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This email is floating around: ordering pizza in 2015. Let's hope it never comes to this. (You should support the Electronic Frontier Foundation)
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Operator: "Thank you for calling Pizza Hut. May I have your..."
Customer: "Hi, I'd like to order."
Operator: "May I have your NIDN first, sir?"
Customer: "My National ID Number, yeah, hold on, eh, it's 6102049998-45-54610."
Operator: "Thank you, Mr. Sheehan. I see you live at 1742 Meadowland Drive, and the phone number's 494-2366. Your office number over at Lincoln Insurance is 745-2302 and your cell number's 266-2566. Which number are you calling from, sir?"
Customer: "Huh? I'm at home. Where d'ya get all this information?"
Operator: "We're wired into the system, sir."
Customer: (Sighs) "Oh, well, I'd like to order a couple of your All-Meat Special pizzas..."
Operator: "I don't think that's a good idea, sir."
Customer: "Whaddya mean?"
Operator: "Sir, your medical records indicate that you've got very high blood pressure and extremely high cholesterol. Your National Health Care provider won't allow such an unhealthy choice."
Customer: "Dang . What do you recommend, then?"
Operator: "You might try our low-fat Soybean Yogurt Pizza. I'm sure you'll like it."
Customer: "What makes you think I'd like something like that?"
Operator: "Well, you checked out 'Gourmet Soybean Recipes' from your local library last week, sir. That's why I made the suggestion."
Customer: "All right, all right. Give me two family-sized ones, then. What's the damage?"
Operator: "That should be plenty for you, your wife and your four kids, sir. The 'damage,' as you put it, heh, heh, comes to $49.99."
Customer: "Lemme give you my credit card number."
Operator: "I'm sorry sir, but I'm afraid you'll have to pay in cash. Your credit card balance is over its limit."
Customer: "I'll run over to the ATM and get some cash before your driver gets here."
Operator: "That won't work either, sir. Your checking account's overdrawn."
Customer: "Never mind. Just send the pizzas. I'll have the cash ready. How long will it take?
Operator: "We're running a little behind, sir. It'll be about 45 minutes, sir. If you're in a hurry you might want to pick 'em up while you're out getting the cash, but carrying pizzas on a motorcycle can be a little awkward."
Customer: "How the heck do you know I'm riding a bike?"
Operator: "It says here you're in arrears on your car payments, so your car got repo'ed. But your Harley's paid up, so I just assumed that you'd be using it."
Customer: "@#%/$@&?#!"
Operator: "I'd advise watching your language, sir. You've already got a July 2006 conviction for cussing out a cop."
Customer: (Speechless)
Operator: "Will there be anything else, sir?"
Customer: "No, nothing. Oh, yeah, don't forget the two free liters of Coke your ad says I get with the pizzas."
Operator: "I'm sorry sir, but our ad's exclusionary clause prevents us from offering free soda to diabetics."
The 2004 Mad City Marathon..... was wet:
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I've written a bit about Madison's air service. Marv Balousek writes today about Madison "leaking" passengers to Milwaukee and Chicago. Leaking means passengers driving to other airports in an effort to obain lower fares. Airport Director Brad Livingston cited one example, Orlando:
115,142 people flew to Orlando, Fla., last year from the Dane County Airport's market area, just 59,024 or 51.3 percent flew from the Madison airport. Orlando was the airport's most popular destination.
This is not a big surprise. Visit to travelocity.com and search a number of city pairs from Madison to Orlando, Austin, San Francisco, Boise, Denver and other major markets.
In some cases, fares are attractive from Madison, others they are not. (Madison to Minneapolis is a great example): on June 2, 2004 a typical business roundtrip (fly up at 7:00a.m. and return around 6:00p.m.> Northwest has a nonstop fare of $403 plus taxes and fees. Interestingly, on the same day, Southwest flies from Dallas to Houston (a similar distance) for a roundtrip fare of $197.20 (planning ahead will save money).
There are a couple of reasons for this discrepency: Northwest has no competition on Madison-Minneapolis flights; while Southwest does from Dallas to Houston. There's also a philosophical difference between Northwest's business approach (charge the highest prices possible) and Southwest's (let's grow traffic by charging low, friendly fares).
Finally, the only time major airlines reduce fares and increase frequency is when they are faced with low fare competition.
Southwest is the only game changer for Madison...
The son of a Milwaukee plumber, Rev. Reginald Foster has devoted his lift to saving Latin from extinction, says Clifford Levy from Vatican City.
A quite extraordinary site: Virtual Parks, has just published a list of full screen Quicktime VR Panoramas.
A sailboat makes its way along Lake Michigan on Friday in this aerial photo from Chopper Four with power zoom. The discolored water extended past the breakwater; the contents are unknown.
Mary Rohde & Steve Schultze write about the Milwaukee Metro Sewage District's massive sewage dumping this past week:
The sewerage district dumped an unprecedented 4.6 billion gallons of raw sewage this month - exceeding any annual dumping tally since the deep tunnel system opened in late 1993.To visualize how much sewage was dumped by the district, consider these calculations: The 4.6 billion gallons would fill Miller Park 15 times over, from its base to its retractable roof. The sewage spill would also fill the U.S. Bank office tower on the lakefront 41 times.
"That's more than any sewage treatment system in the country could handle," said Kevin Shafer, the district's executive director. The dumping "is something we have to do if we want to minimize and prevent basement backups," he said.
Background: Google | Teoma | Yahoo | Alltheweb
The Lake Michigan Federation has a useful web site on the impact of raw sewage dumping.
Aaron Nathans writes about Port Washington's Allen Edmonds Shoe Company, and their ongoing efforts to continue making shoes, competitively, in Wisconsin (rather than China):
The rumble, hum and clack of the Allen-Edmonds shoe factory went quiet in late December. Many of the machines that helped workers pack insoles, trim the leather and buff the finished men's dress shoes were gone by New Year's Day.But John Stollenwerk, the president of the company, was not preparing to send his operations overseas. Instead, Mr. Stollenwerk gambled on staying put and reconfiguring his factory floor, which reopened on Jan. 5, with a new manufacturing method that could increase production and cut down on mistakes. The moves required an investment of $1 million, or 1.1 percent of the company's 2003 sales.
Mr. Stollenwerk is resisting a tide that has decimated the American shoe manufacturing industry: About 98.5 percent of shoes sold in the United States are now made abroad, according to the American Apparel and Footwear Association, which is based in Arlington, Va.
David Crosby, from Frontline's The Way the Music Died:
It changed from being about the music to being about what you look like. And that was a terrible blow to music, because now you've got all these people who look great and can't write, sing or play.
Dan Gillmor writes about Vermont Democrat Pat Leahy's shilling for the copyright cartel: Copyright Cartel Buying Another Federal Anti-Infringement Law ("Piracy Act"). Evidently, Democrat Leahy needs more cash from Hollywood. The worse part of this insanity: the law would require us (via the Department of Justice) to pay for tracking file sharers and filing lawsuits....
Barry Steinhardt referenced today's GAO Report on Government Data Mining (full report - PDF) - (Highlights PDF). Steinhardt mentions four programs of special concern:
Minneapolis's Walker Art Center features Rock the Garden 2004 (June 18). Looks like fun! Featuring David Byrne | Tosca Strings | Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra among others.
From Wired: They are masters of innovation, technology, and strategic vision: 40 companies driving the global economy.
Old-school business types found some solace in the bust - at least the upstarts got their comeuppance. Hardly! With the economy finally perking up, newcomers are running the show: Three of the top five companies in this year's Wired 40, our annual list of enterprises leading the charge toward a connected global economy, were founded in the past decade. One-third are less than 20 years old.This year's list reflects the churn we've come to expect in the tech economy. Only nine selections appeared on the original list back in 1998. Still, the criteria for inclusion remain unchanged. These 40 leaders have demonstrated an uncommon mastery of technology, innovation, globalism, networked communication, and strategic vision - skills essential to thriving in the information age.
Randall, co-auther (along with Peter Schwartz) of Abrupt Climate Change [PDF] is interviewed by World Changing Blog:
Their scenaric findings -- that the gradual global warming we're experiencing could plausibly trigger an abrupt climate snap, and that its effects would be massive, perhaps catastrophic, and of direct relevance to the national security of the United States -- we're picked up by media around the world, gathering a snowball of controversy and hype along the way. Their scenarios, freely available on the Web, were termed a "secret Pentagon report," and their descriptions of possible climate catastrophe taken as bald prediction.But underneath the hype was a reasoned attempt to judge the seriousness of the threat posed by climate instability. That's something all of us hoping to change the world have to take into account. So we asked Doug about the implications of that report (now that the dust has settled), the movie The Day After Tomorrow, and how to think about the future of climate change.
Mike Ivey updates us on Madison's Air Service (and the possible entry of Southwest):
Livingston said Southwest Airlines has expressed some interest in coming into this market but said the low-cost carrier hasn't committed to anything. Southwest is one of the few airlines that has remained profitable despite the fallout from the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the slow economy and soaring jet fuel prices.Southwest makes a great deal of sense for Madison, both from a cultural and service perspective."They aren't telling us much, only that Madison is one of 350 cities they are looking at," he said.
As reported by Ernie, Disney is lobbying to get indecency regulations applied to cable — yet another example (after the Sonny Bono Act) to use law to protect itself against competition. When your movies flop, and you’ve driven away the greatest animation company in the world, I guess there’s not much strategy left.
Recruits at the Corps' two recruit training depots will know Cpl. Jason L. Dunham. They will know that the 22-year-old Marine lived up to the Corps' largest legends and laid down his own life — diving on a grenade, no less — to save his Marines.
One Marine dubbed it a "selfless" act of valor. Another said it's destined to make him "everybody's hero." A third said it defined him as "something special" — so special that Sgt. Maj. Wayne R. Bell, the 1st Marine Division sergeant major, believes Dunham may wind up with an honor not conferred upon a Marine since the Vietnam War.
Doc Searls on the RIAA's latest lobbying to maintain its monopoly
First the RIAA successfully lobbies the Librarian of Congress to impose a distribution fee and reporting regime on the infant Internet radio business, essentially preventing it from happening. That was in 2002, though the lobbying started in '98, right after the same kinda guys got the DMCA pushed through.Now comes news from J.D. that the RIAA wants to get the FCC to impose a "broadcast flag" on radio as well as TV. It's creepy shit:
The Recording Industry Association of America has discovered that digital radio broadcasts can be copied and redistributed over the Internet.
The horror.And so the RIAA, the music business's trade and lobbying group, has asked the Federal Communications Commission to step in and impose an "audio broadcast flag" on certain forms of digital radio.
On April 15, the FCC bowed to the RIAA's request and initiated a notice of inquiry, typically a step leading to formal rule-making. The public may submit comments to the FCC between June 16 and July 16.
Susan Spano takes us along on a US tour group's (Mt. Travel Sobek) journey to Libya:
Best of all, Libya, like China in the 1970s, remains largely untouched by the despoiling hand of commercial tourism. There's a prevailing air of naiveté and freshness unlike any I've ever felt.Lonely Planet has a Libya Travel Guide.Visitors have been trickling into Libya all along. It received 300,000 foreign tourists last year, mostly Europeans drawn by Libya's fabled Roman ruins, considered the best outside Italy, and its sandy Saharan south, which in the last decade has taken the place of strife-torn Algeria as a destination for desert treks.
Then he showed me how to cross the street in Tripoli, where the roads aren't divided into lanes, there are no stop signs and vehicles move in herds. You walk out bravely, with a raised hand and index finger pointing heavenward, as if to say, "Fail to stop at the risk of Allah's wrath." It worked.
Gretchen Morgenson writes: A Great Fund (for them, not you):
It's easy to see why the Washington political class feels no need to right the wrongs in the fund industry. Those folks know how to take care of themselves. Low-cost, conflict-free money management is just one of the many special privileges lawmakers have arranged for themselves. Too bad the 91 million ordinary Americans who invest in funds can't get the same deal. As Mr. Fitzgerald said: "We've created one mutual fund world for ourselves that is great and fair and we've created another for the rest of America that stinks."via Dan Gillmor
Katherine Skiba summarizes state political lobbying spending (data is from the Wisconsin Ethics Board). I was surprised at Wisconsin's top spender(s):
OnPoint's Tom Ashbrook interviewed NBC's Tim Russert last Wednesday. I listened to a bit of this interview while running errands.
One segment, stuck: Russert described a recent Oval Office visit where the President hosted some baseball greats, and invited Russert and his son to participate. Ashbrook correctly asked Russert if this was an example of a cozy insider relationship (I'm paraphrasing) and therefore, can one be objective in covering politicians. Russert insisted that he of course, can......
This is a great example of a major problem today: the cozy relationships between major media and the political establishment. There's also this: Meeting the press and surviving it; which describes Russert's recent interview with Colin Powell. Powell's press aide pulled the camera away when Russert evidently broke the interview's ground rules.
Echoes of the 'Sea of Cortez'
NPR profiles a modern day re-creation of Ed Ricketts' and John Steinbeck's journey through the Sea of Cortez, of which the log and narrative was published as The Sea of Cortez.
Interesting intellectual property case: Monsanto went to court to stop a Saskatchewan farmer from replanting genetically modified canola seeds (without payment of an annual license fee). Wired News | NY Times.
Tom McNichol discusses fundrace.org, a web site that follows political money to your front door. www.opensecrets.org is another great resource, to keep up with the donor class.
Use the internet to be active and informed!
D.C. resident Jacques Tiziou has a taste for cicadas. Watch him as he collects and prepares the young, tender, winged insects for brunch
Herb Kelleher on the survival of an airline; a recent talk to Southwest's Senior Leaders:
In a wide ranging discourse on the current state of affairs in the airline industry, Herb’s talk was packed with historical truths and current observations based on over 35 years of industry experience. Here is a synopsis of his remarks.
- As an airline executive, his prime goal and proudest accomplishment has been job security for the People of Southwest.
- Nothing is as injurious to one’s quality of life as a layoff or furlough.
- In spite of being in one of the worst businesses in the history of business, Southwest has prospered because of its People.
Dot Com era Billionaire and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban on why we're tuning out the media...
We are now in an era where media searches for stories that will generate media coverage of the story. Stories are written not for the value they bring the readers, viewers or listeners, but rather the volume of coverage they will bring.Thanks to Glenn Reynolds who correctly states: "They're churning out Granadas and Chevettes and telling us that we're idiots for complaining."The question I had then, is the same question I have now? What is the goal of these media outlets? How do they define what is “newsworthy.” It sure appears to me that the newsmedia has evolved from “all the news that is fit to print” to “How much free publicity can we get from this story?”
I've written before about Madison's air travel challenges and opportunities.
I continue to believe that only the arrival of Southwest will truly change Madison's air transportation opportunities. The "Southwest Effect" is just what Madison needs: the average fare decreases and the number of passengers dramatically increases when Southwest enters a market.
I recently phoned Gary Kelly, Southwest's CFO to encourage them to fly to Madison. Southwest gets major points for having a real person answering the phone and playing good music while the call is being routed around the company.
Dave writes about Amazon's controversial one-click purchase patent (many business process patents, are I believe an abuse of the patent process). Evidently, Amazon assigned their patent(s) to Deutsche Bank as part of a credit agreement between 1995 and 1997.
I wonder if there might be a tax shelter angle to this (amazon was generating huge losses at the time, and other firms might wish to do a deal for the tax benefits of those losses)? Years ago, I worked for a major international beverage firm. One of their (this firm was not unique) tax reduction/avoidance strategies was to create the flavors in tax havens (Puerto Rico, Cyprus, Ireland among other places) and sell that essential component back to US entities at high prices (this is of course a rather simplistic analysis). The US entities then generated small margins or losses while the offshore unit generated the large margins. This tax strategy, among many others is discussed in the very enlightening book by NY Times reporter David Cay Johnston: Perfectly Legal.
Deutsche Bank, like many others, has been part of a number of tax shelter strategies.
This abusive patent process is the major reason I do not link to amazon (barnes & noble online is a fine alternative).
Barb Schrank updates us on the winners & losers in the recently passed $308+M 2004-2005 MMSD Budget:
Jeff Jarvis asks a useful question: Why can't we download all of NPR (they are playing the Digital Restrictions Management game, using audio streams only, vs. clean MP3 downloads). In other words, NPR policies mean that we, the public cannot listen to their programming on our ipods or other mp3 players.
Not very public... (Unfortunately, WPR adopts the same restrictive approach).
Barb Schrank summarizes Monday evening's School Board budget discussions ($1m of changes to the Administration's $308m budget, including the first ever fee for an academic program ($50 for strings)). Schrank also discusses the urgent need for the board to adopt a more proactive budgeting process.....
Marv Balousek writes that Northwest may add some non stop flights from Madison (to destinations other than their fortress hubs in Detroit, Minneapolis and Memphis):
Northwest's Jim Cron said the growing popularity of regional jets also could inspire a competitor to begin offering more nonstop flights from Madison. He said leisure destinations like Florida and Las Vegas might be the most successful.I would be very surprised if they did this. The only reason they've added non stop flights in Milwaukee is to kill off Midwest airlines. Like other major airlines, once the competition is gone, we're back to connecting via the fortress hubs.Brad Livingston, Dane County Regional Airport director, said he plans to meet next month with airline scheduling officials, including Northwest, to talk about improving service to Madison. He said the number of Dane County Airport passengers rose 13.6 percent in April over March and is 6 percent higher this year than in 2003.
On the other hand, this is possibly good news. However, the announcement smells like a request for local airline subsidies. I still think the best approach for MSN is to do everything possible to bring Southwest to town.
UPDATE: Northwest doesn't like Wisconsin's tax subsidies for Midwest Airlines and Air Wisconsin (I don't either). Keep in mind that NWA has benefited greatly from Minnesota subsidies.
Nicholas Carr's recent controversial book explains how technological, economic, and competitive forces are combining to transform the role information technology plays in business, with profound implications for IT management and investment as well as strategy and organization.
I witnessed the dual edged nature of IT firsthand early Tuesday morning. My delayed flight landed at 2:10a.m...... I walked to the Hertz counter where some very tired folks were scrambling to deal with their customers (including me). I generally just grab the express package and go. Murphy, as always, showed up. The Hertz computers were down. Therefore, the Hertz employees resorted to conventional paper contracts (filled out by hand). They clearly had not done this in awhile (if ever). 30 minutes later, I walked to my car (now 2:40a.m.)
We take so much for granted.
A refreshing column from Tom Oates on long time UW women's track coach Peter Tegen. Oates' essential point is that Alvarez's record the past few years has not been great, therefore will he get the same treatment as Tegen?
Several years ago, I recall reading a Doug Moe column that mentioned that WSJ sportswriter Vic Feuerherd was "forbidden" from writing about the Badgers. (I seem to recall that Feuerherd was exiled to cover the Brewers....). I'm glad to see the WSJ take a more proactive position (which they should!).
Julia Moskin checks out the new American Girl Place in Manhattan:
The American Girl Cafe is unmistakably kid-friendly - the chocolate mousse is sprinkled with crushed Oreo cookies, and the napkin rings can be used as hair scrunchies - but it is more reminiscent of Chanterelle than Chuck E. Cheese's. Embraced by banquettes, plied with smoked salmon and shortbread, and served tea from china pots, American girls here learn the ways of the ladies who lunch."American Girl is for kids, but nothing we do is dumbed down," said Kamille Adamany, the cafe's manager, who was hired away from the prestigious L'Etoile restaurant in Madison, Wis.
The other night, Maddie Leonard of Pelham Manor, N.Y., observed her eighth birthday in one corner of the cafe with 11 friends and 12 dolls, some sporting crowns of braids fresh from the hair salon on the second floor (the salon specializes in returning frazzled dolls to factory condition).
A "must have" product for the backyard bbq set:
The Mosquito Magnet® mimics a human by emitting a plume of carbon dioxide (CO2), heat and moisture, and a short-range attractant, octenol. This precise combination is irresistible to female mosquitoes (the ones that bite), no-see-ums, biting midges, black flies, and sandflies. As the mosquito approaches the trap hoping for a human, it is quietly vacuumed into a net where it dehydrates and dies.
Silent, odorless, no mess.
One would think that this type of thing should happen here first....
Maria Alicia Gaura writes:
After 25 years of persistent work, Marin County rancher Albert Straus has figured out a way to run his dairy farm, organic creamery and electric car from the manure generated by his herd of 270 cows.Cheered on by a small gathering of engineers, environmentalists and fellow farmers, Straus stepped into a utility shed Thursday, switched on a 75- kilowatt generator, then stepped outside to snip the ribbon spanning a spanking-new electrical panel.
Thomas Content writes that "Wisconsin residents are paying more for electricity than consumers in seven other Midwestern states, a reversal from several years ago when power customers here paid the lowest rates, a study found."
Quite a few interesting articles on the Madison School Districts 308M+ budget are available at www.schoolinfosystem.org
Angélica Pence writes about Afghan War Rugs:
Narche jangi, or so-called "war rugs," emerged in Afghanistan more than two decades ago during the Soviet occupation, when the Baluchi tribe began weaving the iconography of warfare -- Kalashnikov rifles, jets, helicopters and hand grenades -- into their textiles.The rugs have since taken on the very modern imagery of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the ensuing war in Afghanistan. Much of the imagery is copied from television news reports and aerial propaganda leaflets dropped by the thousands across Afghanistan by U.S. armed forces. The most controversial depict jetliners crashing into the World Trade Center, or tiny black silhouettes plummeting from the smoking twin towers. And to the surprise of some, the divisive folk art has gained a considerable, almost cult-like following in North America.
Professor Lessig goes to Washington to testify about Congressman Rick Boucher's Digital Media Consumer Rights Act [pdf].
This is one issue you should support. Contact Tammy Baldwin and tell her you support Boucher's bill.
This is what happens when the public sleeps.... Support the EFF.
Yet another reason to get involved: Security expert Bruce Schneier writes: Curb electronic surveillance abuses, as technological monitoring grows more prevalent, court supervision is crucial
Forbes Mark Tatge writes about our "Miracle in the Midwest":
David C. Schwartz is right at home in the dark. That's where his fluorescent microscopes can do their work, scanning thousands of samples of DNA that make a slow crawl across computer screens and methodically map the human genome. All this activity is packed into a cramped room inside a lab at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. "Most people think I came here because I hated New York," he says with a boyish smile and a twitch of the mustache that curls over his lip. "I came here to start a companyInteresting sidebar:
Out-of-state venture capitalists complain that most of these hatchlings need better management. G. Steven Burrill, who runs the San Francisco merchant bank Burrill & Co. and has invested $15 million to $20 million in young Wisconsin companies, bemoans the failure to capitalize on opportunities. "We see 100 deals a month in life sciences," he explains. "But I don't see even one a month from MadisonBurrill is correct - while there are many opportunities here, it is not generally a risk taking culture.... unfortunately.
There's been some media discussion recently about the state of Madison's Air Service, specifically, United Express (regional carrier for United Airlines). Many of United Express's flights are served by Appleton based Air Wisconsin.
I experienced these service issues firsthand this past winter. The random number generator that is United Express service between Chicago and Madison became so bad that I phoned J. Kevin LaWare, Air Wisconsin's Vice President of Operations. Service examples include
Surprisingly, he called me back several weeks later (February, I recall) and mentioned that
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Interesting example of money, technology & politics. Wisconsin voters have many other priorities, such as education, jobs, taxes and healthcare. How exactly, the Windows 2003 Server and Office 2003 product launches fit into those priorities is a mystery:
"If people really believe that something like this makes members of Congress bribable, obviously they have a very poor opinion of members of Congress." Ron Kind, Wisconsin congressman. Katherine M. Skiba and Jeff Nelson follow the money..... The airfare prices look like first class... Why exactly would Microsoft spend money on a Congressman from La Crosse, WI?
Additional trips were timed to include product launches such as Windows Server 2003 and Office 2003....
Microsoft's priorities include copyright, patent, purchasing and other issues.....
Madison Gas & Electric, which already charges us the highest rates in the state, is seeking another in their series of annual rate hikes, according to Marv Balousek.
This chart is generated by the Public Service Commission's online rate comparison tool (December, 2003 data):
| Name & ID | Billing Charges | Total Bill | ||
| Customer | Energy | PCAC FAC | ||
| 3270 MADISON GAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY | $6.80 | $55.38 | ($0.59) | $61.59 |
| 6260 WAUNAKEE WATER AND LIGHT COMMISSION | $6.50 | $34.62 | ($0.78) | $40.34 |
| 6630 WISCONSIN ELECTRIC POWER COMPANY | $5.95 | $44.70 | $4.05 | $54.70 |
| 6680 WISCONSIN POWER AND LIGHT | $7.00 | $49.55 | $0.00 | $56.55 |
| 6690 WISCONSIN PUBLIC SERVICE CORPORATION | $6.75 | $46.75 | $0.00 | $53.50 |
MGE should not get a dime more, until they agree to clean up their lobbying act (MGE was implicated in the caucus investigations for, in one case, routing money through the Kansas Democratic Party.... Wispolitics has the complaint.) I would also like to understand why their rates are so high?
Alex Tabarrok comments about a recent NY Times article by William J Broad that states we are losing our lead in sciences. Tabarrok makes some excellent points, including this quote from Thomas Jefferson:
He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me. That ideas should freely spread from one to another over the globe, for the moral and mutual instruction of man, and improvement of his condition, seems to have been peculiarly and benevolently designed by nature, when she made them, like fire, expansible over all space, without lessening their density in any point, and like the air in which we breathe, move, and have our physical being, incapable of confinement or exclusive appropriation.
Church of the Customer writes about Mattel's very successful American Girl Place.
Matt Sedensky writes about surfers & sharks (I remember discussing this issue with abalone divers when I lived in California....).
KAHANA, Hawaii — Sam George can't believe the audacity of surfers who seem to return to the water as soon as the blood of a shark attack dissipates — even though he's one of them."Once the blood cleared and the paramedics got off the beach, I'm as silly as the rest," said George, San Clemente-based editor of Surfer magazine.
This stunning film, the first to be made in a post-Taliban Afghanistan and inspired by a newspaper account read by director Siddiq Barmak, recounts the efforts of a family of women to survive under an oppressive regime. To eke out a meager living, they dress up their 12-year-old girl, Osama, as a boy so she can work
Dan Gillmor pens a very useful article the copyright cartel's (MPAA & RIAA) activities, things that ultimately restricts our fair use rights.
OpenPark Launches free, public wireless (WiFi) internet access on the Washington Mall.
Bija Gutoff writes about the technology behind San Francisco's Hippy Gourmet:
This is not your typical celebrity-kitchen show. In fact, it’s not typical TV at all. “The Hippy Gourmet” eschews the frantic pace of most TV programs and doesn’t measure its success by ratings alone. “We don’t do three-second edits like MTV,” Ehrlich says. “‘The Hippy Gourmet’ creates a new tone for TV, one that’s about relaxing and seeing what good can be done in the world.” Beside preparing meals, the show promotes such causes as sustainable agriculture, social welfare and environmental activism.It’s a philosophy that has earned “The Hippy Gourmet” millions of fans on the West Coast. Now in its third season, the 30-minute show broadcasts via 24 public access cable stations from the Bay Area to Lake Tahoe. And, through talks underway with PBS and The Food Network, Ehrlich expects to soon boost his audience nationwide. He credits the show’s high visibility to the production standards enabled by his Apple tools. “We could not have created this show without the Mac and Final Cut Pro,” states Ehrlich.
