Sometimes you just have to say "
Screw it" and go to the zoo. So we hied off to the Indianapolis Zoo.
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| Doin' the flamingo dance. |
It was something of a rushed visit; weather was closing in.
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| The gray sky in the background is what we call a "clue". |
I really want a DSLR now. Too much fencing and glass can fool even the smartest autofocus the
Canon ShowerPot can bring to bear. Need a polarizing filter to cut down on reflections, too.
Still, that 30x optical zoom is capable of some pretty spiffy tricks for a point-'n'-shoot:
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| Sea lions don't actually roar... |
13 comments:
So, were you happy to see them again?
Yes I was. :)
Visit too many 1-star Chinese restaurants lately, and have a bad reaction to the monosodium glutamate?
Sorry to hear that.
It ain't just Chinese. It's in a lot of foods you don't expect it in. But the use and allergy being so widespread, it's come to be called Chinese Restaraunt Syndrome.
Last time I visited a zoo was in Singapore. A terrific zoo, it reminds me of the one in San Diego - as much as possible they have the animals in enclosures duplicating their natural habitat.
Even the polar bears, which is an engineering achievement considering that you really can't get further from their natural habitat.
They have some lesser viewed specimens such as the Komodo Dragons and white tigers. I wouldn't suggest going to Singapore just for the zoo, but if you find yourself passing through put it on your list.
Garrett Lee,
"Visit too many 1-star Chinese restaurants lately, and have a bad reaction to the monosodium glutamate?"
I don't know that it was actually that. The roof rabbit they served by way of sweet & sour pork tasted like breaded cat turds. We won't be ordering from there again.
Looks like "Fish goes here, please."
The roof rabbit they served by way of sweet & sour pork
Yeah, a friend of mine from Hong Kong told me to always stay away from the dough-covered fried foods, because that was where cheap restaurants stuck the worst meat.
I've never heard it called "roof rabbit," though - had to look that one up.
Reminds me of the old "Cat in the Kettle" video from a decade or so ago.
I love the zoo. May be about time for another visit
You mean Mappin Terraces?
Saki has a story...
http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/MappLife.shtml
The best two out of three zoos I've been to were Knoxville and Birmingham. Zoo Atlanta has made a big deal out of locally advertising their improvements since I was there in the mid '80's.
I guess my two biggest memories from zoos are...
1) A bull elk charging the visitors, then untangling his rack... they had buffer cables between him and the fence. In the wild he'd have probably run off, but confined to maybe a quarter acre even and fight kicks in.
2) A 1500lb Bengal Tiger in Knoxville. He didn't do anything particularly dramatic... just that's a *big* cat.
I'm lucky to live in the STL area, where admission to our zoo is FREE. Parking costs a ton, but there's even free parking to be had if you don't mind a stroll to your vehicle.
I do have a DSLR, and I've found that for the most part a good quality point and shoot takes perfectly good photos... good enough that unless I want the mammoth zoom on my DSLR or the vastly improved AF (not only better at focusing on the right thing, but far faster) the little weatherproof Olympus is much easier to carry around. As much as I like the size and feel of a DSLR, if I could get a P&S with a good zoom, great AF, and fast response (if I'm really hoping, I'd also like the ability to add a separate flash unit), I'd probably put my Pentax out to pasture.
I recommend the Southwestern Desert Mueum, outside of Tucson....think big open air zoo of native species....
joewarrant
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