grrlscientist | February 9, 2008tags: gender bias in science, female scientists, science publishing, sexism, feminism
I have been thinking about this problem of reviewer bias against female scientists and have a proposal: all scientists should either choose or be randomly assigned a gender-neutral first name, such as "Lee", "Alex", "Jordan", "Reese" or "Ali" or something like that, followed by the initials denoting the scientist's real first name, along with as many more initials as that person desires, and ending with the surname, spelled out. Thus, if a reviewer is subconsciously biased against his (or her) female…
grrlscientist | February 9, 2008tags: birds, Long-earned Owl, Asio otus, ornithology, Image of the Day
Okay, I have to brag a little bit. I have been invited to Manhattan, Kansas, to go birding with Dave Rintoul and his ornithology students for one week at the end of March. I am almost beside myself with excitement right now as I look through Dave's many bird images -- which remind me of my own years of springtime birding on the west coast of this country. How I miss those days, and those birds!
This is the fourth image in this series of Dave's beautiful pictures. The strange long-eared owls are one of my most favorite owl…
grrlscientist | February 9, 2008tags: blog carnivals, Linnaeus' Legacy
The 4th edition of the new blog carnival, Linnaeus' Legacy is now available for you to read and enjoy. They included two pieces that I wrote, so I am pleased by that.
grrlscientist | February 8, 2008tags: hedgehog, mammals, animals, photography, subway art, AMNH, NYC, NYCLife
I think this is a species of hedgehog,
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 | February 8, 2008tags: Macbook Air, humor, streaming video
I am so jealous, I want a Macbook Air, too! Here's a streaming video of this amazing new laptop, just to make you envious of those lucky few who own one [0:39]
I could carry this in my back pocket of my jeans!
grrlscientist | February 8, 2008tags: Evolution: Education and Outreach, evolution journal, open access evolution, teaching, education
There is a new journal about teaching evolution that is now available and it appears to be completely open access, too! This journal, Evolution: Education and Outreach focuses on promoting accurate understanding and comprehensive teaching of evolutionary theory for a wide audience, although it specifically targets K-16 students, teachers and scientists. This journal is actively seeking contributions of (1) peer reviewed evolutionary science; (2) peer-reviewed educational papers on curricula…
grrlscientist | February 8, 2008tags: birds, Cinnamon Teal, Anas cyanoptera, ornithology, Image of the Day
Okay, I have to brag a little bit. I have been invited to Manhattan, Kansas, to go birding with Dave Rintoul and his ornithology students for one week at the end of March. I am almost beside myself with excitement right now as I look through Dave's many bird images -- which remind me of my own years of springtime birding on the west coast of this country. How I miss those days, and those birds!
This is the third image in this series of Dave's beautiful pictures.
Male cinnamon teal, Anas cyanoptera, in breeding…
grrlscientist | February 8, 2008tags: Penn & Teller, bullet catch trick, streaming video
The amazing double bullet catch performed on Phobophilia by Penn and Teller -- how did they do that?? [9:43]
grrlscientist | February 7, 2008tags: katydid, insects, invertebrates, photography, subway art, AMNH, NYC, NYCLife
I think this is a species of Katydid,
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 | February 7, 2008tags: birds, red knot, Calidris canutus rufus, ornithology, endangered species, conservation, streaming video
This Sunday, 10 February, at 8pm EST, the award-winning PBS series "Nature" will feature migratory shorebirds, the Red Knot, and the horseshoe crab. This program, Crash: A Tale of Two Species, examines the amazing relationship between these two threatened species.
The red knot migrates from the tip of South America to its breeding grounds in the Canadian Arctic, and stops off briefly at Delaware Bay. Here it relies almost completely on horseshoe crab eggs to refuel for the second…
grrlscientist | February 7, 2008tags: birds, Black-necked Stilt, Himantopus mexicanus, ornithology, Image of the Day
Okay, I have to brag a little bit. I have been invited to Manhattan, Kansas, to go birding with Dave Rintoul and his ornithology students for one week at the end of March. I am almost beside myself with excitement right now as I look through Dave's many bird images -- which remind me of my own years of springtime birding on the west coast of this country. How I miss those days, and those birds!
This is the second image in this series.
Black-necked Stilt, Himantopus mexicanus,
Bear River Migratory Bird…
grrlscientist | February 7, 2008tags: blog carnivals, birds, bird watching, ornithology
The 68th edition of the bi-monthly blog carnival, I and the Bird, is now available for you to enjoy. This blog carnival focuses on linking to blog writing about BIRDS BIRDS BIRDS, and they included something from me, too! By the way, I am hosting the next issue of I and the Bird so be sure to send me links to your bird essays, videos, photos and song files so I can share them all with a large and very appreciative audience. Kep in mind that I can only accept ONE submission from each blog (yes, I know, this truly sucks, but there you have…
grrlscientist | February 7, 2008tags: blog carnivals, cities
The 7 February 2008 edition of the weekly blog carnival, Carnival of the Cities, is now available for you to enjoy. This carnival links to blog writing about cities throughout the world, whether you live there or are visiting -- it's almost as good as being there yourself! And they included something from me, too!
grrlscientist | February 7, 2008You might have noticed that my entries have grown sparse these days. Part of the problem is me, but part of the problem is that the "scheduled" setting is not working properly, so those entries that I had written for you are not appearing as they are supposed to. For example, this morning's streaming video appeared three and a half hours after it was scheduled to appear (at 9am) and then, it only appeared after I republished my blog, and then rebuilt it afterwards. GRRR! Needless to say, I am frustrated by this, but our behind-the-scenes computer-tamer, Tim, is working on the problem and…
grrlscientist | February 7, 2008tags: flame test, identifying salts, chemistry, streaming video
Some elements can be identified by the colors they emit while burning. This is a quality that chemists use to identify salts, by burning them. In this video, a science teacher douses several exotic salts in methanol and ignites all of them at the same time. The results are really spectacular -- green, orange, yellow, blue, and purple flames burning side by side. [2:01]
Do not do this in your parents' kitchen or you will become very good friends with the local fire department, and probably the local police as well.
grrlscientist | February 6, 2008tags: reptiles, Galapagos giant tortoise, Geochelone elephantopus, photography, subway art, AMNH, NYC, NYCLife
Galapagos giant tortoise, Geochelone elephantopus
(but I am not sure of the subspecies),
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 | February 6, 2008tags: blog carnivals, science, nature, medicine
The 98th edition of the bi-weekly blog carnival, Tangled Bank, is now available for you to enjoy. This blog carnival focuses on linking to blog writing about science, nature and medicine, and they included something from me, too!
grrlscientist | February 6, 2008tags: birds, American Avocet, Recurvirostra americana, ornithology, Image of the Day
Okay, I have to brag a little bit. I have been invited to Manhattan, Kansas, to go birding with Dave Rintoul and his ornithology students for one week at the end of March. I am almost beside myself with excitement right now as I look through Dave's many bird images -- which remind me of my own years of springtime birding on the west coast of this country. How I miss those days, and those birds!
And yes, I would be thrilled to meet any of you who are in Manhattan Kansas -- "the little apple" as Dave calls it…
grrlscientist | February 6, 2008tags: kitchen science, shivering quarter, streaming video
Before using your quarters for laundry, you should try this little experiment. Push a quarter into a block of dry ice, and you will notice that a strange thing happens. The quarter quivers. Can you explain this phenomenon? [1:18]
What do you predict would happen if you instead laid the quarter flat on the surface of the dry ice? What if you used a penny? how about a spoon?
grrlscientist | February 5, 2008tags: presidential primaries, super tuesday, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Democratic primaries
Image: NYTimes.
This picture represents my fantasy: I see a great presidency resulting from the combination of two intelligent and passionate minds together: two people who discuss things between themselves (and with others) before making important decisions -- unlike the typical relationship between a president and vice president in this country, where the president more or less ignores the vice president. But Hillary and Barack are not like all those others that came before them, so why…