streaming videos
grrlscientist | March 10, 2008tags: courting black scoters, seaducks, Melanitta nigra, streaming video
A bird pal of mine, Al Wagar, who lives in the Seattle area, took this video of calling and courting black scoters, Melanitta nigra, that were on the coast near Edmonds, Washington. Black scoters are a large species of sea duck that dive for their dinner, eating mainly mollusks. They breed on ponds in northern boreal forests and spend the rest of their lives on oceans and salt water bays. Black scoter numbers show a long-term decline, possibly due to loss of boreal forest and coastal oil spills [0:43].
One of the cuter…
grrlscientist | March 7, 2008tags: Meet Hugo: Cat of One Thousand Faces, humor, silliness, streaming video
Watch Hugo transform himself with his amazing disguises! [1:28].
Okay, it's true that he tries to eat some of them, too.
grrlscientist | March 6, 2008tags: Scientists for Better PCR, humor, viral marketing, streaming video
I am a scientist who does a lot of PCR, and so I found this example of viral marketing to be really amusing. "Scientists for Better PCR" a Bio-Rad Music Video for the all new 1000-Series Thermal Cyclers [2:13].
"The PCR Song" by "Scientists for a Better PCR" was done by the good folks at Bio-Rad to promote their 1000 Series Thermal Cyclers (a PCR machine). This is probably the best geek ad I've ever seen and will provide laughs to all (especially those who remember when PCR meant dipping your DNA samples into individual…
grrlscientist | March 5, 2008tags: Talking Cat, streaming video
This kitty has a lot to say, don't you think? But what is this cat talking about? The owner's translation; "Hello, Hello, Hello, I Know Hello, Hello Hello Hello. Hello. I'm Alone, I'm on my own, I'm Alone, I know hello." [0:26]
More about the cat, Tiggy.
My cat can say hello, she only does it when shes looking for you though once you call her or she sees you she'll stop so I had to set the camera up and leave it for awhile until she did it. She does this at least 10 times a day shes does it in the morning when she wants us to get up, in the night when shes…
grrlscientist | March 4, 2008tags: Performance Art, streaming video
Wow, this is a really amazing video of an artist at work on the stage -- redefining the phrase "performance art"! [5:29]
grrlscientist | March 3, 2008tags: Microwave vs. Easter, streaming video
Easter has a special place in my heart because of those disgustingly wonderful confectionary creatures: PEEPS! [2:18]
grrlscientist | February 29, 2008tags: Frozen Trafalgar Square, streaming video
Do you remember how I posted a streaming video Frozen in Time at Grand Central Station? Well, apparently, another volunteer improv squad has done the same thing in London. Inspired by improv everywhere and made a reality by 100's of volunteers. At exactly 3:30pm on a secret cue, almost everyone in Trafalgar Square froze. The few bewildered tourists didn't know what was happening. For 5 minutes the participants held their positions, and then magically everyone unfroze. [2:37]
grrlscientist | February 28, 2008tags: Kitchen Science, elephant toothpaste, chemistry demonstration, streaming video
Elephant toothpaste is a classic chemistry demonstration that will make anyone overflow with joy. When hydrogen peroxide decomposes, it gives off oxygen gas and water. Under ordinary circumstances, it breaks down very slowly, but potassium iodide can act as a catalyst -- making the reaction tremendously fast. If there is some liquid soap mixed in with the hydrogen peroxide, steamy foam will gush out of the container. [1:05]
grrlscientist | February 27, 2008tags: karate chop, slow motion, streaming video
This is a really interesting video showing a cement block being karate chopped in half, bare-handed. After the karate chop is captured in real time, the film is then played for you again, from several angles, in slow motion. If you've ever broken your wrist (as I have, twice), this video will make your stomach do flip-flops. [0:52]
grrlscientist | February 26, 2008tags: achievement whore, humor, satire, social commentary, streaming video
This amusing little video shows you just what a life of an achievement whore is really like -- it's not all goodness and light, either. Yes, it's safe for work, too. [2:37]
grrlscientist | February 25, 2008tags: black-footed ferret, Mustela nigripes, endangered species, cute overload, streaming video
An endangered black-footed ferret, Mustela nigripes, steals a CNN microphone cover. This is an animal that can move as fast backwards as forwards, or so it appears. Short, but incredibly cute footage of this lovely species. [0:46]
grrlscientist | February 22, 2008tags: cave of the swallows, Sótano de las Golondrinas, pit caves, cave diving, streaming video
The Cave of the Swallows is an enormous pit cave in a rainforest in San Luis PotosÃ, Mexico. The cave is known by the native name of Sótano de las Golondrinas, which means Basement of the Swallows, because of the large number of birds living in holes in the cave's walls. The low point of the entrance provides a 1094 feet (333 m) freefall drop to the bottom of the cave while the high point provides a 1220 feet (372 m) freefall drop. To free themselves from the cave, the birds fly in circles around…
grrlscientist | February 21, 2008tags: birds, ornithology, flamingos, courtship dance, streaming video
This video documents the highly synchronized mating dance of wild flamingos, just one of many surprising animals hidden among the Andes in South America. This footage is from the NATURE premiere of "Andes: The Dragon's Back." It is narrated by F. Murray Abraham. [1:42]
grrlscientist | February 20, 2008tags: politics, democracy, superdelegates, Roy Zimmerman, streaming video
For this morning's video, I thought I'd share this little song with you, mostly because I have been asked to interview a local superdelegate for a story that the Huffington Post (where I volunteer) is writing. This time, I will try to write a story for you on my blog about this interview. At least, I am hoping I can (is interview material proprietary?). Anyway, regardless of whether I am allowed to write my story for you, I can share this clever little song by political commentator, Roy Zimmerman, which is billed as "…
grrlscientist | February 19, 2008tags: satire, parody, humor, Iraq, suicide vests, streaming video
Panelists discuss whether stringent new suicide vest laws would ensure that only responsible people blow themselves up. "It's not fair to treat people like criminals if they use a suicide vest in a responsible and proper manner" [2:24]
grrlscientist | February 18, 2008tags: alka seltzer, microgravity, space science, NASA, streaming video
Alka-Seltzer is added to spherical water drop in microgravity onboard the International Space Station on March 22, 2003. Expedition Six NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit performs a series of microgravity experiments with water spheres and effervescent antacid tablets. Pettit inserts a tablet into a 50-millimeter sphere and observes the fizzy results. [4:43]
grrlscientist | February 15, 2008tags: endangered species, red knot, Caladris canutus rufus, Delaware Bay, horseshoe crab, streaming video
This a streaming video about the shorebirds, the Red Knot, that migrate through Delaware Bay from South America. Red Knots stay in the bay for 10 days or so and feed on horseshoe crab eggs to fatten up for their long journey to their Arctic nesting grounds. In this streaming video, scientist trap and tag migratory shore birds to gather information about them. [7:04]
grrlscientist | February 14, 2008tags: mandles, gifts for men, valentine's day, streaming video
Don't know what to get your man for Valentine's Day? How about Mandles®, the candles made for men with scents like "Hardware Store", "A1 Steak Sauce", "Burrito Fart" and "Chuck Norris Sweat" [1:52]
grrlscientist | February 13, 2008tags: luminescent marine animals, Deep Sea, Deep Blue, streaming video
Scenes and music are from the movie "Deep Blue", rearranged to make this little video, which shows mostly luminescent creatures that are living in the deep sea. These animals are bioluminescent, but to see that, you'd have to turn the lights out, and then they'd glow a bluish-white. However, these animals glow with rainbow colors due to diffraction by their bodies of the light that is being shown onto them for the purposes of photography. Imagine: we know more about the moon than we know about the deep sea! [1:15]
grrlscientist | February 12, 2008tags: Egg in a bottle, air pressure, streaming video
I was reading the New Scientist book last night, called How to Fossilize Your Hamster and this was one of the very experiments I read about, while wishing I was in a pub instead of my bed (although I would instead be making Tia Maria and cream disappear instead, snert) And heyyyy, doesn't that cream formation look like Jesus Christ? [3:48]
The explanation for this weird phenomenon is "saludal convection" where liquids of two densities mix together. If I am not mistaken, this experiment is even more interesting if you use Kahlua instread of…