Courtesy of Roy G. Biv...

Rainbows galore! Oh boy!

Explanation: On the long drive home from Poughkeepsie, thanks to some serious rainstorms in the area, we drove a good bit of the way with direct sunlight from the west and rain storms over us and to the east. Those types of conditions led to some beautiful rainbows. Of course, my camera was in the trunk under a pile of baby equipment, so I was reduced to just enjoying them at the time. Well, as much as I could without accidentally rear-ending the car in front of me.

The light necessary for a rainbow when the sun is low in the sky makes for some interesting photo opportunities. This is one of my all-time favorite photos (from the internet, not me) of a rainbow over Seattle:


Of course, the scenery over the New Jersey Turnpike wouldn't have been quite the same.

Giant Chipmunks!

Beware of the giant attack chipmunks!

Source: Well, really I just wanted an excuse to blog this picture:


One of the most frustrating things about being interested in both LEGOs and photography is that the internet provides so many examples of people who are vastly superior to me in both pursuits. I made the mistake of checking out my favorite LEGO blog the other day and I found this picture. Then, I compounded my mistake by checking out some other photos that this guy had taken (and his toy pictures, in particular). Aside from my jealousy over his tamed chipmunks, I was absolutely floored at the photos he created using his LEGO Castle Advent calendar.

Well, I can't beat him, so as I work on honing my LEGO skills, I suggest you go check out the cool stuff that he's done. Enjoy!

Don't Point That Dewlap at Her!

It's all fun and games until the lizard hits on your wife.

Explanation: Also included in last week's fabulous Floridian vacation was a trip to the American Orchid Society Visitor's Center and Botanical Gardens in sunny Delray Beach. Well, it was sunny until it rained, but we were inside at that point, so I can't complain.

A feature of the gardens that I did not expect was the plethora of lizards scampering to and fro. In particular, I found the anoles quite interesting because of the little red flap of skin (called a "dewlap") under their neck which they can extend. At the time, my wife and I speculated (correctly, as it turns out) that the red thingie was either related to territorial or courtship behavior. As I went to snap a picture of this brown anole, he flashed his dewlap:

Since I was standing closer to him than my wife was and her movement caused him to extend his dewlap, my only reasonable conclusion was that he was hitting on her. Subsequently, I puffed out my chest, bashed him with my telephoto lens, and went on my merry way. Stay away from my wife, jerkwad.*

*OK, so maybe we just joked about it and continued our walk through the garden. I repeat, this animal was not actually harmed. (I cannot say the same for that gecko that one time in Mallorca, though.)

ALLIGATOR LEFT!

Alligator left! Alligator left!

Explanation: During our trip to Florida, my wife and I visited the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, where we took an airboat ride. (If you're wondering, "Loxahatchee" derives from the Seminole word meaning "place where alligators eat tourists' children".) If you've never been on an airboat, there's really only one thing you need to know. The fan is loud. Everyone wears ear protectors, and as a result the tour guide can only shout brief instructions when the boat slows near something of note.

Well, as it turns out, airboat travels clockwise along a circular route, where the inside happens to be the only part of the Everglades without any alligators. As we drove, our guide just kept yelling "Alligator left! Alligator left!" As you might have guessed, I was seated on the right of the boat. Oh well. At one point our driver managed to mistakenly maneuver us so an alligator was in front of the boat. I snapped this picture around the person's head in front of me:


To maintain their body heat, most of the alligators were just resting in the sun, which rendered them slightly less active than the floating mud that my shipmates frantically snapped photos of when our tour started.

2008 NCAA Tournament Spectacular - Day 3

Jeremy's Status Message presents the NCAA Tournament Spectacular! Full NCAA Tournament Coverage! Take an inside look into this expert's thought process in picking today's games!

From the archives:

Wheel of Morality, turn, turn, turn. Tell us the lesson that we should learn. And today's lesson is... "Do not back up. Severe tire damage"

Explanation: This is one of the many morals generated by the Wheel of Morality on Animaniacs. Don't think too hard about it. Just check out my Saturday picks!

No. 7 West Virginia vs. No. 2 Duke:
I have Duke advancing to the Sweet Sixteen, not because I think they're all that good (as exhibited by their first round squeaker against Belmont) but because I don't think any of the other teams in the Washington, D.C. pod are better. Arizona put on a great show and quieted their doubters in the first round, but their tournament run ends today.*

No. 11 Kansas State vs. No. 3 Wisconsin:
Bye bye O.J. Mayo. Kansas State knocked off USC, but now faces a tougher test in a Wisconsin team that will continue to do everything in their power to STAY OUT OF WISCONSIN. Sure, there are breweries there, but people can only take so much Brett Favre and cheese.

No. 6 Purdue vs. No. 3 Xavier:
I know Xavier is the three seed, but Baylor looks like a team of destiny. It was enough of a story for them to get to the Big Dance, but their stunning first round upset of Purdue shocked everyone. Look for Baylor to continue their run and advance to the Sweet Sixteen.

No. 5 Notre Dame vs. No. 4 Washington State:
Notre Dame and Winthrop both cruised in the first round, just as I predicted. I'm out of Trading Places jokes, so I think it's time for Winthrop to go home. Amazing fact: Notre Dame's 68 points in their first round game was more points than their football team scored all of last season.**

No. 6 Marquette vs. No. 3 Stanford:
Both Stanford and Marquette looked good in the first round, but this game is in Anaheim, and that's a huge advantage for Stanford. Look for the Cardinal to roll. Hey, speaking of "cardinal", here's a story for you:

On most mornings, I eat my breakfast cereal in our den, which has two windows looking out on the woods behind our house. Given the orientation of the house, the morning sun shines brightly onto the branches. Certain times of the year, we have some cardinals which greatly enjoy perching on the branches visible through my window. They sit there, an even brighter red than usual due to the sunshine, and mock me through the window because my camera is inevitably upstairs. On most days, I just sit and sulk because I know they won't be there by the time I return with my camera. On other days, I go get my camera, only to find the cardinals long gone when I return. Last year, I actually left my camera downstairs for just this purpose, and eventually managed to snap a few cardinal pictures.

Well, yesterday morning a cardinal paid me a visit, and it was too pretty to pass up. I put down my cereal and sprinted upstairs to get my camera. And when I got back, the cardinal was still there! I took some quick pictures, only to realize that I needed the telephoto lens, which (of course) was still upstairs. I sprinted back upstairs and got the telephoto lens, and then sprinted back downstairs and changed lenses. The cardinal was on a different branch, but still there! I got two pictures of him before he took off, so all of my running was worthwhile! Here's the original, followed by the edited version.

But I digress... Go Stanford!

No. 8 UNLV vs. No. 1 Kansas:
I love the Running Rebels, but not when they run into the top seeded Jayhawks. Kansas will keep on rolling. Jock, caulk, Marshall Faulk!

No. 5 Michigan State vs. No. 4 Pittsburgh:
Michigan State is just too strong in the tournament. Temple learned that on Thursday. Now it's Pittsburgh's turn. Fo shizzo my Izzo. Spartans to the Sweet Sixteen!

No. 9 Texas A&M vs. No. 1 UCLA:
It was a real nail biter, but the Mormons knocked off the Aggies in the first round. If Mitt Romney were still alive today, he'd be so happy! Oh well. UCLA is going to mop the floor with BYU and send them back home to their wives. All of them.

*Now might be a good time to mention that I made all of my picks before the tournament began. As a result, they may not match up perfectly with the actual games being played.

**This fact probably isn't true, but isn't it sad that you had to think about it?