Went to #UCBerkeley today to see the student encampment for myself. It was graduation day on campus so a lot of students with caps/gowns with their family.
When I was there as an undergrad, we studied the protest movements that occupied Sproul Hall. Black and white, grainy photos of a distant era. Something to theorize and discuss in class.
It was surreal to see for myself the past very much connected to the present.
I didn’t think it was possible to love #UCBerkeley any more than I do but today felt like one of those days.
The sun was out. After visiting the encampment, I grabbed some Korean at Steve’s BBQ in the “Asian Ghetto” - finished it off with a Snapple from the liquor store next door. All the things I used to do as an undergrad eons ago.
And then I venmo’d the kids at the encampment some money and signed the UC Alumni BDS petition.
I’ve never been more proud of Cal and this community. I can see why the Chancellor won’t touch this baracade. After they get past the baby strollers, they’ll be a lot of people who are willing to get arrested to protect the students and what they believe in.
I was worried the #UCBerkeley encampment would be the next to fall after Alt-Right groups and then the cops attacked the #UCLA encampment.
Now I’m not so sure this will happen at Cal. It’s a community college that happens to be a world class University. The community hosted “Kid’s Day” at the encampment.
The protest encampment at UC Berkeley is currently about 150 tents strong, but so far the administration has refused to call police or disperse the group. Classes continue, and commencement is on track to take place as scheduled.
Daily upload - Jan 21 - "Teasel" photo on display at UC Berkeley, Jan 3 -31, 2024
My photo exhibit, "Round, Mostly," at The Faculty Club at UC Berkeley is on display! Each of the ten photos contains something round or round, mostly. Please stop by, take a look! Comments welcome.
@ai6yr#UCBerkeley has a COVID dashboard of reported cases & potential exposures (i.e., which buildings did those cases spend time in) in the last 14-day rolling period & it's down to 5 and 7, respectively. They admit that with rapid home testing they're undercounting but the campus has no provision for "tested positive? sick? report it here" and two professors in just my department are regularly borrowing videoconferencing equipment for use with sick students. There must be hundreds altogether.
Very proud to have contributed to this new piece advocating the promotion of agency and #HumanCenteredDesign in speech #BCI research. Recommendations for promoting user agency in the design of speech neuroprostheses, with Narayan Sankaran, David Moses, & Eddie Chang. #neuroethics#UCBerkeley#UCSF
A woman with paralysis speaks through a digital avatar after 18 years.
Brain-computer interfacing #BCI is an incredible field and one I've always been interested in. I can't believe how far it has come in the last 10 years.
I can't imagine the pain of being trapped, silent and aware, for that long. Hopefully this tech helps her find some happiness, and others who can benefit from it as well!
Y'all know I reminisce about the craziest stuff. This morning I'm remembering my French teacher who announced that anyone who had an 'A' average was exempt from the final exam but had to show up. 🤷🏽♀️ I woke up to a very sick 4 yo who couldn't go to daycare. WTF was I supposed to do? I called my teacher and told him what was up and he said ok but he sounded annoyed, like I had made it all up. Ain't easy being a mom.
Also, a fascinating discussion about #AI devevelopment b/w a sociologist from #UCBerkeley and #SciFi luminary, #TedChiang.
They are on the right track, but concurrently so wrong in this new but limited perspective.
I now understand the point of the introduction toot. So allow myself to reintroduce… myself:
I’m Johno. I’m a dad. I live in Berkeley, CA, USA. I have oddly specific preferences, and I’m here to learn about other folks’ oddly specific preferences.
#Congress launch an investigation into @UCBerkeley#UCBerkeley joint institute with the Shenzhen government and #Tsinghua_Uni linked to Chinese military collaborations.
“Under the CCP’s strategy of military-civil fusion, seemingly civilian technologies — such as those developed through university collaborations — are mobilized to support the PLA.”
My son has expanded his special interests into puzzles, especially Rubik’s cubing. He shows initiative to attend #WorldCubeAssociation events. We just attended one at #UCBerkeley today.
What really uplifts me is seeing then kids share comaraderie and excitement over cubing. They’re very cooperative and not so competitive, sharing ideas and even their cubes for others to use for the “competition.” I love their natural spirit in supporting one another.