grrlscientist | March 2, 2006Normally, I don't talk about something as mundane as snailmail because I tend to receive bills, junk, bills, crap, bills and more bills -- certainly nothing worth mentioning. But not today: today was special.
Today was special because I received a book. A book that I had to sign for. Since I had to sign for it, you should already know, dear readers, that this is not just any book, noooo sirree. This is a special book; it is the new, hot off the presses "LabLit" book, Intuition (2006, Dial Press), by Allegra Goodman, that I am going to review here. The book is due to be released on 7 March,…
grrlscientist | March 1, 2006Hey everyone, I was busy working on my CV and on a class that I will teach soon, so I forgot to tell you that Tangled Bank (TB), issue #48, is available!
TB is hosted by blog sibling, Aetiology. Tara, the blog author, decided to design TB around the hypothetical scenario; "songs by groups that may have been in my iPod in high school (if iPods had been invented then)." Tangled Bank is a celebration of the best science, nature and medical writing recently published on a blog. There is plenty of good writing there to keep you busy during your lunch breaks. Unfortunately, I was a dork and FORGOT…
grrlscientist | March 1, 2006
Click image for a slightly larger view in its own window.
I found a really interesting animation that demonstrates evolution of "Darwin's Finches" (Flash required, 515kb).
This animation is interactive, and is based on the only figure (above) that appeared in the first edition of Darwin's groundbreaking book, On The Origin of Species by Natural Selection. This diagram, a family tree or phylogeny, was printed on an oversized page that had to be folded out of the book to be seen, which was a difficult and expensive task for the printers of the day. This diagram appeared as some of the…
grrlscientist | February 28, 2006Anna Quindlen, an extraordinary writer whom I met through her book, One True Thing, has a sad and eloquent editorial in Newsweek speculating on the likely social implications due to the loss of Sandra Day O'Connor from the Supreme Court.
Quindlen writes;
O'Connor, the first female Supreme Court Justice, was never known as a feminist firebrand. But she had what I think of as transformative experience, something that can't help but suffuse your life and your mind. She carried within her the memory of what it was like to be reflexively devalued despite being smart and capable. I think it's…
grrlscientist | February 28, 2006Here is a prehistoric album ("prehistoric" because it's vinyl) to separate UK bird lovers from their hard-earned funds. It is currently on sale on eBay in the UK (click image to be magically transported there). After you buy it, be sure to burn a CD for me.
Thanks, Ian!
grrlscientist | February 28, 2006
The 23rd Qualm
Written by a retired minister,
sent to me by a reader.
Bush is my shepherd; I dwell in want.
He maketh logs to be cut down in national forests.
He leadeth trucks into the still wilderness.
He restoreth my fears.
He leadeth me down paths of international disgrace for his ego's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of pollution and war,
I will find no exit, for thou art in office.
Thy tax cuts for the rich and thy media control,
they discomfort me.
Thou preparest an agenda of deception in the presence of thy religion.
Thou anointest my head with foreign oil.
My health…
grrlscientist | February 27, 2006
How important it is to walk along, not in haste, but slowly,
looking at everything and calling out
Yes! No!
-- Mary Oliver
Almost everyone has heard about "Darwin's Finches" -- those dark little birds that live on the Galapagos Islands. But most people don't realize that Darwin didn't set eyes upon those birds until nearly the end of his five year journey. Additionally, when Darwin first stepped aboard the HMS Beagle in 1831, he was neither an ornithologist nor a professional scientist; instead, he was a 22-year-old beetle collector and an amateur naturalist with only a smattering of…
grrlscientist | February 27, 2006Note: Original sent to me by a reader, I rewrote it a little bit.
Dear [feminine hygiene product brand name],
I recently noticed that the peel-off strip of my pantiliner had a bunch of "[brand name] Tips for Life" written on it. It was annoying and condescending advice such as;
- Staying active during your period can relieve cramps.
- Avoiding caffeine may help reduce cramps and headaches.
- Drink 6-8 glasses of water a day to keep you hydrated and feeling fresh.
- Try [brand name] blah blah blah other products.
Obviously, the person behind this little scheme was someone who has never…
grrlscientist | February 26, 2006
Like most Americans, I was losing sleep because I realized that Dick Cheney was roaming the countryside, fully armed and seething with rage while inebriated, with the single-minded goal of murdering innocent domestic quail and guilty lawyers. But then a friend sent me to the Quail Hunting School. This is the same hunting school that Dick Cheney graduated from. The specific advantage of this particular hunting school is it teaches hunters how to do their dirty deeds under real life circumstances instead of under the utopian conditions of hunting while sober.
grrlscientist | February 25, 2006You Passed 8th Grade Math
Congratulations, you got 10/10 correct!
Could You Pass 8th Grade Math?
That was fun!
What was your score?
grrlscientist | February 25, 2006
MROW!! Brad Gushue has a standing invitation to sweep my apartment floors anytime!
Curling is the perfect sport. Seriously, what more can a grrl ask for? Curling features gorgeous men who are passionate about pushing heavy objects around with great precision and who are some sort of magician with a broom. Do I even need to point out the obvious relationship between excellent curling and successful househusbanding skills?
I have one suggestion, though. The Olympics commentators who use that cute little model of the curling field to describe the action should use miniature replicas of those…
grrlscientist | February 25, 2006Your Fortune Is
War does not determine who is right, war determine who is left.
The Wacky Fortune Cookie Generator
Okay, you must tell me, my peeps; what is your fortune?
grrlscientist | February 25, 2006
WASHINGTON, D.C. - A White House source stated that Congress is considering awarding Vice-President Dick Cheney the Medal of Freedom, the national highest civilian commendation, for his act of bravery in shooting an attorney.
The source was quoted to say "All Americans have wanted to shoot a lawyer at one time or another and Cheney actually had the balls to do it."
In a related story, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, which issues hunting licenses, said that it will start requiring hunters wishing to bag a lawyer to have the new "lawyer's stamp" on their hunting license. Currently…
grrlscientist | February 24, 2006
Male Black-faced Dacnis, Dacnis lineata lineata.
Photo taken on the banks of the Corentyne River, which forms the Guyana-Suriname border (see map, below).
Photo courtesy of Tony Henneberg.
(Click image for larger view in its own window)
The black-faced Dacnis, Dacnis lineata lineata [Family Thraupidae (Tanagers and Allies)], also known as the yellow-tufted Dacnis, is comprised of three disjunct populations, any or all of which might actually might be distinct species. One population is distributed throughout most of the Amazon Basin and the Guianas (the nominate lineata), while the another…
grrlscientist | February 23, 2006Note: On 4 March, Birds in the News will be one year old!
The newest Archaeopteryx fossil.
Click image for a slightly larger view in its own window.
Birds in Science
A mutant chick, called Talpid, that died before hatching 50 years ago, was found to have a full set of crocodile-like chompers, as well as severe limb defects. But because no one ever looked inside the chickâs mouth, its teeth remained undiscovered until recently. Researchers recently created more Talpids by tweaking the genes of normal chickens to grow teeth. "What we discovered were teeth similar to those of crocodiles -- not…
grrlscientist | February 23, 2006
Stunningly, the Fundamentalist State of South Dakota has enacted a ban on all abortions under any circumstances. According to the news story;
Proposed amendments to the law to create exceptions to specifically protect the health of the mother, or in cases of rape or incest, were voted down. Also defeated was an amendment to put the proposal in the hands of voters.
So these legislators apparently believe that these very same voters who put all their sorry asses into office as public servants, are too stupid to decide for themselves on this very important issue that will affect each and…
grrlscientist | February 23, 2006
This was sent by a friend and colleague who actually likes the weasel .. er, cough, man .. in the picture, so I am guessing that he is trying to cheer me up. Thanks, R. Yes, I did smile a little bit, although I never will understand how you can approve of his administration's arrogance misbehavior. Even Colin Powell couldn't wait to get the hell outta Dodge, so to speak.
By the way, dear readers, click on the image for an even larger version that you can print out and glue to your desk for all to see.
grrlscientist | February 22, 2006As I was walking to the library, I saw a van parked on Columbus Street, near 82nd. This old, formerly white van, the lower third of which was covered with reddish mud, had the following written on it;
Please bathe me. I am ashamed of what the other vehicles are saying.
grrlscientist | February 20, 2006Even though Michael Ruse is an evolutionary philosopher, he also is a self-described deist, so I probably should have been ready to be disappointed. Instead of saving my hard-earned money, I optimistically purchased his book, The Evolution-Creation Struggle (2005, Harvard University Press), with the expectation that it would explain the history that underlies the conflict between science and religion regarding the origins of life on earth, particularly as it is being acted out in science classrooms in America -- which it did accomplish. Kinda. Sorta.
In this book, Ruse defines and explores…