I have several new friends.

Last week I purchased and hatched sea monkeys, the playful sperm-like ambassadors of the deep. Brine shrimp have long been the companions of lonely second-graders and Weatherhumans everywhere (I hear Al Roker has 12 tanks in his rec room). I was afraid that the skanky Goleta water had claimed them, but they seem to be thriving in their tiny plastic paradise.

Wednesday’s Forecast: The hardest part of the job is fighting off renegade neighborhood flamingos.