Night Owls Beware

From the Santa Monica Mirror:

Caltrans crews will install concrete barriers and repave lanes during a multi-night rehabilitation project starting Oct. 19.

By Sarah Lin

https://smmirror.com/caltrans-announces-overnight-405-freeway-closures-in-sepulveda-pass/

Motorists traveling through the Sepulveda Pass should prepare for significant late-night delays next week as state transportation crews begin widespread pavement rehabilitation along Interstate 405.

Caltrans announced that workers will implement overnight lane reductions, ramp shutdowns, and major connector closures along the 405 freeway from Monday, Oct. 19, through Friday, Oct. 23. Work is scheduled each night from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. to accommodate paving work and K-rail barrier installation.

To enhance safety around work zones, officials are lowering the speed limit to 55 mph across selected northbound and southbound stretches.

The planned overnight closure schedule includes:

• Northbound 405: Up to four lanes will close between Wilshire Boulevard and Skirball Center Drive/Mulholland Drive. Associated closures include the Getty Center Drive on- and off-ramps, as well as the northbound off-ramp to Skirball Center Drive/Mulholland Drive.
• Southbound 405: Up to four lanes will close between U.S. Route 101 and Skirball Center Drive/Mulholland Drive. Closed ramps include the Sepulveda Boulevard off- and on-ramps, the Ventura Boulevard off- and on-ramps, and the Burbank Boulevard on-ramp.
• Connector Closures: Both northbound and southbound U.S. 101 connectors to the southbound 405 freeway will be blocked during work hours.

Caltrans advises drivers to plan for extra travel time or use alternate routes while construction is underway. All work remains subject to change based on weather and operational conditions. 

Buy Now, Tell Later

From the Daily Bruin: After the UC acquired at least 15 Westwood commercial properties worth about $50 million last summer, Chancellor Julio Frenk said the new spaces would be used for classrooms and graduate student housing. But beyond that, the University has released few specific details about the acquisitions. Both UC Investments and UCLA Media Relations declined several requests for comment on specific plans for the properties and how the purchases could impact Westwood businesses...

Full story at https://dailybruin.com/2026/10/13/ucs-westwood-purchases-incite-questions-excitement.

Hey, we're still wondering what UCLA will do with its purchase of an inaccessible defunct Catholic college campus in Palos Verdes. At least Westwood is close to home.

Straws in the Wind - Part 499

From ABC News: ...A member of the Marine Corps who shares the same name as one of the defendants in the [Cornell rape] case asked the court to restrict some of the filings in the case because he and his family have been the subject of "continued and ongoing harassment, including death threats from members of the public." Judge Phaedra Perry-Bond agreed to seal some of the filings on Friday, condemning what she described as "misguided vigilantism."

"This Court strongly condemns the reported acts of threats and doxing, which can only be characterized as brash, reckless, and ultimately dangerous internet vigilantism, " the judge wrote. "Our society has developed procedures and legal mechanisms over the course of centuries to ensure justice and due process are afforded to all. When certain actors decide to work outside those robust and developed frameworks, innocent people often get hurt. That is precisely what has happened here."

Full story at https://abcnews.com/US/accused-cornell-university-student-asks-gag-order/story?id=137205955.

Nine Minute Limit: Article and Song

From the Daily Californian: About 10 minutes of relying on AI assistance for problem-solving can significantly impair a person’s ability to persist through difficult tasks, according to a study coauthored by Brian Christian, a research fellow at the Center for Human-Compatible Artificial Intelligence at UC Berkeley. The researchers observed human-AI interactions through a series of tasks, including mathematical reasoning and reading comprehension problems from the SAT given to more than 1,200 participants.

They found the experimental group that was able to use AI assistance for part of the test were less accurate and less persistent in solving the remaining problems once it was taken away, than those who did not have access to AI in the first place. According to the paper, the drop in accuracy and persistence emerged after only spending about 10 minutes interacting with AI.

The research began as a project with first author Grace Liu, a Ph.D. student at Carnegie Mellon University, and UCLA professor Rachit Dubey, the paper’s principal investigator... “We noticed in our own work that we were becoming normalized to increasing AI assistance in writing, coding, and research-related tasks and wanted to study this effect cognitively,” Liu said in an email...

Full story at https://www.dailycal.org/news/campus/research-and-ideas/uc-berkeley-researcher-discovers-just-10-minutes-of-ai-use-impairs-problem-solving-abilities/article_da5824c7-0b2c-4299-9cff-37c3c38d55a1.html.

===

From Gemini Music Composer:

-- "Nine Minute Limit" is a modern Americana and folk song that explores the psychological and cognitive impact of relying too heavily on AI assistance for problem-solving. Inspired by the research of Brian Christian, Grace Liu, and Rachit Dubey, the track reflects on how just ten minutes of AI reliance during tasks like SAT reading comprehension and math can erode human persistence, accuracy, and the grit needed to push through difficult challenges.

Or direct to https://www.youtube.com/shorts/SCe-mfcL360. -- Here are the lyrics to "Nine Minute Limit": -- Verse 1 Sit down with a pencil in hand Thinking bout what Brian Christian observed Ten minutes goes by so fast Before all of our grit gets burned Grace Liu saw it happening first Working late with professor Dubey How we lean on the glow And just let our minds fade -- Chorus Nine minute limit we take Nine minute limit we break Easier ways make us weak Losing the power to seek -- Verse 2 Twelve hundred people in a room Puzzles and problems to be solved But once the machine did its part All their endurance just dissolved Reading words and adding the sums The study showed what we become Normalized to the easy way out Leaving us with quiet self doubt -- Chorus Nine minute limit we take Nine minute limit we break Easier ways make us weak Losing the power to seek -- Bridge We coders and we writers too Letting the machine do the hard work for you What happens when the answers disappear And we are left with nothing but our own fear -- Chorus Nine minute limit we take Nine minute limit we break Easier ways make us weak Losing the power to seek Nine minute limit we take Nine minute limit we break Easier ways make us weak Losing the power to seek -- Outro So don't let go of the fight Keep your own spark burning bright Past the nine minute limit on the screen Let yourself be heard and be seen

Opening Soon on a Computer Near You!

Go to: https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/oe/ on Friday. From the Academic Senate's newsletter:

Overall health insurance costs will rise by 9.5% in 2027. Effects on employee premiums [will be] detailed in this year’s Open Enrollment materials.

Health Net, the administrator of UC’s Blue & Gold HMO plan, has announced that it will leave the California market. This change will not affect Open Enrollment for 2027. UCOP Human Resources will begin a search for a new vendor shortly to ensure continuity of coverage for employees who elect Blue & Gold HMO in 2028.

Full newsletter at https://senate.universityofcalifornia.edu/_files/reports/faculty-news-and-views-f26-newsletter.pdf.

Straws in the Wind - Part 498

From the Daily Princetonian: Princeton is evaluating the future of the Center on Science and Technology as part of broader University budget reductions, with administrators considering a reorganization that could shift parts of the center’s work to other campus units... Staff and faculty of the StudioLab, a creative technology space operated by the Center on Science and Technology received an email from the StudioLab manager, Brendan Byrne, informing employees that University budget cuts will impact the CST. 

In an email obtained by The Daily Princetonian, Byrne wrote that further University budget cuts will be made and that the CST will “experience a reorganization in the coming months.” Following the suspension of several federal research grants in April 2025, the University has issued budget cuts across several departments... 

Full story at https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2026/10/princeton-news-center-on-science-and-technology-being-evaluated-budget-constraints.

Tempest in a Teapot - It Continues

Some things just don't go away, as we have pointed out before = Sept. 4, 26, 30:

From the Daily Bruin (editorial): ...Seven current and former UCLA employees have filed at least 22 whistleblower and retaliation reports against Mary Osako, UCLA’s vice chancellor for strategic communications. They allege she fostered a culture of intimidation and silenced those in the department who disagreed with her. Osako also allegedly spent millions of university dollars on overlapping contracts with communications firms, some of which were owned by her friends.

The allegations against Osako have the potential to damage the entire university’s reputation – ironic given Osako’s involvement with strategic communications, a department tasked with representing UCLA’s image. Despite an independent investigation substantiating several claims about Osako’s conduct, she remains in her position. The university must commit to fostering a culture of greater transparency among administrators. This includes disclosing information about Osako’s case and explaining any disciplinary action taken against her, or the reasoning for a lack thereof...

Full editorial at https://dailybruin.com/2026/10/12/ucla-cant-stay-silent-about-whistleblower-complaints-against-mary-osako.

So we continue to wait.