Caught in the Net!
by Bob Kolimaga

At the beginning of this year I began to think about contributing to The Fin Fax on regular basis. During one of the DCAS Board of Directors meetings it was mentioned that there was a shortage of original articles to be published and an even shorter supply of people willing to write for our club's newsletter. It was noticed that very few members of the Board were regular or infrequent contributors. It was at this point that I decided to start a column.

My biggest challenge was finding a topic(s) that I knew enough about and could write about on a regular basis. To a large degree I still believe that the hobby is divided into two groups: those who use Latin names and those who do not. I make a conscious effort to work in a Latin name or two in each column just to sound credible to our more expert brethren. I hate to sound crass but at an auction all I focus on is whether a fish is a live bearer, what PH it can tolerate, and if it will raise havoc in my Quakerlike community tank. Let others routinely talk amongst themselves in their own language. A Redtailed Black Shark by any name is still not a shark but an often vicious little creature in a small tank!

Having now confessed to being a fish culture Philistine I need to clarify the point that I am always looking to read and find out more about the hobby. That is primarily why most of us attend the monthly DCAS social event know as the first Friday of the month (the timing of which is significant to those raised Catholic and still triggers guilt) meeting. The Latin speaking walking encyclopedias sincerely welcome any opportunities to answer your fish hobby questions.

My position with a Human Resources and Employee Research Consulting firm involves my being on the Internet for hours at a time. My latest assignment involves contracting with Web (WWW- WorldWide Web) Developers to create an Internet data collection system. The tie-in is that I have begun to appreciate both the vast volume of knowledge that is available on the (Inter)Net and how maddeningly repetitious some of this data can be and what is circuitous and ridiculous path it often takes to get there. Caught In The Net represents my monthly efforts to find interesting and helpful information and to share this information with club members in plain English.

I realize that many readers have no interest in getting any more involved with computers than they have to. These hobbyists are more like my 80 year old father who has no interest in high technology search devices and is still doing fine with how he has conducted his life's business or hobby until now. For this reason my articles will be geared to providing useful information presented in such a way that is enjoyable to read.