Quotes
Wednesday, 30. April 2008, 04:18:14
I came across a quote that really struck me today and decided to start a collection of such quotes. As I come upon more quotes (or they upon me) I'll update this entry. The "favorites" tag in the side bar should easily bring you back to this entry in the future.
NATURE/SCIENCE
"One of the penalties of an ecological education is that one lives alone in a world of wounds. Much of the damage inflicted on land is quite invisible to laymen. An ecologist must either harden his shell and make believe that the consequences of science are none of his business, or he must be the doctor who sees the marks of death in a community that believes itself well and does not want to be told otherwise."- Aldo Leopold (unknown source)
This first entry isn't a particularly uplifting one, but struck me because it expresses multiple ideas that I've thought before about todays' culture and Leopold stated it over 100 years ago. While I've thought similar thoughts before, I find the opposing and optimistic follow-up to Leopold's point that "ignorance is bliss" is that there's hope to increase conciousness and infect change in attitudes through education. I've also thought often about the parallels between natural resource mamagement (or ecology, as Leopold states) and the public health field. Both have a mission statement to protect and provide for certain aspects of the general public's needs (especially shared assets) so that they don't have to worry about it themselves. Of course the fact that most people don't have to worry about it prevents adequate knowledge, support, and funding of these efforts. Both the public health sector and natural resource management have to, at times, take action to manage either health or resources in the face of uncertainty, but by using the best available science (and, by the way, I believe the public health sector has a much healthier knowledge base and use of science). But still, political, social, and economic issues often stand in the way of best science. (entry made 2008-04-29)
HUMOR
I can only please one person per day. Today isn't your day...and tomorrow don't look good either. -Anonymous
First seen in a restaraunt, the Corner Cafe, in Nelson, B.C. Added 9/22/08.
I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.-Douglas Adams
You live and learn. At any rate, you live.-Douglas Adams
I bought a self-learning record to learn Spanish. I turned it on and went to sleep; the record had a skip. The next day I could only stutter in Spanish.- Stephen Wright
Beware of Poisoned Fortune Cookies- a fortune cookie fortune that my brother made
Since my brother made the fortune cookies, I was already suspicious to not eat them too readily.
(100%)
By 4apay, # 2. May 2008, 12:02:34