Hedwig Pöllöläinen
grrlscientist
Posts by this author
August 31, 2009
The cricket sang,
And set the sun,
And workmen finished, one by one,
Their seam the day upon.
The low grass loaded with the dew,
The twilight stood as strangers do
With hat in hand, polite and new,
To stay as if, or go.
A vastness, as a neighbor, came,--
A wisdom without face or name,
A peace, as…
August 31, 2009
tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Sandwich Tern, Sterna sandvicensis, photographed at the Bolivar Ferry, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 4 August 2009 [larger view].
Birds and Technology
Rather than searching for weird weather or enemy missiles, some…
August 31, 2009
Since I have recently developed quite a history of visiting cold and snowy places, often during the winter, I wish to preserve that tradition. I am competing for the opportunity to go to Antarctica in February 2010 -- a dream adventure that I've always wanted to pursue (and almost did pursue when I…
August 31, 2009
tags: Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Coccyzus americanus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Coccyzus americanus, photographed at High Island, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 19 May 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883…
August 31, 2009
tags: birds, parrots, Quaker Parrot, Monk ParakeetGrey-Breasted parakeet, Myiopsitta monachus, NYC events, NYC Life, Brooklyn, Wild Parrot Safari
Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus) Old San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Image: Magnus Manske, 10 May 2008, Wikipedia [larger view]
Even though NYC is located…
August 31, 2009
Happy Birthday to the Tangled up in Blue Guy, Mike Haubrich! Mike is a good guy who is involved with all sorts of media-related things, ranging from writing articles for the Los Angeles Times and directing the Atheists Talk Radio Show in Minnesota to helping the HMS Beagle Project in the UK.…
August 30, 2009
tags: parrots, pets, birds, behavior, animal training, basketball-playing parrots, streaming video
This amazing video of parrots playing basketball is fascinating watching because it shows the results of patience combined with excellent animal training techniques. This video shows clips from "1 on…
August 30, 2009
The current Antarctic Trip Vote count is as follows; 5481 - 1819 - 1575 - 1205 - 1117 out of 534 candidates registered. I am in third place and sloooowly creeping up on second place. With less than 6 weeks remaining (especially if the Quark site crashes), voting is changing rapidly as previous…
August 30, 2009
Everyone loves free books, right? Well, I know I do, and since I've got a huge stack of books in my apartment that are seeking a loving home, I want to share them with you. These books are duplicates of review copies, advance reading copies and uncorrected proofs as well as some books that I…
August 30, 2009
tags: US endangered species list, parrots, aviculture, captive breeding, position statement, Parrots International, politics
NOTE: This position statement just came to my attention. I wish I had learned about it on 10 August, since I would have shared it immediately on that day.
August 10, 2009…
August 30, 2009
tags: art, tombstone, Hietaniemen Hautausmaa, Hietaniemi Cemetery, Helsinki, Finland, cities, nature
Tombstone.
Photographed at Hietaniemen Hautausmaa (Hietaniemi Cemetery), Helsinki, Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 21 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
August 30, 2009
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…
August 30, 2009
tags: Yellow-crowned Night-heron, Nycticorax violaceus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Yellow-crowned Night-heron, Nycticorax violaceus, photographed at Bolivar Flats, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 24 July 2009 [larger view].…
August 30, 2009
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 a blog carnival that celebrates the best science, nature and medical writing targeted specifically to the public that…
August 30, 2009
tags: religion, violence, mental illness, fundamentalism, MtlRedAtheist, streaming video
This is the first in a series of videos that address some of the violent, absurd and atrocious Bible stories being taught to children in Sunday School around the world today. This video discusses how Abraham…
August 29, 2009
tags: religion, violence, mental illness, fundamentalism, MtlRedAtheist, streaming video
In this video, Ali-G interviews religious representatives from several Abrahamic religions about their beliefs. He seems to have confused his mythologies though, which makes for entertaining viewing.
August 29, 2009
The current Antarctic Trip Vote count is as follows; 5370 - 1817 - 1569 - 1202 - 1117 out of 533 candidates registered. I am in third place and sloooowly creeping up on second place. With less than 6 weeks remaining (especially if the Quark site crashes), voting is changing rapidly as previous…
August 29, 2009
tags: birds, parrots, Quaker Parrot, Monk ParakeetGrey-Breasted parakeet, Myiopsitta monachus, NYC events, NYC Life, Brooklyn, Wild Parrot Safari
Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus) Old San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Image: Magnus Manske, 10 May 2008, Wikipedia [larger view]
Even though NYC is located…
August 29, 2009
tags: art, statue, sculpture, mare and foal, Helsinki, Finland, cities, nature
Ãidinrakkaus (Maternal Love)
Bronze sculpture (1927) by sculptor Emil Cedercreutz (1879 - 1949).
Photographed at Varsapuistikko,
at the corner of Unioninkatu and Kaisaniemenkatu, Kluuvi,
in Helsinki, Finland.
Image:…
August 29, 2009
tags: Common Bulbul, Pycnonotus barbatus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Common Bulbul, also known as the Pepperbird among other names, Pycnonotus barbatus, photographed in Amboseli National Park, Kenya, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen,…
August 28, 2009
tags: coming out, sex advice, homosexuality, evangelical families, Dan Savage, streaming video
Dan Savage moved to Seattle while I lived there and began writing a sex advice column for The Stranger. I never missed reading his column because he was honest and accurate and entertaining. Regardless of…
August 28, 2009
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 a blog carnival that celebrates the best science, nature and medical writing targeted specifically to the public that…
August 28, 2009
The current Antarctic Trip Vote count is as follows; 5015 - 1814 - 1558 - 1202 - 1117 out of 528 candidates registered. I am in third place and sloooowly creeping up on second place. With less than 6 weeks remaining (especially if the Quark site crashes), voting is changing rapidly as previous…
August 28, 2009
The cricket sang,
And set the sun,
And workmen finished, one by one,
Their seam the day upon.
The low grass loaded with the dew,
The twilight stood as strangers do
With hat in hand, polite and new,
To stay as if, or go.
A vastness, as a neighbor, came,--
A wisdom without face or name,
A peace, as…
August 28, 2009
tags: bumblebee, Helsinki, Finland, cities, nature
Bumblebee on my hand.
Photographed in Helsinki, Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 23 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
I am sure I must have looked like I was insane when, walking down the sidewalk, I spied this bumblebee sitting on the concrete…
August 28, 2009
tags: birds, parrots, Quaker Parrot, Monk ParakeetGrey-Breasted parakeet, Myiopsitta monachus, NYC events, NYC Life, Brooklyn, Wild Parrot Safari
Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus) Old San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Image: Magnus Manske, 10 May 2008, Wikipedia [larger view]
Even though NYC is located…
August 28, 2009
tags: Onion News Network, ONN, detainee torture, humor, funny, satire, fucking hilarious, streaming video
In The Know panelists discuss the closing of the controversial detainee labyrinth and debate whether the Minotaur's sternum-stomping-by-hooves interrogation technique yielded valuable…
August 28, 2009
tags: Ross's Goose, Chen rossii, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Ross's Goose, Chen rossii, photographed at Tom Bass Park, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 11 August 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ…
August 28, 2009
tags: South Pacific Islands, Solomon Islands, subsistence fishing, tuna fishing, documentary, BBC Two, streaming video
This fascinating video shows how South Pacific islanders fish for Skipjack Tuna for commercial export using hook, line and pole. Skipjack Tuna are more able to withstand the…
August 27, 2009
tags: Grabs-U, Grabula, software, technology, optical illusion, offbeat, streaming video
Wow, here's two hot new Finnish software programs for your mac that you can use to allow the world to touch you (Grab-U) and that you can use to reach out and touch the world (Grabula) -- I can hardly wait to…