grrlscientist | May 19, 2008tags: surface temperature, global warming, climate change, weather, environment, streaming video
This streaming video reveals the temperatures of the Earth's surface since 1884. The video released by NASA and GISS. The only problem with this video is that I think it should run a little more slowly so it's easier to see the details. Note: Yellow = warmer than usual, Blue = cooler than usual, White = usual [0:32].
grrlscientist | May 18, 2008tags: West 86th street subway art, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
West 86th Street Subway tile mosaic art #7
as seen at NYC's West 86th Street stop at Broadway for the uptown 1 train.
(This piece was completed in 1989 and 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…
grrlscientist | May 18, 2008tags: researchblogging.org, Aves, Psittaciformes, Pseudasturidae, parrots, Palaeogene, Eocene, Denmark
An artist's impression of the parrot-like bird, Mopsitta tanta, dating back 55 million years. The fossils indicate that parrots once flew wild over what is now Norway and Denmark.
Image: David Waterhouse [larger view].
A team of researchers, including a former postdoctoral colleague of mine, recently described fossils from two Lower Eocene parrot-like birds that were discovered in Denmark. The analysis of the fossils reveals that one of the ancient parrots, named Mopsitta tanta, is the…
grrlscientist | May 18, 2008tags: Green Anole, Anolis carolinensis, reptiles, North Carolina, Image of the Day
"I am the Anole King, I can do anything."
Green Anole, Anolis carolinensis,
Carolina Beach, NC.
Image: Don Wirth [larger].
grrlscientist | May 18, 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:
Rodd, Tony and Jennifer Stackhouse. Trees: A Visual Guide. 2008. University of California Press. Hardcover: 304 pages. Price: $29.95 U.S. [Amazon: $19.77]. SUMMARY: A nicely illustrated introduction to the biology…
grrlscientist | May 18, 2008tags: birding, bird books, Bird Field Guide, The Young Birder's Guide to Birds of Eastern North America, Bill Thompson III, book review
One of the most common questions that I am asked is "how can we get our internet- and video game-addicted kids interested in the out-of-doors?" Since I am an internet-addicted semi-adult, I can say that one way to get kids interested in nature is to make it accessible to them, and perhaps the best way to do this is through books. A new field guide was just published whose target audience is kids between the ages of 8 and 12 years old. This remarkable book,…
grrlscientist | May 17, 2008tags: Big Brown, horseracing, Preakness Stakes, Triple Crown
Kent Desmoreaux rides Big Brown across the finish line at the 2008 Preakness Stakes today. The horse's ears are pricked forward, indicating that he is running easily.
Image: Jonathan Ernst (Reuters).
Odds-on favorite and Kentucky Derby winner, Big Brown, won the Preakness Stakes today by 5 1/4 lengths. This victory makes him 2/3rds of the way to winning horse racing's Triple Crown. But Big Brown's win isn't really news, if you ask me, since he is the only talented living 3-year-old racehorse in America this year, so of course…
grrlscientist | May 17, 2008tags: West 86th street subway art, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
West 86th Street Subway Art #6
as seen at NYC's West 86th Street stop at Broadway for the uptown 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, my…
grrlscientist | May 17, 2008tags: Eight Belles, horseracing, autopsy results, streaming video
Below the fold is a hot-off-the-presses streaming video report on the autopsy results for the gallant thoroughbred filly, Eight Belles (pictured), who was killed on the racetrack two weeks ago after finishing second in the Kentucky Derby. According to the results, Eight Belles did not have any underlying catastrophic health issues, such as a heart attack or an aneurysm that caused her to collapse, as was postulated shortly after her tragic death [1:23].
The necropsy of Eight Belles found compound fractures of both front legs…
grrlscientist | May 17, 2008tags: online books, ornithology, birds, anatomyAvian Anatomy Handbook, Julian Baumel
I know several of my overseas readers have wanted a free PDF of Julian Baumel's celebrated Handbook of Avian Anatomy: Nomina Anatomica Avium, 2nd Edition, published in 1993 by the Nuttal Ornithological Club, but I have been unable to email it to you due to its large size (400 pages; 49MB). Thanks to the suggestion of one of my readers, I uploaded a copy of this PDF to RapidShare, which hosts large files of up to 100 MB. Now, you can download this PDF to your computer -- but the file must be downloaded at…
grrlscientist | May 17, 2008tags: mountain bluebird, Sialia currucoides, birds, Washington state, Image of the Day
Male mountain bluebird, Sialia currucoides.
This bird surprised birders in Washington state by visiting Bainbridge Island one weekend in April 2008.
Image: Eva Gerdts, 2008 [larger view].
grrlscientist | May 16, 2008tags: West 86th street subway art, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
West 86th Street Subway tile mosaic art #5
as seen at NYC's West 86th Street stop at Broadway for the uptown 1 train.
(This piece was completed in 1989 and 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…
grrlscientist | May 16, 2008tags: Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Regulus calendula, birds, Kansas, image of the day
Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Regulus calendula, with insect egg or pupa in beak
Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU [larger view].
grrlscientist | May 16, 2008tags: ice-nine, supercooled water, physics, chemistry, thermodynamics, streaming video
This is a fun little experiment with water that was supercooled to -21C (-6F). The supercooled water is poured into a bowl. It pours out as a liquid and turns to slush, forming ropelike peaks [1:07].
What are the physics behind how water can be supercooled without freezing into a solid? It happens like this; when water is supercooled but remains undisturbed, it does not freeze into a solid unless there is an impurity present (a rough surface, for example) for the cold water to crystallize around (a "…
grrlscientist | May 15, 2008tags: West 86th street subway art, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
West 86th Street Subway tile mosaic art #4
as seen at NYC's West 86th Street stop at Broadway for the uptown 1 train.
(This piece was completed in 1989 and 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…
grrlscientist | May 15, 2008tags: Yellow-rumped warbler, Dendroica coronata, birds, Kansas, image of the day
Yellow-rumped warbler, Dendroica coronata, After Hatch Year male.
Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU [larger view].
grrlscientist | May 15, 2008tags: Columbia University Press, books
Books, books, beautiful books! One of the several presses whose books I love is Columbia University Press. Today, I learned that Columbia is having a "white sale" where they are offering more than 1000 of their titles for sale at prices that are between 20-80% off the original price. I already browsed through the science section and I would be thrilled to read 1/3rd of the titles listed there. But in addition to science, they have a huge number of subject areas that you can choose from, ranging from general interest and best sellers, current events and…
grrlscientist | May 15, 2008tags: golden hamster, pets, behavior, humor, streaming video
I love hamsters. In this streaming video, we get to see something that I loved to do with my pet golden hamster, Caesar, when I was a kid; I would see how much food he could stuff into his face. I would actually count the number of seeds he crammed in there. Watching this video makes me want to get .. you guessed it .. another hamster! AIIEEE! [2:07].
grrlscientist | May 14, 2008tags: West 86th street subway art, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
West 86th Street Subway Art #3
as seen at NYC's West 86th Street stop at Broadway for the uptown 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, my…
grrlscientist | May 14, 2008tags: Professor Steve Steve
World-famous evolutionary biologist, Professor Steve Steve, supervises a blog writer.
Image: Not sure who snapped it [larger view]. .
Those are not my hands, nor my laptop, but that picture gives you the general idea of what to expect when I visit London at the end of August because I have made arrangements for Professor Steve Steve to accompany me! How exciting! I only met Steve Steve for the first time last year at the SciBling meeting in NYC, but I've never traveled with him before. Amazingly, Professor Steve Steve is doing what I've only dreamed of doing…