Start-of-quarter boots

April 1, 2013 • 4:32 am

Today’s the first day of spring quarter, the 10-week run to the end of the academic year.  This quarter I’ll be teaching a graduate seminar on speciation (my own area of research)—a reading-and-discussion course that meets once a week.

That requires some fancy footwear, and forgive me, Ceiling Cat, for the animal I have on my feet:

boots 2

15 thoughts on “Start-of-quarter boots”

  3. I am thinking reticulated python, and a big one at that. Boots would be a nice use for them down in Florida.

    2. Positively Broghammerus reticulatus (awful generic name, but the only available one, as retics are more closely related to Australian pythons than to Python sensu stricto). Very distinctive pattern.

      However, not what I’d call a big one, only around 4 m, which could be a 2 or 3-yr-old wild snake from Borneo or Sumatra. Of course, even a baby of the longest extant snake in the world is pretty big.

      BTW, it is unlikely that baby was either farm-bred or sustainably harvested, and I wouldn’t wear it myself for that reason (even if I was a real cowboy like Dr Ceiling Cat).

      Quite apart from the source of the skin, leather from terrestrial snakes curls up at the edges of the scales, which doesn’t wear well and also catches on fibres when things brush against it. Most varanid leathers (now all CITES listed so theoretically unavailable, I think) and some seasnakes have non-overlapping scales and a much better texture.

  7. This quarter I’ll be teaching a graduate seminar on speciation (my own area of research)—a reading-and-discussion course that meets once a week.

    rough life, man.

    And in the immortal words of Frank Zappa:

    My python boot was too tight
    I couldn’t get it off last night
    A week went by
    And now it’s July
    I finally got it off
    And my girlfriend cried, YOU GOT STINK-FOOT!
    Stink-foot, darlin’

    1. Phideaux… Phideaux… come here little puppy… bring the slippers… (arf, arf, arf)

      SPHRIFFFIFFFTHTHPHPH!!!

      …and in the miscellaneous pop references dept.: “I’ve had it with these motherf@#$#n snakes on these motherf@#$#n boots!”

    2. Damn! Someone beat me to it! On both accounts: Ripping Professor Coyne for his rough teaching load AND quoting the Zappa song.

      1. Whaddyaexpect??!!! With Jerry’s worldwide distribution (sparse in Greenland, I give you that!) it’s natural to be seen, beaten to the punch.

    3. And in the immortal words of Frank Zappa:

      That calls for a rendition of “Catholic Girls”, if anything does.

Comments are closed.