Random thoughts

1. The rainforest area of the global farm at ECHO is slowly coming under control.  Weedy areas are being recaptured by weeding, newspapering and mulching.  Maintenance weeding is required after that but it takes far less time.  This leaves more time for reforming cultivated areas and experimenting with food crops.

2. For the price my father paid in 1993 for our first Apple computer, a Powerbook 160, you could currently buy a 2.8 Ghz C2D Macbook Pro.  The spec differences:  291x as fast, 6,250x as much HD space, 512x as much video memory, 1,000x as much RAM, 7.5x as much screen space.

New experiences in the last seven days:
1. Ate a jelly palm fruit

This is a random tree from the interwebs.  I use it for example.

2. Found out that new bamboo shoots grow about two feet a week.

That was one day!

3. Learned about pulse chargers for lead acid batteries and how awesome they are.
4. Saw a real live rattlesnake (after it was dead).

Stan and Brian acting brave. ©Brian's camera

The venom is actually yellow.  Just like in your nightmares. ©Brian's camera

5. Ate rattlesnake (It tastes like chicken).

©Noah Eldhart

6. Saw chaya flowering (It never does that in Florida).
7. Participated in my first full weekend of US Army Reserve duty (That only took 3.5 months.  Way to be on the ball, Army)