Mental Manatee Mentors Part 3--CLOSED (Page 18)

Well who knew zoos needed one of those.....don't think they have one in Melbourne's Zoo - is it in case the lemurs revolt? 

Sometimes life is so sweet everything is going well and yet we still feel lousy.  Just life I suppose!

Oh this is good - next Thursday in Melbourne is a signing of posters by Crowie, Cam Brown, Luke Bell and Caroline Steffen - best get my stalking gear out and go hang out with tri stars!  Expect pics.

 Generally, most zoos will have a team that is ready to grab a gun in case any dangerous animal escapes---its a last resort, but in the public eye, if there is a tiger on the loose, it is more important for an employee to shoot the tiger before it kills a visitor than to try to corral it or anything. Needless to say, we would try to get the vets to tranquilize it first, but those tranqs. don't work that fast. Anyway, we used to be called the "shoot team", but 'armed response' sounds less barbaric. They want both reptile primary keepers Me and a coworker to be on it as the reptile house has a shotgun stored in it (we handle the front of the zoo and the supervisors handle the back end--all other keepers/staff handle sightings and the rest--though others (I think 10 more folks are certified to shoot) are on the team. Truthfully, it would be incredibly hard for me to shoot any of our animals, but sadly, I know that I could if necessary. On the bright side--I've never had to use the skills, and I get to go to a range and shoot a 12 gauge shotgun a few times a year. ---and we do get to wear a pretty red hat! 

kgore - 2013-03-14 4:09 PM oh yes...we use hug therapy to control the lemurs....

I was just picturing Madagascar!

I always used to worry a tiger would rampage down the street when I was a kid...we lived nowhere near a zoo!

My colleague takes being an animal lover to a new level.  When she walked in this morning she was crying.  She'd seen a kitten dead in the middle of the road.  She wanted to go pick it up and bury it, didn't want it to get squished.  Anyway by lunchtime someone had moved it - in fact I said it was a papal miracle, kitty got up and went home...

Of course then there's this:

And then this:

 We got some new babies! Above is a Wolf's Guenon ---That apparently is VERY excited. Then the next is our 3 week old Sumatran Tiger Cub---He is really special, as his dad was diagnosed with lymphoma, and the prognosis is not good--we are just trying to keep him comfy and happy (he's on Chemo. right now)---we have officially named him (the cub) C.J.--His dad's name is Castro, so he is Castro Jr. 

***LIKE***

OMG they are soooooo cute!  Sorry about Castro though

I won't show these to my colleague nor tell her of Castro.  OMG it would be a disaster!

kgore - 2013-03-14 1:53 PM You could show her the cuteness--but just not say anything (kind of a drive-by-photo-ing?). 

Sweet little puddy tat! Same face Jahe kitty makes when she's noodling into my arms trying to nurse.

Our National Zoo in Jakarta is pretty pathetic in terms of animal care ... in terms of just about anything. Back in '85 or '86 3 little tiger cubs were orphaned and they just didn't have the facilities or staff to take care of them ... so they went home with an American expat who did cat rescue and I was friends with her three daughters. It was terrific fun to go over there and play with the tiger cubs! They were overall very well behaved and when they went back to the zoo it was more an issue of space than that they were getting too rambunctious or unpredictable.

That's not everyone's experience with tigers--not being socially organized like lions generally makes them somewhat to far more difficult to train and socialize.

I haven't checked these out yet but I thought some of you would be interested

Your SXSW 2013 Sampler Links

Thanks! I needed a dose of that little Guenon's happiness this morning. Can you bottle it up and ship to AZ?

Yes, for a sleeveless suit you need to get the area below your arm pit where then neoprene touches it and also the upper arm that will meet that area -- so kinda above and below the pit. 

I think that for Oceanside TJ is probably using a full suit since she was talking about booties and a neoprene cap. 

Yes, go to your local running store and get the fitting.

Every 400 miles or so or if they look/feel worn out.  If you start to have leg or foot pains that are new, check your shoe's mileage.  Worn out shoes can definitely contribute to that and we don't need any (more) injured Manatees!

oh man just noticed the time, I'm gonna be late for work again. We have a "staff focus day" today, I would rather stab my eyes out with a pen. We have been told to bring our Bibles and a good attitude. I'm gonna need the full hours drive to muster up the good attitude bit. Maybe I need to listen to some angry white chick music while I drive there Have a great day everyone.

I feel the same way about "team building" at work.  ARG!

It's not like it's your A race or anything... 

Very interesting -- the Saucony's did not last for me but they were not the right shoe for me either.  I think that I mentioned that I thought of them as "clown shoes."  They must have some heal flare that doesn't work for me.  I went right through the heel on one of them (outside edge) and I have no noticeable heal wear on any of my old Brooks.

"No way. I think that sounds like a very reasonable decision. I am in favor of reasonable decisions. Even the hard to make ones. "

Yes, that was you, Ms. Salty, who said that.  I really think if you are feeling a little taper madness that you go for a run or find indoor wall climbing - but hiking a snow covered mountain and glASS-sading around just seems like playing with fire to me.  There is a reason we taper! If I'm coming out to watch the marathon, I want to see your BEST!!

Speaking of worn out shoes, and inspired by Salty's amazing pink-a-licious new kicks, I went online shoe shopping and found these:

OMG they are the awesomest things I've ever seen (FYI, I want to BE Punky Brewster when I was little, I owned a pair of pink converse and yellow converse and would wear one of each...I still wear pattern-coordinated but mismatch color socks).  They are too expensive but I don't care.

I love them.

Matching shoes = they fit when you wear them together.

Matching socks = both are clean enough.

Cute shoes!

Cute babies!!!!!!!!

And yes, I am covering every inch of my body that is legally possible at Oceanside!

As for the team building, I was on the Board of Education for the parochial school my boys went to as small children. We did a team retreat one weekend and it was amazing. Funny though, it was the weekend of Charles & Di's wedding (yes, it was long ago) so one of the ladies stayed up all night watching the festivities. Other than that one, team building sux!

Sure, "NO" comes so easy to her when not APPLIED to her

But I totally agree! (In case I wasn't already clear on my position - lol)

I love this word, "NO." Such a round, final, resonant word.

Of course, I have no idea what it actually sounds like since I don't think I've ever heard it.