My ID/ Halloween self

What you can't see is that he's eating pumpkin pie :)

No wonder we didn't have any trick-or-treaters. No bother; we watched a NOVA special on fractals (Hunting the Hidden Dimension). How nerdy am I?

At least, it seems, I succeeded in scaring away evil spirits!

Not a moonbow, not a rainbow...

...it's a lunar rainbow!

I saw this picture taken by Martin McKenna on Spaceweather.com today. It was a rainbow lit not by the sun, but by the moon! A "moonbow" is usually high cirrus clouds lit by the moon (or ice crystals high in the sky), creating a halo. I don't have a picture handy of that, but experienced it many times during cold New England winters.

I've never seen this but hope to. Incredible!

~L

Thoughts for the fall

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."
Mahatma Gandhi
.

finally found field focus?

I located some good field sites this past week. Looks like hopefully I'll be on my way to getting started with my fieldwork. They are in San Diego county and I still hope to locate some in Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura counties. Looks promising. How terrible that I should be so delighted to find sites invaded by fountain grass! I'm actually happy to find them; I knew they existed. Now to get permission etc.

Things are looking up, for me and fountain grass. Perhaps not so much for the natural communities! But that is what I'm trying to find out...

Towards More "Elegant" Science

So here I am trying to put the final touches on my dissertation proposal. It's been laid out conceptually, but I've been finding that everything tends to get very complicated very quickly. Control for soil moisture, radiation, or season, or probable date of occurrence or propagule pressure... I think I'm getting the spins.

I was heartened to hear about an experiment wherein a scientist literally looked at the direction cows were facing in pictures in Google Earth (and possibly aerial photos, I'm not sure) and discovered that they seemed to sense the earth's magnetism, because they faced magnetic north a statistically significant amount of time.

How wonderful that such a simple idea- observation, question, simple observational study and discovery of a phenomenon- can lead to a significant discovery in this day and age! And not to mention, a publication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (can you see me turning green with envy?). The time of dropping things from the leaning tower of Pisa etc. is long gone, but elegant science seems still possible.

To be precise, elegance is not equivalent to simplicity, rather, it is is the accomplishment of documenting a phenomenon by using a method that captures the essence of what is going on. Often an out-of-the-box reasoning, or simple alternative to traditional methods might be used. Nature teases us ecologists with her elegance, in patterns and processes, and challenges us to find the signal among the chaos.

When I've been designing experiments now, the words (I'm not sure what the citation is here, any help is appreciated) "Simplify, simplify" ring in my head. Also, my 8th grade algebra teacher's favorite expression, KISS, or "Keep It Simple Stupid!"

With all deference to the power and value of complicated experiments, as a student, it is helpful to get back to the question you're asking, and ask, what is the simplest way that I can see if this phenomenon is occurring? It may not approach elegance, but I think it's a start.
.

Olympics for all

I was very saddened today to hear that the International Olympic Committee has decided not to allow the athletes from Iraq to compete in the Games in China. What they, of all people should understand is what this actually means to the young athlete. This international stage comes around only every 4 years- an eternity for any athlete, making it often a single chance to compete.

Besides, even leaving the spirit of "We Are the World," Coca Cola commercials and Un Seul Peuple aside, this is supposed to be a neutral event, where athletes are judged by one standard. In this case, it's not discrimination (though I don't know) necessarily, but politics. Politics politics politics. Enough!

This reminds me of how I felt not long ago when there were protests against the Olympic torch. How can someone politicize an international competition, that is at least outwardly representative of peace, understanding and unity? How exactly does a runner/swimmer/javelin-throwing torch-bearer deserve to be threatened and upstaged by protests? An athlete whose goal is simple and pure- perfection of a sport and fair competition!

I attended a party for an (American) Olympic athlete last month. She'd just qualified for her event after years and years of training (and previous Olympic appearances) and her friends and family threw her a giant party to celebrate her achievement. The joy, pride and awe in her achievement after overcoming significant obstacles to compete was palpable, even with such a supportive environment: the party was in a large, beautiful home in Orange county, and sponsors, friends and fellow trainees were there to celebrate.

I'd like to try to picture how Dana Hussain, one Iraqi athlete, celebrated her qualification, in a time when her country is at war, and the difficulties of training and living in Iraq were likely not easy... how she's dreamed about this for months and years. And now she is unable to compete. Without the Olympics, what is the future of a female professional sprinter in Iraq? And what is the future of the children of this country that is struggling to start over- denied the inspiration and hope that comes from seeing their best compete on the world stage?
.

Summer fun

Well my explorations will take me far and wide this summer. First up is the search for fountain grass! I will be down to San Diego and up to Santa Monica. Not bad places to go to get out of the 90-degree temps of the inland empire, if I do say so myself. I hope to establish a field site on a nice hillside, with ocean breezes, views to the mountains and oceans, and perhaps with a Starbucks nearby... I know of PhD who studied coral reefs partially due to the location. You can't blame her!

You have to remember here that most of us have paid our dues as interns or technicians in wind, rain, black flies, and toxic dust! I think after about 2 years of service to the feds and various states, I've earned the right to pick a nice field site! Actually most all of us like getting completely dirty-- there's something very satisfying when your exterior reflects the amount of work you've done and how hard it was!

This picture is actually my friend's legs on a field job a couple summers ago. We would roll out of the kayak and slog through mud up to our knees. When we got back we would use a hose to clean our pants, let them dry and then wear them the next day! (you can only bring so many changes of clothes for a 10-day shift)

I guess I do miss it, and I'm sure I'm in store for all sorts of heat, sunburn, ticks, and dust. But I will LOVE IT!

.