Teaming with Microbes Revised Edition Pre-release Discussion

[webmaster]

Welcome to the new sub-forum about the revised edition of Teaming with Microbes. This revised edition of the book will be released on February 15, 2010. Support your local bookstore and purchase a copy there or buy it from Amazon.

We will be discussing the book chapter by chapter but if a particular chapter inspires you to discuss something more specific then feel free to start a brand new discussion.

[Toil]

I can't believe this will happen! This radical. I mean really radical. As in back to the roots. Before education was a formalized system, people would travel to cities and study with the person who has the sought after knowledge, in exchange for payment.

Our only profit here will be knowledge and community, but all the better! We will be learning for free in a way that usually costs so much.

I'd like to remind everyone that we are not just creating a discussion for the moment. We will be leaving behind a resource in the form of chapter by chapter discussions and questions valuable to the authors and the readers. This is the true meaning of education.

So please discipline yourselves and each other (and me) to stay focused on the chapters at hand, and ask general questions in the general thread. Otherwise you make silly work for whoever has to move it over.

If you aren't sure where your question goes, just ask it though. It's not a big deal as long as it doesn't become the status quo.


I can't wait!

[rainbowgardener]

I put my pre-order in!

[Toil]

Can a mod change my status from cool member to book club chair pro tem? It will generate questions. Hopefully someone will want to take over.



My plan is to help structure this so HG can do his duty with ease, and to make myself superfluous. I don't like big commitment. Just big ideas

I've asked g5 to create a sig for club members if they wish to wear it.

[The Helpful Gardener]

Thanks for the enthusiasm from everyone. This is everything that toil said it is, and hopefully we can make it even more. Some quick thoughts...

I'd agree about posting discipline; while even yours truly can wander OOT ( Say it ain't so! ) as we are trying to convey the thought and meaning of authors other than ourselves, we need to observe topic discipline. Given.

I feel we should keep things topical and of the moment, and while I, like many other bookies, like to balance two books (sometimes more) depending on my mood, it is not conducive to focus (studies have shown that while we have societally embraced "multi-tasking", it is not far removed from the same effects as ADHD). I like the focus of one at a time and that will concentrate not just thought, but participation to a single title. We can review that when this thing has crawled, then walked...

I will enquire about the the status change and like the sig idea, as well as the fact that you have dragged G5 in here (as the catalyst for this whole reaction, she should be included) . Another tack to take would be to discuss this in your off-forum life (I hear some of you have those) with possibly interested parties; this is a good tool for new recruitment to the Forums and as noted, just a really great educational tool. People who understand the process (witness Jeff's own satori as he gazed at nematode trapping fungi) just understand that organics makes sense and the other way doesn't .

Feb 15th. Can't think of a better book to start with and I can't wait...

HG

[Toil]

If you are part of a mated pair, remember that is the day after valentines. We don't want to lose members to sudden decapitation.

Great idea hg, I will tell my friends and family.

Discipline is great here, but when we tell each other let's avoid shutting conversation down. We can redirect.

[garden5]

Well, here is the signature I thought up to promote the discussion. What do you think?

Would you like it to be more open/explanatory? I made it vague to hopefully incite some curiosity. The link leads to this forum. Should I tone down the colors (people have to notice it ) ?

Oh, and on a side note, I noticed some referring to me as a "she," I'm actually a guy .

[webmaster]

I created a signature, too. If you want to use it or modify it here is the code:

You're invited to visit our Gardening Book Club Forum. Read along as we discuss Teaming with Microbes, chapter by chapter. :)

[

[Toil]

G5 can you post your code? I want to rotate between these sigs for variety.

Nice work. I like all the color and the size. And I agree, mystery sells.

I am really baffled. My ideas are usually the ones people reject before having brilliant ones.

Sorry you got feminized. Gender doesn't read online. I did think you were a dude before though. But that is just my latent sexism. (working on it)

[rainbowgardener]

I think I will stick with Webmaster's version. G5's is just a little bit LOUD for my taste... but people WILL notice it, which was the idea!

The gender issue is always interesting.... gender here in our virtual community is strictly a projection from the mind of the reader. I have frequently been called "he" here, even though I sort of thought rainbow-gardener was frou-frou and femmy enough to be at least a good hint. I think it's because I often give fairly authoritative answers with big vocabulary and science citations ... only men do that, right? (But see that "sort of" and "fairly" in there? Dead give away, women's language is always qualified, men don't usually do that, even when I'm being authoritative, I usually do put those femmy little qualifications in).

I was surprised when I read in HG's post "dragged G5 in here (as the catalyst for this whole reaction, she should be included)" and as I read it thought, "but I thought G5 was a guy." I expect HG was just being counterstereotypical -- since she (just kidding HG ) didn't know for sure, avoided just assuming male.

But I recently got caught in the opposite assumption. In correspondence assumed someone was female and turned out to be probably wrong. When I thought about it, I decided I assumed the poster was female because (she) is very smart and helpful and works with fruit (I don't understand the last part either, but it's in there).

But I once wrote a graduate paper (not on a gender related topic) all in the feminine pronouns, explaining that this is the generic feminine that is assumed to include the male. It was actually very enlightening!

_________________
You're invited to visit our Gardening Book Club Forum Read along as we discuss Teaming with Microbes, chapter by chapter.

[Toil]

I used to randomize gender in papers. Also interesting, and profs could not complain.

You know, to me rainbow means representing the gay community. So I assumed you were just an out gardener. But I work in a field where at least 50% of my colleagues are gay.

You mention the language of women. In a lot of ways, I think American men are becoming more feminine, and that is a good thing. We men need to be less dissonant and more resonant. I think HG is a great example of a resonant male leader. He has a kernel of femininity in his masculine language, and it makes it easy to be wrong around him. I now consciously submit to my wife, and I get better every day.

Unfortunately, women have to fight twice as hard to gain half as much acceptance. I cringe every time I hear the b word.

Wait a minute! We haven't even started and we are off topic! We need a gentle enforcer. We can practice on this thread maybe?

[gixxerific]

Save me a seat, this should be interesting.

[garden5]

Glad you like it, Toil.

Here is the code:

There's something new [color=green][b]growing[/color][/b] in the Helpful Gardener Forum! [b][color=blue]Become a part of it[/color][/b] [url=http://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=43]here![/url]

No problem about the gender thing, I guess my username really isn't that descriptive.

I think it will be good if some of us have a descriptive sig and others a curiosity-stimulating one.

I may change my sig, too from time to time.

EDIT: I fixed the code so it shows.

I hope this code posts right.

[Toil]

Haha! It works!

Sort of... I had to remove the quote code. My iPhone muscles are getting sore.

[The Helpful Gardener]

I am indeed sorry about genderbending, G5, and interesting takes on gender assignment. I think the non-specificity of the net and our need to assign personality or intellect to sexual context is often misleading. And mine is perhaps in need of tweaking . But really G5, coming from me you should probably take it as compliment. Feminine side aside (thanks toil, I think), I like women way more than guys most of the time Consider it as much validation of your resonant qualities as an affirmation of my expanding world view. Or an shining example of what a dork I am... likely all of the above...

Roger, thank you for your work; I will certainly make use of the signatures. Pondering which one... mystery goes with viral marketing... I'm thinking...

Back to topic, I hope?

HG

P.S. Went with the direct approach. Subtle ain't a word folks use around me much anyway...