More on General Motors

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Robert Farago takes a look at GM’s supplier situation in his latest “Deathwatch” editorial:

A couple of days ago, I was talking to an auto industry analyst about the world’s largest automaker. We were discussing the cracks in GM’s hull, trying to figure out which of The General’s compartments were already breached, which are filling with water and which remain viable. A wistful tone in the analyst’s voice indicated head-shaking dismay. “I’m no longer hearing anything positive about GM,” he revealed. “The conversations range from how bad it is, to how bad it’s going to get.” I didn’t want to sound like a paranoid fantasist to a new source, so I tried not to out-pessimist the doomsayers. But it wasn’t easy.

GM operates a large SUV assembly plant in nearby Janesville, WI

Popup Stores

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Influxinsights:

Much has been written about pop-up stores and they are usually placed in the context of being something of a fad or fashion in retail. However, even if it is hidden, there is a powerful idea behind most of these initiatives and that’s to provide “brand refreshment” and “brand excitement”.

The temporary and unique nature of these stores gives people a reason to visit and take note. Influx believes the idea inherent in the pop-up is one of temporary surprise (great in an A.D.D. world) and that can be very impactful as a communication tool, especially as it’s a three-dimensional experience.

An Interview with Errol Morris

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Megan Cunningham interviews UW Grad and noted film and advertising impresario Errol Morris [pdf]:

Within the entertainment industry, Errol Morris holds a chameleon position. To the commercial production world, he’s established as a highly successful director, both innovative and intelligent. (He’s one of the only, if not the only, director of TV commercials who has written an opinion-page article published in The New York Times.) Within talent and advertising agencies, he is known for his exceptional off-kilter vision, and honored in ways usually reserved for noncommercial artists. (In November 1999, his work received a full retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art. In 2002, the organizers of the Academy Awards asked him to direct the short film that introduced the annual Oscars ceremony; it featured a series of real-life characters—some well-known, some everyday citizens—describing their passion for
movies.) In a 2004 Adweek article honoring Morris’s contributions as someone who “rises above the fray to create work that resonates and inspires,”

Errol Morris

BMW’s Turbo Steam Fuel Saving Concept

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Deutsche Presse-Agentur:

MW engineers are working on a steam-powered auxiliary drive system that reduces fuel consumption by up to 15 per cent and boosts performance at the same time, the car maker said.

The ‘Turbosteamer’ concept applied to a 1.8 litre, four-cylinder petrol engine recycles the waste heat in the exhaust gases and cooling system.

In tests, the Turbosteamer produced 13 additional hp in performance with 80 per cent of the energy in the exhaust gases recycled, according to the manufacturer.

Milwaukee Ranked #7 in Overextended Sports Markets

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The Business Journal:

The study by American City Business Journals, parent of the The Business Journal Serving Greater Milwaukee, looked at 179 U.S. markets and analyzed the amount of personal income each region generates, among other factors, to measure the region’s adequacy for its current professional teams and any possible new ones in baseball, football, basketball, hockey and soccer.

Milwaukee’s total personal income of $75.7 billion, according to the report, is insufficient to support the addition of any more professional teams.

Political Observations From Michael Powell

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via David Isenberg:

The Washington DC political process is more broken now than at any other time I’ve seen in my life. It has collapsed in on itself. I went home and asked my father [Colin Powell] if I was missing something, and he agreed with me that the process has collapsed into pure partisanship. The power of the incumbency has grown. People are not concerned with what’s right or what’s in the nations interest, they are purely interested in killing their opponents.

DRM Based Trusted Computing – Why We Should Care…

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Slashdot:

“We’ve always know that Trusted Computing is really about DRM, but computer makers always denied it. Now that their Trusted Computing chips are standard on most new PCs, they’ve decided to come clean. According to Information Week, Lenovo has demonstrated a Thinkpad with built-in Microsoft and Adobe DRM that uses a Trusted Computing chip with a fingerprint sensor. Even worse: ‘The system is also aimed at tracking who reads a document and when, because the chip can report back every access attempt. If you access the file, your fingerprint is recorded.'”