Sh*t birders say -- Audubon video is a RIOT

The first time I really enjoyed it. The second time I had tears in my eyes.



Jason Kessler is the genius behind all this, apparently.

*sigh*

=)

Enjoy.

bb

p.s. Can anyone tell me what "we dipped" means? I have no idea.

spring is for the birds

the clouds keep thinking it's winter: 2 days ago

but the birds know what's up.

The ladies, yesterday,

followed closely by the gentlemen, in glossy perfection.

Even the chickens are getting into gear.

Spring start up: big & little eggs.

Yesterday, they laid the 3 large ones at the top, 1 egg each.

I think their equipment is now officially warmed up for the season. =)

And tho' I have no photographs to prove it,

the yellow-rumped warblers are SO BRIGHT,

their sunny fannies and foreheads light up the yard.

Do you have any favorite signs of spring where you live?

Do tell. =)

bb

2 photos = not quite summer yet...

European-paper-wasp-sicle, 5 days ago.

biobabbler-sicle, 10 minutes ago

Reynaud's rearing it's yellow-purple head.

It's not summer YET.

=)

But it's pretty nice(-sicle)!

bb

music, biology, and earworms

So, GREATLY appreciated the recent blog post title by Hipster Birders, "Rock me, Ammodramus" about the sparrows they'd been seeking. SO much so that I had to comment. And got this in reply:

"We've been really wanting to see the Ammodramus sparrows since we've moved here,

and I've actually been singing that tune for weeks."

So, THAT brought up this topic: music, biologists, and earworms.

And reminded me of years ago, when I was being hounded by Hemizonia.

This is the genus of a common plant at my research partner's and my study site.

EVERY DAY, once that plant (tarweed) bloomed,

and I passed it on the way to our study site,

the Hemizonia record would start spinning ROUND and ROUND in my head

to this tune--substitute "Hemizonia" for "Paranoimia"

(specifically it's the singers that come in 1:25 into the video):

Made me wonder just how many of us, during whatever obsession (required or otherwise) we're enduring, have had songs adapted by our brains into something subject-relevant, then repeated again and again.

This was not something I TRIED to do.

I didn't search my mind for song lyrics and compare them to
the myriad biological terms I have in my brain.

It just happened.

Thankfully, I DO enjoy the above song.

Tho' what was in my head was mostly just those voices,
repeating Hemizonia, over and over. And over.

hee.

Well, I suppose that's just one of the dangers of knowledge.
You never know where it will take you.

Has this ever happened to you? Do tell. =)

And now, this biologist, must break away to dance in her kitchen.

=) bb

snow news is good news =)

Just about a foot of the fluffy stuff.

We'll take it!

=)

bb

woo-hoo! A biologists St. Patricks Day MUSIC video.

100% heaven.

Stuff like this makes me LOVE people. =)

GENIUS! (and nice voice!)

=)

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!!

xoxobb

P.S. from the video's author, some metadata (that proves JUST HOW nerdy we all are):
Uploaded by cadamole on Mar 16, 2012

"I'm resurrecting this nerdy drinking song from last year...

As many of you perceptive viewers noticed there were a couple

alcohol-induced scientific errors in my last version of this song

(gold star, perceptive viewers!) -- so I thought this St. Patrick's day

would be a perfect time to correct them."

P.P.S. From the first version, the accompanying text and lyrics. =)

"A 200-year-old Irish classic!
Lyrics:
In the year of our lord eighteen hundred and eleven
On March the seventeenth day
I will raise up a beer and I'll raise up a cheer
For Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Here's to brewers yeast, that humblest of all beast
Producing carbon gas reducing acetaldehyde
But my friends that isn't all -- it makes ethyl alcohol
That is what the yeast excretes and that's what we imbibe

Anaerobic respiration*
Also known as fermentation
NADH oxidation
Give me a beer

[CHORUS]

My intestinal wall absorbs that ethanol
And soon it passes through my blood-brain barrier
There's a girl in the next seat who I didn't think that sweet
But after a few drinks I want to marry her
I guess it's not surprising, my dopamine is rising
And my glutamate receptors are all shot
I'd surely be bemoaning all the extra serotonin
But my judgement is impaired and my confidence is not

Allosteric modulation
No Long Term Potentiation
Hastens my inebriation
Give me a beer

[CHORUS]

When ethanol is in me, some shows up in my kidneys
And inhibits vasopressin by degrees
A decrease in aquaporins hinders water re-absorption
And pretty soon I really have to pee
Well my liver breaks it down so my body can rebound
By my store of glycogen is soon depleted
And tomorrow when I'm sober I will also be hungover
Cause I flushed electrolytes that my nerves and muscles needed

Diuretic activation
Urination urination
Urination dehydration
Give me a beer

[CHORUS]

Happy St. Pat's"

*sigh* =)

I'm freaked out--UnbeLIEVEable HD video, FLY w/the shuttle

 

Do yourself a favor and WATCH this. I just did and expect I'll never forget it.



Amazing.

Per Robert T. Gonzalez who posted it on i09,

"Absolutely mindblowing video shot from the Space Shuttle during launch
Drop whatever you're doing and watch this. NASA has released videos shot from onboard the Space Shuttle's Solid Rocket Boosters in the past, but you've never seen one prepared as masterfully as this.

"For one thing, the footage was shot in high definition, so the image is exceptionally clear. But what puts this video head and shoulders above most other rocketcams is the sound. The audio has been remastered by the folks over at Skywalker Sound (yes, that Skywalker Sound), and the final product is nothing short of incredible."

And watching the speed tick up into the 4 digits will blow your mind.

And for some reason, it made me cry. =)

Maybe because of the amazing work that was required to make it possible,
but I expect also 'cause it shows you our little blue baby planet
and it just makes me think about how amazing it is, and how much it's endured.

And if you're not from Earth, you have to pass a trial by fire-of-re-entry
to earn the right to even TRY to live here.

But for us, it's home. And I'm so grateful. =)

Guess that makes this video literally AWEsome.

Oh, and the sound is incredible.

Gah!

xoxoxobb

my coworker, helping w/fish stuff....

=)

bb

Springing forward into 2012 garden: "before" picture + simple quiz

First: garden art.

The ever gorgeous purple broccoli

that has yet to actually produce broccoli.

Garden overview shot.

bb garden March 2012 with VERY happy chickens engaged in garden predator control

Last year it was more completely covered in grasses since it actually RAINED....

And this year I also figured out if I leave much of the residual stuff,

the old corn, the old beans, chrysanthemums, etc.,

it will help keep the soil in place over the winter.

Discovered yesterday while trimming a (pollinator attracting) shrub:

Do you know what that is?

Please submit your guesses in the comments.

And the first sketches of plans for this year,

on a very suitable substrate =)

with some self-seeding cilantro decorating it all.

k. gotta go--on the clock today. =)

Happy Spring Forward!

bb

We have a WINNER! =) Phriday Photo Quiz answer...

Hugh nailed it. Nice work! Ding Ding Ding Ding!

And Cindy had Point Reyes among her guesses,

so she was there, too. Well done!

Both winners have tasty blogs, so I recommend clicking on those links... 

Point Reyes National Seashore is where I took my friend.

As we were driving toward the lighthouse,

through what seemed to be interminable miles of dairy farms,

I got a little nervous.

Am I the worst tour guide ever? He's seen cows before.

I didn't remember that many cows.

Then we arrived.

And the park redeemed itself. =)

Sandstone sculptures to die for.

This particular piece freaked my camera out. The above is adjusted.

Anyhow, so THAT is the answer. Point Reyes National Seashore.

And the price of admission to this amazing place?

$0.00.

It's FREE.

The beautiful coastal sage scrub, local (tiny) deer, and the Pacific.

THAT is an example of something that makes me

quite happy to pay my federal taxes. AWEsome.

So, there ya go.

Happy weekend!!

And thank you to ALL participants,

and congratulations to the glorious winners.

xoxoxoxo

bb

camel v. cow mow-down--who is the superior grazer?

cows

camel

advantage...

camel.

=)

bb

new photo hints for Phriday's Photo Quiz--y'all are v. close! + bonus

Still don't have a 100% clear THIS IS THE ANSWER winner for the quiz.

LAST CHANCE TO GUESS! =) And gain limitless glory.

Here's a few helpful shots. Well 1 or 2 v. helpful, 1 or 2 just for entertainment. =)

Here begins the not-helpful, but still related to that travel venture, portion.

Tho' I love San Francisco for its own sake, I was VERY excited to see this apparently

pretty healthy coastal sage scrub remnant at Twin Peaks. SWEET!

And a shot of the hood where I stayed. bb is lucky enough to have 10,000 charming, generous

cousins, & this one housed me and my visiting friend in a cool pad in SF.

AND we went to Tartine (a stupendous bakery)

and I spent a LOT of $$$ on fanTAStic pastries. =) 

*sigh*

Heaven!

Last shot from mystery location.

Now, do you know?

xoxobb

Show your shelf! + sign of spring

1) SHOW YOUR SHELF!

I am interested in seeing (and sharing) your power geek shelf.

By that I mean your go-to shelf when you're working and need to get answers to

detailed/technical/whatever questions you encounter specific to your field.

OR the shelf that characterizes your work most distinctively.

It could be covered in cookbooks, test tubes, wood carvings, or geiger counters.

I have 1 co-worker w/ a shelf dotted with bird nests (ornithologist),

and another w/ a nice collection of (non-human) animal skulls (wildlife biologist).

I think this'd be very fun to check out, and depending upon the results,

I may share them so we can peek into one another's professional worlds. =)

So, are you willing to share your Power Geek Shelf?

• If so, please send (not more than 2M) photo to biobabbler at g mail dot com by March 18th. (Don't worry if the lighting is bad etc., bb can futz with that on iPhoto. =) )
• Tell me what you do for a living, generally and specifically (if you have a specialty--either official or just a prof'l obsession).
• Tell me how your name, pseudonym, nom-de-plume, or favorite moniker. Or I'll just call you BBP (Blindingly Brilliant Person).
• Tell me if there's anything NOT on your shelf that you're dying to get, & 'splain.

Maybe I'll work this into a series of quizzes where we try to guess the person's profession from their Shelfish Self? So, I'll go first!

BB'S SHELF

Here are a few heavie$ on a lower $helf

(note: you can JUST make out David Aurora's Mushrooms Demystified @bottom left =) )

I am a biologist, specifically a conservation biologist,

and am somewhat obsessed with the effects of roads on ecosystems

(note all the slips of paper marking places in Road Ecology)

BB's SHELF WISH LIST

1. The recently updated Jepson's Manual Vascular Plants of California, second edition. Drool, drool.

2. A co-worker has a new tome on bird nests, eggs, and baby bird identification. HOW FUN is it to flip through PAGE AFTER PAGE of FUZZY BABY CHICKS?!? *sigh* (covet covet covet)

3. I've GOT to upgrade my binoculars (you don't see mine in today's photo but they're frequently up there). I borrowed a co-workers and almost passed out at all the light, color, & clarity coming through.

So, that's moi. And, you?!?

2) SPRING IS COMING!

1st photo = me 2 weeks ago working at home, freezing

(note: VERY thick wool sweater, wool skirt and quilted down vest)

2nd photo = me 2 days ago working at home, freezing

(this made me laugh 'cause I was psyched about my nice, prof'l outfit

but by the time I was warm, it was invisible.)

3rd photo = me today not working at home, toasty

'cause it's SPRING!!!

Woo-hoo!

Please ignore the fact that I'm dressed as a bruise (black & blue). It just amuses me. Later, I'll have to change to clean out coop and work the garden. =) Then I'll be looking like a biologist, again.

Has spring (or fall) hit you yet? Has life begun to shift? Do tell.

Anyhow, Happy March, y'all!

xobb

Anyone... anyone? More coastal grooviness to remedy blank stares...

=) I'm beginning to wonder if the comments field is broken.

So, to aid your efforts re: Phriday's Photo Quiz, photo phood phor you.

the biggest hint 

lichen & sandstone freakiness I love so much I could gnaw on it

I have issues re: succulents. Nestled in a lichenous lair? *happy sigh* 

Seriously. INSANELY beautiful sandstone. JEEPERS.

And this does NOT capture it.

Does that help?

The next batch of photo hints, should it prove necessary, will be closer to obv.

MORE hints:

I was there last week. I did NOT fly to get there.

The land is owned by the United States of America

(hence my ability to enjoy such a gorgeous place w/out paying a sou).

So, any guesses NOW???

=)

xoxoxobb

Phriday photo quiz--it's coastal!

 
Working again, now that my visitor is headed back to Canada, and it's a little nutty.

However, I am putting off (only by minutes) my TRIP to the GYM to post this, so you know I've been out and about (and that "I'm not dead!").

So, where's this?

This place does NOT suck.

I realize it's not an easy quiz.

I'll add more photos or hints later, if need be, so perspire not.

Any wild guesses (you know I love them)

 or are some of you SO well traveled, it's obv.?

xobb