Other than math, my main interest is Mycology. I like the sport of identifying fungi. My feeling about identification still is based on the quote I first heard in high school from the John Cage composition Indeterminacy which says: "Nothing more than mushroom identification develops the powers of observation.?
Since 1992, I have been coeditor, with Colleen, of the Wisconson Mycological Society Newsletter. I have written numerous reports and articles for the newsletter, including an "Introduction to Fungi" booklet.
Even though I enjoy collecting and identifying fungi, I don't eat as much wild fungi as one might think. Most fungi tend to collect heavy metals and some have weird chemistry -- with toxins and reactive substances. Because of this, I try to limit my consumption of fungi.
I am interested in fungal foods and have a Tempeh Page. Showing how to grow this Indonesian fungus food.
Over the years, I have had many concerns. The environment. Poverty. Labor conditions. Population growth. Equality. Health care. Wars. Etc. I've tried to further some of these causes, locally, nationally and globally. It was a patchwork task. Sign a petition here, write congress about that. Sometimes one would have a success, sometimes failure. Many causes seems doomed to failure. Eventually everything gets paved.
I have looked for some common thread between all of these problems. Usually the same people have all of these concerns. I have thought about why they are doomed: Eventually there will be more war. Eventually they will make a mess of every wilderness area. I have found the obvious answer. Money and accumulation of wealth. As long as we live in a society where the top priority of every person is to make money and as much as possible, we will be digging it desperately from the earth, and fighting over it, and setting up conditions where people are working for as little as possible. Making money is completely built in to American life. People regard you as completely crazy if it is not your number one concern.
The only solution is socialism. To completely do away
with money and ownership and wealth, period. Food should be free and
so should everything else. Working should all done on a coordinated volunteer basis. This must be done on a world-wide level. There are many questions that commonly come up and many people have given this much thought. If you want to learn more, go to World Socialist
Movement Homepage. This is really a good solution.
Keep in mind: