November 30, 2008
Plenty of shows that I watch, I think everyone will like. Of course that isn’t the case. But if I had to pick one show that everyone should at least DVR, it would be NOVA. You may not be interested in every week’s subject, but every once in a while there will be one that sucks you in. I watch every episode. Unless my DVR decides to skip it. Some I pay more attention to than others. Sometimes I’ll fall asleep watching it. Sometimes I will split it into several viewings. This past week’s I wasn’t sure about. I figured I’d watch the first 5 minutes and finish it later. It hooked me right away and I sat there and watched the whole thing.
This episode looked at the Marine Mammal Center is Sausalito, California. They care for sick or injured seals along most of California’s coast. They attempt to nurse them back to health so they can return to the wild.
Many of the animals brought in have either been injured by trash or fishing nets or made sick by some sort of toxin. Most are a result of human influence in the ocean.
The Center is staffed mostly by volunteers. I’m not sure what sort of background you need to be a volunteer but it seems like a very interesting and rewarding way to spend your time. From what I saw when I was in Sausalito this summer, most people there have plenty of money and time on their hands. My only problem volunteering is that I’d probably want to take a Harbor Seal home as a pet.
This entire episode is available on the PBS site. As I said, well worth checking out if you have an hour or so.
A few of the episodes are available to watch online. Some of the recent ones that were very interesting were The Bible’s Buried Secrets (tries to connect archeological evidence with the Hebrew Bible) and Space Shuttle Disaster (looks at the 2003 Columbia disaster). Also, if you are a huge math nerd, Hunting the Hidden Dimension is all about fractals. They still make my head hurt and I learned about them in 10th and 11th grades.
April 3, 2012
June 1, 2011