grrlscientist | December 6, 2009tags: MyZeil Einkaufszentrum, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, Expat Life, Frankfurt through my eye, photography, image of the day
Weihnachten in MyZeil Einkaufszentrum.
MyZeil Einkaufszentrum, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Image: GrrlScientist, 24 November 2009 [larger view].
As you can see in this image, Frankfurt am Main is giving NYC some competition in the "does Christmas extremely well" category. I think I am being spoiled by living in these two cites at Christmas since they both are class acts in my opinion.
grrlscientist | December 6, 2009tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, animal books, natural history books, ecology books
"How does one distinguish a truly civilized nation from an aggregation of
barbarians? That is easy. A civilized country produces much good bird
literature."
--Edgar Kincaid
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 by me and published here for your information and…
grrlscientist | December 6, 2009
Image: wemidji (Jacques Marcoux).
Nam et ipsa scientia potestas est (And thus knowledge itself is power)
-- Sir Francis Bacon.
The blog carnival submission form has been having problems sending submissions to the proper blog carnival email addresses, so Scientia pro Publica has ONE submission so far -- and it publishes TOMORROW!! If you have sent a submission to this carnival, PLEASE resend it immediately! I am hoping all of you come through my sending at least one science-y submission (yours or other people's) to this carnival ASAP to help out the host so she doesn't pull all her hairs…
grrlscientist | December 6, 2009tags: House Wren, Troglodytes aedon, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] House Wren, Troglodytes aedon, photographed at Smith Point, Chambers County (near Galveston), Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 1 November 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.
The House Wren is usually divided into three distinct subspecies groups and one or several distinct island-endemic subspecies. Some or all…
grrlscientist | December 6, 2009tags: debate, catholics, religion, atheism, Zeinab Badawi, Stephen Fry, Christopher Hitchens, John Onaiyekan, Ann Widdecombe, BBC News, streaming video
This debate centers on the statement: The Catholic Church is a force for good. Presenting this debate is Zeinab Badawi and BBC News. Arguing for this statement is Archbishop John Onaiyekan, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Abuja and the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, and Ann Widdecombe MP, a Member of Parliament for 20 years. Arguing against the statement is Christopher Hitchens, an English-American author and journalist,…
grrlscientist | December 5, 2009tags: religion, fundamentalism, christianity, Islam, Islam Not A Religion, Pat Robinson, streaming video
A Muslim takes on Pat Robertson and his form of fundamentalist wingnuttery known as "evangelical religion". Pat Robinson demonstrates nicely that even religious people of different denominations do not respect each other even though they supposedly are on the same side. They are so busy pointing fingers and making judgments about each others' faith that it's beyond silly for them to try to convert atheists .. because they can't agree as to which religion is "the one true faith" nor can…
grrlscientist | December 5, 2009tags: shocking news, Expat Life, wireless internet
Image: FunToosh.
Shocking news, everybody!
No seriously, I have some shocking news for you: I FINALLY have internet access from my beautiful flat (otherwise known as the peregrine's nest, since it is perched on the 13th -- top -- floor of the building overlooking the city and is inhabited by two peregrinating humans).
It only took a few weeks' wait (while I was here), before the router was installed (a process that took an engineer a mere 20 minutes to accomplish), and then it took another four days, two dozen phone calls, two scientists…
grrlscientist | December 5, 2009tags: Eastern Bluebird, Blue Robin, Blue Redbreast, Sialia sialis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Eastern Bluebird, also known as the Blue Robin or the Blue Redbreast, Sialia sialis, photographed on the Katy Prairie, Katy, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 25 November 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/350s 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 | December 4, 2009tags: Frankfurt am Main U-Bahn-Kunst, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, Expat+Life, Frankfurt Subway Art, photography
Frankfurt am Main U-Bahn-Kunst.
NordWestZentrum, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Image: GrrlScientist, 24 November 2009 [larger view].
Overall, I have been disappointed with the subway art in Frankfurt -- something that makes me appreciate NYC subway art even more than I had before. That said, this one man is the exception to my disappointment. Here he is, making chalk art on the floor of one of the subway stations. I was told that he does this every weekday and then the artwork is…
grrlscientist | December 4, 2009tags: MyZeil Einkaufszentrum, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, Expat+Life, Frankfurt through my eye, photography, image of the day
Weihnachten in My Zeil Einkaufszentrum.
My Zeil Einkaufszentrum, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Image: GrrlScientist, 24 November 2009 [larger view].
As you can see in this image, Frankfurt am Main is giving NYC some competition in the "does Christmas extremely well" category. I think I am being spoiled by living in these two cites at Christmas since they both are class acts in my opinion.
grrlscientist | December 4, 2009tags: Wood Stork, Wood Ibis, Mycteria americana, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Wood Stork (family: Ciconiidae), originally misnamed as the Wood Ibis even though it is only distantly related to the ibises (family: Threskiornithidae), Mycteria americana, photographed in Arthur Storey Park, Houston, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 19 November 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/640s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.…
grrlscientist | December 4, 2009tags: ScienceBlogs, National Geographic, news
I have friends at National Geographic, so I was most pleased to read early this morning (last night, USA time), that ScienceBlogs and National Geographic have teamed up to provide outstanding science and nature content to the public!
I am sure it has not been a mystery to any of you that ScienceBlogs and National Geographic share the same ultimate mission: to cultivate widespread interest in science and the natural world. Starting today, SB-NG will work together to advance this common mission by providing new content, applications, and…
grrlscientist | December 3, 2009tags: Black-bellied Whistling-duck, Black-bellied Tree-duck, Dendrocygna autumnalis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Black-bellied Whistling-duck, also known as the Black-bellied Tree-duck, Dendrocygna autumnalis, photographed in Hermann Park Conservancy, Houston, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 18 November 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/640s 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 | December 2, 2009tags: Columbus Circle, NYC, photography, NYC through my eye, image of the day
Columbus Circle, NYC, USA.
Image: GrrlScientist, 17 November 2009 [larger view].
Okay, this is all in this photo series. Sorry about this, but of course, I do have thousands of images of NYC that I haven't used on my blog, so if you really wish to see more images of NYC, I can certainly dig them up for you. This weekend, I plan to get out and start photographing my new home: Frankfurt am Main, and the surrounding areas.
grrlscientist | December 2, 2009tags: Lesser Scaup, Little Bluebill, Aythya affinis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Male Lesser Scaup, also known as a Little Bluebill, Aythya affinis, photographed in Tom Bass Regional Park, Houston, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 27 November 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/320s 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 | December 2, 2009tags: German Cuss Words, swearing, German language, streaming video
Okay, I had to do it, didn't I? As many of you know, learning swear words in different languages is one of my hobbies, which I often indulge in while drinking beers at a local pub, although I also enjoy digging up and posting videos on this topic as well. I suppose the correct question is; why did it take me so long to dig up this video and post it?
As an added bonus, this German rock song has English subtitles so you can also learn the lyrics to that.
grrlscientist | December 1, 2009tags: Tiger Woods, Taiwanese News, Apple-1 News, Taiwan, animation, streaming video
This video is an interesting news report from Apple-1 News in Taiwan regarding what really happened to cause Tiger Woods to drive into a tree after bouncing off a fire hydrant in front of his Florida home.
Part 1:
Part 2:
Are animations such as these legal for use by news organizations in the US? I suspect not; otherwise, they'd be making use of them many years ago.
Anyway; there is precedent for making allegations of Domestic Violence against Woods' wife, Elin Nordegren, since her stories that she told…
grrlscientist | December 1, 2009tags: Columbus Circle, NYC, photography, NYC through my eye, image of the day
Columbus Circle, NYC, USA.
Image: GrrlScientist, 17 November 2009 [larger view].
This is one in a series of images I took on one of my last days in NYC. This was the last day I carried my camera with me as I ran around, collecting paperwork for my impending emigration. The day was glorious, the weather, perfect.
grrlscientist | December 1, 2009tags: Gadwall, Anas strepera, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] female Gadwall, Anas strepera, photographed in San Bernard Refuge, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 2 March 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/640s 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 | December 1, 2009tags: politics, GOP, Rethuglicans, Presidential Candidate 2012, Ronald Reagan, Zombie Reagan, ONN, Onion News Network, comedy, humor, fucking hilarious, streaming video
It's been difficult, but I am so proud of the Rethuglicans for finally finding someone to be their 2012 presidential candidate who accurately reflects their values and mental capabilities so well!
Zombie Reagan Raised From Grave To Lead GOP