Time capsule

Do you ever go back and read things you wrote years ago? It's kind of funny to do so. I just read the introduction to a proposal that I wrote my first year here. It's great! Check it out; here's the introductory passage, my favorite part:

Charles Elton, author of the seminal work on biological invasions, termed invasions by exotic species "ecological explosions" (Elton 1958). Not only do invasive species frequently exhibit explosive, exponential growth in their new ranges, they also cause many associated ecological, economic and cultural damages (Mack et al. 2000).

Continuing with this metaphor, California's grasslands are a veritable ecological battlefield, shaken by resounding explosions. California grasslands are among the continental systems most heavily altered by biological invasions (Mack 1989). They have been struck by wave after wave of invading hordes, primarily from the Mediterranean region of Europe and North Africa (Baker 1989).

I was hoping that I'd be able to lift some of this proposal for the thesis proposal I'm just about to start writing. They're both about invasibility. Unfortunately, they seem to have different foci. Oh well. It would be fun to sound high-minded and literary with my "veritable ecological battlefield", "resounding explosions", and "wave after wave of invading hordes", but a little out of context. Alas. Maybe next time =D.