Today, Columbia’s Application Development Initiative (ADI) launches DevFest, a week-long technology/business development experience. The group plans to host a series of lectures and workshops, with guest speakers like Matt LeMay of bit.ly fame and Anoop Ranganath, the lead iPhone developer at Foursquare. Fred Wilson from Union Square Ventures will be present at the culminating “Demofest.” As Bwog webmaster Hans Hyttinen tells us, “It’s a big fucking deal.”

Head over to CEPSR’s Davis Auditorium at 1 p.m. for lots of free food at DevFest’s kick-off event—a Hackathon! Bwog hopes it’s as exciting as it looked on The Social Network.

Columbia University recently announced that Ralph Izzo, SEAS ’79, will deliver this year’s SEAS Class Day address. If you haven’t heard of him, let it be known that Izzo is kind of a big deal. With a BS and MS in mechanical engineering and a PhD in applied physics, Izzo has graduated from Columbia quite a few times, so we imagine he’s heard his fair share of Class Day addresses.

As Chairman of the Board, president, and CEO of the New Jersey-based Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG), Ralph Izzo “makes things work for you.” PSEG is a company that specializes in “safe, reliable, economic, and green energy,” so Izzo takes his environmentalism very seriously. As Dean Peña-Mora states in the university press release, “Ralph Izzo is a national leader in the fields of energy, nuclear policy, and climate change, all areas that greatly impact the world today…He exemplifies how engineers are making a difference across the globe, helping to solve complex problems that we all are facing and making the world a better place in which to live.” On the whole, Izzo looks like a good guy, even if he is from New Jersey.

Photo from Forbes.com

Imitating Wikileaks—it’s a thing! Assange-wannabes across the globe are creating their own whistle-blowing websites. (Reuters)

Bwog is wondering what happened here.

P. Diddy is being sued for $1 trillion by a woman in Los Angeles for, among other things, causing the 9/11 terrorist attacks, putting her son (who he apparently fathered) in the hospital, and stealing her poker chip worth “zillions of dollars.” Bwog thinks people need to cut down on the hate. Diddy’s just a bad boy for life. (NME)

Recession? What recession? Goldman Sachs head honcho Lloyd C. Blankfein gets a hefty raise this year, moving up from a paltry $600K to a $2 million annual salary. Damn, it must feel good to be a banker. (DealBook)

iPhone/iPad credit card swiping—it’s a thing too! Yet another reason to love going to Joe’s at the NoCo. It’s cutting edge! (The Week)

Kim Clijsters wins the Australian Open singles title! Check out more Australian Open coverage here. (NYT)

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

The extra olive makes it even more classy

Homemade PB&J cocktails can be a lot of fun, especially if you’re broke, but what if you want something a little more…classy? Thanks to Columbia Bartending, you can now get a taste of class even on a Four Loko budget. Luckily, the Columbia Bartending Agency is here to help. They’re holding a free martini tasting at 9pm in Mathematics 312.

Image from Wikimedia Commons

In a press release today, the University Senate announced a “comprehensive three-part process in the spring 2011 semester to address the Reserve Officers Training Corps and other issues related to the University’s engagement with the Armed Forces of the United States.” The full press release is after the jump, but here are some takeaways:

• The eventual goal is to provide the Senate with information to adequately make a recommendation on Columbia’s relationship with armed forces, including the issue of ROTC on campus.
• The Task Force has launched a non-partisan website with background history of ROTC on campus and information about what further actions could take place in the future.
• There will be a series of hearings held in February to provide a “forum for individuals to discuss the issues in an open and constructive manner.” The hearings will take place on February 7, 15, and 23.
• On March 4, the Task Force will submit a final report reflecting student opinion to the Senate.

Read the full press release

Features Editor Mark Hay investigates how Columbia quietly influences world politics in the latest issue of The Blue & White.

Standing at the podium in the Low Library Rotunda at the 2009 World Leaders Forum, then-Prime Minister of Nepal Madhav Kumar Nepal began his address with a declaration of thanks to SIPA Adjunct Professor Jenik Radon. Most seated in the audience that day paid no attention to Nepal’s acknowledgments, but his expression of gratitude should have come as a bit of a surprise—by the standards of celebrity, the leader of an entire nation had thanked an associate professor, a near-nobody.

It turns out Radon is far from a nobody in international circles. In fact, he helped craft the original Nepali Constitution in 1990, earning him the prime minister’s thanks that day in Low Library. He helped negotiate the construction of one of the world’s most important petrochemical pipelines, and he practically wrote Estonian corporate law. With such grand accomplishments, why, then, is Radon not more popularly known? Why is he not a Joseph Stiglitz or Brian Green?

Illustrations by Cindy Pan

This lack of professorial fanfare is par for the course at Columbia, at least where internation achievements are concerned. The faculty directories of SIPA and the Law School and even the undergraduate schools are filled with D-list professors who have had A-list impacts on the world, so much so that a large portion of the world’s people today are living directly or indirectly under some form of Columbian authority because of professors like Radon and their students.

Read more…

Cold and tired? Let Bwog’s resident culinary expert Matt Powell show you how to make a simple, delicious, and above-all warm meal in this week’s edition of Cooking With Bwog.

Tomato Soup

(Serves 4)

Because of the cold weather, my friend Hannah called me early in the day, asking for a simple soup recipe. (Clam chowder might be a bit complicated for some people.) We put together an easy, All-American dinner that is perfect for these chilly winter nights: Cream of Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese. It’s just “like mom used to make”—except better! Plus, it satisfies that craving for tomatoes even though tomatoes are not in season.

Ingredients

• 1 Large Can Diced Tomatoes
• 1 C beef broth
• 1 Small Onion
• 1 tbsp. whole cloves
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Dried basil
• Pinch of baking soda
• 1 ½ C heavy cream
• Fresh basil, for garnish

Read more…

A roundup of yesterday’s snow shenanigans:

Check out a video of the the snowboarder here. Overheard at the scene: “Well that was anti-climactic.”

NoCo

Huzzah! The votes are in and the winner of Bwog’s “Name the Northwest Corner Building Before Some Other Rich Guy Pays To” poll is… NoCo! Thanks to you, the Northwest Corner Building now has a name befitting its slick architectural style and the shmancy Joe’s Coffee inside.

Need to add a class? Well, fire up SSOL and get busy because today is the last day to add classes! Can’t decide what to take? Bwog has suggestions for those planning to die or graduate soon and those who appreciate professorial wit. Don’t worry if you add a class today only to find out it requires real work. You can drop classes anytime until February 22nd. Unless you’re in SIPA.

Image from Wikimedia Commons

It's time to take responsibility.

New York schools are increasingly suspending students for even minor rule violations. Just ask Postcrypt. (NYT, Spec)

Columbia econ celeb, Joseph Stiglitz, criticizes Obama’s economic policies while talking to media at Davos. Why does that sound so familiar? (Bloomberg)

Criminal Sexting! Barnard TA, Igor Sorkin (of no relation to Aaron), was charged with texting naked pictures to a police officer posing as a 14-year-old girl. (Spec)

Rachel Sterne, a 27-year old adjunct professor at the B-School, is now New York City’s first Chief Digital Officer. Bwog hopes she’ll let us add Bloomberg on Facebook. (Capital)

Columbia has started administering OWL tests to some grad students. Next, there will be magical duels on the Steps. (PRLog)

Another one of the countless reasons to deactivate Facebook: it will suck your soul dry… science proved it! (Slate)

Columbia students get good grades! Keep studying, kids! (Spec)

Image from Wikimedia Commons

Lip balm in the left coat pocket.
Reward Offered.
If found, please call 973-600-3840.

With training shoes and track spikes.
Email sae2117@columbia.edu.

Luckily, the ones in Lerner will not have a price tag attached. Photo via Wikimedia.

If you’re not already too full and exhausted from all the Joe cupping, hot chocolate, challah braiding, and whipped cream tossing, then brace yourself for late night snacks! Between 11 pm and 1 am tonight, the Lerner Party Space will host a Columbia kickoff for the 2011 Relay For Life. So walk, jog, or stumble over from Campo for finger food (Spring rolls! Taquitos!) and mocktails.

Bwog’s new thursday feature, Where Art Thou?, is here to keep you posted on what’s going on in the A&E department in Morningside Heights. If you’d like your vegan performance installation listed, email us as events@bwog.com.

• A Midsummer Night’s Dream, hosted by Columbia’s School of the Arts at the Riverside Theatre. Tonight at 8 p.m. with talkback, showing through Saturday. Reserve tickets through email: pr@columbiastages.org. Free.
• WBAR’s Spring Campus Showcase, tonight at 8 p.m. in the Diana Black Box. Free.
• Quatro’s Third Annual S&M Night, a reading of submissions for the Creative Writing Dept’s litmag, tonight at 8:30 p.m. in 501 Dodge. Free.
• CU Dance Marathon 2011, tomorrow at 1 p.m. in Lerner Party Space.
• BTE’s The Colored Museum, beginning tomorrow at 7 p.m. in the Lerner Black Box and running until Saturday evening. $5 CUID, $6 Without.
• Jake Snider Band opens for Chiddy Bang, Saturday at 8 pm, Irving Plaza.

Be sure to be on the lookout for upcoming auditions for theatre and dance groups, arts lovers! Bon weekend!

Photo via Wikimedia Commons