grrlscientist | March 7, 2008tags: birds, Red-tailed hawk, Buteo jamaicensis, ornithology, Image of the Day
A long-time reader, Jerry, sent some images for me to feature as the "image of the day". He referred to these as "some friends to help you tend your wing".
Red-tail hawk, Buteo jamaicensis.
Image: Jerry Kram. [larger size].
grrlscientist | March 7, 2008A few of you have been writing, wondering if I would give a medical update on my broken wing on my blog, so since I have wifi finally, here I am (well, it is actually 3am right now, this is scheduled to publish much later in the day). Basically, I am still in a lot of pain but I ran out of the most powerful pain reliever, percocet (oxycodone), so now I am stuck taking ibuprofen and Tylenol #3 -- neither of which works for longer than one to one-and-a-half hours. Sometimes, I take the full dose of these meds every two hours instead of every six as I am supposed to do, but when I do that, the…
grrlscientist | March 7, 2008tags: Finding Your Wings, bird watching, birding, outdoors, Burton Guttman, book review
As a long-time professor of biology, Burton Guttman has learned two major concepts from his students about learning: first, people learn best by actively participating in the learning process and second; people often try to learn at the wrong time. To address these two challenges, Guttman used his teaching experiences to design a workbook that teaches beginners how to watch birds in the field -- the first such book that I've ever seen published on this topic (I've since learned that there are two other…
grrlscientist | March 7, 2008tags: Meet Hugo: Cat of One Thousand Faces, humor, silliness, streaming video
Watch Hugo transform himself with his amazing disguises! [1:28].
Okay, it's true that he tries to eat some of them, too.
grrlscientist | March 6, 2008tags: fish, Indigo Hamlet, Hypoplectrus indigo, photography, subway art, AMNH, NYC, NYCLife
Possibly an Indigo Hamlet, Hypoplectrus indigo,
as portrayed in tiles on the walls of the NYC uptown subway stop (A-B-C)
at 81st and Central Park West. (ISO, no zoom, no flash).
Image: GrrlScientist 2008. [wallpaper size].
Read more about the AMNH tile artworks and see the AMNH tile artworks photographic archives -- with all the animals identified.
grrlscientist | March 6, 2008tags: birds, least sandpiper, Calidris minutilla, ornithology, Image of the Day
A long-time reader, Jerry, sent some images for me to feature as the "image of the day". He referred to these as "some friends to help you tend your wing".
Some road construction created some temporary mudflats where many shorebirds found excellent feeding, including this least sandpiper, Calidris minutilla. I like this picture because of the texture the rippling water adds.
Image: Jerry Kram. [larger size].
grrlscientist | March 6, 2008tags: Scientists for Better PCR, humor, viral marketing, streaming video
I am a scientist who does a lot of PCR, and so I found this example of viral marketing to be really amusing. "Scientists for Better PCR" a Bio-Rad Music Video for the all new 1000-Series Thermal Cyclers [2:13].
"The PCR Song" by "Scientists for a Better PCR" was done by the good folks at Bio-Rad to promote their 1000 Series Thermal Cyclers (a PCR machine). This is probably the best geek ad I've ever seen and will provide laughs to all (especially those who remember when PCR meant dipping your DNA samples into individual…
grrlscientist | March 5, 2008tags: fish, marine reef fish, photography, subway art, AMNH, NYC, NYCLife
Unknown species (to me) of tropical marine angelfish
as portrayed in tiles on the walls of the NYC uptown subway stop (A-B-C)
at 81st and Central Park West. (ISO, no zoom, no flash).
Image: GrrlScientist 2008. [wallpaper size].
Read more about the AMNH tile artworks and see the AMNH tile artworks photographic archives -- with all the animals identified.
grrlscientist | March 5, 2008tags: birds, Great Egret, Ardea alba, ornithology, Image of the Day
A long-time reader, Jerry, sent some images for me to feature as the "image of the day". He referred to these as "some friends to help you tend your wing".
Some road construction created some temporary mudflats where many shorebirds found excellent feeding, including this great egret, Ardea alba.
Image: Jerry Kram. [larger size].
grrlscientist | March 5, 2008tags: How to Fossilize Your Hamster, scientific experiments, Mick O'Hare, book review
I sometimes think that I disappoint random strangers after they find out that I am a scientist because I am not engaging in a variety of odd experiments over coffee or beer. It's true that I enjoy answering people's questions, but I only sometimes suggest fun experiments such as those described in How to Fossilize Your Hamster: And Other Amazing Experiments for the Armchair Scientist by Mick O'Hare of NewScientist magazine (NYC: Henry Holt Company; 2007).
But some scientists routinely get their friends…
grrlscientist | March 5, 2008tags: Talking Cat, streaming video
This kitty has a lot to say, don't you think? But what is this cat talking about? The owner's translation; "Hello, Hello, Hello, I Know Hello, Hello Hello Hello. Hello. I'm Alone, I'm on my own, I'm Alone, I know hello." [0:26]
More about the cat, Tiggy.
My cat can say hello, she only does it when shes looking for you though once you call her or she sees you she'll stop so I had to set the camera up and leave it for awhile until she did it. She does this at least 10 times a day shes does it in the morning when she wants us to get up, in the night when shes…
grrlscientist | March 4, 2008tags: fish, photography, subway art, AMNH, NYC, NYCLife
Unknown (to me) species of schooling reef fishes
as portrayed in tiles on the walls of the NYC uptown subway stop (A-B-C)
at 81st and Central Park West. (ISO, no zoom, no flash).
Image: GrrlScientist 2008. [wallpaper size].
Read more about the AMNH tile artworks and see the AMNH tile artworks photographic archives -- with all the animals identified.
grrlscientist | March 4, 2008tags: mars, Martian Sand Dunes, NASA, astronomy, Image of the Day
Cool Shot of Thawing Sand Dunes Near Martian Polar Region.
Image: NASA. [larger size].
grrlscientist | March 4, 2008tags: blog carnivals, Mendel's Garden
The 24th edition of Mendel's Garden is now available for you to enjoy. I am surprised to see that this is probably the smallest Mendel's Garden I've ever seen -- what happened, my peeps?
grrlscientist | March 4, 2008tags: blog carnivals, Brain Blogging
The 28th edition of Brain Blogging is now available for you to enjoy. I am pleased to tell you that they included a contribution from me, too!
grrlscientist | March 4, 2008tags: Performance Art, streaming video
Wow, this is a really amazing video of an artist at work on the stage -- redefining the phrase "performance art"! [5:29]
grrlscientist | March 3, 2008tags: coral reef, shark, subway art, AMNH, NYC, NYCLife
Coral Reef with shark
as portrayed in tiles on the stairway of the NYC subway stop (A-B-C)
at 81st and Central Park West. (ISO, no zoom, no flash).
Image: GrrlScientist 2008. [wallpaper size].
Read more about the AMNH tile artworks and see the AMNH tile artworks photographic archives -- with all the animals identified.
grrlscientist | March 3, 2008
Image: Orthopod.
I saw the orthopedic surgeon this morning and he said that my fracture does not need surgery. I asked to see the x-ray and here's what I saw; the proximal end (the "head") of the humerus was broken off, but still in proper alignment. I'd draw a picture for you, but don't have a scanner to share it, so instead, I'll just describe it for you.
As you can see in the above image, there is a point where the head of the humerus meets the clavicle and scapula to form the shoulder joint. Well, the "round ball" that is at the top of the humerus is broken off. Since there is nothing…
grrlscientist | March 3, 2008tags: birds, Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, ornithology, Image of the Day
Male Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, in Central Park.
Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George. [larger size].
The photographer, Bob Levy, writes; On Friday February 22, arguably the most wintry of days so far this season, as six inches of snow covered Central Park and more was falling I heard a male Northern Cardinal sing. That was the first cardinal song I detected this year and I took it as a musical sign that Spring is near. Since then I have heard other males sing and just yesterday I saw…
grrlscientist | March 3, 2008Please accept my apologies, but I had to postpone this week's issue of Birds in the News because I broke my arm this past Friday. In fact, as you are reading this notice, I am in the hospital once again, this time meeting with an orthopedic surgeon. Regardless of what happens today, I am fairly certain that Birds in the News will be back next week, though, so please check back!