Where I've been and what I've learned along the way…
Made a brief visit to Iowa over the week-end and took some new roadside flower photos, plus a few rural HDR scenes, including the historic Hurstville Lime Kilns near Maquoketa.
Most of these flower photos were taken along a 150 ft stretch of median where I-74 joins I-80 West. The sheer number of blooms was impressive! The mostly purple asters contrasted nicely with the intense yellow goldenrod.
Just a brief post to mark the passing of a true American hero, Norman Borlaug. Here are several links of interest…
“Why Famines Still Exist” Video Interview from wsj.com
I found this recent article in Slate fascinating. It draws on the research legacy of James Olds, who did some of the seminal experiments with electro-stimulation of the brain. He referred to certain reward centers for basic drives such as hunger and sex. These became known collectively as the “pleasure centers” of the brain.
Fine so far, but could there be other things driving us besides the basics? Apparently so. The article goes on to develop the theory that “Seeking” is an elemental drive on par with drugs, sex and rock ‘n’ roll. This helps explain our attraction to modern tools such as “crackberrys,” Google and Twitter.