Freaky Friday

I was running down at the Santa Monica beach this morning with a friend when we spotted a seal lying on the beach.

I have seen 3 dead seals since moving to LA a few years ago, so I wasn't entirely shocked. This seal (sealion, actually) was still alive.

It was an adolescent, I think, and curled up on the beach. It had a wound of some kind on its shoulder.

We tried to flag down a beach patrol but couldn't. There was no one at the police stand either. We finally found a Paramedic sleeping in the back of his ambulance and asked him to call a park official or local police on the radio.

When we went back to the sealion, I saw a sign buried in the sand that read "Marine Animal - Do Not Disturb. Federal Penalty, etc etc". I guess the sealion was spotted some time yesterday, possibly days earlier.

I did a bit of research online - apparently Santa Monica has a horrible water pollution problem, and the tumor-filled fish and sealions soak up a lot of toxic chemicals. I think it's a good thing that I never go into the water even though I live in Santa Monica.

There wasn't much else to do, so we continued running. We debated the application of Heisenberg's uncertainty principle to astrology, clarovoyance, and prognostication.

For the record, I don't believe in astrology. I also think New Age people are seizing upon the confusion of the layperson's understanding of Quantum Mechanics to justify their mystical beliefs.

Here's a great article about a huge 2003 study into astrology.