Ryan Jacobs » Columbus

The Greater Threat?

Ryan — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 02:30:26 +0000

Perspective of a fish about to become lunch

I took this picture from the bottom portion of the Polar Bear exhibit at the Columbus Zoo looking at the fish. In the background you can see one of the Polar Bears looking at the fish as well. Or, is he looking at me?

Fourth of July at the Zoo

Ryan — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 00:13:49 +0000

Rebecca, her parents, Katherine and I made a trip to the Columbus Zoo today. Despite it being really hot, the animals were pretty active today. We had loads of fun and saw quite a bit on our relatively short trip.

I didn't mind the Gator fan taking a picture behind me.

The Alligators were in full view today and I was in a good enough mood to not mind the Florida Gator fans enjoying the view.

Come and knock on our door, we've been waiting for you ...

Every time I see Flamingoes at the zoo I think of the opening bit to the Three’s Company television show. There definitely weren’t this many the last time I was at the zoo.

Okapi - It's pronounced 'Oh-Copy'

The Okapi had a lot of room to roam today and seemed very happy. I am always impressed that when Katherine sees one, she calls it by name.

Katherine in her shades

Katherine was having a great time with the animals and grandparents to chaperone her trip.

Rebecca, Bea, David and Katherine: a photogenic bunch

Lion Roars

We had such a great view of the Lion marching back and forth in front of us roaring and bearing his teeth. Katherine loves to roar like a lion, but she was somewhat intimidated today. This was up close and personal.

Oh! Come Let’s Sing Ohio’s Praise

Ryan — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 03:12:21 +0000

Rebecca, Katherine and I went to the new Ohio Union today and found it quite impressive. It was parents day and garage parking was free. Bonus! Technically speaking we are parents and Katherine actually did earn her Bachelor’s of Infancy from The Ohio State University earlier this year.

Below are a few pics from the facility.

Hangin' with Brutus

I overheard a tour guide explain that an actual Brutus posed for this statue. Wouldn’t that be a cool legacy?

Illibuck IX

Archie's Heisman

Carmen Ohio

In the main hall of the union, you will see the lyrics of Carmen Ohio all around. Nice touch. There really is a great deal of thoughtful detail put into the facility. You’ll notice buckeye leaves and block-o’s all around.

I Like Friday the 13th

Ryan — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 01:49:01 +0000

Friday, June 13, 1997

I don’t have any fear of Friday the 13th. On Friday, June 13, 1997 I graduated from The Ohio State University.

That day, a freak rain storm came through Columbus. I recall walking to the Horseshoe as it poured along with many other graduates and it was interesting to see how different folks handled the bad weather. I saw a few girls crying because they felt their day was ruined for some reason and I sort of marveled at that reaction. It wasn’t like the weather could be changed, nor did it reflect anyone’s academic achievements.

My reaction was to literally soak up the moment. Notice I am still wearing my mortarboard!

After all of the students entered into the stadium, E. Gordon Gee attempted to begin speaking, but there was so much rain that the PA system was not working well and it was crackling. While folks scrambled to get that working, one lone wolf ran down from the stands hooting and hollering and jumped into a puddle of water that had formed at the north end of the stadium where the flagpole is and shouted ‘Wipeout!’ I distinctly remember being given the speech about how that if anyone acted up, Guard members would be there to escort any individuals out of the ceremony. After this happened, I noticed the Guard members looking around at each other determining what they should do. When they didn’t do anything to this guy, all of the students broke loose from their seats in the stands and rushed the field.

Our ceremony was effectively over — we didn’t even get to hear our speaker, Bob Greene. However, I got to do something incredible. I was able to run across the field and dive on it like it was the world’s largest slip and slide. It was absolutely incredible how far you could slide while wearing those nylon gowns!

It is really hard to fathom how much rain came down during that ceremony and how quickly it stopped. My mom had some pills in a prescription bottle inside her purse that was filled with water.

Was it odd that our graduation was rained out on Friday the 13th? Perhaps, but I like to think that good things and bad things can happen every day. It is your choice on how that affects you.

Polar Bear At The Columbus Zoo

Ryan — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 23:20:27 +0000

Polar Bear At Columbus Zoo

Rebecca, Katherine and I met up with some friends at the Columbus Zoo yesterday. It was my first time there this year and I hadn’t seen the new Polar Bear exhibit yet. It is a decent exhibit that has an underwater viewing area that gets really crowded when the bears jump in and try to get fish.

I guess we happened to catch one of them during an afternoon nap.

Flyover at the Horseshoe

Ryan — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 19:49:08 +0000

My brother and I attended the 2009 Ohio State Buckeye’s football season opener vs. Navy Midshipmen. As far as season openers go, this was the best. In both planned and unplanned ways, it felt more like a bowl game. Given that we were playing a service academy, there was far more ceremony than typically offered at a home opener, including a military flyover.

For the unplanned part, I am not sure most figured the game would be as close as it was. The folks who left in the fourth quarter missed a game.

Here was some video I got from my Flip Mino of the flyover. The south stands were a great place to be to get the full effect.

Flyover Only:

National Anthem + Flyover :

Whetstone Prairie, Park of Roses

Ryan — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 03:15:22 +0000

Rebecca and I walked around Whetstone Prairie and the Park of Roses in the Clintonville area. I have a new macro lens that I wanted to try out. The prairie isn’t quite in full bloom, but was fairly interesting.

Whetstone Prairie

The photo above is a close-up of a one of the plants in the ‘prairie’. I have no idea what it is, but I liked the way the shot turned out.

Rose at Park of Roses

This is a close-up of one of the many spectacular roses you can view at the Park of Roses.

Yellow Rose

Frozen Foliage

Ryan — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 01:36:58 +0000

The sun came out today and even though it was still pretty frigid an slippery with ice, I felt like a walk was in order. I took a few pics along the way. This is a pic of ice on a shrub I saw while out walking.

Frozen Foliage

This is just another piece of frozen foliage I saw that I thought was interesting.

More Frozen Foliage

The Visitor

Ryan — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 11:25:45 +0000

When the snow has fallen, one of the interesting things to observe is the pattern of footprints around the house. Often, children will run through the yard, or we’ll see the trail of the gas meter reader.

Yesterday, we found an interesting set of prints on our doormat: a single set of bird prints. From what I could tell, it appears that the bird flew directly onto our mat, perhaps knocked on our door and flew away again without taking a step.

Bird Prints

Brutus, can you spare a penny?

Ryan — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 03:10:35 +0000

Brutus, can you spare a penny?

At the foot of the Blarney Brutus, there are quite a few spare pennies glued to the pedestal — pretty well, I might add. I am not exactly familiar with the significance of the penny here, except the old adage, ‘Find a penny, pick it up, all day long you’ll have good luck’. Are there any other meanings here?