grrlscientist | December 19, 2009tags: Green Jay, Cyanocorax yncas, Blue Morph, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Blue Morph Green Jay, Cyanocorax yncas, photographed at Laguna Atascosa Refuge, Harlingen, Texas. [I will identify these birds for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 8 April 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/80s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
You might be interested to read an article I wrote about schemochromes and the physics of blue coloration in birds. This piece was…
grrlscientist | December 19, 2009tags: Chainsaw Illusion, magician, optical illusion, streaming video
I ran across this amazing illusion recently and have been intrigued: how did the magician do this?
Was the guy who was chopped in half actually two people? Was the short guy running around at the beginning of the scene the bottom half? Here's another view of the trick;
Apparently, "half-men" have been known before;
grrlscientist | December 18, 2009tags: Finnish Father Christmas, Santa Claus, Rare Exports, comedy, humor, funny, fucking hilarious, holidays, Christmas, Finland, streaming video
This fascinating video, filmed and presented in the grand tradition of a National Geographic documentary, follows three Finnish hunters through the far northern woods of Lapland as they track, hunt and train an original Father Christmas, Hoho joulusta, for export to other countries.
The composer is Jim Dooley and the songs used in the film are "Mystic Tryst" and "Ancient Crystal".
grrlscientist | December 18, 2009tags: Frankfurter Sonnenaufgang, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, Expat Life, Frankfurt through my eye, photography, image of the day
Frankfurter Sonnenaufgang (Frankfurt sunrise).
Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Image: GrrlScientist, 18 December 2009 [larger view].
Are you getting bored of looking at photographs of Frankfurt yet? Well, if so, you would have appreciated this morning's image because the snowclouds were so thick that the city had completely disappeared. I tried to get a picture of that for you, but realized that you would not be able to distinguish that photograph from one taken of…
grrlscientist | December 18, 2009tags: Ashy Drongo, Dicrurus leucophaeus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Ashy Drongo, Dicrurus leucophaeus, photographed at the small village of Muang Khong, near Chiang Dao Mountain, northern Thailand. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dirk S. Schmeller, November 2009 [larger view].
Nikon d90 with a Nikon lens 80-400, 1/400 s f/16 at 400mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | December 18, 2009tags: Hamburger Make Up Artistry, food porn, Buy Me That, streaming video
This is another video in the Buy Me That series, which is designed to teach kids how to think critically about the television commercials they are constantly bombarded with. In this episode, we see some kids playing with a toy that turns out to be the opposite of what it is advertised to be.
Perhaps this video should be required viewing for all kids in the weeks before Christmas?
grrlscientist | December 17, 2009tags: Women: Don't Drive!, entertainment, comedy, satire, funny, fucking hilarious, BBC Worldwide, Harry Enfield, streaming video
More homework. Actually, even though blind agreement with whatever a man tells me is part of my social etiquette homework, I must point out that women are much safer drivers than men, based on miles driven. Better yet, this research was carried out by a man, so it must be true.
grrlscientist | December 17, 2009tags: education, public outreach, SciCafe, science cafe, AMNH, American Museum of Natural History, NYC, streaming video
Since the holidays are a busy time, I am notifying you of NYC's upcoming SciCafe a little early so you can be sure to add it to your calenders!
Who: Ichthyologist Melanie Stiassny
What: free public presentation, "Mysteries of the Congo: Exploring the World's Deepest River"
When: 700pm, Wednesday, 6 January 2010
Where: Gottesman Hall of Planet Earth, American Museum of Natural History, Enter at the 81st Street (Rose Center) [directions and maps]
Cost: free, and there is a…
grrlscientist | December 17, 2009tags: Frankfurter Kirche, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, Expat Life, Frankfurt through my eye, photography, image of the day
Frankfurter Kirche (Frankfurt church).
Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Image: GrrlScientist, 16 December 2009 [larger view].
Last night, on my way home from my first ever Christmas party in Germany, I happened upon this church in the darkness.
grrlscientist | December 17, 2009tags: Carolina Wren, Thryothorus ludovicianus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Carolina Wren, Thryothorus ludovicianus, photographed in an abandoned finch nest on the deck outside the home of one of my readers in Powder Springs, Georgia. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Rebecca Checkwood, 11 December 2009 [larger view].
Sony DSC-W7, 0.025 sec (1/40) f/2.8 7.9 mm.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | December 17, 2009tags: Pigeon: Impossible, entertainment, comedy, funny, fucking hilarious, animation, Lucas Martell, streaming video
This hilarious video animation tells the story of a rookie secret agent who is faced with a problem seldom covered in basic training: what to do when a curious pigeon gets trapped inside his multi-million dollar, government-issued nuclear briefcase.
grrlscientist | December 16, 2009tags: English for Aliens, Part 2, entertainment, comedy, satire, funny, fucking hilarious, BBC Worldwide, Harry Enfield, streaming video
The aliens are out on the streets, learning about objects they encounter there. One thing that I noticed is that they have no problem understanding both uses for the word "shop" -- and just in time for the holidays, too.
Tree, Tree, Tree!!!
No, Thats a lamp post.
Trrreeeeee!!!
Alright, it's a bloody tree then!
grrlscientist | December 16, 2009tags: Frankfurter Schneesturm, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, Expat Life, Frankfurt through my eye, photography, image of the day
Frankfurter Schneesturm (Frankfurt snowstorm).
Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Image: GrrlScientist, 16 December 2009 [larger view].
When I awoke today, it was snowing. By late morning, the snow was falling fairly heavily, as you see in this image, where Frankfurt's distinct "Asparagus" (communications) Tower is barely visible.
grrlscientist | December 16, 2009tags: conservation, endangered species, Shark Finning, Sea Shepherd, human behavior, television, streaming video
This is a television commercial by the Sea Shepherd. It is an appeal to stop finning sharks. Shark finning refers to the cruel practice of capturing sharks and slicing off their fins. Shark fins are a Chinese delicacy -- they are the main ingredient in shark fin soup. Since shark meat isn't worth the cost of transporting the massive shark bodies to market, the finless animals are thrown back into the water, alive. Without its fins, the shark cannot swim, so it sinks beneath the…
grrlscientist | December 16, 2009tags: Holidays, companion pets, parrots, humor, funny, gift wrapping
Orpheus.
Male Hawk-headed (red fan) parrot, Deroptyus a. accipitrinus, April 2008.
Image: GrrlScientist 2008 [larger view].
I thought you might find this little essay amusing about wrapping gifts when there is a parrot in the house.
How to Wrap Gifts with a Parrot in the House:
Clear large space on table for wrapping your special gifts.
Go to cupboard and collect bag in which gifts are contained, and shut the door.
Open the door and remove bird from cupboard.
Go to closet and retrieve rolls of wrapping paper.…
grrlscientist | December 16, 2009tags: Golden-crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia atricapilla, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Immature Golden-crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia atricapilla, photographed at Vancouver Lake, Clark County, Washington. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Lyn Topinka, 13 December 2009 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
A second picture of the same individual, at rest.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | December 16, 2009tags: Snowball, dancing cockatoo, behavior, streaming video
This streaming video is a clip from a longer DVD, Snowball's Snowy Christmas DVD, which is now available for Christmas gift giving. Children love Snowball and this DVD features the sulfur-crested cockatoo, Snowball, dancing to Christmas carols.
grrlscientist | December 15, 2009tags: English for Aliens, Part 1, entertainment, comedy, satire, funny, fucking hilarious, BBC Worldwide, Harry Enfield, streaming video
Despite my best efforts, I haven't started my German language training yet, but I already am receiving an education. My experience feels remarkably like what this video depicts.
grrlscientist | December 15, 2009tags: Frankfurt Sonnenstrahlen, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, Expat Life, Frankfurt through my eye, photography, image of the day
Frankfurt Sonnenstrahlen (Frankfurt sunbeams).
Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Image: GrrlScientist, 15 December 2009 [larger view].
Whilst coming home from IKEA, where my spouse and I finally made a decision on how to design our kitchen, I photographed this lovely scene. In the distance is the smokestack tower that is located near to, and east of, my flat.
grrlscientist | December 15, 2009tags: peer-reviewed paper, psychology, gift wrapping, wrapping paper, behavior, holidays, holidaze
Besides bright lights, my favorite thing about the holidays is wrapping gifts. I love covering a boxed gift with colored papers (or even with plain brown paper bags), I get tremendous satisfaction from folding the paper so it makes precise corners and then I especially enjoy decorating the wrapped gift with bows, ribbons and toy flowers and birds, christmas ornaments or other decorations. I also enjoy figuring out how to wrap unusually shaped objects. However, my most favorite thing to do is…