grrlscientist | July 25, 2007tags: nuke Iran, humor, Jon Stewart, streaming video
This video nearly got me thrown out of the library because I was laughing so much -- and to think that we were a sixth rectal polyp away from World War III! [3:06].
grrlscientist | July 25, 2007tags: Texas bluebonnets, Image of the Day
This is the Texas bluebonnet, star of the Texas springtime wildflower bloom.
Image: Biosparite [larger]
grrlscientist | July 25, 2007tags: horses, blog carnivals
Surprisingly, this is the first time anything I've written has appeared in the Horse Lovers' Blog Carnival, so you should check it out!
grrlscientist | July 25, 2007tags: squirrel, spy ring, espionage, Iran, weird news, humor
Image: Freaking News.
In one of the more amazing stories I've read, it was recently reported that Iranian police jailed 14 squirrels -- for spying.
Yes, you read that right; spying. It seems that the fluffy rodents, who weigh approximately a pound-and-a-half each, were hanging around near the Iranian border, equipped with eavesdropping devices.
"I have heard about it, but I do not have precise information," replied the national police chief when asked to confirm the story.
Allegedly, the furry animals were equipped with modern…
grrlscientist | July 25, 2007tags: crow, cat, animal friendship, streaming video
One of those sweet animal stories where two animals that are supposed to be enemies become friends. This time it is a cat and a crow. [2:04]
grrlscientist | July 24, 2007tags: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, humor, streaming video
This is what the A train looks like when I ride it;
grrlscientist | July 24, 2007tags: nestling, Image of the Day
No it's not a golf ball with feathers but I bet many birders won't be able to identify this bird. Give up? Tune in tomorrow for the answer!
Image: Bob Levy [larger]
24 hours later, the answer is below the fold;
Bob Levy, the photographer, writes;
It is a newly fledged Northern Cardinal. And when I say "newly" I am not kidding.
I must have come upon this critter shortly after it emerged from the nest. By its appearance it is possible the babe's entry into the outside world (that is out of the nest) might have been a tad premature. I found it calling on the…
grrlscientist | July 24, 2007tags: mastodon fossils, Greece
AMNH 9951, skeleton of the American mastodont, Mammut americanum, Newburgh, NY.
Image: AMNH (American Museum of Natural History, NYC, NY) [larger]
In an astonishing discovery, a three million year old "fossilized zoo" was discovered by Greek geologists yesterday in the northern Milia region near the town of Grevena. This "zoo" contains the fossilized remains of prehistoric rhinos, mastodons, gazelles and carnivorous mammals.
The discovery included a pair of tusks from a mastodon (pictured left. Image: Evangelia Tsoukala), an ancient species of elephant that…
grrlscientist | July 24, 2007tags: Medicine, Grand Rounds, blog carnival
After being a regular contributor for over one year, I somehow stopped submitting entries to Grand Rounds, which was one of my favorite blog carnivals. But after a long (two year) absence, I am back because they included one of my entries in this week's issue, volume 3, number 44. As always, there are plenty of other great stories there as well for you to read and enjoy. I am especially interested to read this debate that they included; "Is mental illness adaptive?"
grrlscientist | July 24, 2007tags: Chickenhawk, streaming video
Roy Zimmerman sings a song that he wrote that emphasizes the carelessness with which our so-called leaders are willing to kill off our country's troops. [3:21]
grrlscientist | July 23, 2007tags: Harry Potter spoilers, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, books
I have been getting differing viewpoints regarding the epilogue to the last Harry Potter book, so of course, I am asking you all what you thought of it?
Did you want the ending to be less syrupy-sweet? Did you want less to be left to the imagination? Are you still worried about George and about Luna? Did the epilogue "not fit" with the overall tone of the last book? Also, did you think that Rowling only killed two of the main characters in the book (depending on how you define "main characters", I think she killed a…
grrlscientist | July 23, 2007tags: leafcutter bees, Image of the Day
Leafcutter bees in W. 11th St. Park Nesting Boxes. Look for the diagnostic hair on the ventral surface of the abdomen, which the bee rubs over composite flowers to trap pollen.
Image: Biosparite [larger]
grrlscientist | July 23, 2007tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Female Snowy Owl, Bubo scandiacus.
Image: Bill Ferensen, Seattle.
Even though my blog pseudonym is "GrrlScientist", some of you originally knew me elsewhere on the internet as "Hedwig the Owl" -- a pseudonym that I have used for five years. Because of the release of the last Harry Potter book, which is where the character of Hedwig came from, I am dedicating this edition of the Birds in the News to Hedwig, my original namesake -- just because I want to make the point that it's okay to love a fictional character, even…
grrlscientist | July 23, 2007tags: Evolution of Internet, streaming video
The history of the internet in five minutes presented by Ethan Zuckerman. Basically, it is the story of how, when hundreds and hundreds of monkeys are placed in the same room, it turns out that they will write encyclopedias -- now known as Wikis. I was surprised that he didn't cover the 1996 telecommunications act, which opened up broadband connections for the masses. [6:51]
grrlscientist | July 22, 2007tags: cadaver calculator, online quiz
Thanks to my drinking pal (and blog pal) Orac, I now know that, as corpses go, I am worth a fair amount, it would appear, according to the cadaver calculator. In fact, I'd guess that I am worth more dead than alive! How about you?
$5150.00The Cadaver Calculator - Find out how much your body is worth. From Mingle2 - Free Online Dating
grrlscientist | July 22, 2007tags: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, books
A reader sent a link to this cartoon that you might enjoy.
Image: source [larger].
Anyway, I know that the < sarcasm alert > entire blogosphere has been deeply deeply concerned whether I finally located a copy of the last Harry Potter book, and whether I had to sell my first-born parrot to get it < / sarcasm alert >, so I will let you know that I am 300 pages into the book, that I am reading this one slowly, savoring it, because it is the last time I will be able to peek in to Harry's, Hermione's and Ron's lives.
This book is…
grrlscientist | July 22, 2007tags: Roseate Skimmer Dragonfly, Image of the Day
I am thinking this is an old and very worn Roseate Skimmer pink-form male (actually redundant since the females are never pink). This one posed nicely for a telephoto shot this evening under less-than-ideal light conditions. Dragonflies are evocative of the late Paleozoic and the Mesozoic, having flitted around reptiles in the coal swamps and then marked the rise and demise of dinosaurs. How is that for alliteration? West 11th Street Park.
Image: Biosparite [larger]
grrlscientist | July 21, 2007tags: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, books,online poll results
I asked you all a few days ago who you thought would die in the last Harry Potter book, and I have posted the results below the fold, as promised. Due to a mix-up at Amazon, I did not receive my copy of the Harry potter book, so I can only report spoilers (which may or may not be true) instead of writing a review of the book itself. But I can post the poll results;
grrlscientist | July 21, 2007tags: Boneyard, paleontology,blog carnival
Hey everyone, there's a new blog carnival being published out there -- it was a surprise to me, too -- but you have to check it out because it focuses on one of my most favorite topics; paleontology! The first edition of The Boneyard is now available for you to enjoy.
grrlscientist | July 21, 2007tags: Caturday, online quiz
My drinking pal and fellow SciBling, John, whom I still would like to see in a speedo, is being a bad boy by posting a silly and nonscientific Caturday survey that you might enjoy (my results are below the fold);