grrlscientist | May 16, 2010tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, animal books, natural history books, ecology books
Books to the ceiling,
Books to the sky,
My pile of books is a mile high.
How I love them! How I need them!
I'll have a long beard by the time I read them.
~ Arnold Lobel [1933-1987] author of many popular children's books.
The Birdbooker Report is a special weekly report of a wide variety of science, nature and behavior books that currently are, or soon will be available for purchase. This report is written by one of my Seattle birding pals and book collector, Ian "Birdbooker" Paulsen, and is edited…
grrlscientist | May 16, 2010tags: Augur Buzzard, African Red-Tailed Hawk, Buteo rufofuscus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Augur Buzzard, also known as the African Red-Tailed Hawk, Buteo rufofuscus, photographed at the Ndutu Safari Lodge, at the south end of the Serengeti ecosystem, just outside Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 15 January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D300, ISO 400, 1/250, f/6.3, +2 Exp comp.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | May 16, 2010tags: Helsinki Complaints Choir, complaints, silly, humor, funny, offbeat, weird, life, life isn't fair, choir, streaming video
This amusing video is a bit of a departure from my usual Sunday morning god-mocking, but since I am in Helsinki right now, I thought you'd appreciate this. Finnish artists Tellervo Kalleinen and Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen collected the pet peeves and angst-ridden pleas of people in Helsinki and then composed this choral work around the list of complaints. Music composed by Esko Grundström.
grrlscientist | May 15, 2010tags: Richard Feynman Talks About Doubt, Uncertainty and Religion, science, imagination, religion, god, doubt, uncertainty, beliefs, Richard Feynman, streaming video
Physicist Richard Feynman talks about the improbability of the existence of a god, and his thoughts about the mythologies that form the basis of religion.
grrlscientist | May 15, 2010
Image: wemidji (Jacques Marcoux).
Nam et ipsa scientia potestas est (And thus knowledge itself is power)
-- Sir Francis Bacon.
The next edition of Scientia Pro Publica (Science for the People) will publish Monday and as usual, it is seeking submissions and hosts! Can you help by sending URLs for your own or others' well-written science, medicine, and nature blog essays to me or by volunteering to host this carnival on your blog?
Scientia Pro Publica is a traveling blog carnival that celebrates the best science, environment, nature and medical writing that has been published in the…
grrlscientist | May 15, 2010
Image: wemidji (Jacques Marcoux).
Nam et ipsa scientia potestas est (And thus knowledge itself is power)
-- Sir Francis Bacon.
The next edition of Scientia Pro Publica (Science for the People) will publish Monday and as usual, it is seeking submissions and hosts! Can you help by sending URLs for your own or others' well-written science, medicine, and nature blog essays to me or by volunteering to host this carnival on your blog?
Scientia Pro Publica is a traveling blog carnival that celebrates the best science, environment, nature and medical writing that has been published in the…
grrlscientist | May 15, 2010tags: Red-billed Buffalo-Weaver, Bubalornis niger, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Red-billed Buffalo-Weaver, Bubalornis niger, photographed at the Ndutu Safari Lodge, at the south end of the Serengeti ecosystem, just outside Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 15 January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D300, ISO 640, 1/640 sec, f/6.3, Exp Compenstation at -.3.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | May 15, 2010tags: Housecat eats with Fork and Chopsticks, tablemanners, silly, humor, funny, offbeat, weird, pets, cats, animals, streaming video
Continuing this silly Saturday's housecat theme, this cat was raised by a woman who is batshiat crazy, teaching her to eats with a fork and chopsticks.
grrlscientist | May 14, 2010tags: Cat Disappointed by Own Failure, Cat Fail, silly, humor, funny, pets, cats, animals, streaming video
Just in time for silly Saturday, even housecats are getting into the act. This amusing video is a contribution from one cat and her least favorite bird friend. The caption for this video reads: " It's all been downhill since he dropped out of cat high school."
grrlscientist | May 14, 2010tags: education, PhD defense, cultural observation, travelFinland, Helsinki
Image: GrrlScientist, 3 July 2009 [larger view].
By the time you read this, I will be 5000-6000 meters (30,000 feet) above the ground, somewhere between Frankfurt and Riga. After a one-and-a-half hour layover, I will board another plane that is flying to gorgeous Helsinki, Finland!
Even though I am still sick (and still barely have a voice), I am excited beyond words! I have my laptop and two beautiful cameras with me (one with three different lenses) and I am ready to snap hundreds of photographs of my favorite…
grrlscientist | May 14, 2010tags: Yellow Warbler, Dendroica petechia, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Yellow Warbler, Dendroica petechia, photographed at Sabine Woods and Sabine Pass area, Port Arthur, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 28 April 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/160s 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 14, 2010
Image: wemidji (Jacques Marcoux).
Nam et ipsa scientia potestas est (And thus knowledge itself is power)
-- Sir Francis Bacon.
The next edition of Scientia Pro Publica (Science for the People) will publish Monday and as usual, it is seeking submissions and hosts! Can you help by sending URLs for your own or others' well-written science, medicine, and nature blog essays to me or by volunteering to host this carnival on your blog?
Scientia Pro Publica is a traveling blog carnival that celebrates the best science, environment, nature and medical writing that has been published in the…
grrlscientist | May 14, 2010tags: Deutsch für Doofe, German for Boneheads, German language, education, SpeedyConKiwi, streaming video
This video is all about how to pronounce the German alphabet -- something I cannot do correctly at this time. Not that knowing how to say this is going to help me when talking to the bankers about depositing my paycheck into my account or anything.
If I don't know how to say the alphabet by the time this video pops up, you have my permission to tie me up and force me to drink German beer until I learn how to say it.
grrlscientist | May 13, 2010tags: Mouse Agility Course, animal training, clicker training, target stick, behavior, behavioral modification, streaming video
Training animals (and people) to do what you wish them to do is a vanishing art. However, there is a training method that is gaining popularity for teaching animals, ranging from rodents to whales, to perform certain behaviors on command. This training method is clicker training. Here is one example of clicker training with a common ordinary pet mouse, where it has been trained to follow an obstacle course that is truly epic in its size.
How the heck did this mouse…
grrlscientist | May 13, 2010tags: Orangefarben Dahlie, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, travel, cities, flowers, image of the day, photography
Lachsfarbene Rosen.
Nordwestzentrum open air market, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Image: GrrlScientist, 5 May 2010 [larger view]
grrlscientist | May 13, 2010tags: Baltimore Oriole, Icterus galbula, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Baltimore Oriole, Icterus galbula, photographed at Quintana Neotropical Bird Sanctuary, Brazoria County, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 27 April 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/250s 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 13, 2010tags: Optical Illusion: Impossible Motion, optical illusion, Koukichi Sugihara, Best Visual Illusion of the Year Contest 2010, vision, brain, streaming video
In this video, wooden balls roll up the slopes just as if they are pulled by a magnet. The behavior of the balls seems impossible, because it is against gravity. The video is not a computer graphic, but a real scene.
What is actually happening is that the orientations of the slopes are perceived oppositely, and hence the descending motion is misinterpreted as ascending motion. This illusion is remarkable in that it is generated by a…
grrlscientist | May 12, 2010tags: Prometheus and Bob, behavior, space alien, caveman, humor, funny, comedy, animation, art, streaming video
This is another look at the continuing adventures of a space alien and his pet human. In this amusing video, the space alien, Prometheus, attempts to teach the caveman, Bob, about how to use the toilet.
grrlscientist | May 12, 2010tags: Sonnenaufgang Ranunkel Blume, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, travel, cities, flowers, image of the day, photography
Rosa Ranunkel.
Nordwestzentrum open air market, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Image: GrrlScientist, 5 May 2010 [larger view]
grrlscientist | May 12, 2010tags: Summer Tanager, Piranga rubra, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Summer Tanager, Piranga rubra, photographed at Quintana Neotropical Bird Sanctuary, Brazoria County, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 21 April 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/400s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
For those of you who know exactly what this bird is, I have several questions for you: first, How is this species distinguished from a…