grrlscientist | April 23, 2006
Predaceous Diving Beetle.
This image appears here with the kind permission of the photographer, Bev Wigney.
Recently, some bird pals of mine have been discussing some "large bugs" that have been making their appearance "everywhere". They finally settled on the insect's identity as a Predaceous Diving Beetle, which is a member of the insect family, Dytiscidae.
Coincidentally, Bev has been photographing and video taping one of these "bugs", as you will see here and here at her delightful blog, Burning Silo. Go have a peek at her excellent photographs and video of this interesting insect.…
grrlscientist | April 23, 2006
Male wood duck, Aix sponsa.
Resized (Click image for a truly larger view in its own window).
Photographer: Edenpics.com.
Although it is incredibly difficult to choose, this is probably my favorite poem that I've ever read.
The Peace of Wild Things
by Wendell Berry
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I…
grrlscientist | April 22, 2006
Branch of White Peonies, with Pruning Shears (1864)
by Edouard Manet.
I have always loved (and written) poetry, but on those days following September 11, 2001, I first read a poem by Mary Oliver, who immediately became one of my two favorite living poets.
I was in Seattle Center on several of the most silent autumn days that I have ever experienced, watching thin sunlight struggle through the cool mist. In front of me stood a mountain of flowers that reached eight feet high, creating a riot of color that contrasted with soft grey skies. In fact, every flower in the entire city and…
grrlscientist | April 21, 2006Alfred Russel Wallace collected this specimen of
an adult male Red Bird of Paradise, Paradisea rubra.
Museum Victoria (Australia), Ornithology Collection. Photographer: Rodney Start.
I first read this poem in a natural history museum, where I worked awhile ago.
In a Museum
by Thomas Hardy
I
Here's the mould of a musical bird long passed from light,
Which over the earth before man came was winging;
There's a contralto voice I heard last night,
That lodges with me still in its sweet singing.
II
Such a dream is Time that the coo of this ancient bird
Has perished not, but is blent, or will be…
grrlscientist | April 21, 2006Today's issue of the top-tier journal, Science, has a special online portal to its current issue about influenza, including several excellent articles about avian influenza. This issue is free to the public if you register with them.
This issue includes;
A complete guide and free access to the 21 April 2006 special issue, including articles on antivirals and vaccines, flu transmission, flu biology, and flu preparation -- along with an accompanying podcast.
A collection of recent Science News, Review, Perspective, and Research articles on influenza, the potential for a new pandemic, and the…
grrlscientist | April 21, 2006
The Nature Conservancy has set up a webpage where you can make a difference on Earth Day 2006 by sharing a message of hope for the planet. When you share your Earth Day message, you'll become part of the Conservancy's free online community, the Great Places Network. Also, your message may be highlighted on The Nature Conservancy's website to inspire others to make a difference!
Plus, you can download The Nature Conservancy's new nature image screensaver filled with nature photos.
Disclaimers: I do not receive anything for mentioning this here except satisfaction from sharing this…
grrlscientist | April 21, 2006I assume that all my Americans visitors have filed their income taxes by now? Well, if not, just nod your head up and down anyway because the IRS has been looking at my blog this past week (yikes) and who knows what sort of spyware they might be testing!
I mistakenly assumed that all online income tax services were the same, that it didn't matter which one I used, but I learned the hard way that this is absolutely not true. But I finally filed my state taxes -- late. I've never filed my taxes late before, and I certainly hadn't planned on that happening this time, either, since I had…
grrlscientist | April 20, 2006I am excited because today, unexpectedly, I received a wonderful gift in the mail .. the gift of a book! This big, beautiful book, The Ancestor's Tale by Richard Dawkins (2004, Houghton Mifflin), is one that I've wanted for a looong time, so I am excited to finally have it! This book, a hardcover, was sent by a reader and was accompanied by this note; I read this one recently! It was wonderful! BTW I thought of you today while walking along the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. There were three bald eagles hunting the river.
Thanks so much! I am so pleased to be surrounded by a bunch of great…
grrlscientist | April 20, 2006I know this sounds incredible, especially in view of NYC's nationwide appeal to bribe unsuspecting math and science teachers to teach in the NYC public school system, but a friend just sent me this shocking story that is hot off the presses ...
Teacher Arrested At JFK Airport in NYC
NEW YORK -- Shortly after midnight today, a man was arrested while trying to board an international flight at JFK airport in New York City while in possession of a ruler, protractor, setsquare, slide rule, log tables, and a calculator. The 37-year-old man, whom officials declined to identify pending further…
grrlscientist | April 20, 2006
Mourning dove, Zenaida macroura, sitting in a tree.
Photo by Pam Shack.
Today is Pam's 70th Birdday, so go to her site and wish her a happy one, with many returns!
Some of you, dear readers, might remember a link I posted last week, Dove Love, that directed you to a reader's photoessay about a pair of mourning doves, Zenaida macroura, that are nesting in her yard. Her name is Pam and she recently posted an update and sent the link to me so I could share it with you, which I am finally doing now.
In that same email message, Pam also told me that she posted several more photoessays that you…
grrlscientist | April 19, 2006
What's so funny?
While sitting in a firehouse in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania,
Rudy Giuliani praises Senator Rick Santorum for being a tightass on security.
Photo: Joseph Kaczmarek/AP
Former New York City Mayor, Rudolph W. "Rudy" Giuliani, who many credit with holding New York City together in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, popped into Montgomery County Pennsylvania last Tuesday to drum up support for Republican US Senator Rick "Dog Lovin'" Santorum's re-election bid.
"Senator Santorum is a remarkable political leader," gushed Giuliani to a receptive crowd of elected…
grrlscientist | April 19, 2006
Last week, the American Bird Conservancy (ABC) asked for your help in protecting the migratory red knot, Calidris canutus rufus, and other shorebirds from the effects of overfishing of horseshoe crabs in Delaware Bay (I linked to this request from Monday's Birds in the News). They report that they received a tremendous response, with emails pouring in to their public comment mailbox showing your support for a moratorium on the horseshoe crab take until both crab and knot numbers recover. They thank you for your efforts on behalf of the shorebirds.
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries…
grrlscientist | April 19, 2006Yesterday, I was very upset because I learned that my state and local taxes, which I prepared many weeks ago using an "IRS approved" online tax preparation service, were not e-filed as I thought they would be, but because I was a dork and missed reading the little announcement at the very beginning of this interaction, I wouldn't have known that unless I paid $6.95 to this so-called service to learn this. (Because of a mysterious state holiday, the deadline for NYstate taxes was yesterday). Worse, all that data I entered into their site was not printed on the state tax forms, so I have to dig…
grrlscientist | April 18, 2006tags: Rigor Vitae: Life Unyielding, Carel Pieter Brest van Kempen, book review, art, books
Several weeks ago, a good friend of mine who is an aviculturist, businessman and art collector, emailed to tell me about a book he had just purchased. Usually reserved, his praise was so effusive that I contacted the publisher immediately to obtain a review copy. A week later, the carefully bubble-wrapped and packed book arrived in the mail; Rigor Vitae: Life Unyielding: The Art of Carel Pieter Brest van Kempen (2006, Eagle Mountain Publishing, Eagle Mountain, Utah. Click image for larger view in its…
grrlscientist | April 17, 2006 .. or how to transform a yucky hollow chocolate easter bunny into heart-stopping sugary goodness! -- just in time for the 50% off post-easter candy sales! Go on, admit it; you know you can't resist a big sale like that!
The best part; this recipe uses knives and power tools, so you know that the man in your kitchen will be interested in this project, too!
Making easter turducken is, fortunately, much easier than a traditional turducken, as it abandons all that pesky protein while fully embracing the empty carbohydrates and fat. While technically Easter turducken is a dessert and…
grrlscientist | April 17, 2006
Mourning dove, Zenaida macroura, gathering nesting materials.
Photo by Pam Shack.
For those of you who would like to look at a pair of nesting mourning doves on a reader's blog, take a peek at Pam Shack's wonderful photo essay.
Update: Pam tells me she has an update coming soon and will share the link here.
tags: birds, photoessay
grrlscientist | April 17, 2006
Link removed to protect my so-called anonymity. Sorry.
Thanks, Ian!
tags: humor, cartoon
grrlscientist | April 17, 2006
Dark-eyed junco, Junco hyemalis.
Click image for a larger view in its own window.
Photo by Dawn Bailey and appears here by permission.
Birds in Science
A Duke University evolutionary ecologist reported evidence that aggressive male western bluebirds, Sialia mexicana, out-compete less aggressive males for preferred breeding territories, a finding that may offer more insight into how evolution operates. This research, conducted by Renée Duckworth suggests the birds may play more active roles in their own natural selection than traditional models of evolution would support. Further, it was…