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Showing posts from March, 2011

The Cumberland Island Armadillos

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Jennifer's original photograph circa 1990. Clint, Mark, me, Jeffery, and Ted prepare for a Cumberland Island adventure. After seeing this pic Clint captioned it as "The Cumberland Island Armadillos sans Jennifer." The name stuck. I’ve mentioned the Cumberland Island Armadillos throughout this blog. In a nutshell, they are collection of good friends, best friends in fact, that all met during a strange assortment of backpacking and camping trips through the years. Almost all of the ‘Dillos (as we affectionately refer to ourselves) have been to Cumberland Island at one time or another. A ‘Dillo that has never been to the island is known as “dillotaunt”, a designation that is not considered secondary but for missing the experience of the island itself which is, of course, uniquely profound. Everyone is included equally in our fellowship. Going there is not a requirement as long as you can appreciate the peace and sense of magic of those who have been to Cumberland Island

The Wave of 2011

We all are collections of little prejudices. Here is one of mine. People who think God made the Earth roughly 6,000 years ago , as the chronology of the Bible more or less factualizes, are stupid. It is difficult for me to respect them. I work with a person who thinks this way. He rages against how Carbon-14 dating has been “ disproven ” and how it is clear “ from studies ” that these old primate fossils have nothing to do with human beings. I respect him as a fellow manager and he is often a fun guy. But his religion makes him stupid. We know the Pacific Ocean is shrinking and the Atlantic Ocean is growing wider at a rate of about one inch per year. The movement of the continents has been happening for hundreds of millions of years. We know this because, among other reasons, the fossil record indicates the landmasses of South America and Africa were once united . It took about 130 million of years for the Atlantic Ocean to form . To say this could have happened in 6,000 years (or

Google Earth As Art

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Detail of a marshy region near the Amazon River as viewed from 15 miles altitude in Google Earth. North is right. Amazon You had so much and now so much is gone What are you gonna do With your life? What a lucky man. To see the earth before it touched his hand What an angry fool To condemn. One more night to go One more sleep upon your burning banks A greedy man never knows What he's done. A natural beauty should be preserved like a monument to nature Don't sell yourself too short, my love Or someday you might find your soul endangered... -Neil Young, Natural Beauty Once more, seemingly disconnected events have coalesced in my life to produce something unexpected and new. I see karma in this though you may call it what you will, haphazard chance perhaps. Early last fall, The Economist featured a cover story of the world's great forests, particularly the Amazon rain forest. I read the article with interest but it was an isolated incidence in my life. It was an impressive,

The Hobbit: Take Nine

I just reread JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit for either eighth or ninth time in my life (I can't remember which exactly). My first reading was when I was in high school and I have always begun my reading of The Lord of the Rings (LOTR) with Tolkien's "enchanting prelude" to his famous trilogy. Unlike LOTR, The Hobbit is a children's book. More specifically, it is written for early teens. That doesn't take anything away from the enjoyment of reading it as an adult, obviously, since I have done so many times. Each tour is a special treat. Tolkien is very informal in this narrative. He pokes a bit of fun at the reader now and then. The story itself is rather straightforward, with surprising (if a bit formula-matic) twists and turns to keep young minds (and older ones) engaged. The Hobbit is a perfect read for someone like myself who usually reads a lot of rather heavy books. It is comparatively light without being simpleton, it is well-written, and has some d