teaching
grrlscientist | January 23, 2010tags: White-eared Barbet, Stactolaema leucotis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] White-eared Barbet, Stactolaema leucotis, photographed at Amani Preserve, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 6 September 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D2X, 200-400 mm lens, at 400. ISO 200, 1/250, f/6.3.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | January 22, 2010tags: How It's Made: Toothpicks, material science, engineering, technology, streaming video
This video follows a majestic birch log as it goes through the process of being made into millions of itty bitty toothpicks.
grrlscientist | January 22, 2010tags: Araripe Manakin, Antilophia bokermanni, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Araripe Manakin, Antilophia bokermanni, photographed at Chapada do Araripe, south Ceará, Brazil. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Ciro Albano.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Learn more about this endangered South American bird.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | January 21, 2010tags: Neotropical Cormorant, Phalacrocorax brasilianus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Neotropical Cormorant, also known as the Olivaceous Cormorant, Phalacrocorax brasilianus, photographed on the San Bernard Wildlife Refuge, Houston, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 5 January 2010 [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.
jstemwedel | January 20, 2010Back in December (or as we academics call it, Exam-Grading Season), esteemed commenter Ewan told us about a horrifying situation that was unfolding for him:
Probably not totally relevant, but frankly I'm still in a little shock.
Graded exams Friday evening before heading out for weekend. Noted some really strong efforts (take-home exam), some really lame, nothing special. Then: two word-for-word identical, typos-and-all, answers with *many* unique characteristics compared to all other answerers of that Q, even down to the same joke-aside-to-the-professor.
Ack, really? Check. Yep, really, and…
grrlscientist | January 20, 2010tags: Leucistic Vermilion Flycatcher, Pyrocephalus rubinus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Leucistic Vermilion Flycatcher, Pyrocephalus rubinus, photographed on the Sweetwater Wetlands Park, Tucson, Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Lois Manowitz, 30 December 2009 [larger view]. You are encouraged to purchase images from this photographer. For more details, view her flickr photostream (linked) or ask me for her email address.
This bird should be very challenging to identify. However, for those of you who have seen this individual, please…
grrlscientist | January 19, 2010tags: Vermilion Flycatcher, Galapagos Flycatcher, Darwin's Flycatcher, Pyrocephalus rubinus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Male Vermilion Flycatcher, this striking species' large range (southwestern USA through Argentina) means that it is known by a variety of common names, such as the Galapagos Flycatcher or Darwin's Flycatcher, Pyrocephalus rubinus, photographed on the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, Anahuac, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 2 January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera…
grrlscientist | January 18, 2010tags: Western Meadowlark, Sturnella neglecta, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Western Meadowlark, Sturnella neglecta, photographed on the Katy Prairie, Houston, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 1 January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/800s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, author of Aimophila Adventures and Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
The identification of silent…
grrlscientist | January 17, 2010tags: Eurasian Tawny-Eagle, Asian Tawny-Eagle, African Tawny-Eagle, Tawny Eagle, Aquila rapax, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Tawny Eagle, also known by a number of common names that reflect its wide-ranging status; Asian Tawny-Eagle, Eurasian Tawny-Eagle and African Tawny-Eagle, Aquila rapax, photographed at Nakuru National Park, Kenya, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 29 July 2006 [larger view].
Nikon D2X, 200-400 mm lens at 400. ISO 200, 1/350, f/6.3.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.…
grrlscientist | January 17, 2010tags: religion, school, religion, catholicism, comedy, humor, fucking hilarious, Dave Allen, streaming video
Irish Comedian Dave Allen (1936-2005) remembers his introduction to religion -- his first day of school.
David Tynan O'Mahoney (Dave Allen) was popular in the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada in the 1960s, 1970s and also in the 1990s; he became known in America through reruns of his shows on public television.
Allen's act was typified by a very relaxed, intimate style -- he would sit on a chair, smoking and holding a glass of whiskey. An atheist[1] (according to Allen himself, "…
grrlscientist | January 16, 2010tags: Two-banded Courser, Smutsornis (Cursorius) africanus gracilis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Two-banded Courser, Smutsornis (Cursorius) africanus gracilis, photographed at Tarangire National Park, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 30 August 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D2X, 200-400 mm lens at 400. ISO 200, 1/250, f/8.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | January 15, 2010tags: Delicate Owl, White Owl, Barn Owl, Tyto alba, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Barn Owl, occasionally known as the Delicate Owl, or more commonly as the White Owl, Tyto alba, photographed on the roadside in the Rio Grande Valley, the southernmost tip of Texas. This valley occurs at the boundary between the United States and Mexico. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: ©JRCompton.com/birds: JR Compton, 2008 [larger view]. [Added 19 April 2010: Link to photoseries of this bird]
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/500s f/8.0 at…
grrlscientist | January 14, 2010tags: How it's Made: Aluminum Foil, aluminum, material science, chemistry, technology, streaming video
The video shows the process of producing everyday use aluminum foil from huge, raw aluminum ingots.
grrlscientist | January 14, 2010tags: Redhead, Pochard, Raft Duck, Red-headed Raft Duck, Aytha americana, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Redhead, also known by a slew of other names, including Pochard, Raft Duck and Red-headed Raft Duck, Aytha americana, photographed in Hermann Park, Houston, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 23 December 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.
Here's another image of a different…
grrlscientist | January 13, 2010tags: conservation, reptiles, King Cobra, Ophiophagus hannah, Gharial, Gavialis gangeticus, water pollution, Romulus+Whitaker, TEDTalks, streaming video
The gharial, Gavialis gangeticus, and king cobra, Ophiophagus hannah, are two of India's most iconic reptiles, and they're endangered because of polluted waterways. Conservationist Romulus Whitaker shows rare footage of these magnificent animals and urges us to save the rivers that sustain their lives and our own.
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers…
grrlscientist | January 13, 2010tags: American Pipit, Buff-bellied Pipit, Anthus rubescens, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] American Pipit, also known as the Buff-bellied Pipit, Anthus rubescens, photographed at the Arthur Storey Park, Houston, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 28 December 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.
sporte | January 12, 2010When I was a post-doc, I spent a few months seriously thinking about changing careers and teaching high school. I might have followed through on that plan, too, but I didn't know how to pay for it.
Today, if you have a background in science, technology, math, or engineering, you can retrain to become a teacher and the National Science Foundation will help. The Robert Noyce scholarship program has funds to help ease that transition to the classroom.
From the NSF web site:
The Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program seeks to encourage talented science, technology, engineering, and…
grrlscientist | January 12, 2010tags: Laysan Albatross, Phoebastria (Diomedea) immutabilis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Laysan Albatross, Phoebastria (Diomedea) immutabilis, photographed at the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge on the Midway Islands in the Hawaiian archipelago -- an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the northern Pacific Ocean. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Michael Lusk, USFWS, December 2004 [larger view].
I posted this image specifically in honor of one of my readers and very good friend who is hospitalized but expected to recover…
grrlscientist | January 11, 2010tags: King Bird of Paradise, Cicinnurus regius, Red-Capped Manakin, Yellow-Thighed Manakin, Pipra mentalis, courtship displays, behaviors, birds, ornithology, Kim Bostwick, streaming video
I recently showed you the oddly shaped iridescent tail plume from a King Bird of Paradise as the daily mystery bird, now watch this video to see how the birds use these plumes in courtship displays.
grrlscientist | January 11, 2010tags: birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] photographed in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Wingspan estimated to be about 50 ± 5 cm. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: FinchWench, 2 January 2010 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.