grrlscientist | October 28, 2006This word is from the 29 October 2006 New York Times Magazine's feature, entitled "Islam and the Bomb" by Noah Feldman (print; not yet online). This week's issue is particularly good because, in addition to the article that I cite (below), it also contains a piece about the Taliban, several articles about bipolar disorder, an interview with a psychiatrist about depression and an piece about Alzheimer's disease.
Jurist (JOOR-ist) [French juriste from Medieval Latin jurista, from Latin jur- jus law]
n.
a legal scholar versed in civil law or the law of nations.
a public official…
grrlscientist | October 28, 2006This interesting video shows you a little about how a computer hard drive works, and in the process, reveals what some of those weird little noises mean when your computer saves or deletes something for you.
grrlscientist | October 27, 2006Okay, I'll admit this was an easy quiz, but I am an American afterall, so geography quizzes must be easy or I'd never pass them!
My score is below the fold -- I'd love to know what your score is, too!
You Passed 8th Grade Geography
Congratulations, you got 10/10 correct!
Could You Pass 8th Grade Geography?
grrlscientist | October 27, 2006
A common garter snake, Thnmonphis sirtalis,
with a hitchhiking ladybug, Hippodamia convergens,
on its nose. This photo was taken in northeastern North Dakota.
Image: Justawriter.
If you have a high-resolution digitized nature image 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: snake, common garter snake, ladybug, insect, reptilia, zoology
grrlscientist | October 27, 2006This word is from one of the books that I am now reading, Mark Jerome Walters' Seeking the Sacred Raven: Politics and Extinctions on a Hawai'ian Island. This book is a fascinating portrayal of the myriad difficulties involved with trying to save an endangered species.
Evanescent (ev-uh-NES-uhnt) [Latin ÄvÄnÄscent- (s. of ÄvÄnÄscÄns): vanishing, disappearing.]
adj.
vanishing; fading away; fleeting.
tending to become imperceptible; scarcely perceptible.
Usage: The bird, I sometimes imagined, were I to fully comprehend its many dimensions, could deepen my understanding of both…
grrlscientist | October 27, 2006
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Climate change could cause the world's economy to fall into the worst global recession in recent history, according to a report that will be published next week.
Speaking at a climate change conference in Birmingham, Sir David King, the government's chief scientific adviser, said that all of Sir Nicholas Stern's "detailed modelling out to the year 2100 is going to indicate first of all that if we don't take global action we are going to see a massive downturn in global economies." He added: "If no action is taken we will be faced with the kind of downturn that has not been seen since…
grrlscientist | October 27, 2006
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Sheikh Taj El-Din Hamid Hilaly, the mufti of Australia's biggest mosque in Sydney who described unveiled women as "uncovered meat", refused to step down after he was suspended from preaching for three months. The Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard, said that stronger action should be taken against Hilaly.
"I believe that unless this matter is satisfactorily resolved by the Islamic community, there is a real worry that some lasting damage will be done," said Howard.
As far as I am concerned, the mufti should never be allowed to preach again after making such a crude and inflamatory…
grrlscientist | October 27, 2006
As a professor who (sometimes) teaches Anatomy and Physiology to nursing students, I think this is a great video.
Bones are heard of, but seldom seen,
'Cept each year 'round Hallowe'en.
But I've got a shockeroo
Right now there's a skeleton locked up inside of you! (Ha-ha-ha)
Minus bones you're just a blob,
Being framework's their main job.
All your organs, muscles, too,
They need your bones to hold them safe and sound inside for you.
Your heart and lungs are tucked away,
In there behind your ribs.
Those bones have been protecting them
Since we were little kids.
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tags: schoolhouse rock…
grrlscientist | October 26, 2006
Ladybug species, Neoharmonia venusta,
which was photographed near "the willows,"
a hot birding area at Anahuac NWR, Texas.
Image: Biosparite.
If you have a high-resolution digitized nature image 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: ladybug, insect, Coleptera, zoology
grrlscientist | October 26, 2006This fine word is often used by molecular biologists and protein chemists to describe proteins that are comprised of separate subunits. However, this word has a long and distinguished history outside of biology, as I recalled when I found it in a crossword puzzle in a book published by Dell;
Moiety (MOY-uh-tee) [Old French meitiet, from Late Latin medietas, from Latin medius, "middle."]
n.
One of two equal parts; a half.
An indefinite part; a small portion or share.
One of two basic tribal subdivisions.
Usage: Tom divided the cake and Becky ate with good appetite, while Tom nibbled at…
grrlscientist | October 26, 2006
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Does anyone have any doubts as to the extremist nature of Islam when the senior Muslim cleric in Australia and New Zealand blamed women for their own rapes?
A senior Muslim cleric compared women who go without a head scarf to "uncovered meat" left out for scavengers, drawing widespread condemnation and calls Thursday for his resignation.
First of all, as a woman, I deeply resent being compared to a piece of meat, as if women's only purpose in life is to be consumed by men.
Second, I am appalled and outraged that any rational human being would ever say that women are responsible for a…
grrlscientist | October 26, 2006.
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The petroleum giants were raking in money hand over fist while all of us were sweating blood over gasoline prices that had reached $4 per gallon in many parts of the country -- all during the so-called "gas shortage" caused by Gulf War 2.
Exxon Mobil Corp. on Thursday said its profit rose to $10.49 billion in the third quarter, making it the second-largest quarterly profit ever recorded by a publicly traded U.S. company.
The world's biggest oil company said its net income amounted to $1.77 per share for the July-September period, up from $9.92 billion, or $1.58 per share, a year ago…
grrlscientist | October 25, 2006
Green Tree Frog, Hyla cinerea.
Nelson Farms Preserve, Katy Prairie Conservancy, Texas.
NABA Butterfly Count, 4 September 2006.
Image: Biosparite.
If you have a high-resolution digitized nature image 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: green tree frog, frog, Amphibia, zoology
grrlscientist | October 25, 2006This fine word also comes from Sam Harris's book, The End of Faith;
Ineluctable (in-i-LUHK-tuh-buhl) [Latin inluctbilis : in, not + luctbilis, penetrable]
adj.
incapable of being evaded; inescapable.
Usage: At the heart of every totalitarian enterprise, one sees outlandish dogmas, poorly arranged, but working ineluctably like gears in some ludicrous instrument of death.
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tags: ineluctable, word of the day, vocabulary
grrlscientist | October 25, 2006... full-flail civil war .. blah blah!
I listened to Bush's speech this morning on TV. I felt like one of the characters from the Peanuts comic strip as they listened to their teacher talk. Basically, Bush's speech and the following question and answer period were such a tangled web of lies and "spin" that I hardly know where to start, except to say that Bush appears to be campaigning for the Democrats today.
Several questions that I want to know the answers to;
What constitutes "victory" in Iraq? What exactly are our objectives there? What are our strategies for obtaining our objectives?…
grrlscientist | October 24, 2006I ran across this word today in my reading of Sam Harris's book, The End of Faith, and I think it's a fine word to share with all of you.
Inchoate (in-KOH-it, -eyt or, especially Brit., IN-koh-eyt) [Latin; incohÄre; to begin, to start work on]
not yet completed or fully developed; rudimentary.
just begun; incipient.
not organized; lacking order. /li>
Usage: Even though the Democrats could capture one or both houses of congress, their plan of action appears to be an inchoate mass of ideas at this point in time.
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tags: inchoate, word of the day, vocabulary
grrlscientist | October 24, 2006
This is a pictorial tutorial on distinguishing
the Cloudless Sulphur, Phoebis sennae (individual on left),
from the Sleepy Orange butterfly, Eurema nicippe (group on right).
This photo was taken just north of US 290 on the east side of Roberts Road at a vacant lot posted "For Sale" for commercial development. Puddling is a social activity of butterfly species. The butterflies are fortifying themselves with dissolved salts from the soil.
Image: Biosparite.
If you have a high-resolution digitized nature image that you'd like to share with your fellow readers, feel free to email it to me,…
grrlscientist | October 24, 2006
NYC subway map source.
Honestly, I had no idea that straight men even used maps!
According to a recent study, gay men and straight women have similar navigational strategies, which are different from those employed by straight men. Women rely on using landmarks to find their way around, whereas straight men rely on a compass, directions and distances. However, this study also revealed that gay men use the same strategies as straight men use.
"Gay men adopt male and female strategies. Therefore their brains are a sexual mosaic," explains Qazi Rahman, a psychobiologist who led the study at…
grrlscientist | October 24, 2006A 22 year-old pregnant woman, who was unable to afford an abortion, carried her fetus to the middle of the third trmester and then shot herself in the belly, killing the fetus.
The woman claims she did this because she was impoverished, she already has two children and because her boyfriend was mentally abusive to her. Basically, she felt trapped and diminished to the point where she felt that she had no other options available to her.
There is no doubt that this event is both serious and very tragic, but is this woman a criminal? Should she be prosecuted for murder or for illegal abortion…
grrlscientist | October 24, 2006In my opinion, Rush's comments only served to publically reconfirm that he is an enormous asshole. But you be the judge;
A political ad in which a Parkinson's-afflicted Michael J. Fox talks about stem cell research was criticized Monday by conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh, who asserted that Fox was "either off his medication or acting" while filming the commercial. [cited story]
I think he qualifies for Ignoramus of the Year.