Tag: Freaks of nature

Meet Blobfish

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I originally saw this in the NYT about a year ago, but an old coworker re-sent me the article recently because she said it reminded her of me (uh…thanks?)  Turns out sad old Mr. Blob here is on the verge of extinction due to overfishing by trawlers, which is too bad, especially because the blobfish is drawn up with other fish and thrown away, not eaten.

Though it’s debatable if Blobfish looks that way because of its current plight or if we should just let things continue down their current path and put this fish out of its misery, overfishing is a problem.  While out to dinner with some friends last week one of them pulled out their iPhone and pulled up the Seafood Watch App from the Monterey Bay Aquarium to help him decide what he was going to order.  The app allows you to look up the best choices (in terms of ocean-friendly fish) in your area, good alternatives, and fish you should avoid.  Andriod has similar Sustainable Fish and Overfished List apps, though they are a little less user-friendly.  Seafood Watch also has a mobile website with an online pocket guide.   Kind of cool.  Save the blobfish.

Fall 7 times…

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Nana korobi, ya oki.

~Japanese proverb

Fall seven times, stand up eight.

There is a guy that swims on the Masters team that I coach named George.  George is 55 and his life goal has been to qualify for the Ironman in Kona, Hawaii.  (For those of you unfamiliar with an Ironman, it is a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run…one right after the other.  Absurd.)   To qualify for Kona you have to either achieve a certain time or place at specific races.  It’s a prestigious race, really difficult to qualify.

2 weeks ago, George completed the Ironman Louisville.   He dropped his time by 40 minutes, won his age group, and will be flying to Hawaii in 3 weeks to race at Kona.  His marathon time was 3:41, over 20 minutes better than his previous PR.

Louisville was his 8th Ironman.

The World Spinning

~ meh ~ 2 Comments

“You must not fall. When you lose your balance, resist for a long time before turning yourself toward the earth. Then jump. You must not force yourself to stay steady. You must move forward.”

~Phillipe Petit

I just finished Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann.  It is a wonderful book, highly recommend.  Followed it up by watching the documentary Man on Wire (streaming on Netflix…), definitely worth watching.

Along the same lines (ha), coincidentally, a few weeks ago I came across this article.  Extreme walking.

 

 

Iguazu Falls

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Though it’s a day trip from Buenos Aires, if you ever have an opportunity to go see Iguazu Falls, DO IT.

The four of us arrived at Iguazu after a (not so bad) 18 hour ride to the Northeast part of the country along the Uruguayan and Brazilian border.  The falls sit in a national park in between Argentina and Brazil.  We stayed on the Argentine side in Puerto Iguazu (largely because crossing into Brazil costs US citizens $130.)   We got to our hostel around 9am and (without even showering…gross) set out to catch the bus over to the falls.

Even though it’s technically late fall/early winter here, the weather in the rainforest at Iguazu was high 70s and humid.  Sweaty.  We took the bus ride to the site, which is a maze of metal bridges that take you over (like, literally, RIGHT over…or in some cases, under) the falls.

The rainforest is full of crazy flora and fauna, including an enormous variety of butterflies, which are EVERYWHERE.  (Due to a lack of salt in the area, butterflies are attracted to the salt on your skin, so they fly around trying to land on you and lick your skin…which is weird.)  With the mist from the falls obscuring the ground below the bridges, the weird coatis walking right up to you, the butterflies landing on you…the place is surreal.

The biggest falls in Iguazu is La Garganta del Diablo (Devil’s Throat).  Words really can’t describe, so I won’t waste my time.  It’s just something you have to see for yourself.

The next day we had a few hours before our bus left, so we walked to Las Tres Fronteras, a point where the Paraguayan, Brazilian, and Argentine borders meet over the Rio Iguazu and Rio Parana.

Our bus ride back was not quite as easy as the one there.  But we made it back  safe and sound (if a little tired) to find our next guest waiting for us at the front door.

For more pics of the trip to Iguazu (and the rest of our time here), visit here.