Tuesday, May 01, 2001

But then there's the other part of me that sees everything going on as noteworthy, and worthy of being noted (as it were). The last few days I have packed and repacked my backpack several times to get it dialed in, and for the most part it is. The first time I packed it was top-heavy and lopsided, but now it seems to be situated very well. Meanwhile, Lisa just did rip the tag off her pack and is now deciding on what to take. I'm sure we'll need to hire a porter and a llama once we get into the Lima International Airport to handle all of Lisa's stuff. Unfortunately, I won't be able to take a picture of that b/c the digital camera has been lost. I won't go into the frustrating details, but what a waste. Taking pictures and sharing them was pretty much half the trip for me. Especially if something kooky like the Bolivian police planting drugs on me happens.

Let's see, what have I already written about twice before (and then watched in horror as it was discarded into the great digital ether)? Oh yes, this past weekend Lisa's parents took us to Gruene Hall in Gruene, TX. Gruene Hall is always fun...it is, what I refer to, as pure Texan. Gruene Hall is a large wooden barn-like structure with a long bar greeting you as you first walk through the rickety screen doors and the stage/dance area situated in the back. After a few shiners and the first set was over, we mosied (sp?) on down to the grist mill and watched tubers splash down the Guadalupe River. The weather in San Antonio is perfect right now, very San Diego like. I've been told that it's this way for about three or four weeks out of the year, and then it goes into severe mode: 110 degrees and 95% humidity every day. Checking the weather in Lima, it doesn't look too bad. Low 70's and 60's every day, usually cloudy. Obviously, we're prepared for much cooler weather than that but if we don't any of it...all the better!

For the trip, I've brought Carl Sagan's "Dragon's of Eden." I'm only about 60 pages into it, but wow...what a well-written book. In it, Sagan is speculating on the origin's of human intelligence. The part I'm in right now is going through evolution and Natural Selection (Darwinism), which is all very interesting. Despite my admittedly bad introduction to natural selection in high school and college (or perhaps, my bad study of it), the concepts Sagan illustrates are hitting home with me (despite my publicly being labelled a "Lamarkian" at one point (which was the result of my argument being misunderstood, rather than my argument actually being the result of Lamarkian concepts). One misconception that has already been cleared up (and has always been suspect in my mind) is the argument that humans only use 10% of our brain (a figure oft-quoted by the disgraced ex-ceo of my former company). If only 10% of our brain is actually used, then how has the other 90% survived evolution? That is, why has it continually evolved with the minor 10% that is being used? Why hasn't it gone the way of homo-erectus? Actually, 100% of our brain is being used. Perhaps only a small percentage (probaby greater than 10%) is used for reasoning and deduction, but a lot of the brain is used for memory and basic functionality (breathing, beating the heart, etc.). So the next time some dimwitted executive type tries to lay that motivational hoodoo on you, you can fire back with the facts.

Any suggestions for where we should go once we're in Lima? I've mapped out a rough itenerary, but things like that are always subject to change. Next stop: Lima.