By Ben |

I had a lot of trouble getting out of bed this morning, as if I were reacting to something in yesterday's lunch.  When I started carrying my gear downstairs, I slipped and fell down the stairs on my back, scraping it painfully.  I decided I was in no condition to travel... e-mailed Leela to say I'd be late, paid for another night, and went back to bed.

By noon I was feeling better and went to the Biodome, which is an ecological zoo similar to the award-winning one in Omaha.  Four different ecosystems are presented with the animals and plants all mixed in together, rather than in separate cages.  I was particularly impressed by the ducks (native to this area) that could dive 25 feet deep for over a minute!

Back in Pittsburgh, Daniel had remarked that the dialogue in the Star Wars prequels is so bad, watching them dubbed in a language one didn't understand might be an improvement.  There was a theater right next to the Biodome, so I figured, what the heck?  I saw Revenge of the Sith in French.  I understood about a dozen words in the whole thing, but I didn't let them distract me from the pretty scenery and costumes and music and special effects.  When I told the ticket clerk what I was doing, she said she had seen the film in both French and English and preferred English -- in which she's not fluent.