grrlscientist | July 21, 2007tags: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, books
I woke up bright and early this morning, full of joy and anticipation (for the first time in years), took care of my parrots and got ready to leave my apartment to pick up my copy of the Harry Potter book from my post office box. How exciting! I have been waiting for this day for forever, it seemed. I planned to spend the day in my favorite watering hole, reading reading reading. Then, my fantasy was oh so rudely shattered by a phone call. UPS (United Parcel Service) was calling to say that they have my Harry Potter book and that they don't…
grrlscientist | July 21, 2007tags: American Lady Butterfly, Image of the Day
American Lady, Vanessa virginiensis, nectaring on buttonbush, Anahuac NWR Butterfly Garden, 7-8-07.
Image: Biosparite [larger]
grrlscientist | July 21, 2007tags: Harry Potter book disguises, satire
Okay, so you didn't get to the bookstore at midnight for your copy of the Harry Potter book as you should have done. Instead, you are waiting anxiously for the postman or UPS driver to deliver your copy of the book to you today, right? Well, below the fold is the last of my favorite Harry Potter book disguises. Today's cover is just in time for you -- more sensible people -- to print out before your copy of the book shows up on your doorstep;
Cover by Shamus.
Print Size
Image: Pointless Waste of Time.
grrlscientist | July 21, 2007tags: pet, online quiz
I actually could be either of two pet types (the second pet type is below the fold);
You Would Be a Pet Bird
You're intelligent and witty, yet surprisingly low maintenance.
You charm people easily, and they usually love you a lot more than you love them.
You resent anyone who tries to own or control you. You refuse to be fenced in.
Why you would make a great pet: You're very smart and entertaining
Why you would make a bad pet: You're not interested in being anyone's pet!
What you would love about being a bird: Flying, obviously
What you would hate about being a…
grrlscientist | July 20, 2007tags: Friday Ark, photography, animals, blog carnival
For those of you who enjoy looking at pictures of animals, domestic or wild, this is the blog carnival for you; Friday Ark. They published their 148th edition today and included a few submissions from me, too!
grrlscientist | July 20, 2007tags: albino dolphin, mammals, zoology
Image: Captain Erik Rue.
Captain Erik Rue of Calcasieu Charter Service, located south of Lake Charles, Louisiana, has discovered himself to be a sudden celebrity because he took photographs of a pink dolphin recently. Rue and a boatload of guests saw the young dolphin on a charter trip on June 24.
El capitan Erik Rue se ha hecho famoso por haber captado unas fotografias de un delfin albino ( Rosa ) en Louisiana.
Rue published images of the pink dolphin on his website.
In a telephone interview last week, Rue said he has seen the extraordinary dolphin…
grrlscientist | July 20, 2007tags: Hoverfly, Image of the Day
This beautiful Texas native passionflower serves as a host plant for the Gulf Fritillary and Variegated Fritillary butterflies. I took this in the Refuge Butterfly Garden while tending the Visitor Information Station last Sunday. Passiflora incarnata, Anahuac NWR Butterfly Garden, 7-8-07.
Image: Biosparite [larger]
grrlscientist | July 20, 2007tags: Harry Potter book disguises, satire
Below the fold is the fourth in this short series of my favorite Harry Potter book disguises. Today's cover is my favorite of all of them, just in time for you to print it out for the midnight release of the book -- only 12 hours from now;
Cover by Peatar.
Print Size
Image: Pointless Waste of Time.
grrlscientist | July 20, 2007tags: Dove Evolution, streaming video
In this interesting streaming video, time-lapse photography is used to show how an ordinary looking woman is transformed into a beauty for Dove beauty products [1:14]
grrlscientist | July 19, 2007tags: Harry Potter, leaker identity
As you all know by now, the last Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, was leaked recently to the internet. The leaker meticulously photographed every page in the book and posted those images to the internet where most of them are clearly readable. However, according to experts at Canon, an imaging company, the identity of the person who leaked the book could be revealed by tracing the digital camera that was used.
Basically, the vital information contained in each photo, known as Exchangeable Image File Format (Exif) data, revealed that…
grrlscientist | July 19, 2007tags: recurve-billed bushbird, Clytoctantes alixii, ornithology, birds, avian, endangered species
Female Recurve-billed Bushbird, Clytoctantes alixii. More images below the fold.
Image: Chris Sharpe 2004 [larger].
[listen to this species' song]
Chris Sharpe emailed me this following statement about the Recurve-billed Bushbird rediscovery, which I quote in full. I also present Chris's original 2004 images here, although some of the images will re-appear on this site soon (one will be the featured image for the next issue of Birds in the News, for example).
The Recurve-billed Bushbird,…
grrlscientist | July 19, 2007tags: Rattlesnake Master, Image of the Day
Rattlesnake Master, along TX 124 near Intracoastal Canal, 7-8-07
Rattlesnake Master, Eryngium yuccifolium, is a wildflower that is widespread across the midcontinent.
Image: Biosparite [larger]
grrlscientist | July 19, 2007tags: Harry Potter, Jews, Israel, god
When the sixth Harry Potter book was released, it was a Saturday morning, which if you are Jewish, is the Sabbath. The Sabbath runs from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday, and it is a time during which pious Jews shun business dealings. At that time, I was teaching a biology class and most of my students were Jewish, so I felt terrible for them because they were not allowed to read the book until after the Sabbath was over. Once again, because Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will also be released on a Saturday morning, Jews are facing a terrible…
grrlscientist | July 19, 2007tags: Harry Potter book disguises, satire
Below the fold is the second in this short series of my favorite Harry Potter book disguises. Today's cover is a manly-man cover for you guys out there;
Cover by Shamus.
Print Size
Image: Pointless Waste of Time.
grrlscientist | July 19, 2007tags: Antihelium, science, humor, streaming video
In this streaming video, Jay Leno and Josh Duhamel sniff some gas .. some sulphur hexaflouride to be exact, and make an interesting discovery. Josh's laugh is funny [1:59]
grrlscientist | July 18, 2007First of all, I would like to thank my readers for participating in my little polls. I am collecting poll results from you because I am writing a book proposal right now, and would like to have a clearer idea of the demographics of my readers so I can include these data in my book proposal. Since this particular book will focus on the special physiological and behavioral qualities of animals and what they teach us humans about our own biology and behavior, I think that my blog readers represent a nice cross-section of who might be interested in reading my book.
The results from the last week'…
grrlscientist | July 18, 2007tags: online poll, Harry Potter
Here is a poll for you to answer regarding Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. According to JK Rowling, the author, two main characters will die in this book, so I have decided to ask you who you think will die in this book? Why do you think those people will die? Feel free to leave comments below.
This poll will only be available until Saturday evening (July 21st) sometime, when I will collect the results and post them, along with who really dies.
Poll closed. Go here to see the poll results.
Thanks for voting!
grrlscientist | July 18, 2007tags: researchblogging.org, flight speed, birds, ornithology, aerodynamics, evolution
Not Bad, But Not Perfect
A peregrine falcon keeps a close eye as she circles her nest in St. Louis.
A new survey of 138 species of birds finds that closely-related birds fly at roughly the same speeds and that no birds are perfect flying specimens.
Image: Tom Gannam (AP) [larger]
When it comes to flight speeds, human-made contraptions, such as airplanes, conform to basic aerodynamic scaling rules, which generate predictions based on how much an object weighs and how large its wings are. However, those…
grrlscientist | July 18, 2007tags: Black Swallowtail Butterfly, Image of the Day
Black Swallowtail nectaring on buttonbush, Anahuac NWR 7-8-07.
Image: Biosparite [larger]
grrlscientist | July 18, 2007tags: blog carnival, science, medicine, Tangled Bank
For all you science and medicine fans, the 84th edition of Tangled Bank is now available for your reading pleasure. They even included one submission from me! Yippee!! Okay, go there are indulge yourself, cuz it's a good one (as always).