CircleCount helps you better understand Google+

2013-05-24 19:04:06 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 10 +1s)

I found a pile of green frogs today. 

2013-05-17 16:23:02 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 18 +1s)

I miss the grey wagtails that nested on our window sill. So I thought I'd share them once again in one post.

Two of them hatched and only one survived. It fledged after eleven days. I can still hear the adults from time to time and wish they would return for a second chance. 

2013-05-16 23:43:54 (9 comments, 2 reshares, 7 +1s)

You don't want that G+ messes around with your photos?

Disabling Auto Awesome and Auto Enhance

They are on by default. To disable them:

Choose  Settings from the Google+ navigation menu.
Uncheck Auto Awesome.
Uncheck Auto Enhance too!

#AutoAwesome   #AutoEnhance   https://www.google.com/settings/plus
#plustips  

2013-05-15 22:04:39 (10 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

How am I supposed to read my stream now From left to bottom to top to right to bottom and up again and forward, backward and so on? 

2013-05-15 16:04:18 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 7 +1s)

G+ What's Hot Serves Based On Gender

I heard a rumour this morning that if your profile is set to male, you'll get different What's Hot (Explore) content than if you're set to female.

So I opened a tab with my profile which was set to female, and from that opened a fresh tab with WH.  Then I immediately changed my profile to male and opened another WH tab to compare as closely in time as possible the difference.

Holy. Fucking. Shit.

When I'm a girl, I get piles of those graphical platitudes I hate.  I have understood all along why +EcoSnark gets those more than my real profile, because she shares them to her NerdSmacked community to make fun of them (see https://plus.google.com/communities/117382348426379346016 ).  I don't plus them or share them, but they're always there.  I loathe them and it's why I have had theslide... more »

2013-05-14 13:31:26 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

This is a nice ISBN check- and conversion tool.
It comes in handy when you get an overfull hbox in the #bibliography of your #LaTeX document because you didn't use ISBN13 with the nice dashes where LaTeX can break the line. Believe me, you don't like bibliographies where the ISBNs are sticking out on the right margin. 
If you don't know what the hell I'm talking about don't worry. I'll post cute little birds and gardening stuff again soon.

2013-05-13 17:58:04 (15 comments, 0 reshares, 10 +1s)

Unknown caterpillar on my jacket

2013-05-08 16:14:28 (14 comments, 2 reshares, 18 +1s)

Look at this fluffy Grey wagtail chick!
It gets cuter and cuter every day. Its sibling is hiding somewhere between all his fluff. 
For #wildlifewednesday  by +Mike Spinak and +Morkel Erasmus. 

2013-05-06 12:00:10 (18 comments, 0 reshares, 12 +1s)

Canoeing in France? — Please help

Because of some bad weather ahead we need to adjust our canoeing plans. Can you help me and recommend something or share this post or tag people in who could know?

What we want:
Nature, nature and nature
Camping grounds 
Calm water (for beginners)
Maybe Loire but I'm not sure about the calm water

What we don't want:
whitewater
crowded places
big cities

It would be great if you could help. I really don't want to stay at home. 

2013-05-05 16:57:36 (6 comments, 1 reshares, 15 +1s)

This is how my green house looks after the seedling market from ProSpecieRara http://ProSpecieRara.ch I bought several sweet pepper and tomatoe plants and a bit of this and that. 
Now there's no space left on device. ;-)
On the right is a sub irrigated planter made from two boxes. There's some yarn attached for the wicking. 
For +Anna Kastlunger, who wanted to know how my greenhouse is looking. 

2013-05-04 13:01:17 (15 comments, 1 reshares, 17 +1s)

Here's an update from the Grey wagtails nesting on our window sill

Two of the four wagtails hatched a few days ago, the other two eggs are still laying in the nest. I wonder if the parents will remove them some day. The two chicks are of very different size. The bigger one seems to be two times the size of the smaller one. I hope both will fledge.

I'd love to take more photos but I don't like to disturb them that much and will wait a week or so.

2013-05-04 12:51:21 (7 comments, 1 reshares, 15 +1s)

Here are my seedlings that wait for planting in two weeks:

Sweet pepper, nasturtium, tomatoe, sunflower, and butterfly and bee garden seeds. The corn plants are not seedlings anymore and seem to have a little trouble with the small space in heir grow bags. 

2013-05-02 20:46:14 (6 comments, 1 reshares, 23 +1s)

Least Tern Family

Least Tern nesting season is upon us!

#birds  
#birds4all  
#birdsinfocus  
#birdloversworldwide  
#birdphotography  

2013-05-02 17:39:24 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

White noise makes me nervous and distracts me but the sound of ocean waves is quite nice. 

2013-04-28 15:12:15 (2 comments, 2 reshares, 10 +1s)

The homes of my hamsters

I promised to show how my three hamsters live so here are he photos. The size of the cage is 100x50x50cm (40x20x20in), the smaller fish tank has got 100x40x50cm (40x16x20in) and the biggest fish tank (it's made from two) is 200x40x40cm (80x16x16in).
The wheel for the Syrian hamster is a Wodent Wheel Sr and the wheels for my dwarf hamsters are Wodent Wheel Jrs from the US company http://www.transoniq.com/. 
The wooden parts are self made from poplar ply wood and some of the ceramic parts are actually storm lamps from Ikea. 
The tank of Leonie is the biggest one (almost 1x1m) but if she could decide it would be even bigger. It's amazing how such small animals could need so much space. 
If you like to read more about keeping hamsters here's afl... more »

2013-04-26 15:50:10 (3 comments, 1 reshares, 6 +1s)

Paul Simon Songbook Album from a time I wasn't born yet. 

2013-04-22 19:27:47 (23 comments, 0 reshares, 14 +1s)

This is the kind of bird currently breeding on our window sill. 

2013-04-22 15:27:13 (14 comments, 0 reshares, 17 +1s)

My Syrian Hamster Jim usually lives a secret life in his home when everybody in the house is long asleep. I see him once a week when I take a look in his house to check if he is still alive or sometimes when he decides to show himself like yesterday.
Luckily the hamsters purpose is being a hamster and not entertaining people and my job is to provide everything he needs, so I'm fine to have such a phantom hamster even when I love to see him. 
What's very interesting about Jim is that he's perfectly tame. 

2013-04-18 15:46:57 (21 comments, 1 reshares, 41 +1s)

There's some magic happening right in front of me on the window sill: A pair of grey wagtails decided to breed there. I prepared the window with pieces of paper so the wagtails won't feel disturbed. 
After the female laid 4 eggs in one week the breeding started three days ago. I cannot tell if both are breeding or just the female.

2013-04-18 15:36:38 (12 comments, 0 reshares, 10 +1s)

Something besides birds is living on my balcony! Winter must be over now. The Muscari on the left grew where planted last year and the Bantam Corn http://bantam-mais.de/ was started indoors.

I sewed grow bags for the corn because it needs so much space and I didn't have that many planters. Let's hope they will work and don't dry my plants. 

#gardening  

2013-04-18 15:27:34 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 16 +1s)

There was a toad next to our front door. It didn't want to come in so I moved it out of danger.

2013-04-16 22:01:51 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Interesting blog entry about overexposure to tragic events.

"Just a few decades ago, our exposure to this kind of news would have been limited for us. We would have had newspaper printing delays and space constraints. Television time was not something we were so desperate to fill. News from our friends came at a higher cost and, so, was more filtered. We didn’t see tragedy the way we do now."

2013-04-16 10:07:47 (1 comments, 2 reshares, 8 +1s)

Want to know if that hottie has HIV? Put their blood in the DVD player

2013-04-15 18:17:51 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

I just made two of these grow bags out of garden cloth and will try to grow Bantam corn plants on the balcony in them. The plants already spent the whole Spring time indoors under a growing light. I've got no experience with grow bags so far but need to use the space on the balcony more efficiently. 

This was a great way to combine #gardening and #sewing, two things I enjoy a lot. 

Did I mention the weather in Switzerland skipped Spring and went straight on to Summer? We had 25°c in the shade today. +Anna Kastlunger The cutting mat I got from you last year came in handy because this cloth doesn't like to be cut with scissors. 

2013-04-13 19:00:41 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 15 +1s)

What a cutie! 

2013-04-11 13:34:43 (0 comments, 3 reshares, 4 +1s)

A company (or anybody else) should not be allowed to patent our food. Please sign and share. 

2013-04-08 15:18:30 (22 comments, 15 reshares, 43 +1s)

I admit it, I'm a #whovian  and a gardening geek and this Thyme Lord is awesome
#gardening   #doctorwho  

2013-04-07 13:59:02 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

I found some very adorable  #doctorwho  crochet patterns I want to try some day.

2013-04-05 12:57:06 (5 comments, 1 reshares, 1 +1s)

The Swiss railway system is still the best I know, but they recently decided to be more like the Deutsche Bahn AG (German system) by fining their paying passengers over minor mistakes or for their broken ticket purchasing machines.

2013-03-29 18:31:45 (0 comments, 3 reshares, 6 +1s)

Some news about my wonderful and free country Germany where everybody is allowed to express himself — unless a certain church is not happy about what he does (e.g. in a building where the doors are closed and everybody there has chosen to be there). 
I don't have the right to forbid others to pray and that's a good thing. So why do others have the right to forbid me to dance? They don't have to attend the event. 

Trolls will be blocked.

2013-03-29 15:56:14 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

So much joy. I love when people are happy. Let's make more people happy.

2013-03-29 15:50:49 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

This is a very beautiful wedding photo. 
#gaymarriage   #weddingphotography  

2013-03-27 19:04:47 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

'Someone I know once conducted an inadvertent experiment on a Northern Cape road when following a truck that had spilled grain for kilometres, in turn attracting hundreds of seed eating species. At 120km/h he noticed he was hitting many of these birds. He slowed to 80, a speed at which no impacts occurred, and then gradually increased his speed. At 105km/h he started to hit birds again, suggesting that 100km/h was a reasonable speed to travel whereby distance could be achieved and bird mortality minimized.

Next time you are travelling to chase a lifer or mega rarity, keep your speed down: it improves your carbon footprint and it’s better for the wildlife'

100km/h or 62 miles an hour (for the unconverted)

for +Juliane Clausen and +Larry Deane and +Jason Hill

(Shared using #DoShare)

2013-03-27 11:05:57 (25 comments, 1 reshares, 9 +1s)

Outdoor Cats: Single Greatest Source of Human-Caused Mortality for Birds and Mammals, Says New Study
http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/releases/130129.html

2013-03-25 23:24:45 (9 comments, 0 reshares, 16 +1s)

More beaver art. Isn't it beautiful? 

2013-03-25 22:49:31 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 11 +1s)

The art of a beaver.
I never see them here (maybe because they know people are allowed to kill them) but I see a lot of their art work. ;-) I'm happy they are here.

2013-03-22 14:48:40 (0 comments, 4 reshares, 19 +1s)

Bullying is never okay. This is how one man stood up for a little boy with #Downsyndrome. We think he sets a great example! See how by watching this video segment from the Today Show. What do you think?

2013-03-21 16:37:55 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

This TARDIS model is bigger on the inside.
#drwho  

2013-03-20 21:17:49 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

"When I sleep I dream of birds" — Chris Packhams t-shirt designs (free for personal use). 

2013-03-19 12:42:55 (13 comments, 2 reshares, 7 +1s)

Rape is a life altering crime for the victims and was a choice for the perpetrators. CNN didn't focus on the life lasting bad effects sexual violence can have but pitied the rapists whose lives and sports careers would be over. Seriously?!?

If you think CNN should know how much they failed sign the petition and share it. 
If you think rape is a bagatelle and those rapists didn't have a choice do me a favor and uncircle me before you hide under your rock again.

If I had a TV and would receive CNN I wouldn't watch it anymore. 

2013-03-18 14:48:44 (7 comments, 0 reshares, 26 +1s)

I'm sharing these landing Mallards for #whattheduckmonday  curated by +Phil Armishaw. 

2013-03-18 01:27:21 (8 comments, 1 reshares, 22 +1s)

The first Northern Lapwings have arrived at their breeding area. It's Spring. 

2013-03-18 01:24:36 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

I really don't know if this is a coot or a mallard.

2013-03-18 00:52:55 (12 comments, 1 reshares, 17 +1s)

This Long Eared Owl made my day. 

2013-03-14 21:40:02 (5 comments, 1 reshares, 26 +1s)

European Bee-eater

A Bee-eater catching dragonflies flies, bees, wasps and some others insects for food. They can not digest hard parts from the insects and they  vomits hard parts of his prey out as is shown here. His expression shows that it is not a pleasant thing.

Thanks for looking
regards Walter

If you like my post, please show your friends by sharing.
*Thank you so much for all your support! *
(c) Walter Soestbergen Photography www.waltersoestbergen.nl





#Birds4All by +Ricky L Jones & +Walter Soestbergen   (+Birds4All)
#birdsinfocus #birdSpeciesLink curated by +Risto Talman 
+300mmMonday #300mmmonday  curated by +Gailen Mapes
#backyardbirdingmonday by +Celeste Odono +Ricky L Jones  (+Backyard Birding Monday #BackyardbirdingMonday)
#hqspbirds  curated by +HQSP Birds+Mari... more »

2013-03-14 13:36:19 (6 comments, 2 reshares, 8 +1s)

Has anybody of you tried to print records with a 3d printer #3dprinting  

2013-03-13 23:24:54 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

What should I use now?!?

2013-03-13 18:51:08 (15 comments, 0 reshares, 11 +1s)

There's fresh amphibian spawn in the garden pond — and Winter is coming back.

The pond isn't that deep or big, you can see almost the whole pond in this picture. The last days have been very warm and we could wear t-shirts outside but now it's getting cold. It snowed the whole day and temperatures are dropping below zero °c.

Can I do anything to save the spawn? Should I cover the pond with Styrofoam? Should I take the spawn indoors and bring it back when it's warm again? Should I leave everything as it is? 

2013-03-13 18:24:59 (11 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

"To This Day Project is a project based on a spoken word poem written by Shane Koyczan called “To This Day”, to further explore the profound and lasting impact that #bullying can have on an individual. […] Animators and motion artists brought their unique styles to 20 second segments that will thread into one fluid voice.

This collaborative volunteer effort will demonstrate what a community of caring individuals are capable of when they come together."

2013-03-12 11:50:19 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

My science geek friends should like this. How to write articles about women doing science.