Debunking myths on genetics and DNA

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Ghost Town


I live in a town of geeks. Whenever people ask where I'm from, the next comment upon hearing the answer is, "Oh, you must be a scientist, then."

I must be, of course. Some weird fate bestowed upon me.

It's contagious, too. We had guests over last week, and as they strolled in downtown, a lady asked them what they were doing here. They replied they were visiting friends, and the lady shook her head and said,  "Oh, you must be scientists, then."

Apparently, being a scientist is the only reason to either visit or live here.

As if the place wasn't weird enough on its own, I heard this news this morning on NPR: Tech Company Builds a Ghost Town in New Mexico.

And then I saw it again on DISCOVER: If You Build a Ghost Town in the Desert, the Geeks Will Come.

Now, now. Gotta shake my head.

First of all, it's a big state, and it's not all desert. The fires should attest to that. Maybe after the fires have burnt the whole thing down, but so far there's still trees. Second, the geeks are already here. That's what makes the place so darn interesting. Besides the fires. And the bears. And mountain lions perched on people's roofs. And the radiation, how could I possibly forget the radiation?

So, what's new? New Mexico has a lot of land and wants to use it. It's good for the economy. For the past few years, the state has been luring the movie business for the same reason. We all crane our heads and rubberneck during our 5-minute commute to work when the trailers from Hollywood spread out in the high school parking lot. I watched Brothers just to see why I had to drive two extra miles for a week when they blocked the street to my son's school. (It was a two minute scene in the movie.) I can name all the places in the Let Me In trailer. (That's all I watched of that one; not very fond of vampires, sorry.)

You wait and see. I'm sure Hollywood is already lined up to use Ghost Town once the techies are done with it. Like I said, it's good for the economy.

Photo: Ghost Sky. Canon 40D, focal length 41mm, f-stop 7.1, shutter speed 1/60.

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