Dear Ike,
I just thought you might like to know that this lurker is still keeping up with your blog:
- It was nice to see the photo of you and the Prince. If I ever have the chance for a word with him I would like to complement him on his ongoing twin efforts in agriculture and architecture. These efforts are two sides of the same coin; 'sustainable agriculture' and 'sustainable architecture'.
Human creativity when working with (not against) nature has a catalytic effect that can produce a wondrous landscape in both the aforementioned areas...but here I am, trying to tell you (an engineer) about which you have half a lifetime of experience (helping to create towering beauty out of a sometimes harsh desert environment).
- As for 'most painful tattoos', I think I will have to decline volunteering myself...no sense in having a work of art where most folks would have to use a magnifying glass in order to see it!
- The Aquatic Ape Hypothesis is an attempt to peer into the murky darkness of pre-history, and it seems logical to assume that it is at least a significant part of the story of our development. Human civilization arose on the great rivers, and even today the vast majority of us live along either a river or an ocean. The 'Planet Earth' TV series has spectacular HD video of Crab-eating macaques swimming underwater, and they are quite natural and able swimmers.
- And this:
1000daysatsea.blogspot.com
Many great accomplishments are performed by people who the vast majority thinks are just a little bit crazy, from Columbus to the astronauts. An old, very successful entrepreneur once told me:
"Don't ever lose your mad. Once you've lost your mad, you're not worth a damn!".
- "Karachi women vow to continue resisting mullahs"
Ah, these gal's haven't lost their 'mad'. Very good. Women's liberation and secular education are two important foundations upon which lasting peace can be built in any human society.
- As for the Euro market now larger than the US...Everyone on both sides of the Atlantic should celebrate (even as our competitive nature spurs us to take the lead back) . The more wealth is spread over the globe the more it is being created by giving more humans the means to achieve. So many take the narrow minded view that wealth is fixed...for someone to gain, another must lose. When in fact, the opposite is true...the more that gain wealth this year will mean that even more will gain the next.
On Jan 1, 1900 England ruled the world, yet many residents in London spent that very night shivering in the cold because they could simply not afford a single lump of coal. 100 years later England's borders had receded, but the wealth, health and lifestyle of its citizens had vastly improved.
Maybe this crazy internet will make it more important for us to identify ourselves as human than as being from a specific nationality or religion...if so, it may be a result of the personal communication shared by blogs like yours.
Keep up the good blogging,
Your friend, Jerry |
