Category: Bloggity Blog
I've dropped some hints in the past that my relationship with ScienceBlogs would be...altered.
Well, I've decided to leave. Mostly, it had to do with the issue of pseudonymity, although I'm very excited to hang out my own shingle once again. I don't want to rehash the issue of pseudonymity, since others have done that quite well, but revealing the Mad Biologist's Top Sekrit identity just wasn't in the cards.
I want to make something clear. ScienceBlogs/NatGeo really did try to keep me. For some crazy reason, they seem to like the writing--I won't get into the details, but that really does seem to be the case. My impression is that they are not trying to 'hollow out' ScienceBlogs (or, at least, they weren't trying to 'hollow out' me). I understand why a corporation like National Geographic wouldn't want to have pseudonymous writers, even though it's not compatible with how I want to play it.
OK, so what comes next? Well, I've opened my new digs at http://mikethemadbiologist.com. I might be crossposting here for a bit to close out some contractual obligations, but that's the new home of the Mad Biologist. And, of course, to find out about the latest doings, you can subscribe to my twitter feed.
Finally, I want to thank the many people who have worked at ScienceBlogs. It all started with Katherine Sharpe who recruited me. I remember my first conversation with her, and when she invited me, I asked her, "Are you sure you want me? You have read my blog, right?" Since that time, no one at ScienceBlogs ever told me what to write, or ruled anything off limits (and, at times, I'm certain it showed...). It was truly a wonderful concept: invite scientists--working scientists trained in data analysis and experimentation--to write about, well, anything and everything. Adam Bly really wasn't far off the mark with the 'science is culture' motto. It was an exciting and innovative thing while it lasted.
I am very grateful for this opportunity.
Anyway, enough of the maudlin stuff. Hopefully, I'll be seeing you around.
Posted by Mike at 9:03 AM • 18 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Environment • Oh Canada! • Oil • Unions
The old saw that 'we hang together or we get hung separately' is a perfect description of how the left has disintegrated into irrelevance. Too often, groups will focus on modest gains for their own narrow constituency, while selling out other allies. Over the long term, each component of the coalition is so weakened, making it impossible to have any influence. Case in point: union support for the Keystone XL pipeline (which will ship oil extracted from tar sands in Canada). John Aravosis explains:
Read on »
Posted by Mike at 7:55 AM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Education • Mathematics
Recently, The New York Times published an op-ed calling for curricular changes in K-12 math education:
Today, American high schools offer a sequence of algebra, geometry, more algebra, pre-calculus and calculus (or a "reform" version in which these topics are interwoven). This has been codified by the Common Core State Standards, recently adopted by more than 40 states. This highly abstract curriculum is simply not the best way to prepare a vast majority of high school students for life.
For instance, how often do most adults encounter a situation in which they need to solve a quadratic equation? Do they need to know what constitutes a "group of transformations" or a "complex number"? Of course professional mathematicians, physicists and engineers need to know all this, but most citizens would be better served by studying how mortgages are priced, how computers are programmed and how the statistical results of a medical trial are to be understood.
What the authors call for is an applied approach to teaching math:
Read on »
Posted by Mike at 10:00 AM • 13 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Basic Human Decency • Conservatives • Democrats
They're getting pretty good at hostage taking, and it worked before. Alex Seitz-Wald reports:
Despite the devastation caused by Hurricane Irene this weekend, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) today stood by his call that no more money be allocated for disaster relief unless it is offset by spending cuts elsewhere. The Washington Post reported this morning that FEMA will need more money than it currently has to deal with the storm's aftermath and is already diverting funds from other recent disasters to deal with the hurricane, but Cantor's comments suggest Republicans won't authorize more funds without a fight....
Cantor referred a bill the Republican-controlled House passed that approves $1 billion in disaster relief, which was financed by a $1.5 billion cut from loan program to encourage the production of fuel-efficient vehicles. But the need in the wake of the hurricane will likely greatly surpass $1 billion, and that spending package was supposed to be used for tornado recovery efforts, for which several hundred million dollars has already been outlayed.
The recent disaster in upstate New York, Vermont, and parts of North Carolina and Massachusetts show just how stupid and irresponsible imposing a de facto gold standard through spending caps is.
Read on »
Posted by Mike at 9:55 AM • 6 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Boston
Fortunately, Irene just ended up resembling a bad nor'easter, but without the cold temperatures (or snow). We had high winds from about 9:30 - 10:30am, and if they had become progressively worse (as was predicted), it could have been pretty ugly. Didn't turn out that way thankfully. In fact, it looks very clean out there. Still some clean up is needed:
(Exeter Street, between Boylston and Newbury)
Presumably, they're slurping stuff out, and not putting stuff in? Lots of busted up trees:
(Commonwealth Avenue)
Note the little guy in the planter. More trees destroyed:
Read on »
Posted by Mike at 12:01 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Economics • Hunger • Jobs
One of the ludicrous notions that has infected our political discourse is that government jobs aren't 'real' jobs (tell that to fireman when your house is burning down...). But a lot of private sector jobs are heavily subsidized by the government. I'm not referring to private contractors hired by the government, but jobs that are supposedly private sector. Low wage private sector jobs. How are these jobs subsidized? Food stamps (now known as SNAP; italics mine):
Saucedo, who earns $9.70 an hour for about 26 hours a week and lives with her mother, is one of the many Americans who survive because of government handouts in what has rapidly become a food stamp nation.
Altogether, there are now almost 46 million people in the United States on food stamps, roughly 15 percent of the population. That's an increase of 74 percent since 2007, just before the financial crisis and a deep recession led to mass job losses....
Read on »
Posted by Mike at 10:01 AM • 6 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Mad rantings about politics, evolution, and microbiology. Comment policy: say what you want, but back it up with an email address. I don't like anonymous trolls.
