Hedwig Pöllöläinen
grrlscientist
Posts by this author
May 16, 2006
Did you read "coming of age" books when you were in high school? If so, what did you really think of them? Like most people, I read these books but I was unique among my peers because I never liked them, even when I was "coming of age". The authors of those books always struck me as being pathetic…
May 16, 2006
Late is better than never, as they say, and so it is with this new feature, Ask a Science Blogger. This week's question was late, arriving yesterday, but here it is;
Question: Will the "human" race be around in 100 years?
Um, YES. Even if The Rapture does occur, there still will be people on Earth…
May 16, 2006
The Grand Rounds, volume 2, number 34 is now available. This blog carnival celebrates the best medical writing on the web and there are lots of interesting essays there to read, including a contribution from me.
As a New Yawkuh, I thought it was my duty to contribute to the new blog carnival, the…
May 16, 2006
Take a close look around and tell me .. what's new?
Thanks to Jeff Hebert, who caught my attention by sending me a basic banner design that we reworked into the design that you see above (for those of you who are seeking computer graphics and especially for those of you who are, or soon will be,…
May 15, 2006
I have never owned a television in my life and I have (so far!) steadfastly refused all offers of free TVs, which, I suppose, effectively makes me into a conversational wasteland according to modern American conversation standards.
But honestly, there are times when I wish I did have my own TV ..…
May 15, 2006
Next week, I will publish my review of Pete Dunne's new book, Pete Dunne's Essential Field Guide Companion: A Comprehensive Resource for Identifying North American Birds (NYC: Houghton Mifflin, 2006). Because the good peeps at Houghton Mifflin accidentally sent an extra hardcover copy of this book…
May 15, 2006
The History Carnival, issue 31, is now available. This carnival has a strongly international flavor, and it is hosted by a Brit an Aussie, so it was very kind of him to include something from me, which is the first time anything I've written has appeared in this particular blog carnival.
May 15, 2006
Orange-bellied parrot, Neophema chrysogaster,
now numbering only approximately 200 individuals, is one of the world's rarest birds.
Photographer: Dave Watts.
Birds in Science
Scientists have discovered that migrating dragonflies and songbirds exhibit many of the same behaviors, suggesting the…
May 14, 2006
This morning, I saw this letter on the NYTimes Letters the the Editor page;
To the Editor:
One has only to look at the acceptance of "intelligent design" by the president and high-ranking members of Congress to define a society that looks on evolution with open hostility or suspicion.
Creationists…
May 13, 2006
Your Blogging Type is Confident and Insightful
You've got a ton of brain power, and you leverage it into brilliant blog.
Both creative and logical, you come up with amazing ideas and insights.
A total perfectionist, you find yourself revising and rewriting posts a lot of the time.
You blog for…
May 13, 2006
Your Inner Child Is Surprised
You see many things through the eyes of a child.
Meaning, you're rarely cynical or jaded.
You cherish all of the details in life.
Easily fascinated, you enjoy experiencing new things.
How Is Your Inner Child?
tags: online quiz
May 13, 2006
Colorado artist and birder, Radeaux, depicts 23 boreal-nesting species.
Can you identify all 23 species?
International Migratory Bird Day (IMBD) was initiated in 1993 by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center and the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, and is celebrated on the second Saturday in…
May 12, 2006
The Teaching Carnival, issue 9, was published today. It links to many interesting essays, especially since the academic year just ended for many people, so they have both the time and the material to write about.
May 11, 2006
Several more blog carnivals have been published, all of which I contributed to;
I and the Bird, issue 23, hosted by BirdDC, includes a quiz for the birders among you, and those who can identify all 27 pictured birds will win a free Peterson Field Guide!
The Skeptic's Circle, issue 34; critical…
May 11, 2006
Today is Endangered Species Day! Thanks to the US Senate, which unanimously passed a resolution on April 6th, today has been designated as national "Endangered Species Day." [animation: Arlington Central School District]
"Endangered Species Day" is an opportunity for schools, libraries, museums,…
May 10, 2006
There are a few blog carnivals available for your reading pleasure, all of which saw fit to include one or more pieces by me;
The Tangled Bank, #53, Go Climb a Tree!. The entries are arranged in a story format.
Carnival of the Vanities, #191. This carnival has a pirate theme, and my particular…
May 10, 2006
Fat Cat.
Orphaned image, resized (smaller).
Can obesity be a symptom of depression? I certainly think so, although I only have anecdotal evidence to support my opinion. To wit;
Based on what a chubby friend once told me, this is a vicious cycle; feeling depressed? Eat comfort foods, which leads to…
May 9, 2006
Similar to the animation that I previously linked, this will keep you distracted while you are supposed to be working. But this is different (click image) because not only do you get to choose your own monkey from a cast of three possiblilities, but you also can dress your monkey up. As you can…
May 9, 2006
In 2001, the US Fish and Wildlife Service published their survey results of fishing, hunting and wildlife-associated recreation and estimated that there are 46 million bird watchers in the United States, making it the second most popular hobby in that country. According to a report by the New York…
May 9, 2006
Above is a fascinating piece of real-time webbed animation that you will enjoy playing with (click image). When you move the mouse around, her head moves and her eyes follow it. When you write something in the space provided below the picture and then click the "say it" button, she says it. You…
May 8, 2006
More news from Medgadget regarding those misbehavin' blog boyz, BlogBurst, who are apparently in cahoots with several of our nation's newspapers who ought to know better .. tsk, tsk.
Dear Blogger:
[The] Nation's leading newspapers continue to profiteer, together with BlogBurst service, from an…
May 8, 2006
When a story by Money magazine first appeared that ranked the best jobs to hold in America, I was distracted with trying to figure out if my taxes had been accepted by the IRS and by the state of NY (electronic submission). But I ran across this piece again and I have been scratching my head ever…
May 8, 2006
Long-billed Curlew, Numenius americanus.
Image appears here with the kind permission of the photographer, Arthur Morris, Birds as Art.
Click image for larger view in its own window.
Birds and Science
Some pied flycatchers, Ficedula hypoleuca (pictured), a common migratory bird slightly smaller…
May 7, 2006
This is making the rounds in email now, just in time for the onset of the annual spring drinking season ..
In one episode of "Cheers", Cliff is seated at the bar describing his "Buffalo Theory" to his drinking pal, Norm. It goes something like this;
"Well you see, Norm, it's like this; a herd of…
May 6, 2006
The weather has been very warm and reasonably dry these past few days in NYC. However, things have been difficult because I made the unpleasant discovery, once again, that I am allergic to airborne pollutants. If you are familiar with NYC air quality, you will realize that the air quality here is…
May 6, 2006
After waiting in line for an hour and a half while being entertained by a flock of three smallish people clad in overstuffed neon orange dodo costumes, I was "number seven" in the last group of ten people granted admission to Flock of Dodos. But my wait was worth it because I really enjoyed this…
May 6, 2006
The Seed Media Group has initiated a new feature called Ask A ScienceBlogger. This feature will have its own home on the new Sb homepage next month, but until then, it is being launched as a blog carnival style thing, hosted on Stochastic. The rules; every Friday, Seed asks a question and they will…
May 6, 2006
You Should Be A Poet
You craft words well, in creative and unexpected ways.
And you have a great talent for evoking beautiful imagery...
Or describing the most intense heartbreak ever.
You're already naturally a poet, even if you've never written a poem.
What Type of Writer Should You Be?
If this…
May 5, 2006
I received this email from the editors of Medgadget.com, regarding the situation that exists with BlogBurst, which is apparently a rather shady organization. If you are a member of BlogBurst, you will definitely want to read this. If you are considering joining BlogBurst (or any blog listing…