cultural observation
grrlscientist | June 5, 2006
666? The Mark of the Beast? The End Times? Or is 666 the emergency number for the local fire department?
My neighborhood is going crazy tonight, setting off a gazillion firecrackers -- they're burning up more firecrackers than they do even on Independence Day or New Year's Eve, in fact. Nevermind the fact that fireworks are illegal in NYC, but firecrackers, being comprised of a much greater amount of dynamite, are even more illegal, if that's even possible.
And this stuff is really expensive, too. At least half of my neighbors are unemployed (including me), so where did they get all this…
grrlscientist | May 17, 2006Here is yet another story of utter ridiculousness, this time from a St. Louis (Missouri) suburb; an unmarried couple with three children are being threatened with eviction due to a dumbass ordinance that prohibits more than three people from living together unless they are related by "blood, marriage or adoption."
"I'm just shocked," said Olivia Shelltrack, the unwed mother of three. "I really thought this [the city council's decision] would all be over, and we could go on with our lives."
Hrm. I suppose it would be alright if this couple (and their kids) lived together without getting…
grrlscientist | May 17, 2006I just learned that new federal guidelines recommend that all human female Americans between their first menstrual period and menopause should be treated as pre-pregnant, regardless of their future reproductive plans.
Does this sound rather like .. er, The Handmaid's Tale to you?
It certainly does to me!
According to this Washington Post article, what does it mean to be a member of the pre-pregnant? This means that, among other things, all "pre-pregnant" women should take folic acid supplements, refrain from smoking and using alcohol, avoid contact with cat feces and lead-based paint,…
grrlscientist | April 8, 2006
More commentary on Tiktaalik roseae, this time from the Wichita Eagle (click image and you will be magically transported there). Do be sure to read the little sign on the lower left side, too.
Update: this morning on National Public Radio's show, Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me! they asked this;
Question: Why would fish want to leave the water?
Answer: Because fish schools were teaching creationism!
Thanks, Ian!
tags: evolution, Tiktaalik rosea, fish, cartoon, humor
grrlscientist | April 7, 2006JK Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, recently wrote on her website that she worries about her daughters growing up in a "skinny-obsessed world", stating that she doesn't want them to grow up to become "empty-headed, self-obsessed, emaciated clones."
"Let my girls be Hermiones," she declared, referring to the brainy female character from the Harry Potter novels.
Rowling has two daughters, Mackenzie, age 1, and Jessica, age 12.
I think Rowling has gone a long way towards making it easier for girls to break out from rigid social stereotypes by creating her character, Hermione.…
grrlscientist | March 19, 2006This was sent to me by a friend so I rewrote it a little and posted it here because I thought it might be useful to my blog sibling, Afarensis, in particular;
Anyone who has been job-hunting will probably agree that the interpretations for these bullet items (written in bold) that you typically see in job ads are (sadly) accurate;
Competitive Salary: We remain competitive by paying our employees less than our competitors.
Join our Fast-Paced Company: We have no time to train you and you'll be stuck introducing yourself to your co-workers.
Seeking Enthusiastic, Fun, Hard-Working People…
grrlscientist | March 18, 2006
Does this picture remind you of anything? This clip came from a video that I have been enjoying this morning. The linked video by Texmachina depicts the opening credits for the The Simpsons television program using real life characters [runtime: 59 seconds] . There are other videos available on the linked site that you also might enjoy.
tags: The Simpsons, humor
grrlscientist | March 17, 2006Well, it's day two of jury duty. I have been sitting here in the juror lounge, trying not to freeze to death even though they are running the air conditioning on a 35-degree day, and I am spending more money than I am paid each day to access the internet so I can answer email and post little messages to my blog. Yes, my peeps*, it has been an interesting two days so far, and I have learned several important things as a result.
Lesson One: the people who are here with me for jury duty are really interesting. This leads me to ask; is this always the case, or did I just get lucky? Where'd they…
grrlscientist | March 16, 2006Okay, are you ready to feel like you really do deserve that drinking bout you've been contemplating recently? Well, let me help you make that decision with this little article.
If I wasn't cranking away at Birds in the News right now, I'd be joining you at the local watering hole five minutes ago.
grrlscientist | March 16, 2006Peeps noun (sing.; peep): (1) short, soft, high pitched sounds or utterances, like those of a baby bird; chirps. (2) A shortened colloquial term for "people", referring to those people who live in one's neighborhood, now often denotes people with whom one is familiar and fond of; friends. (3) A colloquial term used by birdwatchers to describe small North American shorebirds, usually when they form a group comprised of a variety of species; sandpipers. Sometimes erroneously applied to any small brown bird species that is difficult for the observer to identify. (4) Product name for soft…
grrlscientist | March 14, 2006Unfortunately, I am not one of them!
Can water be transformed into beer? Wouldn't it be some sort of modern-day biblical-style miracle if one evening, you discovered that beer flowed from your kitchen tap instead of water? Well, that's what happened for one lucky couple in Norway.
Unfortunately, as with all miracles, this one has a reality-based explanation. In this case, a "really creative" (drunk?) bartender made a mistake when connecting the beer hoses for the pub that was downstairs from the lucky couple.
Okay, I will leave you with that story for now while I go back to writing my…
grrlscientist | March 13, 2006As some of you might recall, I am an ant farmer. But did you know that today is the 50th anniversary of the ant farm? Fifty years ago today, Milton Levine began selling the first of more than 20 million of his Uncle Milton's Ant Farms (pictured), which is still reasonably priced at $12-20 each. As a result, more than one billion ants have found homes with ant farm customers.
Thanks, Mike!
Also, while I am writing about ants, there is an amazing story about aquatic ants below the fold.
North Queensland scientists have discovered a new type of ant, believed to be the only species that can live…
grrlscientist | March 10, 2006If you live in Illinois, a heart attack could be in your future.
A friend sent me an article that describes Baseball's Best Burger that you can get only at an Illinois ballpark. This gut-busting artery-clogger is comprised of a hamburger patty topped with sharp cheddar cheese and two slices of bacon, all of which are nestled inside a "bun" made of a sliced Krispy Kreme Original Glazed donut.
Since this er, thing, delivers 1000 calories, 45 grams of which are fat (the average person consumes 2000 calories per day, and fat should not provide more than 30% of those calories), I think it…
grrlscientist | January 22, 2006
Sun in an Empty Room by Edward Hopper (1963).
(click image for desktop wallpaper).
no loneliness, space
Morris to New York City
no space, loneliness
tags: haiku, Edward Hopper, Empty room
grrlscientist | January 15, 2006
Dodos, rabbit poop, Mt. Rushmore and poker .. what more could you ask for than to make sense of the controversy regarding the teaching of so-called "intelligent design" versus evolution in science classrooms. To this end, the artistic community has teamed up with scientists to produce a film that explores strategies used by proponents of so-called "Intellegent Design" to confuse and mislead the general public about evolution.
Advance screenings;
February 2 - KANSAS 730pm, Glenwood Arts Theater, call 913.642.4404 for tickets.
February 6 - HARVARD 700pm Geology Lecture Hall
February 10 -…