Intoxicated

Just thinking about science and why I do it, I really liked this article:
Of course scientists can communicate
….especially I liked that we are apparently “divinely intoxicated” by science, haha, that’s easy in this department! And “…science, don’t you see, is really about uncertainty”! Awesome, yes, just like life in general!……..do I seem drunk?

Thanks bromeliaders!

The end of the workshop has come, let the collaborations begin! We have learned a lot in the last few days (for example that ants grow bromeliads professionally in French Guiana and that Argentinian bromeliads look beautiful with under a blanket of snow). And I am sure we will do the most awesome joint analyses and global experiments ever. Thanks everybody for making this workshop a big success!

Foto: Olga Martinez

Welcome bromeliad people!

Starting today, we are hosting bromeliad scientists from all over the world in Vancouver. How exciting! Welcome everybody! Let’s have a lot of fun (and do a bit of work at the side, too). Check out this amazing webpage by Alathea, the master of media and lab communications. Go bromeliad go!

Let’s save the world!

Ever felt frustrated by the slow (or non-existent) progress we are making in saving this planet??? Just go and visit the Bosque Eterno de los Ninos in Monteverde, Costa Rica. Children all over the world collected money and bought a huge piece of rainforest to save it for the future. It is incredibly beautiful and wild. Shows you that little people can do big things by going many small steps. Just like the army ants I just encountered in this very forest (and that helped me to about 5-8 new bird species within 5 minutes!!!). So conservationists out there: don’t despair, we are going to do it! And now go and put some money into those children’s collecting boxes!

Finally, the light

We saw the world beyond the bodega yesterday for the first time in a week. It is still there. Hard to believe when a thick wall of clouds and rain holds you hostage in your little wet field station. Robin did a cute sun dance when the wall finally opened and we were all a great deal happier. Maybe the latter is also because my first experiment is finished! There is an end to everything (but two ends to a sausage)!