Nerdtown, USA

Nerdtown, USA is a loving tribute to the overeducated denizens of the Boston, MA metropolitan area, especially the cities of Cambridge and Somerville.

[nerdtownusa]

Massachusetts nerdery, in a photograph. Spotted at the JP Licks in Harvard Square.

EDIT: As Mike B. points out, this is also useful for conveying to non-locals that it's pronounced 'frap', not 'frap-pay.'

[nerdtownusa]

Only in Nerdtown: passive-aggressive communication with your neighbors.... via wifi network names.

(Seen at Toscanini's on Main Street.)

[nerdtownusa]

We're in the middle of the MIThenge: for a few afternoons in late January and in November, the sun shines straight down the 825' Infinite Corridor. Learn more here.

(thanks to Georgy for the reminder!)

[nerdtownusa]

Science journalist Carl Zimmer is speaking at Harvard on Tuesday, December 13th about his new book Science Ink, photographs of science-related tattoos accompanied by brief and illuminating essays. Full details here.

Incidentally, photos of the book don't do it justice; it's one of the most beautifully designed books I've seen this year.

[nerdtownusa]

Breaking Bad: Nerdtown

[nerdtownusa]

MetaLAB at Harvard event on Oct 6

The MetaLAB at Harvard's having another open event this Thursday, October 6th:

[...]a series of curatorial experiments, ranging from an archive of ephemeral Cold War films to a mysterious hanging aluminum tube to a collection of participatory stickers that guide journeys across the Harvard campus.

Full details here.

[nerdtownusa]

I'm also in Cambridge, literally around the corner from MIT. Some punk kids probably saw this [tank of liquid nitrogen], punk being relative, and came after it. On one level I give them a little bit of credit, although I wouldn't in any way endorse it.

Tony Maws, chef of Craigie on Main, blames punk-ass MIT kids for stealing a liquid nitrogen cylinder from behind the restaurant. Details.

"Punk being relative." Snort.

[nerdtownusa]

A Nerdtown PSA

[nerdtownusa]

Large, cheap bottles of vodka, appropriately named for Nerdtown. (Sighted at Supreme Liquors, halfway between MIT and Harvard.)

[nerdtownusa]

Nina writes: "Pride+Critical Theory! I heart my #nerdtown." 

[nerdtownusa]

The periodic table menu at the Miracle of Science Bar and Grill, in Cambridge.

I particularly love this because it actually is somewhat periodic, unlike many tables described as such. I guess when you're a few blocks away from MIT, you want to get that right.

Photo credit: Scott Beale/Laughing Squid (CC)

[nerdtownusa]

QR code graffiti, spotted in Kendall Square, Cambridge.

Nice use of the subjunctive.

(thanks, Maia!)

[nerdtownusa]

Yet for a good part of the past five decades, the Kendall Square area was a wasteland of parking lots and abandoned factories. In the mid-’60s, with the promise of a new NASA space center locating there, Cambridge acquired and razed more than 40 acres around Kendall Square as part of an urban renewal effort. Nearly 100 businesses were relocated at government expense, yet the project never lifted off. After the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy, who backed NASA’s move to Cambridge, congressional support for the project dwindled. Although NASA had constructed several buildings on the site, the project was eventually lost to Houston, in the home state of Kennedy’s successor, Lyndon B. Johnson.

"Making a High-Tech Mecca": Boston Globe article on Cambridge's Kendall Square.

Read the whole thing here.

(via Laurel)

[nerdtownusa]

"Keyboard Cat has a posse," at MIT, of course.

(well-spotted, Mihi!)

[nerdtownusa]

As a Boston Awesome Foundation trustee, I'm delighted to announce that the speakers at the next Boston Nerdnite, on Monday, July 25th, are two of our Awesome grant recipients, Sara Hendren and Charles Guan. Follow the link for details, and hope to see you there!

[nerdtownusa]

Scott wrote: "I have no idea what surface results in light reflecting into Dr. Xavier's seal on my front steps."  

[nerdtownusa]

Catching up with a special #nerdtown tweet megamix! Click to see all of them at Exquisite Tweets.