but it cost way too much. Over all I really liked the northeast. I would like to go back to hike in the mountians. I'm pretty sure renting a car is something I never want to do again with my own money.

All your space are belong to U.S.

Dear Leader,

In your infinite wisdom and benevolence you are supremely qualified to exert absolute authority in this world and all others.

In these terribly dangerous times I am assured that I am safer because you are my leader. You recognized the need for a 700 mile fence to restrict brown people from entering this country (as well as threatening coyotes, leopards, pumas and much other wildlife). This is probably preferable to sending aid to Mexico to encourage people to stay there rather than emigrate to the US.

You tell me that terrorism is less of a problem now than ever before because "Our Enemies Have Not Succeeded In Launching Another Attack On Our Soil" and "our enemies are evil and kill without mercy." This is enough for me to know, facts would be confusing and might undermine the efficacy of your work. I feel ashamed to know about your beneficial programs like domestic wiretapping and secret prisons. I have no right to know about these and my only hope is that my knowledge of this hasn't compromised my safety.

I know that the Geneva conventions are quite vague about the definition of torture. This probably stems from the difficulty in many people attempting come to a consensus about the issues. Of course if only one person were to define torture then there would be 100% consensus. You should be this person. A side benefit is that your infallibility renders the need for habeas corpus obsolete.

Because of your example I feel confident that the US is in the moral highground in asserting control of all of space.

"Consistent with this policy, the United States will preserve its rights, capabilities and freedom of action in space … and deny, if necessary, adversaries the use of space capabilities hostile to U.S. national interests." ABC and here

Richard Branson might have issues but as a white Englishman we will want to work with him. I'm sure as he is a super capitalist and non-islamic there won't be any problems aside from his environmental record.

As a lowely patriotic American it is not my place to make suggestions to you, my only hope is that you will find a way to change the term limits so that you can stay in office for longer than the short 8 years the they give you.

May democracy rule over all people, forever.

Knoppix saved my life

Hello again. I'm feeling a bit guilty for "lurking" and not commenting on others blogs or writing on my own blog. I've been using Google Reader lately which makes it very easy to see when any of you have updated your blogs. So here is a little update about me.

This last weekend I almost lost two and a half months worth of work on my thesis because I hadn't backed it up in that long. On Thursday I got a virus or something and Windows wouldn't start for me. I was able to use Knoppix to retrieve my files before I formatted my hard drive. I finally got everything back to function on Monday. So it ended up taking about four days to do all that. Lesson learned: back up files. Also, I'm thinking about quiting windows and moving to Ubuntu after I finish school.

Currently, I am waiting to hear back about a job I interviewed for at the Minnesota DNR. I am confident that I could do the work and enjoy it, but there were 7 others, who I didn't meet, but I assume were equally qualified as I am. So I guess I have a 12.5% chance of getting the job. Maybe I should have pleaded. If you are Karen and found my blog during the background check, it's been two weeks and I wouldn't mind if you contacted me to let me know one way or the other.

If I do not get the job I will start making plans to return to Loma Linda to defend my thesis. Hopefully I will also be able to make a little money while I am in California as well.

Thanks to Hanne Beldin, and much to Ceri's dismay, I acquired two Siamese cats which I am to transport to my mother in Portland, OR....somehow. They are very friendly cats and are hardly satisfied until they have your compete attention.










Coming soon:

1. The conclusion of my trip to New England, pictures and thoughts about Walden Pond.
   
2. Thoughts on ethanol/biodiesel, hydrogen and electricity for transportation needs.
3. Webpages that interest me lately.
   

Copyright

I seem to be making a habit of reposting from other blogs or webpages lately. I guess it's not as bad as forwarding an email but is still seems a little weird.

Anyway, here is something I found on Accuweather.com, of all places. I have to post it because it's hilarious.

Metaphors For The Ages
Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Regular blog contributor Andrew sent this along, and I couldn't help but beg him to let me post it here. As many of you know, I am a huge nerd about language and vocabulary, and I have also been known to pretend like I am a writer every now and again. I know if I went back and dug up my old stories from when I was a kid or a teenager, they'd probably be chock-full of ridiculous comparisons, similies and analogies. So we're taking a break from the weather talk today and here are some great similes, metaphors and analogies from some of the country's creative teenage geniuses. (My personal faves are in bold!)


"Every year, English teachers from across the country can submit their collections of actual analogies and metaphors found in high school essays. These excerpts are published each year to the amusement of teachers across the country. Here are last year's winners.....


1. Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its two sides gently compressed by a Thigh Master.

2.. His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free.

3. He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it.

4. She grew on him like she was a colony of E. Coli, and he was room-temperature Canadian beef.

5. She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up.

6. Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.
7. He was as tall as a six-foot, three-inch tree.

8. The revelation that his marriage of 30 years had disintegrated because of his wife's infidelity came as a rude shock, like a surcharge at a formerly surcharge-free ATM machine.

9. The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn't.

10. McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty bag filled with vegetable soup.

11. From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie,surreal quality, like when you're on vacation in another city and Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 p.m. instead of 7:30.

12. Her hair glistened in the rain like a nose hair after a sneeze.

13. The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease.

14. Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph.

15. They lived in a typical suburban neighborhood with picket fences that resembled Nancy Kerrigan's teeth.

16. John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.

17. He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant, and she was the East River.

18. Even in his last years, Granddad had a mind like a steel trap, only one that had been left out so long, it had rusted shut.
19. Shots rang out, as shots are wont to do.
20. The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get from not eating for a while.

21. He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either, but a real duck that was actually lame, maybe from stepping on a land mine or something.

22. The ballerina rose gracefully en Pointe and extended one slender leg behind her, like a dog at a fire hydrant.

23. It was an American tradition, like fathers chasing kids around with power tools.

24. He was deeply in love. When she spoke, he thought he heard bells, as if she were a garbage truck backing up. "
Updated: 9/27/2006 12:25 PM

Actionable Intelligence

It's too bad Clinton didn't leave a strategy to remove Osama bin Laden but only a list of actionable items. And then if only bin Laden hadn't been hiding behind the Taliban. Maybe the Bush administration could have done something to prevent 9/11/2001.

Minneapolis Light

Minneapolis Light

click for slideshow
Sep 28, 2006 - 12 Photos

Photography by Bryant Reynolds
Soundtrack by Zero7

I miss Clinton

I didn't pay much attention to politics before I was in college. I vaguely remember a lot of amazingly good enivronmental stuff as Clinton was leaving office. Looking back at how he balanced the budget, decreased unemployment, maintained good relations with other countries, and inproved environmental regulations, I miss him. What was it about America in 1992 that allowed us to elect such a brilliant man?

This weekend Mr. Clinton went on Fox News Sunday for the first time ever to talk about how he raised $7billion for his Global Initiative, combat global warming and poverty. He got ambushed with a question about Osama bin Laden. This is great! Listen to how you can clearly understand what he is saying, unlike Bush.





And then this commentary on MSNBC.

Manakins are awesome.

Mississippi Wild

Yeah! They are thinking about letting the Mississippi run wild again. Well sort of, I guess they are only willing to let the bird foot delta portion of the Mississippi return to more like it's natural state. I'm sure it will be much more controlled than it's natural history of channal movement and wetland building. In reality the whole coast of Louisiana needs help but this is still significant news and a step in the right direction. It would save 120 million tons of soil from being wasted from agriculture run-off into the ocean every year (soil which would be better off staying in farmers fields if you want my opinion) as well decrease the size of the "death zone" which is and area of hypoxia off the Louisiana coast essentially a man made problem.

I took the cannoli

I have been enjoying my time in Boston. I've been traveling around the North End mostly and taking a lot of pictures. You may have seen some of them in my last two posts. There are more here. I hope my camera battery holds out until I return to Minnesota.

On Tuesday I purchased a book from Booksmart anticipating my trip. I was originally going to buy "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan but then saw "Collapse" by Jared Diamond and lost interest in Sagan. I had already started reading "Collapse" but also, I am a big fan of Diamond and I new I could stay interested in the book. I also considered Sarah Vowell briefly, I've already started some of her books as well. Collapse has been interesting but now as I'm wondering along the Freedom Trail I wish I had chosen Vowell.

Another book I should have bought, in retrospect, was an Italian phrase book. It didn’t occur to me that I would need one but this morning I wondered into a pastry shop looking for some breakfast and was unable to ascertain the contents of a certain lobstertail. My mind immediately started wondering how I it could be possible that I completely lack any understanding of basic Italian. Apparently, it was a poor decision anyway because I ended up leaving with something of seemingly similar consistency but half the size and shape of the lobstertail. I also got a chocolate filled cannoli which I guess I may have never had before.

I made great time at the Museum of Comparative Zoology yesterday and completed my work in one day. Having planned to work for two days I now have a free day in Boston and have been thinking about what to do. There are many museums and galleries and tours and boat trips to go on but with entrance fees of between $20 and $30 I’ve decided the cheapest thing for me to do is eat. And there is plenty of eating to do; pizza, calzones, gnocci, cannoli, gelati. I’m a little worried about gaining back some of the almost ten pounds that I lost on our journey from California to Minnesota, but with all the walking I’ve been doing here it’ll probably balance out. I think it's funny that so many restaurants advertise "Italian food" because, really, what else are they going to serve.

Presently, I'm sitting in the window of the Boston Beanstock Coffee Co. watching a traffic officer consider an illegally parked Chevy Avalanche. She points to the people sitting outside with her pen, eyebrows raised and a curious frown. The coffee drinkers shake their heads. She looks across the street to a large, gray haired barber. He shrugs, his palms out. She points at the barista. He doesn’t know and makes a half hearted attempt to alert his customers. After going next door, and asking everyone in sight on the street, she reluctantly prints a ticket and continues up the street.

Tomorrow, I’ll rent a car and see other parts of New England. My first stop is Walden Pond and then on to Portland, Maine. I’ll stop at a couple places on the coast and look for migrating seabirds, then camp in the mountains in Vermont.

California to Minnesota

Here are some pictures from our trip to Minnesota.

Loma Linda to Minneapolis

Aug 11, 2006 - 57 Photos

From Fish Creek Canyon

California Coastal Newt (Taricha torosa) 

  

Nora and Chayses Wedding 2

 
 
  

Nora and Chayse's Wedding

 
 
 
  

Willow Lake Park, Prescott, AZ

 
  

Hoover Dam

 
 
 
  

Heading West

Ceri's hot.

Señor Swede

Mexico 3 - Iran 1

  

Saturday

Lake Hemet

Idyllwild

Sparklers