Consultants sought on future of Kendall/Central
The City of Cambridge is seeking to hire a consultant team to run a “comprehensive urban design and planning study for the Central and Kendall Square area.”
Maseeh starts accepting applications
Maseeh Hall (W1), MIT’s newly renovated undergraduate dorm, is now open for transfer applications. Current students who wish to move to Maseeh Hall must complete a short online application posted yesterday afternoon. Members of the Phoenix Group, undergraduates who committed to living in Maseeh Hall when they came to MIT and who are currently housed at the graduate residence Ashdown House (NW35), and Phoenix Group social members, who do not live at NW35 but participate informally in the community’s events, are guaranteed a spot in W1.
Allocations jump 37%
The UA Finance Board’s IAP/Spring 2011 budget allocation for student groups increased 37 percent from 2010. This increase is not due to more available funds but owes to a larger over-allocation percentage in the Finboard budget. The over-allocation percentage, which is the percent Finboard gives over its available funds in the apprehension that some will not be spent, was previously set at 10 percent during the 2009-2010 year. It rose to 30 percent in Fall 2010 and then to 40 percent in Spring 2011.
To-do maintenance: $2.1 billion required
It’s no secret that MIT invests in cutting-edge research centers while many existing buildings and their environs fall into disrepair. Not far from the gleaming new Media Lab, Koch Institute building, and Sloan School building, rusty windows, cracked sidewalks, and leaky basements are hard to miss.
Corrections
An opinion column published on Jan. 12 about potential G.O.P candidates for 2012 incorrectly stated that Tim Pawlenty was the current governor of Minnesota. Mark Dayton succeeded Pawlenty as governor on Jan. 3.
Blizzard causes the worst tree damage on campus since 1997
The blizzard last Wednesday caused the worst storm-related tree damage at MIT since the April Fool’s Storm on April 1st, 1997, according to Norman H. Magnuson, Jr., Manager of Ground Services in the Department of Facilities. The storm destroyed at least three entire trees near East Campus and one in front of Burton Conner.
Codex wins Hunt in 42 hours
Disaster interrupted the wedding of Mario and Princess Peach. Guests watched as Princess Peach was kidnapped by Bowser, they then went into teams to solve the Mystery Hunt puzzles to help Mario find Peach and, in turn, to win the Hunt.
Malfunctioning AEDs in Bldgs. 16 & 4 fixed
Two Automated External Defibrillator (AED) machines, one in Building 16 and one in Building 4, were out of order for a month starting in the middle of December. By Jan. 16, both machines were deemed fully functional.
Highlights from the November/December 2010 Faculty Newsletter
Highlights from the November/December 2010 Faculty Newsletter
Comcast receives approval for NBC Universal merger
Comcast received government approval on Tuesday to acquire NBC Universal, emerging from a lengthy review with a list of conditions, the most important aimed at preventing the new media conglomerate from thwarting competition in online video.
Shorts (left)
KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghanistan’s attorney general expressed hope on Tuesday that a special court appointed by the president to look into election fraud would throw out the results of the country’s parliamentary elections, and predicted that the court would delay this week’s planned inauguration of a new Parliament.
India premier receives laurels abroad and brickbats at home
NEW DELHI — Few leaders are more respected globally than Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India. President Barack Obama has described him as a historic figure, close friend and valued adviser. (So, for that matter, did President George W. Bush.) When Newsweek ranked world leaders, Singh ranked first, winning praise for his modesty and incorruptibility.
Taps of dancer’s conversations add to Berlusconi scandal
ROME — A tabloid tidal wave washed over Italy on Tuesday as newspapers published wiretapped conversations from a nightclub dancer who said she had dallied with Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi as a minor, but whether it would sweep Berlusconi out to sea was still anyone’s guess.
Census says gay parents find South more welcoming
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Being gay in this Southern city was once a lonely existence. Most people kept their sexuality to themselves, and they were reminded of the dangers of being openly gay when a gay church was bombed in the 1980s. These days, there are eight churches that openly welcome gay worshipers.
Shorts (right)
The individuals and companies whose offshore account information may be detailed in Swiss banking documents disclosed to WikiLeaks could face U.S. prosecutors or go untouched, senior tax lawyers said on Tuesday.
Yet another winter storm
Yesterday’s storm system took a track similar to that of last week’s blizzard, but wasn’t accompanied by nearly as much cold air. Thus, we received the dreaded “wintry mix”; snow followed by sleet, freezing rain and rain, instead of all snow. Most of that should be out of the region today, leaving us with relatively dry conditions until the next storm system comes Thursday night into Friday. Different models have that system tracking differently, either eastward from the Ohio Valley or coming up the coast. In Cambridge, most, if not all, the precipitation associated with it should be snow (possibly around 6 inches). Following this, a high pressure will move in giving us a sunny but frigid weekend, with highs in the teens and lows in the single digits. Bundle up!
MIT students on military engagements
Last November, The Tech published some of the results of a campus-wide political survey. We asked graduate and undergraduate students about their views on today’s most important social, political, and economic issues, and 2,145 people — 20 percent of campus — responded. Here, we present your responses to military engagement questions, particularly concerning the United States’ role in the Middle East.
MOVIE REVIEW Doesn’t just sting, it hurts
I’m not a superhero buff, but I could tell that The Dark Knight and Iron Man were great superhero flicks. The Green Hornet, directed by Michel Gondry (of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind fame, and once an Artist-in-Residence at MIT) and starring Seth Rogen and Jay Chou was not a great superhero flick. It wasn’t even a good superhero flick. It promised an exciting and witty blend of comedy and action, but failed to deliver either in significant amounts. One or two chuckles and a mildly entertaining final action scene couldn’t make up for another hour of vapid dialogue, lackluster 3D, and a general sense of “what’s going on here?”
MOVIE REVIEW Date night don’t
For those who are considering watching the romantic drama Blue Valentine on a date this weekend: Don’t do it.
Men’s volleyball starts off season with 3 wins
The MIT men’s volleyball team opened their season with three matches last week against Wentworth, Lesley, and Elms. The Engineers, who are ranked No. 8 in the AVCA Division III Coaches Top 15 Poll, won all of their matches to start the season 3-0.
Sports Shorts
The MIT Ski Team had their first two slalom races of the season this weekend at Cranmore. Despite clocking in their fewest ever team finishes Friday, individuals from the MIT team had successful weekends. On Friday, Michael J. Yurkerwich ’11 and Jason D. Pier ’13 both placed in the top 25 for the men (in 14th and 19th, respectively) and scored personal best USSA points. Saturday saw another top-25 finish from Yurkerwich (12th; Pier was 29th), and a first-time finish for newcomer Joshua Walker ’12 (68th). In addition, Jonathan D. Allen ’14 improved in the league from 71st Friday to 67th Saturday. For the women, Chyleigh Harmon ’14 narrowly missed the top-50, placing 51st in Saturday’s race. Her teammates Jennifer L. Hawkin ’12 and Sarah J. Laderman ’12 raced consistently placing 72nd and 74th Friday, then 72nd and 73rd on Saturday. Next weekend the team will race one slalom and one giant slalom race at Waterville Valley in New Hampshire, their “home” mountain.
Taekwondo takes on Cornell
Before break, the MIT Sport Taekwondo team competed in two Eastern Collegiate Taekwondo Conference (ECTC) tournaments, held at Cornell and Princeton. The Engineers finished second to archrival Cornell in both competitions, falling to second in the overall season standings.
Upcoming Home Events
Saturday, January 22 Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving vs. Tufts University 1 p.m., Z-Center Pool Men’s Volleyball vs. Baruch College 3 p.m., Rockwell Cage Men’s Volleyball vs. Elms College 5 p.m., Rockwell Cage Sunday, January 23 Men’s Volleyball vs. Emmanuel College 12 p.m., Rockwell Cage
A Boston holiday
I spent my holidays this year at a place few people on campus saw during break. Some people went home, others went on vacation. I stayed in Cambridge and Boston.
The app that ate my summer
I’m the Ash Ketchum of programming. I want to be the very best — which is why it pains me that I’m still nothing close to an elite coder. So when my parents bought me the new Sprint HTC Evo 4G last summer, I decided that I was going to write an Android app. I needed something fun to do while home for summer break, and becoming an Android developer would help further my progress toward the 10,000 hours of practice that Malcolm Gladwell insists I need to be really good at something.
