grrlscientist | November 30, 2008Here's the latest carnivalia for you to enjoy;
Everything Worth Reading, the "And Then There Were TEN" edition. Yes, they included something I wrote, which is not guaranteed, so I am happy about this, of course!
Health & Fitness Articles blog carnival, which is huge, filled with lots of articles for you to read.
grrlscientist | November 30, 2008tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, animal books, natural history books, ecology books
"One cannot have too many good bird books"
--Ralph Hoffmann, Birds of the Pacific States (1927).
The Birdbooker Report is a special weekly report of a wide variety of science, nature and behavior books that currently are, or soon will be available for purchase. This report is written by one of my Seattle birding pals and book collector, Ian "Birdbooker" Paulsen, and is edited by me and published here for your information and enjoyment. Below the fold is this week's issue of The Birdbooker Report which…
grrlscientist | November 30, 2008tags: Baltimore Oriole, Icterus galbula, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird Baltimore Oriole, Icterus galbula, photographed at the east end of Galveston Island, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 16 April 2008 [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:
The computer screen and middle-aged eyes give an oddly warm cast to what I know…
grrlscientist | November 30, 2008tags: Harry Potter, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, film trailer, streaming video
This is the third official trailer from the upcoming Harry Potter film; Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince -- just in time for the big film-going season between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day (too bad the film is not being released now, as originally promised) [1:53].
grrlscientist | November 30, 2008My friends and colleagues at Nature Network (yes, I am a member of their auspicious group, although I have yet to start a blog there), have been passing a meme around amongst themselves. Martin Fenner is the culprit who started this whole thing off, so go yell at him about it. Anyway, in an effort to reduce NN's inbreeding coefficient, I have decided that this is a perfectly good meme for the greater blogosphere, or at least for ScienceBlogs, especially since it is navel-gazing at its best, and who doesn't enjoy picking through their own belly-button lint?
What is your blog about?
Well, my…
grrlscientist | November 29, 2008tags: Times Square, 42nd street, The Revelers, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
The Revelers (2007).
Artist: Jane Dickson. Photographed in the passageway at 42nd Street/Times Square traveling east between the 8th Avenue/Port Authority Bus Terminal A, C, & E trains) and the 7th Avenue/Broadway (1, 2, & 3 trains) platforms.
I watched the workmen install these mosaics (I wish I had photographed the process to share with you) and photographed them all after the adhesive had dried.
Image: GrrlScientist 5 November 2008 [larger view].
I have photographed glass tile…
grrlscientist | November 29, 2008tags: Etu-Töölö, Helsinki, Finland, nature, image of the day
Walking through Helsinki after the snowstorm.
Etu-Töölö, Helsinki, Finland, 24 November 2008.
Image: GrrlScientist, 24 November 2008 [larger view].
grrlscientist | November 29, 2008tags: Blue Grosbeak, Passerina caerulea, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Blue Grosbeak, Passerina caerulea, photographed at High Island, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 11 April 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/500s f/8.0 at 500.0mm iso800.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
A blue bird. With a short, broad tail. And a huge bill. This is a male Blue Grosbeak in all his glory.…
grrlscientist | November 29, 2008tags: Harry Potter, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, film trailer, streaming video
This is another official trailer from the upcoming Harry Potter film; Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince -- just in time for the big film-going season between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day (too bad the film is not being released now, as originally promised) [1:32].
grrlscientist | November 28, 2008tags: Times Square, 42nd street, The Revelers, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
The Revelers (2007).
Artist: Jane Dickson. Photographed in the passageway at 42nd Street/Times Square traveling east between the 8th Avenue/Port Authority Bus Terminal A, C, & E trains) and the 7th Avenue/Broadway (1, 2, & 3 trains) platforms.
I watched the workmen install these mosaics (I wish I had photographed the process to share with you) and photographed them all after the adhesive had dried.
Image: GrrlScientist 5 November 2008 [larger view].
I have photographed glass tile…
grrlscientist | November 28, 2008Well, that's it. I am in deep trouble now. The one employment opportunity in the world that I thought I could rely on as a "fall back" to pay my rent when all else fails -- such as working as a research scientist or as a pet care provider -- is now also experiencing a hiring freeze combined with a dramatic wage slump. What job is this? Prostitution.
Yes, my friends, it appears that the average American male is now so broke that he cannot afford a whore any longer. Horrors! What is the world coming to (no pun intended)? Do you suppose more (gasp) real relationships might develop as a result?…
grrlscientist | November 28, 2008tags: Hietakannas, Helsinki, Finland, nature, image of the day
Walking through Helsinki after the snowstorm.
Hietakannas, Helsinki, Finland, 24 November 2008.
Image: GrrlScientist, 24 November 2008 [larger view].
Read and learn more about Hietakannas.
grrlscientist | November 28, 2008This is too good for me to leave alone. Apparently, Illinois's Miller Park Zoo is making its own Christmas ornaments .. out of reindeer crap .. and selling them for $5 each in the zoo's gift shop.
Some folks are surprised at the size of the "gems," which are only about as big as marbles. "Reindeer are so big," zoo maintenance worker Sheldon Williams said. But the droppings are "just a big pile of small."
Source.
grrlscientist | November 28, 2008tags: Hunger in America, food banks, food pantries, soup kitchens, food stamps, poverty
Image: Orphaned.
One thing that the Thanksgiving Holidays has made clear: America, the land of plenty where holiday overeating is celebrated as a social good, is suffering from a food availability crisis. The Economic Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture describes a range of food security categories, ranging from "food secure," which includes high food security and marginal food security, and "food insecure," which includes low food security and very low food security.…
grrlscientist | November 28, 2008tags: American Avocet chick, Recurvirostra americana, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] American Avocet chick, Recurvirostra americana, photographed in Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Richard Ditch, 2007 [larger view].
Date Time Original: 2007:06:01 18:52:32
Exposure Time: 1/159
F-Number: 7.10
ISO: 200
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
This bird's downy plumage may not identify it to species, but it leaves no doubt that we are dealing…
grrlscientist | November 28, 2008tags: Harry Potter, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, film trailer, streaming video
This is an official trailer from the upcoming Harry Potter film; Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince -- just in time for the big film-going season between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day (too bad the film is not being released now, as originally promised) [1:41].
grrlscientist | November 27, 2008tags: Hietaniemen Hautausmaa, Hietaniemi cemetery, Etu-Töölö, Helsinki, Finland, nature, photoessay
Gravestone shrouded in snow.
Image: GrrlScientist, 24 November 2008 [larger view].
On my last day in Helsinki, my host and I walked through the northwestern portions of the city (Etu-Töölö -- my recent featured Image of the Day includes images from this walk) to visit several places, including Sibeliuksenpuisto (Sibelius Park) where the famous monument is located and Hietaniemen hautausmaa (Hietaniemi cemetery). This graveyard is the burial place for many famous Finns, including…
grrlscientist | November 27, 2008tags: Times Square, 42nd street, The Revelers, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
The Revelers (2007).
Artist: Jane Dickson. Photographed in the passageway at 42nd Street/Times Square traveling east between the 8th Avenue/Port Authority Bus Terminal A, C, & E trains) and the 7th Avenue/Broadway (1, 2, & 3 trains) platforms.
I watched the workmen install these mosaics (I wish I had photographed the process to share with you) and photographed them all after the adhesive had dried.
Image: GrrlScientist 5 November 2008 [larger view].
I have photographed glass tile…
grrlscientist | November 27, 2008Hey everyone, great news! A little birdie has told me that the entire contents (63 volumes) of the journal, Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, are now available to the public, free of charge! I am still investigating the site myself, but have already found that this offer also includes the archives for another journal, Science in China Series C: Life Sciences, and perhaps others. This great offer is only available through the end of this year, so be sure to take advantage of this before 2009!
grrlscientist | November 27, 2008Here are the latest blog carnivals that have been published for you to enjoy. Since I was traveling, I have included all the blog carnivals that I am aware of that were published during that time period;
I and the Bird, issue 89. This blog carnival focuses on wild birds and bird watching.
Encephalon, issue 59. This blog carnival focuses on the brain and neurobiology and how they interact to produce behaviors. I will be hosting this blog carnival in a couple weeks, so be ready to help me by contributing your writings to it!
Carnival of Conservatism, a blog carnival that actually focuses on…