The Path to Leadership

#NatureTwinning Part 59

Black and Pink Butterfly--Thursday, 5/3/18

The overhand knot is still going strong.  I'm liking this one for warmer weather.

Outfit cost per wear (OCPW): $7.60

Google image search, it is hard for me to express how much this butterfly is NOT erebia tyndarus.  That's a pretty butterfly, to be sure, but its resemblance to this one is remarkably non-existent.

St Louis Zoo

Hornbill--Friday, 5/4/18

Polka dots, birds, more polka dots, plus stripes--Friday pattern mixing for the win.

OCPW: $9.22

Better job on this guy, which Google identified correctly as a hornbill.  It didn't attempt to tell me what kind, which of course is what I want to know, but at least it didn't give me incorrect information this time.

However, I was able to use this fantastic site I stumbled across to find it!  I entered Institution = Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo [that was the tricky part to figure out, as I initially just entered Henry Doorly Zoo] and Taxon = Aves.  That brought up a list of birds at the zoo, and I searched for hornbill.  This was the second hornbill species listed.  I need to remember this trick!

It's a silvery-cheeked hornbill...a name whose origin is readily apparent from the feathers on the bird's face.

(Note: I tried the butterfly above also, but no butterfly species are listed on that site for Saint Louis Zoological Park, though beetles and some other insects are listed.)

Henry Doorly Zoo

In other news...The week before last we had final interviews for the new assistant director of my department, who will be my supervisor.  (I missed the first round of interviews because I was on vacation.)  Both candidates were good, but very different--to be extremely simplistic, the external candidate is more clearly a data person, and the internal candidate (not from my department) is more clearly a people person.  Our department head S. had planned to make a decision quickly, but I haven't heard anything, nor has the interim assistant director, so I don't know what's going on.

After the interviews, when the committee was discussing the candidates, S. said that she hopes in the future to be ready to promote from within the department.  After that discussion, she called me into her office, and apparently the person she would like to develop to be that ready successor is me.  So I should be expecting some professional development/mentorship in the future around leadership skills.  Fun times?  Not sure yet, but any indication of (even just intended) job security is welcome at my organization.

One thing I'll note about my organization is that it is more political and high profile than most organizations.  For example, not many companies or non-profits have a journalist on the staff of their local newspaper who exists merely to write articles about them.  (This journalist basically hates us, so it's pretty much a never-ending barrage of criticism.)  The aspect of the assistant manager's role that involves managing projects and direct reports is not the part that's difficult.  It's managing relationships with other organizational departments, external entities, and so on that is the (not-very-fun) challenge.  It's walking on eggshells while trying not to step on landmines.

Another challenge is that the role (as my previous manager the extrovert embodied it, anyway) requires a TON of meetings.  S. knows and acknowledges that this is not my preference.

We'll see what happens.  Right now, I'm looking forward to the new fiscal year arriving on July 1 with me still employed!

Kiss Pokemon

#NatureTwinning Part 58

Pink-Backed Pelican--Tuesday, 5/1/18

I enjoyed wearing this bird blouse with a vest and long necklace.  It gave a subtle 1970s vibe or something.  And of course I'm usually pleased with an outfit that can be described as "black and white with a bright colored skirt or pants," so there's that.

Outfit cost per wear (OCPW): $10.58

Of course, this photo doesn't show the area of its back that gives it the colorful English common name, and I think the scientific name Pelecanus refescens (reddish penguin) is a stretch. But you can see the grey plumage (French: pelican gris).  This is one of the smallest of the 8 pelican species (Afrikaans: klein pelikaan).

What's striking to me about this bird?  The aging rocker eye-liner.  Hence, the Jagger pelican.

Henry Doorly Zoo

Angel Wing Begonia--Wednesday, 5/2/18

I've become fond of this burgundy jeans + burgundy suede flats combination.  These shoes had languished a bit after I bought them, but the addition of these jeans to my wardrobe has put the shoes more strongly into the rotation.

A woman from the HR department declared, "I need your shoes.  They match my dress perfectly.  [True.] Where did you get them?"  And I had to let her down that they are old.

OCPW: $12.60

Sometimes plants are so well labeled that no half-assed Internet detective work is necessary to identify them.  The angel wing begonia (named for the shape of the leaves) was developed when an amateur breeder crossed a Brazilian begonia and a privately-owned Swiss begonia in 1926.  It is mind-boggling to consider that there are 1,500 begonia species and 10,000 hybrids.

Missouri Botanical Garden

In other news...Yesterday was another Community Day for Pokemon Go, so we joined the throngs of people playing at the fairgrounds from 1-4.  There were several other events there, including an antique motorcycle show and a horse show.

We encountered a visitor to the motorcycle show on our peregrinations who asked us, "Why are there so many people walking around looking at their phones?"  This time we did not have to explain what Pokemon Go is.

We also were passed at high speed by a group of 3 Pokemon-playing boys who were accompanied by some 1980s-sounding music, which was confusing until Robert said (unprompted), "That's the music from the Pokemon TV show."  How Robert knows these things...well, that's one of the great mysteries.

I was reminded that even 80 F can be unpleasantly warm when you're walking around in the afternoon right after the rain stops and the sun comes out at max brightness.  That extremely high humidity + full sun combination is bad.  After about an hour, I was very thirsty and discovered that we had left our drinks in the car...oops.  Luckily there was a functional (if not cold) water fountain visible about half a block away when I realized this.  (If you're wondering why I waited an hour until desperate for a drink to look for one, then you've not experienced the intense Pokemon-catching of a Community Day first-hand.)

Every Community Day has a featured Pokemon, and this time it was Larvitar...who appropriately in this post with the Jagger pelican above wears some rock-star eyeliner of his own. Let's call him the Kiss Pokemon.

From rankedboost.com

Aunt Sally is Tired

#NatureTwinning Part 57

Purple-Blue Berries--Friday, 4/27/18

The small novelty of this basic outfit was the choice of bright blue shoes, to pick up on the traces of bright blue in the flowers on the top.

Outfit cost per wear (OCPW): $8.34

One of my recent hobbies is seeing exactly how bad Google is at identifying plants from photos.  It called this one "blueberries," which...well, they are berries, I think, and they're kind of blue, but thanks for playing, Google, but no dice.

Los Angeles Arboretum

Put A Rabbit On It--Sunday, 4/29/18

I'm trying to hold the apron so you can see it in all its crazy bunny glory.

The Takin Family--Monday, 4/30/18

Ye olde denim shirt as jacket trick.  Hee haw.

OCPW: $11.63

The takin family consists of Sally, Harry, and baby Meg.

Cincinnati Zoo

In other news...I just got back from a great trip to California visiting my parents and my sister's family.  And I already miss those boys.  But now I'm tired and maybe coming down with a cold (it's pretty much impossible for me to fly somewhere and not get sick but I'm hoping that zinc will fight it off) and need a vacation where all I do is lie around and read books.  Instead it's back to work tomorrow.  Bah.

I did get to read some books on my vacation, though--There's No Place Like Space was a big favorite and Darth Vader and Son, aka "the funny book," got pulled out again because my nephew P. remembered that it was from me.  Well, actually, it's not much of an exaggeration to say that P. remembers absolutely everything.  I mean, he remembered from Christmas that "Aunt Sally has a bunny on her watch" as just one example.

Strangely, I think I actually lost a few pounds on this vacation, which is probably the first time that has happened to me in my adult life.  The "Play with an Energetic 2 1/2 Year Old Boy" exercise plan is a good one!

Rabbit Actors

#NatureTwinning Part 56

Immature Gull--Wednesday, 4/25/18

It was so handy when I figured out that I can wear these cardigan vests (this cream one and the mint one) open instead of mandatorily fastened closed.  When closed, the neckline interfered with some necklaces, like this big-ass statement necklace that lays a little lower on the chest.

Burgundy, cream, and navy are a nice set of colors, even if I don't have an item to tie them together.  But I'm not afraid of a little color-blocking.

I'm still wearing these straight leg colored-denim jeans to work as if they're classic cotton chinos and loving the comfort and ease (look ma, no wrinkles!) of it.

Outfit cost per wear (OCPW): $15.74

I asked Google to identify this image, and it said: "Are you f-ing kidding me?  It's an immature gull.  How the hell should I know what kind?  Do I look like Martin Reid [a birding friend of Robert's grandmother who was obsessed with gulls and liked to call to tell her that he had an amazing gull to show her, a second-basic hybrid of the blah blah and blah di blah, etc.] to you?"

No, actually, it said that it's a European Herring Gull, which is probably not true of a wild bird in southern California.  But looking at Martin's photos of late second/third cycle American Herring Gulls, I'm wondering if Google came kind of close on this one.

I almost can't believe I'm saying this, but I enjoyed this photo essay on herring gull plumages across the four years it takes for a gull to reach maturity.

Upper Newport Bay

Lion Tongue--Thursday, 4/26/18

I wore this with a black polka dot blazer over it to work, but I knew it would be a warm enough day (high of 59 F) that I wouldn't wear it long, so I photographed the outfit without it.  Very simple, but I thought the two-textured shoes (a soft, slightly plush grey fabric + black ribbon) and the cute silky cat scarf made it interesting.

OCPW: $9.79

Although the specific licking-tongue expression demonstrated below is not covered, this 1-pager on how to read lion expressions is amusing.

Henry Doorly Zoo

In other news...The hardest part about Hamilbun is the casting.  In terms of work stamina, rabbit actors are a bit like very young child actors, only worse.  Their attention span is short, and after a few minutes on stage, they have a strong tendency to flop when they should hop and vice versa.  So this means that casting a play with bunnies involves finding not one actor to play a role, or even a couple child actors to play a role (usually twins), but many, many similar-looking actors.  Luckily, I know a lot of rabbits, but it's still going to be tough!

No wonder the new Netflix Watership Down miniseries is going to be animated.  (By the way, that was supposed to come out in 2017--what's going on?  Are even cartoon bunnies that hard to work with?)

The Beginning of Pants Season

#NatureTwinning Part 55

African Spurred Tortoise at African Grasslands--Monday, 4/23/18

How nice is it to introduce Pants Season with a no-socks look?  These smoking slippers provide pretty good coverage, but still, it's a major improvement to be able to expose any foot at all to the elements without risk of freezing.  It's the end of Tights Season and the end of Mandatory Socks season!

Outfit cost per wear (OCPW): $9.53

This was a magnificent one to watch in action.  It's the third-largest tortoise in the world, with adult weights up to 230 pounds.

Do you know the differences between a tortoise and a turtle?

I know that Robert knows because when I use "turtle" as a general term, he will correct me when it's really a tortoise. 

I now feel totally vindicated, however, as I read that "in North America, all chelonians are commonly called turtles....The American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists uses "turtle" to describe all species of the order Testudines, regardless of whether they are land-dwelling or sea-dwelling, and uses "tortoise" as a more specific term for slow-moving terrestrial species."

It's interesting that the terms Chelonii and Testudines are both used as the scientific name for the order to which these animals belong.  (OK, and Chelonia and Testudinata, apparently.)

Henry Doorly Zoo

Golden-Headed Lion Tamarin--Tuesday, 4/24/18

Wearing white, navy, and coral is very much a Get Your Spring On combination to me.  I mean, I absolutely would wear it any time of year, but it feels most right in the warmer months.

OCPW: $15.12

They named both Cincinnati (sorry, inside joke) and the golden-headed lion tamarin after Tam.

Cincinnati Zoo

In other news...This article describes some of the changing to the housing market being driven by the increase in retirees.  Meanwhile, this one shows a map of the most and least expensive places to live in America, where I didn't see any big surprises.

The End of Tights Season

#NatureTwinning Part 54:  Brought to you by New Guinea

Purple Impatiens--Wednesday, 4/18/18

This is the first time I'm showing this blouse on the blog, though it's the second time I wore it (previously: on a Sunday with skinny black jeans for easiest weekend outfit).  It's the third blouse of this type I purchased--along with the plain black one and the teal/black floral one.

Black/purple/pink floral blouse (JCP), $12.76

Outfit cost per wear (OCPW): $13.61

I felt pretty happy that I recognize impatiens.  After all, Google thought these were petunias (which I can kind of understand, actually, as both flowers have similar dark areas, though impatiens are flat and petunias are not), so it's not a given.  But then I read that impatiens is a genus of 850-1,000 species, so I wasn't narrowing things down a lot with that label.  However!  These are surely the popular garden flower New Guinea impatiens, no?  I mean, when I say "impatiens," I basically mean "New Guinea impatiens," as that is, indeed, the only kind I know.

The scientific name Impatiens (Latin for "impatient") and the common name "touch-me-not" refer to the explosive dehiscence of the seed capsules. The mature capsules burst, sending seeds up to several meters away.

Science has some of the greatest terminology ever.  Explosive dehiscence!

Missouri Botanical Garden

Gentoo Penguin in The Wild--Thursday, 4/19/18

It feels right that my last tights outfit of the season features this white skirt that I prefer wearing in the winter with contrasting tights.  Here even the shoes are a different color (purple to match the blouse), breaking the 2-of-3 rule (tights should match skirt and/or shoes) in a fun but low-key way, I think, for my business casual workplace.

Have I praise-god-hands-emoji'ed the wonders of chain necklace extenders recently?  I think I clasped two of them together at the end of this necklace so that I could wear it lower, on top of the blouse but below the collar, which I thought looked terrific and had the added advantage of kind of holding the blouse and collar in place.  These extenders are like $5 apiece and make necklaces a lot more versatile.

OCPW: $13.74

Nobody knows how this penguin got the name "gentoo" but the scientific name for the genus, Pygoscelis, means "rump-tailed" and is a reference to the side-to-side sweep of the relatively long tail as it sticks out behind a waddling gentoo.  The species name papua is based on the initial erroneous belief that the bird lived in Papua New Guinea.

St Louis Zoo

In other news...I am working on a rabbit-photo version of the musical Hamilton called Hamilbun.  I have officially lost my mind.

Blood Red Feathered Fantasy

#NatureTwinning Part 53

Unknown Pink Flower in Demonstration Gardens--Monday, 4/16/18

Brown and pink is a lovely combination, and this outfit was marvelously simple perfection, topped off with such a neat overhand-knotted scarf.

I like to experiment, force my hand, and generally push myself just a bit into the new with my outfits, but man, when something is easy and right, that's it's own joy.

Outfit cost per wear (OCPW): $9.84

Google identified this flower as a peony, and I think that's right.  According to Wikipedia:

The peony is named after Paeon (also spelled Paean), a student of Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine and healing. When Asclepius became jealous of his pupil, Zeus saved Paeon from the wrath of Asclepius by turning him into the peony flower.

Missouri Botanical Gardens

Flamingo in the Food Trough--Tuesday, 4/17/18

Black and white and a pop of color is kind of spectacular when that pop of color is a nearly-neon salmon-pink skirt.  I'm also enjoying the lovebirds blouse with silver feather pendant as a bit of matchy-matchy goodness.

OCPW: $16.40

Let's face it--it's a little hard to look dignified when you're a flamingo...especially when you have chosen to stand in your food trough.  I laughed when this guy walked over to the trough and put himself in there, but on reflection, it's not as strange as it first seemed.  He is a wading bird, after all, so standing in a few inches of "dirty" water probably feels very right to him.

The word flamingo came from the Portuguese/Spanish "flamengo" for "flame-colored" or from the Greek, "blood red-feathered."  As you probably know, flamingos are pink-to-red because of the carotenoid pigments in the food (in the wild: algae, crustaceans; in the zoo: pellets enriched with carotenoids) they eat.

Surprising flamingo fact:  "Living flamingos demonstrate substantially less body sway in a one-legged posture [as opposed to standing on two legs]."

Indianapolis Zoo

In other news...One of the best fantasy-novels-for-adults that I've read in the past few years is The Secret Chord by Geraldine Brooks.  Yes, she got the idea for writing a historical fiction about the biblical King David from the Leonard Cohen song "Hallelujah" which her son played on the harp at his own bar mitzvah (which strikes me as strange AF but okay).  The end product was compulsively readable, even though many/most/all of the main plot points will be recognizable or known in advance to readers with a basic knowledge of the Bible. 

Of course, Brooks doesn't frame her story as fantasy, but it worked for me extremely well conceptualized in this way.  Reading this book as fantasy really pointed up the limitations in most fantasy fiction, the primary one being the lack of moral complexity in the protagonist--in their person and in the world they create/support.  This is not something lacking in the story of David.

Here are a couple very different reviews of the book that I enjoyed reading.