grrlscientist | May 1, 2009tags: horse racing, Kentucky Derby, Run for the Roses, sports, streaming video
Tomorrow, 20 horses will run in the world-famous Kentucky Derby. This video gives you an overview of the horses that are thought to play a major role in this year's "Run for the Roses" [1:24]
grrlscientist | April 30, 2009tags: NYC, Upper East Side, Manhattan, flowers, nature, image of the day
One in a Million.
"In the lower 80s" in the Park Avenue median (Upper East Side of Manhattan).
Image: GrrlScientist, 26 April 2009 [larger view].
grrlscientist | April 30, 2009tags: Experimental Heart, cancer research thriller, Jennifer L. Rohn, book review
Reading science fiction books about scientific research inevitably inspire me to claw my eyes out from sheer frustration with the many shocking inaccuracies before I reach page 100 -- Michael Crichton's truly stupid books crammed with scientific faux pas scream immediately to mind. So I was skeptical about reading and possibly reviewing another such book. But this novel, which is part of the newly identified reality-based genre known as laboratory literature or "LabLit", pleasantly surprised me: I truly enjoyed…
grrlscientist | April 30, 2009tags: Horned Lark, Eremophila alpestris, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Horned Lark, Eremophila alpestris, photographed in Paul Rushing Park, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 3 March 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with tsn-pz camera eyepiece 1/200s 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 | April 30, 2009tags: TEDTalks, Margaret Wertheim, mathematics, evolution, sea slugs, coral reefs, streaming video
This interesting video discusses evolution, mathematics, sea slugs, corals and crocheting as presented by science writer Margaret Wertheim [16:37]
grrlscientist | April 29, 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) blog carnival is seeking your recently published blog entries (within the previous 60 days) about science, nature and medicine for inclusion in its upcoming edition on Monday, 4 May 2009. To send submissions to Scientia Pro Publica, either use this automated submission form or use the cute little widget on the right. Be sure to include the URL or "permalink", the essay title and, to make life easier for the host, a 2…
grrlscientist | April 29, 2009tags: Harry Potter, Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, books, film, movies, streaming video
Image: Garrett Hubbard.
In what is probably the cleverest scheme to capture any remaining pocket change that Bernard Madoff has not swindled out of the average American, the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry is slated to open a Harry Potter exhibit on Thursday, 30 April. According to what I've read, Harry Potter: The Exhibition takes visitors from the Hogwarts Express train platform through the Gryffindor common room, classrooms, the Great Hall, the Forbidden Forest and Hagrid's hut…
grrlscientist | April 29, 2009tags: NYC, Upper East Side, Manhattan, flowers, nature, image of the day
Violet in the Park Avenue median, Manhattan.
"In the lower 80s" in the Park Avenue median (Upper East Side of Manhattan).
Image: GrrlScientist, 26 April 2009 [larger view].
grrlscientist | April 29, 2009tags: Blue Mountain Vireo, Vireo osburni, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Blue Mountain Vireo, Vireo osburni, photographed at Portland Gap, Blue Mountains, Jamaica. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Paul Jones, 18 March 2009 [larger view].
Canon 30-D, 300f4 lens, 1/250 at f4, 320 ISO.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | April 29, 2009tags: Antigen Shift, Influenza Viruses, molecular biology, virology, microbiology, streaming video
This video discusses the process of antigen shift in influenza viruses, such as the H1N1 "swine flu" that has recently been identified in Mexico and in quite a few other countries, including in NYC [1:18]
grrlscientist | April 28, 2009tags: NYC, Upper East Side, Manhattan, flowers, nature, image of the day
Park Avenue Tulip.
"In the lower 80s" in the Park Avenue median (Upper East Side of Manhattan).
Image: GrrlScientist, 26 April 2009 [larger view].
grrlscientist | April 28, 2009tags: Roseate Spoonbill, Platalea (Ajaia) ajaj, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Roseate Spoonbill, Ajaia ajaj, photographed at Tom Bass Park, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 20 March 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with tsn-pz camera eyepiece 1/1000s 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 | April 28, 2009tags: Phinneas Phogg, Seattle, Pike Place Market, parrots, pets, entertainment, streaming video
This interesting video is an interview with Chris and Phineas Phogg, who entertain crowds at the Pike Place Market in my other home, Seattle. In this video, Chris talks about about their lives as Buskers. This video reminds me of my own beloved Congo African Grey parrot, Zazu, who died while under the care of a so-called Veterinary Technician while I was in the hospital. I always want another Grey parrot, but watching this video makes me especially miss my parrot, and my home. [5:30]
grrlscientist | April 27, 2009The latest blog carnivals that have been published recently for you to read;
Book Review Carnival, 26 April edition. This blog carnival focuses on book reviews, as its name suggests. It's amazing to see the number and variety of book reviews out there!
Everything Worth Reading, 26 April 2009. This blog carnival is a blog-writer's newsfeed.
All Things Eco, #48. This blog carnival focuses on ecology and the environment.
grrlscientist | April 27, 2009tags: NYC, Upper East Side, Manhattan, flowers, nature, image of the day
Cherry Blossoms.
"In the lower 80s" in the Park Avenue median (Upper East Side of Manhattan).
Image: GrrlScientist, 26 April 2009 [larger view].
grrlscientist | April 27, 2009tags: Save Our Boreal Birds, online petition, birds, conservation, environment
Palm Warbler, Dendroica palmarum.
Image: Jeff Nadler [larger view].
Save the summer homes of Palm Warblers and other North American bird species that breed in Canada's Boreal forests!
The Boreal Songbird Initiative, along with other environmental groups like Bird Studies Canada, Nature Canada, the David Suzuki Foundation, and others created a petition called "Save our Boreal Birds" a little over a year ago. This petition will be sent to the Prime Minister of Canada and many provincial leaders throughout Canada,…
grrlscientist | April 27, 2009tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Barn Owls, Tyto alba, have been used as
natural agricultural pest controllers around the world.
Image: Amir Ezer.
Birds in Technology
Here's a link to the US Air Force Avian Hazard Advisory System, a system that processes NOAA weather data in real time and uses it to provide bird-aircraft strike risk advisories. The website also shows the processed image loop of bird density data (with most of the weather removed). There also is an image gallery for you to look at. In these images, the yellows indicate lower activity…
grrlscientist | April 27, 2009tags: leucistic Red-Winged Blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] leucistic Red-Winged Blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus, photographed in Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Richard Ditch, 18 January 2009 [larger view].
Date Time Original: 2009:01:18 08:46:49
Exposure Time: 1/750
F-Number: 8.00
ISO: 320
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | April 27, 2009tags: The Beagle Project, science, fund-raising, humor, streaming video
This strange and amusing streaming video features a self-described "fat, bearded chap with a Charles Darwin fixation" whom I know in real life, has an important purpose: Let's help build the HMS Beagle and follow Darwin's journey of discovery! [1:06]
The Beagle Project aims to celebrate Charles Darwin's 200th birthday by building a sailing replica of the HMS Beagle and recreating the Voyage of the Beagle with an international crew of researchers, aspiring scientists and science communicators (perhaps, including me!). The…
grrlscientist | April 26, 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) blog carnival is seeking your recently published blog entries (within the previous 60 days) about science, nature and medicine for inclusion in its upcoming edition on Monday, 4 May 2009. To send submissions to Scientia Pro Publica, either use this automated submission form or use the cute little widget on the right. Be sure to include the URL or "permalink", the essay title and, to make life easier for the host, a 2…