Howard Johnson
Former MIT President Howard Wesley Johnson, who drew upon his management acumen to guide the Institute during the tumultuous late 1960s, died Saturday December 12, 2009. He was 87.
Team 9 wins annual Maslab competition
Last Friday, robot enthusiasts flocked to 26-100 to watch Maslab, one of MIT’s most popular IAP student competitions. This year, ten teams took to the playing field, building and programming robots to autonomously identify red and yellow balls and scoring them into their respective goals. The champion this year was Team 9, made up of Geza Kovacs ‘12, Daniel J. Stallworth ‘11, Raqeebul I. Ketan ‘11, Jeremy M. Martin ‘10, and Chukwuka C. Mbagwu ‘11.
D-Lab goes to Ecuador
In orientation for my trip to Ecuador for D-Lab, an introductory international development class, we were told to pack mirrors — so that we could make candlelight brighter. Wait, I thought. There wouldn’t be electricity?
‘Iron Nerd’ wins website contest with social gym app
In the end, it all worked out for Daniel A. Whitlow ’10 and Jong-Moon Kim ’09. Last Thursday, the team won first place, and $4,000 in the third annual 6.470 Web Programming Competition. Their social networking site, “Iron Nerd,” lets users exercise with their friends.
‘Backdoor Bandit’ Nabs Most Mice in 6.270 Autonomous Robot Design Competition
They’re not furry, they’re not friendly, but perhaps they’re housebroken.
“My Archon Died BellmanFording the Stream” Beats Prof. Mordemort
In an e-mail sent out to campus, the fictitious Professor-Who-Probably-Should-Not-Be-Named announced to students the commencement of the iconic 6.370 BattleCode competition, which took place last Saturday in Kresge at 7 p.m.
Shorts (left)
<i>WASHINGTON</i> — Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Monday that he was replacing the general in charge of the Pentagon’s largest weapons program — the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter — and withholding $614 million in award fees from the contractor, Lockheed Martin.
Protecting Haiti while protecting its ‘orphans’
<i>P</i><i>ORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI</i> — “God wanted us to come here to help children, we are convinced of that,” Laura Silsby, one of 10 Americans accused of trafficking Haitian children, said Monday through the bars of a jail cell here. “Our hearts were in the right place.”
Obama submits a budget of ‘hard choices’
<i>WASHINGTON </i>— President Barack Obama declared in presenting his new 10-year budget proposal on Monday that “our fiscal situation remains unacceptable,” but he insisted that the country pursue his ambitious domestic agenda despite facing swollen budget deficits for the foreseeable future.
Obama budget privatizes NASA space exploration
The ambitious space initiative that President Barack Obama unveiled for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration on Monday calls for sweeping changes in mission and priorities for the 52-year-old agency, yet omits two major details: where the agency will send its astronauts and a timetable for getting them there.
Shorts (right)
<i>DETROIT — </i>Toyota, struggling to eliminate questions surrounding millions of its vehicles, announced a repair on Monday to stop gas pedals from possibly sticking and causing cars to speed up unexpectedly.
Proposal for second-semester freshmen to live in FSILGs
<i>The following petition was posted online at </i>http://fsilg-housing.org/<i> on January 1, 2010. As of January 28, it has been signed by 697 members of the MIT community, according to the organizers.</i>
Letters to the Editor
When MIT is offered millions of dollars, I suspect there’s strong pressure to just say “thank you” and not look too closely from whence the money comes. The new Brain and Cognitive Sciences building at Main and Vassar Streets was in part funded by a 50 million dollar gift from Jeffry and Barbara Picower. Jeffry Picower recently died, and according to his Will, MIT is probably going to be offered an additional 25 million dollars of Picower money sometime in the next 12 months.
Mission creep
Afghanistan used to be a simple narrative: We’re going after the bad guys. It had a mission that could be summed up in two words: happy hunting. There was a simple exit strategy: Put Osama Bin Laden’s head on a pike, light up cigars, and slap each other on the back as we saunter off to the C-130’s and fly home.
Give freshmen a choice
You may have seen a recent initiative which I helped publicize to allow freshmen to live in fraternities, sororities, and independent living groups during their second semester. The initiative quotes a variety of reasons why it is time to give second-semester freshmen the freedom to choose their own residence, and I encourage you to visit <i>http://fsilg-housing.org</i> to sign on and support the effort. However, this piece is not written by “us.” This piece is written by me, because I want to explain why this proposal is so important, from my particular point of view.
Corrections
An article last Wednesday on MIT’s Solar Electric Vehicle Team gave the wrong year for Robert Pilawa. He is a current graduate student and completed his undergraduate degree in 2005, not 2006.
From the Editor
A headline last Wednesday, “Sex Changes Just Got Easier!” was offensive as well as technically inaccurate. The headline has been changed to “MIT Reduces Paperwork for Gender Changes” on our website.
Upcoming Home Events
Wednesday, February 3 Men’s Basketball vs. Babson College 7 p.m., Rockwell Cage
Swimming finishes season undefeated
On Saturday, the No. 5 MIT men’s swimming and diving team battled the No. 16 Lord Jeffs of Amherst College in the Zesiger Center Pool. Amherst held the score close early in the meet, but MIT hit their stride and cruised to a 174-124 victory, locking up their second undefeated season in Institute history.
Scoreboard
Men’s Basketball Wednesday, 1/27 at U.S. Coast Guard Academy W 78-58 Saturday, 1/30 at Worcester Polytechnic InstituteW 74-66 Women’s Basketball Wednesday, 1/27 at U.S. Coast Guard AcademyW 62-48 Saturday, 1/30 at Springfield CollegeL 72-54 Men’s Fencing Saturday, 1/30 vs. U.S. Air Force AcademyL 19-8 vs. Haverford CollegeL 17-10 vs. New York UniversityL 18-9 vs. Hunter CollegeW 18-9 vs. University of PennsylvaniaL 20-7 Women’s Fencing Saturday, 1/30 vs. U.S. Air Force AcademyW 15-12 vs. Haverford CollegeW 24-3 vs. New York UniversityW 14-13 vs. Hunter CollegeW 20-7 vs. University of PennsylvaniaL 15-12 Men’s Volleyball Friday, 1/29 at Southern Vermont CollegeW 3-0 Men’s Swim and Dive Saturday, 1/30 vs. Amherst CollegeW 174-124 Women’s Swim and Dive Saturday, 1/30 vs. Amherst CollegeL 159-139 Men’s Track and Field Saturday, 1/30 vs. Bowdoin, Colby, Springfield, and Tufts1st of 5 Women’s Track and Field Saturday, 1/30 vs. Bowdoin, Colby, Springfield, and Tufts1st of 5
I Don’t Need No Minute Man
I’m horrible as far as introductions go, so I’ll say this: For someone who got tapped to write the sex/relationships column for The Tech, I sure have been having a crappy sex life as of late. Pathetic, even. I used to have pretty good sex, but at some point, it all went to shit.
Sex toys: Two can play at this game
<i>Christine:</i> Sexually adventurous as I am, I managed to talk a partner into trying out a vibrating cock ring. From his initial hesitation, I should’ve known better.
The Tech’s 2010 Sex Toy Giveaway
<b>A</b>nother sad, single Valentine’s day? Not this year! This year, <i>The Tech</i> is here to ease your loneliness...with sex toys and lube! (What did you expect?) If you’d like to win one, write in to <i>cl@tech.mit.edu</i> with “Sex Toy Giveaway” in the subject line, and tell us why you deserve a particular item. Unrequited love? An incompetent partner? An inconvenient mole? Share your pain.
