Schwarzenegger vs. Gerrymander
We can’t change where people choose to live, but we can begin using some type of proportional representation system. For example, California could use a system like that in Peoria, Ill., for municipal elections. Instead of electing 40 state senators from 40 districts, voters in 10 districts could elect four senators each. Any candidate who won at least a quarter of the vote would earn a seat. These districts would be far more likely to be bipartisan, even electing some urban Republicans and rural Democrats.
The Evils of Multitasking
Ellen Ullman, author of the excellent, the Bug on the Evils of Multitasking:
Not that Microsoft is the only culprit; distraction is built into the fabric of today’s electronic world. Icons on the PC toolbar flash; ads on Web pages shimmer and dazzle; software companies send e-mail messages to say your software is out of date; word processors interrupt to correct your spelling; Web pages refuse to show themselves until you update a plug-in; lights on laptops blink at you every time the hard drive whirs into motion (which, I’m here to tell you, happens a lot more often than you would ever care to know). The screens of TV cable news programs make three-ring circuses seem calm. You can’t even enjoy the 10th rerun of your favorite “Law and Order” episode without a glittering promo fluttering at the corner of the screen.
City Dwellers Plow Money into Farmland
Stephanie Simon takes a look at the city “slickers”/dwellers who are buying up farmland as an investment and renting it back to traditional farmers:
Seeking steady, secure investments to round out their portfolios, big-city investors are increasingly buying Midwest farmland, spending $100,000 to $500,000 per field.
Many hire professional farm managers to maximize their profits. The managers, in turn, hire farmers like Wyant — sometimes offering them a stake in the crop but often paying them by the hour (or the acre), like a hired hand.
Sunday Morning Snow
Madison woke up to an inch or two of snow this morning, with flurries continuing throughout the day.
ID Theft & ChoicePoint Imbroglio
“We regret to inform you that your identity has been stolen. We hope this does not cause an inconvenience.” Robert O’Harrow, Jr:
Earlier this week, ChoicePoint officials said the records of about 35,000 people in California may have been disclosed. But yesterday, the company said the scope of the scheme is probably much wider than it originally reported. Company officials said they were sending out more letters to 110,000 addresses throughout the country that may be connected to the reports delivered to the fraudsters.
“We have reason to believe your personal information may have been obtained by unauthorized third parties, and we deeply regret any inconvenience this event may
cause you,” the letters say.Authorities said the number of records involved may go higher as the investigation continues. “This is way far more reaching,” said Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department Lt. Robert Costa, commander of an identity theft unit. “I believe that when we’re done it will be more than a half million nationally. It’s huge.”
I ran into Wisconsin Attorney General Peg Lautenshlager at the Winter Farmer’s Market and mentioned that only California apparently has a law requiring notification of identity theft…. It’s long past time for Wisconsin to act.
The Best Law Money can Buy
Susan Crawford on the broadcast flag absurdity.
Richard Stallman: Bill Gates & Other Communists
Stallman correctly takes Gates to task for his support of software patents (which are a very bad thing – Gates was against them in 1991. Now that the game is changing, he is of course for them).
Mall of America: VR Scene of an Underwater Wedding
Words fail me in this one; just have a look at this interesting underwater wedding scene at the Mall of America.
Daily Newspapers face a Kodak Moment?
Frank Ahrens takes a look at the plight of daily newspapers in the internet era (Here’s a great chart on the changes):
Frank A. Blethen, publisher of the Seattle Times, said his industry has some breathing room left. But not much.
“The baby boomers are going to continue to drive print [sales] for some time,” he said. “The problem we have are the . . . 18- to 35-year-olds. They’re not replacing the baby boomers.”
Others are more blunt, if hyperbolic.
“Print is dead,” Sports Illustrated President John Squires told a room full of newspaper and magazine circulation executives at a conference in Toronto in November. His advice? “Get over it,” meaning publishers should stop trying to save their ink-on-paper product and focus on electronic delivery of their journalism.
I believe the changes in the newspaper industry mirror Kodak’s plight: the sharp, ongoing drop in formerly very high margin film sales. People are still taking pictures, in fact, more than ever. Kodak is just not capturing the kind of dollars they did in the past.
Newspapers face a similar issue. Their high margin, very high overhead business model will likely not survive (this will take some time), BUT citizens still want information, in fact, due to the internet, we’re foraging for information at much higher rates than before.
I also think newspapers have not adjusted to their reader’s changing expectations regarding news accessibility, depth and content in the internet era. The traditional text article, designed for print no longer cuts it. Thus the rise of the blogs….
Watch the conversation (technorati).