education
esiegel | December 13, 2009And you,
of tender years,
can't know the fears
that your elders grew by... -Graham Nash, Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young
Here's CSNY's version of Teach Your Children from their third album (their second with Neil Young), 4 Way Street, although it was always the lyrics of the song that got to me.
Like many people involved in college life, my semester is winding down, and finals week is upon us. My astronomy class just ended yesterday; little did I know that one of my students had made up a comic strip about me! (Click for full-size.)
For the first time since High School when Rory McEvoy…
grrlscientist | December 13, 2009tags: Double-crested Cormorant, Phalacrocorax auritus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Double-crested Cormorant, Phalacrocorax auritus, photographed at Whittier Narrows, California. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Steve Duncan, 8 December 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200 w/ Nikkor 300mm f/4 & TC17E.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | December 12, 2009tags: Western Kingbird, Tyrannus verticalis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Western Kingbird, Tyrannus verticalis, photographed at Smith Point, Chambers County, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 1 November 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/750s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
This lovely North American species shouldn't be too difficult for most of you to ID (maybe you can hold your enthusiasm in check for a few hours, David?)
Please name at least one field mark that supports your…
grrlscientist | December 11, 2009tags: Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Polioptila caerulea, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Polioptila caerulea, photographed at Smith Point, Chambers County, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 3 November 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/640s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Can you tell me the sex as well as the species for this individual?
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
rallain | December 10, 2009It is the end of the semester, and I hear stuff. A lot of this stuff I do not like to hear. This is a sample (essentially):
"I don't have to take the final in that class, the instructor said I just have to organize some folders instead"
"I got an A on all the tests, but the instructor said my grade was a B because I missed too many classes"
Those are just two examples I have heard recently. When I hear these kinds of things, I try not to pass judgment on other faculty because I am only hearing one side of the story (I can only imagine what crazy things students say about me). However, I…
mikethemadbiologist | December 10, 2009In an otherwise excellent article about the failures of the U.S. collegiate educational system, Kevin Carey makes a common mistake: he assumes that the pressure to publish is primarily about prestige for the university. It's not. It's about revenue.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. Carey (italics mine):
Universities like to pretend that great scholars make great instructors, but one indifferent, outdated lecture from a tenured professor is enough to conclude otherwise. Because scholarly outcomes are visible, in the form of publications and citations, while teaching outcomes are currently…
grrlscientist | December 10, 2009tags: Green-winged Teal, Anas crecca, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Female Green-winged Teal, Anas crecca, photographed at Arthur Storey Park, Houston, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 5 December 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/640s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Can you tell me the sex as well as the species for this individual?
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
ddobbs | December 9, 2009Over at the Times Magazine Motherlode blog, Lisa Belkin ran a short post about my Atlantic "Orchid Children" piece a couple days ago, and some of the responses she got strike to an issue that has come up quite a few other places. I posted a note on this at Motherlode, and wanted to expand on it a bit here as well. This is the first what may be several posts of the "FAQ" sort examining reader or blogger concerns.
In this case, the concern dominating the Motherlode commenter thread responses, and in a few other places as well, is whether the "Orchid Children" of my title are what many people…
drorzel | December 9, 2009Harry Brighouse at Crooked Timber has a very good post about schools that appear to "beat the odds", getting good results with populations that don't typically do well in school. It does an excellent job of laying out the problems with the vast majority of attempts to determine which schools are "beating the odds," let alone what methods are best to use for this. It turns out to be a lot harder to measure than most people think-- I was particularly struck by this bit:
It gets worse, thanks to my colleague Doug Harris, in his paper, “High flying schools, student disadvantage, and the logic of…
grrlscientist | December 9, 2009tags: Sedge Wren, Cistothorus platensis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Sedge Wren, Cistothorus platensis, photographed in Minnehaha County, South Dakota. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Terry Sohl, 19 September 2009 [larger view]
Canon 50D, 400 5.6L lens.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | December 8, 2009tags: Ring-necked Duck, Ring-billed Duck, Ringneck, Aythya collaris, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Ring-necked Duck, also known as the Ring-billed Duck (a more obvious name, in my opinion) or the Ringneck, Aythya collaris, photographed in San Francisco, California. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Pete Myers, 12 November 2009 [larger view]
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | December 8, 2009tags: Learning French, entertainment, comedy, funny, fucking hilarious, transvestite, Eddie Izzard, streaming video
This video is a clip of the very talented comedian Eddie Izzard. Eddie Izzard talks about the trials with using the French phrases in everyday conversations that he's learned in his French classes.
Perhaps you prefer English subtitles?
More information about Eddie: he ran 43 marathons in 7 weeks, has an honorary doctorate from the University of Sheffield, is one of the top 20 comics of all time... oh and he likes to wear woman's clothing too. This last personal habit provides…
grrlscientist | December 7, 2009tags: kitchen science, parties, entertainment, fun, science tricks, christmas parties, edutainment, Richard Wiseman, streaming video
This video is a fascinating collection of the top ten science tricks that you can do at that upcoming corporate Christmas party that you are dreading -- and by performing these tricks, you can entertain others whilst enjoying yourself, and make this party into a fun event for all!
This video was created by Prof Richard Wiseman.
grrlscientist | December 7, 2009tags: California Thrasher, Toxostoma redivivum, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] California Thrasher, Toxostoma redivivum, photographed in San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary, Irvine, California. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Pete Myers, 9 October 2009 [larger view]
Nikon 300, Nikkor 80-400 ED @ 300mm, ISO 400 1/640 f10.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
bioephemera | December 7, 2009
Every year, I do my charitable giving at the holidays. It doesn't make much sense from a personal budget standpoint, since I'm always running out of money and time, but it just feels like a good thing to do. This year, I'm going to feature one recipient here on the blog, in the hopes of raising awareness of all the great local charities out there who don't get much press.
Unlike my perennial favorites Doctors Without Borders and DonorsChoose - both wonderful organizations who do a lot of good, and have been featured on BioE already this year - or media groups like NPR and Wikimedia, there…
grrlscientist | December 6, 2009tags: speech, Public School, Don't be an Individual, Paideia School, Nick Kocher, comedy, funny, humor, social commentary, streaming video
This is an (obviously) amateur streaming video of a speech given at the Paideia School Senior Dinner a few days before graduation. I think many of us can empathize, and those of you who cannot, well, why are you reading my blog?
Like Nick, get pimples and dry skin at the same time, too. My skin is a never-ending battle. But I should mention that a particular shade of purple really is my favorite color.
Incidentally, if you wish to learn more about Nick…
grrlscientist | December 6, 2009tags: House Wren, Troglodytes aedon, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] House Wren, Troglodytes aedon, photographed at Smith Point, Chambers County (near Galveston), Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 1 November 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/500s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
The House Wren is usually divided into three distinct subspecies groups and one or several distinct island-endemic subspecies. Some or all…
grrlscientist | December 5, 2009tags: Eastern Bluebird, Blue Robin, Blue Redbreast, Sialia sialis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Eastern Bluebird, also known as the Blue Robin or the Blue Redbreast, Sialia sialis, photographed on the Katy Prairie, Katy, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 25 November 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/350s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | December 4, 2009tags: Wood Stork, Wood Ibis, Mycteria americana, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Wood Stork (family: Ciconiidae), originally misnamed as the Wood Ibis even though it is only distantly related to the ibises (family: Threskiornithidae), Mycteria americana, photographed in Arthur Storey Park, Houston, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 19 November 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/640s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.…
grrlscientist | December 4, 2009tags: ScienceBlogs, National Geographic, news
I have friends at National Geographic, so I was most pleased to read early this morning (last night, USA time), that ScienceBlogs and National Geographic have teamed up to provide outstanding science and nature content to the public!
I am sure it has not been a mystery to any of you that ScienceBlogs and National Geographic share the same ultimate mission: to cultivate widespread interest in science and the natural world. Starting today, SB-NG will work together to advance this common mission by providing new content, applications, and…