Sun Rising Over New Orleans
John F. Wasik
September 20, 2005
As hundreds of thousands of souls return to the birthplace of jazz, one of the most critical questions facing the Big Easy is how to rebuild the estimated 200,000 homes that were damaged by Hurricane Katrina.
Let’s take some of the estimated $100 billion or more it will take to fix the city and create the nation’s largest, most sustainable solar city.
Yearly Archives: 2005
Google Free WiFi: Doing Evil?
This is big and potentially scary news, for a couple of reasons. The first is fairly obvious: If the reports of Google’s purchasing of “dark fiber” — unused bandwidth and network infrastructure — are true, the firm could conceivably roll out a “last-mile” Internet delivery service. Maintaining and operating all that infrastructure (along with servicing all those WiFi hubs) would be very expensive. But the idea makes more sense if you assume that the company will deploy its real capital once the new WiMax standard, which broadcasts wireless Internet over a much wider area than WiFi, rolls around. Coupling this with an upgraded version of Google Talk could conceivably make the tech startup a force in telecom
Google WiFi traffic is subject to their privacy policy, which everyone should be fully aware of.
Lutz on the Future of the Car
Bob Lutz on diesels, hybrids and fuel cells:
The addition of a second hybrid mode to the drive system improves efficiency, and reduces the need for large electric motors found in typical single-mode systems available today. And we’re putting it on our largest vehicles first, where it will have the greatest effect on fuel consumption.
However, the two-mode system will be scalable, meaning it’s suitable for use in a variety of front-drive, rear-drive and all-wheel-drive vehicles.
In the long-term, GM sees the hydrogen fuel cell as an opportunity to transform our entire industry. Our progress in fuel cell research has been seen before, especially in our show cars the GM AUTOnomy, Hy-wire and Sequel. These vehicles clearly demonstrated that fuel-cell-powered cars can become a reality.
Knutsen Raises the Local Media Coverage Bar – Quite a Bit!
Kristian Knutsen Live Blogs tonight’s Madison City Council Meeting on Isthmus’ The Daily Page:
Tonight’s Madison City Council meeting is likely biggest of the season, as they will take up several items regarding the tavern smoking ban that was enacted on July 1. Since that time, various tavern owners and their political and media allies have inveighed against that ordinance, making it into the hottest and most divisive issue in the city at least since the casino referendum last year. In fact, the amount of interest this has generated probably surpasses that, generating more media heat and public interest in any city policy in years. In addition, the city’s lobbying regs are on the table as well, an issue that has also been a subject of considerable discussion.
An amazing example of sausage making at its finest.
Shadid’s Night Draws Near on Fresh Air
Anthony Shadid’s new book is Night Draws Near: Iraq’s People in the Shadow of America’s War. Shadid is the Baghdad correspondent for The Washington Post. The book culls stories from Shadid’s many visits to Iraq over the past eight years.
audio
Intelligence in the Internet Age
Take Diego Valderrama, an economist with the Federal Reserve Bank in San Francisco. If he were an economist 40 years ago, he may have used a paper, pencil and slide rule to figure out and chart by hand how the local economy might change with a 1 percent boost in taxes. But because he’s a thoroughly modern guy, he uses knowledge of the C++ programming language to create mathematical algorithms to compute answers and produce elaborate projections on the impact of macroeconomic changes to work forces or consumer consumption.
Does that mean he’s not as bright as an economist from the 1950s? Is he smarter? The answer is probably “no” on both counts. He traded one skill for another. Computer skills make him far more efficient and allow him to present more accurate–more intelligent–information. And without them, he’d have a tough time doing his job. But drop him into the Federal Reserve 40 years ago, and a lack of skill with the slide rule could put an equal crimp on his career.
Airline Bankruptcies
Their problems were that they got caught in the headlights by fuel prices that went up a lot faster than they could adjust to quickly. True, both were in the process of getting their labor costs down – something that American, Continental, and United have already done. When jet-A went to over $2 a gallon, the immediate need was to conserve cash while labor and other cost reductions were achieved.
Lots of “experts” go into diatribes about how these legacy carriers have unsupportable cost structures and route systems, dating from the days of regulation in the 1970s. Sounds great, but it is more nonsense. It’s missed by these grand prognosticators – most of whom have never worked within the airline industry – that if oil had stayed right where it was at the beginning of last year, as most of us expected, these filings would not have taken place.
Vikings to Announce a New Stadium Deal
On Tuesday officials from the Minnesota Vikings and Anoka County will formally announce that they have reached an agreement for a new football stadium. The $675 million, retractable-roof stadium would be built on a 700-acre site in Blaine. The total cost of the project, with roads and other infrastructure, could be as much as $790 million. The Vikings are expected to contribute up to $280 million with the rest of the funding to come from Anoka County and state taxpayers.
I wonder if any NFC North team actually needs a new stadium, given the dreadful outlook this fall. Perhaps they will all finish 3-13? Beyond that, I’m sure we can use this money in much better ways, than by subsidizing the rich.
It’s About Time!. Isthmus Tallies our Federal Representative’s Voting Records
Kudos to Isthmus. They’ve started to tally Rep. Tammy Baldwin, Senator Herb Kohl and Senator Russ Feingold’s voting record (not committees – unfortunately!). Some of our elected official’s votes make me wonder just who they are working for.
All Songs Considered: Sigur Ros Live Concert
Hear a full concert by Iceland’s ambient rock group Sigur Ros, recorded live from the Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda, Md. The band’s performance originally webcast live on NPR.org Sept. 11 as part of NPR Music’s ongoing concert series from All Songs Considered.