Hedwig Pöllöläinen
grrlscientist
Posts by this author
July 10, 2009
Image: Orphaned.
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…
July 10, 2009
tags: Grey-Backed Sparrow-Lark, Eremopterix verticalis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Grey-Backed Sparrow-Lark, Eremopterix verticalis, photographed in Swakopmund, Namibia, Africa [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dennis Paulson, April 2007 [larger view…
July 10, 2009
tags: funny, humor, satire, economy, television news, instapoll tracker, live poll, ONN, Onion News Network, streaming video
ONN is trying out a new feature to give viewers greater involvement in the news: a live popularity poll. Viewers can vote on specific comments as the pundits are uttering…
July 10, 2009
tags: Harry Potter and the Midlife Crisis, comedy, humor, funny, streaming video
How will the Harry Potter movies finally end? Don't wait for the book! Here is the exclusive story [4:15]
July 9, 2009
tags: Harry Potter, kiss, Harry Potter and the Magical Kiss, online poll, fun
Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) kissed by Maggie Smith (Professor McGonagall)
World Premiere of Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince at the Empire Leicester Square cinema, London, England.
Image: WENN.com
Kiss kiss, kiss…
July 9, 2009
The current Antarctic Trip Vote count is as follows; 884 - 668 - 613 - 587 - 389 (how did yesterday's fifth place entrant lose 63 votes overnight??) out of 260 candidates registered. I am still in second place, and third place is creeping up on me rather quickly.
If you've already voted, then…
July 9, 2009
tags: snowball, dancing cockatoo, parrots, Cacatua galerita eleanora, interview
Snowball, adult male Eleanora (medium sulfur-crested) cockatoo, Cacatua galerita eleanora.
Image: courtesy of Bird Lovers Only [larger view].
I have been working behind the scenes for the opportunity to interview…
July 9, 2009
tags: River Vantaa, Helsinki, Finland, nature, image of the day
A river flows through it.
A view of the River Vantaa. I believe I was in Vantaa (will check after my host returns),
in northern Helsinki, Finland, when I photographed this.
Image: GrrlScientist, 6 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image…
July 9, 2009
tags: Ivory-Billed Woodpecker, Campephilus principalis, grail bird, bird watching, conservation, documentary, streaming video
No, I do not believe that the Ivory-billed Woodpecker lives, but this trailer makes the documentary film look interesting anyway, mostly because it focuses on the people;…
July 9, 2009
Who: Dr. Jeff Schweitzer
What: free public presentation, "Moral Life in a Random World"
Where: SLC Conference Center, 352 7th avenue (between 29th and 30th streets), 16th floor.
When: 700pm, Thursday, 9 July
Dr. Jeff Schweitzer is a scientist who has written extensively on morality, religion,…
July 9, 2009
tags: House Finch, Carpodacus mexicanus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] House Finch, Carpodacus mexicanus, photographed in Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Richard Ditch, 7 August 2006 [larger view].
Date Time Original: 2006:07:08 08:30:57
Exposure…
July 9, 2009
tags: blogosphere, meme, reader demographics meme
Every once in awhile, I ask my readers to identify themselves by demographic groups -- gender, age, what you do, what you aspire to do, favorite books, and anything else you'd like to tell me because honestly, I find you all to be quite fascinating…
July 9, 2009
tags: Antarctica, South Pole, endurance training, extreme running, Ray Zahab, streaming video
In this video, extreme runner Ray Zahab shares an enthusiastic account of his record-breaking trek on foot to the South Pole -- a 33-day sprint through the snow. [5:54]
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast…
July 9, 2009
tags: Onion News Network, research, monkeys, medical news, humor, satire, streaming video
In this video, ONN reports on a newly published study indicating that repeatedly stabbing monkeys with sharpened objects may have an adverse effect on their health and longevity [1:08]
July 8, 2009
The current Antarctic Trip Vote count is as follows; 865 - 654 - 610 - 540 - 452 out of 255 candidates registered. I am in second place, and third place is creeping up on me rather quickly. Wow, am I that undesirable as an official blogger?
If you've already voted, then please encourage your family…
July 8, 2009
tags: Potentilla fruticosa, Gardening, Horticulture, Botany, nature, Helsinki, image of the day
Is this a wild rose or a close relative?
"Goldfinger" or the Buttercup Shrub, Potentilla fruticosa.
Photographed alongside a roadway in Pitäjänmäki in northern Helsinki, Finland.
Image:…
July 8, 2009
Who: Dr. Jeff Schweitzer
What: free public presentation, "Moral Life in a Random World"
Where: SLC Conference Center, 352 7th avenue (between 29th and 30th streets), 16th floor.
When: 700pm, Thursday, 9 July
Dr. Jeff Schweitzer is a scientist who has written extensively on morality, religion,…
July 8, 2009
Image: appears here with the kind permission of Wetjens Dimmlich [Slow Loris Fickr site].
Send GrrlScientist instead!
Quark Expeditions is searching for an Official Blogger to join a voyage to Antarctica. Their goals, according to an email I received from their official spokesperson, Prisca,…
July 8, 2009
tags: dragonfly vision, facets, opsin, compound eyes, insects, dragonflies, Dennis Paulson, David O'Carroll, Robert Olberg
Male Megaloprepus caerulatus, PANAMA, Rio Chico Masambi, near Gamboa,
11 August 2005; photo by Julie Craves, a Natural Science Research Associate
at the University of…
July 8, 2009
Shortly after I arrived in Helsinki and was suffering from jet lag, my friend, Bora, published this interview he had with me via email. Bora -- "Coturnix" -- is the main organizer of the ScienceOnline conference series held in North Carolina in January. Each year, he interviews the speakers from…
July 8, 2009
tags: Red-shouldered Hawk, Buteo lineatus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Red-shouldered Hawk, Buteo lineatus, photographed at Brazos Bend State Park, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 30 April 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200 ,Kowa…
July 8, 2009
tags: Antarctica, Humpback Whales, Krill, David Attenborough, Planet Earth, BBC, streaming video
This beautifully done video shows breathtaking images of how Humpback Whales, Megaptera novaeangliae, hunt Krill, Euphausia superba, in Antarctic waters. This is a video clip from BBC's natural history…
July 8, 2009
tags: Onion News Network, human kidneys, organ transplant donations, medical news, humor, satire, streaming video
In this video, ONN reports that an anonymous hero donates 200 human kidneys to a hospital. Hospital officials hope to locate the good Samaritan that dropped off a sack of human organs…
July 7, 2009
Image: Wookey Hole.
There are moments in a person's life where they sit back and ask themselves; was [fill in the blank] worth it? Was it really worth it?
I ask myself this question often, especially when it comes to job hunting. There's nothing like a bout of unemployment punctuated with brief…
July 7, 2009
The current Antarctic Trip Vote count is as follows; 833 - 628 - 564 - 493 - 416 out of 248 candidates registered. I am in second place, and third place is creeping up on me. Wow, am I that undesirable as an official blogger?
If you've already voted, then please encourage your family, friends,…
July 7, 2009
tags: Heartsease, Gardening, Horticulture, Botany, nature, Helsinki, image of the day
Heartsease is known by a wide variety of names, including the Wild Pansy, Ladies' Delight, Jump-Up-And-Kiss-Me, and Johnny Jump-Up, Viola tricolor.
Photographed on Seurasaari, Helsinki, Finland.
Image:…
July 7, 2009
tags: lunch, food, Ravintola Helsinge, Tekniikan Museo, travel, Helsinki, Finland
Coffee and Lunch (croissant with cheese, tomato and "rocket",
a tangy green that I've never seen nor heard of before now)
Photographed at Ravintola Helsinge, the cafe on the grounds
shared with the Tekniikan Museo (…
July 7, 2009
tags: Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, Merops oreobates, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, Merops oreobates, photographed at Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 8 August 2006 [larger view].…
July 7, 2009
tags: mystery bird, identify this bird, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz, streaming video
A reader asked me to ask you to identify these [Mystery Birds], filmed in Wasilla, Alaska, USA, on 4 July 2009. Hint: Turn the sound off while viewing this video to prevent stimulating your gag reflex.…
July 7, 2009
tags: Africa, Toto, Perpetuum Jazzile, music, streaming video
This video is a live recording of Toto's "Africa" (I love that song!) performed by Perpetuum Jazzile at Vokal Xtravaganzza 2008 (October 2008). This vocal group uses only their bodies to create these remarkable sounds, ranging from rain…