Monthly Archives: December 2013

Christmas, World Fair Dioramas, and Trains, Oh My!

Posted on December 25, 2013 by mikethemadbiologist

Since it’s reopening, every Christmas the United States Botanic Garden creates a themed diorama involving model trains and a theme. This year’s theme: World fairs. Without further delay, let’s get started with the Mexican Alhambra, 1884: Some balloons:

Posted in Museums etc. | 1 Comment

Links 12/24/13

Posted on December 24, 2013 by mikethemadbiologist

It’s my birthday! Let’s celebrate with some links. Science: Assembly Could Benefit From More Circular Reasoning Drug-Resistant Bacteria on Chicken: It’s Everywhere and the Government Can’t Help How one publisher is stopping academics from sharing their research Christmas in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Lotsa Links | 1 Comment

Barbara Walters: You Kids Have No Idea What It’s Like To Get By On $285,000 Per Year

Posted on December 24, 2013 by mikethemadbiologist

By way of Digby (who’s having a fundraiser by the way), we come across this wonderful bit of obliviousness (boldface mine): When Walters first went on the air “they paid me $750 a week, and I was grateful for it,” … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments

Two More Reasons Why We Need a National Sick Day Policy

Posted on December 24, 2013 by mikethemadbiologist

I’ve discussed the astonishing lack of self-interest in opposing a sick day policy before, but two CDC reports make it clear why we need a national sick day policy. Reason one (boldface mine): Twenty percent of workers said that they … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, Public Health | Comments Off on Two More Reasons Why We Need a National Sick Day Policy

Links 12/23/13

Posted on December 23, 2013 by mikethemadbiologist

Links for you. Science: The Mating Habits of Early Hominins: A newly sequenced Neanderthal genome provides insight into the sex lives of human ancestors. Tracking the Secret Lives of Great White Sharks The Science Behind the Grants on Senator Coburn’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Lotsa Links | 1 Comment

“There Is No Single, Simple Slogan in This Field That We Can Trust”

Posted on December 23, 2013 by mikethemadbiologist

JFK on deficits and inflation: Still in the area of fiscal policy, let me say a word about deficits. The myth persists that Federal deficits create inflation and budget surpluses prevent it. Yet sizeable budget surpluses after the war did … Continue reading →

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Education: Low Income and Ethnicity Matter, But So Does Something Else

Posted on December 23, 2013 by mikethemadbiologist

Kevin Drum makes a good point about U.S. educational performance (boldface mine): Instead, let’s just make the more accurate claim: If you compare America’s white kids to those of most other countries—aggregating all the evidence, not just one or two … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Links 12/22/13

Posted on December 22, 2013 by mikethemadbiologist

Links for you. Science: Marijuana use rates in 12-17 year olds is highest in medical marijuana states Reddit’s science forum banned climate deniers. Why don’t all newspapers do the same? Pertinent and Non-pertinent Genomic Findings The hobbit — an unexpected … Continue reading →

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Here’s One Way Economics Is Like the Hard Sciences

Posted on December 22, 2013 by mikethemadbiologist

From my perusal of the economics blog, economists spend some time worrying about whether economics is a science, a hard science, and so on. Well, this abstract will sound familiar to any ‘hard’ scientist (boldface mine): This study investigates the … Continue reading →

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Policing and Militarization: Will Boston Adopt the AR-15?

Posted on December 22, 2013 by mikethemadbiologist

While I didn’t always agree with Mayor Menino, his opposition to the widespread carrying of high-powered semi-automatic rifles by police (the AR-15, a semi-automatic version of the M-16) was laudable (boldface mine): On April 15 — when two bombs exploded … Continue reading →

Posted in Boston, Civil Liberties | 3 Comments