From the New York Times

Marilee Jones, the dean of admissions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, became well known for urging stressed-out students competing for elite colleges to calm down and stop trying to be perfect. Yesterday she admitted that she had fabricated her own educational credentials, and resigned after nearly three decades at M.I.T. Officials of the institute said she did not have even an undergraduate degree.

“I misrepresented my academic degrees when I first applied to M.I.T. 28 years ago and did not have the courage to correct my résumé when I applied for my current job or at any time since,” Ms. Jones said in a statement posted on the institute’s Web site. “I am deeply sorry for this and for disappointing so many in the M.I.T. community and beyond who supported me, believed in me, and who have given me extraordinary opportunities.”

The funny thing is that, by all accounts, she was absolutely brilliant at her job. As one of her academic friends, Leslie Perelman, director of the M.I.T. program in writing and humanistic studies, says: “It’s like a Thomas Hardy tragedy, because she did so much good, but something she did long ago came back and trumped it”.

Scott Berkun is an amazingly prolific and intelligent author. His book, The Art of Project Management, is a minor classic. He’s written a fascinating essay listing the tricks he uses when faced with an irritatingly blank page/screen. I particularly like this one:

Whiskey. Yes, alcohol is writing’s seductive little mistress. A well timed shot of whiskey can work wonders for the jittery, neurotic mind. It’s the shock to the system that works for me, so when I can’t start, there are alcholol free alternatives to get things flowing: a cold shower, an underwear clad run up the driveway, a shot of espresso, a peek at my naked wife, the list goes on. Don’t depend on these (as the more you use, the less they work, except for the last one), but occasionally they’re the only way.

The Guardian reports that

Toyota became the world’s leading seller of cars in the first quarter of this year, overtaking US rival General Motors for the first time, it said today.

The Japanese group, which began life making weaving looms, said it sold 2.35m vehicles, a 9% jump, compared with the 2.26m sold by GM.

Having owned a Toyota for nearly three years, I can understand why they’re winning.

One of my favourite webcams is this one. I’ve often wondered about its precise location.

On Friday afternoon I was walking across the bridge on my way to Trinity when I suddenly remembered it and took this picture from a position roughly diagonally across from where I guessed it must be located.

So where is it? My guess is in a window in the top storey of the dark-red brick building on the corner.