Marty Essen's Blog, page 292
March 31, 2018
Adelaide’s warbler
Marty’s photo of the day #2500: It’s seems like for photo number 2500, I should pick something special. Okay, I can’t say that any one animal is more special than any other. Hmm . . . let’s go to Puerto Rico. Here’s an Adelaide’s warbler.
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March 30, 2018
The lone blue-footed booby
Marty’s photo of the day #2499: I photographed this blue-footed booby on a tiny island in the Sea of Cortez. This was the only blue-footed booby I saw the entire time I was in Mexico. I would have been so pissed if she wasn’t in focus.
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March 29, 2018
The insect from outer space
Marty’s photo of the day #2498: Is it a leaf-mimic mantis, or is it an alien from outer space?
(Photographed in the Amazon Rainforest of Peru)
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March 28, 2018
Young long-eared owls
Marty’s photo of the day #2497: I found these young long-eared owls on my morning bike ride two years ago. Soon I will have to start checking the tree every morning to see if mom has come back to raise another family.
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March 27, 2018
Selling with the dead guys
For much of the past week, my new novel, Time Is Irreverent, has been occupying Amazon’s Humorous Science Fiction top-20, alongside books by Douglas Adams and Kurt Vonnegut.
Way to go, Marty! I can sell books with the best of the dead guys!
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The solar system via Chromosphere Cruiser
Marty’s photo of the day #2496: From my novel, Time Is Irreverent, in the year 2020:
“Can I drive?”
“I’ve read about how you human males always like to be in control. But in my society, pilots are chosen based on skill, not sex.”
Reminiscent of the big ship, the cruiser had a vertical cockpit. As soon as we strapped ourselves in standing side by side, the gravity eased, eliminating all fatigue.
Chrissie pushed a series of buttons, grabbed the floor-mounted control stick, turned to me, and flashed an eyelash. “Hold on!”
“But the door isn’t op—”
We shot toward the bay door. It opened just in time.
“Woo-hoo!” she yelled before looking at me and calmly adding, “I’ve been studying Earth interjections.”
I had been in space long enough that much of the novelty had worn off, but when the big Krichard ship moved, it was barely noticeable. This was a completely different feeling. We whipped past the moon, then circled back around it—coming in low, just over a mountain range. From there, we shot toward Mars, circled it, and did the same with the dwarf planet Ceres. Incidentally, I didn’t know all of those celestial objects by sight. A screen beside me educated me as we went, conveniently displaying a map of the solar system translated into English.
If humans were to travel to Mars via a NASA rocket, the trip would take six to eight months. Our trip, via the Chromosphere Cruiser, took less than fifteen minutes, and we weren’t even going full speed.
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March 26, 2018
Pair of bluebirds
Marty’s photo of the day #2495: Here’s a pair of blue birds that I photographed in Yellowstone National Park a few years back.
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March 25, 2018
Yes, I do take requests
Marty’s photo of the day #2494: I worked my way through high school and college as a DJ at radio stations WEBC and KQDS in Duluth. That avocation is long behind me, but I still take requests. Yesterday a friend wrote and requested a marmot picture. So let me, uh-um, clear my throat and find my DJ voice:
“It’s a beautiful morning here in Montana! First a shout-out to all the students who participated in the March For Our Lives yesterday. Keep it up! In just a short time, you’ve managed to show the world just how evil and insecure the NRA and their minions actually are. They really do value guns more than other people’s children! And now, I have a request from Sandy in Missoula, who would just love to see a marmot photo. I had to dig deep for this one. Coming all the way from the Black Hills of South Dakota, here it is—Yellow-Bellied Marmot on a Rock!”
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March 24, 2018
The Mother of All Badgers
Marty’s photo of the day #2493: The Mother of All Badgers. . . . or at least the ones on this hill.
(Photographed in the Bitterroot Valley of Montana)
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March 23, 2018
Black flying fox
Marty’s photo of the day #2492: “Hmm . . . I seem to have a black flying fox attached to me.”
(Photographed in Queensland, Australia)
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