grrlscientist | March 1, 2009tags: budgerigars, talking birds, pets, cute, streaming video
This video documents a budgerigar who is astonishingly chatty -- and he makes more sense than a lot of people I know, too [6:04]
Part 1-The Spiritual Evolution of Budgies -
grrlscientist | February 28, 2009
You've watched the video, so let's do our best to help Joe Biden, and to do this, I suggest that we start at the beginning. I have two questions for you: Do you consider yourself to be "Middle Class"? If so, what is "Middle Class" in America?
Unlike most Americans, I do not, and never have, considered myself to be "middle class", although I don't know where I fit in precisely, since I have a PhD (an upper middle class achievement), but I don't have a job, and I've been without health insurance for most of my life (both, ugly features of poverty). As a result, I am not precisely sure what is…
grrlscientist | February 28, 2009tags: Rautatientori Metroasema, Central Railway Station Subway Art, Helsinki Finland, Metro -- Friday evening, Sanna Karlsson-Sutisnas, subway art, photography
Metro -- Friday evening, detail 3 (left to right) (Installed: 23 November 2007).
Rautatientorin Metroasema (Central Railway Station) Subway Art, Helsinki, Finland.
Artist: Sanna Karlsson-Sutisnas.
Image: GrrlScientist, 19 February 2009 [larger view].
grrlscientist | February 28, 2009tags: plants, Gardenia-Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland, Viikki, image of the day
Curl.
Photographed at Gardenia-Helsinki, the public greenhouse at the
University of Helsinki, Viikki campus, Helsinki, Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 25 February 2009 [larger view].
grrlscientist | February 28, 2009tags: mystery bird, identify this bird, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Grasshopper Sparrow, Ammodramus savannarum, photographed in Attwater Prairie Chicken Refuge, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 6 December 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/90s 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 | February 28, 2009tags: budgerigars, talking birds, pets, cute, streaming video
This budgerigar has the cutest little speaking voice and .. hang on, what's he saying? [0:45]
Parakeet Says "Barack Obama" -
grrlscientist | February 27, 2009tags: Rautatientori Metroasema, Central Railway Station Subway Art, Helsinki Finland, Metro -- Friday evening, Sanna Karlsson-Sutisnas, subway art, photography
Metro -- Friday evening, detail 2 (left to right) (Installed: 23 November 2007).
Rautatientorin Metroasema (Central Railway Station) Subway Art, Helsinki, Finland.
Artist: Sanna Karlsson-Sutisnas.
Image: GrrlScientist, 19 February 2009 [larger view].
grrlscientist | February 27, 2009The latest blog carnival to be published is the Carnival of the Vanities, which is devoted to excellent writing recently published in the blogosphere, regardless of topic.
The Friday Ark, issue 232. This blog carnival is all about sharing images of animals, although there might be text associated with those images, too. While you are there, be sure to add a pin denoting your location to the Friday Ark Frapper map (can you find my pin?).
Also, my notice is a little late, but the Radical Progressive Carnival, 13th edition, was published one week ago. This blog carnival focuses on politics and…
grrlscientist | February 27, 2009tags: flower, Gardenia-Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland, Viikki, image of the day
Still Life: Flower in a vase.
Photographed at Gardenia-Helsinki, the public greenhouse at the
University of Helsinki, Viikki campus, Helsinki, Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 25 February 2009 [larger view].
I photographed this small flower in a vase while eating lunch at the wonderful greenhouse, Gardenia-Helsinki, located in Viikki, Helsinki.
grrlscientist | February 27, 2009tags: African Diaries: Sketches and Observations, nature, wildlife, field research, Africa, David G. Derrick, book review
I love art, birds and travel, and because Africa has such a huge variety of exotic wildlife that I've only ever seen in zoos and aviaries, it is high on my list of places to visit. Recently, David G. Derrick, Jr., the author of a new book that combines art and African wildlife into an unusual diary format, asked if I would like to read and review his new book, African Diaries: Sketches & Observations (self-published, 2008).
This slim paperback is an unusual travel…
grrlscientist | February 27, 2009tags: Blue Grouse, Dusky Grouse, Dendragapus obscurus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Blue (Dusky) Grouse, Dendragapus obscurus, photographed in the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Terry Sohl, 18 August 2008 [larger view].
Photo taken with a Canon 50D, 400 5.6L.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | February 27, 2009tags: vervet monkeys, animal behavior, alcohol, streaming video
This streaming video explores alcohol use (and abuse) among a group of feral vervet monkeys on the Caribbean island of St. Kitts. Interestingly, the patterns of alcohol use and abuse closely mirror those found in humans. The sound on this video is very quiet, so you will have to turn up the volume to hear the narrator [3:13]
grrlscientist | February 26, 2009tags: Rautatientori Metroasema, Central Railway Station Subway Art, Helsinki Finland, Metro -- Friday evening, Sanna Karlsson-Sutisnas, subway art, photography
Metro -- Friday evening, detail 1 (left to right) (Installed: 23 November 2007).
Rautatientorin Metroasema (Central Railway Station) Subway Art, Helsinki, Finland.
Artist: Sanna Karlsson-Sutisnas.
Image: GrrlScientist, 19 February 2009 [larger view].
grrlscientist | February 26, 2009tags: Gardenia, Gardenia jasminoides, flower, Gardenia-Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland, Viikki, image of the day
Gardenia, Gardenia jasminoides.
Photographed at Gardenia-Helsinki, the public greenhouse at the
University of Helsinki, Viikki campus, Helsinki, Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 25 February 2009 [larger view].
grrlscientist | February 26, 2009tags: American Goldfinch, Carduelis tristis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] American Goldfinch, Carduelis tristis, photographed in Buffalo Bayou in West Houston, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 15 February 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/320s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso40.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | February 26, 2009tags: Helsinki, Finland
A sunny day in Helsinki, Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 25 February 2009 [larger view].
As you can see from the image above, yesterday was a gorgeous, sunny day. It was so warm, comparatively speaking, that I thought that some of the snow might melt. I spent part of the day at the Viikki campus of the University of Helsinki, where the biological sciences are located. I went to a grad student seminar where a mathematical model regarding reproductive strategies (brood parasitism versus stay-at-home-and-nest versus a mixture of these two strategies) was being tested…
grrlscientist | February 26, 2009tags: budgerigars, animal training, cute, streaming video
I've seen a lot of examples of animal training in my lifetime, but this certainly is one of the best because it involves not one or two animals, but a small flock .. and each bird is doing just what he or she should be doing .. amazing! [5:31]
Fun with Budgies - For more amazing video clips, click here
grrlscientist | February 25, 2009tags: Rautatientori Metroasema, Central Railway Station Subway Art, Helsinki Finland, Metro -- Friday evening, Sanna Karlsson-Sutisnas, subway art, photography
Metro -- Friday evening (Installed: 23 November 2007).
Rautatientorin Metroasema (Central Railway Station) Subway Art, Helsinki, Finland.
Artist: Sanna Karlsson-Sutisnas.
Image: GrrlScientist, 19 February 2009 [larger view].
grrlscientist | February 25, 2009Here's the latest blog carnivals for you to read;
The very first issue of Diversity in Science blog carnival, which celebrates minorities and under-represented groups who are scientists and those who are working to increase the overall diversity of working scientists.
I also was asked to let you know that there is an upcoming issue of the homeschooling blog carnival that is seeking submissions. This blog carnival was recently renamed the "academy of science and technology" blog carnival because the carnival owner wants to expand its horizons and refocus the topics onto science. Specifically…
grrlscientist | February 25, 2009tags: Scots Pine Tree, Pinus sylvestris, tree bark, Seurasaari, Helsinki, Finland, nature, image of the day
Tree Bark -- Can you identify the species?
Bark of the Scots Pine, Pinus sylvestris.
Seurasaari, western Helsinki, Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 22 February 2009. [larger view].
Review all tree bark images.