[Down Under]
Doing my surveys yesterday, I found myself in the middle of a huge school of jacks (a bit like this).
This is why I like diving. I think I might like running if there was a chance that I might suddenly find myself in a stampede of elephants, or a herd of reindeer.
Today I spent a good 20 minutes being tortured by Christmas music whilst trying to find some face wash that wouldn’t whiten my skin. You’ll be pleased to know Dumaguete is dreaming of a White Christmas.
From The Independent:
German police had to round up a cluster of crayfish after the crustaceans broke out of an Asian food shop and scuttled down the street in Stuttgart. A surprised pedestrian notified authorities after seeing the crayfish crawling down the road on Sunday. They had escaped by squeezing through gaps in the grating on their tanks and leaving by the shop’s front door, which was left ajar.
Andrew and I saw a similar thing happen in Emeishan, China:
As we were ordering our attention was drawn to a scuffling noise on the street and we were surprised to see a small crayfish dragging itself along, obviously an escapee. Nathan was quick to scoop it up and put it in a bowl in the kitchen; he was smiling lots and said his wife would be very pleased with the find.
Sam: There’s hardly anyone in the sea today… odd for a Sunday.
Shawn: I wonder what the red flags mean?
Becks: Why are those lifeguard guys running towards us?
Turns out the beach was closed because a saltwater croc was sighted just off the Strand this morning. Oh, and some idiots have been chumming off the jetty and caught a 3m tiger shark last night. Oopsy.
A few photography-related links that are well worth checking out:
Raul Gutierrez’s portfolio ‘Travels Without Maps’ are amazing collections of photographs from Tibet and remote areas of China. And isn’t that the best name for an exhibition ever?
Jon Huck’s Breakfasts Photos of people with what they eat for breakfast. Culinary and photographic inspiration for the price of one, and an interesting social commentary.
Ben Roberts Photography Some interesting collections. I like the portraits in higher lands and weekenders and there’s some great shots in superpit (which I first saw in JPG Magazine) and a sense of place.
Another great thing about being a marine biologist: the toys. This week I bought a new camera with a fancy ikelite underwater housing, a portable hard drive for backing stuff up in the field, a GPS and a bright yellow Pelican case to keep everything safe and dry. Hurrah for research budgets!
Listening: Manu Chao - Clandestino
Reading: Gabriel Garcia Marquez - Collected Stories
I’m obviously feelin’ the Latin vibe!
FYI - Male Kangaroos do have pouches. Just in case you were wondering.
In other roo related news - a man at the mouthwatering QVM in Melbourne told me that Kangaroos are considered lucky animals because they can only jump forwards and not back.
I’m going to start collecting used paper to recycle into blank books. They’ll be great for brainstorming and shopping lists, and cheaper than moleskines!
Townsville has just won the right to become a trial solar city, which means they’re going to invest loads of money in solar powered homes. How cool!
Becks is a marine ecology PhD student, living in Queensland (Australia), Dumaguete (Philippines) and London (UK). Marinegirl is her online alter-ego. She dreamt her up as as super-gorgeous superhero saving the underwater world (if you've seen Captain Planet, you get the idea). She is not, and never will be, in the marines.