Author Archives: Fenster

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About Fenster

Gainfully employed for thirty years, including as one of those high paid college administrators faculty complain about. Earned Ph.D. late in life and converted to the faculty side. Those damn administrators are ruining everything.

Plight of the Early Gentrifier

Posted on February 24, 2013 by Fenster

Fenster writes: Steve Sailer reports on gentrifying versus non-gentrifying neighborhoods in Brooklyn here.  Which causes me to think of the plight of the early gentrifier, someone who is always of two minds about the later gentrifier. The New York Times … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture | 4 Comments

Heather MacDonald

Posted on February 24, 2013 by Fenster

Fenster writes: Heather MacDonald is a treasure.

Posted in Politics and Economics | Leave a comment

. . . And I Graduated from the Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Fenster

Fenster writes: I saw a picture recently of the Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology and fondly recalled the time I spent getting a graduate degree there.  It is a lovely modernist conception, too.  Take a look. No wait, … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture | 6 Comments

Readings

Posted on February 18, 2013 by Fenster

Fenster writes: That species evolve in a dynamic relationship with niche does not mean that the process is ever perfect.  So we should be careful about assuming a perfect fit, even in the paleo world where the species has spent … Continue reading →

Posted in Science | 1 Comment

Yum

Posted on February 16, 2013 by Fenster

Fenster writes: I recall the time when the impoverished Jughead asked for a glass of water at the diner and added the ketchup on the counter to make a free glass of tomato juice.  I hope by now there’s a … Continue reading →

Posted in Food and health | 2 Comments

Picture Quality

Posted on February 15, 2013 by Fenster

Fenster writes: That ol’ vampire squid, Goldman Sachs, has for a while been running an ad campaign that attempts to put the firm’s accomplishments in the best possible light.  To paraphrase Dr. Johnson on the subject of a dog walking … Continue reading →

Posted in Commercial art, Computers, Technology | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Faculty: Head in the Sand Again?

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Fenster

Fenster writes: Here are the headline and subhead from a recent article at Information Week. Classroom Technology Faces Skeptics At Research Universities Professors at research universities prefer teaching with old-fashioned whiteboards, one study says. Should there be any surprise that … Continue reading →

Posted in Computers, Education | 2 Comments

“Mado”

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Fenster

Fenster writes: You can forget a lot about a film in 35+ years, and I forgot a good deal about Claude Sautet’s Mado, which I saw when it came out in 1976 and only saw again recently. In fact, I … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Atheism and Empathy

Posted on February 7, 2013 by Fenster

Fenster writes: At the epiphenom blog, Tomas Rees takes a look at empathy and atheism.  The title of the blog post is “Atheists Lack Empathy and Understanding”.  The post reviews existing studies that correlate atheism and autism and goes on … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy and Religion | Leave a comment

Ed Koch, RIP

Posted on February 1, 2013 by Fenster

Fenster writes: Here is the Times’ obit for Ed Koch.  It includes a passage on how Koch’s record has been judged: ” . . . historians and political experts generally give Mr. Koch mixed-to-good reviews.” Well, OK.  I would myself … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Economics | Tagged , , | 7 Comments