h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I love that boatride video, I'm there! Even though I'm not there. Cruising through the Everglades!

What's the air temperature? Warm air, cool air? I think warm air, but can't figure the degrees celsius. This knowledge will make my picture complete.

Extraordinary wonder. The pink bird. I know not the species. How to ever describe the light on the wings of this extraordinary creation?

Isn't that spoonbill gorgeous? It will be extensively tweeted.

The pink bird is a Roseate Spoonbill. We have them in the backyard all the time...it's a joy to catch a shot of one in flight...

The air temperature? It's Florida so I'm going to say 21 to 25 Centigrade...

Glad you enjoyed the ride...your drive was an ex-convict drug smuggler...

21C to 25C. Nice temperature. That's approaching a heatwave for England.

So, the driver has an interesting story then. From that to this, to the water.

Ah, a Roseate Spoonbill! A backyard regular. heheh. How about that.

The photo of the spoonbill is superb! I’m lucky to see white spoonbills occasionally at my local nature reserve A87875987 but my photos of them are comparatively feeble. I am in awe that they are your backyard birds Thank you for sharing this with us

The pink bid caught my eye, I didn't realize there were two other pictures, plus commentary. Good article, Phred. I would love to have a pink bird like that walking across my yard.

Here is a Washington Post article, written in 1990 about the growth and collapse of drug smuggling in Everglades City...facts quirky enough for an H2G@ edited entry by an industrious researcher...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1990/12/23/the-little-town-that-turned-to-drugs/7f3f3675-cfee-44cc-bd1e-958e6dbcca16/

Good idea, hint...

What a pity that even crabs are getting into hard drugs.

I'm not sure I understand, Paul...What crabs? The fishermen were only smuggling pot...not hard drugs...

Good idea about writing an Everglades city H2G2 article..."Everglades City: The most corrupt town in America" there is a wealth of news articles dealing with prohibition and pot smuggling...Wiki also has some interesting history of early murder and throat-cutting...

I'm thinking (like Michener) of starting with a confused Mastadon and working quickly through 1500 years of Calusa Indians inhabitation...

Sounds good! Maybe like the one I did about Pittsburgh that started with Pangeia? A87860866

Great entry...The humor makes it...a few billion years more ambitious than I would have dared...the beginning of the Universe?...even Michener didn't think of that...

I always wanted to do Michener one better. Thanks, glad you liked it!

"The burly, clannish crabbers of Everglades City," so I assumed that the crabs were somehow participating.

No crabs were arrested or even indicted...a few were questioned and many were eaten...have you ever had Florida Stone crab?... I bought ten pounds of fresh, shelled King Crab in Cold Bay, Alaska, in 1967 for five dollars...but I didn't like it...Mrs. Phred ate it all...If you go to Miami eat at Joe's Stone Crab...during season...