Tatooine, Toilet Phones, Socks and Robots

When we flew over Arizona, I thought we had reached Tatooine.  Growing up in the bayous and swamps of Louisiana, the Virgin Mountains looked much more like an alien planet than an earthly biome.  The strange natural beauty of Arizona and Nevada was mesmerizing and a stark contrast to the explosion of man-made clutter once inside the Las Vegas Valley.  Even as a seasoned air traveler, landing in Las Vegas is unsettling—the heat from the surrounding desert is trapped inside the valley, making for a turbulent and nauseating landing.

After the initial discomfort of descent into the valley, the first thing you see upon exiting the plane is an island of slot machines—Welcome to Vegas.  My colleague Evan and I talked excitedly as we headed towards baggage claim—even seeing a flashing advertisement for HPE Discover as we descended the escalators.  Neither of us had ever been to Vegas or Discover, and we were both ecstatic for the opportunity.

Upon reaching our hotel, I hit my head on the glass of the Lyft in shock.  The Venetian Hotel and Resort is a meticulously detailed replica of Venice—complete with the Grand Canal, Doges Palace and Rialto Bridge.  A doorman opened the car door and told us about the 15 pools on floor 4 and I thought he was kidding—he wasn’t, and he didn’t mention the others on floor 10. The lobby was breathtaking—marble floors, a golden fountain and a gondolier playing classical guitar. I couldn’t help but audibly giggle or sing along to his instrumental rendition of La vie en Rose. 

My personal hotel room was enormous.  The bathroom was overflowing with marble and gold, the bed was big enough for 4.  I counted 3 televisions, and the window view was complete with the nearby volcanic rock mountains.  I collapsed on the couch and had to take a few deep breaths—the lavishness was overwhelming.  Many people don’t know where their next meal will come from—but here, everything is ornate, rich and flashy.

Perhaps one of the most interesting and peculiar aspects of my hotel room was the corded landline—with two lines, cause one line wasn't one—mounted on the wall beside the toilet.  I wonder what sort of communication need you have, beyond emergencies, to direly need to make a phone call, with the ability of call waiting, while using the toilet.  I suppose business in Vegas never stops—that, or it’s continually the 1980’s.

Downstairs, I met up with my colleague and friend Zack.  It was definitely refreshing to see a familiar face with in such an overwhelming place, and I instantly started to feel better and excited about the opportunity to represent HPE at Discover.  We walked through the hotel and into a mall where a literal river was running through.  I heard this odd sound of opera and realized the river—or Grand Canal, I should say—was complete with opera singing gondoliers.  

Looking up, there’s a false sky imitating daylight to set the romantic mood.  The little shops and restaurants were all made to fall under the Italian architecture and fit within theme, and I was both impressed and overwhelmed by the amount of detail.

We had walked so much within the Venetian that I was under the impression I had been walking the strip—I hadn’t.  Vegas hotels are so huge that it gives you that impression, but the reality is that Vegas is just an over-sized Disneyworld for adults. 

After a bit of ice breakers with the other Young Employee Network (YEN) ambassadors who had already arrived, I was set to meet up with Dr. Tom Bradicich--an important executive and VP of Servers, Converged Edge and IoT Systems--to talk about and film a video on the non-profit he founded and currently runs called SOC.  This non-profit is focused on helping the homeless, including sick and needy children, by giving them the number one requested item at shelters--socks. 

Despite being in a tech company where we call even our CEO by her first name, it's still a bit intimidating to talk to executives. But, Dr. Tom was completely empathetic and excited to talk to me despite my relative un-importance (professional ranking, at least), and he was incredibly down-to-earth and kind-hearted in person, too.  

We filmed an interview to promote his non-profit, complete with a sock scarf and sock puppet, and I can now say I understand a bit about what it's like to work on SNL.  There were teleprompters, cameras, lights, and a seemingly unnecessary (but totally necessary) amount of people behind the camera all talking at once, and I was initially a bit terrified.  But, Dr. Tom and the crew were all encouraging, so I quickly became comfortable despite the initial awkwardness.

After the interview, I was able to meet back up with my fellow YEN Ambassadors and learn more about all the different roles and booths we'd be stationed at for the rest of the week.  

I was assigned the Hybrid IT section; my role was to greet customers, assist with demonstrations, give demonstrations if necessary and help customers better understand HPE products and solutions. This demo was perhaps my favorite--and was most definitely one of the most popular--represents a partnership with PTC who designed the predictive analytic software and Texas Instruments who designed the 100 sensors throughout the demo.  This solution shows how data from the manufacturing floor like temperature, vibrations, humidity, motion, etc., can be analysed 'at the edge' with HPE Edgeline server.  Edgeline, unlike traditional servers, is engineered to withstand environmental fluctuations, and is able to analyze the enormous amount of data where the data is being generated.  This saves time and resources since the data doesn't have to be sent to a data center where the servers ultimately consume much more energy, and any data that signifies possible issues can be identified in real-time through PTC's software.  The software monitored the health and functioning of all manufacturing floor parts, alerted you to any possible part failures and gave an educated estimate on when that part would fail--allowing for you to better plan and spent money on fixing parts only when you needed to--and thereby minimizing any downtime from complete failure, and increased the positive yield of the floor. 

The PTC guys and I debated what the robot should be named, and I still don't think we came to a consensus. My vote is for Helga, as her precision and drive seemed very stereo-typically German. 

Loire Valley Wine, an Environmental Scientist's Perspective

I've recently returned from my graduate work in France.  I know, it sounds awful, right?  I drank wine, dug for worms in mudflats, went on a field trip to Germany and embarrased myself in French every day.  I highly recommend the utterly bewildering and humbling experience of living abroad in a country that doesn't speak your native language, and I assure you that it's not easy--at all.  But, there's at least wine in France to both wash away the harder moments and cherish the ones that make it all worthwhile. 

Prior to pursuing my degree in France, I worked in wine and fine dining.  Being able to go to France and drink wine as a scientist, however, was unimaginable; I was able to see firsthand why wines tasted a certain way from one region to another based on the environmental conditions.

One of the interesting things about France is that for such a relatively small country (well, compared to the U.S.A. at least), it has a huge amount of ecological diversity that allows for a diversity of wine grapes.

Geological Structure Map of France ( Adream)

Judging by the Geological Structure map, you can see that the landscape of France changes quite a bit depending on the region.  Alpine tundra, mountain forests, Mediterranean beaches--France is composed of many different landscapes that are shaped by these underlying geological structures.

Since I was living in the Loire, however, I'll focus more on how geology, climate, pedology and landscape affect the taste of the Loire wines.  Explaining all of France's many wine regions might take me a lifetime. 

The Loire is the longest river in France.  In fact, it drains an area amounting to over 1/5th of the entire country. The Loire valley region served as the major trade route between the Atlantic and Paris, making it once the most powerful region in France after the royal kindgdom itself.
Yet, it wasn't just trade that made the Loire wealthy.  The Pays-de-la-Loire is the meeting ground between four major geological structures: Massif Central, Parisien River Basin, Massif Armorican and the Loire River Basin.  The Loire begins in the Massif Central, the volcanic mass of the Auvergne Mountains, and ends 630 miles (1.012 km) later in Saint Nazaire on the Atlantic coast in the Massif Armorican.  Thus, the types of sediments and species are a lot different at the Loire's source than at its mouth.

If you've had some French wine, you've probably heard about Champagne (as in from Champagne), Bordeaux and Bourgogne (Burgundy).  If you're well-seasoned, you'll know that the Loire produces a huge diversity of wines at a much lower cost than the three more well-known regions.   One reason that the Loire can produce such a multitude and diversity of wine is because the temperate, maritime climate leads to warm summers and cool, rainy winters that allow grapes to ripen. 

(Check out the map in full here)

Another reason for the Loire valley's diversity of wines is the soil itself.  The different geological structures make for different soil types across the region.  These soil types make different varietals (types of wine grapes), and the flavor characteristics of these varietals vary distinctly between what part of the Loire they're found.  

Looking at the map, you can find argillaceous (clay), sandy soil in the Chinonais, freestones in the Saumurois, shales in the Anjou, and lastly gravel and limestone in the Touraine.  These are the very soil types which are reputedly some of the most suitable for growing vines.

(Photo from Ackerman)

I know that soils and weird French names are a lot to take in, so let me focus in a little more.  I visited Ackerman Vineyards, a winery located in Saumur, France on the left bank (South) of the Loire.  Most Ligerian vineyards are located on the left bank of the river because the landscape is hilly, allowing for protection from an overabundance of wind, rain, flooding and sunlight.  This is in contrast to the right bank of the Loire, or the floodplains, that might be great for growing crops but is much too rich to grow stubborn wine grapes.

Because Ackerman is in Saumur, it falls closer to the sedimentary rocks of the Parisien Basin and is thus composed of rocks like limestone (whereas the Massifs have metamorphic and volcanic rock types like slate and shale).

Limestone soil is apt for growing subtly effervescent Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc grapes.  Why?  Calcareous, calcium rich soil retains water, encouraging cation exchange and thereby allowing the vines to adequately absorb nutrients.  Even more, the soil itself is more acidic and helps the grapes maintain a crisp acidity. 

Ackerman is renowned for making Cremant de la Loire, which is essentially sparkling wine made from regional grapes in the traditional method.  The traditional method refers to a process of making sparkling wine; first, you ferment the grapes to produce a still wine.  Seems simple, but then, you have a choice of 4 different methods to create the CO2 bubbles through another fermentation process.  The traditional method's secondary fermentation takes places in the wine bottle, as demonstrated above.

Ackerman combines its local grapes Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc to make its sparkling wine. Whereas typical Champagnes taste buttery, yeasty and toasty, Cremant de la Loires will have a crisper, more citrusy taste.  But, of course, this is merely a generalization.  Aging, climate patterns from the vintage (year of harvest) and methods will alter the wine's profile.  The difference in flavors and scents across types of wine is derived from the different grapes, soils, geology, climate and methods.  It seems complicated, but, if you've had enough wine in your life, you'll be able to taste and smell the difference.

I know I've been going on for a while now, but I'm going to add one more cool fact about these wines:

The rolling limestone hills of the leftbank lead to a lot of excavations, allowing for the construction of all the famous Loire chateaux.  Once the hills were excavated, however, huge caverns were left behind.  These troglodyte caves were used for the secondary fermentation of sparkling wine, as the caves maintain a constant temperature of 55 degrees F (12 celsius) and balanced humidity year round, providing shelter from vibrations and light that would otherwise spoil wine.

These caves were also used to cultivate mushrooms and snails.  And, oddly enough, served as homes to poorer residents of the region.  Today, however, these troglodyte caves are expensive and posh homes in the countryside of a famous French wine region.

Pictured above is the town of Montsoreau and its troglodytes and tufa rock homes nestled in the hills.  Or, as I'd like to think, a French Shire. 

Cafe Citoyen

Cafe Citoyen

I've discussed songs that teach sustainability, habits one can better ecologically, but I've stumbled upon another interesting thing to consider: Café Cityoen. While couchsurfing in Lille, France (Northern), my friend Stephanie and I stayed at a boy Rémi's house. Rémi works at Café Citoyen--a bar that prides itself on uniting a community of people who chose to be ecologically responsible by selling only organic, faire trade and vegetarian products. Even more, the café hosts talks, film screenings, concerts and debates on various issues regarding ethics around the world.

"Sur les themes d'environnement, de la protection de la nature, des Droits de l'Homme, de la coopération internationale, des iniatives alternatif...etc. Ces animations ont pour object de s'informer, partager, échanger sous une forme ludique ou artistique (spectacles du théàtre ou musicaux) avec toujours le souci de l'objectivité et de l'ouverture."

On the themes of the environment, of the protection of nature, of the rights of Man, of international cooperation, of alternative iniatives...etc. These animations are for the purpose of informing, sharing and exchanging under one form, games or artistic (events of theatre or music) with always the concern of objectivity and of openness (open-minded).

I am no translator, but you get the point. I took the quote from the menu--and even walked in on a screening of a particularly saddening BBC documentary on a massacre in Scotland that I had never even heard of. I found the Café to be particularly engaging--to bring people together to share ideas and concepts over a sustainably produced beer or a healthy meal. It's not exactly putting an end to global warming by existing, but it is promoting critical thinking and community on things we need to be brave and selfless enough to think about.

The Softer Side of Plastic

(Image of a "oxo-biodegradable" plastic bag from PG.com--International Packaging)

More and more, the use of plastic bags at grocery and retail stores are being questioned. As I have experienced in France--you have to either bring your bag or buy one at the store. In the United States, the state of Oregon is examining a law that will eliminate single-use plastic bags. (Read more here)

One of my friends lent me a plastic bag full of CDs. Yet instead of being mesmerized by the CDs, I found myself playing with a purple plastic bag from Etam--as I found an interesting message in the bottom of the bag:

"Ce sac est oxo-biodégradable. Sa durée de vie est limitée dans le temps car après fragmentation, il devient biodégradable. De par son mode d'élimination, il préserve l'environment."

This sac is oxo-biodegradable. It has a limited life because, after fragmentation, it becomes biodegradable. Its elimination mode preserves the environment.

Using words like "mode d'élimination" made the bag seem like a prop from a sci-fi novel, so I decided to read what oxo-biodegradable actually means. As many people know, plastic itself is very durable and takes at least 3 to 6 decades to decompose (other studies show up to a thousand years--but since plastic bags have only been around for 50 years, let's not get ahead of ourselves). This is why research has gone into trying to speed up biodegradation in plastic. Oxo-biodegradable bags contain metal salts that speed up biodegradation by breaking down molecular chains in the polymer (compound of large molecules made up of repeated, linked monomers). At the end of the plastic bag's use, it begins to fragment. Once this process begins, the bag is consumed by bacteria and fungi--as the added chemical allows the molecular weight of the bag to be accessible to micro-organisms. The biodegradation process continues until all that is left of the plastic bag is: CO2, water, and humus--not leaving behind petro-polymers that damage the environment. This process, unlike many other "sustainable" projects, will not cost much--as these bags can be made using the same machines as normal plastic bags and the added chemical only accounts for 3% of the bag. (Oxo-Biodegradable Plastics Association)

There are strong arguments for and against the use of these plastic bags: for one, using these bags will maintain current jobs and lives that depend upon the plastic industry--and will abandon some of the unsustainable practices they once held. On the other hand, a large part of our environmental crisis is our overproduction and over-consumption--the exploitation of our resources; rather than making our plastic bags less harmful, we should simply stop making them altogether. Another argument against the use of oxo-biodegradable plastic bags is that they are advertised with a misleading message. My response to this claim is that with any new technology, one must understand what it is and how it works before he or she uses it.

Whatever the better answer is, one thing is certain: there are so many innovative projects and ideas to be realized that will help us better live in the world. It is our responsibility to continue to educate and challenge ourselves on these matters.

Viva Las Vegans

(Viva Las Vegans is a delicious, well-priced vegetarian (with Vegan options) restaurant in the St. Michel neighborhood of Bordeaux, France)

As winter in the Charente always comes with continuous rain, the landscape around me has changed since I arrived in October. For one, all the dry creek beds and low rivers have filled with water. Even in my small town--beautiful canals have begun to flow with water, giving life to the formerly silent and desolate dirt.

These rivers and canals were not always dead during the summer and autumn. Actually, they used to be even more full in the dry seasons than they are now in the rainy season. Upon asking the villagers why this could be, they told me about the problem of agriculture in the region. All around the Charente region are fields--grapes for pineau and cognac, vegetables for produce markets, grains and cereal for bread and breakfast foods. Yet the most common field use is maize for beef cattle. In fact, many people in the region blame the beef business for irrigating water for corn feed to the point of seasonal desertification.

Despite this problem, vegetarianism and veganism is nowhere near as culturally accepted in France as it is in other countries like England and the United States (at least in certain regions). Vegetarianism and veganism, however, are receiving serious consideration in France due to the ecological motivation: it is more sustainable to eat a vegetarian diet than a omnivorous diet.

Putting aside the ethical motivations, many people are changing their diets to be more sustainable. Beyond the rare vegetarians I have met in France, almost every person who realizes I am a vegetarian tells me that they are interested in either becoming one or reducing their meat and dairy intake. Even by reducing meat intake, one can reduce their carbon footprint, land-space use, energy consumption and resource consumption.

Livestock agriculture is the fastest growing sector in agriculture and is also "one of the most significant contributors to today's most serious environmental problems. Urgent action is required to remedy the situation" (FAO). Livestock agriculture generates more CO2 emissions than transportation--and accounts for 37% of all human-induced methane. Furthermore, livestock now accounts for 30% of the world's land-use. And, beyond the space and gas production, livestock also produces land degradation--and poor policies and execution lead to desertification of formerly arable land (just like in my region).

Not only does livestock agriculture take away water, but it also leads to pollution and eutrophication (when substances like nitrates and phosphates are so concentrated in a water source that it diminishes oxygen and kills inhabitants--like the Dead Zone in the Gulf). Some of these pollutants are animal wastes, antibiotics and hormones used to artificially improve the "quality" of production, and the fertilizers and pesticides for feed production. While water filters get a number of things out of the water, we are still drinking these hormones and antibiotics in our purified water--a feat that has lead many studies on whether or not there is a correlation between a decline in fertility and oral contraceptives) In attempt to feed all these animals, water cycles are often disturbed (again, like in the Charente) and can even damage entire ecosystems. (All of the previous information can be read about in more detail here)

By choosing not to eat meat, you are choosing not to add to the demand for businesses that are causing ecological harm. There's a lot more to think about here though--as dairy production can also be blamed for these problems. Even soy products can be questioned, as the soy industry has grown so much in recent years that it is causing significant problems in countries like Paraguay (read more).

The bottom line is that we must think about the ecological cost of what we are putting into our bodies. The next time you go to the supermarket--or hopefully the farmer's market--ask yourself how that product was produced. The more aware you are of how every thing you do has a consequence, the more able you will be to take responsibility for yourself.

To the trees, citizens!

I have not been able to post my writing lately, as I have not had a computer for the past two months. Alas, I will soon be reunited with my handy Macbook and will be back to contemplating nature.

While visiting a friend's family this weekend in Frontenay Rohan Rohan, I saw a six year old girl type a song name into Youtube and load a video. This is indeed the computer generation.

While I was shocked at her computer comprehension, I was more shocked by the song that came onto the screen. You can watch the music video below, and I strongly suggest that you do.
"Aux Arbes Citoyens"

Even if you don't know a word of French, it's easy to discern the message of the song by watching the music video. Yannick Noah is a retired French tennis player who has started his own charity for underprivileged children and has now become a popular musician. This song is played on radio stations throughout France, even if it has a strong emphasis on sustainability and environmental consciousness. How often are songs like this popular for mainstream audiences in the United States?

Just by watching the video, we understand that there is some sort of nuclear, or at least destructive, energy being planned for the entire planet. A bunch of guys in suits are plotting where to put the power plants, but the men are completely unaware of what is happening to four children across the globe: a boy in Africa watches a goat collapse from thirst--water shortage, a girl in Greenland literally has the ice melt from beneath her while she is fishing--global warming, a girl in a South American rain forest is bombarded by machines tearing down the forest-deforestation, and a boy in India is sitting on the harbor when a boat comes in with radioactive, toxic waste--pollution. These kids are pretty fed up with their homes being destroyed, so they march over to the world's leaders and take over the meeting. After explaining how to derive energy from natural means, the men in suits applaud the children.

The video alone is quite provocative. Yet the six year old who showed me the song in the first place was singing along with the video. She knew the words just as well as she knew the words to Inspecteur Gadget (en francais). Take the title of the song: "Aux Arbres Citoyens." Aux is the plural equivalent to at, arbres means trees and citoyens means citizens. Thus, the title basically translates to "To the trees, citizens" Yet the French say "Aux armes, citoyens" meaning "take/to arms, citizens" in referencing the French Revolution--when the starving peasants rose up against the French government and took complete control in a particularly violent manner. Furthermore, "Aux armes, citoyens" is in the French national anthem commemorating when the people of France stood up for justice. Another level to the meaning of the title is that "Aux Arbres" and "Aux Armes" sound particularly similar in French and is a play on words.

Commanding citizens to go to the trees sounds a little bizarre, so let me discuss the song a little more. The first few verses are about the condition of the world: poison in the water, cement in the fields and mountains. The earth is hurting, and we are losing our culture and history because of it.

Then, the chorus states "Puisqu'il faut changer les choses, aux arbres citoyens ! Il est grand temps qu'on propose un monde pour demain!" Since we must (it is necessary) for us to change things, to the trees, citizens! It is time for us to propose a world for tomorrow!

The next set of verses say that we should spread the word, form an army of reeds (imagery, of the earth, that calls to a plant that is so strong it does not even break in strong wind). "C'est vrai la terre est ronde, mais qui viendra nous dire qu'elle l'est pour tout le monde...Et les autres à venir... " It's true that the earth is round, but who will say to us that she (the earth) is for everyone and the others to come. Thus, we must share the earth with everyone on it (unlike now when we have obesity problems in America and not enough clean water in Africa) and with those to come--the future.

"Plus le temps de savoir à qui la faute de compter la chance ou les autres. Maintenant on se bat avec toi moi j'y crois." No more time left to know who is to blame, to count our chances or the others. Now we must fight, with you (your help) I do believe. Hence, we should stop pointing fingers at one another and unite together in order to face our ecological problems.

I cannot say for sure whether or not the United States has radio hits that seek to encourage the public to be more sustainable and environmentally conscious. I hope that you will consider what American music is about and compare it to this song by Yannick Noah--a man who is continually voted most popular singer in France. Even a pop song can make a different in a country's lifestyle, as many other people like the six year old I witnessed are singing along to this song. Perhaps if America could produce more music, more art, more films and more literature--even fashion--that seek to capture just how important it is to be environmentally sustainable, maybe the youth of America could take control of our unsustainable, unjust practices and make the world a better place for everyone.

Overcoming a Fear, Relearning Greek Mythology, and Counting the Ways in Which Spiders Are Actually Pretty Amazing

Upon traveling alone to Bordeaux, I found myself wandering around a city with churches older than United States of America. During one of my walks, I arrived at CAP Science, a museum designed for children to help them better understand and appreciate science. Though I seemed to be the only person unescorted by a child, I brought my English-French dictionary and walked inside an exhibit dedicated to spiders.

I am no different from just about everyone else when it comes to squeamishness around spiders. I think they're beautiful--and I will stare at them as long as they remain still and at a safe distance from my skin. This unfortunately does not always go as planned, and I too weep at their sudden movements in my direction.

Spiders, as I learned, are actually pretty incredible beyond their fright factor. For one--they are one of the oldest organisms to date on our planet. There are many records of spiders in amber--be it their bodies or their webs. Last Halloween, palaeobiologist Professor Braiser at the University of Oxford examined amber found by hunters in East Sussex. This one piece of amber contained a spider web dating back to the Cretaceous period--140 million years ago (BBC article). Spiders are not only older than the human race, but they date back to the age of the dinosaurs and thereby survived what the dinosaurs didn't.

In addition to being our elders, spiders have "one up" on humans. Spider webs can lift five times more weight than steel. Scientists have been trying to determine how it is spider silk is so strong and how to replicate it in technology. With this innovation, scientists could even create bullet proof vests capable of stopping a bomb (ABC News). Try to reflect on that for a moment: tiny little critters that we give a bad name are capable of creating technology beyond human capability.

There's a greek myth about a woman from Lydia named Arachne who was talented in the art of weaving--so much that she claimed to be better than Athena--a goddess. As in any myth, gods do not particularly enjoy when mortals think they are better than the gods, so Athena descended from her mountain dressed as an old woman and warned Arachne to not offend the gods. But, Arachne was quite confident and told the stranger just how confident she was. Of course, the old lady challenges Arachne to a weaving contest, and only after Arachne accepts does she reveal her true form as none other than the goddess Athena. So, Athena weaves an intricate scene of Poseidon and herself giving gifts to the people who named their city after her. Arachne weaves not only a tapestry of Zeus' mistresses (how rude--he's Athena's father), but makes it so life-like, intricate and beautiful that even thick headed Athena admits that Arcachne's is better. But, Athena is enraged that Arachne would call such a challenge, think so highly of herself and weave something insulting, she curses Arachne and tears up her tapestry. Humiliated, Arachne hangs herself. Athena then takes pity on Arachne and brings her back to life with the juice of aconite, but brings her back as a "spider." Thus, Arachne and all of her descendants will forever hang and be masterful weavers.

Why would I bother retelling a long story about spiders? Well, it's important to see how a society before us had respect for spiders. All these myths about Black Widows biting off the heads of their lovers or films like Arachnophobia are just as inaccurate as Jaws. Spiders may be creepy because they have eight eyes, eight legs, and tend to make their way into your house, but they're actually worth admiration. There's an ancient proverb, " If you wish to live and thrive, let the spider stay alive," and many people in Ireland and England don't kill spiders because it is a sign of a "happy home." Even more, when Jesus is born under King Herod's fear of the Messiah and order to kill all newborns, it was a baby spider who hid Jesus from the soldiers in the cave. It's said that Joseph prayed to God to protect Mary and their baby, and the spider heard the prayer and weaved a massive web that impressed the soldiers so much in its complexity, that they assumed it had taken days to make, and they didn't want to enter the cave and destroy it.

So, you might not be cured of your fear of spiders. I certainly am not about to feel comforted by their presence in my bedroom, but I do hope you will reflect on their capabilities, and the way they are portrayed by other societies. If we reevaluate the way we see nature--and all of its inhabitants--we can better appreciate just how incredible the world really is.