The Reptile Expo and other updates

Exactly one week after the Reptile Expo, and I still feel like I need a gecko. A crested gecko. Those little guys are so nice, and cute. Don't believe me? Look Here:

They handed me a gecko at the show, and I fell in love. So I have some requirements, of course, before I buy the gecko. And this is going to turn into an ongoing project for me. According to http://reptileexpo.com/ I need to get the habitat ready by the 24th of next month. This gives me a one and a half month period to get a tank and put some cool things into it. I was thinking that perhaps one of my Plectranthrus 'Mona Lavender' might do well in a tank.

If you remember, a small piece had fallen off when I was moving to the Bronx. I put it in some water, and viola, it set root. Plectranthus is notoriously easy to root in water. So this is no surprise. After such a long time in NY, I finally managed to find time (and money) to go to Walmart, and buy some soil. What happened afterward was magic. All the spider plants that I had put to root were still in water, together, in, what I would call, a tangled mess. I ended up planting about 6 of them in a windowsill garden planter, but I cannot put it on my windowsill because it is too cold. So it lies in my room. All the other spider plants were thrown out. I seriously had too many anyway.

I also planted the Plectranthrus in soil, and in a pot that Ernie gave me (thanks!!!). He also gave me some seed of a Hibiscus plant, which was thought to be endangered. I also have the thousands of petunia seeds from this summer, but I need a starter mix to get them started. I am thinking about planting one in a small pot I obtained in Vermont. I painted the pot so one side reads Don, and the other reads Jon (for Donna and Jonathan). I threw out the big petunia Donna had. It was just too big, and it was always producing seeds. Hopefully all the seeds retain the same attributes. It might also be interesting to throw some of these seeds into the tank with the gecko, when I get it.

I also need to consider doing this project on low budget terms. I hardly have money to do much. I know it is supposed to be this way, since I am just starting work after college, but I didn't know it would be this difficult. I thought I would at least have enough to get my own place, if I wanted it. Of course I was wrong. Perhaps Ernie can give me one of those tanks now?

Anyway, until then, I will finish up the last two chapters of Dawkins book, and lounge around, like these two turtles at the expo.

Also, an in depth review of Dawkins book will come tomorrow or the day after. Also a rant about our sense of smell and ability to taste as it relates to our terrible sense of memory.

Stay tuned

A Call to Herp Breeders!

Have you ever seen the Gecko gecko? The common name is Tokay Gecko. I used to own one a long time ago. It has long since died, but that gecko has traumatized me for life. It was nasty, and always snapping at me when I was trying to clean it's tank. In truth, it has bitten me more than once.

I originally brought it because it was beautiful and big. I figured that as long as I kept it well fed, it would be happy. This is not the way things have turned out. The more I fed it, the bigger it got, and the more unhappy it was!

For those of you who have no idea of what I am talking about, here is a picture of a Tokay Gecko:

While it does look beautiful and elegant, I have to admit, it was meaner than a picked on pit bull with a thorn in his ass and a score to settle. Many other animals seem to be domesticated just fine. Tokay Geckos are not in this category.

However I am not losing hope. I know that recently, the silver fox has been bred to be domesticated. You can read about it on wiki here. On the bottom of the wiki article, there are also links to the primary literature dealing with this issue. It is amazing that the fox was domesticated! I really want one, not only because they look cute, but because the implications of "wildness" seem to be directly correlated with genetics. In other words, a domesticated fox, with a differing genome than the foxes in the wild is a direct test of the evolutionary theory. Without evolution, this would have never happened. Of course, natural selection played little role in the domestication of the fox, but selection from a human hand, or from nature, go hand in hand. Here is a page from Cornells website about fox domestication, with more primary literature as references.

So now for the challenge. I am asking for herpetologists to undergo a similar experiment. Tame the wild beast! Gecko gecko with it's current aggressive phenotype is not suitable as a pet. While it may be a voracious eater, it needs to be tame to be in the homes of human beings! If it can be done with a dog, it most certainly can be done with geckos. It may be difficult at first, because so many individuals seem to display an aggressive phenotype. However, if a "not so aggressive" phenotype does exist, it needs to be exploited! These are the individuals that we need to mate with others, so that we can select amongst the most tame.

Of course an experiment of this nature will be difficult at first. For example, choosing non aggressive adults does not necessarily mean that their tameness is due to genetics. It can be that those individuals have acclimated to being handled by people. For these reasons, the offspring of these experiments need to be handled as little as possible so the true genotype can be determined. On a side note, it might do breeders well to select for individuals who are not only tame genotypically, but contain the right genetic code so that they have the ability to "learn" to be tamed easily. This second point is important also. We need geckos which can learn the way in which their handlers handle them. People treat their animals differently, so this ability will make Tokays more acceptable as pets for more people.

As for me, if I ever get a gecko, it will be a species that is calm and docile. Like those Ptychozoon Kuhli:

Working Woes

On Tuesday, I am going to Atlantic City, with other people in my job. I was invited by my boss, who decided to take everyone who wasn't working to Atlantic City. I have no money, but since he is paying the travelling expenses, I figured I would go. There is also an indoor pool (or so I am told by Cynthia), but I am in no position to wear swimming trunks. My body type is not the type to be flaunted. I desperately need to work out.

I also work Wednesday morning in the cafe, so I hope our little Jersey trip does not take too long. Working the morning shift usually means I need to get up at 4:30 in the morning, to leave at 5:30 to be at work by 7. I also plan on bringing my book. I am not into gambling at all, or Atlantic City, but for the job I will go. I suppose there will be many photo ops, and cool places to be. But I think in reality, I will mostly be reading The Greatest Show On Earth by Richard Dawkins. I just hope I don't get persecuted (as I have been before), by my religious coworkers. I might just need to let out my militant atheism on them.

But I guess the big story this week is Thanksgiving on Thursday. I had invited my friends, Anja, Morgane, and some other people over to my house. My mom always cooks the most amazing dinner, and I know my friends are far away from home. I figured I would give them a home away from home on Thanksgiving. Also, I haven't worked on Thursday for about 4 weeks. So I was sure I had Thanksgiving day off. Unfortunately, I didn't I am working from 4p.m. to 12 at night on Thursday. As a result I had to cancel on all of my friends. Hopefully the hostel does something, because I know I will be hungry. We should have a Thanksgiving here, especially since I won't be able to eat when I get home, which most likely would be between 1:30 and 2 a.m.

I actually feel really bad for cancelling on my friends. They are going back home soon, and I really wish I had more time to spend with them. Perhaps I may find time on Thursday to attend the parade in the morning. I also have Friday off, but I have to come to work to pick up my all important check. The reason this check is important is because this will be a very important weekend.

The Reptile Expo is this Sunday. I plan on going with my good friend Ernie DeMarie. It will be awesome to see him again. I feel Like I haven't seen him in forever. In all honesty, I haven't seen him since before this school year started. I may also go as far as to buy a carnivorous plant or two. Perhaps some Drosera, or a Sarracenia. The Jewel Orchids are also very pretty. They are sold mostly by the Black Jungle, but there are other vendors there as well.

Ernie still has the gecko I gave him to take care of a long time ago. He now has it as a class pet. It is always interesting to see the gecko eat. I have been told, that even after all this time, he is still a voracious eater. My current landlord does not allow me to have pets, but pretty soon I will be able to move out. If I ever find another job. My current job is really cool, but I really don't make a  lot of money. I pay rent, but I think nobody seems to care. My expenses are starting to pile up now that I have a credit card. I don't worry. I will pay it off when I can. When I can...

It is late at night, and I am feeling very chill, looking at music videos on the television. There is no one to check in, and when the bagels come in, I will wrap them. But for now, it is only me and John Mayer:

The Long Walk

As many of you know, I am not the fittest person around. I have tried many times to change this to no avail. I love food too much. Case in point a 1650 calorie ice cream with caramel and bananas, consumes on Friday, while I was out with Donna and Anya. It was ice cream/dairy!

In all honesty, I really need to work out more, but I find myself without time or resources to do so. I was looking online, and I also found that walking is a great way to loose weight. I love walking. I walk all the time. So tomorrow (Sunday the 22nd), I will personally walk from 118th Street and 7th Avenue to Grand Street, while tweeting major landmarks along the way. This walk alone will be legendary!

I plan to first walk down to 110th Street on 7th avenue, then down to 5th ave, then down 5th to Washington Square Park, on 7th Street. From there to Broadway. from Broadway to Grand, and that will be my spectacular walk. I plan to start it as soon as I finish work, at about 8 a.m. in the morning. If you want to join me, call me! I would love some company on this long walk. If you are not in NYC, but would still enjoy following me, then you can join me on twitter at twitter.com/jmejia1187

I am not sure how long the walk will take me, but I do plan on walking briskly, to get more of a workout. Depending on how well it goes, this may be a common routine for me. I hope it does go well. I often wonder if such a walk would do anything to improve my overall health. Of course it can't do anything to make my health worse. Unless there is an iHop on the way. That would be bad...

If you have any comments questions or concerns about my long journey, feel free to email me at jmejia1187@gmail.com

You can also follow me on facebook, and on the left hand panel of this blog!

The Intellectual Road is a Lonely Road

I just started reading Richard Dawkins Greatest show on Earth, and I must say it is one of the best books I have read on the subject of evolution. It is clear, concise, straightforward, and unquestionable, as facts go. However, there are some people in my job who choose not to believe in evolution. This makes me wonder if they also deny the holocaust, and the fact that the world is round.

I am not trying to insult their intelligence, or say that they are worth less than me because I believe in evolution, but I do feel like I am cast as an outsider because of my atheistic beliefs. Just because I believe I am normal because I stand perpendicular to the surface of the earth. I also consider myself average, because in most things I fall within one standard deviation of the mean. But still I am an outsider. Atheists are the least trusted group in america, below homosexuals, and trans people. I still fight for all of our rights, but I hate being cast as an outsider.
And the solution is not as easy as just waking up one day and believing in god. It is not as easy as just waking up one day and saying that Intelligent Design may be possible. Intelligent Design is impossible. Given the assumptions of intelligent design, there should not be so many breeds of dogs. The dog breeds evolved by macroevolution caused by artificial selection. And this has occurred within the time frame of recorded history. Dachshunds and Great Danes are reproductively isolated, and given the Biological species concept, should be considered different species. And they did evolve from a common ancestor, what we know to be the wolf.
And what about the German who domesticated foxes? This is important because it shows that wild animals can evolve to look and behave differently than their predecessors.
But this again does not disprove Intelligent Design. The fossil record disproves it alone. NEVER have we found dinosaur bones with the bones of modern man. And rarely do we find fossils of contemporary species deep within the history of the fossil record (like Ginko). If humans lived during the same times as the dinosaurs, why don't we see their fossils together in the fossil record? And why don't we see chicken fossils with mastodons? And why don't we see orchid fossils with Stegocephalia? It is because these species did not coexist!
What makes evolution elegant as a fact is that evolution can be proved without going into supernatural explanations. Science needs theories based on facts. Not on assumptions which cannot be proved! The existence of God is an assumption of ID which cannot be proved. So ID breaks down as a scientific explanation. Also ID does not leave us with many hypotheses which can be tested. And all the hypotheses which ID does come up with are quickly falsified. Here are a few examples.
Example 1- Fossil Record
Evolution hypothesis:
Since species are constantly evolving, we should be able to see different fossils at different periods in time.
ID hypothesis:
Since species have existed in their current form, since the beginning of life, the fossil record should contain species currently living at any given point in the fossil record.
In example 1, if we look at the data, we can quickly REJECT THE HYPOTHESIS from ID.
Example 2- New Diseases
Evolutionary Hypothesis:
Since evolution is at play, new diseases should evolve over time, from bacteria which were previously harmless, or from diseases which were not that deadly.
ID:
All diseases that occur today have always occurred, and no new diseases can ever come about, because all species that exist have always existed in their current form.
In example 2, ID fails as a hypothesis again. SARS, H1N1, and many other new diseases have come about within a human lifetime. Not to mention that Aids is a fairly new disease. Also diseases like tuberculoses can not get stronger in ID, because they would have to evolve into stronger diseases.
People who don't believe in evolution don't have a grasp on any explanation for life. Nothing in Biology makes sense except in the light of evolution. I guess that is why so few americans choose science majors. They don't understand basic concepts in life. This is sad, because they live life.
The staff where I work don't believe in evolution. I am alone. Ignorance has seperated them from me and from the true human condition. How sad.