Science in Corporate America

There’s a bill in Congress called “The Research Works Act”1 which threatens open access to science in a very disturbing way. The bill basically gives control of publicly funded research to private companies. There’s a petition to oppose this bill. I wanted to write up why I think we should sign it. The Research Works Act Unlike many bills, The Research Works Act has very short text: No...

A Farewell To Facebook, Reason #3: Obsession & Stupidity

This entry is part 3 of 3 in the series A Farewell To FacebookThis is the last in my posts about why I left Facebook. No, really, I promise! Like many things I write, they’ve come off a bit as “explanation” and/or “justification,” but– also like many things I write– they were meant more as “exploration.” They are a personal exploration, through writing, of my own...

A Farewell to Facebook, Reason #2: Interaction

This entry is part 2 of 3 in the series A Farewell To FacebookIn a previous post, I described the confusion of the term “friend” as a primary reason I left Facebook. Another reason I left was confusion over the term “interact.” It just seems that much of Facebook is not “interaction.” It’s short anecdotes that people comment on. That’s not interaction. Interaction is...

A Farewell To Facebook, Reason #1: Friends

This entry is part 1 of 3 in the series A Farewell To FacebookRecently, I deleted my Facebook account. Deleted. Completely.1 When I did this, many friends and family expressed surprise, sometimes outright frustration, that I would leave Facebook. According to them, there were a number of reason I should not have left, but primary among them was that I’d be eliminating that important way to communicate with me...

Today, I Bought an iPad

I remember this day 25+ years ago, when my mother came home with it. It was a box with a silver keyboard looking thing that said “TI 99/4a.” That big, blocky hulk of a purchase that was one of the best decisions of my mother’s parenthood. She wasn’t always the best role model, my mother, but this decision was superb. It came with intent, a reason: She told us that she couldn’t afford...