Since I was there...

Sorry about the underlining. Blogger is pitching a fit. Actually it could just be my fault. I was messing with the HTML, and I don't know the language as well as I should.

... *sighs* now it's normal again....

Going from previous posts from long ago, you may have guessed that I really like aquariums, so whenever I get a chance to go to one, I go. Since I was in Sydney, I figured I might as well go to the Sydney Aquarium, and see what was new. There was a lot that they had changed, or removed, but some of the favorites were there, like the Platypus (which I couldn't get a picture of because there were too many people standing in the way) and the big underwater exhibits that you can walk through. Those I've been through before, and I didn't go early like I should have, which means I would've been stuck in a tube with a bunch of other people.

Sadly, I have had my fill of people. When I say that, I don't mean I hate them. I just mean that I can no longer set aside their bad manners, rudeness, letting their children do everything the giant signs tell them not to... etc. Its nothing personal... but it makes my skin crawl to be in a room with more than 20 people. Lots of you are now shaking your heads and making 'tut tut' noises and thinking I should just let it roll off my back. You need to have some sort of emotional shielding for that and mine are quite gone.

Fish on the other hand are another matter. They stay in their aquariums, and

swim back and forth, occasionally chasing one another, and then forget why they were chasing the other fish. IF they even do any chasing at all. Its relaxing to watch them. So I found myself down at the Sydney Aquarium (um, prices have gone up... a LOT) walking through and attempting to snap shots of fish and other critters I thought were interesting. You may or may not find them interesting.

This little guy... alright, so he wasn't all that small, but it wasn't huge either, is a Leopard Shark. At least that's what the label on the tank said it was. There was a Leopard Ray in here too, but he was hiding in a dark corner, and I didn't want to use the camera's flash on him. Plus it's posted everywhere they you aren't supposed to use flashes in the aquarium. A lot of these fish are light sensitive. Anyway, I liked the Leopard Shark mostly because he didn't look like a shark, and then there was the cute little smile he had most of the time. I've seen that same look on rays before, in fact one of the cutest things I've ever seen was someone feeding a ray at the pet store I use when I'm at home. They actually feed their fish. Shocking, I know. This was the first little smile I'd seen on a shark that didn't inspire fear. Not on my part, but on the rest of the masses, generally there is either the urge to run, or the much more masculine approach,"What the HELL is that?!" "I have no idea, but let's kill it!" Inspiring, no?

I should also say that females are usually no better when it comes to smaller creatures of the

unlovable variety... insects for one tend to meet their end via a shoe, or some other heavy unyielding object. Speaking for myself, unless it is actually inflicting harm on my person, I haven't got a problem with it, and generally speaking, the only reason something that small is doing me harm, is because I did something to it first. This of course leaves out mosquitoes, fleas, ticks, and other similar natured creatures. Those get no sympathy from me, and will meet a swift end, and its usually not death by shoe. I tend to be a bit more vicious. However most females would have a difficult time smashing this... I couldn't find the tag for this, but I'm guessing it's a rather large cousin of the common spider, except this is MUCH larger. This thing was the size of a Basset Hound, and probably weighed more, given all it's armor. It's probably some type of Lobster, but I'm guessing.

Lets see if I can leave you with something cute to think about, but it will probably still have too many limbs for most people's taste. And no, I don't know what it's called, but it's probably a small shrimp or crab, but I'm leaning towards crab, even with all the little whiskers.

Although, I have to say upon closer inspection, that might very well be a large shrimp. Or not. I wish it hadn't been so crowded the day I went, but school was out, and everyone was on vacation to guess where? I will try and get the names of the ones I missed, but don't hold your breath. Anyway, that's as cute as I'll get for today. Next time around I promise that the critters will have fur or feathers... possibly scales, but they may not be cute.

>:)