Monthly Archives: March 2012

Links 3/31/12

Posted on March 31, 2012 by

Links for you. Science: Girls in STEM The emergence of “nodding disease” Has Modern Science Become Dysfunctional? NIH director to Cambridge biotechnology executives: Coming years won’t be easy Other: Apple and the risks of trading 29,000 times per second Seeing … Continue reading →

Posted in Lotsa Links

Incompetent Pundits and Inefficient Markets

Posted on March 31, 2012 by

Thomas Frank brings some wonderful snark: A second lesson: if economists—and journalists, and bankers, and bond analysts, and accountants—don’t pay some price for egregious and repeated misrepresentations of reality, then markets aren’t efficient after all. Either the gentlemen of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Fucking Morons

Unreasonable Expectations and the Commercialization of Fun

Posted on March 31, 2012 by

Ed at Gin and Tacos highlights a comment (boldface mine): Vegas is what people who have never seen America, or who have never seen an America that exists past the nearest Circle K, imagine when they think of “having a … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Links 3/30/12

Posted on March 30, 2012 by

Links for you. Science: Mooney now agrees with us – Denialists deserve ridicule, not debate (absolute must-read for all) The Problems With Calling Comments “Post-Publication Peer-Review” James Cameron’s Deep Sea Challenge: a scientific milestone or rich guy’s junket? New model … Continue reading →

Posted in Lotsa Links | 1 Comment

My Simple Solution to Fix the MBTA’s Funding Shortfall

Posted on March 30, 2012 by

A while ago, I noted that the MBTA’s budget cuts were idiotic and short-sighted, especially the weekend service cuts: Then there’s the effect on tourism. The E train goes directly to the MFA and very close the Gardiner Museum. It … Continue reading →

Posted in Boston, Funding, Massachusetts, Taxes, Transportation | 1 Comment

Links 3/29/12

Posted on March 29, 2012 by

Links for you. Science: Collection of Jumping spiders The Most Badass Fish in the Sea Sequencing our gut bacteria: the hype and hope of another big science project Not a Normal Killing Other: Over at The Daily Beast’s Home for … Continue reading →

Posted in Lotsa Links

A Casuality of ‘Fiscal Responsibility’: Earthquake Warning

Posted on March 29, 2012 by

Because warning people about natural disasters is the cold, dead hand of socialism (boldface mine): “The main problem is funding,” said Doug Given, a project manager for the U.S. Geological Survey’s earthquake monitoring program. “In the current government financial situation, … Continue reading →

Posted in CIA Spy Shit, Earthquakes, Fucking Morons, Funding

Wages Are Too Damn Low: The College Tuition Edition

Posted on March 29, 2012 by

I’ve discussed before how the cost of college has risen much faster than wages. Comparing 1960 to 2011, we find: In 1961, the minimum wage was $1.15, which means that a student who worked part-time in high-school (and summers) and … Continue reading →

Posted in Education | 2 Comments

Links 3/28/12

Posted on March 28, 2012 by

Links for you. Science: Tennessee Joins the Anti-Evolution Parade and Ignores the Experts Oldest US natural history museum offers rare peek Return of Waspzilla No comments please, we’ve made it through peer review (?) Other: Non-partisan articles of faith (the … Continue reading →

Posted in Lotsa Links

Revamping the Southern Strategy: How to Use Anti-Gay Bigotry to Win Elections

Posted on March 28, 2012 by

Every so often, purveyors of political slime screw up and are investigated. That often means all of those memos that they really don’t want anyone else to read are read (oops). The National Organization for Marriage (aka ‘NOM’), which has … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservatives