The Wildlife in Abu Dhabi

No, I don't mean the "wild life" as in lifestyle. I am talking zoological life here.

In the city, we don't see much wildlife beyond birds, lots and lots of birds. There is quite a variety since the UAE is part of the flight path for our winged friends' migratory patterns. One really fun native bird here (besides the pigeon) is the flamingo, which can be found outside of town in some of the estuaries and coastal ponds. There's also the hoopoe with its long beak and impressive crest and the falcon, the national symbol and a traditional hunting tool in the Beduin culture.

As for insects, we have ants (but not fire ants) and a few roaches. It's nothing like Beaufort's roaches, though. We also have quite a few geckoes here, but they don't talk like the cute little guy selling car insurance on tv. Scorpions can be found if you look carefully, but they tend to exist in sandy areas a bit outside of downtown Abu Dhabi (they're nocturnal anyway).

Outside of the city, on the mainland, you can find thousands of camels along with the occasional oryx, gazelle, and various lizards. Other tougher-to-spot animals include sand boas, vipers, the Arabian hare, the Arabian wildcat, the caracal (another type of wild cat), the rock hyrax, the hyena, and the jird (a small rodent). Finally, let's not forget that OTHER magnificent symbol of the Arabian peninsula, second only to camels: the Arabian horse.

Along the coast, we have many colorful tropical fish (think FINDING NEMO) in our coral reefs, plus dolphins, manatees, crustaceans, and the more-than-occasional oil tanker.

Of course, in the city we have plenty of cats (far too many strays)--but very few dogs.

Christine's Baby Shower Cake

Christine's students had a baby shower for her. This is the cake from that event. In case you can't read the writing- it says, "Boom That's Big"!

Most recent photo:

Randy's editorial in Gulf News

Here is my editorial, published Friday morning in GULF NEWS. If you actually want to read it, it's the same as the blog posting below about vice presidential picks for the US presidential candidates.

In other news, we had another good visit with the midwife at the Corniche Hospital. Baby and mother are doing well. The midwife called our fetus "boring" because there haven't been any complications. She also said that she could tell the baby was a girl because of the heartbeat; apparently, girls have a faster heartbeat that sounds like a galloping horse, and boys' heartbeats sound more like a train.

In local news, within the city of Abu Dhabi alone, real estate developments in the works are costing 500 billion dollars. Keep buying that oil, America! (Actually, most UAE oil goes to Japan, not the US).

Cool images of Dubai

Here are some pictures that a parent of our school sent to the director. He passed them onto us, and now I share them with you.

View of Dubai from a camera atop world's tallest building, Burj Dubai (and it's not done yet!!)

Sheikh Zayed Road, the main street of Dubai, as seen from the aerial view

Let's put the VICE in Vice President!

With the presidential nominees all but decided (sorry, Hillary!), it's time to think about vice presidential picks. There are all sorts of names being floated around, from various senators to governors to Supreme Court justices (!). I thought I'd put in my two-dirhams worth here.


Let's start with the Democrats. The most ridiculous suggestions are that Hillary Clinton (or, if she somehow found the superdelegates, perhaps a few lying around in Whitewater memos talking with Vince Foster or something, Barack Obama) could be the VP. This obviously would not be wise. The animosity between the two has been well-documented and now well-traveled. I understand that once the Democratic nominee has been decided, the loser will suck it up and support the Democratic presidential candidate, but choosing one's bitter former opponent as your running mate? Won't work. Another Democrat whose name is tossed out frequently is Bill Richardson, the governor of New Mexico. Secretary of Energy in the Bill Clinton administration, Richardson made some news earlier when he abandoned the Clintons like a rat scurrying off a sinking ship (thus prompting James Carville to call him "Judas Iscariot," but that says more about Carville than it does about Richardson), but he would make a good running mate for Obama (hmmm, the first black president with the first Hispanic vice president!). Obama might return the favor and give him the nod. There's also Sam Nunn, former senator of Georgia, who incidentally spoke at my graduation from university. And then there's the former North Carolina senator and well-known populist John Edwards, who certainly has the name recognition--but as one-half of a losing team four years ago, one should tread carefully around this slick trial lawyer. Then there's the unlikely but funny scenario of Bill Clinton as VP. I wonder if the interns who work for the vice president are any cuter? Finally, we have former South Dakota senator Tom Daschle, another good possibility for a Democratic ticket if you can escape his ego.


So we move on to the Republicans. One name that comes up, interestingly enough, is Joe Lieberman, another failed former vice presidential candidate, but in this case a Connecticut Democrat. Yes, Lieberman supports his buddy McCain. Honestly, Republicans have nothing to gain from choosing him. They already have a (nearly) Democrat on the ticket. Choosing him would be an outrageous move, turning off too many Republicans. Current Secretary of State Condoleeze Rice has been mentioned (thus giving the Republicans a minority on their ticket too), but she is so closely associated with the Bush adminstration that this would be a very bad idea indeed. Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia's name has come up, but why on earth would he want to lower himself to the executive branch of government? South Carolina gets two honorable mentions, in the form of Governor Mark Sanford and Senator Lindsey Graham, but in the national arena, they aren't really "there" yet. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has been mentioned, but he doesn't play well with McCain. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is another possibility; he could reel in some conservatives who are concerned about McCain's track record. He would act as a character foil to McCain's lack of conservatism. Finally, there's Florida Governor Charlie Crist, who killed Romney's campaign when he rather quickly threw in his support of McCain. McCain went on to quickly take the Republican nomination after Florida's primary, and McCain may return the favor in a big way. Former New York Mayor Rudy Guiliani also gets mentioned occasionally, but like Lieberman, there's the problem of liberal politics. McCain really needs a candidate with whom he can work well and who has a more conservative outlook.


Ultimately, the vice presidents that McCain and (presumably) Obama will choose are probably not even on this list. Presidential candidates have a knack for choosing people you didn't see coming: I think of former president George Bush (the father) selecting Dan Quayle, or Bill Clinton selecting another southern politician (Al Gore), or the current president selecting his puppeteer Dick Cheney. Nevertheless, here is my prediction: McCain/Crist vs Obama/Richardson. If Hillary Clinton somehow took the nomination, she may choose Edwards. It will be a close election...

Another visit to Liwa

We took advantage of our new (to us) wheels and headed back to Liwa, the oasis town that borders the Empty Quarter and Saudi Arabia. More camels, gazelles, french fries and sand. Unlike before, we were able to smell freshly cut hay that had been coaxed into existence and enjoyed some of the small mahdars (villages) that stretched along the main road.


Randy at the wheel


Sabkah (salt flats)- the white between the sands


Me by some succulent green


Randy in front of the aromatic hay


Camels getting midday meal