Year: 2012

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    Some Closing Thoughts for 2012

    Byuclafaculty

    U of Chicago Economics Professor Steven Levitt, co-author of the Freakonomics books, radio programs, blog, etc., made some interesting comments about business and MBA education in the context of a larger discussion of confirmation bias. Basically, he says that willingness to admit ignorance and non-expertise is not part of the business culture and that MBAs learn confidently to provide answers to questions for which they don’t know the answers. Admitting you don’t know is unacceptable. You can hear his comments at the link below. One suspects that the problem is not just one of business but of management of all…

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    UC Recent History: Appalled at the Fed

    Byuclafaculty

    Lots of news stories are appearing at this time of the year summing up events of 2012.  John Myers, who writes a Capitol Connection blog for a Bay Area TV station, including various photos of such events.  From the presidential campaign, he included a picture of Ron Paul speaking at UC-Berkeley on April 5, 2012 and leading audience chants of “End the Fed.” So maybe the image of UC-Berkeley as exclusively leftist needs some qualification if Paul could have a successful rally there.  Or maybe the photo and event just reflect the fact that there are those on the left…

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    Who did in the deli?

    Byuclafaculty

    As a recent post noted, one of the few deli options near UCLA – Junior’s on Westwood Blvd. near Pico – as about to close.  The original story indicated that the closure was due to a rent hike. But apparently the landlord doesn’t want to be the villain and says the true culprits are the owners of Junior’s who inherited the business and are not operating it effectively.  In any event, no one is saying it isn’t closing.  All we can do is look on with a rye sense of humor. Updated story is at http://centurycity.patch.com/articles/landlord-blames-owners-for-impending-closure-of-junior-s-deli?ncid=newsltuspatc00000001

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    We might as well join the fiscal cliff discussion with this cheery note

    Byuclafaculty

    …The University of California system estimates it would lose $335 million in federal research funding this fiscal year, according to Christopher Harrington, spokesman for UC’s Washington, D.C., office. That represents roughly 8 to 9 percent of UC’s research portfolio from such agencies as the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture and Department of Energy… And on the state budget:…Jerry Nickelsburg, senior economist with the UCLA Anderson Forecast, said he believes the U.S. would experience a “mild recession” absent a fiscal cliff deal, largely because of lower consumption. He also warned that reduced profits in 2013…

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    High at UCLA in 1963

    Byuclafaculty

    In an interview on NPR’s “Fresh Air” program with Terry Gross, Dr. Oliver Sacks notes that he started experimenting with drugs that can induce hallucinations while doing his residency at UCLA: …GROSS: What was the first time you tried a drug that induced perceptual distortions? SACKS: I think it was in 1963, and I was in Los Angeles, at UCLA, doing a residency in neurology, but I was also much on the beach, on Venice Beach and Muscle Beach. And there, there was quite a drug culture, as there was also in Topanga Canyon, where I lived. And one day,…

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    UCLA History: Old Tunnel (and maybe a new tunnel in the future?)

    Byuclafaculty

    Above is a phote of the opening in 1930 of the Sepulveda tunnel north of UCLA.  A story in the LA Daily News describes grand plans, nowhere near fruition, for such options as a new tunnel under the pass, a rapid busway, or a rail system.  Of course, while construction on such options occurred, there would be gridlock of the type we currently have with the 405 widening.  The story can be found at:http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_22265223/tunnel-beneath-sepulveda-pass-or-widen-405-freeway

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    No Deli

    Byuclafaculty

    There are not a lot of deli options near UCLA.  If you go down Westwood Blvd., however, toward Pico, you come to Junior’s.  According to the LA Times, however, Junior’s is going to close by the end of the year – which doesn’t give it much time to do so. According to the LA Times‘ story, the rent was upped and business is down, resulting in the closure. Junior’s Deli, a 53-year-old Westside staple, will close at the end of the year, narrowing the ranks of Jewish delis in Southern California. Employees, some of them multi-decade veterans of the business,…

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    More on State Budget Leaks

    Byuclafaculty

    As a previous post noted, this is the season in which there are leaks about the governor’s upcoming budget proposal for 2013-14 which will be presented officially in early January.  Given the timing, the budget is already prepared, or 99% prepared. So far, there has been no leak about higher ed.  However, there is an item today in the Sacramento Bee about K-12 (a much larger chunk of the state budget) that suggests the governor will propose revamping the K-12 allocation formulas to give more assistance to disadvantaged children and districts with concentrations of such children. He pushed for changes…

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    How Ironclad is the Pension Guarantee?

    Byuclafaculty

    Famous clash of Civil War ironclads There is a risk in even blogging about this topic that someone will start worrying that his/her pension check next month won’t arrive.  So the usual caveats are in order.  1) There is enough money in the UC pension today so that if no one contributed (and in fact contributions are being made and ramping up), 2) and investment returns were zero over the long term (very unlikely), the fund would not run out of money for many, many years.  And even at that point, there could be pay-as-you-go funding.  In addition, the Regents’…

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    UCLA Undergrad Philanthropy Course

    Byuclafaculty

    The LA Times today carries a story about a fall quarter undergraduate philanthropy course in which $100,000 was distributed to various local charitable groups by students who research such groups. The course was taught by Dean Judi Smith.   Back in May, the Daily Bruin carried a story about the course which was then being announced.  You can find the original story at: http://www.dailybruin.com/index.php/article/2012/05/new_ucla_course_offers_third_and_fourthyears_chance_to_donate_100000_to_local_nonprofits   The LA Times’ story about the outcome of the course is at http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-ucla-philanthropy-20121224,0,5878820.story   UCLA put out two media releases about the course outcome earlier this month but apparently the LA Times reserved it as a…