grrlscientist | September 11, 2009
Eight years ago today, a group of religion wingnuts flew American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon at 09:37, killing 125 people, only 55 of which were military personnel.
grrlscientist | September 11, 2009tags: travel, nature, Antarctica, Beneath the Frozen World, television, Jacques+Cousteau, streaming video
This video presents an exclusive full-length movie of Captain Cousteau's expedition to Antarctica (this is the third of four parts -- couldn't find any of the others). Narrated by Jacques Cousteau.
Jacques-Yves Cousteau (1910-1997) was a French naval officer, explorer, ecologist, filmmaker, innovator, scientist, photographer, author and researcher who studied the sea and marine life. He co-developed the aqua-lung, pioneered marine conservation and was a member of the Académie franç…
grrlscientist | September 10, 2009tags: chemistry, elements, meet the elements, they might be giants, music video, streaming video
This is such a cute song that I would use it in my chemistry class if I was teaching this semester. This song, "Meet the Elements" is by the group, They Might be Giants, and it has a catchy tune that will help one to remember all those elements.
grrlscientist | September 10, 2009
Image: Sneer Review.
The current Antarctic Trip Vote count is as follows; 6100 - 1899 - 1841 - 1264 - 1232 out of 587 candidates registered. I am in third place and sloooowly creeping up on second place. With less than 3 weeks remaining, things are heating up and voting is changing rapidly as previous voters reassign their votes and new voters cast theirs for the first time. [Yes, you can change who you voted for, even if you voted weeks or months ago! All you have to do is log in using the account you created to cast your original vote, a process that takes only seconds] Many tens of…
grrlscientist | September 10, 2009The cricket sang,
And set the sun,
And workmen finished, one by one,
Their seam the day upon.
The low grass loaded with the dew,
The twilight stood as strangers do
With hat in hand, polite and new,
To stay as if, or go.
A vastness, as a neighbor, came,--
A wisdom without face or name,
A peace, as hemispheres at home,--
And so the night became.
~ Emily Dickinson
This is the cutest event I've heard of for NYC: a night spent counting crickets and katydids.
What: NYC Cricket Crawl (counting 7 species of crickets and katydids in NYC)
Where: New York City area
When: Friday, 11 September 2009 at 7:…
grrlscientist | September 10, 2009tags: flowers, Gardening, Horticulture, Botany, nature, Helsinki, image of the day
Dahlia blossom.
Photographed in downtown Helsinki, Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 3 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
grrlscientist | September 10, 2009tags: paleontology, fossils, dinosaurs, evolution, I am a Paleontologist, they might be giants, music video, streaming video
I have been remiss lately regarding music videos because I was in Finland for awhile, and then was otherwise preoccupied. But I just had to share this song with you; "I am a Paleontologist" is by the group, They Might be Giants and is one of many wonderful songs on their new album "Here Comes Science." If I was teaching biology or evolution this semester, I would use it in class.
You can order They Might be Giants' new album [CD/DVD], "Here Comes Science" from Amazon.
grrlscientist | September 10, 2009
Who: Toni Van Pelt, director of the Center for Inquiry's Office of Public Policy in Washington, D.C.
What: free public presentation, "Lobbying for Science and Reason on Capitol Hill"
Where: University Settlement, 184 Eldridge Street (and Rivington St.) [map] 273 Bowery site (that's at Bowery/Houston, just next door to an excellent Whole Foods branch [map])
When: 730pm, Thursday, 10 September
Toni Van Pelt is the director of the Center for Inquiry's Office of Public Policy in Washington, D.C. She will talk about her work as a lobbyist, promoting and advancing science and secularism. In her…
grrlscientist | September 10, 2009tags: Burrowing Owl, Speotyto cunicularia, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Burrowing Owl, Speotyto cunicularia, photographed on Antelope Island, a wonderful birding location north of Salt Lake City, Utah. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Terry Sohl, 27 July 2009 [larger view]
Canon 50D, 400 5.6L lens.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | September 10, 2009tags: researchblogging.org, global warming, climate variation, climate change, penguins, El Nino, marine zoning, P. Dee Boersma
Adélie penguins, Pygoscelis adeliae, and chicks.
(a) Adélie penguin chicks may get covered in snow during storms, but beneath the snow their down is warm and dry. (b) When rain falls, downy Adélie chicks can get wet and, when soaked, can become hypothermic and die.
Images: P. Dee Boersma.
According to an article that was just published in the journal BioScience, penguin populations are declining sharply due to the combined effects of overfishing and pollution…
grrlscientist | September 10, 2009tags: travel, nature, Antarctica, macaroni penguins, Eudyptes chrysolophus, David Attenborough, streaming video
This video presents a Nature program that briefly documents the natural history of Antarctica's Macaroni Penguin, Eudyptes chrysolophus. Narrated by the incomparable David Attenborough while standing in the middle of a colony of 80,000 shrieking macaroni penguins.
grrlscientist | September 9, 2009tags: leaf, nature, microscopy, streaming video
This video presents images produced by several cameras and microscopes, shifting from one to another as they zoom in closer and closer on a leaf. Finally, as the narrator sadly notes, that's as far as we can go .. for now. By the way, did anyone see a face in the chloroplast?
Zoom into a Leaf
grrlscientist | September 9, 2009
Image: Sneer Review.
The current Antarctic Trip Vote count is as follows; 6072 - 1891 - 1810 - 1241 - 1232 out of 583 candidates registered. I am in third place and sloooowly creeping up on second place. With less than 3 weeks remaining, things are heating up and voting is changing rapidly as previous voters reassign their votes and new voters cast theirs for the first time. Many tens of thousands of votes have already been cast in this competition, so if the people who have cast their votes already decide to change them, they can significantly affect the outcome of this competition. The…
grrlscientist | September 9, 2009tags: flowers, Gardening, Horticulture, Botany, nature, Helsinki, image of the day
Wild rose, Rosa acicularis.
Photographed at the gardens at the Tarvaspää Café at the Gallen-Kallela Museum
near Tarvon Salmi in Helsinki, Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 2 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
This is one of a large group of wild rose flowers that were blooming outside the front door of the cafe. The scent they produced was unbelievably strong and sweet and -- dare I say it? -- otherworldly.
grrlscientist | September 9, 2009The cricket sang,
And set the sun,
And workmen finished, one by one,
Their seam the day upon.
The low grass loaded with the dew,
The twilight stood as strangers do
With hat in hand, polite and new,
To stay as if, or go.
A vastness, as a neighbor, came,--
A wisdom without face or name,
A peace, as hemispheres at home,--
And so the night became.
~ Emily Dickinson
This is the cutest event I've heard of for NYC: a night spent counting crickets and katydids.
What: NYC Cricket Crawl (counting 7 species of crickets and katydids in NYC)
Where: New York City area
When: Friday, 11 September 2009 at 7:…
grrlscientist | September 9, 2009tags: birds, parrots, Quaker Parrot, Monk ParakeetGrey-Breasted parakeet, Myiopsitta monachus, NYC events, NYC Life, Brooklyn, Wild Parrot Safari
Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus) Old San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Image: Magnus Manske, 10 May 2008, Wikipedia [larger view]
Even though NYC is located in the armpit of hell where, during the summers, the air is a humid miasma of fetid human sweat and decomposing dog shit, and the winters possess the cold and wind of Antarctica with none of its natural charms, there is a brave group of illegal aliens who not only live here, but are actually thriving…
grrlscientist | September 9, 2009
Who: Toni Van Pelt, director of the Center for Inquiry's Office of Public Policy in Washington, D.C.
What: free public presentation, "Lobbying for Science and Reason on Capitol Hill"
Where: University Settlement, 184 Eldridge Street (and Rivington St.) [map]
When: 730pm, Thursday, 10 September
Toni Van Pelt is the director of the Center for Inquiry's Office of Public Policy in Washington, D.C. She will talk about her work as a lobbyist, promoting and advancing science and secularism. In her work, she asks our congresscritters to base law and policy on empirical evidence and the scientific…
grrlscientist | September 9, 2009tags: Eastern Meadowlark, Sturnella magna, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Eastern Meadowlark, Sturnella magna, photographed at Brazoria Wildlife Refuge, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 31 July 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.
grrlscientist | September 9, 2009tags: Obama, health care, AFL-CIO, Labor Day, politics, streaming video
This is a clip of President Barack Obama speaking at the annual AFL-CIO Labor Day Picnic. In this clip he is addressing the cynics and naysayers regarding healthcare reform.
If I am not mistaken, being poor, unemployed or homeless are felonies in the eyes of the GOP, so those Americans who dare commit such horrible crimes deserve nothing less than death.
grrlscientist | September 8, 2009tags: Obama, education, school, public school, politics, streaming video
Nearly 24 hours ago, President Obama delivered a national address to students across the country to encourage them to work hard on their education. This speech, which ignited controversy among this nation's political conservatives and racists, was delivered to a group of students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, VA.