December 2010
46 posts
Caught in Southie: Unofficial Rules for Saving...
My personal favorite:
5. After the 48 hrs is up, the city will pick up any space savers still left out. Seize this opportunity to get rid of anything lying around your house you want to get rid of i.e. radiators, foosball tables, mattresses, old televisions, whatever you want to get rid of. Just put it in your space and the city will haul it off.
(picture source)
Some Israelis Question Benefits for... →
Chaim Amsellem was certainly not the first Israeli Parliament member to suggest that most ultra-Orthodox men should work rather than receive welfare subsidies for full-time Torah study. But when he did so last month, the nation took notice: He is a rabbi, ultra-Orthodox himself, whose outspokenness ignited a fresh, and fierce, debate about the rapid growth of the ultra-religious in Israel.
...
“you can’t hyperlink me like that!”
– Benjamin, after my use of the word “anon” launched a reflex recitation on his part of “Our queen and all our elves come here anon…” (Midsummer)
Grizzly-Polar Bear Hybrid Found -- But What Does...
Multiple bear species, including polar bears and grizzlies, have been crossbred in zoos. Scientists just never expected a polar bear and grizzly to mate in the wild.
Both species require an extended mating ritual to reproduce. Females ovulate only after spending several days with a male and then mate several times over several days to ensure fertilization.
Mating between the two species is...
Dear tumblr,
I now am sufficiently cooped up and wish to return to my house, my city, my swimming pool, my research, my local grocery stores, my kitchen, my canvas, and my paint.
Don’t get me wrong, I liked catching up on sleep. But now I’m caught up. Let’s start working on the deficit again.
Love,
Naomi
“Class warfare, in other words, is carried out as a civil war between segments of...”
– Maybe I’ll read Jonathan Franzen’s “Freedom.”
via: nytimes
Incidentally, this mixed-up complicated mess of cultures and identities is why I couldn’t actually imagine myself living in Copenhagen, as nice as it is. And why I love my family (and Christmas). It’s fun to...
on the topic of strange science: Reindeer "Flying"... →
Weird:
“One such species, appropriately for a Christmassy article, is the reindeer, which goes to great lengths to search out the hallucinogenic fly agaric mushroom (Amanita muscaria) — the one with the white-spotted red cap that garden gnomes like to sit on. Eating the toadstool makes reindeer behave in a drunken fashion, running about aimlessly and making strange noises. Head-twitching...
“We did this so that they would learn not to go just to the colours, but had to...”
– Blackhawton bees. Full paper published by a class of 8-10 year olds in Biology letters here.
Read it and remember why you like science.
Article about the project to approach science and science education as a game, using real and not contrived experiments, here.
A sneak preview:
Bright Japanese forms, and darker meanings →
Show explores world of anime cartoons, manga comics
Murakami proposed that the Japanese had not recovered from the trauma of the war, the bombings, and the defeat. Manga’s and anime’s preoccupation with apocalypse may be an unconscious way, as nightmares are, to process that history. Then, too, the insistent, cloyingly adorable characters suggest a refusal to grow up.
Naomi: 9 semesters. MIT: 0.
Yesss. Win.
The U.S.S. Prius →
therosh:
The US Navy makes a commitment to go green - since the cost of transporting a gallon of gasoline can be up to $500.
Even if Congress can’t be swayed, the military has enough purchasing power to make an impact.
This is pretty much awesome.
Dear Life,
I propose a small reward for already getting though four years of mitty school: NO MORE FINALS.
Love,
Nami
On Thursday, House Republican leaders announced... →
Well, that just doesn’t sound productive to me.
“Manipulating interest rates is an immoral act. It’s economically destructive.”
Um, come again?
London Tuition Fee Protests
Not going to lie, these photos generate a pretty visceral reaction.
The media, well, it’s pretty fascinating. As to the actual protest—I’m not sure.
Waste to Energy: Sweden →
I know the US is not at all the same as Sweden or Denmark (where they also have a well-developed district heating system)—-but well, why aren’t we?
How Can a Religious Person Justify Being a... →
One of the most fascinating things I’ve read in a long time.
tzvantzik:
A sad phenomenon. As noted, one part of one interview goes as follows (reply is Baruch Herzfeld, who owns a bike shop in Williamsburg, is an Orthodox Jew, and acts as a liaison between the chasidic community and the hipster community sometimes):
What about the whole “Never mistreat the stranger because you were...
Course evaluations: 3 wonderful, 1 not so much.
Gender, Race, and the Complexities of Science and...
Yet another one of those classes that sounds really interesting and I won’t ever have time for:
Gender, Race, and the Complexities of Science and Technology Professors:
Sally Haslanger, Linguistics and Philosophy, MIT
Peter Taylor, Critical and Creative Thinking, UMass Boston
Seminar description: Science and technology are relatively insulated from wider public deliberation-art and...
Done. Crit tomorrow in the am. Three parties in...
Speaking of labor: House passes DREAM immigration... →
The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act — or DREAM — would create a path to citizenship for immigrants who entered the United States illegally as children under the age of 16 and have lived in America for at least five years, obtained a high school or General Education Development diploma and demonstrated “good moral character,” according to a White...
“You think I’m kidding? There are economists tracking what happened after...”
– Bill Wheaton on regional labor supply shifts.
Taking the initiative →
thekeri:
jesuismilena:
My last piece on the Tech. I’m pretty sad that I’ll no longer be able to write— the new editors are not cool with sex on the campus newspaper— but I’d like to think I made a good contribution to the community by addressing sex openly. Plus, waking up to nice emails thanking me for my work and saying that was the only reason they read the paper— not gonna lie, big ego...
I've got it! I've got it! I've got it!
Yesterday I thought I was done with a p-set that’s technically due right now. Then at about 5pm yesterday afternoon I realized that while I had the right answer I had the wrong goddamn approach. For you algorithm kids who might care: basically I had solved the problem in IP (integer programming) form when really it could be converted into a network problem and solved with just the LP (linear...
Recall battle
So, I’m currently in a multi-stage recall battle over this book with an unknown person:
The sustainable city II : urban regeneration and sustainability / editors, C.A. Brebbia, J.F. Martin-Duque, L.C. Wadhwa. International Conference on Urban Regeneration and Sustainability (2nd : 2002 : Segovia, Spain) Southampton, UK ; Boston : WIT Press, c2002.
I took it out....
Happy Hannukah!
Also, is facebook the new “window”? Because everyone is posting pictures of their Channukiot after they light them.
A good librarian, you will be missed.
Omar Khalidi, who worked at the MIT Libraries from 1983 until last month, died Monday after being struck by a train at the Kendall Square MBTA station. Khalidi, 57, worked as the librarian for the Aga Khan Program in the MIT Libraries.
This is really sad. He helped with my class in Islamic Architecture and gave us a wonderful tour of the new mosque in Roxbury.
