RIP Steve Irwin

I used to watch a lot of Crocodile Hunter when it first came out, and was constantly amazed at this nut-job, Steve Irwin, and his fascination with crocs, snakes, and other potentially deadly animals. I remember one show in particular where Irwin battled a green mamba, one of the deadliest snakes in the world, for about 10 straight minutes. The first five minutes had me jumping around the room as I nervously watched Irwin try to contain the lightning quick killing machine. Somewhere toward the middle of this epic showdown I turned my allegiance toward the snake. I actually thought about what this guy was doing, and I started rooting for the snake to bite him. I thought, "Why am I worried about this dude? He's holding a green mamba! The laws of nature dictate that he should be bitten and die!!"

Anyway, there's no way I'd even go near some of the creatures that Steve Irwin held, caressed, and claimed "crikey, this animal is so beautiful!", but I had fun watching him do it. Even though I once actively rooted for his demise, I truly enjoyed watching his passion and energy. He was a cool dude, and I'm really sad to hear that he passed away. For those of you who haven't heard, he was killed by a stingray a couple of days ago. It punctured his heart with it's barb. You can read the story here. What a way to go.

By the way, the stingray is now #1 on my list of most hated creatures. It is followed closely by the wretched, red-bottomed baboon.