I am an observer in Alaska. In my spare time I read scientific papers, swap tall tales with the fishermen, and think about fundamental questions in biology such as “what is a species” or “why do organisms die”. While I would enjoy sharing my experiences as observer, my contract strictly prohibits sharing of any information regarding my job. Ya know, fishermen are jealous of their fishing secrets. In lieu of writing about the harrowing adventures of living on a boat in the Bering sea during the winter (imagine trying to shave while the boat is being tossed around by 60 foot swells), I write about biology and natural philosophy. If a story or two about life on the high sea finds itself between sentences about the number of genes in an octopus genome or the size of crab testicles, well….I won’t tell if you won’t tell. Long Live Science! Jon