Hedwig Pöllöläinen
grrlscientist
Posts by this author
tags: books, memoir, religion, godlessness, losing faith, William Lobdell
Unlike most people who were raised in a religious household and grew up surrounded by religious people, I never experienced a "crisis of faith" since I never believed there was a god any more than I believed there was a Santa…
tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
American Avocet chick, Recurvirostra americana.
Image: Richard Ditch, 2007 [larger view].
Birds in Science and Technology
Researchers have discovered the first direct evidence that exposure to stress in young birds affects…
tags: Gray Jay, Perisoreus canadensis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Gray Jay, Perisoreus canadensis, photographed during a snowstorm on Hurricane Ridge, Olympic National Park, Olympic Peninsula, Washington [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Lee Rentz, March…
tags: politics, good citizenship, humor, America, streaming video
This streaming video provides essential educational advice to Americans on how to be good citizens -- I was especially impressed with Mary's frugal meals, but seriously, she'd spend le$$ if she stopped eating meat altogether! [10:39…
tags: Chambers Street, Park Place, World Trade Center, Oculus, Andrew Ginzel, Kristin Jones, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
Oculus #23, 1998.
Stone mosaic on walls throughout Chambers Street station complex (A & C trains); also, there is a stone and glass floor mosaic at…
tags: Suomenlinna, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day
Photographed on Suomenlinna on Kalevalapaäivä (Kalevala Day).
This is one of my favorite places to visit in Helsinki, Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 28 February 2009 [larger view].
tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, animal books, natural history books, ecology books
"One cannot have too many good bird books"
--Ralph Hoffmann, Birds of the Pacific States (1927).
The Birdbooker Report is a special weekly report of a wide variety of science, nature and behavior books that…
tags: Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Tyrannus forficatus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Tyrannus forficatus, photographed near Brookings, South Dakota. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Terry Sohl, 18 October 2008 [larger view].
Photo…
Do you remember how I've been campaigning to save several science-y blog carnivals from oblivion? Well, since one blog carnival is currently being revived, partially due to my noisemaking, I am taking my support one step further: I am hosting the upcoming issue of the Circus of the Spineless on 6…
tags: religion, atheism, humor, streaming video
Eternal purity requires eternal vigilance against the devil's hand. Here are some practical tips to keep you from "playing with your Genesis" [5:02]
tags: Chambers Street, Park Place, World Trade Center, Oculus, Andrew Ginzel, Kristin Jones, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
Oculus, #22 (1998).
Stone mosaic on walls throughout Chambers Street station complex (A, C & E trains); also, there is a stone and glass floor mosaic…
tags: wall of ice, Suomenlinna, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day
Jäinen seinä (Wall of ice).
Photographed on Suomenlinna on Kalevalapaäivä (Kalevala Day).
This is one of my favorite places to visit in Helsinki, Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 28 February 2009 [larger view].
tags: Blue-winged Teal, Anas dicors, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Blue-winged Teal, Anas discors, photographed in Brazos Bend State Park, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 10 March 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope…
tags: sesame street explains madoff scandal, politics, satire, , humorstreaming video
In this video, Ernie and Cookie Monster explain the Bernie Madoff scandal .. so even kids can understand it [1:18]
tags: Chambers Street, Park Place, World Trade Center, Oculus, Andrew Ginzel, Kristin Jones, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
Oculus, #21 (1998).
Stone mosaic on walls throughout Chambers Street station complex (A, C & E trains); also, there is a stone and glass floor mosaic…
tags: NYC, New York City, NYCLife, NYC through my eye
My beloved NYC.
Image: GrrlScientist, 12 January 2009 [larger view].
Here's the latest carnivalia that has been published in the blogosphere;
Carnival of the Vanities, A Touch of Spring. This blog carnival links to the best writing in the blogopshere, regardless of topic.
Carnival of the Cities. This blog carnival focuses on writing about and photography of cities…
tags: Suomenlinna, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day
Footprints in the snow.
Photographed on Suomenlinna on Kalevalapaäivä (Kalevala Day).
This is one of my favorite places to visit in Helsinki, Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 28 February 2009 [larger view].
tags: Evil Genes, borderline personality disorder, machiavellian behavior, successfully sinister, Barbara Oakley, book review
I have lived and worked with people whom I have decided, in retrospect, were more than merely hateful and mean-spirited, they were just plain evil. So when Barbara Oakley…
Gambel's Quail, Callipepla gambelii, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Gambel's Quail, Callipepla gambelii, photographed in Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Richard Ditch, 2005 [larger view].
Date Time Original: 2005:11:25 09:28:46
Exposure Time: 1/249…
tags: extreme sheep LED art, humor, funny, streaming video
This video is an example of what happens when men spend too much time in the company of dogs, sheep, LEDs and a camera while in the hills of Wales: they create a huge amazing LED display. Erm, of sorts [2:44]
tags: Chambers Street, Park Place, World Trade Center, Oculus, Andrew Ginzel, Kristin Jones, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
Oculus, #20 (1998).
Stone mosaic on walls throughout Chambers Street station complex (A, C & E trains); also, there is a stone and glass floor mosaic…
tags: Fortress Wall, Suomenlinna, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day
Linnan Muuri (Fortress Wall).
Photographed on Suomenlinna on Kalevalapaäivä (Kalevala Day).
This is one of my favorite places to visit in Helsinki, Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 28 February 2009 [larger view].
Image: wemidji (Jacques Marcoux).
Nam et ipsa scientia potestas est (And thus knowledge itself is power)
-- Sir Francis Bacon.
Since Tangled Bank has gone the way of the Dodo (Passenger Pigeon, Carolina Parakeet, Ivory-Billed Woodpecker -- name your favorite extinct species here) and will…
I know you are sitting there at your computer, cross-eyed, wondering what you are going to do this weekend. Let me make a suggestion: since I am hosting the upcoming issue of the Circus of the Spineless on 6 April, I need your help. If you can write a "translation" of a scientific paper, or an…
tags: Townsend's Warbler, Dendroica townsendi, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Townsend's Warbler, Dendroica townsendi, photographed in San Francisco, California. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Terry Sohl, 18 December 2008 [larger view].
Photo taken with…
tags: Where the Wild Things Are, fantasy, movie trailer, film, streaming video
I always loved attending Seattle's Nutcracker ballet, which features gorgeous sets created by Maurice Sendak, and I grew up reading Sendak's legendary Where the Wild Things Are but I had no idea that his book was made…
tags: Chambers Street, Park Place, World Trade Center, Oculus, Andrew Ginzel, Kristin Jones, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
Oculus, #19 (1998).
Stone mosaic on walls throughout Chambers Street station complex (A, C & E trains); also, there is a stone and glass floor mosaic…
tags: new species, Papua New Guinea, Zoology, Biodiversity
A large brilliant green tree frog, Nyctimystes species, with enormous eyes, was discovered by scientists next to a clear-running mountain river.
Image: Steve Richards/Conservation International.
A brilliant green tree tree frog with…
tags: winter wonderland, Suomenlinna, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day
Talvinen satumaa (winter wonderland).
Photographed on Suomenlinna on Kalevalapaäivä (Kalevala Day).
This is one of my favorite places to visit in Helsinki, Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 28 February 2009 [larger view].