Jul

A Ticket to Surf (No Fear)

by Eva Boynton on July 11, 2016

A shark fin in the ocean, prompting creative thinkers to invent shark repellent (image © DIgitalStorm/Thinkstock).

The shark fin—native to its ocean habitat and symbol of horror films.
© DigitalStorm/Thinkstock

Creative Thinkers Invent Shark Repellent

Ahhhh. A beach vacation with adventure—

Catching a wave in Australia

Diving in Hawaii’s coral reef

Kayaking the coast of California

You won’t be alone . . . dunah . . . dunah. That’s right, there will be other tourists there too! And of course, marine life, possibly sharks.

Surfers, who decide to play in the playground of a predator, are used to taking a ration of fear along for the ride. But now ocean enthusiasts and other creative thinkers have teamed up to develop a shark repellent that relaxes the mind and eliminates the fear for surfers.

And it just might provide an answer for coexisting with sharks, who are essential animals in the ocean environment.

A beach full of people, showing the need for a shark repellent by creative thinkers (image © Blackeyedog/Thinkstock)

Beach tourism is no longer two chairs on an empty beach.
© BlackEyedDog/Thinkstock

Too Much Fun In the Sun?

Why are shark attacks on the increase? The number of people in coastal waters has skyrocketed. For example, Toronga Conservation Society of Australia reports this population increase for Australia:

1900 = 3.7 million
1950 = 8.3 million
1990 = 17 million
2011 = 22.7 million
2014 = 23.5 million

Of course, more people going into the water will result in a higher chance for contact with marine life, including sharks.

A person giving surf lessons at the beach, showing the reason for creative thinkers to invent shark repellent (image © Anthony Ong).

Where there is an ocean to play in, there are surfers ready to play.
© Anthony Ong

The recent rise in shark attacks has set in motion reactions from governments, organizations, scientists, surfers, and other ocean enthusiasts.

The goal: reinstate a relaxed vibe by protecting ocean goers. Meeting this goal can manifest itself in government plans for shark culling—the trapping and killing of sharks—or lenient policies on hunting sharks for their fins. Even as shark numbers are decreasing, 100 million are being killed annually for shark fin soup in Asia.

But, what about the sharks?

Step into the Fins of a Shark

Sharks get a bad rap for simply surviving in their habitat.

Consider Hollywood horror movies like Jaws, Jaws 2, Cruel Jaws, and Jurassic Shark. In my opinion, they are due for a required disclaimer:

Beware! Side effects may include an irrational fear of the ocean and demonization of the shark species. Watch at your own risk.

In a real shark attack, the media often portrays the survivor as hero and the shark as villain. But it’s not that simple.

In reality, humans depend on sharks for keeping a natural balance in the ocean.

A shark swimming in the ocean, showing why creative thinkers invented shark repellent (image © Ajlber/Thinkstock).

Sharks are to be revered and respected in their blue home.
© Ajlber/Thinkstock

Sharks have been on earth for over 200 million years; humans, 200,000 years. We need sharks around because they eat marine animals that are sick and weak, leaving a healthier animal population in the ocean for the food we eat. Humans, as it turns out, are only accidental prey.

Graffiti of sharks and a sign against shark finning, showing why creative thinkers invented shark repellent (image © Nathan Garrison).

Graffiti in Wellington, New Zealand, protests shark finning and illustrates the first smiling shark.
© Nathan Garrison

Elyse Frankcom, who was bitten by a shark while guiding a scuba tour, supports shark protection. She explains that government money is better spent on investing in a solution that not only thinks about human safety but will also “preserve the wildlife in the ocean that’s a natural beauty and belongs there.”

Like-minded people began asking, “Might there be a way to protect both the ocean enthusiasts and the sharks?” That’s when the creative thinkers got going, and the idea of shark repellent was born.

The Science Behind Shark Repellent

Surfers, scientists and ocean enthusiasts put their heads together to invent products that allow people to have fun in the sun while protecting sharks living in their natural habitat.

How do the products work? Sharks use electroreception, an electrical signal detection that can spot prey without using their eyes.

An illustration of how sharks sense their prey, showing the danger to surfers and why creative thinkers invented shark repellent (image © Shark Shield).

How sharks sense prey
© Shark Shield

New products from both Sharkbanz and Shark Shield repel sharks by overriding that sense without causing long-term effects to the shark.

A woman surfer wearing a shark repellent bracelet, showing the invention of creative thinkers (image © Elyse Lu).

Shark repellent does not come in a can. It comes in a stylish Sharkbanz wrist band.
© Elyse Lu

Sharkbanz, a band placed on the wrist or ankle, sends out magnetic waves that disrupt the shark’s electroreception, and the shark abruptly turns around. Dr. Stroud, senior chemist for, a company researching shark repellent technology, explains it this way:

It is “like a person suddenly shining a very bright light in your eyes in a dark room, and it’s not pleasant.”

A spear fisherman swimming with shark repellent, showing the invention of creative thinkers (image © Jose Debassa).

“Save a shark. Use a Shark Shield.”
© Jose Debassa

The Shark Shield comes as a cord attached to the ankle or as an antenna connected to the grip pad of a surfboard. These send out electrical waves that cause short-term muscle spasms in the electroreceptors of sharks, also repelling them. They dart away into the blue.

Although Sharkbanz and Sharkshield cannot confirm 100% effectiveness as a repellent, they are absolutely effective in reducing the fears of surfers, divers, kayakers, swimmers, and spear fisherman.

As Dean Gregory from Perth in Western Australia says:

“It takes that little niggle out of the back of my mind, helps you relax and just surf.”

Protecting Surfers, Protecting Sharks

Lindsay Lyon, CEO and managing director of Shark Shield, explains,

“I’d say the biggest ‘Oh, I see’ moment in the business was realizing that selling on fear was a very bad thing. Our brand is about ‘enabling’ our customers to enjoy their adventure sport, it’s not about selling fear, this is the wrong approach.”

Reducing the fear also reduces the need for harmful action against sharks. A win-win for sharks and humans.

Those who enjoy using the ocean have a responsibility to preserve the habitat for all living things. Shark repellents are encouraging us in that direction: to find solutions that work for humans and for the animals in the natural environment we play in.

A surfer wearing shark repellent, showing how creative thinkers have found a solution (image © Josh Letchworth).

“Get out there. Surf without fear.”
© Josh Letchworth

Perhaps these Hong Kong children, creative thinkers themselves, said it best when they showed their respect for sharks on Kids Ocean Day:

Thank you, Lindsay from Shark Shield and Nathan from Sharkbanz, for providing me with information and photographs about shark repellent, and thank you especially for your conservation efforts.

Educate yourself about sharks and shark safety at Taronga (Conservation Society of Australia).

Check out shark myths at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Eva Boynton Comments

Adventure Travel/Innovations/Rides (Land, Sea, Air)/Worldwide Sites

Jul

Decluttering to Become a Digital Nomad

by Joyce McGreevy on July 5, 2016

A living room filled with banker boxes in the midst of decluttering by an owner who is becoming a digital nomad. Image © Joyce McGreevy

I downsized from two bedrooms and countless books to one suitcase and a carry-on.
© Joyce McGreevy

Minimalism and the Art of Travel

It was my travel posters that made me hesitate. For years, I’d decluttered my condo with the passion of Michelangelo releasing sculpture from stone. Then last year, decluttering took on new purpose: I wanted to become a digital nomad.

But those posters anchored me. So I took a break from filling bankers boxes to contemplate the art of travel.

Toddler at Large

Joyce McGreevy, who is now decluttering to become a digital nomad, with Wallace McGreevy on a TWA flight in 1958. Image @ McGreevy Family collection.

Dad savors a rare moment when I am sitting still, as Mom takes a snapshot.
© McGreevy Family collection

I’ve been a happy wanderer since age two. That January, I wriggled out of my snowsuit, ran naked into our New York garden, and scaled a redwood fence.

What on EARTH are you doing? my mother shrieked as she bundled me back inside. Apparently, I answered in a tone that implied Good God, Madame, isn’t it obvious?

“I’m singing to the snowflakes.”

I loved being outdoors and on the move. When I turned three, my family moved to California. Convinced that my new cowgirl outfit gave me license to roam the Wild West, I set off across the fields one dawn. The Law, a.k.a. my long-suffering parents, quickly caught up with me.

At age four, I crossed the border into Canada, fortunately with parents in tow.

When Freelancers Go Free-Range

Over time, travel made possible my happiest life experiences, from the birth of my son in Ireland to a meeting with Samuel Beckett in Paris. Best of all, travel taught me to feel at home almost anywhere.

This year I am embracing that free-range sense of home.

After minimizing household contents by 95 percent, I sold the house. Then I called my adult son and informed him that his mom had become a vagabond.

Exterior of So's Your Mom, a deli in Washington, D.C., one more reason for decluttering to become a digital nomad. Image © Joyce McGreevy

Being free to travel while working adds variety to lunch breaks, I discovered in Washington, D.C.
© Joyce McGreevy

Eoghan seemed to think this perfectly normal.

Then again, he had just returned to Los Angeles from a research trip to Tunisia and was heading to North Carolina the following day.

Now as I zip up essentials into one medium suitcase, allow me to “unpack” a few concepts. Like minimalism. And nomad. And What on EARTH are you doing?

Minimalism Isn’t About “Containerizing”

Nor is it about living with bare walls and one potted orchid. It’s about tending whatever you most value and clearing away whatever distracts you from it.

Document shredding/e-waste Roundup in California, a reminder that decluttering is key to becoming a digital nomad. Image by Joshua Barash is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Most communities host free events to help you declutter a wide range of household items.
“Document Shredding/E-waste Roundup” by Joshua Barash is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Thus a fridge covered in your kids’ drawings is not automatically cluttered. By contrast, one item too many—an “investment” outfit you never wear, a gadget that doesn’t work, that pile of papers you always step around—is definitely clutter.

Why? Because it literally and metaphorically blocks your way.

Just ask Joshua Becker, author of The More of Less: Finding the Life You Love Under Everything You Own (WaterBrook, 2016). Spring-cleaning his garage triggered a life-changing decision. Three hours into thankless labor, he was no closer to getting time to play with his 5-year-old son.

Then a neighbor said something that sparked an idea: “Maybe you don’t need to own all this stuff.”

“Fill your life with experiences, not things,” says author
Joshua Becker. “Have stories to tell, not stuff to show.”
© Joshua Becker/ Becoming Minimalist

Becker’s family began donating, recycling, and removing whatever subtracted value from their lives. As he researched minimalism, Becker learned that the average American home contains 300,000 items.

Today Becker presents online classes and commentary on owning less and living more. I took those lessons to heart–and to the airport.

The Moveable Office

Meanwhile, my wish to own less and travel more led me to become a digital nomad. Another term for this is location-independent professional. According to Global Workplace Analytics, 50% of the U.S. workforce holds a job that’s at least partly compatible with telecommuting.

A conservatory in West Cork, Ireland becomes an office for a digital nomad. Image © by Joyce McGreevy

An online conference call in West Cork, Ireland connects business team members
from London to Los Angeles.
© Joyce McGreevy

In the digital economy, going to work needn’t mean being tethered to a fixed location. Last year, for example, I was based in Chicago, but met my winter deadlines from islands in the Mediterranean and while visiting family Out West.

Global Localism

What’s the difference between location independence and other travel? Plenty. Instead of frequenting hotels and restaurants, you rent a modest home and shop at farmers’ markets.

Gold ornamentation on St. John's Co-Cathedral, Valletta, Malta, a rich, visual reward for decluttering to become a digital nomad. Image © Joyce McGreevy

The income of a digital nomad is typically modest, but the benefits are pure gold.
St. John’s Co-Cathedral, Valletta, Malta
© Joyce McGreevy

You carry a mobile hotspot, not souvenirs, and develop a fondness for hand-washable black separates. You meet the neighbors, learn the language, and explore local arts and culture.

Yes, working full time while traveling takes discipline—especially during “the festival.” And there’s always a festival.

It’s 9-5 Somewhere

View from a table at Charles Grech Café in Valletta, Malta, one more reason for decluttering to become a digital nomad. Image © Joyce McGreevy

Morning coffee break in Malta
© Joyce McGreevy

Ah, but even the busiest days end in celebration. You close the laptop, disable the wifi on your cellphone, and give thanks for where you live.

You cross the Galata Bridge in Istanbul as minarets glow in the sunset. Wander a wild garden in Ireland. Listen to birdsong as you hang laundry on a balcony in Malta.

You meet a friend for tea in Bloomsbury, or Ann Arbor, or Sydney, or wherever your small, uncluttered home happens to be.

Last of the Packing

Remember those posters I hesitated to let go of? Ultimately, they triggered an “Oh, I see” moment: I could stay at home and have my travel posters—or I could have the travel.

So I began to declutter and became a digital nomad. As time goes by, I hope you’ll travel with me and my fellow writers at OIC Moments. How have your own travels made you feel more at home in the world?

Calligraphy by a friend is photographed as part of decluttering to become a digital nomad. Image @ Joyce McGreevy/Jules Larkin

Some keepsakes can be digitized.
© Jules Larkin/ Joyce McGreevy

Find out more about Becoming Minimalist here.

Learn about responsible decluttering in your community here.

Comment on this post below.

Joyce McGreevy 18 Comments

Art of Travel

Jun

The Art and Philosophy of the Doggy Bag

by Meredith Mullins on June 27, 2016

Dog with Doggy Bag, showing how different cultures deal with restaurant leftovers. (Image © Meredith Mullins & Charlie Meagher.)

How Different Cultures Look at Leftovers

Are restaurant leftovers going to the dogs?

That depends on to whom and where you pose the question. Different cultures have different approaches to taking restaurant leftovers home. The history of the doggy bag is a bit furry . . . er, blurry.

The First Doggy Bag

Some say the idea dates back to Roman times, when food was often taken home in a napkin from multi-course, recline-while-you-eat meals.

We can trace the first doggy bags back to the U.S. during WW II when food was scarce and waste was unthinkable.

The idea was to give diners a way to bring leftover meat and bones to a canine best friend waiting eagerly at home. The dog was sometimes just a pretense, as the doggy bag was also a way to stretch food a little bit further in struggling households.

The first marketed doggy bag, created by the Chicago-based Bagcraft Corporation, included a poem written by the wife of the co-founder, as well as a diverse range of friendly dog faces (equal dog opportunity).

Oh where, oh where have your leftovers gone?
Oh where, oh where can they be?
If you’ve had all you can possibly eat,
Please bring the rest home to me.

The doggy bag evolved from there, into containers of all shapes and sizes, as well as creative art made by upscale restaurants.

Containers serving as doggy bags, ways that different cultures deal with restaurant leftovers. (Images © Thinkstock.)

Sometimes the dog got the leftovers and sometimes the food became the next meal for the humans in the family.

A large steak dinner, showing the need in the U.S. for a doggy bag for restaurant leftovers. Different cultures have different size portions. (Image © Monkey Business Images.)

Doggy Bags Around the World

In addition to the U.S., where portions are so generous that doggy bags have become standard practice, many Asian cultures seem comfortable with “take home” requests. Restaurants have the requisite containers—from India to China to Singapore to Hong Kong.

Chinese take out boxes serving as Asian doggy bags for restaurant leftovers, showing that different cultures have different approaches. (Image © Medioimages/Photodisc.)

The doggy bag concept, however, has been a bit slower to come to Europe.

You Can’t Take It With You

Years ago in France, the idea of even asking for a doggy bag sent fear through the heart. When diners finally conjured the courage, they were met with scorn, as only a French waiter can muster. An eye roll. A smirk. A “Ce n’est pas possible.”

Sometimes the waiter relented, but continued the theatrical production through public embarrassment or intentional torture of the food in question.

The dramatic sweep of a plate of choucroute, en masse, into an empty lard bucket—the only container that the kitchen staff could spare.

Waiter with bucket for restaurant leftovers, as different cultures have different solutions for the doggy bag. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

The rolling of a salad into a tight aluminum foil cigar. The offer to allow the diner to take the casserole dish home and bring it back the next day. The stories are endless.

Even the best restaurants, anxious to please customers, had difficulty finding containers for the take-home food.

Doggy bags just weren’t part of the culture. They were an affront to dining etiquette. Portions were correctly sized so that diners were expected to savor every bite. Presentation, freshness, and impeccable timing for each course were priorities for the chef.

The idea of food being jostled, jarred, and rearranged by transport—or eaten or reheated hours later—was a well-sharpened knife to the heart of the French chef.

French dinner, making it difficult to package these restaurant leftovers into a doggy bag, the reason different cultures have different approaches. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Oh, I See. You Can Teach an Old Dog New Tricks

In January 2016, life in France changed forever. A new doggy bag recommendation took effect.

No more waiter scowls when you ask to take your leftovers away. No more eye rolling. No more smirking in the kitchen about the “crazy Americans.” No more furtive searching for an appropriate container. When you ask for a doggy bag, you get one. A new era has been ushered in.

Why?

The French restaurant industry accounts for nearly one million tons of food waste annually. The government vowed to reduce food wastage by 50% by the year 2025. The doggy bag promotion was a first step.

Aluminum foil roll at Café de l'Homme, a doggy bag for restaurant leftovers signifying the approach of different cultures. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Other European countries are also tackling food waste reduction. The UK’s Sustainable Restaurant Association launched a “Too Good To Waste” campaign in 2011, giving out 25,000 recyclable doggy bags/boxes to participating restaurants—from Michelin-starred to fast-food chains.

Sweden also has a campaign called “Do Not Throw Away Your Food,” which educates the public on the effects of waste and promotes the use of doggy bags.

It may take awhile to change dining etiquette, especially when thinking about restaurant leftovers, but the wheels are in motion in several different cultures.

An aluminum foil swan, an artistic doggy bag, part of the different cultures approach to restaurant leftovers. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

The restaurant industry in France is already promoting a change from “le doggy bag” to “le gourmet bag.”

Soon, everyone will want one.