Snow Prediction

I’m no meteorologist but I’ll hazard a snow prediction (it’s more like a hope). I noticed that this century we’re in a 5 year pattern of low snowfall. So I’m going to guess Boston will get less than 20" of snow this winter. Of course I’m saying that having gotten 5.9 inches in Dec, an inch today and about 3 more expected tomorrow. Still, fingers crossed.

Pilgrim Nuclear Plant Safety Rating Downgraded

The Boston Globe reports Pilgrim nuclear plant safety rating downgraded. It's the only nuclear power plant in Massachusetts.

It appears Boston’s last snow farm has finally melted

How bad was Boston's winter? The snow lasted until July 13th! It appears Boston’s last snow farm has finally melted

"The apparent melting would make today the winner in the city contest asking people to guess when the snow will melt. However, when asked if July 13 would be declared the victor, a spokesperson for Mayor Walsh’s office said, “Not yet,” and sent along a photo of what appears to be a patch of dirt-encrusted ice at the snow farm scene."

Boston | Special Series | Re/code

I finally got around to reading Re/code's Special Series on Boston by James Temple from last December. "The engineers and scientists spilling out of Greater Boston’s world-class universities built the foundations of the modern computing era and amassed the densest cluster of life sciences companies in the world. The region lost some of its most promising startups to Silicon Valley, famously including Facebook. But business is booming — and researchers and entrepreneurs there are aiming far higher than the next social network. This Re/code special series takes a closer look at past, present and future innovation in the region."

It's in nine parts and is pretty entertaining.

To End the Anguish, Drop the Death Penalty

The Richard's were directly affected by the Boston Marathon bombings. Today in The Boston Globe they write To end the anguish, drop the death penalty.

But now that the tireless and committed prosecution team has ensured that justice will be served, we urge the Department of Justice to bring the case to a close. We are in favor of and would support the Department of Justice in taking the death penalty off the table in exchange for the defendant spending the rest of his life in prison without any possibility of release and waiving all of his rights to appeal.

We hope our two remaining children do not have to grow up with the lingering, painful reminder of what the defendant took from them, which years of appeals would undoubtedly bring.

As an otherwise unabashed liberal, I'm a little squishy on the death penalty. I don't completely oppose it. I know that is it misused and that's tragic and needs to be corrected. Maybe it can't be and needs to be abolished, that might be reality. But I think there are cases and maybe it's only a handful, where guilt is not merely beyond a reasonable doubt but a certainty. Maybe it should only apply for those caught in the act or with a preponderance of physical and video evidence. I believe though I'm not certain that Oswald killed Kennedy. I am certain that John Hinkley attempted to kill Reagan.

I'm mostly certain that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev carried out the Boston Marathon bombings. I only say mostly because I haven't followed the trial, but as far as I know the evidence is overwhelming and the defense admitted it. While I don't now feel competent to say he did it with certainty, I believe the jury can make this decision (and has).

And now the hard part. Should the government have the power to take a life when it isn't necessary? We do empower the police to kill for our general protection. I have no problem with the fact that Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed by the state. I obviously have issues with the many recent police killings that don't seem be necessary (Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Walter Scott), but this isn't about that. Is killing Dzhokhar Tsarnaev better for society than imprisoning him for what could be 50 or more years?

The Richards make a fine point but it's mostly about the legal process, they want him to waive his right to appeals. The death penalty involves a very long process with possible appeals. The arguments against it point out that the way we currently do it is inefficient and possibly cruel. It's more expensive than life in prison, the drugs we use can fail, it drags out the process and it doesn't act as a deterrent. While that's all true and makes a compelling case against it, it doesn't have to be that way.

So you get to the moral question. Does killing Tsarnaev, after a fair trial, make us evil? Maybe it is just vengeance and maybe we could be better, but it doesn't feel that way to me. If we empower police to kill to protect us, having to make split-second decisions that could be wrong, is it wrong to have that power when careful consideration can be applied? Or is the power only necessary when careful consideration can't be applied, that is when there's no other option?

As I said, I'm squishy on it. I'm absolutely opposed to it in cases where it could be misapplied. I suspect that's most in use today. But I believe there are cases where it could be applied and at least in this case, I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. I do feel for the victims and agree with the Richards that they should have an opportunity to get closure and not have their pain dredged up for years or decades to come. A speedy execution would do that too.

Winter Isn't Coming

I took the snow shovel and ice scrappers out of the car so I declare winter over. Here's how this winter stacked up against previous Boston Winters:

Snow

So we're 1/10 of an inch short of 100 inches of snow this year in Boston and about 8" short of the record. Here's my new favorite graph of recent winters.

Starting the Y axis 60" brings out some detail. Since 1992 we've had 9 winters with more than 60" of snow, six of them with more than 80 inches. To count 9 winters with at least 60" prior to that you have to go back to 1920, and five of them had less than 65". That's a 23 year span vs a 72 year span.

MBTA chief defends agency, cites lack of resources

I liked this infographic on the T's problems in The Boston Globe MBTA chief defends agency, cites lack of resources.

Boston Snowfall

Here's a graph of total seasonal snowfall in Boston back to 1890. I did this in Apple's Numbers and was curious about the trend which doesn't look bad to me. We currently have 77.3" of snow which ranks as the 9th worst of all time and its only Feb 10th. By Friday we'll have smashed the record for snowiest February ever (we're 1.2" off now). At this rate I suspect we'll be in the top 3 for snowiest winters. Last year was 28th and the year before the 19th, but the year before that (starting Dec '11) was the second least snowiest with only 9.3".

Update: Tough Crowd. I think I got this right, let me know.

How Boston is rethinking its relationship with the sea

The BBC shows How Boston is rethinking its relationship with the sea "Sea levels are rising, the land is sinking. It's going to become a big problem for some cities on the US East Coast, so in Boston people are thinking the unthinkable - copying Venice and Amsterdam, and becoming a city of canals."

"The canal idea was floated when architects, developers, real estate experts and business owners were brought together in May to discuss ways of preserving the city's buildings in this watery cityscape of the future."

Two Years? Really?

A few years ago, Massachusetts Rebuilt 14 Bridges in one Summer, on weekends only . Now the MBTA announced it's going to rebuild one subway station, an important one that connects two lines, and it's going to take, wait for it, two years. Coming March 22, 2014: Government Center Station Closure. I appreciate that they're still running trains through the station while work is going on (though they won't stop there) but it still seems like a long time. And their ‎pdf says that this plan provides accessibility 2 years earlier than alternatives! Glad I don't go to Government Center much.

MA Medical Price Transparency Law Rolls Out

I hadn't heard anything about this. Medical Price Transparency Law Rolls Out: Physicians Must Help Patients Estimate Costs

"Massachusetts physicians and hospitals are now required by law to provide cost information for procedures and services to patients who request it."

"Additionally, the provider must give patients any information—such as CPT codes—that their insurer needs to calculate what their out-of-pocket costs will be."

Then again. "Partners In Internal Medicine’s George Abraham, M.D., worries that patients will get so frustrated by the multiple phone calls they’ll have to make to gather the various cost components that they’ll just give up. 'On paper it looks great. We’ve increased transparency, but in reality it’s mired in red tape,' said Dr. Abraham. 'It could take days for patients to get all the information they need. It’s not user-friendly.'"

Update: Related and not surprising, About 80 percent of hip doctors have no idea how much a hip replacement costs.

Ready For Spring

The roads are fine but my driveway's a sheet of ice. Tomorrow seems like a day to be shut in. The top is temperature (red) and wind chill (blue).

The Secret Underground Theater on Boylston Street

Now that the The Secret Underground Theater on Boylston Street is known, I predict it will be reopened within 5 years.

The Onion Nails It

The Onion: Red Sox Fan Dedicates Garbage Can He’s Lighting On Fire To Marathon Victims.

BOSTON—Fifteen minutes after the Boston Red Sox defeated the St. Louis Cardinals to become World Series Champions, sources are now confirming that local man Bradley Ferrante, 26, is dedicating the trash can he’s lighting on fire to the victims of last April’s Boston Marathon bombings. “4/15, never forget!” said a visibly intoxicated Ferrante before throwing an entire book of lit matches into the trash bin, stumbling slightly before kicking it to the ground, removing his shirt, and screaming “Go Sox!” “Dynasty!” “Big Papi! We love you, Papi!” and “We’re the fuckin’ champs, baby! Boston Strong! Yankees suck! Woo!” At press time, Ferrante was hunched over on Boylston Street, vomiting roughly 800 yards from the marathon’s finish line.

Smart Clothes Science Symposium

The Radcliffe Insititute is having a Smart Clothes Science Symposium next month. If you're in the Boston area and have the time, it's free. I'm going.

"Radcliffe’s annual science symposium will focus on ‘smart clothes’ and the science of designing materials that improve and protect lives. Experts in biology, design, engineering, materials science, medicine, and nanotechnology will address a variety of topics, including digital fabrication, soldier-related technologies, smart materials and biology, wearable technology, and the future of innovative substances."

The Act of Killing at Harvard on Saturday

If you haven't see The Act of Killing yet, a director's cut is playing at Harvard this Saturday, with director Joshua Oppenheimer in person.

Vote on New MBTA Map

MBTA System Maps Competition 2013 "This past spring, the MBTA launched the New Perspectives MBTA Map Re-design competition. The response was overwhelming, not only because of the dozens of responses received, but the impressive quality of many of the entries. A panel of experts including the MBTA, academics, urban planners, and mapping aficionados evaluated each of the entries against a set of criteria. The six maps below were the highest rated.

Please vote on the six finalist in our System Maps Competition survey."

I liked number four.

Tax what? New software tax leaves tech executives dazed and confused

Tax what? New software tax leaves tech executives dazed and confused "The tax, passed as part of a bigger transportation bill, compels businesses around the state to collect 6.25 percent sales tax on software design services, which the Department of Revenue defined as the ‘modification, integration, enhancement, installation, or configuration of standardized or prewritten software.’"

First I've heard of it.

Jahar's World

I really don't understand all the controversy. Janet Reitman's piece in Rolling Stone, Jahar's World is really good and worth reading.

My first thought was hasn't Tsarneaev on the cover of every magazine, but when I looked, apparently not. Yes on some newspapers but the only other magazine cover I could find was a caricature from The Week which doesn't strike me as better. I haven't read a music article in Rolling Stone in forever. Matt Taibbi's pieces are usually must-reads. If you don't know this about Rolling Stone, you're missing out. And there's no reason not to put a big story on the cover. The photo wasn't taken for the article and is in line with the way most Rolling Stone covers are, a face staring at the camera.

Tweets I've liked on the subject:

• Adam Burke: New York Post Outraged as Rolling Stone Recklessly Splashes Picture of Correct Suspect on Front Page
• Victor LaValle: That Rolling Stone cover doesn't romanticizes a terrorist. It romanticizes a time when people gave a damn about the cover of Rolling Stone.
• Sean Graham: All of this Rolling Stone controversy is dumb. The only writing left to enjoy in RS is the politics and world affairs. Don’t take that away
• Sean Graham: I didn’t realize the slogan was “Boston Strong except when it comes to magazine covers”….