Hedwig Pöllöläinen
grrlscientist
Posts by this author
May 19, 2008
tags: surface temperature, global warming, climate change, weather, environment, streaming video
This streaming video reveals the temperatures of the Earth's surface since 1884. The video released by NASA and GISS. The only problem with this video is that I think it should run a little more slowly…
May 18, 2008
tags: West 86th street subway art, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
West 86th Street Subway tile mosaic art #7
as seen at NYC's West 86th Street stop at Broadway for the uptown 1 train.
(This piece was completed in 1989 and was mounted on 2 July 2006).
Artist: Nitza Tufino.…
May 18, 2008
tags: researchblogging.org, Aves, Psittaciformes, Pseudasturidae, parrots, Palaeogene, Eocene, Denmark
An artist's impression of the parrot-like bird, Mopsitta tanta, dating back 55 million years. The fossils indicate that parrots once flew wild over what is now Norway and Denmark.
Image: David…
May 18, 2008
tags: Green Anole, Anolis carolinensis, reptiles, North Carolina, Image of the Day
"I am the Anole King, I can do anything."
Green Anole, Anolis carolinensis,
Carolina Beach, NC.
Image: Don Wirth [larger].
May 18, 2008
tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, natural history books, ecology books
"One cannot have too many good bird books"
--Ralph Hoffmann, Birds of the Pacific States (1927).
Here's this week's issue of the Birdbooker Report by Ian "Birdbooker" Paulsen, which lists ecology, environment, natural…
May 18, 2008
tags: birding, bird books, Bird Field Guide, The Young Birder's Guide to Birds of Eastern North America, Bill Thompson III, book review
One of the most common questions that I am asked is "how can we get our internet- and video game-addicted kids interested in the out-of-doors?" Since I am an…
May 17, 2008
tags: Big Brown, horseracing, Preakness Stakes, Triple Crown
Kent Desmoreaux rides Big Brown across the finish line at the 2008 Preakness Stakes today. The horse's ears are pricked forward, indicating that he is running easily.
Image: Jonathan Ernst (Reuters).
Odds-on favorite and Kentucky…
May 17, 2008
tags: West 86th street subway art, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
West 86th Street Subway Art #6
as seen at NYC's West 86th Street stop at Broadway for the uptown 1 train.
(This piece was completed in 1989; it was mounted on 2 July 2006).
Artist: Nitza Tufino.
Image:…
May 17, 2008
tags: Eight Belles, horseracing, autopsy results, streaming video
Below the fold is a hot-off-the-presses streaming video report on the autopsy results for the gallant thoroughbred filly, Eight Belles (pictured), who was killed on the racetrack two weeks ago after finishing second in the Kentucky…
May 17, 2008
tags: online books, ornithology, birds, anatomyAvian Anatomy Handbook, Julian Baumel
I know several of my overseas readers have wanted a free PDF of Julian Baumel's celebrated Handbook of Avian Anatomy: Nomina Anatomica Avium, 2nd Edition, published in 1993 by the Nuttal Ornithological Club, but I…
May 17, 2008
tags: mountain bluebird, Sialia currucoides, birds, Washington state, Image of the Day
Male mountain bluebird, Sialia currucoides.
This bird surprised birders in Washington state by visiting Bainbridge Island one weekend in April 2008.
Image: Eva Gerdts, 2008 [larger view].
May 16, 2008
tags: West 86th street subway art, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
West 86th Street Subway tile mosaic art #5
as seen at NYC's West 86th Street stop at Broadway for the uptown 1 train.
(This piece was completed in 1989 and was mounted on 2 July 2006).
Artist: Nitza Tufino.…
May 16, 2008
tags: Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Regulus calendula, birds, Kansas, image of the day
Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Regulus calendula, with insect egg or pupa in beak
Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU [larger view].
May 16, 2008
tags: ice-nine, supercooled water, physics, chemistry, thermodynamics, streaming video
This is a fun little experiment with water that was supercooled to -21C (-6F). The supercooled water is poured into a bowl. It pours out as a liquid and turns to slush, forming ropelike peaks [1:07].
What are…
May 15, 2008
tags: West 86th street subway art, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
West 86th Street Subway tile mosaic art #4
as seen at NYC's West 86th Street stop at Broadway for the uptown 1 train.
(This piece was completed in 1989 and was mounted on 2 July 2006).
Artist: Nitza Tufino.…
May 15, 2008
tags: Yellow-rumped warbler, Dendroica coronata, birds, Kansas, image of the day
Yellow-rumped warbler, Dendroica coronata, After Hatch Year male.
Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU [larger view].
May 15, 2008
tags: Columbia University Press, books
Books, books, beautiful books! One of the several presses whose books I love is Columbia University Press. Today, I learned that Columbia is having a "white sale" where they are offering more than 1000 of their titles for sale at prices that are between 20-80…
May 15, 2008
tags: golden hamster, pets, behavior, humor, streaming video
I love hamsters. In this streaming video, we get to see something that I loved to do with my pet golden hamster, Caesar, when I was a kid; I would see how much food he could stuff into his face. I would actually count the number of seeds…
May 14, 2008
tags: West 86th street subway art, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
West 86th Street Subway Art #3
as seen at NYC's West 86th Street stop at Broadway for the uptown 1 train.
(This piece was completed in 1989; it was mounted on 2 July 2006).
Artist: Nitza Tufino.
Image:…
May 14, 2008
tags: Professor Steve Steve
World-famous evolutionary biologist, Professor Steve Steve, supervises a blog writer.
Image: Not sure who snapped it [larger view]. .
Those are not my hands, nor my laptop, but that picture gives you the general idea of what to expect when I visit London at the end…
May 14, 2008
tags: Prothonotary warbler, Protonotaria citrea, birds, Kansas, image of the day
Male prothonotary warbler, Protonotaria citrea in breeding plumage.
I went out this morning specifically to see if I could get a good image of a prothonotary warbler and I managed to get one.
Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU…
May 14, 2008
tags: bird watching, Bill Thompson
Thanks to the good people at Houghton Mifflin Publishing House, I am meeting Bill Thompson, the editor of Bird Watcher's Digest and author of several books, tomorrow afternoon. Needless to say, I am excited to meet Bill and to see Houghton Mifflin's offices, and…
May 14, 2008
tags: books, field guides, bird watching, birding, birds
Image: Bill Thompson, III.
There are a variety of field guides to the birds, for English-speaking parts of the world at least, each with their own particular qualities. I have an extensive collection of these books on my shelves that I use…
May 14, 2008
tags: Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (and Stick You With the Bill), economy, politics, corporate welfare, David Cay Johnston, book review
America was built on the premise that hard work would be financially rewarded, but unfortunately, more than 37…
May 14, 2008
tags: The Death of a Toad, Richard Wilbur, poetry
"A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful implanted in the human soul."
-- Johann Wolfgang Goethe.
I received so…
May 14, 2008
tags: parrot, amazon parrot, behavior, mimicking behavior, streaming video
This streaming video shows a talented amazon parrot that appeared recently on Animal Planet. [3:19].
May 13, 2008
tags: West 86th street subway art, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
West 86th Street Subway Art #2
as seen at NYC's 86th Street stop at Broadway for the uptown 1 train.
(This piece was completed in 1989; it was mounted on 2 July 2006).
Artist: Nitza Tufino.
Image: GrrlScientist…
May 13, 2008
tags: Lincoln's Sparrow, Melospiza lincolnii, birds, Kansas, image of the day
"Not skulking"
Lincoln's Sparrow, Melospiza lincolnii.
Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU [larger view].
May 13, 2008
tags: foot binding, China, social behavior, fashion psychology, streaming video
A friend sent these images depicting foot-binding in China. To say the least, I knew this practice was painful and caused permanent malformations, but seeing the damage makes my own feet scream in agony. How did such a…
May 13, 2008
tags: fox news, subliminal suggestion, voting behavior, politics, streaming video
This streaming video shows a rather clumsy attempt by FauxSnooz to subliminally influence American voters. [1:15].
So .. do you think this might work by influencing innocent minds to vote against a person's best…