grrlscientist | October 23, 2006Fatuity (fah·TOO·i·tee) [Latin fatuits, from fatuus; silly, foolish.]
n. pl. -ties.
smug stupidity, utter foolishness. absurdity. A ludicrous folly.
something that is utterly stupid or silly.
Usage: The possibility that the Rethuglicans can maintain their stranglehold on both houses of congress appears to be an exercise in fatuity.
Do you have a better usage? If so, please share!
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tags: fatuity, word of the day, vocabulary
grrlscientist | October 23, 2006One question that people like to ask me is how I decided to study evolution in birds? The fact is that I had always been particularly interested in birds so I have a life-long history of watching and feeding wild birds as well as breeing and training captive birds, so it would seem natural that I would eventually end up studying them, too .. right?
Well, my journey wasn't as straighforward as that since I worried I would never be able to make a living as an ornithologist, so I instead went into microbiology and studied to be a virologist. Daily, my life was focused on sussing out the…
grrlscientist | October 23, 2006When you see Bush's bone-headed responses to cutting-edge scientific research, especially global warming and embryonic stem cell reasearch, it's easy to think that he is the worst thing to happen to science in the history of this nation. But other 19th and 20th century presidents have ignored science to further their own political and religious agendas, so is Bush really the worst enemy of scientific research?
If you are the science advisor to the president, you would deny this allegation;
According to John Marburger, Bush's science advisor, allegations that Bush is harder on science than…
grrlscientist | October 22, 2006
The latest spectacular image from the Hubble Space Telescope: the sharpest picture ever of the merging galaxies known as the Antennae. The Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies may be doing something very similar in about 4 billion years.
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: galaxies, astronomy, "outer space", science
grrlscientist | October 22, 2006After long hiatus, I think you all will be pleased to know that Birds in the News will return soon -- I think it will be the Monday before Thanksgiving, but I am still not sure yet. If you have high-resolution images that you'd like to share with the world as the featured photograph for Birds in the News, feel free to send them to me, along with information about what was happening when you took the picture and how you want the image credited.
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tags: Birds in the News, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
grrlscientist | October 22, 2006
Clouded Sulfur butterfly, Colias philodice,
nectaring at the garden of the (now defunct) Tierra de los Suenos
Bed and Breakfast near Patagonia, Arizona, mid-July 2003.
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: butterfly, clouded sulfur butterfly, insect, lepidoptery, zoology
grrlscientist | October 22, 2006A friend emailed this picture to me, so I am sharing it with you -- just to let you know that I am here and thinking about all of you. This image has inspired me to share some images with you throughout the day today. I hope that you enjoy them!
Male Indian Peafowl, Pavo cristatus, in courtship display.
Orphaned image.
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: peacock, birds, biology, photography, ornithology,…
grrlscientist | October 21, 2006Thanks to my blog colleague, John, I learned that I am special in one way ...
HowManyOfMe.com
There are:0people with my namein the U.S.A.
How many have your name?
According to the search engine on that site, there are 3,000 people in the USA who share my first name and 0 people with my last name. I guess I am special because I don't exist at all. Hrmmm.
grrlscientist | October 21, 2006A friend emailed this image, prompting me to ask; when will the pastor of this congregation be arrested and detained indefinitely as a terrorist?
A reader points out that this sign was created using an online church sign generator. Well, of course! That explains why the sign was not vandalized.
Create your own church sign and feel free to share it with my readers!
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tags: Bush, politics, terrorism, freedom of speech
grrlscientist | October 21, 2006A government led by pants-wearing individuals? Um, no.
Pantisocracy
n. government by all equally; anarchistic community. pantisocratic, a.
Usage: If this country was a pantisocracy, we would sell a lot of guns.
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tags: word of the week, vocabulary, politics
grrlscientist | October 20, 2006
What is a good way to get kids to read particular books? Ban those particular books and then place them on public display. Of course, if you are genuinely banning those books for being controversial, there are problems associated with this;
"But I don't think we should tease kids into reading a book by trying to say, 'there might be something juicy or controversial in this book. Therefore, it would be a good one for you to sneak home and read."' [Cited story]
Speaking as a former kid myself, I can say that banning particular books -- titles that you want kids to read -- is an especially…
grrlscientist | October 20, 2006
This isn't the prettiest streaming video, but I think it will bring back some fun memories.
Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, get your adverbs here
Quickly, quickly, quickly, get your adverbs here
Slowly, surely, really, learn your adverbs here
You're going need 'em if you read 'em
if you write or talk or think about it
Lolly ... Lolly ... Lolly ...
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tags: schoolhouse rock, education, teaching, streaming video
grrlscientist | October 19, 2006
Did you like my newspaper story? It appeared in today's issue of The Daily Prophet.
Write your own newspaper story.
grrlscientist | October 19, 2006Er, I was referring to the public opinion polls!
According to a recent MSN/Wall Street Journal public opinion poll, Rethuglicans have sunk so low that they can slide under the belly of a snake whilst wearing a tophat.
With congressional elections less than three weeks away, the Republican party's approval ratings are at an all-time low, with approval of the Republican-led Congress at its lowest point in 14 years, according to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released on Wednesday. [Cited story]
Another story analyzes the poll results and states the obvious; the Foley sex scandal and…
grrlscientist | October 19, 2006A friend emailed this link and even though I have only begun to poke around on it, but already I find it fascinating. Darwin OnLine is a searchable webbed database that contains more than 50,000 text pages and 40,000 images of publications and handwritten manuscripts. It also has the most comprehensive Darwin bibliography ever published and the largest manuscript catalogue ever assembled. More than 150 ancillary texts are also included, ranging from secondary reference works to contemporary reviews, obituaries, published descriptions of Darwin's Beagle specimens and important related works…
grrlscientist | October 18, 2006You won't believe this but Senator McCain says he thinks he will commit suicide if the Democrats win the Senate in this upcoming election.
McCain, on a visit to Iowa to campaign for Republican congressional candidates, was asked his reaction to a potential Democratic takeover of the Senate in the November 7 elections.
"I think I'd just commit suicide," McCain told reporters, to accompanying laughter from Republicans standing with him. "I don't want to face that eventuality because I don't think it's going to happen."
Promises, promises .. do you think McCain is serious? Regardless of…
grrlscientist | October 18, 2006Failing to fight global warming now will cost trillions of dollars by the end of the century even without counting biodiversity loss or unpredictable events like the Gulf Stream shutting down, a study recently showed. But acting now will avoid some of the massive damage and cost relatively little, said the study commissioned by Friends of the Earth and the Global Development and Environment Institute of Tufts University in the United States.
Most scientists now agree average temperatures will rise by between two and six degrees Celsius by the end of the century, driven by so-called…
grrlscientist | October 18, 2006
A friend who owns a dog emailed this design that is being used on t-shirts, so I am sharing it with you because I have a tradition of sharing such things with you. The website where this image is found, ObeyThePureBreed, has world domination by dogs as its primary focus. You can get your very own t-shirts with this and other humorous designs on them by clicking on the image above.
[NOTE: I don't get anything for mentioning and linking to ObeyThePureBreed (heck, they don't even know that I've linked to them) although I would happily wear one of their shirts (medium size) if it was offered…
grrlscientist | October 18, 2006I couldn't resist this quiz -- seriously now, guess which president I am most like? And which president are you most similar to?
You Are Most Like Bill Clinton
No doubt, your legacy may be a little seedier than you'd like.
But even though you've done some questionable things, you're still loved by almost all.
What Modern US President Are You Most Like?
Hrm, jelly beans were one answer, but not cigars .. I am confused as to how I am most like Bill Clinton.
grrlscientist | October 17, 2006
Image source.
As some of you know, I have been seeking a job for several years (I won't embarass myself by saying exactly how many years). Needless to say, I have made a few discoveries along the way, one of which is how to decipher job ads. Below the fold is a dictionary of words and phrases that a friend sent to me. These words and phrases are often included in job ads for jobs that turn out to be something other than what they should have been based on the ad description. Feel free to add your own, too.
Ability to take charge: Your boss works 60-70 hours a week and has been looking…