It has been my experience that travelling with an octopus is, generally speaking, superior to travelling sans octopus. Taking this maxim in combination with one of Mae West's, (the one regarding "too much of a good thing") I have set out on this journey with not one but two octopi.
Mortimer is the first of the octopi. He's been with me some years now, a gift from Ms. Freeze Dried Evil. He's been my faithful companion for the last few years, and served honorably as NOCtopus during the time we worked together at 3jane.
Kylepus is our celebrity octopus. He's swarming with friends, both at his flickr group and his blog. He's been around the world a few times already, and he's been to more continents than I have, including the South Pole.
NOCtopus (n): 1: An octopus who works in a Network Operations Center.