Hedwig Pöllöläinen
grrlscientist
Posts by this author
If I didn't know any better, I'd suspect that the federal government's "no sex without marriage" message was their idea of a very early April Fool's Day joke. What am I talking about? Apparently, the feds are preaching their "no sex until marriage" message to single adults who are as old as 29…
Backlit photo of Saturn taken by the Cassini probe.
If you have a high-resolution digitized nature image that you'd like to share with your fellow readers, feel free to email it to me, along with information about the image and how you'd like it to be credited.
.
tags: Astronomy, backlit Saturn…
I found this wonderful word (below) in a book by the amazing and incomparable Virginia Woolf, entitled Mrs. Dalloway. As soon as I read this word, I was certain that she had invented it for her own purposes, and a quick look in the online dictionary revealed that she had. So dear readers, this is…
Birds, bees, bats, butterflies and other species that pollinate North American plant life are steadily vanishing, according to a study released recently by the National Research Council. This "demonstrably downward" trend could damage dozens of commercially important crops, scientists warned, since…
Fiery Skipper, Hylephila phyleus,
Nelson Farms Preserve, Katy Prairie Butterfly Count,
4 September 2006.
Image: Biosparite.
If you have a high-resolution digitized nature image that you'd like to share with your fellow readers, feel free to email it to me, along with information about the…
This word is from the 29 October 2006 New York Times Magazine's feature, entitled "Islam and the Bomb" by Noah Feldman (now online). This week's issue is particularly good because, in addition to the article that I cite (below), it also contains a piece about the Taliban, several articles about…
Carnival of the Godless number 52 is now available for your reading pleasure. This blog carnival celebrates atheism and agnosticism in favor of living a reality-based life. This particular issue of CotG is dressed up in holiday cheer, so be sure to mouse over the text to find the hidden links…
These beautiful creatures are day-flying moths from the family Ctenuchidae,
in the process of mating.
This picture was taken in Kerala, southern India by a reader, Basia. You can read
more about these insects at India Ink.
Image: Basia Kruszewska.
.
"Insects commonly remain together for hours…
This word is from the 29 October 2006 New York Times Magazine's feature, entitled "Islam and the Bomb" by Noah Feldman (print; not yet online). This week's issue is particularly good because, in addition to the article that I cite (below), it also contains a piece about the Taliban, several…
This interesting video shows you a little about how a computer hard drive works, and in the process, reveals what some of those weird little noises mean when your computer saves or deletes something for you.
Okay, I'll admit this was an easy quiz, but I am an American afterall, so geography quizzes must be easy or I'd never pass them!
My score is below the fold -- I'd love to know what your score is, too!
You Passed 8th Grade Geography
Congratulations, you got 10/10 correct!
Could You Pass 8th…
A common garter snake, Thnmonphis sirtalis,
with a hitchhiking ladybug, Hippodamia convergens,
on its nose. This photo was taken in northeastern North Dakota.
Image: Justawriter.
If you have a high-resolution digitized nature image that you'd like to share with your fellow readers, feel free…
This word is from one of the books that I am now reading, Mark Jerome Walters' Seeking the Sacred Raven: Politics and Extinctions on a Hawai'ian Island. This book is a fascinating portrayal of the myriad difficulties involved with trying to save an endangered species.
Evanescent (ev-uh-NES-uhnt…
.
.
Climate change could cause the world's economy to fall into the worst global recession in recent history, according to a report that will be published next week.
Speaking at a climate change conference in Birmingham, Sir David King, the government's chief scientific adviser, said that all of…
.
Sheikh Taj El-Din Hamid Hilaly, the mufti of Australia's biggest mosque in Sydney who described unveiled women as "uncovered meat", refused to step down after he was suspended from preaching for three months. The Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard, said that stronger action should be taken…
As a professor who (sometimes) teaches Anatomy and Physiology to nursing students, I think this is a great video.
Bones are heard of, but seldom seen,
'Cept each year 'round Hallowe'en.
But I've got a shockeroo
Right now there's a skeleton locked up inside of you! (Ha-ha-ha)
Minus bones you're…
Ladybug species, Neoharmonia venusta,
which was photographed near "the willows,"
a hot birding area at Anahuac NWR, Texas.
Image: Biosparite.
If you have a high-resolution digitized nature image that you'd like to share with your fellow readers, feel free to email it to me, along with…
This fine word is often used by molecular biologists and protein chemists to describe proteins that are comprised of separate subunits. However, this word has a long and distinguished history outside of biology, as I recalled when I found it in a crossword puzzle in a book published by Dell;…
.
.
Does anyone have any doubts as to the extremist nature of Islam when the senior Muslim cleric in Australia and New Zealand blamed women for their own rapes?
A senior Muslim cleric compared women who go without a head scarf to "uncovered meat" left out for scavengers, drawing widespread…
.
.
.
The petroleum giants were raking in money hand over fist while all of us were sweating blood over gasoline prices that had reached $4 per gallon in many parts of the country -- all during the so-called "gas shortage" caused by Gulf War 2.
Exxon Mobil Corp. on Thursday said its profit rose…
Green Tree Frog, Hyla cinerea.
Nelson Farms Preserve, Katy Prairie Conservancy, Texas.
NABA Butterfly Count, 4 September 2006.
Image: Biosparite.
If you have a high-resolution digitized nature image that you'd like to share with your fellow readers, feel free to email it to me, along with…
This fine word also comes from Sam Harris's book, The End of Faith;
Ineluctable (in-i-LUHK-tuh-buhl) [Latin inluctbilis : in, not + luctbilis, penetrable]
adj.
incapable of being evaded; inescapable.
Usage: At the heart of every totalitarian enterprise, one sees outlandish dogmas, poorly arranged…
... full-flail civil war .. blah blah!
I listened to Bush's speech this morning on TV. I felt like one of the characters from the Peanuts comic strip as they listened to their teacher talk. Basically, Bush's speech and the following question and answer period were such a tangled web of lies and "…
I ran across this word today in my reading of Sam Harris's book, The End of Faith, and I think it's a fine word to share with all of you.
Inchoate (in-KOH-it, -eyt or, especially Brit., IN-koh-eyt) [Latin; incohÄre; to begin, to start work on]
not yet completed or fully developed; rudimentary…
This is a pictorial tutorial on distinguishing
the Cloudless Sulphur, Phoebis sennae (individual on left),
from the Sleepy Orange butterfly, Eurema nicippe (group on right).
This photo was taken just north of US 290 on the east side of Roberts Road at a vacant lot posted "For Sale" for…
NYC subway map source.
Honestly, I had no idea that straight men even used maps!
According to a recent study, gay men and straight women have similar navigational strategies, which are different from those employed by straight men. Women rely on using landmarks to find their way around, whereas…
A 22 year-old pregnant woman, who was unable to afford an abortion, carried her fetus to the middle of the third trmester and then shot herself in the belly, killing the fetus.
The woman claims she did this because she was impoverished, she already has two children and because her boyfriend was…
In my opinion, Rush's comments only served to publically reconfirm that he is an enormous asshole. But you be the judge;
A political ad in which a Parkinson's-afflicted Michael J. Fox talks about stem cell research was criticized Monday by conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh, who…