education
grrlscientist | July 23, 2009tags: Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Coccyzus americanus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Coccyzus americanus, photographed at High Island, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 19 May 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200 ,Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/320s 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 | July 23, 2009tags: Richard Dawkins, evolution, University of Nebraska State Museum, Diatoms, Yellowstone Lake, Stephanodiscus yellowstonensis, religion, fundamentalism, streaming video
Richard Dawkins explains how microscopic algae called Diatoms uniquely evolved in Yellowstone Lake in response to climate change [2:09]
What will the creationists and other fundamentalists say in response to these data?
grrlscientist | July 23, 2009tags: Gordon Brown, world wide web, WWW, social injustice, poverty, security, climate change, economy, ethics, streaming video
We're at a unique moment in history, argues UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown: we can use today's interconnectedness to develop our shared global ethic -- and work together to confront the challenges of poverty, security, climate change and the economy [16:43]
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes.
grrlscientist | July 22, 2009tags: Ruff, Philomachus pugnax, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Ruff, Philomachus pugnax photographed in Swakopmund, Namibia, Africa [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dennis Paulson, April 2007 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds as of this date.
grrlscientist | July 22, 2009tags: TEDTalks, medicine, Psychopathic Killers, epigenetics, brain damage, psychology, MAOA gene, serotonin, Jim Fallon, streaming video
In this video, Gever Tulley uses engaging photos and footage to demonstrate the valuable lessons kids learn at his Tinkering School. When given tools, materials and guidance, these young imaginations run wild and creative problem-solving takes over to build unique boats, bridges and even a rollercoaster! [4:42]
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give…
drorzel | July 21, 2009(On July 16, 2009, I asked for volunteers with science degrees and non-academic jobs who would be willing to be interviewed about their careers paths, with the goal of providing young scientists with more information about career options beyond the pursuit of a tenure-track faculty job that is too often assumed as a default. This post is one of those interviews, giving the responses of Nicole Leuke, a science teacher in Alberta.)
1) What is your non-academic job?
I am a High School Science and math teacher. I teach primarily physics and general sciences (grades 10,11,12). I have been teaching…
drorzel | July 21, 2009(On July 16, 2009, I asked for volunteers with science degrees and non-academic jobs who would be willing to be interviewed about their careers paths, with the goal of providing young scientists with more information about career options beyond the pursuit of a tenure-track faculty job that is too often assumed as a default. This post is one of those interviews, giving the responses of an Australian who prefers to remain nameless.)
1) What is your non-academic job?
I'm the manager of a small company that makes high-tech measuring equipment. Most of this is used for monitoring and control in…
mikethemadbiologist | July 21, 2009One of the parts I liked about Unscientific America was the recognition that many scientists need to be trained in communication--and as importantly, this training requires funding, so universities have a financial incentive to reward scientific communication and outreach. Mooney and Kirshenbaum also think that non-profit organizations should and will play a critical role in communicating science: not only do we have to train people, we need to actually pay them to communicate. So that's all good (TEH RELIGIONISMZ!! AAAIIEEE!!!).
One example of the non-profit model is Rick Weiss, who is an…
grrlscientist | July 21, 2009tags: Least Bittern, Ixobrychus exilis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Least Bittern, Ixobrychus exilis, photographed at Anahuac Refuge, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 1 May 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200 ,Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/250s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso40.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
drorzel | July 20, 2009(On July 16, 2009, I asked for volunteers with science degrees and non-academic jobs who would be willing to be interviewed about their careers paths, with the goal of providing young scientists with more information about career options beyond the pursuit of a tenure-track faculty job that is too often assumed as a default. This post is one of those interviews, giving the responses of Dr. Richard Edgar of the Chandra X-Ray Observatory project at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.)
1) What is your non-academic job?
I work for the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, which operates…
grrlscientist | July 20, 2009tags: Spot-Bellied Eagle-Owl, Forest Eagle-Owl, Malay Eagle-Owl, Bubo nipalensis, identify this bird, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Spot-Bellied Eagle-Owl, also known as the Forest Eagle-Owl or the Malay Eagle-Owl, Bubo nipalensis. This interesting bird, which is a pet, is endemic to Southeast Asia. [I will identify these birds for you in 48 hours]
Image: "juannasue."
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | July 20, 2009tags: Sharp-tailed Grouse, Tympanuchus phasianellus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Sharp-tailed Grouse, Tympanuchus phasianellus, photographed at roughly 9am in the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument in Montana. [I will identify these birds for you in 48 hours]
Image: Bardiac, 7 June 2009 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
drorzel | July 20, 2009Last week's call for non-academic scientists produced a much larger response than I was expecting-- more than 30 people volunteered. Thanks to all who volunteered, and if you're interested, please feel free to contact me-- it's not too late to get involved.
As I said in that post, I plan to post a series of short interviews with people who have science degrees, but are not working in academia. The idea here is to provide information on career options for scientists and science majors beyond the "go to grad school, do a post-doc, get a faculty position" track that is too often assumed to be…
drorzel | July 19, 2009The New York Times has a habit of publishing these loathsome little profile articles that either belie the paper's liberal reputation, or are a stealthy attempt to bring about the Red Revolution by stoking class hatred. These generally take the form of profile stories about wealthy suburbanites in Westchester County or Connecticut, who have more money than taste, and whose sense of entitlement can be detected from distant stars through its gravitational pull on the sun.
These typically turn up in the Style section or the Magazine, but today's made the front page of the print edition: Before…
grrlscientist | July 19, 2009tags: mystery bird, identify this bird, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Ruddy Turnstone, Arenaria interpres, photographed at Galveston, East Beach, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 19 May 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.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | July 18, 2009tags: Swee Waxbill, Yellow-bellied Waxbill, Estrilda melanotis, identify this bird, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Yellow-bellied Waxbill, also known as the Swee Waxbill, Estrilda melanotis, photographed on Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 2007 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | July 17, 2009tags: mystery bird, identify this bird, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Red-Bellied Woodpecker, Melanerpes carolinus, photographed at the Katy Prairie, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 3 March 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with tsn-pz camera eyepiece 1/200s 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 | July 17, 2009tags: TEDTalks, skin color, skin pigmentation, melanin, folate, humans, UV radiation, Vitamin D, evolution, streaming video
Nina Jablonski says that differing skin colors are simply our bodies' adaptation to varied climates and levels of UV exposure. Charles Darwin disagreed with this theory, but she explains, that's because he did not have access to NASA. [14:48]
grrlscientist | July 16, 2009tags: Western Screech-owl, Megascops kennicottii, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Western Screech-owl, Megascops kennicottii, photographed in Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Richard Ditch, 11 June 2005.
Date Time Original: 2005:06:11 13:52:01
Exposure Time: 1/60
F-Number: 5.60
ISO: 500
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
pontiff | July 15, 2009Microsoft Research's Project Tuva website is up. Project Tuva is a collection of seven searchable Feynman lectures aimed at a popular audience (with extras coming online in the future.) The rights to these lectures were obtained by Bill Gates after he was entranced by them over twenty years ago. Well worth watching, especially if you're about to give a popular science talk (I've always been fascinated by how Feynman uses his hands in describing physics.)
Even more interesting, in my egocentric universe, are the comments by Mr. Gates himself about Feynman:
Someone who can make science…