LED Dress

Fast Company has a quick look at a new LED dress. That’s amazing!

Bert Chapman + Economics = Disaster

If you haven’t heard, there is a fantastically poor analysis of the economics of homosexuality at a blog called “the Conservative Librarian.” What, you might ask, are the “economics of homosexuality?” Well, I don’t know and neither does the author of the post.

In this futile attempt at an economics lesson, author Bert Chapman (a librarian at Purdue University) fails handily at grasping basic intro-level micro and macro economics. Queerty has a nice little round up and Boilermaker Blag Hag has a fine rebuttal of the utter crap put forth in the original post.

I won’t comment on the specifics except to say that Chapman gives a black eye to librarians, economists, Purdue University, Christians, his fellow conservatives, and all people capable of rational thought. Doubtless, there are many members of each of the aforementioned groups who would like to take a big ideological step away from this man.

Link via LISNews.

Custom Barcodes

The Dieline has a great post about custom barcodes created by a Japanese firm called d-barcode. Check out the set below and many more featured in their post.

Metal & Glass

Copyright 2009 Randolph Pfaff

Click here to purchase this photo on Etsy.

Independent MBTA Report Released

An independent report ordered by Governor Deval Patrick regarding the T and its woes (both rider-related and financial) was released today. Boston.com has a thorough wrap-up and highlights some of the problems outlined in the report. The largest issue seems to be the way the T is funded and how its debt is handled:

The report is generally uncritical of MBTA management. Instead, it places most of the blame on a change in the way the MBTA was funded, a change approved by the Legislature in 2000.

The idea at the time was to give the T a fixed annual subsidy, abandoning the unwieldy practice of using state money to pay off MBTA expenses at the end of each year. The concept, wrote D’Alessandro, was laudable. But the state underestimated the agency’s expenses by $558 million between 2000 and 2008, he wrote, because of unrealistic projections for operating costs that were outside the T’s control.

The report also recommended that fares not be increased as a problem solving method unless the MBTA is accountable to riders for the use of that money in improving safety and service.

Living in Boston (and having lived in NYC) causes me to have very mixed feelings about transit funding. While constantly raising fares is not the answer, it’s worth mentioning that frequent users here pay significantly lower fares than riders in many other cities. Our weekly and monthly passes are, quite frankly, a steal. Fare increases are inevitable but, because they don’t change yearly with inflation, people are aghast when they do occur. Sadly, I don’t see a realistic solution for the MBTA’s problems that does not include higher fares.

If the MBTA is actually going to solve these problems and keep riders safe and (relatively) happy, I think we’re going to need three things: higher fares, a change in the Commonwealth’s funding structure, and an in-depth review of the MBTA’s expenses that leads not just to recommendations but to actions that improve the situation.

Recent Photos

Alas, I have been very poor at updating here. I think after the Portraiture tour ended, Carissa and I have both been trying to get other things done while relaxing and spending time together. As a result, we’ve both neglected our online personas and they’ve been slowly shrinking away.

To make up for it a bit, here’s a Facebook gallery of snapshots from the tour and Halloween and other recent activities. Enjoy.

Great Quote from Sam Haskins

“Artists don’t owe the world anything, least of all explanations.”

— Sam Haskins

(via Ashley Simko)

Cambridge performance of Carissa Halston’s Portraiture

Tonight! Details below! FREE!

Carissa Halston’s Portraiture: Part II, begins tomorrow

If you live in St. Louis (or thereabouts), Toronto, or Greater Boston, you should check out the second leg of the Portraiture tour.

Locations and times are as follows (with helpful little links to maps!):

Friday, September 25th – 1pm
Lewis and Clark Community College
Benjamin Godfrey Memorial Chapel
5800 Godfrey Rd
Godfrey, IL
FREE

Sunday, September 27th – 6pm
Labspace Studio
2A Pape Ave
Toronto, ON
$10 (Canadian!)

Wednesday, September 30th – 7pm
Lesley University/EDS Library
99 Brattle St
Cambridge, MA
FREE

Carissa Halston’s Portraiture Begins Tomorrow!

Carissa Halston’s storytelling tour begins tomorrow!  On Friday, she’ll be in New York; then in Philly on Sunday; off to the midwest next Friday (the 25th), then to Toronto on the 27th, and the tour will end at home in Cambridge on the 30th.  If you like being entertained, you should go!

Links to maps for each venue are listed below, as well as dates, times, and all other pertinent information:

Friday, September 18th – 8pm
The Dorothy Jones Theater
Singers Forum
49 W 24th St
New York, NY
$10

Sunday, September 20th – 6pm
The A-Space
4722 Baltimore Ave
Philadelphia, PA
FREE

Friday, September 25th – 1pm
Lewis and Clark Community College
Benjamin Godfrey Memorial Chapel
5800 Godfrey Rd
Godfrey, IL
FREE

Sunday, September 27th – 6pm
Labspace Studio
2A Pape Ave
Toronto, ON
$10 (Canadian!)

Wednesday, September 30th – 7pm
Lesley University/EDS Library
99 Brattle St
Cambridge, MA
FREE