grrlscientist | August 9, 2009The Gardian The Grauniad published a piece that has me seriously worried! The Brits have apparently seized the gold medal from the Americans in sheer, unadulterated laziness;
One in six people would rather watch a TV programme they didn't like than leave the sofa to change the channel if their remote control was broken. A third (36%) of the 2,000 adults surveyed for the study said they would not run to catch a bus and more than half (59%) would not walk up two flights of stairs to reach their office, choosing instead to take the lift.
More than half of dog owners (52%) did not walk their…
grrlscientist | August 9, 2009tags: Old Town, Tallinn, Estonia, cities
Tallinn Street.
Street leading to St. Olav's Church in Old Town, Tallinn, Estonia.
Image: GrrlScientist, 22 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
This is the street leading to St. Olav's Church, which I've shared in several images so far. If you look carefully, you can actually see the lower part of the spire on the right side of the photograph.
grrlscientist | August 9, 2009My long-time friend, Darksyde, published a Sunday Science piece endorsing me and another candidate (neither one of us is in first place) for the Quark Expeditions Antarctica trip. In this entry, Darksyde points out;
Quark has left the decision on which blogger to send to the blogosphere. This community has the power to play a key role in choosing who goes and it happens that two registered Kossacks are among a field of great candidates competing for the prize. Both hold a PhD in biology, each is a veteran blogger who has dedicated a huge portion of their life to the pursuit of science, and…
grrlscientist | August 9, 2009tags: Old Town, Tallinn, Estonia, cities, image of the day
Tallinn Doorway.
Doorway in Old Town, Tallinn, Estonia.
Image: GrrlScientist, 22 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
Close-up of the door itself is below the jump.
Doorway. (Detail)
Doorway in Old Town, Tallinn, Estonia.
Image: GrrlScientist, 22 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
grrlscientist | August 9, 2009
Mount Wank is a German mountain close to the Austrian border in the southwestern Estergebirge range near Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The peak is 1780 metres above mean sea level.
Image: Stephan Baum, Wikipedia Commons.
I do have some potentially interesting news to share with you. I am not at liberty to share all of this news with you at this moment, but I can share some of it.
First, I am relocating to Germany! I am not relocating to Wank (an extinct Bavarian volcano, ahem, joking) although I promise I will visit this molehill .. erm, mountain [map]. They even have a Wank webcam, although I…
grrlscientist | August 9, 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 | August 9, 2009The current Antarctic Trip Vote count is as follows; 3731 - 2083 - 1535 - 1293 - 1113 out of 425 candidates registered. I am now in fourth place so I need your votes more than ever to recapture first place, so please ask your friends and relatives to vote for me now!
If you've already voted, then please encourage your family, friends, colleagues and neighbors to vote for the person whom you think would be best for this unique job: traveling to Antarctica for the month of February 2010 and writing about it for the public on a blog. Here is my 300-word essay; hopefully, you will agree that I am…
grrlscientist | August 9, 2009tags: Green Heron, Butorides virescens, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Green Heron, Butorides virescens, photographed at Brazos Bend State Park, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 2 July 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 | August 9, 2009tags: Test Your Faith Vision, humor, funny, Edward Current, streaming video
This video is a timed quiz and it asks, "Among all the horrible things in the world, how quickly can you pick out our loving Creator's blessings?" Find out with this simple quiz. [4:33]
What was your score on this quiz? My score indicates that I should give up and go back to my sinful way of life. YEEhaw! I can hardly wait!
grrlscientist | August 8, 2009tags: Bateleur Eagle pair, Terathopius ecaudatus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Bateleur Eagle pair, Terathopius ecaudatus, photographed in Tarangire National Park, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify these birds for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 31 August 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D2X 200-400 NIkon VR lens, at 400 mm. ISO 400, f4.5, 1/250 sec.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | August 8, 2009tags: pregnancy in America, Natus craze, funny, humor, satire, streaming video
This video is the entire Colbert Report form 6 August 2009. This news report covers Yahweh or No Way, and other interesting news reports [21:44]
grrlscientist | August 8, 2009tags: pregnancy in America, Natus craze, funny, humor, satire, streaming video
This video is a news report from The Day Today with Barbara Wintergreen, who is investigating the Natus craze in California [2:02]
grrlscientist | August 7, 2009tags: Antarctica, humor, funny, streaming video
My friend, Richard Carter, made this very sweet little video to help publicize my desire to go to Antarctica as your official penguin whisperer [0:33]
Please vote for me to go to Antarctica as your official blogger.
grrlscientist | August 7, 2009tags: Old Town, Tallinn, Estonia, cities, image of the day
Wall.
An old vine-covered wall on a sidestreet in Old Town, Tallinn, Estonia.
Image: GrrlScientist, 22 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
grrlscientist | August 7, 2009tags: Old Town, Tallinn, Estonia, cities, image of the day
Here Be Dragons.
Dragon art on the front of an art gallery in Old Town, Tallinn, Estonia.
Image: GrrlScientist, 22 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
The front of the gallery is below the jump.
Dragon art on the front of an art gallery in Old Town, Tallinn, Estonia.
Image: GrrlScientist, 22 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
grrlscientist | August 7, 2009tags: Antarctica, humor, funny, streaming video
My friend, Richard Carter, made this very sweet little video to help publicize my desire to go to Antarctica as your official penguin whisperer [0:33]
Please vote for me to go to Antarctica as your official blogger.
grrlscientist | August 7, 2009
Image: wemidji (Jacques Marcoux).
Nam et ipsa scientia potestas est (And thus knowledge itself is power)
-- Sir Francis Bacon.
Scientia Pro Publica (Science for the People) is a blog carnival that celebrates the best science, nature and medical writing targeted specifically to the public that has been published in the blogosphere within the past 60 days. To send your submissions to Scientia Pro Publica, either use this automated submission form or use the cute little widget on the right (sometimes that widget doesn't upload when the mother site is sick). Be sure to include the URL or "…
grrlscientist | August 7, 2009tags: White-fronted Plover, Charadrius marginatus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] White-fronted Plover, Charadrius marginatus, photographed in Swakopmund, Namibia, Africa [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dennis Paulson, April 2007 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | August 7, 2009tags: TEDTalks, biomimicry, technology, Janine Benyus, streaming video
Janine Benyus has a message for inventors: When solving a design problem, look to nature first. There you'll find inspired designs for making things waterproof, aerodynamic, solar-powered and more. Here she reveals dozens of new products that take their cue from nature with spectacular results.. [20:15]
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes.
grrlscientist | August 6, 2009tags: birding, bird watching, birds, Life List: A Woman's Quest for the World's Most Amazing Birds, Olivia Gentile, book review
I've written book reviews for most of my adult life, mostly because I liked talking about the books I've read but rarely found an audience, and also because I found this to be a great way to learn about interesting books that other people were reading. Since I've written a public blog for nearly five years, it was natural that I would publish my reviews on my blog, a practice that ended up adding a substantial number of books to my shelves at a time when I was…