grrlscientist | May 8, 2010tags: Baglafecht Weaver, Ploceus baglafecht, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Baglafecht Weaver, Ploceus baglafecht, photographed Arusha National Park, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 15 January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D300, 600 mm lens, ISO 400, f/7.1, 1/640, Exposure compensation +.7
This African bird has a truly peculiar scientific name (can anyone tell me how it got this weird name?), but if you can't identify the species, you can at least tell me which taxonomic family this bird is placed in.
Please name at least…
grrlscientist | May 8, 2010tags: Brontë Sisters Action Figures, Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë, Anna Brontë, historical figures action figures, silly, fucking hilarious, humor, funny, television, streaming video
This amusing video was a fake television commercial by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, made in 1998 for a series of educational shorts about action figures based on historical figures. Its educational value was somewhat suspect. It was (unfortunately) never aired.
grrlscientist | May 7, 2010tags: Total Eclipse of the Heart, humor, funny, satire, fucking hilarious, William Shatner, Lin Yu Chun, streaming video
Just in time for silly Saturday: this is for all you Star Trek and Whitney Houston fans: William Shatner and Lin Yu Chun perform a hilarious rendition of "Total Eclipse of the Heart" on the television show, Lopez Tonight.
grrlscientist | May 7, 2010tags: conservation, endangered species, birds, international migratory bird day, world migratory bird day
Image: Bob Petty, 2010 International Migratory Bird Day artist.
Hooray, it's the Eighth of May, it's International Migratory Bird Day!
According to the conservation group BirdLife International, almost 200 bird species are critically endangered. Nearly 80% of migratory bird species are negatively affected by what is identified by BirdLife International as two key pressures: agriculture, which causes habitat destruction and pollution of watersheds, and "biological resource use," which…
grrlscientist | May 7, 2010tags: Gold, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, travel, cities, flowers, image of the day, photography
Gold.
Nordwestzentrum open air market, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Image: GrrlScientist, 5 May 2010 [larger view]
The brilliant colors and the different petal structures make this a very interesting and aesthetically appealing photograph.
grrlscientist | May 7, 2010tags: American Avocet, Blueshank, Recurvirostra americana, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] American Avocet, also known as the Blueshank, Recurvirostra americana, photographed at Bolivar Flats Shorebird Sanctuary, Houston, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 6 June 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/640s f/8.0 at 500.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
This bird has a peculiarly-shaped beak.
Can you tell me the technical (…
grrlscientist | May 7, 2010
Image: wemidji (Jacques Marcoux).
Nam et ipsa scientia potestas est (And thus knowledge itself is power)
-- Sir Francis Bacon.
This week's edition of Scientia Pro Publica (Science for the People); "Scientia Pro Publica 28" was published this past Monday by Kelsey at her blog, Mauka to Makai. This nicely-done issue of Scientia filled with well-written and thought-provoking essays about a variety of topics.
After you've read this carnival, I hope you will submit your blog essays to the next issue of Scientia. We are trying an experiment right now: we are trying to publish this blog…
grrlscientist | May 7, 2010tags: Deutsch für Doofe, German for Boneheads, German language, education, SpeedyConKiwi, streaming video
Lesson two in how to not offend Germans while buying beer.
Let me review:
Hello = Hallo
Good morning = Guten Morgen
Good evening = Guten Abend
Good day = Guten Tag
Good night = Gute Nacht
Goodbye = Auf Wiedersehen
Bye = TschüÃ/Ciao
See you soon = Bis bald
See you later = Bis später
See you tomorrow = Bis morgen
Please = Bitte
Thank you = Danke
You're welcome = Bitte
grrlscientist | May 6, 2010tags: How we Wrecked the Ocean, oceans, fish, fishing industry, introduced species, biological pollution, chemical pollution, climate change, coral bleaching, Jeremy Jackson, TEDTalks, TED Talks, streaming video
In this bracing talk, coral reef ecologist Jeremy Jackson lays out the shocking state of the ocean today: overfished, overheated, polluted, with indicators that things will get much worse. Astonishing photos and stats make the case. So in a nutshell: we've wrecked everything around us: the water, the air, the animals, the climate, and any illusion of world peace we ever had. We're…
grrlscientist | May 6, 2010tags: Orange Rose, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, travel, cities, flowers, image of the day, photography
Orange Rose.
Nordwestzentrum open air market, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Image: GrrlScientist, 5 May 2010 [larger view]
grrlscientist | May 6, 2010tags: Painted Bunting, Rainbow Bunting, Passerina ciris, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Painted Bunting, also known as the Rainbow Bunting, Passerina ciris, photographed at Quintana Neotropical Bird Sanctuary, Brazoria County, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 27 April 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/320s 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 | May 6, 2010tags: David Cameron Met a Black Man, UK politics, conservative party, humor, funny, comedy, satire, art, streaming video
This video is for all my friends who are voting in today's General Election in the UK. According to my observations (admittedly, as an outsider), David Cameron is a proud member of the "it sucks to be rich" political party.
This political music video is by Tim Ireland and uses the tune 'Common People' (written by Jarvis Cocker, and covered here by Ben Folds, Joe Jackson and William Shatner) to help make its point.
grrlscientist | May 5, 2010tags: Prometheus and Bob, behavior, space alien, caveman, humor, funny, comedy, animation, art, streaming video
This is another look at the continuing adventures of a space alien and his pet human. In this amusing video, the space alien, Prometheus, attempts to teach the caveman, Bob, about wheels.
grrlscientist | May 5, 2010tags: Sonnenuntergang, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, travel, cities, sunset, photography
Sunset Over Frankfurt am Main.
In the distance are the bright yellow fields of blossoming Rapeseed, Brassica napus, that contrast with the green of other crops.
Nordwestzentrum, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Image: GrrlScientist, 4 May 2010 [larger view]
grrlscientist | May 5, 2010tags: Pink Ranunculus, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, travel, cities, flowers, image of the day, photography
Pink Ranunculus.
Nordwestzentrum open air market, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Image: GrrlScientist, 5 May 2010 [larger view]
I dragged my ailing body out of bed to venture out to the open air market in search of a few photographs to share with you. I am especially proud of this stunning photograph, which looks even more amazing than I expected it would!
grrlscientist | May 5, 2010tags: Indigo Bunting, Passerina cyanea, Guiraca cyanea, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Adult female Indigo Bunting, Passerina (Guiraca) cyanea, photographed at Quintana Neotropical Bird Sanctuary, Brazoria County, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 27 April 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/350s 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 | May 5, 2010tags: education, public outreach, SciCafe, science cafe, AMNH, American Museum of Natural History, NYC, streaming video
Who: AMNH paleontologists Dr Mike Novacek and Dr Mark Norell
What: free public presentation for kids of all ages, "Travels with Tyrannosaurus"
When: tonight, 5 May at 700pm
Where: Gottesman Hall of Planet Earth, American Museum of Natural History, Enter at the 81st Street (Rose Center) [directions and maps]
Cost: FREE, and there is a cash bar too! (must be 21+ with ID to purchase alcohol)
Amazing fossils are still out there, waiting to be discovered. Museum…
grrlscientist | May 5, 2010tags: The World's Smallest Horse, miniature horses, animals, pets, selective breeding, artificial selection, streaming video
The world's smallest horse, a colt named Einstein, was born 22 April 2010 on a farm in Barnstead, New Hampshire. Just 14 inches tall and weighing only 6 pounds at birth, Einstein appears to have beaten the previous "world's tiniest horse" record holder by three pounds. This raises the question: how small can humans force horses to evolve through selective breeding? Apparently, pretty damned small, according to equine geneticist Samantha Brooks of Cornell University, who…
grrlscientist | May 4, 2010tags: The Story of Astoria Scum River Bridge, grassroots activism, citizen activism, Hell Gate Bridge viaduct, Astoria Scum River Bridge, infrastructure, unauthorized city improvement, Amtrack, New York City, NYC Life, Jason Eppink, Posterchild, streaming video
This is a wonderfully produced video documenting a true story of creative citizen activism designed to protect the safety of the neighbors in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens, NYC.
Astoria Scum River Bridge is an unauthorized city improvement by Jason Eppink and Posterchild.
For more than twenty years, a leaky pipe on 33rd Street…
grrlscientist | May 4, 2010
Image: wemidji (Jacques Marcoux).
Nam et ipsa scientia potestas est (And thus knowledge itself is power)
-- Sir Francis Bacon.
This week's edition of Scientia Pro Publica (Science for the People); "Scientia Pro Publica 28" was published this past Monday by Kelsey at her blog, Mauka to Makai. This nicely-done issue of Scientia filled with well-written and thought-provoking essays about a variety of topics.
After you've read this carnival, I hope you will submit your blog essays to the next issue of Scientia. We are trying an experiment right now: we are trying to publish this blog…