Reduce GrrlScientist's Antarctic Vote Threat Level from Orange to Green by voting for her today!
Details: Quark Expeditions is searching for an Official Blogger to join a voyage to Antarctica. Their goals, according to an email I received recently from their official spokesperson, Prisca, are to have their official blogger write a daily blog entry in English about his or her experience on this Antarctic trip, and to help raise public awareness of the environmental and conservation issues that pertain to the Antarctic. To select their official blogger, they are asking candidates to enter a competition where the public votes for whom they think would do the best job.
I am a wonderful candidate for this job as the official blogger for Quark Expeditions because I have been a prolific writer of a science and nature blog for five years, I have earned essential scientific training and background as well as having taught all age groups from children through adults, I have always strongly supported environmental and conservation objectives, and I possess intellectual curiosity combined with a sense of wonder.
Perhaps most important of these stated job requirements is writing ability. I have proven that I write consistently and well because I am one of just a few blog writers whose contributions have appeared in every edition of the Open Laboratory, which is a print collection of the finest science, medicine and natural history writing published in the blogosphere; I am also a published writer and additionally, my blog platform here at ScienceBlogs provides tremendous international reach, unwavering public support by my fellow blog writing colleagues, and strong technical support among the ScienceBlogs staff as well as from its parent company, Seed Media Group. Furthermore, a trip like this would be an amazing way for me to thank all of you, dear readers, for supporting me throughout these past difficult years.
I've posted a picture and written a 300 word essay and my entry is public. To vote, go there and register your email address (and create a different password from that used for your email). Then, within a few seconds to an hour or so, you will receive a confirmatory message at your registered email address so you can then vote in this competition. Remember, according to the rules, there is "one vote per valid email address" and no more than two votes per individual. So after you've voted, be sure to ask everyone you know to vote for me, too. If you've had troubles registering your email address, please contact me (so I know of your troubles) and Quark Expedition's marketing manager, Prisca Campbell, who will then register your email address by hand, as she's already done for at least one of my readers.
Voting ends at noon EDT on 30 September 2009, and the Official Quark Blogger will travel to Antarctica in February 2010 to blog about the experience, chronicling the action, the emotion, and the drama as this polar adventure unfolds.

GrrlScientist is an evolutionary biologist, ornithologist, aviculturist, birder and freelance science and nature writer. A native of the Pacific Northwest, she relocated from Seattle to NYC with her parrots after earning a BS in Microbiology (emphasis in Virology) and PhD in Zoology (Ornithology) from the University of Washington. In NYC, she was the Chapman Postdoctoral Fellow at the American Museum of Natural History for two years, pursuing part of her "dream" research project by reconstructing a molecular phylogeny of the parrots of the South Pacific islands. GrrlScientist and her five parrots are currently relocating to Germany, where she will continue writing her blog while also writing a book and learning German. (Meanwhile, her parrots will continue to nibble on her extensive personal library.) If you appreciate GrrlScientist's writing, you can help pay her living expenses by hiring her to "blog" your conference, speak at your club or write articles for your publication (or by clicking on the Paypal button below). If you read an essay on this blog that you especially enjoyed, please nominate it for inclusion in 

























Comments
OK, I voted. But now if you win you have to bring me back something from the Antarctic Duty Free shop.
Posted by: CW | July 10, 2009 4:09 PM
I voted some time ago (for you, BTW), so can I vote more than once (even if I'm not from Chicago?)
Posted by: jdhuey | July 10, 2009 9:09 PM
according to the rules, each individual supporter can vote for their candidate as many as two times, once from each from a separate validated email address.
Posted by: "GrrlScientist" | July 10, 2009 11:10 PM
Ok... I am back to try once more, with the proper name...
She should be first on any list—
GrrlScientist! GrrlScientist!
Let no one’s vote be lost or miss’d—
GrrlScientist! GrrlScientist!
Let one and all her cause assist—
Come join with me; I must insist!
Just move your fingers, hands, and wrist--
GrrlScientist! GrrlScientist!
Come raise your voice and clench your fist—
GrrlScientist! GrrlScientist!
Come march, or strut, or do the twist—
GrrlScientist! GrrlScientist!
Her cause is just; you can’t resist;
Don’t let her lose, or I’ll be pissed!
(I’ll stop for now—you’ve got the gist)
GrrlScientist! GrrlScientist!
http://digitalcuttlefish.blogspot.com/2009/07/get-off-yer-arses-and-vote.html
Posted by: Cuttlefish | July 11, 2009 12:20 AM
I voted, but I don't think I've seen a site that violates so many of the basic tenets of usability. It's a serious pain in the butt, and you will have to be sazzified with one vote from me. Good luck, but I hope to never get entangled in such a poorly designed site again. It does represent a strong vote for you, if it weren't for you I would have bailed very early in the process. You will have to keep us up to date on the standings, I'll never go back there. Well, maybe if you need just one more vote :>) Again, good luck... rb
Posted by: arby | July 11, 2009 8:16 PM