Fair question, no? It's been said, and I agree, "Technology is a great servant, but a terrible master." A proverbial double-edged sword that, when decisively wielded, can cut both ways. So all you loathers and whiners. Are you servant or are you master? Perhaps, try deciding what you seek before setting upon your digital wanderings to find some hint of an answer.

For behold! There is much to be found away from the cacophonous din. Just this day, I discovered a classic literary work in its entirety, and therein, Ernest Hemingway's exquisite depictions of the mako shark, as narrated by another American treasure, Charlton Heston.

Seeketh, and you shall find this auditory production of "the Old Man and the Sea" on Youtube. https://youtu.be/uVbArCU7MMw

Thanks for reading. {sp}

“Originally published December 20, 2009. As I relaunch this site, I’m pleased to report my condition has only intensified.”

I made the self-diagnosis of biophelia after hiking on a cloudy and crisp 40-degree morning here in southwest Florida with my adopted canine companion, JD (Jane Doe). I remember a heightened sense of awareness. Of being propelled by an unspoken, but mutually realized sense of primal aliveness. Outside together in time for a rising sun. Just us with the wind in our hair. We both felt wild. Each of us knew it and we liked it.

I am grateful for the thousands of miles my family shared with JD during our 15 years together, and I credit her for prompting me to conduct a more invasive self-examination of chronic symptoms I’ve experienced my entire life. Instinctive wants and needs to be outside. As much as possible. Close to wild places, creatures and things. Man amongst the beasts in their natural habitat. Every time I’ve answered the call, life doesn’t just seem better. It is. Fuller on every level and the effects are lasting.  

Turns out, to varying degrees the human animal is wired biologically with biophilia so you‘ve got it too. Embrace it. Love it like a pet rock. It’s a good thing. An addiction in its own right, but without harmful side effects. Mine also drives most of the work I do, and have done for a long time now, further qualifying me as a functioning biopheliac.

From Wikipedia et al. The biophelia hypothesis suggests there is an instinctive bond between human beings and other living systems. Edward O. Wilson introduced and popularized the hypothesis in his book entitled Biophilia.

Love of Living Systems. The term biophilia literally means love of life or living systems. It was first used by Erich Fromm to describe a psychological orientation of being attracted to all that‘s alive and vital. Wilson uses the term in the same sense when he suggests biophilia describes, “the connections human beings subconsciously seek with the rest of life.” He proposed a possibility. “Deep affiliations humans have with nature is rooted in our biology.”

Unlike phobias, which are the aversions and fears people have of things in the natural world, philias are the attractions and positive feelings people have toward certain habitats, activities, and objects in their natural surroundings. To many people, “nature” means plants as in a park or forest, but the weather and animals are also closely involved. It’s also been said where Biophiliacs live can explain much of their behavior. 

Striking Aspect of Biophelia. Similarly, the hypothesis helps explain why ordinary people care for and sometimes risk their lives to save domestic and wild animals, and keep plants and flowers in and around their homes, thus our natural love for life helps sustain life.

Product of Biological Evolution. Human preferences toward things in nature, while refined through experience and culture, are hypothetically the product of biological evolution. For example, adult mammals (especially humans) are attracted to baby mammal faces and we find them appealing across species. The large eyes and small features of any young mammal face are far more appealing than those of the mature adults. The biophilia hypothesis suggests the positive emotional response adult mammals have toward baby mammals across species helps increase the survival rates of all mammals.

Any hypothesis uses limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation so it’s technically not a ‘real’ form of philia or clinical condition. As a layman interpreter, it does explain much of the how and why my interests and preoccupations evolved into obsessions and occupations. Maybe there is a method behind the madness after all and a connection to and with nature plays a key role.

Thanks for reading. {sp}

Originally published in 2014. Amended 2018.

Florida wildlife and habitats were something to behold for my family from Pennsylvania when we arrived here in the 1970s. Exotic animals and plants we had only seen in books or on television dominated the landscape. It took no time for my brothers and me to develop skills for getting our hands on any wild thing that crawled, swam, slithered or flew, and lizards were abundant most anywhere on dry land.

MOTHER NATURE PLAYS REFEREE
The adult male browns have a competitive superiority over the same food sources the greens rely upon. They also eat green anole eggs and their vulnerable young. The more aggressive and dominating brown displaced greens forcing them to adapt from their primary ground territory to an elevated existence in the branches of bushes and trees. This dramatic reduction in their native range and resulting drops in population caused the powers of natural selection and the mechanism of evolution to kick in. Green anoles adapted their hunting methods and diet to shift from slower moving ground dwellers like beetles and roaches to more agile flying insects.

Compelling physical changes to the anatomy of green anoles were also documented in a study conducted by Yoel Stuart. A postdoctoral biologist at the University of Texas, Stuart says their feet are now bigger and stickier. In 2014, his published findings with a handful of other researchers state this evolution took place in just 20 generations of the lizard or about 15 human years. The study states greens forced to live in trees and bushes feature a larger pad on their fourth toe compared to their ground-dwelling relatives not affected by invasive browns. This toe pad also exhibits more scales and thousands of microscopic hairs that enable it to better cling to surfaces; a feature that enhances climbing and clinging ability.

But they’re just lizards. Who cares? What’s the big deal? Brown anoles are part of a much bigger problem and they have plenty of company. Over 500 non-native fish and wildlife species and 1180 non-native, exotic or alien plant species are documented in the Sunshine State, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). ‘Non-native’, ‘alien’ or ‘exotic’ are interchangeable terms describing species that may or may not become ‘invasive’ or ‘naturalized’, once presented to an environment. If that sounds confusing, it is. Let’s break it down the real problem.

INVASIVE SPECIES DEFINED
Contrary to a popular belief in some circles including most news and media outlets, non-native, alien and exotic species don’t always qualify as invasive; a term used far too loosely given important distinctions. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines an invasive species this way.

An invasive species is one that is:

1) non-native (or alien) to the ecosystem under consideration and

2) whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health.

Invasive species can be plants, animals, and other organisms (e.g., microbes). Human actions are the primary means of invasive species introductions.

Some non-native species arrived in Florida by natural range expansions. For example, cattle egrets, a bird species, native to Africa and Asia, flew across the Atlantic Ocean in the 1950s. The FWC classifies these species as not native to a location but that have adapted and established a stable or expanding population. They deem these ‘naturalized’. The coyote and red fox migrated to Florida through natural range expansions from other states so they also fall into this category. Brown anole lizards were introduced via human activity and are harmful to the native green anole and so are a legitimate invasive.

Other human-introduced invasive examples include the Cuban tree frog. Arriving in 1931 through cargo packing materials, it spread to Florida’s natural habitats by the 1970s. It is an effective predator of native tree frogs. Burmese pythons became invasive headliners after their prolific expansion throughout the Everglades. As a large, efficient and resilient predator, it has wreaked havoc on many native species populations. Birds and other reptiles including turtles, alligators, and their eggs have become a staple of the python’s diet. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, feral swine are descendants of escaped or released pigs. Also known as; wild boar, wild hog, razorback, piney woods rooter, and Russian or Eurasian boar, they are a dangerous, destructive, invasive species.

Thanks for reading. {sp}

How does this day differ

From those gone past

When my ghosts again come hither?

Can never be extinguished

Don't know extinct

Eternal flames burn indistinguished

Take that first step through to the last

While blinding eyes pierce through to my past

And like a cracked peep hole in the door

My soul will be see through no more

{sp}

Footnote on demons: When they come creeping ‘round, fight like hell to lead the dance.

Thanks for reading. {sp}

"You may be keeping accounts, and presently you shall walk out of the door that for so long has seemed to you the barrier of your ideals, and shall find yourself before an audience, the pen still behind your ear, the ink-stains on you fingers, and then and there shall pour out the torrent of your inspiration".

Originally published on January 5, 2018.

I came across this Facebook video post by CoastfishTV. Their title was accurate. ‘Scary SHARK Encounter’. I say accurate because it sure as hell is scary, but also void of the word ‘attack’ unlike posts of the same by other sources. “White Shark Attacks Diver - Close Call”, “Great white shark headbutts diver in scary shark attack encounter” and “Diver lucky to escape great white shark attack.”

This revealing clip provides a glimpse of instinctual behaviors by one of the planet’s most efficient predators and reminds me of dovetailing topics that have held my focus since I was young. The evolving dynamic between man and beast and the ways different cultures around the world value natural resources. For sharks, public perceptions get stoked by portrayals of these animals in the media (including the social realm) and by Hollywood where they get typecast as the villain, more often than not. In reality, it is rare for human interactions with these large, carnivorous, wild predators in their natural habitat to result in serious injury or death. This footage provides a case in point.

Observations …

If it wanted him, the guy would be white shark poop with a statistic after his name. That was a territorial display and posture - pectoral fins straight down. Not even a taste test or we’d be having a different conversation. Although, the white, which appeared to be a male, did likely get a good whiff of neoprene during that brief contact. Not something it would normally eat. There’s no doubt this animal knew the divers were there for some time before that sequence played out. Circling in the murk before showing itself and its dominance. A solitary animal? Could reasonably be more in the immediate vicinity. One would never know. My guess is the divers didn’t stick around much longer to see what elevated level of aggression might have followed after this encounter. It’s rare footage of an apex predator interacting with humans. No harm. No foul.

White sharks are evolution perfected to play a crucial role in the overall balance of the world’s ocean and man’s existence. Not an overstatement when we consider just how much of earth’s population depends on protein from seafood to survive. One of the primary and primal causes of fear is ... the unknown. People that don’t get it, haven’t taken the time to. The more we know, the less we fear, and the more we sometimes might even respect what we once did not understand.

Thanks for reading. {sp}

I believe the story behind a brand can sometimes enhance the consumer experience beyond mere product or service. For my fellow history buffs, this one might even wet your whistle. For those of your with a more refined palate, here’s a fancy description from the chaps over at MasterOfMalt.com

Turns out, the spirit was chosen by Sir Ernest Shackleton to accompany him and his crew on the ill-fated Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914, stating it was provisioned 'for medicinal and celebratory purposes'. Some may have noted bottles of it in the company of Captain Lewis Nixon in the TV series Band of Brothers.

Further research reveals that Vat 69 is the nickname for a subdivision of the Royal Malaysian Police Force. They formed the 69th Commando Battalion in 1969 to counter the tactics and techniques of communist terrorists. VAT is an acronym for Very Able Troopers. The unit is also known as Task Force, Charlie Force and Special Project Team and was modeled after the British 22nd Special Air Service Regiment.

If the sentimental value of the bottle wasn’t enough, all this history and back story sealed my fate as a future consumer. I think about both my grandfathers Jerome Larkin, John Paxton, and my Uncle Brooks Kleber, who all served with distinction in WWII. None of them should have made it home alive, but they did and so I write these words. Knowing what I know now, there’s no doubt they were all familiar with the military heritage behind VAT 69.

In a toast to them all, and our friend Carl, may we never forget and always respect. Salute!

Thanks for reading. {sp}

Originally Published on January 02, 2018. As of November 2018, the practice of kneeling in ambiguous protest has mostly become a thing of the past, deeming it a fad and not a legitimate trend.

With access to an extensive tool collection, I’m considering opening a clinic for the NFL where Cranial-Rectal Extractions (or CRE’s for short) could be performed on upper management of the organization and some of its players. Based on existing market studies and proof-of-concept, the procedure and related revenue models exhibit the potential for enormous upside scalability to government and private sectors in America and abroad.

I am seeking partners and investors. Lemme know if you’re interested. This opportunity will not last!

Thanks for reading. {sp}