First Blog: What and Why

Well, I am currently quitting my job as a biologist for an environmental consulting firm in Oakland Ca (have been a professional biologist for over 7 years now) and heading back to grad school to get my PhD in evolution and behavior at the University of Lethbridge, in Alberta. This blog is primarily a way to let my family and friends see what I am doing and a chance to write about some of the trips and adventures I have been on recently (sailing to El Salvador but walking into a plate-glass window first and my next trip to Panama, field work in Canada, Alaska, and Montana this upcoming summer); more on those later.

I would also like to write about some of the projects and hobbies that I have like trying to be a home improvement guru (and failing but it's always on other people's houses so by the time I get my own I will have it down), flyfishing (John Gierach as well as my buddy C² are my fishing heroes - if my buddy Chris ever decides to write it down, he will sound a lot like JG which is meant as a real compliment or is he more like AK? I don't know).

As I am heading back into academia which I've really missed over the last 6 years, this blog will also be about science, particularly biology, evolution, behavior, genetics and ecology but I have no illusion that I can write as well as some of my favorite blogs such as EvolutionBlog, Pharyngula, Of Two Minds, Stranger Fruit, Greg Laden's or any number of good blogs at Science Blogs. Regarding some of these "popular" science blogs, some people complain that the big blogs are ruining the small blogs, or in it for the ad $$, yada yada yada.... but the people that write these bloggers are writing good blogs and I wanna read them which is the point, I think. And, I learn a lot from reading their posts as well as the comments by people such as Stacy S., Nigel D., Glen Davidson, David Stanton, XYZ, Windy, Pseudonym, Kevin, and AnnaBanana just to name a few), or TalkOrigins and Panda's Thumb (I will be writing more about these later); therefore I hope that their influence eventually shows up in here and I am glad they are around!

There are a few other topics that are important to me and I will discuss at times such as environmental issues (i.e., organic food/farming, global warming, a little about environmental policy once in a while), evolution and science education related issues (i.e., the fact that creationism and intelligent design are NOT science), atheism/theism, hockey (and how great this sport really is - how I can't believe that NSACAR gets more TV coverage), backpacking, cycling (the Tour of California was great - Brian where are those pics?), and the fact that Jaws is one of the best movies of all time (at least in the top 3) - that's some bad hat Harry!