Some of you may realize that I'm having some technical difficulties with my server. Some of you may not be affected. At any rate, I know how to fix it now, but I'm not going to do it tonight. I'll get to it tomorrow. Then it will take a few days for the changes to spread through the whole Internet. DNS is fun that way. As my friendly neighborhood admin (who really absolutely rocks) says, "Whee. This goatf*** has been brought to you by Broadview Networks."
As you can see. Some of my friends are a little creative with the language.
So anyway, I am obligated to blog about my TV viewing tonight because Sarah happened upon me. (Ok, actually, I told her that I would tape a show for her, and then my technical expertise also experienced a little glitch, and it turns out that I didn't get the right program. She came down to scold me and bring me the shows I asked her to tape for me. If we both had the money, we'd both get a Tivo and avoid this problem. This concludes the current digression.)
So Sarah walked in and found me enthralled in a Nova program about forest fires (I love Nova, but I won't digress on that tonight). I sort of forced her to sit down and watch with me by saying, "Hey look! My dad might be on TV!" But it turns out I was once again horribly wrong because Nova (who does make mistakes now and then) spent most of the episode talking to Forest Service experts.
For those of you not in the Forest Service or the Park Service of the USA, let me give you a little lesson. The Forest Service is a part of the Dept. of Agriculture. The Park Service is part of the Dept. of the Interior. (Or they were last time I looked. We've had a couple of meddlesom presidents since then.) So anyway, with that heritage comes very different philosophies about forests. To the Park Service, forests are part of a natural ecosystem that needs to be protected from the stupidity of humanity. To the Forest Service, forests are large tracts of renewable resources. They think forests should be used to meet the needs of humanity.
For the record, I'm a product of the Park Service. The Forest Service often makes me frown and grumble things at my friends who are trying to watch documentaries about fires and are tired of me saying "I know him," or, "I used to live there."
So anyway, my Dad worked for the Park Service during the controversial 1988 fires. Long time before that, too. He was one of the few brilliant scientists telling people not to put out forest fires every time they spring up. See, if you never let the forest burn, then it will eventually burn in spite of everything you try to do, and firefighters end up being like... well, like tornado fighters or hurricane fighters. A forest fire is a natural event, kind of like those. But cooler, because it's part of a cycle in the forest of renewal and growth.
Fire is a part of the Rocky Mountain forest. Just as much as the flowers and trees.
But anyway. For more information, try this resource from the NPS.
After Nova there was a Nature program about wildlife in the Sahara. Way cool. So I got totally enthralled in that instead of working on my book, and Sarah got sucked in too, so we sat there being entertained by elephants, ostriches and mongooses (geeses?). There was one hilarious image of a mongoose (who was, admitedly, a pet) leaning back against a field micraphone like it was own personal lounge chair.
I always get a little embarassed when people catch me watching nature and science programs. Not because I'm embarassed about having those interests. Not at all. I just think I get a little.... well, a really good nature or science program is like candy for a kid. I get all giddy and loopy and silly. Drunk on information and stuff to think about and research. So I feel like a little kid, pointing at the screen and going, "Oooh! Look!" and you know, it's just an ostritch foot or something.
Sarah was very patient with me and my outbursts of utter glee. I guess that's how you can tell who your real friends are.
As you can see. Some of my friends are a little creative with the language.
So anyway, I am obligated to blog about my TV viewing tonight because Sarah happened upon me. (Ok, actually, I told her that I would tape a show for her, and then my technical expertise also experienced a little glitch, and it turns out that I didn't get the right program. She came down to scold me and bring me the shows I asked her to tape for me. If we both had the money, we'd both get a Tivo and avoid this problem. This concludes the current digression.)
So Sarah walked in and found me enthralled in a Nova program about forest fires (I love Nova, but I won't digress on that tonight). I sort of forced her to sit down and watch with me by saying, "Hey look! My dad might be on TV!" But it turns out I was once again horribly wrong because Nova (who does make mistakes now and then) spent most of the episode talking to Forest Service experts.
For those of you not in the Forest Service or the Park Service of the USA, let me give you a little lesson. The Forest Service is a part of the Dept. of Agriculture. The Park Service is part of the Dept. of the Interior. (Or they were last time I looked. We've had a couple of meddlesom presidents since then.) So anyway, with that heritage comes very different philosophies about forests. To the Park Service, forests are part of a natural ecosystem that needs to be protected from the stupidity of humanity. To the Forest Service, forests are large tracts of renewable resources. They think forests should be used to meet the needs of humanity.
For the record, I'm a product of the Park Service. The Forest Service often makes me frown and grumble things at my friends who are trying to watch documentaries about fires and are tired of me saying "I know him," or, "I used to live there."
So anyway, my Dad worked for the Park Service during the controversial 1988 fires. Long time before that, too. He was one of the few brilliant scientists telling people not to put out forest fires every time they spring up. See, if you never let the forest burn, then it will eventually burn in spite of everything you try to do, and firefighters end up being like... well, like tornado fighters or hurricane fighters. A forest fire is a natural event, kind of like those. But cooler, because it's part of a cycle in the forest of renewal and growth.
Fire is a part of the Rocky Mountain forest. Just as much as the flowers and trees.
But anyway. For more information, try this resource from the NPS.
After Nova there was a Nature program about wildlife in the Sahara. Way cool. So I got totally enthralled in that instead of working on my book, and Sarah got sucked in too, so we sat there being entertained by elephants, ostriches and mongooses (geeses?). There was one hilarious image of a mongoose (who was, admitedly, a pet) leaning back against a field micraphone like it was own personal lounge chair.
I always get a little embarassed when people catch me watching nature and science programs. Not because I'm embarassed about having those interests. Not at all. I just think I get a little.... well, a really good nature or science program is like candy for a kid. I get all giddy and loopy and silly. Drunk on information and stuff to think about and research. So I feel like a little kid, pointing at the screen and going, "Oooh! Look!" and you know, it's just an ostritch foot or something.
Sarah was very patient with me and my outbursts of utter glee. I guess that's how you can tell who your real friends are.
