Alpaca Love (or, In Which I Have a Crush on a Camelid)

This is a slightly modified cross-post of one of my photo-journals from the NC Life and Science Museum’s Animal Keeper Blog (where I also blog).

Sherry Samuels and I recently visited the Carolina Alpaca Celebration to learn a bit about alpacas. Neither one of us really knew what to expect. We learned about their husbandry, their birthing needs, their food requirements, and just how many things you can make out of alpaca wool. I learned they are part of the camelid family (and yes, they can spit like camels and llamas, although I didn’t see one spit the whole day). But the best thing we learned is that THEY ARE DARN CUTE and THEY TALK TO YOU (well, sort of). In short, we like them. In fact, I even learned how to kiss an alpaca.

Isn't that an adorable face? We were surprised by the size of these camelids. They were smaller than we anticipated.

 

I told you I learned how to kiss an alpaca. This is "Overture" and he is one friendly alpaca.

 

This one looks like a hipster alpaca. There are two types of alpacas: Huacaya (wha-ky-a) and Suri. The Huacaya has the dense, fluffy fleece and the Suri has the dreadlocks look going on. Both types of fleece are extremely soft.

As soon as we walked into the building, we were greeted by the most surreal and sweet sound– an alpaca humming. They seem to talk to you, but in a quiet, hum.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2l6DZnnVpc[/youtube]

What to ask a Rock

I’ve been poking around some geologists’ blogs and found this terrific post about a mystery rock. Diego wrote to Evelyn Mervine about a rock he had found. He wanted to know if she could tell him what kind of rock it is. The great thing about her response is the list of questions that she would ask of the rock.

Read the post and the comments to see how geologists think as they solve puzzles like this.

NASA includes Social Media with Traditional Media for Budget Briefing

There we sat. Twitter users. No special badges saying we were “tweeps,” No special seating gallery. No instructions to just “observe” the “real” media.

The New Media Corp

NASA decided that this time, from the get-to of the FY2013 budget briefing at NASA HQ (2/13/2012), everyone in the room was media and was important. From the podium, Bob Jacobs (@bnjacobs), NASA’s deputy associate administrator for Communications and the moderator for the event, explained:

This year we’re trying something a little different, as well as traditional media representatives, for the first time we have invited members of the social media community to be a part of today’s presentation and we’ll be taking questions via Twitter using the hashtag #askNASA.

NASA's Bob Jacobs

Bob Jacobs (@bnjacobs), NASA's deputy associate administrator for Communications tweets a pic of the Media Corp at beginning of the Budget Briefing.

NASA acknowledged that social media is a valid means of media communication and should be included in briefings alongside the AP, Nature, Orlando Sentinel, and the other traditional media outlets represented. We were allowed to ask questions, to talk to Administrator Charles Bolden, Chief Financial Officer Elizabeth Robinson, and the other NASA officials just like anyone else in the room. In short: no second-class citizens in the media corp.

It was a very special time–not just for those of us in the room–but for the army of social media journalists who have waited for recognition and validation of their status as “real” media.


Lindsey Mastis recorded Bob Jacobs’ thoughts on the relationship between NASA and social media. You can read her report of the briefing here.

Another Balancing Act

I went away this past weekend for a private retreat after ScienceOnline2012. During some of the time I worked on balancing some rocks. These rocks are smooth, round, river rocks and are much more difficult to balance than the rocks I usually try to balance. I love the focus that it takes. I close my eyes and “feel” the weight of the rocks, move them until they “sink” into balance with gravity. Simple pleasures. Fleeting works of art (the wind or other vibrations will knock them over soon enough).

Looks simple... but there is only a small area of contact.

Here's the point of contact. Kind of like balancing two balls.

Tattoo Process

Curious about the process of getting a tattoo? Click on the collage below to go to my Picasa photo album (including video) that documents the process as I got my three snow crystal tattoos this week. Dogstar Tattoo is an amazing studio. Kathryn, the owner, is a graduate of the Carnegie Mellon School of Art. I’m so glad she decided to move her canvas to skin. This is the studio that the ScienceOnline2012 folks will visit later this week as they tour the amazing space, listen to Carl Zimmer talk about the Science Of Ink (and his book Science Ink: The Tattoos of the Science Obsessed), and enjoy some surprises. Several conference attendees will be getting tattoos during the tour (as the others watch!). My tattoo was done early because it took so long and because I will be very busy during the conference (I’m one of the organizers). But, it still counts as one of the #scio12 #SciInk tats and I can’t wait for those who get inked at ScienceOnline to take a group photo!