@Museum of Natural History

That's the famous elephant in the rotunda.

And it 63 degrees in Washington, D.C. today.

That's global warming. 

Happy New Year 2023! ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

@Museum of Natural History

Royalty On An Elephant

Wow, this is so regal. 

This princess in a beautiful overflowing pink gown. 

Riding on a golden throne on the back of an huge elephant. 

The elephant with white tusks is covered in royal red robes with a blue, green, and orange emblem of a serpent. 

Fairy tale maybe, but this seems so real to me. 

I want to wave and jump up and down and say, "your majesty!"  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Royalty On An Elephant

Animals Bags

Cute animals bags.

Turtle bag front and center. 

Others are elephant, cat, and maybe a panda.

Peaceful and happy. 

(Photo Credit: Minna)

Animals Bags

You Can't Eat The Elephant

So there is a popular saying:

"You can't eat the elephant in one bite."

The idea is that you need to break things down in little pieces to get them down. 

If you try to eat the elephant in one bite, I assume that your mouth would easily split in half and your face would literally explode. 

Similarly with projects, if you try to get to the nirvana end state in one fell swoop , the project explodes with complexity and risk, and you will fail miserably.

Thus, managing requirements and phasing them in chunks is critical to projects' succeeding. 

Sure, customers want to get the Promised Land immediately--where the projects have all the "bells and whistles"--but you don't want to sacrifice getting the train on the tracks for the accouterments either. 

Think big, but act small--little by little, one step at a time, you can actually eat an elephant. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

You Can't Eat The Elephant

Actual From Abstract

A colleague's daughter drew this. 

At first glance, I wasn't sure what I was looking at. 

Do you see what it is?

At first, I was thinking something a little alien perhaps. 

But there it is right in front of you.

It's the head, ears, nose, and tusks of an elephant. 

I really like the abstractness of this art. 

All from simple circles, and voila you have an elephant. 

Look carefully at what you think you see, and let your mind put the whole picture together. 

That's how you come to the actual from the abstract! ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Actual From Abstract

Perception Is Reality

Sometimes, one person's clothing hook is another person's elephant trunk.

Or maybe it's the other way around that some creative person looked at an elephant and thought:

"Oh my that trunk of his would make a great clothing hook."

Life mimics art and art imitates life.

And that is flattery both ways. 

Either way perception is reality. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Perception Is Reality