Boston
mikethemadbiologist | June 22, 2009...they live in Massachusetts. Most of us have read the "ZOMG!! AMERICAN KIDZ DON'T KNOW TEH MATHZ!" stories. But a recent study (pdf), found by way of Matthew Yglesias, points out that some states in the U.S. actually do better than most countries (and then there's Mississippi, Alabama, and Washington D.C.).
The authors took the NAEP test, which is administered to U.S. fourth and eighth graders, and used a cohort which also took the international TIMSS test, to transform the NAEP data into equivalent TIMSS scores.
Looking at the fourth grade scores, MA, with an average TIMSS score of 572,…
mikethemadbiologist | May 26, 2009Having recently returned from the ASM (American Society for Microbiology) General Meeting held in Philadelphia, I'm convinced that it should be held there every year--or, at least, it should be the permanent East Coast venue.
When I go to a meeting, I want several things:
Stuff to do. Restaurants, museums, and so on.
Things need to be accessible. That means I have to be able to walk to them or take public transit (I don't want to have to rent a car just to leave the conference center).
Lodging needs to be close to the convention center (ASM is usually an 8,000-12,000 person meeting; it…
mikethemadbiologist | May 16, 2009"Fear the drumstick!" (Globe Staff Photo/Mark Wilson)
I've written before about the nefarious scourge of turkeys in the Boston area. Once again, Boston's turkey terrorists are on the march:
I saw two in Longwood Mall and took a step toward them with my cell-phone camera at the ready.
Tough as any gangbangers, the creatures aggressively advanced toward me. I took a careful step or two backward, very measured. Then they charged. I ran, half speed, slightly amused at the thought of turning tail to a couple of toms, but when I looked back, the fuckers were gaining on me. So I sprinted across the…
mikethemadbiologist | May 15, 2009One of the things Massachusetts has done well is supporting the arts. I've mentioned before how important the arts are economically, but let's turn it over to The Boston Phoenix:
It may not sound like much, but more than one percent of the American workforce is supported by nonprofit arts groups. That means more people make their living from the arts than from accountancy and law. The field of arts employs more people than the nation's police forces, farms, and fisheries. Arts workers outnumber computer programmers, postal workers, and firefighters. When viewed in the proper context, the…
mikethemadbiologist | May 1, 2009One of things about living in Boston is that it's small enough that you start to recognize people. To many of those who don't live in the city, I'm sure the down-and-out, the homeless, and the somewhat deranged appear as a wave of anonymous humanity. But, like I said, you start to recognize people. I'm sure most Bostonians recognize Louie the Tricycle Guy: he might be one of the most recognized people in Boston (more than many Red Sox players).
This winter I mentioned him to a couple of friends because I hadn't seen (or heard) Louie for several months--maybe something had happened to…
bioephemera | April 9, 2009
Algae filament necklace
Pam at Phantasmaphile alerted me to Nervous System, a jewelry company founded by MIT grads Jessica Rosenkrantz and Jesse Louis-Rosenberg. Nervous System "creates experimental jewelry, combining nontraditional materials like silicone rubber and stainless steel with rapid prototyping methods. We find inspiration in complex patterns generated by computation and nature."
While their various lines don't look quite as I expected - I was anticipating something Haeckel-like for "radiolaria" and neuronal for "dendrite" - they are intriguing and definitely "feel" organic. Their…
mikethemadbiologist | March 18, 2009While there's a compelling argument to be made that newspapers are doomed regardless of what they try, I think Ezra Klein is wrong when he argues that there's no market for local news. Atrios writes:
This is the reason I'm so often pretty unsympathetic about the way many journalists whine about their declining industry. I don't actually care if the Philadelphia Inquirer has somebody covering Washington (though they should have somebody covering local races for federal office, etc.). I have no idea why 3 million journalists showed up in Denver for the Democratic convention. I don't know why…
mikethemadbiologist | February 18, 2009This is not the Mad Biologist
Or how the Boston Phoenix proves they missed the point of Shepard Fairey's work (Fairey made the iconic Obama poster). I'll get to that in a moment, but Sunday, I went to the ICA in Boston to see the Shepard Fairey exhibit. For me, it was a blast from the past: I was in Providence when the whole Andre the Giant thing started (I still have a sticker from that time). It was also funny to watch (discretely) a middle-aged--to be generous--docent explain to similarly aged visitors about Andre having a posse. Ironic proto-skaterpunk anarchism wasn't really…
gregladen | February 18, 2009The Kennedy School of Government had banned all smoking within the building, but had not yet banned smoking just outside the doors facing the Charles River, to the south of the complex. An African American woman, about fifty years of age, took a light from me, and we stood in the falling snow enjoying our smokes. That was a heavy year for snow. It seemed that every day about the same time the two of us would be standing here in a blizzard.
I never knew her name, but I knew she worked in the cafeteria. We talked about a wide range of topics, including (and possibly mainly) the weather. A week…
mikethemadbiologist | November 25, 2008I've written before about the scourge of turkeys that are terrorizing the greater Boston area. One thing I've noticed is that the turkeys have gone missing this year. Apparently, one such turkey named "Sully" (by turkey-loving sympathizers) that established an enclave in South Boston is nowhere to be found:
Sully reportedly arrived in the neighborhood more than six months ago with a half-dozen other turkeys, but they all left and he stayed behind and set up a territory in the area around Dorchester Heights. His fame was immediate - There's a wild turkey! Living in Southie! - but the more he…
mikethemadbiologist | November 16, 2008I've been meaning to post about the corruption case involving former MA State Senator Dianne Wilkerson because it really lays out the most corrosive effect of corruption--a loss of trust:
What is the real deal with Columbus Center?
Why did Wilkerson throw herself behind the controversial and now-stalled project with such passion? Why did she go to the mat again and again to get support and public subsidies for the $800 million hotel, residential, and retail complex over the Massachusetts Turnpike when many of her constituents opposed the project? What was her relationship with Columbus Center…
mikethemadbiologist | October 31, 2008...the Mad Biologist needs more expensive prime rib. One of the initiatives on the Massachusetts ballot is Proposition 1, which calls for the abolition of the MA income tax. You might be surprised to read that the Mad Biologist is urging you to vote for Proposition 1.
In MA, the income tax accounts for roughly forty percent of all revenue while the property tax collects roughly the same amount. So what would happen if we removed the income tax? Well, in light of the massive budget shortfalls MA is already facing, local property taxes would have to rise to make up the shortfall--if Florida…
mikethemadbiologist | September 16, 2008Enough about the Straight Bullshit Express: here's an election I can believe in. In Massachusetts' Second Suffolk District, the Democratic primary for State Senate features Sonia Chang-Diaz and Dianne Wilkerson. For the very little that it's worth, the Mad Biologist endorses Sonia Chang-Diaz.
On many issues, there isn't much difference between Chang-Diaz and Wilkerson--were Wilkerson to win, it certainly wouldn't be a disaster; Wilkerson's record is pretty good. But here's why I plan to vote for Chang-Diaz:
Chang-Diaz supports publicly funded campaigns; Wilkerson is against them.…
mikethemadbiologist | September 8, 2008Conservative writer David Frum has an article in the NY Times magazine where he attempts to understand why wealthy areas like Fairfax County, Virginia, and Beacon Hill, MA are trending Democratic, or even becoming Democratic strongholds. The article would be informative, were it based in any way, shape, or form on what actually happened in Virginia (we'll get to Boston later). Since Frum is describing a change that I lived through, I thought I would offer my reasons why Northern Virginia has changed.
First, Frum omits the most obvious change: the (slowly) decaying influence of racism. I…
mikethemadbiologist | August 2, 2008While corn, and particularly corn derivatives such as corn syrup and ethanol additives, is seen as the devil, an excellent exhibit of posters at the Boston Public Library portrays a time when corn products were seen as a really good thing:
(from here)
The exhibit is open 9-9 Monday through Friday, and 9-5, Saturday (and it's free!).
mikethemadbiologist | June 14, 2008Last week there was a horrible accident on the T (Boston's subway), with the driver of the train killed. While the driver and others have been cleared of criminal charges, the NTSB is investigating, since it has been reported that the train was going too fast and the signaling system failed to alert the driver.
Since that incident, the trains have been moving really slowly. I understand that the tourist season has kicked into high gear, but that shouldn't affect how quickly the trains move, at least when trains aren't backed up. Is anyone else noticing this?
If this is true, and not a…
mikethemadbiologist | May 26, 2008Don't forget: at Tommy Doyle's (the one by Harvard Square), Boston Skeptics will be meeting tonight. On the menu:
This month's guest speaker is Patty Pieniadz, an ex-Scientologist who left after over 27 years. She was once the Executive Director of Narconon Connecticut and Director of Rehabilitation for the Church of Scientology.
For more info, go here.
I wanted to ask her about those questionnaires the drones are always passing out. I've always thought that there are 5-6 questions that, if answered 'correctly' identify you as a mark. We'll see if I'm right.
mikethemadbiologist | May 13, 2008Overhead last weekend at a Boston coffeshop from someone who definitely was not a local*:
Hi. We're in Boston. The people here are really polite.
Lady, you don't know the fucking half of it....
*Hard to place the accent precisely but definitely not West or East Coast.
mikethemadbiologist | May 3, 2008This is why you should read local weeklies. From the Back Bay Sun:
GROPE PATROL EFFECTIVE
Sgt. O'Connor of the MBTA Police gave a presentation on transit crime at local subway stops that highlighted the effectiveness of the city's current undercover operation aimed at deterring groping on the subway.
"Many more people are reporting incidents because of the patrol," said O'Connor. This past week, the patrol arrested a man on the Green Line when it was noticed that he did not appear to be going anywhere, simply riding back and forth between Kenmore and Park Street.
The plainclothes officers…
mikethemadbiologist | April 21, 2008...I thought it appropriate to revisit some advice I gave to visitors to Boston last year (with a few changes):
Bring a street map. You will get lost. You don't believe me? Then why are you asking me for directions? Your Google search map didn't help, did it? Seriously, the entire city street system was designed by drunken cows, except for Back Bay, where every street is one way--because otherwise the only existing grid in Boston would be too easy to navigate. Most street directions consist of something like "You go straight until you hit a left that curves. Then you take it until you…