grrlscientist | November 25, 2006How many people do you know who have found a misspelled word in the New York Times -- that wasn't in a letter to the editor?? Well, now you can add me to that illustrious list!
I found this word -- misspelled as "hautily"! -- in A Free-for-All on Science and Religion, by George Johnson in the New York Times Science section. I think the misspelling alone makes this word memorable!
Haughty (haw-tee) [Origin: 1520-30; obs. haught (sp. var. of late middle English haute via Old French from Latin altus high, with h- < Gmc; cf. OHG hok high) + -y1;]
adjective
disdainfully proud; snobbish;…
grrlscientist | November 25, 2006This is an amazing video that would work incredibly well in a biology classroom -- it shows the life cycle of an individual cell. It is accompanied by some fabulous music, too!
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tags: streaming video, cell biology
grrlscientist | November 25, 2006
Statue of Liberty.
Image: source.
Would you like to learn a few things about NYC? Well this page is filled with interesting facts and pictures and it even has streaming footage from the borough of Queens.
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tags: NYC streaming, NYC wired
grrlscientist | November 24, 2006tags: Cinerocaris magnifica, Nymphatelina gravida, ostracod, arthropoda, crustacean, fossil, zoology, biology
Recently, geologists made a stunning discovery: hard boiled eggs that are over 425 million years old! The scientists, who are from the USA and the UK, discovered a female from a new ostracod species, Nymphatelina gravida -- a minute relative of the shrimp -- complete with a brood of approximately 20 eggs and 2 possible juveniles inside her body. Other parts of her soft anatomy were also preserved, including legs and eyes.
"Ostracods are common, pin-head sized crustaceans known from…
grrlscientist | November 24, 2006
Passiflora lutea.
This is a companion photo to an upcoming Gulf Fritillary picture. This photo is of Passiflora lutea, one of the native host species for the Gulf fritillary. Notice the prettily lobed foliage.
Image: Biosparite.
I am receiving so many gorgeous images from you, dear readers, that I am overwhelmed by the beauty of the images and the creatures and places in those images. If you have a high-resolution digitized nature image (I prefer JPG format) that you'd like to share with your fellow readers, feel free to email it to me, along with information about the image and how you'd…
grrlscientist | November 24, 2006I see words as providing people with a deeper and richer meaning to their emotional and professional lives, especially because much of our lives rely on words. So not every word that I use in this little feature is completely unfamiliar to you, or at least I hope it isn't, because teaching you obscure words is not my primary intention, although I do sometimes do this to give you some fun.
Instead, my goal is to demonstrate the beauty, versatility and subtlety of the English language and to acquaint you with the many wonderful languages that have contributed to English. And of course, I hope…
grrlscientist | November 24, 2006
As for me, I am thankful for every one of you, amigos bonitos. Your many comments, emails, cards and gifts, filled with love and encouragement and stories of your own sadness, travails and triumphs have given me courage and so much faith in your humanity and kindness. I cannot tell you how many times I've re-read your cards, emails and comments, and been comforted by them, nor can I tell you how many times I've slept with gifts -- mostly books -- that you've sent to me, holding them close to my heart throughout the night, and the comfort these items bring me when I wake up in the darkness…
grrlscientist | November 23, 2006I guess that some of you are wondering what the holidays are like in a nuthouse. Perhaps you think they are depressing because we are separated from our families? Or maybe you think we sleep all day?
So far, my Thanksgiving is great. I am writing on the computer, with freshly polished fingernails, listening to Barry Manilow on my iPod (a gift from Orac) and eating chocolate-covered coffee beans, thanks to a devoted reader, who shall remain nameless, but nonetheless, very appreciated.
Because I don't have a family, I feel that my fellow lunatics and the staff are my family, and I have been…
grrlscientist | November 23, 2006
Tiger moth, Grammia geneura.
The Grammia geneura or "wooly bear" caterpillar sacrifices food quality to imbibe a
witches' brew of toxins from various plants to make itself unpalatable to predators and
resistant to parasitoids. [AmNat PDF]
Image: Biosparite.
I am receiving so many gorgeous images from you, dear readers, that I am overwhelmed by the beauty of the images and the creatures and places in those images. If you have a high-resolution digitized nature image (I prefer JPG format) that you'd like to share with your fellow readers, feel free to email it to me, along with information…
grrlscientist | November 23, 2006
A group of wild turkeys tried to make a break out of town yesterday afternoon. The turkeys were spotted with the New Jersey transit surveillance cameras standing on the platfom at Ramsey, which is approximately 20 miles northeast of New York City, appearing to be waiting for the train (above).
"For a moment, it looked like the turkeys were waiting for the next outbound train," said Dan Stessel, a spokesman for NJ Transit. "Clearly, they're trying to catch a train and escape their fate."
A Ramsey police dispatcher said they had received three calls about the turkeys who also were blamed…
grrlscientist | November 22, 2006One thing that bothers me about the holidays is that our politicians o mind their own business instead of causing all sorts of trouble that us bloggers love to attack them for. So as a result, us bloggers have a temporary dearth of snarky comments to share with you. For some bloggers, this is a crisis, but not so for me, amigos bonitos. As you know, I am more versatile than that. If the last story did not prove my versatility, then this story certainly will.
After being fired -- twice -- the day before Christmas, a man who came to be known as the Secret Santa was nursing his own wounds by…
grrlscientist | November 22, 2006I know that there are hundreds of people out there who are wondering what happened regarding today's court date because I have been innundated with comments and email -- all of which I love!! -- so I'll give you the short news and then provide more detail: The hearing was postponed for one week.
We -- the team leader, who is a shrink, my own shrink, who is a resident, my medical student, and a mental health aid along with a security guard and me -- left the nuthouse at 930 am. We drove across Manhattan to Ward's Island in a state van to a large and truly scarey-looking high-security…
grrlscientist | November 22, 2006
Mount Rainier.
Orphaned image. Please contact me for proper creditation.
I am receiving so many gorgeous images from you, dear readers, that I am overwhelmed by the beauty of the images and the creatures and places in those images. If you have a high-resolution digitized nature image (I prefer JPG format) that you'd like to share with your fellow readers, feel free to email it to me, along with information about the image and how you'd like it to be credited.
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tags: mountain, Mount Rainier, Seattle, Volcano
grrlscientist | November 22, 2006I see words as providing people with a deeper and richer meaning to their emotional and professional lives, especially because much of our lives rely on words. So not every word that I use in this little feature is completely unfamiliar to you, or at least I hope it isn't, because teaching you obscure words is not my primary intention, although I do sometimes do this to give you some fun.
Instead, my goal is to demonstrate the beauty, versatility and subtlety of the English language and to acquaint you with the many wonderful languages that have contributed to English. And of course, I hope…
grrlscientist | November 22, 2006I am normally very shy about sharing my poetry but today, i'll make an exception for this quick (but not very good) poem that I wrote for you last night about my impending court date that is designed to involuntarily commit me to a long-term mental health facility, a court date that has kept me awake and nauseous most of the night. This is a scheduled posting, so I can't even give you an update as to where I am located at this precise moment or what I am doing at this point in time. But I can tell you that I will be thinking of all of you, dear readers, all of you from around the world and…
grrlscientist | November 21, 2006Well, if any of you out there ever fantasized about knowing a lunatic, a real honest-to-god lunatic, well, you know one now: me.
All my attempts to negotiate a discharge date with the hospital were flatly rejected, so I am making a court appearance tomorrow morning at a courthouse somewhere in Manhattan (they won't tell me where it is or what time the hearing starts so my friends cannot attend). Basically, I am fighing for my life; fighting the state's expressed desire to lock me up for a very long time in a state psychiatric ward -- very possibly for the remainder of my life.
Needless to…
grrlscientist | November 21, 2006
River Jewelwing damselfly Calopteryx aequabilis.
Photographed hile I was doing some stream survey work on
a tributary of the Jock River near Ottawa, Ontario, in July 2004.
Image: Bev Wigney.
I am receiving so many gorgeous pictures from you, dear readers, that I am overwhelmed by the beauty of the images and the creatures and places in them. If you have a high-resolution digitized nature image (I prefer JPG format) that you'd like to share with your fellow readers, feel free to email it to me, along with information about the image and how you'd like it to be credited.
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tags: butterfly…
grrlscientist | November 21, 2006I see words as power: words provide people with a deeper and richer meaning to their emotional and professional lives, especially because so much of our lives rely on words. So not every word that I use in this little feature is completely unfamiliar to you, or at least I hope it isn't, because teaching you obscure words is not my primary intention, although I do sometimes choose obscure words to give you some fun as well as improving your vocabulary.
Instead, my goal is to demonstrate the beauty, versatility and subtlety of the English language and to acquaint you with the many wonderful…
grrlscientist | November 20, 2006
Green Frog, Rana clamitans.
Photographed while I was doing some frog pond surveys as a volunteer working with grad a university in eastern Ontario
Image: Bev Wigney.
I am receiving so many gorgeous pictures from you, dear readers, that I am overwhelmed by the beauty of the images and the creatures and places in them. If you have a high-resolution digitized nature image (I prefer JPG format) that you'd like to share with your fellow readers, feel free to email it to me, along with information about the image and how you'd like it to be credited.
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tags: frog, green frog, amphibian,…