http://www.ephblog.com All Things Eph Sun, 05 Jul 2009 19:11:33 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The Boston Globe published a ludicrous article today about William Rawn, the architect behind the '62 Center for Theatre and Dance, aka Donald Trump's Neon Pompadour (emphases added): Bill Rawn talks down to you as an equal. Almost 6 feet 8, he glides through a room like an elegant giraffe. You ... http://www.ephblog.com/2009/07/05/understated/ What follows is a conversation that began on "Speak Up". To recap a bit, PTC made a comment on this post. The comment was a criticism of Karl Rove, the author of the article to which Dave linked. There were no disparaging remarks made about the subjects of the post, the ... http://www.ephblog.com/2009/07/05/editing-and-deleting/ Did you know you can subscribe to Faculty Notes?   (No comments allowed for this post while we resolve the comment editing/ownership issue -- see the Speak Up posts that sophmom is working on moving to a separate post where we can debate the issues and how to proceed.) http://www.ephblog.com/2009/07/05/faculty-notes/ Professor Frank Morgan, in a naked attempt to create controversy and drive traffic, writes: In my opinion, compactness is the most important concept in mathematics. Here’s an article, recently published in Pro Mathematica, that tracks compactness from the one-dimensional real line in calculus to infinite dimensional spaces of functions and surfaces. Those ... http://www.ephblog.com/2009/07/05/compactness/ Some have wondered if my old roommate had been successful in helping define new classifications for the Hungarian Philatelic Society regarding items issued under various provisional governments in the aftermath of WWI. I am happy to report he was completely successful! In celebration of his work and to recognize my modest ... http://www.ephblog.com/2009/07/04/travels-with-rechtal-turgidley-jr/ Thank You for supporting our deployed Ephs. The known addresses for the currently deployed Ephs are: Evan BICK '06 1LT Evan Bick B Co 1-18 INF 2HBCT, 1 ID APO AE  09344 Galen THORP '04 DLTJG Thorp VFA-146 Unit 25440 FPO AP  96601-6232 Felipe PEREZ '99 Felipe Perez PRT Parwan & Kapisa APO AE  09354 Ron ALCALA '97 Ronald  Alcala HHC 10th MTN  (SJA) APO AE  09342 Bill Couch '79 CAPT ... http://www.ephblog.com/2009/07/04/july-4th-6-ephs-currently-deployed/ Felipe Perez '99 posts a photo slideshow of Summertime in Kapisa. http://www.ephblog.com/2009/07/04/an-eph-in-afghanistan/ This xkcd comic is a little racy for a family blog like ours, but any mention of Fountains of Wayne's song Stacy's Mom merits posting. Previous EphBlog usage here, which, by the way, led to a fairly heated discussion. (Like any Obama voter, I continue to follow the debate over Palin's ... http://www.ephblog.com/2009/07/04/one-hit-wonder/ Matt Taibbi's Rolling Stone article on Goldman Sachs mentions Arthur Levitt '52 and includes this fun section. The bank [Goldman Sachs] might be taking all these hideous, completely irresponsible mortgages from beneath-gangster-status firms like Countrywide and selling them off to municipalities and pensioners - old people, for God's sake - pretending ... http://www.ephblog.com/2009/07/03/heart-of-securities-fraud/ Step right up, ladies and gents, and see those amazing, incredible, sartorial splendors, the brainiac Eph women's tennis and rowing squads on CBS at 2PM Eastern Standard Time (check local listings) Sat., July 4th. More here. http://www.ephblog.com/2009/07/02/ephs-star-on-cbs-2pm-est-july-4th/ Karl Rove writes in the Wall Street Journal. A Family's Valor, a Nation's Freedom Why would a 61-year-old civilian surgeon volunteer for Iraq? At a dinner last week in California, I was reminded of the debt we owe to those who have, for 233 years, sustained our freedom and independence. One remarkable family ... http://www.ephblog.com/2009/07/02/a-familys-valor/                     (photo credit iBerkshires.com) Looking for inexpensive, basic food in North Adams? Try Big Shirl's Kitchen on Massachusetts Avenue, which has just opened in the old bus company building. If you go, let us know how it is. It sounds like a great place to take a car filled with current Ephs. More here. http://www.ephblog.com/2009/07/02/new-north-adams-eatery/ Congratulations to Dr. Hans Giesecke '78, the new President-Select of Greece's Anatolia College. He begins his term in the fall. Anatolia, founded in the Ottoman Empire by Boston Congregationalist missionaries in 1886 and uprooted in 1924 to Greece, today comprises the U.S. and European-accredited American College of Thessaloniki (ACT) and its ... http://www.ephblog.com/2009/07/02/another-university-president/ Anyone have news on changes in the board of Trustees? I see 4 Trustees with terms that expired this June: Austell '75, Harty '73, Scott '68 and Smith '87. My guesses (and much of the below is pure speculation): 1) Smith '87 will be leaving the Board. I think that his ... http://www.ephblog.com/2009/07/02/trustee-changes-2/ What was the value of the Williams endowment at 4:00 PM on June 30, 2009? Good question. That valuation will have all sorts of important consequences for budget planning in the year to come. Initial thoughts: 1) Morty told us at reunion that the endowment was worth $1.4 billion. Given that ... http://www.ephblog.com/2009/07/01/endowment-predictions/ Sean Crotty '84 writes: I was a pilot in the USAF and now fly internationally for World Airways - carrying troops mostly too and from the sand box. Some of the spots I've visited and written about are: Hiroshima - met the pilot of the Enola Gay at a hunting lodge ... http://www.ephblog.com/2009/07/01/crotty-84-diary/ From a reader: Amidst your daily take on all things Williams I'm hoping you might be willing to insert a reference to a summer event nearby. Southshire Community School in nearby North Bennington, VT is hosting a benefit concert by Grace Potter who leads the Vermont based band "Grace Potter and ... http://www.ephblog.com/2009/07/01/grace-potter-concert/ Today is Morty's last day as president of Williams. Have you thanked him yet? You should! (I just did.) Although you will get a misleading bounce-back message, e-mail sent to Morton.Owen.Schapiro at williams.edu still reaches him as he unpacks his boxes in Evanston. So, send him a thank-you note --- ... http://www.ephblog.com/2009/06/30/thanks-morty/ Here's an article from Valley News highlighting Ben Grass '07, a (former and future) Dartmouth Medical School student who is undertaking a century ride to raise funds for a cancer research center, after recently having cancer surgery there himself. Grass ...  said he's received “incredible support” from the Williams College ... http://www.ephblog.com/2009/06/30/cycling-news/                     photo credit Jekyll Island Museum A Jekyll Island website gives a glimpse into the life of Charles Steward Maurice, Class of 1861, who went on to become an engineer. He trained at RPI, accelerating his studies and joining the U.S. Navy in 1862. After the war, he went into private practice, ... http://www.ephblog.com/2009/06/29/summers-long-ago/