grrlscientist | June 14, 2009tags: Tree Swallow, Tachycineta bicolor, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Tree Swallow, Tachycineta bicolor, photographed at Lake Thompson in Kingsbury County, South Dakota. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Terry Sohl, 2 May 2009 [larger view]
Photo taken with a Canon 50D, 400 5.6L.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
grrlscientist | June 14, 2009
This is a strange "debate" between Our Lady of Martyrs Catholic Church, and Cumberland Presbyterian, created using an online church sign generator. The images show, from top to bottom, the responses and counter-responses over time.
And the next morning, Our Lady of Martyrs Catholic Church responds;
The following morning, Cumberland Presbyterian Church responds;
And the Catholics reply to that;
Of course, we all know that heaven isn't any more real than Harry Potter, but whatevs. These people clearly are entertained.
grrlscientist | June 14, 2009tags: religion, Bible, Ricky Gervais, creation story, humor, funny, parody, streaming video
This streaming video shows Ricky Gervais discussing creation as he reads from the Bible -- wow! This makes so much sense, doesn't it? I am going to give up my godless hedonistic ways right now!! [9:53]
grrlscientist | June 13, 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 traveling blog carnival that celebrates the best science, nature and medical writing targeted specifically to the public that has been published in the blogosphere within the past 60 days. To send your submissions to Scientia Pro Publica, either use this automated submission form or use the cute little widget on the right (sometimes that widget doesn't upload when the mother site is sick). Be sure to include the…
grrlscientist | June 13, 2009tags: book review, Falconer on the Edge, A Man, His Birds, and the Vanishing Landscape of the American West, falconry, hawking, Rachel Dickinson
Like most married people, Rachel Dickinson thought she knew her husband quite well after years of marriage. But one evening, he surprised her by unexpectedly bringing home a small brown paper bag containing an injured kestrel. You see, Dickinson's husband, Living Bird magazine editor Tim Gallagher, was a lapsed falconer without any birds, until this kestrel, Strawberry, reawakened his latent passion. As the bond between her husband and his tiny…
grrlscientist | June 13, 2009tags: NYC, Upper West Side, Manhattan, flowers, nature, image of the day
Egyptian Star Cluster, also known as the Star Flower, Pentas lanceolata.
Photographed on Manhattan's Upper West Side
near the corner of West 81st street and Central Park West.
Image: GrrlScientist, 11 June 2009 [larger view].
Can anyone identify this cultivated flower?
grrlscientist | June 13, 2009tags: Pectoral Sandpiper, Calidris melanotos, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Pectoral Sandpiper, Calidris melanotos, photographed at Anahuac Wildlife Refuge, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 19 May 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200 ,Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/180s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | June 13, 2009tags: politics, congress, CongressCritters, Rep. Gordon McCullough, humor, parody, social commentary, streaming video
This hilarious video is a parody of itself, to be honest. This previous week in congress, Rep. Gordon McCullough presented the highlight of the week by ranting at his esteemed colleagues about how one of them was so rude and inconsiderate to the American people as to leave a half-eaten fish sandwich rotting on the floor of the House. All I can say is this is hardly surprising to me, since our elected officials (who are all in the pockets of one or another corporate interest)…
grrlscientist | June 12, 2009tags: book review, Animals Make Us Human, animal welfare, pets, farm animals, agriculture, Temple Grandin
What do animals need to have a good mental life? This question seems easy to answer until we realize that even though we can provide for an animal's physical welfare, we actually don't know that much about the specifics of an animal's emotional life and what they need to be happy. In this book, Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; 2009), animal welfare guru Temple Grandin explores what the most commonly kept species of domestic…
grrlscientist | June 12, 2009Here's the latest blog carnivals to be published so you can read and enjoy them;
I and the Bird, #102. This blog carnival is all about wild birds and bird watching.
Carnival of Latin & South America and the Caribbean. This blog carnival focuses on news and events occurring south of the border.
Observations on Life blog carnival. This blog carnival covers a wide range of topics and this issue in particular, is quite large, so it should keep you busy when you should be working.
grrlscientist | June 12, 2009tags: NYC, Upper West Side, Manhattan, flowers, nature, image of the day
In the pink.
Miniature Rose, Rosa hybrid.
Photographed on Manhattan's Upper West Side
near the corner of West 81st street and Central Park West.
Image: GrrlScientist, 11 June 2009 [larger view].
grrlscientist | June 12, 2009tags: blogosphere, meme, science badges meme
Okay, my good readers, ScienceScouts has updated their badge page, so I thought I'd start a little meme where we all compare badges, sort of like an advanced form of navel-gazing, except for scientists and other geeks. Below the fold, I've listed which badges I qualify for, along with a brief comment regarding that badge, and I invite you to join in the fun!
Which badges do I qualify for? Here's a list;
The I've published at the Science Creative Quarterly Badge. It happened a long, long time ago when I was still at my blogger site. If you humor…
grrlscientist | June 12, 2009tags: David Letterman, Sarah Palin, NYC, New York City, humor, politics, social commentary, streaming video
Normally, I can't stand David Letterman because he has such a cruel sense of humor. But in this case, I'll make an exception since his sense of humor is perfectly suited to bring Sarah Palin down a notch or two -- as she so richly deserves [1:50]
grrlscientist | June 12, 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 traveling blog carnival that celebrates the best science, nature and medical writing targeted specifically to the public that has been published in the blogosphere within the past 60 days. To send your submissions to Scientia Pro Publica, either use this automated submission form or use the cute little widget on the right (sometimes that widget doesn't upload when the mother site is sick). Be sure to include the…
grrlscientist | June 12, 2009tags: Little Bee-eater, Merops pusillus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Little Bee-eater, Merops pusillus, photographed in Amboseli National Park, Kenya, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Dan Logen, 6 August 2006 [larger view].
Nikon D2X, 200-400 mm VR lens at 400. ISO 250, 1/160, f/5
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | June 12, 2009tags: agribusiness, agriculture, dairy farm, cows, industrial dairy farm, milk, dairy products, streaming video
This is an interesting video of a modern mega-dairy farm, with "all" aspects visible to the public (well, I'll bet not all aspects are visible, since they don't show how sperm is collected, packaged and stored, nor do they show the process of artificial insemination). Visitors get a close up and personal view of the entire process, from the milking barns where they observe cows being milked and fed, and they even can witness live births. This mega-farm also recycles manure into…
grrlscientist | June 11, 2009tags: NYC, Upper West Side, Manhattan, flowers, nature, image of the day
Dahlia, Dahlia hybrid.
Photographed on Manhattan's Upper West Side
near the corner of West 81st street and Central Park West.
Image: GrrlScientist, 11 June 2009 [larger view].
The Dahlia comprise 36 species within a genus of bushy, tuberous, perennial plants native to Mexico, Central America, and Colombia. Dahlia hybrids are commonly grown as garden plants, including the flower you see here. The Aztecs gathered and cultivated the dahlia for food, ceremony, and for decoration, and the long woody stem of one variety…
grrlscientist | June 11, 2009tags: worst job ever, massage therapist, humor, funny, employment, jobs, streaming video
This video is an interview with a man who is convinced he has the worst job ever. All I can say is this has got to be satire because I cannot otherwise understand his numerous complaints [1:06]
H/T: TravelGirl.
grrlscientist | June 11, 2009After this little bit of good news, it seems almost gluttonous of me to tell you that I have a little more good news to share with you. Yesterday, while I languished at home, ill and without stable or consistent wireless access, I finally managed to access email .. and when I did, I learned that ...
I received an email from the book reviews editor at Science magazine, asking me to write (what else?) .. a book review. Science, you say .. Do you mean ... ?
Why yes, I do mean ... !
The editor emailed me to ask if I'd write a review of a particular book, Birdscapes: Birds in Our…
grrlscientist | June 11, 2009tags: Sharp-tailed Grouse, Tympanuchus phasianellus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Sharp-tailed Grouse, Tympanuchus phasianellus, photographed at roughly 9am in the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument in Montana. [I will identify these birds for you tomorrow]
Image: Bardiac, 7 June 2009 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.