grrlscientist | April 22, 2007
Can you image how much patience is required to photograph ants?
Amblyopone australis
Victoria, Australia.
Photographer: Alexander Wild, 2005.
As long as you send images to me (and I hope it will be for forever), I shall continue to share them with my readership. My purpose for posting these images is to remind all of us of the grandeur of the natural world and that there is a world out there that is populated by millions of unique species. We are a part of this world whether we like it or not: we have a choice to either preserve these species or to destroy them in search of short-term…
grrlscientist | April 22, 2007I think the footage for this song (Into the Mystic by Van Morrison) came from the amazing BBC series, Blue Planet. It is quite nice, and appropriate for Earth Day. I hope that you enjoy it.
grrlscientist | April 21, 2007
Just in time for Earth Day, the great leatherback seaturtle race across open ocean from Costa Rica to the Galapagos Islands, where they will lay their eggs. The turtles are being tracked by satellite from Playa Grande in Costa Rica to the Galapagos Islands so you can watch their progress live and root for your favorite. In addition to the turtle race, there are all sorts of fun and educational things to read on this website. For example, you can register to support an individual turtle in this race across the ocean and will receive daily email updates regarding your turtle's progress as it…
grrlscientist | April 21, 2007I love my parrot companions, but I have to admit that this horse that thinks he's human makes a superb companion, especially because parrots will not get me a beer -- how much more fun can one possibly have?
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tags: streaming video, horses, pets
grrlscientist | April 20, 2007
From left: Barney, Michelle and Dylan.
Dylan Hargreaves, four, is autistic and suffers severe learning difficulties. Until recently, he never uttered a single word. But several few months ago, his parents added a three-year-old blue-and-gold macaw to the family. They named him Barney, and suddenly, Dylan began to speak, repeating words that the parrot said.
After being tutored by Barney the parrot, Dylan says "Night, night", "Dad", "Mum", "Ta", "Hello" and "Bye".
"Barney has changed our lives. Before he arrived, Dylan would try to speak, but the sound came out as a noise," said Dylan's…
grrlscientist | April 20, 2007It appears that Wolfowitz is either on the outs or he is taking a page from the Gonzales book of management because he failed to show up at a high-profile meeting at the World Bank yesterday;
No explanation was offered for Mr Wolfowitz's absence from the conference in Washington, on the day when the bank's governing board was meeting to discuss the controversy over the president's ordering of promotions and pay rises for his partner, Shaha Riza.
The board, made up of 24 representatives of the bank's member countries, had cleared its agenda to deal with the breach of the bank's ethical rules…
grrlscientist | April 20, 2007
Grunion spawning (California).
The photographer writes; Here's a fresh fish foto -- this is from last week's run, the first (official) of the season. It was a great run. More pictures from last week's run.
Image: Carl Manaster.
As long as you send images to me (and I hope it will be for forever), I shall continue to share them with my readership. My purpose for posting these images is to remind all of us of the grandeur of the natural world and that there is a world out there that is populated by millions of unique species. We are a part of this world whether we like it or not: we have a…
grrlscientist | April 20, 2007If Gonzo is the best attorney in the United States, I have no faith for the future of the profession.
Ridiculously, the Bush White House referred to the lying scumbag, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, as "our No. 1 crime fighter" today, a day after Gonzales' often halting explanations for the firings of eight federal prosecutors brought additional demands for his resignation because he clearly was caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
"He has done a fantastic job in the Department of Justice," the brain-washed deputy press secretary Dana Perino told reporters traveling aboard Air Force…
grrlscientist | April 20, 2007Seung-hui Cho clearly was mentally incapacitated. He clearly was a menace to society and to himself, but who could have predicted that he would respond to his situation in the way he did? Even Cho's roommate was shocked and surprised by what transpired. So how do we decide who to haul away in handcuffs? And who should make those decisions?
In view of the recent Virginia Tech massacre, it is easy to say that a mentally ill person should simply be locked up until his or her symptoms abate, but the fact is that treating mental illnesses rarely resolves a person's problems quickly. Instead, this…
grrlscientist | April 20, 2007In a remarkable turn of events, it seems that Chinese manufacturers may have intentionally added a lethal chemical to a protein-powder ingredient intended for pet foods, said FDA investigators. Melamine, an ingredient in plastics and fertilizers that could lead to kidney failure in animals and people, contaminated rice protein and wheat gluten included in pet foods made in Canada and the United States. This chemical compound also has been added to corn gluten destined for pet food sold in South Africa, the FDA added.
Stephen Sundlof, chief veterinarian for the Food and Drug Administration,…
grrlscientist | April 20, 2007This charming video shows the birth of squid (be patient; it starts off slow but gets progressively more interesting).
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tags: squid, streaming video
grrlscientist | April 19, 2007Some friends were saying they were going to engage in a drinking game where they would have one drink every time Alberto Gonzales said "I don't remember"or "I don't recall" or something to that effect during today's congressional heaaring. I have no idea if they have actually done this because I haven't heard from any of them today. Of course, they could all be in the hospital for alcohol poisoning right now since Gonzo said some permutation of "I don't remember" 71 times today.
I've never met anyone with such a faulty memory as Gonzo apparently has -- and this, after one month of "…
grrlscientist | April 19, 2007Despite the fact that native and migratory American birds are protected under law, it seems that people who kill them are rarely punished or they merely receive a perfunctory slap on the wrist. But this is will hopefully not be the case for "TernGate"; a mass killing of tern chicks in the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex that occurred more than ten months ago.
Ralph Botticelli, owner of San Diego-based Point Loma Maritime Services, and a deckhand were attempting to move two privately owned barges from the port complex to Santa Barbara for a fireworks display when more than 500 nestling…
grrlscientist | April 19, 2007
Gulf Fritillaries, Agraulis vanillae, mating in Houston. The butterflies were swarming the garden at the W. 11th St. Park.
Image: Biosparite, 2006.
As long as you send images to me (and I hope it will be for forever), I shall continue to share them with my readership. My purpose for posting these images is to remind all of us of the grandeur of the natural world and that there is a world out there that is populated by millions of unique species. We are a part of this world whether we like it or not: we have a choice to either preserve these species or to destroy them in search of short-…
grrlscientist | April 19, 2007I am not sure how many of you are listening to the Gonzales hearings, but you can pick them up, live and streaming, from WNYC-AM. Basically, as summarized in the below cited transcript, Gonzales is in trouble, and will either have to admit he is lying under oath or that he is an absentee/incompetent leader .. either situation is sufficient for removal from office -- unless of course, you are a Bush supporter.
Seriously, why wouldn't the Congress judge Gonzales by the same standards that he applied to the eight US Attorneys whom he fired? Gonzo says he "made mistakes", but seriously, there…
grrlscientist | April 19, 2007The 47th edition of the popular blog carnival, I and the Bird is now available. This is a huge blog carnival, full of birdie goodness to entertain you.
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tags: blog carnival, birds, bird watching
grrlscientist | April 18, 2007Which towns in the USA have ordered the most copies of the latest book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows? According to Amazon, the top ten "Harry-est" towns in the United States include 4 from Washington state, 3 from Virginia, 1 each from Texas, Pennsylvania and New York state.
I guess it is time for me to order my own copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
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tags: Harry Potter, books
grrlscientist | April 18, 2007Curiouser and curiouser: I ran across a disturbing news story today about the Virginia Tech gunman, Cho Seung-Hui, that boldly states;
Some news accounts have suggested that Cho had a history of antidepressant use, but senior federal officials tell ABC News that they can find no record of such medication in the government's files. This does not completely rule out prescription drug use, including samples from a physician, drugs obtained through illegal Internet sources, or a gap in the federal database, but the sources say theirs is a reasonably complete search. [story]
Um, excuse me? Since…