grrlscientist | May 21, 2009tags: NYC Life, NYPL, public services, public education, public libraries
If you are broke and unemployed in any city of this nation, including NYC, you would have very few free public resources at your disposal to help you find work because of the massive budget cuts that have been made to this nation's public libraries and other public resources. I find this situation outrageous.
I have a special request to make of you: if you read this blog, please write a letter to Mayor Bloomberg, asking him NOT to cut NYC's public library services and to maintain six day per week service! Even if…
grrlscientist | May 21, 2009tags: Blue-grey Gnatcatcher, Polioptila caerulea, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Blue-grey Gnatcatcher, Polioptila caerulea, photographed in Manhattan, Kansas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Dave Rintoul, 11 April 2009 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | May 21, 2009tags: TEDTalks, einstein, African Grey Parrot, Stephanie White, streaming video
This video is a whimsical wrap-up of TED2006 -- presented by Einstein, the African grey parrot, and her trainer, Stephanie White. Watch for the moment when Einstein has a moment with Al Gore [5:49]
grrlscientist | May 20, 2009
Image: wemidji (Jacques Marcoux).
Nam et ipsa scientia potestas est (And thus knowledge itself is power)
-- Sir Francis Bacon.
Scientia Pro Publica (Science for the People) is a blog carnival that celebrates the best science, nature and medical writing targeted specifically to the public that has been published in the blogosphere within the past 60 days. To send your submissions to Scientia Pro Publica, either use this automated submission form or use the cute little widget on the right (sometimes that widget doesn't upload when the mother site is sick). Be sure to include the URL or "…
grrlscientist | May 20, 2009tags: NYC, Upper East Side, Manhattan, flowers, nature, image of the day
Pansy, orange cultivar, Viola hybrid.
Photographed while waiting for the bus on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, NYC.
Image: GrrlScientist, 18 May 2009 [larger view].
Isn't it amazing what selective breeding (artificial selection) can give rise to over a few thousand generations? How much more amazing is natural selection that gives rise to new forms over millions of years!
grrlscientist | May 20, 2009tags: Orange-crowned Warbler, Vermivora celata, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Orange-crowned Warbler, Vermivora celata, photographed at the Big Sioux Recreation Area near Brandon, South Dakota. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Terry Sohl, 10 May 2009 [larger view]
Photo taken with a Canon 50D, 400 5.6L.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | May 20, 2009tags: religion, morality, godlessness, atheism, occam's razor, aesop's fables, streaming video
This video is an interesting testament to why one man is an atheist, and what forms the root of human morals. My opinion? Let's just say that I prefer Aesop's fables to the bible [7:06]
Most christians know less about morality than Stephen Hawking knows about ballroom dancing!
grrlscientist | May 20, 2009tags: Rimatara Lorikeet, Kuhl's Lory, Vini kuhlii, 'Ura, conservation, endangered species, Fiji, streaming video
This informative video discusses the conservation of one of my research birds, the Rimatara (Kuhl's) Lory, Vini kuhlii, known by the natives as the 'Ura. Not only is this bird's story interesting, but it also exemplifies the complications and challenges of conserving any endangered species. This is part three of a three-part series [8:46]
If you wish to read more about this bird, I've written a few essays about this program and its progress over the years; The Return of the…
grrlscientist | May 19, 2009tags: NYC, Upper East Side, Manhattan, flowers, nature, image of the day
Pansy, purple cultivar, Viola hybrid.
Photographed while waiting for the bus on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, NYC.
Image: GrrlScientist, 18 May 2009 [larger view].
grrlscientist | May 19, 2009tags: mystery bird, identify this bird, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Green-winged Teal, Anas carolinensis, photographed at the San Bernard Refuge, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 1 March 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with tsn-pz camera eyepiece 1/500s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | May 19, 2009tags: Rimatara Lorikeet, Kuhl's Lory, Vini kuhlii, 'Ura, conservation, endangered species, Fiji, streaming video
This informative video discusses the conservation of one of my research birds, the Rimatara (Kuhl's) Lory, Vini kuhlii, known by the natives as the 'Ura. Not only is this bird's story interesting, but it also exemplifies the complications and challenges of conserving any endangered species. This is part two of a three-part series [8:00]
If you wish to read more about this bird, I've written a few essays about this program and its progress over the years; The Return of the…
grrlscientist | May 18, 2009tags: NYC, Upper East Side, Manhattan, flowers, nature, image of the day
Yellow orchid, Oncidium species.
Photographed on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, NYC.
Image: GrrlScientist, 18 May 2009 [larger view].
There are several hundred recognized Oncidium species, but the experts reclassify plants in this group often, so I am not sure which species this is. Additionally, Oncidium species have been freely hybridized in captivity.
grrlscientist | May 18, 2009tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Lear's Macaw, Anodorhynchus leari: a great example of a conservation success story.
Image: Andy and Gill Swash, World Wildlife Images.
Birds in Science
A record number of bird species are now listed as threatened with extinction, a global assessment has revealed. The IUCN Red List evaluation considered 1,227, or 12%, of all known bird species to be at risk, with 192 species described as Critically Endangered. The main threats affecting bird numbers continued to be agriculture, logging and invasive species, the…
grrlscientist | May 18, 2009
Image: wemidji (Jacques Marcoux).
Nam et ipsa scientia potestas est (And thus knowledge itself is power)
-- Sir Francis Bacon.
Scientia Pro Publica (Science for the People) blog carnival was just published! This blog carnival celebrates the best science, nature and medical writing published in the blogosphere within the past 60 days. So go read Scientia Pro Publica #4 -- In Memory of Stephen Jay Gould Edition and leave a comment there!
To send your science, nature or medical writing to Scientia Pro Publica, either use this automated submission form or use the cute little widget on the…
grrlscientist | May 18, 2009tags: mystery bird, bird ID quiz, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Greater Sand-Plover, Charadrius leschenaultii, photographed near Jacksonville, Florida. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Roger Clark, 14 May 2009 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | May 18, 2009
What: A public presentation, "Not Even Wrong: The Failure of String Theory & the Continuing Challenge to Unify the Laws of Physics"
Where: Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture, 53 Prospect Park West (corner of Prospect Park West and 1st Street), Brooklyn, NY [map]
When:Monday, May 18, 7:30 p.m.
Cost: free and open to the public.
Peter Woit is a mathematician and physicist at Columbia University who will discuss string theory and why it is controversial, as well as prospects for new experiments and a better understanding of the mathematical theories used to describe the physical world…
grrlscientist | May 18, 2009tags: religion, creationism, bananas, pineapples, masturbation, streaming video
This informative video discusses the banana and why it is a creationist's nightmare. Conclusion: gawd wishes humans to masturbate, so get beating, everybody! [10:16]
grrlscientist | May 18, 2009tags: Rimatara Lorikeet, Kuhl's Lory, Vini kuhlii, 'Ura, conservation, endangered species, Fiji, streaming video
This informative video discusses the conservation of one of my research birds, the Rimatara (Kuhl's) Lory, Vini kuhlii, known by the natives as the 'Ura. Not only is this bird's story interesting, but it also exemplifies the complications and challenges of conserving any endangered species. This is part one of a three-part series [8:00]
If you wish to read more about this bird, I've written a few essays about this program and its progress over the years; The Return of the…
grrlscientist | May 17, 2009tags: NYC Life, NYPL, public services, public education, public libraries
If you are broke and unemployed in any city of this nation, including NYC, you would have very few free public resources at your disposal to help you find work because of the massive budget cuts that have been made to this nation's public libraries. I find this situation outrageous.
I have a special request to make of you: if you read this blog, consider the fact that all my wireless access is provided by the NYPL, and wireless access is one service that will be cut or discontinued. If Mayor Bloomberg, the eighth…
grrlscientist | May 17, 2009
I will be your host for the 101st edition of I and the Bird on 28 May. This blog carnival collects the finest writing, photoessays and photography in the blogosphere about bird watching and wild birds. Please send submissions -- yours or other people's -- to me or to Mike as soon as you can, so I can do the best job possible in assembling this blog carnival for you.