Where I was going with this, is the concept of "man creating nature".

See, I mean, I got from your o.p., that you were kinda advocating the "natural setting" thing, right?

And I mean, I agree with that (fully) - I "like" nature, right?

But ah.... I was only pointing out, that ten years from now, we'll kinda have the ability to "make our own" nature.

You know, so I mean, you want an ecosystem with lots of trout and very few spiders? How about we get rid of hyenas and ostriches entirely? All this is possible.....

I mean, I'm kinda being facetious, right? But the concept I was raising, is "man making his own nature". So, you know, what "is" that nature exactly?

Is it "exactly the same as", what we know "today" to be a "natural setting"?

Hmm.... I'm not so sure. You know, I mean, I was just over in Tokyo, and there's a whole section of the city there where people live like freakin' sardines, it's incredible - you know, "I" used to live in NYC, and I thought 2 grand a month for a studio apartment was a little outrageous, but it turns out I was lucky to get even that - and I mean, these guys in Tokyo, they don't get out, right? They're like, "stuck" in that metropolitan environment, and I mean, if it's a choice between being in your nice air-conditioned apartment or outside where it's so humid you'll be dripping wet 60 seconds after taking a shower.... hm.....

You know, so these guys, they do "exercise", but they don't really "run around the block" too much, they mostly just go down to the basement and work out with the weights, that kinda thing. You know, if you've ever lived in Manhattan, you don't have to go more than a block or two to get anything, there's like a local "everything", local deli, local barber, and I mean, "local" means "within one city block" usually, or maybe two at most.

So you know, while I lived in "the city", going out to Jersey was a big deal. 'Cause I mean, no one has a car in the City, so you gotta rent a car, you know, and I mean, parking is impossible in the City, people pay more for parking spaces than they do for rent, and then to top it all off, if you're not used to driving, you gotta navigate through Chinatown to get to the Tunnel, and I mean, you know, the streets are narrow and there's a lotta old Oriental ladies trying to drive and talk on their cell phones at the same time, and I mean..... "natural"..... mm.....

You know, "I" (we, but "I"), have the good fortune of living in what passes for a 'burb here in LA ("Burb"-ank ) - you know, it's a pretty cool spot, lots of open space, there are actually parks and stuff.... within walking distance! But when we really want "natural", we go "elsewhere", and I mean, "now", it's not such a big deal, you know, we have more "capability" than we had back then.

But ah... how can I say this.... everything kinda changed when we had those two little kids. Our son is one and a half, and when I thought about "what did I wanna teach him", the first thing that leapt out o' my mind, was "hunting and fishing".

Up until we had him though, going "outside" was mainly a romantic thing, you know, for dinner, or lovey-dovey, or whatever, but I mean, I don't got time to jog in the morning, right? I wake up, it takes me about five minutes to take a shower while the coffee's boiling, and then I'm out the door. And then when I get back here, it's like, I got too much work to do to worry about whether I walked down to the park this morning or not. It sucks, it really does. I wish there was some other way. But ah.... deadlines, and taxes, and kids, and need I say more?

So, I gotta "optimize" my time. I don't have the luxury of being retired, or having lots of time on my hands. Right now I'm trying to build a trust fund for two little kids, and I mean, I get that earful practically every day 'cause it "doesn't exist yet", right? And I mean, you know, my mom comes over for help with the computer, and if whatever site she wants to buy something from, doesn't work within three tries, I gotta tell her, "sorry mom, I don't have time to try again, you gotta come back later". Once again, "it sucks".

I mean, I'm just tryin' to give you a feel for how hard it is, to make that particular tradeoff that you're talking about, align with my "wishes".