holidaze

It's Rough Being the Easter Bunny

grrlscientist — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 02:59:36 +0000

It's Rough Being the Easter Bunny

I know this cartoon is as old as I am so you've all seen it a hundred times already, but it never fails to make me laugh, so I am sharing it with you anyway.

grrlscientist Sat, 04/03/2010 - 22:59

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http://www.snorgtees.com/mybutthurts-p-279.html?osCsid=7473271

Snowball the Cockatoo Dances to Christmas Carols

grrlscientist — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 05:59:29 +0000

Snowball the Cockatoo Dances to Christmas Carols

tags: Snowball, dancing cockatoo, behavior, streaming video

This streaming video is a clip from a longer DVD, Snowball's Snowy Christmas DVD, which is now available for Christmas gift giving. Children love Snowball and this DVD features the sulfur-crested cockatoo, Snowball, dancing to Christmas carols.

grrlscientist Wed, 12/16/2009 - 00:59

Tags

sulfur-crested cockatoo

I especially liked the head-banger parts.

Incredible! These birds has a nice swing I was hipnotized with the movements. Thanks.

Mom sent me this link and it gave me a good laugh. It's so funny when he's headbanging to Joy to the World! lol

The Psychology Behind Wrapping Paper [Reprise]

grrlscientist — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 12:59:39 +0000

The Psychology Behind Wrapping Paper [Reprise]

tags: peer-reviewed paper, psychology, gift wrapping, wrapping paper, behavior, holidays, holidaze

Besides bright lights, my favorite thing about the holidays is wrapping gifts. I love covering a boxed gift with colored papers (or even with plain brown paper bags), I get tremendous satisfaction from folding the paper so it makes precise corners and then I especially enjoy decorating the wrapped gift with bows, ribbons and toy flowers and birds, christmas ornaments or other decorations. I also enjoy figuring out how to wrap unusually shaped objects. However, my most favorite thing to do is to place a wrapped gift inside a series of wrapped boxes, so the eventual discovery of the gift inside is postponed for as long as possible. I enjoy wrapping gifts so much that I sometimes think I should open a small business that focuses specifically on doing this.

But what does gift-wrapping do for the recipient? Is all this effort worth it for the recipient? For example, do recipients actually like gift-wrapped presents more than unwrapped gifts?

According to a study that was published 15 years ago by Daniel Howard, professor of marketing at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, it appears so. To test this question, Howard designed a series of experiments to test his basic hypothesis; a gift-wrapped item influences the recipient to have a more favorable attitude towards owning the gift item.

In one experiment, 45 university students were asked to evaluate four products in exchange for a free gift. Even though they thought they were evaluating the four products, they were actually evaluating the free gift they received in return for evaluating the four products.

Their gift? A sheepskin bicycle cover.

In this experiment, half of the subjects received their bicycle cover in the manufacturer's plastic bag, while the other half received it wrapped in blue-and-white paper with a matching ribbon and bow. The subjects were then asked to rate their gift on three nine-point scales, ranging from undesirable to desirable, from bad to good and from foolish to wise. Those test subjects who received the gift wrapped bicycle seat cover gave it a higher overall approval rating (7.14) than those who received it unwrapped (6.06).

In a second experiment, 82 different university students received their bicyle seat cover gift either wrapped or unwrapped. But this time, some students were led to believe that the gift was meant for them while others thought that it was meant for someone else. Those recipients who thought the gift was for them were happier with it when it was wrapped. However, interestingly, those who thought the gift was for someone else didn't care at all whether the gift was wrapped.

Yet another experiment tested whether the perceived "quality" of the wrapping paper itself affected the subjects' attitudes towards the gift. To do this, another 60 university students were given either wrapped, unwrapped or "nontraditionally wrapped" gifts (wrapped in brown packaging paper with neither ribbons nor bows). Perhaps not surprisingly, the nicely wrapped gift was the favorite, while the unwrapped gift was the least favorite. Even the non-traditionally wrapped gift (in plain brown paper) was preferred over the one that was not wrapped at all.

So why do we care about wrapping paper? Answering this question is a little more complicated, but the author argues that gift wrapping is a visual signal that is associated with a happy event in a person's life.

"Gift wrapping, through repeated pairing with joyous events in people's lives, has utility in cuing a happy mood which, in turn, positively biases attitudes," wrote Howard.

"These results are consistent with an encoding specificity view of mood retrieval and a mood maintenance explanation of attitude formation," Howard wrote, somewhat cryptically. "The encoding specificity view was supported by finding stronger effects of gift wrapping on mood retrieval in conditions arguably present when the relation between gift wrapping and happy mood was established in the lives of subjects, such as the receipt of a personal gift [and] the receipt of a gift wrapped in traditional gift-wrapping paper."

The study subjects' positive moods were supported by finding parallel effects of gift wrapping on mood and attitude and by finding the mediational effects of happy mood on attitude strengthened as subjects felt happier. These results are consistent with the premise that the happier one's mood, the more that the one seeks to maintain that state through the development of favorable attitudes toward owning the gift received.

This study was published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology in 1992.

Source:

Daniel J. Howard (1992). Gift-Wrapping Effects on Product Attitudes Journal of Consumer Psychology, 1 (3), 197-223 DOI: 10.1207/s15327663jcp0103_01 [abstract and PDF].

grrlscientist Tue, 12/15/2009 - 07:59

Tags

peer-reviewed research

I have frequently used "nontraditional" wrappings--newspaper, brown packing paper, and suchlike. I have thought about using, but I don't recall ever actually doing it, clear plastic cling wrap. I don't recall this ever making the least bit of difference in the appreciation of the gift. Of course, the one factor that the described test couldn't allow for is the personal nature of the gift. Who the gift comes from and why is a large part of our reaction to a gift--an impersonal reward has very little emotional value, so little cues like giftwrap can dictate responses that in a more personal setting would be very minor.

Since they're making the association between wrapping and happy memories of gifts, I'd be interested to see if there's still the same effect for people who have strong negative associations with gift-receiving (a small percentage, but not terribly unusual). In my own anecdotal sample of one, I'd say there still is a positive feeling with giftwrap, even though my overall anticipation of and reaction to gifts tends to be negative.

Same question about bows.
I don't use bows on presents because I am inherently klutzy and the alternative, stick-on bows, look cheesy. Does the absence of an attempt at tying a bow denigrate the gift?

OT: grrlscientist, you might want know about this comment by blf on Pharyngula that references blf's problems seeing your blog.

Here I thought this post was gonna be about lingerie.

I sort of agree with anon. Does this work with people presenting themselves as a gift?

the lingerie as gift wrap idea is one that deserves experimentation. not sure how/if i will report my results, but the idea does have strong appeal. ;)

thanks joffan for bringing blf's comment to my attention. i wondered where he disappeared to, and his comment has motivated me to join PZ on the noise machine.

Nice post. But I'm wondering if the higher approval rating might actually have more to do with not wanting to offend the gift giver (in this case, the research scientist). Going through the trouble of actually wrapping the gift signals that more effort and money (and probably thought) went into the process, the magnitude of which increases as the wrapping gets more and more elaborate. If someone went through all that effort for you, would you really want to give the actual gift a low score? But if it were meant for someone else, then you wouldn't necessarily be offending the giver by not ranking it high.
It may not be the driving force behind the findings, but I'll bet it plays a large role.

Ten Tips to Keep Your Pet Birds Safe This Holiday Season

grrlscientist — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 09:59:23 +0000

Ten Tips to Keep Your Pet Birds Safe This Holiday Season

tags: safety tips, holidays, christmas, hanukkah, kwanzaa, new year's day, pets, birds, parrots

Elektra.

My pet Female Solomon Islands Eclectus parrot,
Eclectus roratus solomonensis, April 2008.

Image: GrrlScientist 2008 [larger view].

This message was emailed to me, and I am posting it here as a public service. With the Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah and the New Year's holidays upon us, we are all busy planning our family gatherings, gift giving and decorations. The season brings with it unique hazards that we all need to be mindful of so that we can ensure that our feathered family members are protected:

Pine and fir Christmas trees with soft needles are the safest. Avoid sharp needle trees and artificial tees with metallic needles. Also be aware that many trees are treated with pesticides as well as chemically treated so that they will last longer.
Colorful ornaments and dreidels can attract the attention of our curious and playful companions. Birds should be kept away from metallic ornaments that can break into sharp pieces resulting in cuts and wood ornaments that often contain lead paint.
Tinsel and angel hair can present entanglement and GI blockage hazards for birds.
Decorative electrical lights and cords are used in abundance during the season. Make sure the cords are well hidden and keep your bird away from them. Chewing the cords can result in burns and electrocution.
Holiday plants such as Poinsettia, Mistletoe berries, Holly berries and Christmas Cactus are all known to be either toxic or at a minimum severe irritants to birds.
The yule logs that provide us with colorful flames contain heavy metal salts that are toxic if ingested.
Candles, potpourri and incense can contain volatile oils that are toxic to birds. Flight into a burning candle can result in injury and or a tragic fire. Keep flighted birds caged when open flames are present and purchase bird safe, unscented candles. Boil simple herbs such as mint, cloves or cinnamon to scent your house.
Avoid using metallic gift wraps and bows as they may contain toxic metals. If you give your bird wrapped presents use non-glossy, non-metallic paper, cellophane or tissue.
We humans tend to overindulge in food during the holidays. Avoid the temptation to share fatty, sugary and salty treats with your bird.
Be aware that large numbers of guests and parties can be a source of significant stress for your birds. If having a party make sure your birds have a place to escape from the noise, smoke, late night activities and the people who may not understand and respect their needs.

With all of the things we have to keep our parrots away from this season why not allow them to participate in the festivity of the season by decorating their cages with safe holidays toys?

Source.

grrlscientist Sun, 12/13/2009 - 04:59

Tags

If you give your bird wrapped presents use non-glossy, non-metallic paper, cellophane or tissue.

Hm, maybe newspaper, so they have have fun ripping it up, whilst ignoring the present.

My parakeet died last year on Christmas day, no idea why. None of the above hazards applied- he was a cage only bird, we didn't burn any scented candles, didn't have any guests over, and had an artificial tree. Guess maybe it was just his time.

So I assume birds have the same problem as people do re obesity. Do birds get type II diabetes? If so it reinforces my theory that the problem is an evolutionary one, related to sugar and its addicting tendancies, along with the fact that until farily recently one had to worry about where the next meal was coming from, so if you had food you ate it just in case. This type of problem is see in cats dogs and horses as well as people.

Birds should be kept away from metallic ornaments that can break into sharp pieces

Also, those "classic" globe ornaments are hollow glass -- the same applies to them. (There are probably plastic ones available these days, but I suspect glass ones are still being sold, and certainly many families will have "heirloom" ornaments.)

I love that picture. Thanks for showing it.

I hope my cat doesn't totally kill my (artificial) Christmas tree while I'm at work. At least he hasn't shown any interest in eating the tinsel.

A beautiful bird. Got to love the blue mascara!!

i am not sure if all birds can get diabetes, but i know that some parrot species can get it .. not sure about type 2 diabetes, but they can get type 1.

What Are You Doing Today?

grrlscientist — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 11:07:28 +0000

What Are You Doing Today?

Today is Labor Day in the United States. This holiday is designed to honor those of us who are lucky enough to have employment -- you know, a job that actually pays a living wage. Today, we honor work by ... not working.

Most people in America view Labor Day weekend as the last weekend of summer, so those of us who can afford it usually indulge in a mini-vacation intended for rest, relaxation and partying. To help us along in this endeavor are many clothing store discount sales, new movie releases, college football games (often the first official game of the season), parades and fireworks shows, and adding to our sense of finality, tomorrow is typically the first day of school in many school districts throughout the country. In view of this plethora of events, activities and entertainments available, what you are doing this weekend?

My activities include;

correcting page proofs for my Science piece that will hopefully be published this week
writing my application for CITES permits to export my parrots from the USA to Germany (which means that I have to overcome my intimidation regarding this very complicated process)
writing several photoessays for publication on my blog
begin identifying personal items that I will not bring to Germany and arrange to sell or give them away
identify a moving company that can move my possessions to Germany -- so far, I've not found anyone. But I've not been very diligent about finding anyone, either
figure out where I need to go to get the necessary vaccinations before departing for a birding trip to Manu, Peru as official blogger at the end of next month (25 October - 1 November, and yes, you all are strongly encouraged to come along!)
create my personal 'Birds of Peru' study outline for the next few months
laundry (ho-hum)

Maybe I'll also have a beer? On the other hand, probably not: I hate drinking alone, and I never drink in my apartment.

grrlscientist Mon, 09/07/2009 - 07:07

Tags

begin identifying personal items that I will not bring to Germany and arrange to sell or give them away

Just make sure none of your parrots are on that list.

why? parrots are not kat fud.

Justina had her first day at school but at 4 I don't think that counts as working.

I went birding this morning, and I saw some birds (not a lot) and lots of insects. This afternoon and evening I'll be reading blogs, writing a post for tomorrow, and editing photos.

The Mrs and I went out for breakfast (appreciating the people who were working on this holiday without union representation) and then I wrote a long blog post about unions. And it's a nice day, so I'm goin' out riding my unicycle. MrsDoF will be teaching a kid at church how to crochet on a circular loom.

Leftovers for dinner.

Congratulations on the upcoming Peru birding trip and Science piece! How exciting! What is the Science piece about?

Today I have painted my office a nice corporate khaki color, and am working on a blog post for my wildlife rehab organization.

So I have missed all of the excitement I guess. You are an enigma, but it sounds as though your life is coming together in "one fell swoop" at last to coin some bird imagery.

I went birding in Alley Pond Park. I recorded the numbers of heron and egrets and their feeding behavior. Its volunteer work for the NYC chapter of the Audubon Society.

BBB: ah, school. i miss school. if i could afford it, i'd go back to school right now and get another degree .. this time, i'd get a useful degree, like medicine or engineering or hell, creative writing.

george: unicycle?? *blinks*

gini: the science piece is not a data paper, alas. it's a book review. but it's a book review that the editor asked me to write, instead of me pitching a dozen or two ideas to the editors ..

long time, no see, tabor! what did you do on this holiday weekend?

Oooohh Manu National Park? I'm VERY envious! I know the purpose is birds (and they do have pretty scarlet macaws down there, correct? And pretty mot-mots? As well as a ton of other pretty birds, Is'm sure...), but keep your eyes/ears/camera open for spider monkeys!!!!!

My dream is still to make it down to South America, but I haven't been yet... it will happen... someday...

Actually I spent it blogging and weeding. My husband was stuck in Kauai with a cancelled flight for the second day in a row and my children were busy with their lives.

michelle: i am a dedicated shutterbug, so you can bet that there will be plenty of birds (also known as blurds, ha!) and other animals as well as a lots of flowers and plants -- just cuz those don't move as fast as blurds do.

tabor: wow, why the canceled flight? and how does your garden grow? i've not seen any photographs recently, although i might have missed them. i do love your blog, which makes me sad that i don't read it nearly often enough. i hope that my comment here adds to your traffic and fan base, because you do deserve it.

You are such a sweetie and if I could somehow add you as my girl...I would!

I Discovered Why the Easter Bunny Missed Me Today ..

grrlscientist — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 06:59:59 +0000

I Discovered Why the Easter Bunny Missed Me Today ..

tags: easter bunny, easter bunny is dead, holidaze, holidays

Image: Orphaned [larger view].

On the way to the subway today, I photographed this tragic accident. This must be the reason I didn't get any Easter candy this year! I am bummed!

grrlscientist Sun, 04/12/2009 - 02:59

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Don't worry folks. The Easter Bunny will rise from the dead in 3 days time.

Bob,
In 3 days his eggs are gonna stink!
Come to think of it, so will he...

Oh dude, that's horrible. And somehow hilarious at the same time!

You just made my fuckin day! Thanks for posting!

Don't worry, he's only sleeping. It off.

If you see a cute bunny saying: "Braaaaiiins!" get out your shotgun and shoot to kill.

Humans can be the most cruel and insanely kind of all living beings! Life will get its meaning when we are in our death bed! I am sorry to sound negative, but that's the fucking truth!

Jesus Christ: A Cheap Lampoon of The Life of Brian

grrlscientist — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 05:59:59 +0000

Jesus Christ: A Cheap Lampoon of The Life of Brian

tags: Jesus Christ, The Life of Brian, easter, humor, satire, religion, holidays, holidaze, streaming video

This streaming video is from the British series Not the nine o'clock news. It comments on the controversy created by the Biblical story about Jesus Christ and how it is really a cheap rip-off of Monty Python's popular film, The Life of Brian [3:24]

grrlscientist Sun, 04/12/2009 - 01:59

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Bloody theocratic plagarists!

Thank you so much for presenting me with this! What a lovely Easter (the day on which we celebrate the rising of Graham Chapman from the dead).

Of Raisins and Reindeer ..

grrlscientist — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 07:59:47 +0000

Of Raisins and Reindeer ..

tags: California Raisins, holidays, funny, humor, parody, streaming video

Are you in the Holiday Spirit yet? No? Well watch this silly video and maybe this will help you get there ... [2:54]

grrlscientist Thu, 12/18/2008 - 02:59

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rudolph the rednosed reindeer

streaming video

Video

streaming videos

The Animals Wish You Happy Holidays

grrlscientist — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 07:59:58 +0000

The Animals Wish You Happy Holidays

tags: animal christmas, funny, humor, parody, streaming video

This hilarious little video is filled with lots of animals who are wishing you a happy christmas! How can you not watch this? [1:20]

grrlscientist Wed, 12/17/2008 - 02:59

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OMG! This is the most hilarious,joyful,well-orchestrated
animal musical I've ever seen!! :) Vote for Oscar nomination. I wish them a happy christmas,too.

Well, the lips are really creepy, especially on the birds, mole, and bee grubs, but it's a great message and the Santa hats are wicked cute. Thanks for posting it!

Was that in English? I couldn't make out a single word. Cute though.

Was that in English? I couldn't make out a single word. Cute though.

Yes, and that's why it was virtually incomprehensible. Had it been in American...

What was Santa Claus Reading?

grrlscientist — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 14:29:26 +0000

What was Santa Claus Reading?

Santa in the Stacks.

Image: GrrlScientist, 8 December 2008 [larger view].

I was sitting in one of the public libraries in NYC when all of a sudden, a celebrity walked in: Santa Claus! He gathered together some reading materials and sat at a table near me for at least an hour. Even though I tried to be discreet, I think he noticed me snapping pictures of him.

Okay, so I have a question for you: what was Santa reading? Obviously, it's not an Atlas (although you'd think that Santa needs to brush up on his geography so he doesn't get lost on Christmas Eve) but after that, I cannot tell you what he was reading, so this is your chance, my peeps: I'll let you speculate on what he was reading!

Santa in the Stacks.

Image: GrrlScientist, 8 December 2008 [larger view].

grrlscientist Mon, 12/08/2008 - 09:29

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I hope it wasn't the Christmas Break Offers in the travel section.

My money would be on Playelf

I doubt Santa has any need of an Atlas - like a London cabbie, he'd have "the knowledge".

Anyway, with this economic downturn, it's obvious Santa must be reading up on employment law. He needs to make sure everything's nice and legal when he lays off half his elves.

Gourmet magazine. He is looking for a good venison recipe to try out on Rudolph.