grrlscientist | April 2, 2007
A freshly-plumaged LeConte's Sparrow, Ammodramus leconteii, that Dave Rintoul banded in Kansas in the fall of 2005. (bigger version).
Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU.
Birds in Science
In the past few years, China has become famous for the number and quality of bird fossils from the Early Cretaceous that have been discovered there. This week, another such discovery has been reported by an international team of Chinese, American and Japanese scientists. Their discovery of 120-million-year-old fossilized footprints made by a roadrunner-like bird in Shandong Province, China (see map), was published…
grrlscientist | April 2, 2007The Carnival of the Godless is now available for your reading pleasure. This is the long-awaited "You're Going to Hell" edition.
grrlscientist | April 2, 2007If you think Bush is a bozo, seeing this collection of quotes will help to solidify your position. If you think Bush is not a bozo, this will change your mind. And, as Laura sez, "he's getting awfully windy."
grrlscientist | April 1, 2007According to a panel of UN scientists, postponed bird migrations and early flower blooms are not the only effects that will occur as the result of global climate change. Within the next 50 years, poverty will increase, combined with a lack of drinking water, an increased rate of glacial melting and an increasing number of vanishing species unless action is taken to tackle global warming.
The warning will be part of the latest report, to be released on Friday, from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a body of more than 2,000 international scientists assessing global warming.
The…
grrlscientist | April 1, 2007
Approximately an hour ago, a tsunami smashed into the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific Ocean, after an earthquake of magnitude 8.0 rocked the ocean floor just off the island nation's west coast.
"Two villages were reported to have been completely inundated," said Julian McLeod of the Solomon Islands National Disaster Management Office. "We have received reports of four people missing."
Sgt. Godfrey Abiah said police in the capital, Honiara, reported a wave several yards high had crashed ashore in the western town of Gizo shortly before communication lines with the region were cut.…
grrlscientist | April 1, 2007Bush is an invade-aholic .. this streaming video shows a dramatic reenactment of the Bush intervention that recently took place in the White House.
.
tags: Bush intervention, politics, humor, streaming video
grrlscientist | April 1, 2007
Male (top) and Female Western Hercules Beetles, Dynastes granti.
Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona, USA.
Photographer: Alexander Wild.
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 monetary gains…
grrlscientist | April 1, 2007Did you hear the story about the pet duck named Peepers? It seems this duck fouled up a robbery yesterday in Lynwood, Washington. With store security hot on his heels, a 35-year-old man jumped into his car just as his 39-year-old girlfriend came out of the pet store carrying her pet duck. Unaware that her boyfriend was on the run, she tried to open the passenger door but was knocked down. She was not injured, but she dropped her duck.
A Petco employee saw that the duck was in danger and raced into the parking lot to save the bird. As police tell it, the man in the car stepped on the gas and…
grrlscientist | April 1, 2007I thought you might be interested to see the cover for the next, and last, Harry Potter book. It was finally released a few days ago.
Note: this is the US version of the HP cover. The UK children's and UK adult versions of the book cover are below the fold. Which is your favorite version? My favorite is the UK children's version -- why can't we have that cover here in the States, as well??
UK adult version of the cover (right).
UK children's version of the cover (lower left).
.
tags: Harry Potter, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, books
grrlscientist | March 31, 2007According to a recent Newsweek poll, only 3% of Americans claim to be atheists. I know a lot of atheists, so I am wondering if I know all of the atheists in America? Do they all know each other?
Nine in 10 (91 percent) of American adults say they believe in God and almost as many (87 percent) say they identify with a specific religion. Christians far outnumber members of any other faith in the country, with 82 percent of the poll's respondents identifying themselves as such. Another 5 percent say they follow a non-Christian faith, such as Judaism or Islam. Nearly half (48 percent) of the…
grrlscientist | March 31, 2007According to this creationist video, peanut butter, which has been subjected to high temperatures to render it sterile, disproves that life can come from non-life. The silliness of this argument reminds me of Kirk Cameron's 'banana proof' of creationism.
.
tags: peanut butter, evolution, streaming video
grrlscientist | March 31, 2007
Tetraopes sp. red milkweed beetle (Cerambycidae). Nixon, Nevada.
Photographer: Alexander Wild.
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 monetary gains. But if we decide to destroy these…
grrlscientist | March 30, 2007The White House is livid with Nancy Pelosi because she will visit Syria next week -- presumably to fraternize with terrorists. Snert. Nevermind that the 911 terrorists were mostly Saudis, that for decades the Bush family has been on kissing terms with the Saudi Royal Family and other Saudi elites, and that the bin Laden family funded W's first venture into oil -- which means that the Bushies truly are fraternizing with known terrorists. I am pleased to see someone finally acting like an adult by actually speaking to some of the countries concerned about the state of things in the Middle East…
grrlscientist | March 30, 2007
Architect's rendition of the completed College of Eastern Utah Prehistoric Museum and Mesozoic Gardens.
At a time when creationists are dumping money into so-called prehistoric "museums" that tell lies to the public about evolution, it is refreshing to see a real museum gain more monetary support and prominence, especially in a "red state". An official home has been found for the world's most extensive evolutionary botanic gardens, which also includes an expansion of the College of Eastern Utah (CEU) Prehistoric Museum, in Price, Utah.
At a recent groundbreaking ceremony, entrepreneur…
grrlscientist | March 30, 2007
120-million-year-old fossilized footprints made by a roadrunner-like bird, Shandongornipes muxiai, discovered in Shandong Province, China. (Track four).
In the past few years, China has become famous for the number and quality of bird fossils from the Early Cretaceous that have been discovered there. This week, another such discovery has been reported by an international team of Chinese, American and Japanese scientists. Their discovery of 120-million-year-old fossilized footprints made by a roadrunner-like bird in Shandong Province, China (see map), was published in the European journal,…
grrlscientist | March 30, 2007
Chrysochus auratus, the dogbane leaf beetle (Chrysomelidae). Naples, New York.
Photographer: Alexander Wild.
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 monetary gains. But if we decide to…
grrlscientist | March 29, 2007The 57th edition of the Skeptic's Circle is now available for your reading pleasure. This edition features a nice picture in addition to all the great reading.
grrlscientist | March 29, 2007
Andrewsarchus was the largest carnivorous land mammal that ever lived.
It lived about 32-60 million years ago. (Image: BBC Walking With Beasts)
Contrary to popular belief, a new study shows that the rise of mammals was not connected to the extinction of dinosaurs that occurred 65 million years ago. The evidence challenging this connection comes from the most complete family tree ever compiled for mammals. This supertree, comprised of genetic and fossil data reveals the relationships between mammals such as primates, rodents and hoofed mammals, including when they evolved into separate…
grrlscientist | March 29, 2007
Another lovely little brown bird, LeConte's Sparrow, Ammodramus leconteii.
The photographer writes; I heartily agree that sparrows deserve more attention! Here [is a] pic of a freshly-plumaged LeConte's Sparrow that we banded in KS in the fall of 2005, as well as a link to a photo essay about another lovely grassland sparrow, the Grasshopper Sparrow.
Photographer: David Rintoul, KSU.
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…
grrlscientist | March 29, 2007Kyle Sampson tells the senate that Gonzo lied regarding the dismissals of the eight US prosecutors.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales wrongly stated he was not involved in discussions about the firings of federal prosecutors, his former chief of staff told the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday.
"I don't think the attorney general's statement that he was not involved in any discussions of U.S. attorney removals was accurate," testified Kyle Sampson, who quit this month as Gonzales' top aide. "I remember discussing with him this process of asking certain U.S. attorneys to resign." [story…