Deep lessons from a simple Leafhopper.....

Can you see the Leafhopper?
I was driving down Santa Barbara in the Cape when I realized I needed fuel. I have a tendency to squeeze every last drop of distance from my fuel tank these days, a practice that sometimes gets me in trouble. This night, however I had enough money and time to fill up long before trouble was encountered.
Driving up to the pump I grimaced at price and then slid the car into park opened the door and approached the pump. Selecting the cheapest grade I removed the nozzle from its holding and placed it in the neck of the car’s fuel tank. Pumping fuel allows me time to think and muse about the day's or week's exploits and at times an opportunity to ponder even deeper thoughts.
This evening I spied a leafhopper on the fuel pump’s display. It was nothing special really, just a simple green leafhopper about a ¼ of an inch long. This particular leafhopper sent me deep into a mental journey that left me standing there pondering the reality of life.
My initial thought was, “Gee, that little guy is identical to the leafhoppers I have seen up north”. This thought made me wonder how widespread this species was distributed. I have seen many of these creatures in my travels. I have seen them throughout the Midwest and as far north as Canada and now a seemingly identical species on the southern tip of Florida, simply amazing.
Then, as I pondered this idea I envisioned the countryside peppered with tiny little capsules of DNA that had the instructions for the construction of this little creature scattered in a genetic carpet from here to the frozen climes in Canada. Then it occurred to me that it was just not the leafhopper genes but a virtual blanket of DNA, RNA and other genetic material literally draping the landscape from edge to edge. Genetic material containing instructions for every living organism on or in the earth, the soil literally roiling with life, the air pulsing with genetic material, the water a veritable soup of DNA.
Then, while I was exploring this living carpet of genetic material in my mind’s eye, I had a revelation that all at once gelled much of what I had been reading of “Darwin’s Dangerous Idea” and the “Selfish Gene”.
We are not true life, that is, we are not the soul of life but rather it is the genetic material itself that is the heart and soul of life. It is the DNA itself that is the true core and source of life indeed true life, more ancient than man or any other phenotype currently expressed.
We are only a vessel containing yet more of the DNA, an expression of that living organism’s attempt to survive and continue existing, a fruiting body as it were. And what is more we humans, dogs, birds, amoeba, lizards bacteria… are not unrelated entities but all “fruits” of that organism, of the living organism found in the reality of the living carpet of Genetic material, inexorably bound together by that same material…
Clearly this organism will continue expressing itself in any form possible in any given environment long after Man has ceased being a viable expression in this environment.
These thoughts illuminate clearly that we are not the measure of anything much less a permanent phenotypical expression
It then dawned on me how incredibly arrogant it is of me to place so much value on my own life and existence. How incredibly narrow minded it is for man to think himself the measure of life, when in reality we are only the crusty edge of a much larger reality, a temporary expression of what was and is possible in this environment, a footprint of a greater and far more enduring entity. Furthermore it is painfully obvious that life itself will continue to modify and alter every genetic expression to fit the possible options in the environment for eons to come.


The age-old story of the life of a fly is so very applicable to mankind...

A fly, expending its life force in a mere 24 hours, is born into a fly's conscious understanding of its environment during a torrential rainstorm. It continues to rain sheets for 24 hours until the fly, having eaten, reproduced and nearing its last breath is queried as to what the environment is like on earth, to which the fly replies, It rains and pours water from the skies incessantly every day, all day long, with no end in sight.

Unlike the misconceptions of the rain soaked fly, that little leafhopper showed me, very vividly, that it most certainly is sunny here on earth much of the time.

A day of exploration and a pleasant suprise!

A friend and I planned a day out today. We decided to explore the everglades and do some fishing. The day started out somewhat misty and chilly, in the low 60’s, and overcast. I am sorry to say that it pretty much stayed that way most of the day as well.
We did manage to get some fishing done in the brackish canals along Route 29 and 41. We caught some very nice alligator gars, which were promptly released, and a few small black bass and cichlids but nothing worth keeping or getting excited about. We finally opted for some good old exploring and sight seeing.


We ventured down to Everglades City and down to Chokoloskee. Pretty much all of it was typical brackish and saltwater marshland with cabbage palms and saw grass as far as the eye could see, interrupted only with tannic backwaters and brackish canals that usher sheets of fresher water off to the Gulf of Mexico. The water is amazingly clear but most all of the canals and streams have pitch black bottoms littered with rotting leaves and other detritus that gives the illusion of black water. The environment is actually very beautiful and inviting, tropical in many ways, yet uniquely marshy. The steams are lined with Blue Herons and Great Egrets, Anhinga’s, Cormorants and countless other bird species, even the occasional Parrot of some sort. All in all I believe bird watching was far more productive than angling on this day.


Of course we spied plenty gators too. Lots of small ones around two to 5 foot long. In fact, if you look closely at the pictured 5 footer you can see several small cichlids in the water of the upper right corner watching his every move.




4 or 5 footer


We also saw several large reptiles in excess of 10 feet. They are truly majestic and formidable. These animals are the top predator in the food chain and are so incredibly fast and powerful that I can scarcely imagine capturing one by hand let alone in a trap. I also find them so incredibly beautiful that I cannot imagine killing one either.



12 to 15 foot long


You see them all lounging lazily on the banks of the streams or floating languidly in the water, but when you see one on it’s feet, head erect on its neck, aware and alert, you instantly see the true power and magnificence of the creature. They are truly impressive.



Havana Cafe'


Around 1:30 or 2:00 in the afternoon we found ourselves in Chokoloskee in front of the “Havana Café” and decided to go in for lunch.
There are times in a person’s life when they stumble into something unexpected and so surprisingly pleasant that they begin to lament its loss even before leaving.
This café is one of those places.



Dining Room


The owners are pleasant and very accommodating. The café is quaint and comfortable and the food is… well… OUTSTANDING!
My friend and I both had the Tamale, which came steamed and seated on a banana leaf and smothered in sofrito so delectable that I could have eaten a bowl of it by itself. The tamale was absolutely wonderful. Staying true to the Cuban and Island style cooking and not the Mexican, the tamale was rich and earthy with wonderful seasoning. The tamale was priced at around $7 or $8 and my friend and I shared an order of black beans and rice, which was tasty as well. After our lunch we had Café-Con Leche, which I ordered “Fuerte” and we shared a piece of homemade flan, which was smoother, and more rich than I have had in years.
If you ever find yourself in this neck of the swamp, check out this quaint café, it will be well worth your time.


All in all my friend and I made an otherwise gray and dull overcast day a small adventure filled exploration which produced a very pleasant surprise.

Words from ANY Language fail to describe the sheer stupidity....

I stumbled on this Profoundly ignorant video of (Dr) Charlene Werner at CP Botha's Blog, cpbotha.net. CP Botha's Blog is all about Dr. CP Botha and his off work exploits, opinions, discoveries, interests and activities.
I frequent this Blog because it is cogent, intelligent and coherent for the most part and most importantly informative and fun.
On March 22 of 2008 I read his post about (Dr) Charlene Werner.
"Singularity of Stupid"
Charlene is a Homeopathic Doctor or optometrist or light therapist or... well.... just apply any other Title that slaps a "DR" in front of your name without having to actually study anything of value, much less anything real.
In CP Botha's post there is a totally incoherent and rambling video of Charlene demonstrating her lunacy and ignorance.
The You Tube video was conspicuously deleted by the user because.... well.... it needed to be! But now seems to be functioning.
"Homeopathy with Dr. Werner"
Seriously, why would anyone want to publicly demonstrate his or her profound ignorance and stupidity?
I actually LOVE these kinds of opportunities because it is certainly a rare thing when the ignorant and the stupid demonstrate their failings so completely and so concisely.
I mean, I don't have to do a thing... There is nothing more to be said... She does all the work for me! SAWEET!

I must point out here that cpbotha.net is an EXCELLENT Blog and comes highly recommended by... ME!
So if you have the time to be entertained to the point of rolling around on the floor laughing uncontrollably, go read the post at cpbotha.net entitled "Singularity of Stupid", watch the video and read the following comments...

Too much wine for "Wine & Bowties"

In the "Wine and Bowties" blog, I was directed to an article/posting that makes some really vacuous claims.
In this posting the blogger points to the claims of one Karen Hanrahan who pens the "Best of Mother Earth" blog found at,

"Best of Mother Earth ~ Creating Healthier Lives"

This is an informative and balanced blog centered around Miss Hanrahan's admirable mission to get healthy and spread the healthy food and lifestyle gospel to those around her and beyond. It also documents her own amazing and laudable effort in Losing weight... Bravo Miss Hanrahan!
However....
Miss Hanrahan writes about her "wellness educators" role and of her favorite "prop" used to educate her students. In this posting,

"1966 McDonalds Hamburger"

she makes some VERY extraordinary claims.
Among those are the following gems,

...She purchased a McDonalds Hamburger 12 years ago and has kept that burger stored since that purchase.
...That the burger has not been preserved in any way.
...That McDonalds foods are chemical foods.
...That McDonalds foods have absolutely no nutritional value.
...That McDonalds food does nothing to nourish the cellular needs of the body.

In her own words,
"Not one ounce of food value."

It is painfully obvious that somebody has an axe to grind.......
Sensational claims demand sensational proof!
So why don't you provide some double blinded peer reviewed studies to back up you poor excuse for an argument....
McDonald's food is far from being good for a person but your claims are sensationalist and ignorant and do nothing but demonstrate your ignorance and bias!

I do not advocate eating fast food of any kind... I especially despise burger joints and McDookies is at the top of my list. I do not partake of McDonalds fare at any level, but have as a child and did so once a month or so or as my parents provided. That food was certainly nutritious and, as I remember, quite tasty to my juvenile palate. Loaded with salt and artificially added fat? Undoubtedly! But nutritious and satisfying nonetheless.
But what we are doing here in this blog is holding the feet of those logically challenged individuals to the fire and demanding PROOF and documentation for extraordinary claims and the claims Miss Hanrahan is making in this posting are Logically dubious, undocumented and sensational.....
So please Miss Hanrahan, put up the documentation you so casually leave out in your posting, Provide the extraordinary studies and proof for your claims, or mark your claims as unsubstantiated personal opinion, as I suspect they truly are.

Can you imagine how persuasive and damning such documentation would be?
Such proof would be paradigm changing..... But I suspect it does not exist.

Unbelievable Crap!

OK, So I have been browsing blogs , just reading and getting a sense of what is going on in the “blogosphere”.
It seems like I am being sent to a "Blog link" to document some claim that a friend makes in an email, two or three times a week.
So I decided to just look around at some of the bloggers and what they are writing. For the most part people are just journaling their lives, jobs or hobbies. They do not write much and write even less that is offensive. BUT, there are those few that seem to be terminally afflicted with cranial-rectal insertion.
In fact I have found an inordinate amount of CRAP and many more crap slingers in the blogosphere.

I have tried to respond to many of these but it is just damned hard, if not impossible, to respond without having an account or registering with some server.... So I just chose to create my own blog, and here it is…
Created solely to respond to the fools who just can't engage their minds and research their thoughts before making a claim and for me to muse about anything I want to ponder, yes, thats right, more crap!

So let the blood letting, and the crap slinging begin!