MESSAGE BOARD

Ever wonder how an interview transcript between you and CNN’s Anderson Cooper might look? I did. Here’s how mine would go….
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After visiting with President Obama, Anderson Cooper had the opportunity to visit with Idee, also known as Alive2Dive, in this special one-on-one interview.

AC: We’re here with Idee, a company-famous systems analyst for a hard-science research company, now conducting research for Dept of Defense and anti-terrorism security systems. Idee, what can you tell us about your work?

Idee: Hi Anderson, thats a great question, but one I’m not at liberty to answer due to the sensitive nature of our work.

AC: I see. (Furrows his brow) A systems analyst title sounds vague. Can you tell us what a systems analyst does?

Idee: Sure. A systems analyst can do just about anything provided they can create a flow chart to capture their ideas. We take a starting problem or question - let’s call that Point A. We then look at the desired result which we’ll call Point B. Then we create an efficient and effective process to get from Point A to Point B. My speciality is developmental logistics.

AC: Thats interesting. (Rolls his eyes)
Friends at work tell me that you’re known as the recycling dork. How did you earn that title?

Idee: Once per month I hijack the company’s internal employee portal and post a snippit or tip on recycling common materials like batteries, cell phones, and aseptic packaging. Its done in the same spirit as when a PETA activist tosses red paint on a woman’s fur coat.

AC: How brazen. Now, in your Bio it says that you’re a student of economics. Tell us how that’s NOT boring.

Idee: Funny.  (gives AC a flat-eyed stare)
I found my soap box after reading Freakonomics by Steven Levitt, and Affluenza by DeGraff, Wann, and Naylor. After years of volunteering for the Humane Society, the Surfrider Foundation, and the Sierra Club, I realized that over-consumption was the common denominator for many of the challenges facing the organizations I helped. Last year I entered an accelerated BA to MS in Economics, choosing the International Track, with a minor in Environmental Studies. I want to study the correlations between a region’s economic standing and their environmental resources.

AC: But… you’re a girl, and you’re interested in environmental economics?

Idee: Yes, that’s right.

AC: You’ve been to college before.

Idee: Yes, right after high school I attended the University of North Dakota where I studied Political Science, because that’s even less boring than economics, with a minor in Visual Arts, class of ‘93. I even rushed and joined the Delta Delta Delta sorority, then quickly realized I had nothing in common with most sorority girls.

AC: You live on an island where water is a way of life. Some people identify you so closely with water that they’ve given you the name Alive2Dive. What can you share about life on an island.

Idee: Well, Anderson, I don’t get island fever. I enjoy the relative solitude and get to the mainland once every few weeks depending on my class schedule. Nature speaks loudly on an island, and residents here are respectful of the island’s delicate environment and its scarce resources.
I’m always in the water when I’m not at work or studying. I’m a divemaster rated scuba diver and have been ‘wet’ since 1998.  I kayak, surf (not well, but I can ride the board and hang out in a lineup), free dive, and was a competitive swimmer for five years. Heck, I’m even a Pisces.  Besides that I enjoy distance cycling just to spend time on terra firma. You’d not believe the amount of sunscreen I go through each year.

AC: And at your age, there’s not a wrinkle on your face.

Idee: ...“at your age”... meaning what exactly?

AC: Nothing.
Your family is unique in that you’re the oldest of seven kids and grew up in a military household. They’ve been described as a roving band of wise-ass military brats, with you as their leader. How do you respond to that allegation.

Idee: Um… guilty as charged? But I had help along the way. The women in my family are ardent pioneers; my grandmom was the head research librarian at Eglin AFB, and in 1952 was one of the few women to earn an MS in Public Administration. My mom was the first woman in our family to pursue a PhD.
All women on my Mom’s side of our family, from the Steeles in Florida to the Orrs in Utah, are members of the Daughters of the American Revolution, myself included, so I’m proud to lead that band of brats. We have lived on all four borders of the US, Spain, and Korea. I won’t get into countries visited, Anderson, because we just don’t have that kind of time in this interview.

AC: I’m told that your biggest heartbreak was over a horse named Ginger. What happened?

Idee: Ginger was my Shetland Pony, and was a gift to me when I turned four. We had other horses, but Ginger was special - she was sized just for me. Nothing was better than riding barebacked and barefooted through our property. Once Ginger spooked and bolted, and rather than staying on like I had been taught, I jumped off and broke my arm. Started Kindergarten with a cast, which earned me an immediate reputation for being a dare-devil. Anyway, after four years with Ginger, my family had to relocate to California, and we had to sell our horses - even Ginger. I was one heart-broken 8 y/o dare-devil.

AC: Changing focus now to Josh Berstein’s web site. Its been noted that he has brought more women out of the closet who are interested in history, archaeology, anthropology, and the like, than any other guy on TV. Did he bring you out of the closet? Why do you visit his site?

Idee: I was never in the closet because I was already widely accepted as an information junkie. I didn’t see his shows until the last season of DFT, and I was amazed as Mr. Bernstein comfortably interacted with people from around the world; different cultures, different faiths. A viewer is pulled in by his off-the-cuff asides and willingness to get dirty to get answers. His wit and curiosity just struck a chord with me, and I respect his examples of humility, intelligence and compassion. Sure, Bear Grylls will strip down to his Hanes for the camera, but where’s the humility and compassion in that? And I’ll confess that I’m normally attracted to dainty metro-sexual types like you, Anderson, but Mr. Bernstein has these incredible lips….

AC: Really, you like lips? How about my lips? (winks)

Idee: Anderson, you don’t have lips.

AC: Well, you were kidding right… about the dainty metro-sexual guy thing? Do you think I’m dainty- ... Idee, why are you getting up? You can’t just leave, you need to answer my question.
Bill, did she just walk out?...

(clears throat). Well, that was my interview with Idee; water-baby, systems analyst, economics student, and self-admitted band of brats leader. Join me tomorrow night when AC360 takes a look at the implications of Congress’s Cash for Clunkers program. Thanks for joining us, and good night.