Hedwig Pöllöläinen
grrlscientist
Posts by this author
February 24, 2010
tags: Tilikum, Tillikum, Tilly, Orcinus orca, Killer Whale, SeaWorld, Sea World, Orlando, Florida, whales, animals, news, behavior, streaming video
Whale trainer, Dawn Brancheau, with male orca, Tilikum (also spelled as "Tillikum"), at SeaWorld Orlando.
Yesterday afternoon, experienced whale…
February 24, 2010
tags: education, public outreach, SciCafe, science cafe, AMNH, American Museum of Natural History, NYC, streaming video
Who: Director of the Energy Materials Center at Cornell, Héctor Abruña
What: free public presentation, "Energy Through Chemistry"
When: Wednesday, 3 March at 700pm
Where:…
February 24, 2010
Image: wemidji (Jacques Marcoux).
Nam et ipsa scientia potestas est (And thus knowledge itself is power)
-- Sir Francis Bacon.
Scientia Pro Publica (Science for the People) is almost here once more and it is still seeking submissions for Monday's edition of this blog carnival! Can you help by…
February 24, 2010
tags: Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias, photographed in California. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Steve Duncan [larger view].
Nikon D200 w/ Nikkor 300mm f/4 & TC17E.
Please name at…
February 24, 2010
tags: Professor Destroys Student's Laptop In Class, University of Oklahoma, Professor Kieran Mullen, laptop, laptop brutality, teaching, education, university, comedy, humor, strange, behavior, streaming video
In an effort to make a point -- Laptops are distracting students -- University of…
February 23, 2010
tags: Law & Order, Pups & Order, television, music, dogs, pets, comedy, humor, strange, behavior, streaming video
I love Law & Order so much that this one TV show is enough to tempt me into purchasing a television (I've never owned nor possessed a TV, although I do watch TV in "my" NYC…
February 23, 2010
tags: Eared Diver, Black-necked Grebe, Eared Grebe, Podiceps nigricollis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Eared Grebe, also known as the Black-necked Grebe or the Eared Diver, Podiceps nigricollis, photographed in California. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image…
February 23, 2010
tags: Old Spice commercial, manmercial, television, Superbowl, advertizing, technology, computer-generated imagery, CGI, wow, I'm on a Horse, Isaiah Mustafa, funny, humor, streaming video
Daily, men ask themselves, What do women want? We want a gorgeous bare-chested man with a beautiful voice on a…
February 22, 2010
tags: Disappointing Torture, cultural observation, political commentary, politics, torture, funny, satire, humor, streaming video
Two agents (Jimmy Mulville and Phillip Pope) are preparing to interrogate a suspected secret agent (Tony Robinson). Unfortunately, the suspected secret agent is afraid…
February 22, 2010
Image: wemidji (Jacques Marcoux).
Nam et ipsa scientia potestas est (And thus knowledge itself is power)
-- Sir Francis Bacon.
Scientia Pro Publica (Science for the People) is almost here once more and it is still seeking submissions for Monday's edition of this blog carnival! Can you help by…
February 22, 2010
tags: Anna's Hummingbird, Calypte anna, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Anna's Hummingbird, Calypte anna, photographed in California. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Steve Duncan [larger view].
Nikon D200 w/ Nikkor 300mm f/4 & TC17E.
Please name at…
February 22, 2010
Since I have been without wireless for one week now, I thought I'd take this opportunity to provide you with an update so you don't think I've either died, lost interest in writing or been kidnapped by space aliens. None of these things is true.
If you've been following my saga on twitter these…
February 22, 2010
tags: Queasy Bake Oven, Easy Bake Oven, kid's toys, funny, spoof, humor, Ronald Howes Sr, streaming video
The Easy-Bake Oven was the invention of Ronald Howes Sr, who died 20 February at age 83. I never got one, although I sure would have loved one to experiment with ... According to his obituary,…
February 21, 2010
tags: Invisible Rope Prank, humor, funny, prank, streaming video
Here's a hilarious prank where two guys pretend they have a rope that they stretch across a road between them in front of oncoming traffic. The reactions of those who have been pranked are quite amusing.
February 21, 2010
Image: wemidji (Jacques Marcoux).
Nam et ipsa scientia potestas est (And thus knowledge itself is power)
-- Sir Francis Bacon.
Scientia Pro Publica (Science for the People) is almost here once more and it is still seeking submissions for Monday's edition of this blog carnival! Can you help by…
February 21, 2010
tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, animal books, natural history books, ecology books
"How does one distinguish a truly civilized nation from an aggregation of
barbarians? That is easy. A civilized country produces much good bird
literature."
--Edgar Kincaid
The Birdbooker Report is a special…
February 21, 2010
tags: Brown-breasted Barbet, Lybius melanopterus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Adult with fledgling Brown-breasted Barbet, Lybius melanopterus, photographed in the Pangani River Camp, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify these birds for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 9…
February 20, 2010
tags: African Golden-breasted Bunting, Emberiza flaviventris, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] African Golden-breasted Bunting, Emberiza flaviventris, photographed in Mikumi, Tanzania, Africa. Surely one of the prettiest little birds in Tanzania. They were quite common farther…
February 20, 2010
Image: wemidji (Jacques Marcoux).
Nam et ipsa scientia potestas est (And thus knowledge itself is power)
-- Sir Francis Bacon.
Scientia Pro Publica (Science for the People) is almost here once more and it is still seeking submissions for Monday's edition of this blog carnival! Can you help by…
February 20, 2010
tags: americans, ignorance, stupid, uneducated, Bill Maher, comedy, humor, beliefs, television, education, streaming video
"This country is like a college chick after two long island iced teas: we can be talked into anything, like wars, and we can be talked out of anything, like health care," says…
February 19, 2010
tags: How to Swear Like a Brit, humor, funny, comedy, culture, British culture, cursing, swearing, language, streaming video
My spouse, who I was told was a "shy and nerdly British scientist" is anything but that! He is teaching me, a shy and nerdly American scientist, how to swear like a Brit,…
February 19, 2010
tags: Center for Inquiry, CFI, NYC Skeptics, Free Inquiry and Secular Humanism, Darwin Day 2010, Ian Tattersall, Massimo Pigliucci, public education, outreach, New York City, NYC, education, streaming video
On the day after the anniversary of Charles Darwin's birthday, prominent…
February 19, 2010
tags: African Orange-bellied Parrot, African Red-bellied Parrot, Poicephalus rufiventris, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] African Red-bellied Parrot, Poicephalus rufiventris, photographed at the Pangani River Campground, Tanzania, Africa. This bird flew in with a few friends,…
February 19, 2010
tags: Sonic Boom Meets Sun Dog, amazing science, sonic boom, Atlas V, rocket launch, amazing, beautiful, atmosphere, physics, astronomy, streaming video
This amateur video is absolutely amazing: recording the precise moment when a rocket goes supersonic, which coincides with the moment it passes…
February 18, 2010
tags: Conan O'Brien, Martha Stewart, Conan O'Brien Invades Martha Stewart's Kitchen, humor, funny, comedy, offbeat, cultural observation, television, streaming video
After having my kitchen invaded repeatedly -- six times, for those who care -- by strangers hired by IKEA to install the kitchen that…
February 18, 2010
tags: Bufflehead, Bucephala albeola, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Bufflehead, Bucephala albeola, photographed in California. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Steve Duncan [larger view].
Nikon D200 w/ Nikkor 300mm f/4 & TC17E.
This mystery bird…
February 18, 2010
tags: whale, humpback whale, seabirds, Whale Versus Bird, Vancouver Aquarium, British Columbia, education, streaming video
Imagine you're a bird, you're minding your own business, leading your flock, when out of nowhere -- Humpback Whale tail! Either the Humpback has a serious dislike for birds, or…
February 17, 2010
tags: British, Americans, funny things that people say, humor, funny, comedy, offbeat, cultural observation, television, streaming video
Here's an amusing list of the top ten funny things that Americans say to Brits, as said by Stephen Fry Ricky Gervais (this is posted in honor of my spouse, who is…
February 17, 2010
tags: Night Heron, Black-crowned Night-heron, Nycticorax nycticorax,birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Black-crowned Night-heron, sometimes known just as the Night Heron, Nycticorax nycticorax, photographed in California. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Steve…
February 16, 2010
tags: dog eating, funny, offbeat, silly, humor, pets, pranks, fucking hilarious, streaming video
This video shows what happens when a guy and his dog have too much time (and a video camera) on their hands.