Out of the Office

Hi Ya'll

I will be away from the wonderful worldwide web until August 1st. Give me a call at the usual number if you want to reach me. I'll be biking across Massachusetts starting in Western Mass. - Deerfield specifically -and working my way east. We will be in teams of 8 camping and promoting sustainable practices. The specifics of the trip are still shrouded in much mystery, but that's half the fun!

I was thinking the other day that the last time I haven't had internet for two months was probably when I was twelve years old. Think of it. What could be comparable to the electronic age pre-internet? Books, perhaps, had the informative power of the internet though most people were illiterate so even books did not necessarily have the communicative power.

I am wondering how this has shaped my thinking in subtle ways, and also how the use of the computer has influenced our house pets evolutionarily. I use the computer quite a bit and often my house kitty will crawl up to it like a person or its mother, purring at the screen and is often captivated by the little movements of the mouse or sound of my typing. If through breeding of house pets we've influenced their evolutionary path, meaning we choose friendlier, more loving dogs and cats over aloof and hostile ones ... then how might our changing relationship with technology mold our thinking and inter-species relationship with our house pets (and even wild animals)?

Cats and dogs of the recent past are being exposed to our computers as well as us humans. If my cat can show affection to the computer screen because of its hum or look, how might computers, animal, and human relationships change as the givers and receivers of love and affection are not limited to biological organisms? Can we find a mathematical formula for house pets and maybe eventually humans to develop relationships with machines? Can emotions be replicated and used by technology for its own end? and Will computers have the ability to formulate these tactics alone, or will man 's "dominion" over technology and animals remain ... holding us accountable for how the use of new emotive bits of technology are used? Anyway, I would love to continue talking about this, but I'm at my grandma's and little Sebastian calls.

Check out this website http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/ journals, articles, photos, and equipment lists from people who have toured all over the world on their bicycles. I really enjoyed this one - http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=3Tzut&doc_id=1&v=2l - from Neil Gunton, a daily journal of his trans-america trip in 1998.

Give me a ring this summer, be well friends and family!