Anyone Ride a Harley? Listen to this.

Survival!

GUESS WHO SURVIVED ANOTHER SEMESTER?!


It seems that this whole graduate school thing isn't so hard after all, of course, keeping my course-load light this time probably  has something to do with that.  Next semester is not going to be easy at all.  I've got environmental technology, evolution, and GIS.

Thirty two weeks down. One to go.

Well, it seems I've reached the end of the semester again. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I've written one term paper and I have one more to write by the end of this week. Life shall be grand. Until then, it's stress and coffee for me. But really, everything is gonna be alright.

Next semester is going to be a tough one. Because I want to learn. More on that later.

Kyle DeForrest. Before he was famous.

Check this out.  It's my younger brother.

On hope.

How is it that in this world where life is brief and love is fleeting that we allow for waste? We life in a world where every moment SHOULD be spent protecting the fragile life that still, somehow, is only held together by, lets face it, mostly luck and very little planning.  We (citizens of Earth) have this mentality of us versus them, always trying to take more, to be better than our neighbors all around. When will we realize that there is only one planet for all to share?

A bit about ecology, urban ecology, and why insects are awesome.

I talk about ecology quite a bit.  It's pretty much my entire life.  But I realized that most people are not super-nerds like me, and don't necessarily know the background.  So here's a bit from a paper I wrote earlier in the semester about ecology, urban ecology, and why insects are awesome.  

Perception of Ecosystem Services (A blurb from Ecology)

Ecosystem services are ecological processes that humans can profit from  Urban forests provide valuable services including carbon sequestration, air and water quality improvement, energy conservation (shade), noise reduction, climate mitigation and recreational/aesthetic value.  Perception of the value of urban forests can be divided into two groups.  The first group consists of those who acknowledge the monetary value of pollution mitigation and associated health benefits.  The second group consists of those who value the aesthetic, recreational and spiritual aspects of urban forests.  Factors that influence an individual’s perception can be education, health, or proximity of their home to green space.