Dorosoma cepedianum

So somewhat recently I have had the honor of being bestowed with a new nickname. A herpotolgist at work started it, and im not at all unhappy with the choice. The name is... Gizzard THAD. While this may mean absolutly nothing to many of you it really made me laugh. Gizzard SHAD is a type of fish that we display occationally at the Aquarium. So sometimes I am walking down a hall and randomly hear, "hey Gizzard." It works for me.

Oryctolagus cuniculus

A little bunny in a shoe box. He thinks he's found a brand-new home.
So sung and cozy on your closet floor.
And then you open up your closet door.
Now what's that bunny in my closet for?
With a mallet and some clippers, you find out: new bunny slippers!
- Urinetown the musical
So Urinetown opens this weekend! If you aren't familiar with the show please don't be put off by the title. It actually is a REALLY great show with wonderful music, witty humor, hilarious characters and amazing choreography. Underling all of this is a message of conservation, a subject near and dear to me. We have had a great time preparing the production and I hope many people come to see it.
Below is a link to the Chattanooga Theatre Centre. Check out the production photos.
Theatre Centre

Periplaneta americana

So I have a place.
A place that is all mine and in which I can be as clean or messy as I choose. A place where clothes need not remain on my body. I spot in which I can read or listen or watch when ever I choose and need not worry about the plans and needs of others.
It's a pretty cool apartment downtown in Chattanooga. It isn't in the safest part of town, but the area is getting better. It is on the first floor, has two porches, a front and back door, high ceilings, big closets, AND a NOOK!!! That is right folks, I have a nook. The nook is what sold the place. I love my nook and plan to make good use of it.
So really the biggest downside of this is the inspiration for the blog title, Periplaneta americana: the American cockroach. I have never lived with the guys before in such abundance. I have seen the odd one here and there, but apparently the lady who lived here before me didn't quite get that food should be stored away from the pests. Maybe she missread and thought they were "pets." I don't know. But I don't like them. I want them gone, but don't want to kill them either.
I looked into those ultrasonic devices that just drive them crazy and make them want to go away. Like that sound that only teenagers are supposed to hear and keep them from "hanging out." Well it would be nice to do that and just have the guys agree with me that living with me and not paying rent just doesn't work for either of us.
BUT I also want to get a rat with which to play and condition. And if you don't already know, these sound devices are also used to rid a place of rodents. So it just wasn't going to work.
I broke down and actually bought boric acid. I don't quite know what it does to the little guys, but seeing as I really didn't want to hurt them to begin with, I don't think I want to know what happens.Ingorence can be bliss. I just hope they pack up their bags, leave and just send cards at Winter Solstice and my Birthday (which they didn't even observe last weekend).
So now there are little lines of powder blue powder all along the cranies of the new place as well as around my nook. Well I guess the original comment about being as messy as I want isn't completely true cause I certinly don't care for the roommates to move back in.

Acipenser fulvescens

Ok, so for those of you who don't know, I am not working AT the aquarium any longer. The position I previously held as an educator sadly came to an end after the last week of summer camp. It was no surprise. I knew that the job was just interum and would end with the last camp. But it still was a little bit of a shock.
Thankfully, I have been surrounded by wonderful people who look out for me and they had found a number of positions of interest. But the kicker was a last minute chance to stay with the aquarium. Currently there is a hiring freeze, but a position came open that needed a temporary fill. It is at TNARI, the Tennessee Aquarium Research Institute which is located on a great space in Cohutta, GA.
I was offered the opprutunity to fill the position yet again in a temporary manner. I accepted and have now been working for about a month as... well... a fish farmer. Thats right folks, I tend to the needs of fish all day. While you might think it is a little odd I find it a blast. I am working with the new Director on a daily basis and having a lot of fun along the way.
Basically I feed fish three times a day, then clean up their left-overs and poopfor the cutest, most adorable tiny baby Lake Sturgeon, Acipenser fulvescens. I also get to assist in some really great sciencey things like BioMassing to check for growth, checking Disolved Oxygen levels in the water. It is great.
I am also homeless again...
This isn't a scary thing. I did it last summer. Move all my stuff into storage and release my apartment to those in need of it. Seeing as my lease was up and my currect job is precarious at beast, I thought it best to not be tied down. PLUS I have made some great new friends who are so very kind and are allowing me to live at there place which is ever so much closer to Cohutta.
So things are very plastic right now, changing a lot, not really knowing was will happen to change things next. I really would like to stay in Chattanooga. Now I actually have family here as well now that my sister is starting her freshman year at UTC. Who knows. Ill try and keep you posted.

Physalia physalis

Yeah, so who knew that the Portugese Man-of-War was was not classified as a jellyfish? It is really a colony of four kinds of polyps that are symbiotic. The "float" ,that is blown by wind, is a single polyp that is filled with mostly nitrogen. There is a second type that contain the stinging nematocyst cells, a third ,that are like oral arms, that digest the prey outside of the body, and a fourth that is only for reproduction. Can you imagine being a living thing that only creates reproductive materials and lives off the work of others? This reminds me of the male anglerfish who finds a mate, latches on to her, and slowly becomes nothing but reproduction organs. WOW! Isn't nature great?