This just in

• For some reason, a Nobel Prize-winning economist is at Chapman U, teaching high school kids about the dismal science. Apparently, Vernon Smith “won the Nobel Prize in 2002 for his revolutionary approach to proving economic theories using lab experiments to simulate real-world markets.” Which reminds me: how come every time I turn on my TV, Chapman's James Doti’s got his face up there? Doesn't he have better things to do?

• The OC Register has a lovely photo essay of the Whiting Ranch area—not far from my home—which was affected by the October fires. (See photo above.) UPDATE: the LA Times has some purdy pictures too.

• I suppose you’ve followed that story about the Irvine Eagle Scout who broke into cars and stole iPods. Well, the punk’s gonna spend 60 days in jail. In my day, Eagle Scouts didn’t usually do such things, and when they did, they only did 'em because of brain tumors.

• This just in: Raghu P. Mathur continues to make one of the biggest salaries anyone’s ever seen while destroying South County’s two community colleges. In November, voters are expected to reelect two of the fools (Dave Lang & Tom Fuentes) who are responsible for this man's reign of terror, which started in 1997, when, despite having no full-time administrative experience, he was appointed interim President of Irvine Valley College, thanks to the corruption and lawlessness that then prevailed among trustees and union leaders who got these bozos elected using false and homophobic fliers.

• Dave, tell me. How do you sleep at night?

Not all Raghu Mathurs are bad

.....Dennis Overbye, a science reporter for the New York Times, has a great little article (in yesterday's Times) in which he answers readers’ science questions: 
Dennis Overbye, Science Reporter.
.....Overbye, prompted by readers, touches on randomness, dark energy, and God, among other things. He's good.
.....Great stuff, even if the fellow doesn’t know how to spell “Antarctica.”

* * * *
NOT ALL RAGHU MATHURs ARE BAD

.....It isn't always easy maintaining rationality. I recall talking with a colleague once who admitted that he could no longer stand the thought of eating curried food, owing to associations with the unsavory Raghu Mathur (the latter fellow hails from India, land o' turmeric).
.....I've gotta say, that's pretty nutty. I just stared at 'im.
.....My grandfather, who died in his 90s maybe ten years ago, for a long time refused to eat Italian food owing to its association with, well, Italians. During the war, he fought alongside soldati (he was in the Wehrmacht, an infantryman, assigned to tanks). He claimed that, when faced with the enemy, the Italian soldiers would run away, leaving the German soldiers holding Der Bag.
.....There was no use arguing with him about Italians. There's no prejudice like Old World European prejudice, I find.
.....But I did defend pizza. "Look, Opa, this pizza right here wasn't made by any Italians. I made it. And it's good!" I held up a slice. I took a bite.
.....Eventually, he caved, but I think that was mostly because of the stroke.
.....Occasionally, I Google "Raghu Mathur," and the Facebook page of some kid—named "Raghu Mathur"—always comes up. He's a good-looking kid. For all I know, he's the nicest, most honest kid in the world—no duplicitous, narcissistic, avaricious, back-stabbing rat bastard from hell, like some Raghu Mathurs I've known.

At Santa Ana College, an "Opportunity Scholarship" goes big

.....No doubt this brought out the local Know-nothings, of which there are many. In this morning’s Inside Higher Ed: Professors Pay Students’ Tuition:

.....Tuition usually … helps to pay faculty salaries. But at California’s Santa Ana College, some professors are paying their students’ tuition.
.....The community college’s Opportunity Scholarship will be offered for the first time this fall. The scholarship, for those with unmet financial need and a grade-point average of at least a B, was created by professors. Faculty members, either by themselves or with a colleague, are agreeing to pay for a full year of tuition for a student. Tuition for a California resident is $20 per unit, with full-time students taking at least 12 units a semester.
…
.....Santa Ana College, in Orange County, serves many low income and immigrant students, said Jeff McMillan, a chemistry instructor and former president of the Academic Senate. Many students are the children of undocumented immigrants, and they are not eligible for assistance from the government, he said. This led McMillan to try to find ways to help students stay in college.
…
…[P]eople wrestling with the problem on their own, like [VP of SS Sara] Lundquist and [counselor Issac] Guzman and McMillan, started working together. Once the project was approved, professors, administrators and departments joined in. An article in the Los Angeles Times led to contributions from people who don’t work at the college.
.....Originally, the scholarship was planned to be an “intimate” program, and was only going to be serving somewhere between 10 to 25 students, Lundquist said. However, with the additional support, there will be close 100 students receiving the scholarship.
…
.....Although, many of the scholarship recipients are the children of undocumented immigrants, McMillan said it’s important not to see this as an immigration issue. He sometimes hears the argument that these students in need of financial aid “shouldn’t even be here anyway.” However, he noted that these students typically didn’t make the decision to come to the United States and that not helping these very “gifted” students would be a missed opportunity.
…
.....Alex Flores, a second year student at Santa Ana and newly elected Associated Student Government President, applied for the scholarship. “I think it’s a great, like the name says opportunity, for students to pursue their education,” he said.
.....Flores is originally from Mexico, but moved to the United States when he was in second grade. He said he’s applying for the scholarship so he can focus on academics. … After he is done with Santa Ana, he plans to go to California State University at Fullerton to study political science. He wants to work in government some day, he said.