The Lizard

Several people have sent me email messages asking about the lizard that appears in several of the photographs published on this site. No, the lizard is not very big. Yes, it was (and, hopefully, still is) alive and well for the photo shoot. It was a very obliging little guy and held still for many of the photos I took. Naturally, since he was alive and unrestrained, he moved around quite a bit and taking macro photos of a moving critter means taking a LOT of photos and discarding most. This is possible with today's digital cameras. I had an assistant, though, for these pictures. Martin (see post on Martin Leon Leon) was with me and spent much time catching the lovely reptile and replacing him on the table we were using as a base for the photos. When the shots were taken, the lizard was released back to my garden and promptly disappeared beneath plants and leaves. I have not been able to identify the species of this lizard. Perhaps someone out there has a clue? I have other photos showing details of the body including an interesting enlargement on the tail which I'm assuming has some purpose in reproduction. Any herpers out there?

Computer Nerds of the World - Unite!

Nerds, geeks, whatever. They're just not what they used to be. I know. I'm a geekess. But the internet seems to be changing the very fabric of geekdom. We are no longer the brainy but socially inept types best used to advantage in a small room with lots of whatever geeky stuff he or she prefers and left alone. We are now SOCIALLY MOBILE! That is to say, we can now actually communicate with each other and the world AND we have become the new pioneer. Of course, the stereotypical image of the geek is not true to reality. We tend to run from completely incapable of social communication (even autism) to brilliant glad-handing politicians. The only thing we all seem to have in common is that we "think" a bit differently from other folk. That is we process information in a different manner and we perceive things differently. This may be immediately obvious is the true stereotypical geek and much more difficult to detect at either end of the bell curve for geekiness. There is even some emerging evidence that geekiness and autism are linked genetically. As more and more geeks become "valuable assets" to high tech companies and are clustered in areas close to headquarters, we are seeing a significant rise in the number of cases of autism being reported in those same areas. Not yet really a smoking gun, but still something to think about. Now comes this article from BBC.

CAFTA Will Harm Costa Rica Irreparably

CAFTA or TLC as it is known here in Costa Rica is very, very bad for Costa Rica. On many fronts, this treaty would bring disaster to this tiny nation. It would force the country to revise its own Constitution in order to meet requirements of the treaty, it would open the country to exploitation by oil and gold mining interests, and it would destroy labor organizations and displace huge segments of the society. What good will it bring? That is a question for debate. To read a very cogent analysis of harmful affects of CAFTA on Costa Rica's environment, click here.

Please pass this information along. Make comments. Disagree? Explain your reasons. Thanks.

More on Green Energy

A new start-up company thinks it has the answer to the biomass fuel problem: use pollution to feed algae and use the algae to make biodiesel. Check out this page from ZDNet.

What's your take? On the surface, it sounds good. Here in Costa Rica algae accumulates everywhere very quickly. It is often a big nuisance to homeowners and farmers. Hmmmm!