[jeffblake]

I'm a SCUBA instructor (trained and living in Vancouver BC), from Seattle.. and I can definitely attest to the character of pacific northwest divers as being very pro-environment, "protect the wildlife", to the point of craziness. Oh man, I can only imagine the aggressive and passive-aggressive reactions this kid got when he pulled that thing out of the water...

Sure, they're nice creatures. If I had a choice, more often than not I would say let the thing be. But I also own a speargun and hunt on occasion. I like the sport, and it feels good to put your own skills on the table once in a awhile. What irritates me is how irrationally angry people get... it's an act of selfishness, a chance for a relatively passive person to stand up for something. It's not really about the octopus, it's about their beliefs. People have to stand for something... whether that's Obama or an Octopus, it doesn't really matter.

The cool thing about running a company, as I'm sure a lot of people here do, is how quickly you get to see the big picture on the world, and sit in the shoes of everyone else's perspective. Wearing a lot of hats and working on hard things really trains you to only give a shit about things that matter, things you can have an influence on, where the goal is not to change people's opinion subjectively, but to prove, objectively, that you can add value and earn a place on this planet.