The World is a Steak

I think one of the reasons I like sunrises so much is that I see them so seldom. With all of the cloudy days in New York and the fact that I sleep through most of them, catching a great sunrise becomes a special experience. It's the same reason I like a good steak. Um, except for the fact that I eat steak all of the time and you can't put Peter Luger Steak Sauce on a sunrise. Other than that, it's exactly the same.

Camera: Nikon D70
Location: San Diego, CA

A Little Critter in a Big World

Sometimes I feel like this little guy. I start wondering what kind of lasting impression I could possibly make in "The Grand Scheme of Things". Then the feeling passes and I go eat a steak. That's something a 4-inch lizard can't do.

Update:
Last week, I was complaining about the use of scientific names that non-scientific people can't really relate to. Apparently, there have been some efforts to make scientific names a little more friendly to the masses. This Popular Science article from their October, 2005 issue mentioned that some scientists were incorporating the names of public figures into the names of newly-discovered species. My favorite was the Beetle which is named "A. vaderi" (after Darth Vader). We're not there yet, but it's a start.

Camera: Nikon D70
Location: Port St. Lucie, FL

Yawnius Maximus

I don't know why those "science types" insist on giving things scientific names that are incomprehensible (not to mention unpronounceable) to the general public. The Latin name of the beast that they boys are studying here is "Mammuthus primigenius", or some such nonsense. If you want kids to be interested in science throughout their lives, try making science at least a little interesting and fun. Compare the number of "Mammuthus primigenius" action figures an average first-grader owns to the number of T-Rexes he has. T-Rex has a much cooler name, a better reputation, and much more public exposure. In short, T-Rex had a much better PR company.

Unless you are giving the technical names for Wile E. Coyote and The Roadrunner (which are Apetitius Giganticus and Tastyus Supersonicus, respectively), leave the Latin for the people going for their Ph.D in Ancient Roman History.

Camera: Nikon D70
Location: Museum of Natural History, New York City

Pining for Summertime

I hate the Winter. I hate everything about it. I hate having to wear a sweatshirt everywhere I go because I am always cold. I hate shoveling snow. I hate playing in the snow with my kids. (The playing part is okay, but it's the fingers-turning-blue part that is hard to take.) I hate having a bowl of soup, a cup of tea, and a cup of hot chocolate and still not being able to warm up. I hate that it gets dark at 5PM. I hate trying to scrape ice off my windshield before I go to work in the morning, but not being able to really get it all off and not having the time to let my car's defroster warm up for ten minutes before I leave. I hate not getting up ten minutes earlier to let my car warm up. (Okay, that one is not really Winter's fault, it's mine, but I'm on a roll.) I hate the strange looks people give me when they see me with my hands in my sleeves, in my shirt, or down my pants. I'm just trying to warm them up. Really.

Maybe I'm just getting old and cranky, but I don't have any complaints about the Summer. Well, that's not exactly true. Each summer, I hate how my house always winds up with a bee or hornet nest in or on it. Other than that, Summer is okay by me.

This is a picture of the shadow of a Summer tree cast by a hot Summer sun. You can even see the warm Summer breeze blowing by if you look closely. My hands are getting warmer already...

Camera: Nikon D2H
Location: Port St. Lucie, FL

Am I the father of Linus Van Pelt?

Okay -- go ahead and tell me that Luke does not look like Linus from Peanuts in this picture. Go ahead. I dare you. Well, I don't really care what you say because it's my blog. I don't have to listen to any dissenting opinions. Imagine me sticking my virtual fingers in my virtual ears and saying, "La la la, I can't hear you."

(Luke doesn't suck his thumb like Linus does, but he does have a blue blanket that he drags around the house.)