Living with the Light or do you have a virus?

The Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho Temple in Bangkok, Thailand. This is a sight to behold, I must say...

It has been said that Buddha's aura shined. It has been noted that Jesus had a light around him. People who have met the Dali Lama profess there to be a glow about him. I used to sit and watch the Lightening Bugs dance in the summer night across the tops of the corn fields.

Have you ever wondered what a Bioluminescent Organism is? I know some of you have been losing sleep on that one, so I thought we could look into that a bit and alleviate the insomnia.

Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organism as the result of a chemical reaction during which chemical energy is converted to light energy. Its name is a hybrid word, originating from the Greek bios for "living" and the Latin lumen "light". The chemical reaction can occur either inside or outside the cell. Bioluminescence has appeared independently several times (up to 30 or more) during evolution.

Bioluminescence occurs in marine vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as microorganisms and terrestrial animals. Symbiotic organisms carried within larger organisms are also known to bioluminesce.

Bioluminescence is a form of luminescence, or "cold light" emission; less than 20% of the light generates thermal radiation. It should not be confused with fluorescence, phosphorescence or refraction of light.

Ninety percent of deep-sea marine life is estimated to produce bioluminescence in one form or another. Most marine light-emission belongs in the blue and green light spectrum, the wavelengths that can transmit through the seawater most easily. However, certain loose-jawed fish emit red and infrared light and the genus Tomopteris emits yellow bioluminescence.



"Bioluminescent dinoflagellates (Lingulodinium polyedrum) lighting a breaking wave at midnight. The blue light is a result of a luciferase enzyme (like firefly luciferase, but the enzyme in L. polyedrum shares no similarity with that of the firefly enzyme). Under the right conditions, the dinoflagellates become so numerous that the water takes on a muddy reddish color (hence the name "Red Tide"). The bioluminescence is only visible at night.


Non-marine bioluminescence is less widely distributed, but a larger variety in colours is seen. The two best-known forms of land bioluminescence are fireflies and glow worms. Other insects, insect larvae, annelids, arachnids and even species of fungi have been noted to possess bioluminescent abilities.

Some forms of bioluminescence are brighter (or only exist) at night, following a circadian rhythm.

Bioluminescence is used as a lure to attract prey by several deep sea fish such as the Anglerfish. A dangling appendage that extends from the head of the fish attracts small animals to within striking distance of the fish. Some fish, however, use a non-bioluminescent lure.

The cookiecutter shark uses bioluminescence for camouflage, but a small patch on its underbelly remains dark and appears as a small fish to large predatory fish like tuna and mackerel. When these fish try to consume the "small fish", they are eaten by the shark.

Dinoflagellates have an interesting twist on this mechanism. When a predator of plankton is sensed through motion in the water, the dinoflagellate luminesces. This in turn attracts even larger predators which will consume the would-be predator of the dinoflagellate.

The attraction of mates is another proposed mechanism of bioluminescent action. This is seen actively in fireflies, which use periodic flashing in their abdomens to attract mates in the mating season. In the marine environment this has only been well-documented in certain small crustaceans called ostracod. It has been suggested that pheromones may be used for long-distance communication, and bioluminescent used at close range to "home in" on the target.

Certain squid and small crustaceans use bioluminescent chemical mixtures or bioluminescent bacterial slurries in the same way as many squid use ink. A cloud of luminescence is expelled, confusing or repelling a potential predator while the squid or crustacean escapes to safety. Every species of firefly has larvae that glow to repel predators.

Bioluminescence is thought to play a direct role in communication between bacteria (see quorum sensing). It promotes the symbiotic induction of bacteria into host species, and may play a role in colony aggregation.

In bacteria, the expression of genes related to bioluminescence is controlled by an operon called the Lux operon. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is involved in most instances.

Bioluminescent organisms are a target for many areas of research. Luciferase systems are widely used in the field of genetic engineering as reporter genes. Luciferase systems have also been harnessed for biomedical research using bioluminescence imaging.

Vibrio symbiosis with numerous marine invertebrates and fish, namely the Hawaiian Bobtail Squid (Euprymna scolopes), are key experimental model for symbiosis, quorum sensing, and bioluminescence.

The structure of photophores, the light producing organs in bioluminescent organisms, are being investigated by industrial designers.

Some proposed applications of engineered bioluminescence include:

* Christmas trees that do not need lights, reducing danger from electrical fires
* glowing trees to line highways to save government electricity bills
* agricultural crops and domestic plants that luminesce when they need watering
* new methods for detecting bacterial contamination of meats and other foods
* bio-identifiers for escaped convicts and mental patients
* detecting bacterial species in suspicious corpses
* novelty pets that bioluminesce (rabbits, mice, fish etc.)

All cells produce some form of bioluminescence within the electromagnetic spectrum, but most are neither visible nor noticeable to the naked eye. Every organism's bioluminescence is unique in wavelength, duration, timing and regularity of flashes.

Could it be that enlightenment begets a rare non threatening virus that can make one glow?




This, the 232nd entry in bloggoland! Thanks for reading and coming back. I always enjoy the comments, emails and the banter!!


(c)Copyright 2009 Doug Boggs

The Dogs of War

Is Hamas the modern Dogs of War? Is Al Qaeda the modern Dogs of War? Is George W. Bush, et al, the modern Dogs of War? Perhaps they are mutts of the same pack.

Thomas Jefferson uses the term 'Dog of war' as a metaphorical embodiment of war itself in a letter to James Madison: "We have already given [...] one effectual check to the Dog of war, by transferring the power of letting him loose from the executive to the Legislative body [...]." (September 6, 1789). I guess he would have enjoyed the power that Bush took back to the Executive Branch...but that is another topic for another time...

The original Dogs of War, or Dainii nohduud in Mongolian, was a name given by Chingis Khan (Genghis Khan) to his four top generals in the early 1200s.

Since the dawn of (hu)man we have seen the battle of survival in its purist form. As the world begets itself less space for us to interact through over population, over consumption, over depletion we find ourselves in a very delicate balance for survival.

Now, what we seem to be experiencing on the planet as a whole is not battles for survival, but battles of belief, for power, oil or other commodities.

In the battle for beliefs, the power of the men of these "radical" sects of Islamic faith is exemplified through their desire to destroy those who do not follow their dogmatic approach to Islam. (Much like the warring decisions Bush displayed in his Evangelical born again beliefs.) The power of these men is exemplified to the western world through their enslavement of their women to the point of their position to be less than that of a dog. (In Bush's case here, he just decided to take away many of the inalienable rights to freedom as described in the Constitution.)

When religion and politics combine we enter a realm of which the world will not and cannot control. That is why the founding father of the United States wished for the separation of the Church and the State. Other governments in the world are ruled by local factions of their religious beliefs. Can we come to a common ground with this if other countries do not hold the same governing rules as our constitution? Can we find a common ground if we allow our own country's President to be making decisions based solely through their religious doctrines and not following the separation statute of our Constitution?

Education, politics and religion play just as much a part in the process of survival of the specie, as to the human specie, at this point. There are enough people in the world now. In fact, too many for the planet itself. The power struggle does not necessarily come from the act of the human to survive, but for the (un)educated religious doctrines to survive.

Does education bring forth a homogenized style to any religion? Does dogma and religion stifle honest debate to an ever changing global society? Does the mix of politics and religion create a never ending global challenge to survival and peace?

What we are seeing and what the Middle East regions religion has experienced for thousands of years has morphed into something that the western world has difficulty or perhaps cannot understand. There are many who state that once the oil is depleted or the world has moved on to a different means of commodity for power (in its usery sense) we will not have the warring factions in the Middle East. These battles have been going on long before we have had a global need for oil.

It is very saddening to hear the words of the women of Palestine or Afghanistan and their slave type plight in life due to the religious doctrines that the men of their society espouse. It is disheartening to see the constant political battles ensue over religious ideals that have plagued this region for scores of centuries.

From what we hear reported, allegedly coming from the Hamas or Al Qaeda, is that they will never stop. The martyrs of their doctrine has left them the message to fight the western world as it is the poison to their beliefs. If this is their plight, it will not stop and I feel for the women of this society that are enslaved within a system that leads them to no way out. It is impossible to understand the levity of their pain.


Below are the lyrics from the song "Dogs of War" by Pink Floyd. I like this song, although it does not rate high with most Pink Floyd fans. It is found on the live album entitle "The Delicate Sound of Thunder". I find the words to the 1987 song written about war on the highest level, the political level to be of value again today. The dogs of war describe how politicians orchestrate wars that the public does not know about. Also, the major influence behind war is money. This song discusses the covert wars of the 80's where millions of American dollars went to Afghanistan to fight off the Soviet threat of communism. Now, we see where that has gotten us to...

Dogs of war and men of hate
With no cause, we don't discriminate
Discovery is to be disowned
Our currency is flesh and bone
Hell opened up and put on sale
Gather 'round and haggle
For hard cash, we will lie and deceive
Even our masters don't know the web we weave
One world, it's a battleground
One world, and we will smash it down
One world ... One world

Invisible transfers, long distance calls,
Hollow laughter in marble halls
Steps have been taken, a silent uproar
Has unleashed the dogs of war
You can't stop what has begun
Signed, sealed, they deliver oblivion
We all have a dark side, to say the least
And dealing in death is the nature of the beast
One world, it's a battleground
One world, and we will smash it down
One world ... One world

The dogs of war won't negotiate
The dogs of war don't capitulate,
They will take and you will give,
And you must die so that they may live
You can knock at any door,
But wherever you go, you know they've been there before
Well winners can lose and things can get strained
But whatever you change, you know the dogs remain.
One world, it's a battleground
One world, and we will smash it down
One world ... One world






This, the 231th entry in bloggoland! Thanks for reading and coming back. I always enjoy the comments, emails and the banter!!


(c)Copyright 2009 Doug Boggs

The Secret Beauty and Poetry of Whales...

It has been years now since I began going to the beach on New Years day. It is a quest of mine to do this as the whale are migrating at this time of the year and it is quite spectacular to be able to see this wonderful, natural occurrence. To be able to watch them play as they come out of their world and briefly enter ours holds the beauty and magnitude that is embodied within this small act.

One year we went to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. We didn't have much money, but we found that we could get some free dinners and extra play time activities if we would go to listen to some salesperson talk about their specific hotel deal for a timeshare offer. Just say "NO" was our mantra. We would sit for an hour or so, listen to their spiel about how great their place was and why we should buy in. We would stand and confidently say 'no' to then collect our gifts and be on our way. Usually this included a free meal and some other free offers. We had gone to five different meetings before we had decided to go to a breakfast meeting.

It was a beautiful Mexican morning in Cabo. The street artists were already out and about spraying their colors to early passers by. The tortilla makers were busy and their smells filled the morning air. There was a soft hustle and bustle of the small quaint town center where we met the driver and boarded his old Chevy van with valour and tassels throughout. It was comfortable, clean and cozy for our advertised "2 minute free ride to the hotel". We had not been to this hotel before, called SolMar. It was at the very end of the Baja peninsula, on the tip of the 5 mile long private beach, with a view of the prestigious Pedrigal section. The mansions of Mexico overlooking the pacific ocean atop the 200 foot high cliff. The all white adobe style hotel with clay tile roof was an easy walking distance to the famed Archway to the Pacific.

We were greeted by an American man, wearing a vibrantly colored Hawaiian shirt, wrinkled Bermuda shorts, and a baseball cap with a Puerta Vallarta logo. He was smiling and excited to greet his newest captive audience with a determined look on his face.

We were seated on the veranda, near the huge picture window overlooking the beach and the ocean. Stunning really. The breakfast was served promptly and we sat and enjoyed our Huevos Rancheros as we quietly watched the waves as they danced in the morning sunlight.

Wait...What was that? Look, way out there...Whales! A large pod of them began dancing on the horizon as they plunged through the air out of the water to splash back into their world. They played for us to a dazzling display of natural joy. At one time I thought it might have been some automated electric contraption in order to help them sell condos...but, naahhh. It was an amazing sight to behold while we gawked in wonder and excitement over our perfect vantage point. I missed having my binoculars, though.

Needless to say, after one early morning six pack of cervesa, and two bottles of champagne the salesman did make a deal. It was the whales, though, not his sales expertise. We got a great deal, as he was drinking more than we were. But, it was the whales.

It seems, over the near twenty years since I started doing this trek to the beach, that the whales are getting closer to the shore. Perhaps they know we want to see them? Perhaps they want us to come out and play?

Well, it seems that their desire for us to come out and play has been fulfilled. My secrete is no longer a secret.

Can you find us?








This, the 230th entry in bloggoland! Thanks for reading and coming back. I always enjoy the comments, emails and the banter!!


(c)Copyright 2009 Doug Boggs

Bert and Ernie makes Bernie and the Shell game...

Bear with me and see this through as I make my point...This one is interesting and fun...

Bert and Ernie were basically the only Muppets to appear in the Sesame Street pilot episode, which was screen tested to a number of families in July 1969. Their brief appearance was the only part of the pilot that tested well, so it was decided that not only should Muppet characters be the "stars" of the show, but would also interact with the human characters, something that was not done in the pilot.

Bert and Ernie are roommates. Bert is good friends with a pigeon named Bernice, and is President of the National Association of W Lovers, a club dedicated to the letter "W". I am unclear if he is a fan of George Bush...Ernie's performance of "Rubber Duckie," wherein he sings affectionately about his squeaking toy duck and the joy it brings him during bathtime, became a modest mainstream hit, reaching No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 in September 1970.

A typical Bert and Ernie skit follows one of two similar patterns, both beginning with Ernie devising a hare-brained idea and Bert calmly attempting to talk him out of it. Usually this ends with Bert losing his temper and Ernie remaining oblivious to his own bad idea. Sometimes Ernie's idea miraculously turns out to be correct, much to Bert's evident frustration.

An example of a Bert and Ernie skit is the banana in my ear joke:

Bert: "Hey, you've got a banana in your ear!"
Ernie: "What?"
Bert: "I said, YOU'VE GOT A BANANA IN YOUR EAR!"
Ernie: "What? I can't hear you; I've got a banana in my ear!"

Bert: "Hey, you've got a banana in your ear!"
Ernie: "I know, I'm keeping the alligators away."
Bert: "But there aren't any alligators on Sesame Street!"
Ernie: "I know, it's working!"




No, this is not a picture of Ernie's brain on drugs, but an Abalone mollusk. Scientists have identified a group of genes, in the tropical marine Abalone mollusk, that control the formation of shapes and color patterns on the shell. A study published in the open access journal BMC Biology reveals that the shape and color patterns on the shell of the mollusk mirror the localized expression of specific genes in the mantle, a layer of skin situated just below the shell. The authors of the study identify one gene in particular that controls the formation of blue dots on the shell of the mollusk.

Another report found in the publication, Nature, done by University of California, Berkeley, researchers, indicates that we share the same genes that have been responsible for establishing the left-right asymmetry of animals for 500-650 million years, originating in the last common ancestor of all animals with bilateral body organization, creatures that include everything from worms to humans.

If you look at the the myriad of pictures you can find of our universe of different galaxies and other constellation formations you can compare them with those from snowflakes, to seashells, to crystals, cauliflower, coastlines, and broccoli and blood vessels. Our world, as well as the universe, possess some incredible patterns. Nature is filled with seemingly unlimited examples of amazing algorithmic arithmetic art.




A fractal, as seen above, is generally "a rough or fragmented geometric shape that can be split into parts, each of which is (at least approximately) a reduced-size copy of the whole," a property called self-similarity. This term was coined by Benoît Mandelbrot in 1975 and was derived from the Latin fractus meaning "broken" or "fractured." A mathematical fractal is based on an equation that undergoes iteration, a form of feedback based on recursion.

Recursion, in mathematics and computer science, is a method of defining functions in which the function being defined is applied within its own definition. The term is also used more generally to describe a process of repeating objects in a self-similar way. For instance, when the surfaces of two mirrors are almost parallel with each other the nested images that occur are a form of recursion, like the infinite mirror exhibit at the local county fair.

Ebber, found in the urban dictionary means: The ultimate, above all, astounding, incredible, the best, top, something that nothing is better than. Perhaps we need a new definition, through a fractal style of symantics?

Let's use the recursion definition and combine Bert and Ernie to make, Bernie. Then, let's look at a couple of repeating situations, in a similar way whose functions are applied and nearly mirror themselves on some financial parallel plane. I'm talking about Bernie Madoff (pronounced Made-Off) and Bernie Ebbers.

Bernie Ebbers was the CEO of WorldCom (later known as MCI) which filed for bankruptcy in 2002, the largest bankruptcy in US history at the time. In 2005, Bernie was found guilty for his role in accounting fraud that cost $11 billion, and he was sentenced to 25 years in prison - the longest term for a CEO of a Fortune 500 company at the time, says CNN.

Bernie Madoff, without regurgitating all of the latest dailies, was the CEO of the largest Hedge fund that was recently discovered as a 40 year long Ponzi scheme that bilked the investors to the tune of $50 Billion. A new world record!!

Now, according to the urban dictionary, Ebber is the grandest of them all...well, it seems that definition is now needing a change to a new Bernie.




This, the 229th entry in bloggoland! Thanks for reading and coming back. I always enjoy the comments, emails and the banter!!


(c)Copyright 2009 Doug Boggs

Happy New Year - 2009!!

Last night, my wife and I, spent the entire evening with a good friend of ours, Harry Denton. He is a Restaurateur/Nightclub Owner in San Francisco. We hung out with him the entire evening and talked all night. Very private, very nice. That is a rare occurrence due to his usual "makin the rounds" at the beautiful club, Harry Denton's Starlight Room. Getting him to slow, sit, relax and talk for a few minutes is not an easy task, but we sat together all night. His vibrant, optimistic, entrepreneurial personality is so refreshing.

He is so kind and generous. He was excited as to our arrival and he went to get us a quick dessert to have with our first glass of Champagne. He came back with two small desert bowls of mousse, although it was wonderful whipped butter instead...so, Harry quickly turned that one around by offering the head bartender a taste of our dessert, before we were to eat it, which he fell for the gag for nice laugh all around. He took it well.

Thank you and Happy New Year to you, Harry!

* * * * *

Originally observed on the Ides of March, or March 15 in the old Roman Calendar, New Year's Day first came to be fixed in January 1, 153 BC, when the two Roman consuls, after whom — in the Roman calendar — years were named and numbered, began to be chosen on that date, for military reasons. However, dates in March, coinciding with the spring equinox, or commemorating the Annunciation of Jesus, along with a variety of Christian feast dates were used throughout the Middle Ages, though calendars often continued to display the months in columns running from January to December in the Roman fashion.

Among the 7th-century pagans of Flanders and the Netherlands it was the custom to exchange gifts at the New Year, a pagan custom deplored by Saint Eligius (died 659 or 660), who warned the Flemings and Dutchmen, "[Do not] make vetulas, [little figures of the Old Woman], little deer or iotticos or set tables [for the house-elf, compare Puck] at night or exchange New Year gifts or supply superfluous drinks [another Yule custom]." The quote is from the vita of Eligius written by his companion Oueen..

Most countries in Western Europe officially adopted January 1 as New Year's Day somewhat before they adopted the Gregorian calendar. The Feast of the Annunciation, March 25 (9 months before December 25), was the first day of the new year in England until the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar in 1752. The March 25th date was called Annunciation Style; the January 1 date was called Circumcision Style, because this was the date of the Feast of the Circumcision, being the eighth day counting from December 25.

January 1 marks the end of a period of remembrance of a particular passing year, especially on radio, television, and in newspapers, which usually starts right after Christmas Day. Publications often have year-end articles that review the changes during the previous year. Common topics include politics, natural disasters, music and the arts, and the listing of significant individuals who died during the past year. Often there are also articles on planned or expected changes in the coming year, such as the description of new laws that often take effect on January 1.

This day is traditionally a religious feast, but since the 1900s has become an occasion for celebration the night of December 31, called New Year's Eve. There are often fireworks at midnight. Depending on the country, individuals may be legally allowed to burn fireworks, even if it's usually outlawed the rest of the year.

It is also customary to make New Year's resolutions, which individuals hope to fulfill in the coming year. The most popular resolutions in the western world include to quit tobacco smoking, stop excessive drinking of alcohol, lose weight, and get physically fit.

What are your resolutions?




This, the 228th entry in bloggoland! Thanks for reading and coming back. I always enjoy the comments, emails and the banter!!


(c)Copyright 2009 Doug Boggs