Albert S. Fu
@novumsimulacrum.com
#Sociology prof that plays video games & studies the #BuiltEnvironment. Taiwanese American in PA. Irvine + Binghamton alum. Author of Risky Cities: The Physical and Fiscal Nature of Disaster Capitalism https://tinyurl.com/jkvbxcn4 Views are my own
Every year during my annual physical, my doctor asks how the state system is doing. Thankfully, he does it after blood pressure and other tests are complete.
Pa. public universities didn’t get a state funding increase this year, and they’re preparing for a tough enrollment outlook
The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education had asked the state for a 6.5% funding increase. It had increased tuition to prepare for that scenario.
www.inquirer.com
January 19, 2026 at 6:44 PM
Every year during my annual physical, my doctor asks how the state system is doing. Thankfully, he does it after blood pressure and other tests are complete.
Reposted by Albert S. Fu
Reading this on the staggering scope of what it would take to remake our cities as fire-safe, and then multiplying it in my head by the staggering scope of needed prep for our cities' water/sewer infrastructure to be ready for the next century. it’s $$$$ x $$$$$, but needs to be done together
The LA fires are probably your most vivid illustration of our new age of wildfire and all the devastation it promises. But were they even wildfires? The ignition wasn’t wild, the fuel wasn’t wild, the landscape wasn’t wildland and wildland firefighting couldn’t help. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/05/o...
Opinion | Which City Burns Next?
www.nytimes.com
January 5, 2026 at 4:53 PM
Reading this on the staggering scope of what it would take to remake our cities as fire-safe, and then multiplying it in my head by the staggering scope of needed prep for our cities' water/sewer infrastructure to be ready for the next century. it’s $$$$ x $$$$$, but needs to be done together
I should have invested in high quality "No Blood for Oil" signs decades ago. I'd be able to dig them out for use every few years.
January 4, 2026 at 12:00 AM
I should have invested in high quality "No Blood for Oil" signs decades ago. I'd be able to dig them out for use every few years.
I never really liked unleashing disasters on my cities. SimCity probably shaped a lot of urbanists in both good and bad ways. For me city building games, including parts of Civilization, certainly made me think about the role of infrastructure and systems in the real world.
Why, as a responsible adult, SimCity 2000 hits differently
After years as a parent and homeowner, I sympathize more with my virtual citizens.
arstechnica.com
January 3, 2026 at 5:06 PM
I never really liked unleashing disasters on my cities. SimCity probably shaped a lot of urbanists in both good and bad ways. For me city building games, including parts of Civilization, certainly made me think about the role of infrastructure and systems in the real world.
I thought the Stranger Things conclusion was generally satisfying except for the poor use of Linda Hamilton's character.
January 3, 2026 at 4:06 PM
I thought the Stranger Things conclusion was generally satisfying except for the poor use of Linda Hamilton's character.
Pictures of high school and college papers from 1990s. AI-generation do not know the struggle of working hard on a paper only to get a B-.
December 27, 2025 at 11:47 PM
Pictures of high school and college papers from 1990s. AI-generation do not know the struggle of working hard on a paper only to get a B-.
Except for the Berlin part, basically my world. Oh and my wife demands I take her to this doner place every time we visit family in California.
December 27, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Except for the Berlin part, basically my world. Oh and my wife demands I take her to this doner place every time we visit family in California.
Reposted by Albert S. Fu
MI has been 10c as long as I can remember (a quick search suggests since 1978!). When we moved to the East Coast, I was shocked it was still 5c here. And that was a decade ago. Everywhere should be more now - like 25c at least!
Much better rate for a side job than the nickel (5¢) that ancient Chinese women* get for picking up bottles in NYS.
One of my suggestions for Mayor @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social, double or quintuple the recycling deposit to benefit the gleaners!
It's been a nickel since 1980s!
*A NYC subculture.
One of my suggestions for Mayor @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social, double or quintuple the recycling deposit to benefit the gleaners!
It's been a nickel since 1980s!
*A NYC subculture.
“Because riders and passersby can be unreliable, Waymo pays workers in Los Angeles $20 or more for rescuing a robotaxi by closing a door, summoning help through an app called Honk that is like an Uber for towing companies.”
December 25, 2025 at 6:48 PM
MI has been 10c as long as I can remember (a quick search suggests since 1978!). When we moved to the East Coast, I was shocked it was still 5c here. And that was a decade ago. Everywhere should be more now - like 25c at least!
Not coincidentally I clicked on a NY Times article on the ideal age to retire. Who knows what higher Ed will look like in 3, 5, 10, much less 20 years.
“Our aim is to lower tenure density so that we can hire lecturers for classes that students need in high-demand programs.”
December 23, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Not coincidentally I clicked on a NY Times article on the ideal age to retire. Who knows what higher Ed will look like in 3, 5, 10, much less 20 years.
I wish students understood that they might be citing the acquaintance or friend of the professor. So when they include AI hallucinations, it totally stands out.
December 19, 2025 at 12:58 AM
I wish students understood that they might be citing the acquaintance or friend of the professor. So when they include AI hallucinations, it totally stands out.
Honestly, I'm not feeling the first few episodes of new Stranger Things. It feels redundant. I'm ready for all the loose ends to be resolved. Please don't go out like Lost
December 18, 2025 at 12:07 AM
Honestly, I'm not feeling the first few episodes of new Stranger Things. It feels redundant. I'm ready for all the loose ends to be resolved. Please don't go out like Lost
Higher ed is clearly under a disingenuous assault. Yet it long had an accountability problem. Pres & coach salaries, Title IX, Varsity Blues, outsourcing, etc. If we survive, there must be some change. The easiest step is to clarify the mission of R1s and everyone else to the general population.
December 17, 2025 at 10:20 PM
Higher ed is clearly under a disingenuous assault. Yet it long had an accountability problem. Pres & coach salaries, Title IX, Varsity Blues, outsourcing, etc. If we survive, there must be some change. The easiest step is to clarify the mission of R1s and everyone else to the general population.
Reposted by Albert S. Fu
Suddenly thinking about how the battlestar galactica was the only ship to survive the cylon apocalypse because it wasn’t networked.
No reason.
No reason.
Oh nooooooo.......
Grading and googling hallucinated citations, as one does nowadays, and now that LLMs have been around for a while, I've discovered new horrors: hallucinated journals are now appearing in Google Scholar with dozens of citations bc so many people are citing these fake things
December 15, 2025 at 10:49 PM
Suddenly thinking about how the battlestar galactica was the only ship to survive the cylon apocalypse because it wasn’t networked.
No reason.
No reason.
this, from @kevinbaker.bsky.social, is a better analysis of the intersection between LLMs and academic science than 98% of what's out there.
Context Widows
or, of GPUs, LPUs, and Goal Displacement
artificialbureaucracy.substack.com
December 14, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Reposted by Albert S. Fu
“What I’ve been feeling most is just, like, how dare this country allow this to happen to someone like me twice?” Weissman told the New York Times.
"Weissman was in her dorm room at Brown when a friend called to warn her that a shooting was under way. Her initial feelings of panic soon turned to anger, she told NBC. “I’m angry that I thought I’d never have to deal with this again, and here I am eight years later,” Weissman told NBC News."
Two survivors of Brown University attack escaped other school shootings
Mia Tretta was shot in the abdomen in 2019 at a school near LA and Zoe Weissman witnessed a Florida shooting in 2018
www.theguardian.com
December 14, 2025 at 2:44 PM
“What I’ve been feeling most is just, like, how dare this country allow this to happen to someone like me twice?” Weissman told the New York Times.
Soon some of these fields will only exist at elite institutions
CSU Dominguez Hills on the Verge of Serious Cuts to Major Programs - California Faculty Association
While faculty have not yet received formal layoff notices this semester, CSU Dominguez Hills administrators sent out an e-mail on December 2 sharing they
www.calfac.org
December 13, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Soon some of these fields will only exist at elite institutions
It's finals week. I don't have access to faculty areas of banner eg. grades. This is the state of academic tech. Head over to social media and reddit. You'll see it's not only your institution. Such is tech in ed. We are dependent on systems which extract public monies for mediocre fixes.
December 12, 2025 at 1:00 PM
It's finals week. I don't have access to faculty areas of banner eg. grades. This is the state of academic tech. Head over to social media and reddit. You'll see it's not only your institution. Such is tech in ed. We are dependent on systems which extract public monies for mediocre fixes.
It's complicated, but driving down retention will drive down quality of service. That just furthers the agenda of anti-public transit lobby.
'A strike is imminent': SEPTA's largest workers union poised to hit picket lines
Union leaders say they are seeking modest raises, pension increases, changes to working conditions and health care improvements.
whyy.org
December 8, 2025 at 12:45 AM
It's complicated, but driving down retention will drive down quality of service. That just furthers the agenda of anti-public transit lobby.
People compare AI to a calculator. This is a different animal. Calculators don't generate formulas, at least you need to know which formula to use and its applicability. I know some educators are trying to keep human decision-making important, but the problem is that students are skipping the "why."
December 7, 2025 at 10:09 PM
People compare AI to a calculator. This is a different animal. Calculators don't generate formulas, at least you need to know which formula to use and its applicability. I know some educators are trying to keep human decision-making important, but the problem is that students are skipping the "why."
This is one of the reasons the phrase "shared governance" kind of bothers me. Universities are often gerrymandered. I'd prefer phrasing with words such as participatory or stakeholder.
Something I've been thinking about is how higher ed. isn't a typical hierarchical bureaucracy. Lots of committees with psuedo-decision making power distributes accountability in such a way that it's hard to pinpoint.
December 6, 2025 at 8:30 PM
This is one of the reasons the phrase "shared governance" kind of bothers me. Universities are often gerrymandered. I'd prefer phrasing with words such as participatory or stakeholder.
Reposted by Albert S. Fu
Something I've been thinking about is how higher ed. isn't a typical hierarchical bureaucracy. Lots of committees with psuedo-decision making power distributes accountability in such a way that it's hard to pinpoint.
December 6, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Something I've been thinking about is how higher ed. isn't a typical hierarchical bureaucracy. Lots of committees with psuedo-decision making power distributes accountability in such a way that it's hard to pinpoint.
Something I've been thinking about is how higher ed. isn't a typical hierarchical bureaucracy. Lots of committees with psuedo-decision making power distributes accountability in such a way that it's hard to pinpoint.
December 6, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Something I've been thinking about is how higher ed. isn't a typical hierarchical bureaucracy. Lots of committees with psuedo-decision making power distributes accountability in such a way that it's hard to pinpoint.
Reposted by Albert S. Fu
SoCalGas is using *efficiency funding* collected from ratepayers to push LA wildfire survivors who lost their homes to build back with *gas* rather than all-electric.
Truly bleak stuff. This should not be allowed. Where are our regulators at the CPUC?
insideclimatenews.org/news/0312202...
Truly bleak stuff. This should not be allowed. Where are our regulators at the CPUC?
insideclimatenews.org/news/0312202...
LA Wildfire Survivors Want to Rebuild All-Electric, but a Utility Is Using Customer Funds to Incentivize Gas Appliances - Inside Climate News
California’s utility regulator said it would eliminate ratepayer-funded incentives for gas appliances in new construction, but created an exception that allows rebates for them in wildfire rebuilds.
insideclimatenews.org
December 5, 2025 at 11:22 PM
SoCalGas is using *efficiency funding* collected from ratepayers to push LA wildfire survivors who lost their homes to build back with *gas* rather than all-electric.
Truly bleak stuff. This should not be allowed. Where are our regulators at the CPUC?
insideclimatenews.org/news/0312202...
Truly bleak stuff. This should not be allowed. Where are our regulators at the CPUC?
insideclimatenews.org/news/0312202...
The rich already found ways to get richer despite Mamdani's election. Some are ignoring the fact that capital always finds ways to profit even in social democratic systems.
‘There is no Mamdani effect’: Manhattan luxury home sales surge after mayoral election, undercutting predictions of doom and escape to Florida | Fortune
Signed contracts for Manhattan homes over $4 million skyrocketed 25%; “the idea that people would flee New York was overblown,” said realtor Donna Olshan.
fortune.com
December 5, 2025 at 11:59 PM
The rich already found ways to get richer despite Mamdani's election. Some are ignoring the fact that capital always finds ways to profit even in social democratic systems.