grrlscientist | December 25, 2008tags: Happy Christmas, The Microwave Song, satire, humor, streaming video
This is what happens when you have a bunch of people who are unemployed: they do silly things like this! And it seems this will continue for a long long time since they are not going to have jobs for a long time into the future, either [1:40]
grrlscientist | December 24, 2008tags: Times Square, 42nd street Times Square, 35 Times, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
35 Times (2005).
Glazed ceramic panels. Artist: Toby Buonagurio. Photographed at 42nd Street Times Square in the transfer corridor (between the 1, 2, and 3 trains and the Shuttle).
Image: GrrlScientist 5 November 2008 [larger view].
The commission for this work was received in 1992 and the art work was finally installed in 2004 and 2005. The complete work consists of 35 ceramic panels installed in over 800 feet of passages at Times Square.
Toby Buonagurio is a lifetime resident of…
grrlscientist | December 24, 2008I know that christmas nearly has us in a strangle-hold, but if you need to get away from the tension and rush for awhile, perhaps you'd like to read the Festival of the Trees?
And of course, talking about seasonally relevant, don't forget to check in to the Carnival of Christmas.
And the Carnival of Health tips is also availabke to keep us all thinking about how to stay healthy despite the many unhealthy temptations this holiday season.
grrlscientist | December 24, 2008tags: Small World Photography Competition, Pleurosigma, micrography, image of the day
Pleurosigma (Marine Diatoms) 200X
Image: Michael Stringer, Westcliff-on-Sea, England [larger view].
Michael Stringer gathers diatoms, which are a type of algae and one of the most common types of phytoplankton, from the mud collected on Two Tree Island in the River Thames. He estimates that he has discovered more than 2,000 species of diatoms so far.
Nikon International Small World Competition is held annually to recognize excellent photography through a microscope. This year, more than 2,000…
grrlscientist | December 24, 2008tags: Central Park, NYC, racoon, image of the day
Central Park Racoon.
Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George [larger view].
The photograher writes:
I am offering this image from my "Almost Too Cute For Words File." Last year my holiday offering was also of a Raccoon. That's not surprising as they are one of my favorite photographic subjects. I am not well acquainted with this particular critter though I have reason to believe that we did meet when he or she was extremely young. I had lost track of a female I knew had a newborn cub when she abandoned her den after a storm deposited broken…
grrlscientist | December 24, 2008tags: parrots, Psittaciformes, evolution, molecular phylogeny, ornithology, Neornithes
Red-crowned Amazon parrot, Amazona viridigenalis, at Elizabeth Street Parrotry, Brownsville, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 7 April 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/750s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
One of the most contentious issues among scientists who study the evolution of birds is identifying precisely when the modern birds (Neornithes) first appeared. This is due to conflicts between the fossil record and molecular dating methodologies. For example,…
grrlscientist | December 24, 2008tags: Common Redpoll, Carduelis flammea, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Common Redpoll, Carduelis flammea, photographed in Mary Ann Creek Rd & Chesaw Rd, Okanogan County, Washington State. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Marv Breece, 18 December 2007 [larger view].
Canon EOS 350D 1/500s f/5.6 at 300.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
Tiny finches feeding from snowy birches or alders -- in North America and in the Old World as…
grrlscientist | December 24, 2008tags: t'was the night before chistmas, poem, poetry reading, christmas, streaming video
This video features Tay Zonday reading the popular poem [3:03]
grrlscientist | December 23, 2008tags: Times Square, 42nd street Times Square, 35 Times, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
35 Times (2005).
Glazed ceramic panels. Artist: Toby Buonagurio. Photographed at 42nd Street Times Square in the transfer corridor (between the 1, 2, and 3 trains and the Shuttle).
Image: GrrlScientist 5 November 2008 [larger view].
The commission for this work was received in 1992 and the art work was finally installed in 2004 and 2005. The complete work consists of 35 ceramic panels installed in over 800 feet of passages at Times Square.
Toby Buonagurio is a lifetime resident of…
grrlscientist | December 23, 2008tags: Small World Photography Competition, Three Chemicals, micrography, image of the day
A crystallized mixture of three chemicals: Resorcinol, Methylene Blue and Sulfur (13X).
John Hart, Boulder Colorado, USA. [larger view].
Nikon International Small World Competition is held annually to recognize excellent photography through a microscope. This year, more than 2,000 micrographs were entered from around the world. I am sharing some of them with you here.
grrlscientist | December 23, 2008
Image: TouchGraph and Google [larger view].
Thanks to a reader, sparc, I have reconstructed another web phylogeny of this blog for you to look at. If you actually go to the site itself and look at the graphics as well as the left sidebar, you'll find all sorts of interesting things pop up, thanks to Java.
So what does your blog phylogeny look like using this search-and-graph paradigm?
grrlscientist | December 23, 2008tags: Dickcissel, Spiza americana, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Dickcissel, Spiza americana, photographed at Eisenhower Park, Houston, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 25 August 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/320s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
Wow, does that ever look like a House Sparrow! But wait, the tail is a bit too long, the breast a bit…
grrlscientist | December 23, 2008tags: Santa Claus Bailout Hearings, satire, humor, christmas, streaming video
C-SPAN coverage of Santa Claus asking Congress for a financial bailout of the North Pole Gift Giving Industry. If they don't approve his aid package, Christmas may be ruined. [4:34]
grrlscientist | December 22, 2008tags: Times Square, 42nd street Times Square, 35 Times, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
35 Times (2005).
Glazed ceramic panels. Artist: Toby Buonagurio. Photographed at 42nd Street Times Square in the transfer corridor (between the 1, 2, and 3 trains and the Shuttle).
Image: GrrlScientist 5 November 2008 [larger view].
The commission for this work was received in 1992 and the art work was finally installed in 2004 and 2005. The complete work consists of 35 ceramic panels installed in over 800 feet of passages at Times Square.
Toby Buonagurio is a lifetime resident of…
grrlscientist | December 22, 2008Here's the latest carnivalia to enjoy;
Book Review Carnival, 7th edition. This is the fastest growing blog carnival I've ever seen. In just seven issues, this blog carnival has gone from just a handful of submissions to 80 -- yes 80! So if you are looking to give books as a holiday gift (or if you have a gift certificate and want to know how to spend it), may I suggest you browse this blog carnival for some ideas?
Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean. This is the first time I've been in this blog carnival, so be sure to peek in there and give them some support!
Carnival of Family Life…
grrlscientist | December 22, 2008
The "Web Phylogeny" of Living the Scientific Life (Scientist, Interrupted),
22 December 2008.
Image: created by Websites as Graphics.
KEY: What do these colored dots mean?
blue: for links (the A tag)
red: for tables (TABLE, TR and TD tags)
green: for the DIV tag
violet: for images (the IMG tag)
yellow: for forms (FORM, INPUT, TEXTAREA, SELECT and OPTION tags)
orange: for linebreaks and blockquotes (BR, P, and BLOCKQUOTE tags)
black: the HTML tag, the root node
gray: all other tags
Back in theice ages, two years and seven months ago, I had a "web phylogeny" constructed for my blog. As you…
grrlscientist | December 22, 2008tags: Samkos bush frog, Chiromantis samkosensis, Cambodia, image of the day
Samkos bush frog, Chiromantis samkosensis.
Image: Fauna and Flora International [larger view].
When conservation group Fauna and Flora International began its surveys in Cambodia's remote Cardamom Mountains in 2000, the national list of known amphibians stood at just nine species. Now, the list has been extended to at least 63, including the green blooded and turquoise boned Samkos bush frog, Chiromantis samkosensis (above).
The Samkos bush frog is thought to be extremely rare. Its strange colored bones and blood…
grrlscientist | December 22, 2008I woke up this morning, feeling faint and ill, but I had to get to the library for free wireless so I could write on my blog. On my way there, I was walking on a sidewalk covered with 1-2 inches of ice (it was either that or walk in a very busy street filled with NYC taxis driven by pissed-off underemployed financial analysts), when a very strong wind came my way and blew me onto my ass. So, of course, I broke my left arm. The fracture is at the elbow on the ulna (olecranon process). My arm and fingers are numb, I cannot lift my arm, the elbow is a delightful shade of blue, red and purple,…
grrlscientist | December 22, 2008tags: Franklin's Gull, Leucophaeus pipixcan, Laughing Gull, Larus atricilla, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Franklin's Gull, Leucophaeus pipixcan, and Laughing Gulls, Larus atricilla, photographed the Quintana Beach and Jetty area, Texas. [I will identify these birds for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 18 November 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200 1/800s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
Let's begin with the bird just right of…
grrlscientist | December 22, 2008tags: Iraq shoe throwing store discount sale, satire, humor, streaming video
And now, just in time for your last-minute christmas shopping needs, Iraq's #1 Discount Shoe Emporium offers a discount on all their slip-on throwing shoes! [1:22]