About Me

Living on Guam is what now "defines" me.  It was such a dramatic difference in my life and outlook on things that there's no way I'd be the same if I had remained in New Mexico or any of the rest of the U.S. Mainland.   One of the classes I took at the University of Guam was "Scientific and Technical Writing and Editing"... I did not realize at the time that this class would be setting the foundation for the rest of my working life.  I found that I *love* words and fooling around with making them work as best as possible.  I also took classes in formal linguistics at the University of Guam--and took classes in Japanese, Russian, Mandarin Chinese. These classes helped me to become comfortable with working with translations of technical material into English from other languages.  I can help folks with making their words work for the particular audience they are writing for.

Komodo Dragons and Relatives - the Monitor Lizards

My experience with the Western Pacific monitor lizard, Varanus indicus--also known as the mangrove monitor--has been over 12 years of living on the Western Pacific island of Guam, with side visits to Saipan, Tinian, Rota, Belau (Palau) (The big lizar...

Submarines! Undersea Boats! Submersibles!

My fascination of the underwater world probably started when I read Jules Verne's book, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Then, watching the Disney movie of the same name in the theaters probably got my interest going even more. Click Here To See a Coo...

Guam - Where America's Day Begins - A Tropical Paradise!

 View of Tumon Bay from the Southwestern end of the beach looking towards Two-Lover's Leap and the Northeastern part of the bay. ------ Folks sometimes ask me what it's like to live on Guam... well, it's tough to describe--you really have to expe...

Geckos - Wall-Climbing Lizards!

Found in warm climates throughout the world (mostly the tropics--but also in desert areas in California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas), geckos are amazing critters! Belonging to the family Gekkonidae, they have specialized toe pads that enable them...

Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick, TICKS!

With the warmth of summertime here, folks and their pets will be venturing into the meadows and forests of our parks and open areas for recreation. And they may be returning home with unwanted "guests" -- the Ticks Almost any forested or grassy area...

Cubicle, Homesweet Cubicle--Time for a Cubicle Makeover

If you are going to be stuck in a "cubicle" for 8 hours a day (one third of each day!)--you might as well fix it up a bit and decorate it. Make it a comfortable place to work (of course, there are limits to how far you can go before the boss has a fi...

Gout - An Inherited Ailment. Hyperuricemia.

Wow! Although I'm not the "poster boy" for GQ or even reasonably "fit", I never expected to be hit by an ailment like gout.  hyperuricemia! GOUT!   Note: As a Hyperuricemia (aka "gout") sufferer, I do NOT endorse the p...

Homeschool "Curriculum" -- What To Teach... And How

The cool thing about Homeschooling is that you are not TIED or CHAINED to a curriculum determined by *Ivory-Tower* "Boards of Education" such that your children will become Bored of Education! Sure, you can buy curriculum specifically design...

Alternative Energy -- Moving Electrons!

Let's eliminate Oil Dependency! With Oil now Passing $100 a barrel, it's Time to Kick Butts and Find Alternate Ways to Provide for our Energy Needs! Drive across the American Southwest and you'll certainly see the old-style windmills positioned next...

Hurricanes and Typhoons--The Dangerous Winds: How to Prepare

Our hearts go out to all the folks who just went through the nasty "Cyclone Nargis" that hit MyanMar (Burma). Some have estimated that more than 150,000 have been killed as a result of this storm. Also, Typhoon Fengshen just slammed into the Central...

Montana, Big-Sky Country, the U.S.'s 4th Largest State!

Montana is a large state. So large, in fact, that it's the 4th largest state in the United States. Only Alaska, Texas, and California are larger. The western half of Montana straddles the Continental Divide--the line which separates the direction tha...

Darkroom? It's possible to be negative and positive about it.

I learned my photography back in the Dark Ages--namely, when images on film and paper were still developed in dark rooms. The Darkroom.  Although it truly is amazing what one can do with Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator and other software.....

Sapporo International Snow Festival -- Niseko Skiing, Hokkaido Japan's Snow!

The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XI Olympic Winter Games, were held in 1972 in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. It was the first Winter Olympics to be held outside Western Europe and the USA, and only the 4th Games (summer or winter) held o...

Hawaii - Tips to Make Your Tropical Vacation More Enjoyable!

ALOHA! The State of Hawaii beckons to most temperate zone folks as a place to vacation, a place to enjoy tropical pleasures (such as warm sun, water, beaches, and scenery!), and a place to refresh from those dull days fighting traffic to get to a dis...

Sea Cucumbers - Vacuum Cleaners of the Sea!

Sea Cucumbers are interesting creatures. Yup, they are animals, and not plants or--as their name might imply--vegetables.  Sea cucumbers are relatives of the starfish and sea urchins, of the phylum Echinodermata--Echinoderms have radiating parts...

Coral Reefs - Living Rocks or Jellyfish Cousins at Home?

Coral reefs are misunderstood by most folks who are unaware of the biology existing there.  Coral reefs are not dead areas of rocks just beneath the surface of the sea, but are complex communities of diverse animal and plant types, which provide...

Digitizing Color Transparencies -- What You Should Know

When I stumbled over a large box full of color transparencies (35mm slides) from my early photography days, I wanted to see them again.  Although I had spent many years of taking pictures using transparency films such as Kodachrome, Ekt...

Cardboard Boxes as Activities for Kids -- Keeping Them Busy!

Let's say it's a miserable rainy or bad-weather day or your kids are stuck at home with the sniffles. How does one keep the boredom from getting to them (and to keep them from causing you to loose your mind)? Chances are good that you could go out in...

Papayas - Carica papaya - Full of Healthy Enzymes

The papaya, Carica papaya, is a fruit native to the tropics of southern Mexico, Central America, and northern South America. However, it is now cultivated in most countries with a tropical climate--including Brazil, India, South Africa, Thailand, Sri...

Resumes - Tips for Job-Getting Resumes!

I volunteered my Resume and Cover Letter Editing/Writing services the other day at a job fair sponsored by our local Chamber of Commerce, the Employment Development Division (Unemployment Department), and some of the employers in our area. ...

Energy Efficient and Alternate Fuel Vehicles

Sometimes I hear of people not willing to investigate, use or buy hybrid or other alternate fuel vehicles because according to them, "they don't have very much efficiency". That's a ridiculous argument. Because, (duh) there are NO 100% efficient ener...

Sea Turtles - Nomads of the Sea

Okay. The first big question is: What is a Sea Turtle? From a purely biological point of view, there are 3 reptiles that have the thing called a shell, or better term, carapace, which causes folks to lump them under the general term, "TURTLES&qu...

Map - and a Compass

Do you know why some compasses have mirrors on them? I've always wondered about that.... But I'll get to that later. I had an exposure to NAVIGATION very early in my life. Even before I figured out how to use a compass. You see, my Mom and Dad were teac...

Narita Layover -- Tips to Make it Interesting

Many folks flying between the nations bordering the Pacific Ocean will find themselves having a plane/airline-change layover at the New Tokyo Narita International Airport in Japan. If your layover is only 4 to 5 hours, you don't have much time to do...

Crocodiles, Caimans, Gharials, and Alligators

The crocodiles, caimans, gharials, and alligators -- in the crocodilia order of large reptiles of which there are 23 recorded species in three families (Crocodylidae, Alligatoridae, and Gavialidae) -- live in mostly salt or brackish water in the trop...

Octopus - The Eight-Legged Mollusk that Swims!

The Octopus--this alien-like, multi-tentacled creature caught my attention when I was a kid watching Jacques Cousteu's presentation on it many years ago. The animal--a cousin of the shell-fish phylum, Mollusca--is closely related to squids, cuttlefis...

Palau -- Republic of Belau

Two seasons of the television reality show "Survivor" have been filmed here in Palau--the Republic of Palau (including the most recent current season 16!). Check out the Survivor Micronesia Website -- you can see more sights of the beautiful Rock Isla...

New Mexico--The Land of Enchantment

No, you do not need a passport (at least not from the United States!) to visit New Mexico!  Yes, you can drink the water!  Yes, they have things like airports, trains, freeways, and cars in New Mexico (most of the stagecoaches are...

Sharks - The Jaws of the Sea - Endless Eaters

Fascinating critters, the sharks.  From the little ones that are only 4 inches long as adults to the huge ones that reach almost 70 feet long as adults. From the docile bottom-dwelling crustacean eaters or open-ocean krill eaters to the one...

Cone Shells -- Beautiful Beachside Danger

Don't let its size or the fact that it resembles a "snail" fool you--a cone shell has the stealth, speed, and deadliness of a stealth fighter!  It's always a thrill to find a beautiful shell when you are walking along the...

Quonset Huts, Well-Rounded Architecture!

A Quonset hut is a particular kind of elongated, prefabricated structure (many times resembling a "building" -- just kidding! --) of corrugated steel with a semicircular/semitubular cross section--if a bunch were side-by-side and painted yellow, they...

Capturing Memories--Writing Your Autobiography or Memoir

To write about your life. Where to start? Instead of trying to "start from the beginning"--where you write, "I was born in such-and-such-a-year, and then, and then, and then .... and here I am."  It's better to catch small g...

Jellyfish - Pulsating Sea Creature with a Sting

Relatives of coral and sea anemones (and also of the Portuguese Man-O-War and the Australian Box Jelly), Sea Jellies or "Jellyfish" are marine invertebrates belonging to the class Scyphozoa of the phylum Cnidaria.  These free-swimming...

Demystifying Homeschooling -- Some Tips

I've always enjoyed learning things--maybe because my Mom and Dad were both teachers and librarians had something to do with it, eh?  Nevertheless, I started as an English grammar and composition teacher at a parochial school on Guam (Bishop Bau...

The PHD Guide to Photography with Disposable Cameras

Here are some tips that may help you with your photography: Even disposable cameras can produce good photos if certain aspects can be controlled. Here are some common causes of ruined pictures: Blurred--camera movement. Need something to steady the sho...

Pineapples - The Well-Traveled Tropical Fruit (Good for You, Too!)

Pineapples. Members of the Bromeliad family. Pineapples are from Hawaii, right?  Well, now you can get them there--but they are originally from south Brazil and Paraguay--where they were native before the local tribes and exploring Europeans star...

Mental Captures! Get Those Thoughts Before They Get Away!

Those fleeting images you get in your mind, in your imagination, in your dreams, in your experiences... do they whoosh off and disappear? Or, have you been able to capture these images? These mental images are moments of time. If you don't capture th...

Treehouse Haven (or is it Heaven?)

Who has watched one of the movies or read the book about "Swiss Family Robinson" and hasn't imagined what life would be like living in a treehouse? Especially a fancy treehouse like the one portrayed on the first Disney movie from the 1960s (or even...

Oceanography and Marine Biology -- a Curriculum Starter

Whether you got your first inspiration for becoming interested in Oceanology, Oceanography, and Marine Biology from watching the Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau films, or reading about the Nautilus submarine in Jules Verne's book "20,000 Leagues B...

Colorado - Rocky Mountain High!

The "High Country of Colorado"? The Whole State is HIGH! Colorado is the only state in the USA that lies entirely above 3,281 feet (1000 meters) in elevation!  And MOUNTAINS? High Ones?  Colorado has more than...

Space? Space Shuttle? Space Station? Space Science!

Observations from space can help us understand our planet's dilemma with climate change, global warming, environmental pollution, and natural disasters. Astronauts orbiting in a space shuttle or on the International Space Station have been able to ma...

Sea Snakes - They're Tropical Reptiles, but Resemble Eels!

One of the stranger animals you may encounter when you are snorkeling or scuba diving on a coral reef would be the sea snake. It would be wise to give a lot of room to this oceanic reptile. Because sea snakes comprise some of the most venomous and de...

Fun Pens, Pencils, and Markers!

If you are a teacher, a homeschooler, a writer, or an artist (or someone who just wants to make a MARK on the world), this lens is dedicated to you and should give you many moments of browsing for that perfect marking tool. Be sure to visit regularly...

If You Write -- Edit It To Increase Its Effectiveness!

The world of writing has changed--maybe not the thinking part, but the tools used to get the words "out there". From pads and pencils (and before that, tablets and stylus), our writing has progressed through typewriters and then r...

Flying Tour - A Different Way to See Sights!

Especially from the window-side, front-seat view of a Cessna 172! After riding in the back of my parents' station wagon all over the country (from New Mexico to Pennsylvania and the East Coast, then back to Montana before heading back down to New Mex...

Trains - Riding the Rails

With the price of fuel going through the roof and with more and more concern about the environment--as well as the traffic congestion with all of the world's city streets and highways, trains are becoming a viable and attractive alternative to cars a...

Techniques in Writing - Suggestions for Students

The Progression from Reports to Essays to Papers Your elementary and perhaps junior high studies sometimes required "reports". These reports were usually about an animal, a state, a country, a person, or a thing. The report usually dealt with facts (...

Earthquakes - Are You Prepared?

The Los Angeles area of California experienced an Earthquake of 5.4 magnitude this week (Tuesday, July 29) that was considered a "moderate" quake by seismologists. Reports from this quake are still coming in (as you can see in the USGS newsfeed furth...

Teaching Writing (and Editing) to Kids -- A Curriculum Starter

This Squidoo lens is dedicated to homeschoolers, teachers, and those wanting to learn more about writing. Selections and sites in this lens will change frequently, so it's good to return here to occasionally to check out the changes. Later offerings...

Camping Styles - Location, Climate, and Campers!

Whether you are camping along the shore of Flathead Lake, Montana, or along the beach on the Western Pacific Island of Guam, the way you set up your camp and what you do while "camping" must be different. Obviously, when camping in places su...

Lion Fish, Turkey Fish - Venomous No Matter the Name!

Beautiful but dangerously venomous--the "Turkey Fish" or "Lion Fish" or "Feather Fish" (it's known by many names--depending on where you see one!)... also known to "Bond, James Bond" as "Pterois volitans" (He recognized it in a bad guy's submarine aq...

Joe Vitale - Author, Marketing Expert, Hypnotist, aka "Mr Fire"

I first encountered the books by Joe Vitale when, as a new writer, I picked up a copy of "Hypnotic Writing" (I needed to learn how to write such that folks picking up my computer manuals would actually read the things!). I discovered an amazing world...

Carabao - The Domesticated Water Buffalo of Southeast Asia

The Carabao. The Water Buffalo. Sort of like a four-legged, non-gas-burning tractor. Can help with hauling sugar cane. Can handle the mud while plowing rice paddies. Can swim very well. Can get rid of a water hyacinth problem. Useful for rural tropic...

Salute to Small Business!

It takes courage to break out of the mold beaten in to us in public schools and go on our own. When you aren't an employee, you seem to lose your security... but if you think about it, you are gaining a whole 'nuther form of security. With certain ki...

Residual Money Through Online E-Books and Reports

Over the past few years, folks seem to be considering more and more starting their own websites and developing other ways to generate incomes from their writing and editing skills.  Squidoo is proof of that! As Seth Godin says, "All of us a...

Venomous Snakes - Rattlesnakes, Sidewinders, Cottonmouths, Copperheads

Growing up in Montana and New Mexico, I had plenty of chances for learning about some of the most dangerous aspects of hiking, camping, and otherwise enjoying the great outdoors in those areas. Most of the time (except when they are molting), the rat...

Box Your Collection in Boxes - Or, Just Collect Boxes!

The box.  The best ones have a lid. You can close them and open them. You can stash your stuff in them!  Kids love boxes. Whether they are the big refrigerator boxes that they can make-believe are a spaceship or a castle or a giant dol...

Surf's Up! Get a Board and Find a Wave!

Surfing. Body surfing. Boogie boarding. Skim boarding. Hitting the waves! You could be catching the waves in Bali, or Guam, or Hawaii, or Hermosa Beach, or Monterey, or Miami, or Costa Rica.... thrill of riding the waves can make all of these places...

Sea Urchins - Spiny Relative of Starfish and Sea Cucumber

About 1,000 species of sea urchins live in marine habitats ranging from the intertidal zones and shallow coral reefs to the deepest submarine trenches (such as the Marianas Trench--Challenger Deep near the island of Guam) up to 6,800m. Sea urchi...

Journals, Blank Books - Places to Store Your Writing

Perhaps like you, thoughts occur to me all the time. The problem is that many times before recently I've not had a pen or pencil and pad handy to catch that thought.  I've always been an avid reader. I like reading other folks' writing. But I al...

Learning Foreign Languages -- Not As Hard As One Thinks!

After studying various foreign languages and formal linguistics for the past three decades or more, I've studied, used, and purchased a wide variety of language learning materials--some have been useful, others have been worse than useless. Using a l...

Plankton - Soup of the Sea, Biosphere Food

Three-quarters of Planet Earth are covered with water--namely, the Oceans, and these waters are inhabited by the many times microscopic plant and animal life (Plankton) that contributes not only to much of the oxygen in our atmosphere but also provid...

Images by Dave

I have enjoyed photography since junior high school many years ago. Capturing the beauty of a moment in a photo is an ultimate experience that I like to share. I've shared more about my passion for capturing moments of time -- "mental images&quo...

Buying Cars without Pain

Although I have a degree in biology and I've been an editor-writer for the past 25 years, there have been a few times in my career when the job market for editor-writers dried up. I've scrambled with other gigs--and twice, once in New Mexico and once...

H.G. Wells - Novelist

Some of the first books I read when in Junior High--and those that kept me awake at night turning pages--were from the imagination of H.G. Wells.  His fascinating stories are well-written, well thought out, and have excellent plots and settings....

Michael Crichton - MD, Archeology, Dinosaurs, and Time Travel

Whether it's bioengineered and cloned dinosaurs, intelligent nanoparticles, space-borne mutating viruses, diamond-mines guarded by mutant gorillas, airplane crash investigations, time-travel by archeologists, or robotic cowboys, or climate change and...

Jurassic Park - Michael Crichton's Imagination Running Wild!

As a former marine biologist as well as someone who studied tropical reptiles in graduate school--crocodiles, sea turtles, and monitor lizards--reading Michael Crichton's book Jurassic Park was vivid enough to scare the mess out of me (in a good way!...

Wind Energy in Use - Sail Boats and Sailing Ships

The sailboat. From when the Pharoahs had their sailing palaces gliding up and down the Nile River, the Phoenecians traversing the Mediteranian Sea with their trading vessels, through when the Vikings ventured out to explore the coastlines on both sid...

Quick Business Concepts for First-time Business Owners

Business and Financial Literacy This is a country built on free enterprise and capitalism. So why don't our schools and other institutions give fair time (or any time at all) to these topics? Why do most academicians show a disdain for free enterprise...

James Rollins - Novelist with a Scientific Bent

James Rollins is a prolific science fiction writer who lives in Sacramento, California and is a practicing veterinarian. His books keep folks on the edge of their seats with adventures in mysterious and far-out places. The plots and the characters kee...

Fruitbats - The Friendly Flying Foxes!

The Flying Foxes, Foxbats, or Fruit Bats, of Asia and the Asian Pacific are the largest flying mammals (They really fly... not glide. Flying Squirrels and the Japanese Momonga --a type of flying squirrel-- glide, but don't flap wings to fly...

Komodo Dragons Versus Crocodiles

Komodo Dragons Versus Crocodiles Let's see, we might not be able to see a Jurassic Park style fight between an Alosaurus and a T-Rex... but we might be able to see (or at least imagine) a battle between a crocodile and a komodo dragon! (Or, a komodo...

Kokopeli - Character of Southwest U.S. Tribal Lore

Kokopeli (known also as "Kokopelli" in American English--for linguistics basis of this, see some of my other lenses)--a hunchbacked little fellow with a few feathers in his cap and playing a flute. Boogying to some ancient tune.  Found...

Calendars - Keeping Track of the Days! What's Your Schedule?

We can track our days.  The Ancients did this as well. Maybe not in 24-hour periods, but they did.  The Ancients measured their days and their months and their years through the stars--through astronomy and through their position on the ear...

Dihydrogen Monoxide - A Misunderstood Chemical in Our Environment

Because environmental consciousness is something that is growing around the world and because pollution has a possible affect on climate change and global warming, I'd like to share some of my insights and concerns about dihydrogen monoxide thro...

Algae and Sea Weed--Powerhouses of the Oceanic Environment

One of the most prevalent and influential aspects of the oceanic (and even the world's!) environment are algae--also known as "sea weed". Algae are sort of misunderstood because they are assumed to be "plants"--but they more resemble bacteria in thei...

Mugs! Useful in So Many Ways! Collect Your Set Now!

Mugs. Ceramic, stoneware, plastic, tin, paper... They can hold your morning coffee, hot cocoa with marshmallows, savory soup, or milk for your cookies. Or, you can keep a few on your desk or counter to hold your pens, pencils, and markers. How did mu...

Mousepad Mania! Dirty Mouse Balls, Blocked Laser Pointers. Check Your Mouse!

Really. Is Your Mouse... Sluggish? Jumpy? Uncooperative? It might be because you have a dirty mouse ball! No... I'm not talking about rodents here (although I might go with a different Squidoo lens on that subject later<grin>). What I'm talking abou...

Business Cards -- Tips for Miniature Billboards Working for You

Twenty-Five Tips for Improving Your Business Cards (And Make Your Business Cards Work Harder For You!) Whether you are just planning to start your business, or you already have a business, you must maximize your profits while minimizing your...

1970 OLDS RALLYE 350 For Sale

Matching #'s, 4 sp. Hurst F85 Model - Only 1,029 Built. Rebuilt Engine - 13,000 miles. Runs Great! VERY RARE - only 200 ordered with a bench seat, 4-speed Hurst and "no" tail on the trunk

Kevin J. Anderson, Novelist

Kevin J. Anderson brings a lot of background to his writing. I met him when we were working as technical editor-writers at Livermore National Laboratory. At the time, his writing resonated with me because much of what he describes in his&nb...

Energy Independence! Catching Some Rays!

With more concern about global warming, environmental pollution, and an energy deficit looming, we must now turn to alternate energy to provide our sources for electricity and other power. After living on a tropical island for more than 12 years durin...

San Francisco Minivacation

The "City by the Bay" or also known as "Baghdad by the Bay", San Francisco is a wild mix of cultures and customs--an amazing place to visit, an amazing place to live. There are neighborhoods that represent seemingly every culture and custom--Russian,...

Clown Triggerfish - Colorful Pacific Coral Reef Fish

The clown triggerfish, Balistoides conspicillum, is an impressive fish with its large size and multicolored scale pattern. It is common on most of the coral reefs of the Pacific Islands. One of the protective measures triggerfish use to avoid predator...

Barry Eisler, Novelist - Japan, Jazz, and Judo Action

You'll like novels by Barry Eisler! Barry Eisler says that his stories revolve around his main interests: Judo, Japan, and Jazz.  Although my interests are just a tad different (I like karate/aikido/iado--martial arts; I like Japan!; and, I like...

Project Planning -- What's A Project? What's "Planning"?

If what you are working on has a defined goal (whether it's building a darkroom for your photography hobby or building a nuclear submarine), you are working on a project! (If you are working on the same thing over and over everyday with no goal other...

Mango Mania! Don't Mangle Your Mango!

Do your hands itch when you peel and eat a mango? It may be because you are highly sensitive to the urashiol that naturally occurs in mango tree sap, leaves, flowers, and fruit skins. The medical name for this allergic sensitivity is Toxicod...

Humuhumunukunukuapua'a - The Little Fish with the Big Name

The funny little fish, Rhinecanthus rectangulus that seems to have a name longer than the fish itself--the common triggerfish, or as known in Hawai'i as the humuhumunukunukuapua'a is a common fish on the coral reefs of the Pacific Islands. One of...

Beaches - Getting Sedimental About Them!

The most common image of a "beach" is one with palm trees overhanging a white or light-tan stretch of sand bordered by turquoise tropical waves gently lapping the intertidal zone. You see this "visual stereotype" on travel posters for the exotic trop...

Bananas - An Appealing Fruit!

Time flies like an arrow--fruit flies like a banana!  Or, something like that. The fourth largest fruit crop in the world and the most popular fruit in the U.S.--the banana--is botanically considered a "berry".  And although the th...

Homeschooling - It's an Adventure!

When considering homeschooling, for many folks it is a terrifying leap into the unknown. But they might also know folks who already homeschool--by seeing the example provided by those other homeschoolers, they may get a better familiarity with what p...

The American Wild Turkey

The most famous bird in North America?--Nope, not Big Bird. Nope, not the Eagle (well, maybe).  The Turkey! There are two species of that big bird we know as a turkey (the wild kind, that is): the North American wild turkey, Meleagridinae gallop...

Squidoo Curriculum - Using Lenses as Study Starters!

Yup. Like many, I'm addicted to Squidoo. I started one Squidoo lens on a whim - at the suggestion of a friend. And before long, I had more than 100 of the things keeping me busy. And there are more in the works. --sigh-- This is really a dilemma for...

Shrimps! Even "Jumbo Shrimps" Aren't That Big.

Shrimps may have a reputation for being tiny, weak little things, but in the marine world, they not only play an important role in marine ecology, they also are formidable fighters. No, really. If you don't believe me, just stick your fingers under a...

Jules Verne - Novelist and Futurist

From the first time I read Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, I was hooked. Much of his imaginative ideas in his writings have come true--including nuclear submarines and space flight and moonlandings. He was a prolific writer and had ideas t...

Alternate Energy is Blowing in the Wind

Wind energy has been used for centuries. Ancient records show sailboats of the Phoenicians, the Romans, the Greeks, and the ancient Egyptians. The Vikings used their sailboats to cross the North Atlantic and to explore the coasts of Northern Europe,...

Stonefish - A Boulder Variety of Fish

I had never heard of the venomous stone fish when I lived in New Mexico, but when my family packed us up and moved us to the Western Pacific Island of Guam, we occasionally encountered these critters on the beautiful coral reefs around the island. As...

Physical Fitness for Homeschoolers?

Homeschoolers (sometimes called "un-schoolers") have a wide variety of ways that they address the educational needs of their kids. "Education" is not synonymous with "School" and vice versa.  Just because you are no...

California Wine Country -- And California Wines

One thing that amazed me after moving to California was the extent of the vineyards and wines! There were vineyards directly across the street from the apartment where my family lived during the first few months here--in a place called "Livermore"! I...

Grammar and Parts of Speech - How Language Works!

This lens is based on lessons I taught when I was an English grammar and composition teacher and when I was teaching grammar and composition to homeschooling students. (And also from experience from my studies of linguistics and foreign languages and...

Neckties! The Ties That Bind! (and Strangle!)

Maybe when I was in first grade my Mom made me wear a clip-on tie when we were off to church, but after that it wasn't until after college I tried a gig selling cars *aaargh!*, then a gig selling insurance *more aaargh!*, and then a gig working in a...

Chemistry - It's Elemental, Watson! What Really Makes Our World!

Aaaarrgh! You have CHEMICALS in your WATER! The other day, a door-to-door canvasser came to our house to sell us a "water filtration system"... and he said that we have to get rid of chemicals in our water. I was amused (not enough to let the guy in,...

The Venomous Lizards - Gila Monster and Mexican Beaded Lizard!

I owe a lot to these venomous lizards--Gila Monsters--for the past 26 years of my writing and editing career. It was because of my love for lizards and an employer's love of lizards that I got my first job as a technical editor/writer. Go figure, eh?...

Dave Barry--Novelist, Humorist

You Want to Laugh Yourself Silly?  You Want a Belly Laugh? Dave's Novels and Essays Will Do That! Whether it's the tourists swarming in Florida, or a new study by NASA, or some inane comment by one of our politicians, Dave will latch onto it like...

Chambered Nautilus - The Shelled Cephalopod

Cousin to the Octopus, Squid, and Cuttlefish, the Chambered Nautilus is the only cephalopod that has a shell that resembles their other mollusk cousins--the "sea shells". These shy creatures usually live in very deep water in the Indo-Pacific area and...

Sea Anemones - The "Flowers" of the Sea

Relatives of the corals and sea jellies (jellyfish), box-jellies, and hydra, the 900 types of sea anemones comprise a group of oceanic bottom-dwelling, predatory animals of the order Actiniaria of  the Class Anthozoa, of the Phylum Cnidaria. Lik...

Writing - How Information Development Works

When we write, we've processed thoughts in our head to put marks on a clay tablet, a scrap of birch-bark, a piece of paper, or keyboarded onto a computer screen. Sometimes we've assembled and distilled a bunch of thoughts of others that we've found r...

Tropical Plants - Addition to Your Garden?

One thing you will notice about the tropics is that they are GREEN! Very Green. When my mom and dad packed up our family and moved from New Mexico to the Western Pacific island of Guam, we saw LOTS of Green. The island was just Squishy with Green. Tr...

Starfish! The "Constellations of the Sea" - Echinoderms

Although I had heard of and seen "starfish" or "sea stars" before when we lived in New Mexico, it was when my family moved to the western Pacific island of Guam that I was able to see these interesting creatures in their natural h...

Monosodium Glutamate - Food Flavor Potentiator - Food Chemistry

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) was first prepared in a German chemistry laboratory in 1867, but due to stringent laboratory safety precautions its flavor and flavor-enhancing ("flavor potentiating") properties remained obscure until 1908 when Kikunae Ike...

Carbon Monoxide -- Invisible Killer

The chemical compound known as carbon monoxide is usually the result of an incomplete oxidation of carbon. Carbon monoxide is a heavier-than-air gas that's invisible, tasteless, and odorless. And, it is a toxic gas for most organisms because it bonds...

Kapok -- The "Cucumber Tree"

Have you ever seen a "cucumber tree"? Some folks on Guam, Palau, Hawaii, and other parts of the tropics--whether in the Pacific Islands, the Caribbean Islands, Asia, the Americas, or in Africa, they think they may have. When U.S. mainlanders arrive o...

Amazing Maize -- The Maze in the Corn

The first time I got lost in a cornfield, it was terrifying. The corn was way over my head and the rows were not well defined because of the underbrush. (This was more than quite a few years ago, before more advanced farming methods provided open row...

Dihydrogen Monoxide Pollution - Something to Prevent!

I started this Squidoo Lens because as a former biology/chemistry major, I saw first-hand how dihydrogen monoxide pollution could mess up the environment. Dihydrogen monoxide, also known as hyaluric acid is so prevalent in our environment that it has...

Yurts - Well Rounded Portable Homes!

For thousands of years, the nomadic peoples of Mongolia, Tibet, and the Steppes of Kazakstan, Tajickistan, and Kurgistan have used a tent-like dwelling for their living quarters. More sturdy than a regular tent, these dwellings, commonly known in the...

Solar Heating, Cooking, and Hot Water

Anyone jumping into their car after a day at the beach will immediately understand how easy it is to capture the heat of the sun--especially if they've forgotten to cover their leather or vinyl seats with a towel before plunking their bare legs and a...

Charging Ahead with Solar Electricity

Although in many parts of the country, homes are still heated by coal, natural gas, log fireplaces, or "heat-pumps", there still are those who use heating oil or gas provided by the utilities companies to provide warmth for their houses. Likewise, th...

J.A. Jance - Novelist with Southwest and Northwest Adventures

Whether it's with J.P. Beaumont in Seattle or with Joanna Brady in Arizona, J.A. Jance creates exciting and terrifying mysteries. Her stories are believable and are real page-turners. J.A. Jance describes her characters and settings with a skill tha...

Rich Paloma, Novelist

Rich Paloma writes engaging and suspenseful mystery-thriller police procedural novels that are a great read for a vacation weekend or long commute. His characters are believable (I think we've all worked with folks similar to those he describes in hi...

Reverse Osmosis Water Filters - The Chemistry of the Membranes

Osmosis is a common process in living organisms that is used to transport cellular fluids. Generally, pure fluid moves through cell walls (membranes) toward less pure or more concentrated solutions. Although mangrove trees, which obtain their transpi...

Economics Lessons You Won't Find in a Classroom!

If you are a business owner (of any kind, whether home-based, online, or traditional brick-and-mortar), you will most likely be more able and willing to discuss how economics works and maybe even to show your kids first-hand how you generate an incom...

EditorDave - Lensography of an Editor-Writer-Photographer

If you like research, writing, photography, and expressing an opinion, Squidoo is a great place to practice them all! I don't even remember how I found out about Squidoo... but I remember starting my first lens in May 2007. It was a basic lens. Not...

Cycads - of the Rainforests and Jungles of the World

If you want to imagine Jurassic Park, you'd have to include members of the cycad family of plants as some of the predominant greenery around which the prehistoric critters roamed. *Whew!* I saw my first live cycads when my family moved from New Mexic...

Carbon Dioxide -- Greenhouse Gas

Carbon dioxide--CO2--makes up the fizz in your soda. It's what animals breath out as a result of their metabolism. It's one of the main results when any type of carbon-based "fuel" is burned. It's the resulting compound when elemental carbon is compl...

Pandanus - The "Tourist Pineapple"

The Pandanas (Pandanus sp.)--the natives jokingly refer to them as "tourist pineapples" in Hawaii and Guam. Because many times, tourists to the islands see the Pandanus fruits and make the assumption that they have seen pineapples! They do sort of re...

Breadfruit - Potato-like Food from the Tropics

Native to the Malay Peninsula and the Western Pacific Islands, the breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) is a distinctive large tree that grows to a height of 66 ft (20 m) and develops a large fruit that resembles a green basketball in size and skin textur...

Arthur C. Clarke, Novelist

Arthur C. Clarke wrote many inspirational and fantastic science fiction novels and stories--among the most famous being "2001: A Space Odyssey", "Childhood's End", "The Nine Billion Names of God", "Rendezvous with Rama", "A Fall of Moondust", "The Ha...

Morinda Citrifolia -- The "Noni" -- A Tropical Fruit

Morinda citrifolia--the name of the tree that stood outside the Science Building entrance at the University of Guam. During the fruit season, the fruits would ripen and fall onto the sidewalk, resulting in a sort of stinky, slimey mess on the walkway...

Indiana Jones Movies

With his trademark bullwhip, fedora, leather jacket, and fear of snakes, professor of archeology Dr. Henry "Indiana" Jones, Jr. (played by Harrison Ford in the 3 main movies and the next movie coming out this year!), takes us on advent...

Tony Hillerman - Novelist of the Southwest

The Four Corners area (where Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico borders connect) forms the main setting for most of Tony Hillerman's novels. His stories show a deep understanding of Native American cultures--those of the Hopi, Navajo, and Pueblo...

Forest Fires? House Fires? Smokey the Bear Needs Your Help!

Fire. One of nature's most powerful forces. It can be helpful for humans by keeping us warm and by providing a way to cook food, but it can also be a deadly force--right up there with Hurricanes, Typhoons, and Tornados and Earthquakes. As someone who...

Energy Efficient, Conservation, and Environmental Alternatives

Only recently (about the past 10,000 years or so) have humans used solar energy in the form of "carbon-foot-print" in the form of that all-power power called "fire". This is a good start to the story--but it's most likely really, really wrong. Becaus...

Carbon -- Our Planet's Basis for Life

Anyone who reads science fiction or watches any of the Star Trek re-runs recognizes the phrase "carbon-based life forms". This phrase describes all forms of life on this planet. So, for us Earthlings, that includes you and me (in our human bodies, ca...

Editing - The Art and Skill of Perfecting Text

Editing involves more than just checking for "typos" or misspellings or grammatical gaffes.  Editing can improve organization, clarity, meaning, and purpose to your writing. Editing can ensure that your document is cohesive--that it is...

Clive Cussler - Adventure Novelist

Clive Cussler's books have it all! Fast reading, fun reading, and a thrill on every page. It's fun to occasionally find a character in his books named "Clive Cussler"--it's also fun to participate in the adventures of Dirk Pitt, his main ch...