grrlscientist | June 11, 2008tags: dead whale, blast from the past, humor, streaming video
This video documents what happens when a dead beached whale, half a ton of dynamite, and an exclusion zone that was way too small all interact on an Oregon beach [2:35]
grrlscientist | June 10, 2008tags: West 86th street subway art, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
West 86th Street Subway Art #30
as seen at NYC's West 86th Street stop at Broadway for the downtown 1 train.
(This piece was completed in 1989).
Artist: Nitza Tufino.
Image: GrrlScientist 2008 [larger view].
I have photographed tile artworks from several NYC subway stations now, so far, all are westside Manhattan subway lines, including Chambers Street (A & C trains), Houston Street (1 train), Pennsylvania "Penn" station (1, 2 & 3 trains) [subway art archives] and, my favorite subway station of…
grrlscientist | June 10, 2008Between the extreme weather in NYC these past few days and my forced SSRI withdrawal, I am suffering a bit of a crisis today, so I am trying to prove to myself that I am not alone in my misery by poking through those blogs that link to mine. As a result, I discovered this gem; R.E.S.E.A.R.C.H.E.R.S. This is a new blog written by two postdocs from the opposite sides of the pond, so you, dear readers, will have the rare opportunity to start reading a blog from the very beginning. Here's what Dr. A writes;
Dr J and I used to work on the same floor in the institute where I did my Ph.D. and where…
grrlscientist | June 10, 2008tags: Canyon Towhee, Pipilo fuscus, birds, Image of the Day
My good friend, Dave Rintoul, has just returned from a much-deserved vacation camping in the Chiricahuas and Gila Wilderness area and sent a couple images to share with you.
Canyon Towhee, Pipilo fuscus, in Chaco Canyon.
Image: Dave Rintoul, June 2008 [larger view].
grrlscientist | June 10, 2008tags: Harry Potter, JK Rowling, Harvard University commencement 2008, streaming video
JK Rowling's commencement speech at Harvard University this past weekend .. not only is she funny (who knew?), but her speech is extremely, wonderfully good, and very well worth listening to. [9:01]
Part 2 [7:51];
Part 3 "We do not need magic to transform our world, we have the power already inside ourselves .. " JK Rowling, 2008 [7:03];
Wow, she's just so amazing!
grrlscientist | June 9, 2008tags: West 86th street subway art, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
West 86th Street Subway Art #29
as seen at NYC's West 86th Street stop at Broadway for the downtown 1 train.
(This piece was completed in 1989).
Artist: Nitza Tufino.
Image: GrrlScientist 2008 [larger view].
I have photographed tile artworks from several NYC subway stations now, so far, all are westside Manhattan subway lines, including Chambers Street (A & C trains), Houston Street (1 train), Pennsylvania "Penn" station (1, 2 & 3 trains) [subway art archives] and, my favorite subway station of…
grrlscientist | June 9, 2008tags: Big Brown, Belmont Stakes 2008, horseracing, horses, sports mysteries, Triple Crown
Big Brown, pulled up by Kent Desormeaux, has been examined by veterinarians. "No one can figure this out," his co-owner Michael Iavarone said.
Image: Barton Silverman, The New York Times [larger view].
I don't know about you guys, but even though I have stated repeatedly that Big Brown is NOT a great horse, that he is simply one of a very poor crop of racehorses, I was very disturbed to see him struggling in the Belmont Stakes, and watching him fight jockey Kent Desormeaux as he was pulled up. So…
grrlscientist | June 9, 2008tags: Black-Throated Sparrow, Amphispiza bilineata, birds, Image of the Day
My good friend, Dave Rintoul, has just returned from a much-deserved vacation camping in the Chiricahuas and Gila Wilderness area and sent a couple images to share with you.
Black-throated Sparrow, Amphispiza bilineata, in Chaco Canyon.
Image: Dave Rintoul, June 2008 [larger view].
grrlscientist | June 9, 2008tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Male prothonotary warbler, Protonotaria citrea in breeding plumage.
Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU [OMG view].
Birds in Science
New research led by Dr Melanie Massaro and Dr Jim Briskie at the University of Canterbury, which found that the New Zealand bellbird is capable of changing its nesting behaviour to protect itself from predators, could be good news for island birds around the world at risk of extinction. The introduction of predatory mammals such as rats, cats and stoats to oceanic islands has led to the extinction…
grrlscientist | June 9, 2008tags: science, physics, time-saving techniques, peeling hard-boiled eggs, streaming video
We all know that each day is filled with a variety of time-wasting activities that are necessary for us to be able to enjoy those brief, fleeting moments of freedom from such drudgery. So I thought I'd suggest something that you can do to reclaim four days of your life that would otherwise be devoted to the time-wasting activity of peeling hard-boiled eggs -- and this is all due to the wonders of SCIENCE [0:36].
Of course, this looks like so much fun that you'll probably invest those four reclaimed days…
grrlscientist | June 8, 2008tags: West 86th street subway art, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
West 86th Street Subway Art #28
as seen at NYC's West 86th Street stop at Broadway for the downtown 1 train.
(This piece was completed in 1989; it was mounted on 2 July 2006).
Artist: Nitza Tufino.
Image: GrrlScientist 2008 [larger view].
I have photographed tile artworks from several NYC subway stations now, so far, all are westside Manhattan subway lines, including Chambers Street (A & C trains), Houston Street (1 train), Pennsylvania "Penn" station (1, 2 & 3 trains) [subway art archives] and,…
grrlscientist | June 8, 2008tags: Only in America, cultural observation, humor
A friend sent me some interesting cultural observations regarding the odd and ironic behavior of Americans .. of course, I had to share it with you.
Only in America ..
Only in America .. can a pizza get to your house faster than an ambulance.
Only in America .. are there handicapped parking places in front of a skating rink.
Only in America .. do drugstores make the sick walk all the way to the back of the store to get their prescriptions while healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front.
Only in America .. do people order double…
grrlscientist | June 8, 2008tags: giant panda, Ailuropoda melanoleuca, Beijing Zoo, WoLong Panda reserve, mammals, image of the day
A giant panda, Ailuropoda melanoleuca, plays at Beijing Zoo on 2 June 2008 in Beijing, China.
Eight giant pandas were relocated to Beijing zoo, after their WoLong nature reserve was damaged by the earthquake on May 24, 2008. They will spend the next six months at the zoo on a special Olympics visit.
Image: Cai Daizheng (ChinaFotoPress & Getty Images) [larger view].
China's panda keepers are using an unusual method of intervention to help their charges -- eight two-year-old giant…
grrlscientist | June 8, 2008tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, natural history books, ecology books
"One cannot have too many good bird books"
--Ralph Hoffmann, Birds of the Pacific States (1927).
Here's this week's issue of the Birdbooker Report by Ian "Birdbooker" Paulsen, which lists ecology, environment, natural history and bird books that are (or will soon be) available for purchase.
FEATURED TITLE:
Arora, David. Mushrooms Demystified: A Comprehensive Guide to the Fleshy Fungi. 1986. Ten Speed Press. Paperback: 959 pages. Price: $39.95 U.S. [Amazon: $26.37]. SUMMARY: A very detailed guide to North American…
grrlscientist | June 7, 2008tags: West 86th street subway art, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
West 86th Street Subway Art #27
as seen at NYC's West 86th Street stop at Broadway for the downtown 1 train.
(This piece was completed in 1989; it was mounted on 2 July 2006).
Artist: Nitza Tufino.
Image: GrrlScientist 2008 [larger view].
I have photographed tile artworks from several NYC subway stations now, so far, all are westside Manhattan subway lines, including Chambers Street (A & C trains), Houston Street (1 train), Pennsylvania "Penn" station (1, 2 & 3 trains) [subway art archives] and,…
grrlscientist | June 7, 2008tags: Big Brown, horseracing, Triple Crown, streaming video
Big Brown fights with his jockey, Kent Desormeaux, in the stretch before he crosses the finish line last in the 140th Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y. on Saturday, June 7, 2008.
Image: Chang W. Lee, NYTimes.
Big Brown was the favorite to win to today's Belmont Stakes, the 140th time this classic race has been run. Big Brown started from the far inside post position and ran against eight rivals in the 1.5 mile (2.41 kilometers) race, often referred to as the "Test of a Champion." The record for this race, 2:24, was…
grrlscientist | June 7, 2008tags: northern cardinals, Cardinalis cardinalis, birds, Central Park, Image of the Day
Mama knows best.
Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George [larger].
The photographer, Bob Levy, writes;
Remember my story about Mama and Papa Bank Rock: Behind the Green Mesh (see this website May 25, 2008, also see part 2 and part 3)? Well, apparently Mama is still convinced she is invisible as she continues to incubate her eggs. To date, with the exception of a few bird-watchers, she has gone undetected. When Mama Bank Rock got off the nest during my last visit I stood on tiptoe to get a look inside.…
grrlscientist | June 7, 2008tags: Affirmed, Alydar, horseracing, Triple Crown, streaming video
This is Affirmed's 1978 Belmont Stakes win which gave him horseracing's most recent Triple Crown win. This particular race is often cited as being the most exciting Belmont win in history. Remarkably, this was the first time in history that the same two horses, Affirmed and Alydar, finished one-two in all three of these races. This, combined with Affirmed's very small margins of victory in all three races (a combined total of less than two lengths), made many people think of Alydar as the first true runner-up to the Triple…
grrlscientist | June 7, 2008tags: Seattle Slew, horseracing, Triple Crown, streaming video
Here's a video of Seattle Slew's victory in the Belmost Stakes in 1977 -- the speedy Seattle Slew was the first horse to win horseracing's Triple Crown while remaining undefeated. He also turned in a fast time, despite the crappy track conditions that he ran on. If Big Brown manages to win today's Belmont Stakes, he will become just the second racehorse to win the Triple Crown while remaining undefeated [3:04].
Seattle Slew was not expected to be a great racehorse, so he was sold at public auction -- the first Triple Crown winner…
grrlscientist | June 7, 2008tags: Secretariat, horseracing, Triple Crown, streaming video
I hope that Big Brown wins today's Belmont Stakes here in New York, and in fact, I think he will win, especially since his only potential contender of note, Casino Drive, was scratched this morning. If Big Brown manages to win today, he will become only the 12th horse in more than 125 years to win the Triple Crown winner, and our first in 30 years. But do I think that Big Brown is of the same caliber as Secretariat? Not a chance. Big Brown is simply the best individual among a very poor crop of race horses (with the exception of…