One American Europe Does Like

Austria just put a Aunuld stamp up for sale, and it looks very cool, very American. However, I should note that this Austrian-produced stamp is obviously for the American market since (Mrs. Director, correct me if I am wrong), "governor" in German is regler and Austrians call their country Österreich, and both of these are on the stamp in English.

If this were meant for Austrians, wouldn't the stamp be in German?

Hat Tip: Mark the Pundit (who has a much larger picture of the stamp posted)

Why Old Europe "Hates" America

Thanks to an article at The Smoking Room, I found a couple of interesting articles on (Old) European attitudes towards America:

Hating America - Set aside a good 15 minutes to read this lengthy and somewhat academic entry - sort of like reading Denbeste. Key point:

...the “paradise” of peace and prosperity Europe now enjoys is made possible, quite simply, by American power. Provided with security from outside, Europe requires no power of its own; yet protected under the umbrella of American power, it’s able to delude itself that power is “no longer important” and that American military power, and the strategic culture that has created and sustained it, is outmoded and dangerous.
...
If America is founded on liberty—and on the idea that its preservation is worth great sacrifice—those who steer the fortunes of Western Europe have no strong unifying principle for which they can imagine sacrificing much.

How true. My own experiences with "Old" Europeans have led me to believe that they don't value freedom, won't fight for it, and don't care if others suffer from a lack of it - sort of like the American left.

European Misconceptions - This is a more typical blog entry from Bite the Wax Tadpole (business students will know where this name came from). His article is where I found the above link, and he tells a first-person account of dealing with European attitudes.

The Studios Must Be Having Conniptions

TIVO's with Integrated DVD Recorders Due out this Summer

The San Jose, Calif.-based company will unveil a Series2 recorder with a new look in mid-August, and licensing partners Toshiba and Humax are expected to release DVRs with DVD-burning capabilities...The combination DVR and DVD boxes will allow consumers to record television programming and then burn it to DVD-R or DVD-RW discs

This is great for consumers since it makes downloading and recording movies and shows from cable and satellite incredibly easy. The studios, on the other hand, must be incredibly pissed since this makes distribution of digital video that much easier (if anyone wants DVDs of Barnie or Caillou for their kids, instead of spending $10 at Wallmart they just give their friend with one of these gizmos a $2 disk to record it for them).

Using Blogs to Perpetrate Hoaxes

CNET has an interesting article on "blog hoaxes"  - blogs that are supposedly set up by real people that turn out to be fake.   Examples include fake blogs from Bill Clinton and Andy Kaufman (who, I am thankful to hear, really is dead).

Quite frankly I am surprised that people are taken in by these sort of things since (slightly changing the line from the movie Boiler Room), on the internet, you can be anyone you want.  One would think that this anonymity would make people think twice about what people claim about themselves on a blog, but apparently a lot of people are taken in (Ed: It should be noted that Mitch really works in high-tech marketing and his birthday really was this week)

This is why I think blogs are most useful for discussing thoughts and opinions.  Whether you are discussing technology, business, or politics, it doesn't matter who you are, it's what you bring to the conversation that matters.

One Day Earlier And He Could Have Used "Birth of Director Mitch"

Fellow Bear Flagger Jeff Doolittle is hosting this week's Carnival of the Vanities using the theme "On This Day in History, July 28th".  If only he had only done it a day earlier...

One Person's Reasons for Voting for Kerry

From the comment section of Spot On, here is the story of one person who is supporting Kerry this year:

I am a senior citizen. During the Clinton Administration, I had an extremely good and well paying job. I took numerous vacations and had several vacation homes. Since President Bush took office, I watched my entire life change for the worse. I lost my job. I lost my two sons in that terrible Iraqi War. I lost my homes. I lost my health insurance. As the matter of fact, I have lost everything. Adding insult to injury, when the authorities found me living like an animal, instead of helping me, they arrested me. I will do anything that Senator Kerry wants to insure that a Demacrat is back in the White House come next year. I just thought that all Americans would like to know how one senior citizen views the Bush Administration.

Sincerely, Saddam Hussein.

Japan Outsources to U.S.

Outsourcing seems to have diminished as an election year issue, but here's an example of outsourcing politicians of both stripes can support

Sony to Set Up Next Generation DVD Pilot Plant in U.S.
Sony is going to set up a pilot plant for manufacturing the Blu-ray Disc, a next generation DVD format promoted by Sony, in the U.S., Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported on July 14, 2004. Sony wants to partner with the U.S. movie industry, which will be the primary customers for the new DVD standard. Taking input from the movie companies and incorporating the information into the disc production process and specifications, Sony hopes that Blu-ray Disc will be adopted as media for movie storage.

Sony will install manufacturing lines for producing 25GB one-sided discs and 50GB double-sided discs in its DVD manufacturing facility in Indiana. The 50GB disc has more than 10 times the capacity of an existing DVD disc. It can store about four and half hours of high definition video or over 30 two-hour long movies recorded in normal mode.

Source: Portelligent (no direct link to article)

Birthday Greetings Pour In

Here it is my 36th birthday, so I thought I would share some of the birthday greetings I'm getting from people you might know:

Mitch, you ol' dog!  Hard to believe you're 36!  Seems like it was only yesterday that the two of us finished off that whole bottle of Makers Mark while coming up with the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy^TM.   Keep those ideas flowing as you enter "old age" - GW is still gushing about your idea of handing over Iraq a few days early (he sends his regards).  Take care and be sure to drop me a line the next time you're in D.C.

Cheers,
Dick 

I paternally impart my Apostolic Blessing to you, Mitchell, on this, the  36th anniversary of your birth.  Perhaps the Holy Church will see you at Confession Reconciliation this year? (hint, hint)

Yours in Christ,

JP

 

Mr. "Window Manager", just wanted to take the opportunity of your birthday to thank you once again for turning me on to this "blogging" thing.  I really didn't think it would be that big a deal, so it's a good thing I listened to you and set up my own site.  Also, I know I promised to never link to you - and I kept that promise even when you hosted the Carnival of the Capitalists - but I always find something pithy and interesting on your site that I think my readers would like, so I hope you'll allow me to link one day!

Happy Birthday,
Glenn

(uh, the message text is too personal to post, but she does mention that Michael, at twice her age, isn't "up to it" any more and points out we are nearly the same age...)

CZJ

The ones from Greenspan, Gates, Buffet and my other business contacts just aren't worth posting.   And everyone gets a greeting from Ahnuld, so that one is no big deal.

But Al, Anger Gives in to the Dark Side

Gore encourages anger in electorate:

"To those of you who felt disappointed or angry with the outcome in 2000, I want you to remember all of those feelings"

The former democratic candidate then ecouraged the electorate to give in to their feelings of hate and strike down the closest conservative with their light saber.

This Baby Says GOOG

In a follow-up to my post on Google's stock symbol, it turns out it will be GOOG (which I think is pretty lame). If you want some for your portfolio, they are pricing it above $100.

Hat Tip: Polyblog

Kerry: I Voted To Give The President Authority As Long As He Didn't Use It

Here is Kerry commenting on his vote for the Iraq War. Does this make sense to anyone?

Giving Bush the authority he sought "was appropriate and is authority I would have wanted as president," Kerry said Thursday in an interview with USA TODAY. "(But) He didn't use the authority correctly."

So Kerry voted to give the President authority to go to war, but got pissed off when he actually used it? Maybe he is being too nuanced for me, but this sounds like another "I voted for it before I voted against it."

Comparing Moore to Fascist Propagandists

I pissed off a friend of mine by comparing Moore to the Nazi propagandists. Turns out the Poles - who know a thing or two about propaganda from both the Nazis and the Commies - agree with me:

Michael Moore's contentious film Fahrenheit 9/11 has opened in Poland, with some film critics likening it to totalitarian propaganda.

Gazeta Wyborcza reviewer Jacek Szczerba called the film a "foul pamphlet". He said it was too biased to be called a documentary and was similar to Nazi propaganda director Leni Riefenstahl. . . .

"In criticizing Moore, I have to admit that he has certain abilities - Leni Riefenstahl had them too," Mr Szczerba said in his review.

My friend's rebuttal was that while Moore is certainly a propagandist, you can't put him with the Nazis since they were supporting a man who wanted to mass murder millions. My response is: Moore is tacitly supporting the same thing.

Today there is a whole army of people who would like to release nukes or biological agents on my three-year-old daughter because of where she was born and the religion of her parents. These people managed to strike at the heart of my country nearly three years ago. Instead of using his talent to attack this ideology and the people who support Islamofascism, Moore instead uses outright lies and distortions to attack the President of the U.S. and his administration

Has Bush and Company done everything perfectly? Of course not - if you look for fault anywhere you are going to find it. Can there be a difference of opinion on how to stamp out this ideology? Sure, as long as you agree that it needs to be stamped out, which isn't the case with the left wing of American politics, which includes Moore. Like the leftists of Europe in the 1930s, they believe in a policy of peaceful co-existence with a people and ideology that is bent on their destruction.

Moore's movie and pick of target to condemn doesn't puts him in the ranks of those who openly supported fascism, it puts him in the ranks of those who refused to recognize what Fascism was or refused to do anything about it, and they were just as guilty of genocide as those who actively engaged in it.

Being Bourne Rules

Saw Bourne Supremacy this afternoon, and it's just a great action-adventure flick. I would even put it a tad above the first Bourne Identity since I think the acting was better this time around. I'm not going to give an in-depth review or spoilers, but if you like action movies, just go see it.

As a side note, the trailer for National Treasure looked interesting: Nicolas Cage as an Indiana Jones type character hunting down lost treasures. It comes out this Thanksgiving and - from the trailer at least - looks pretty good.

Another Scott and Laci?

For those of you who don't read the Fox News web site (that would be most of you), they are trying to push a new "Laci" story. Essentially a pregnant woman disappeared while jogging in Utah. Husband is acting weird, although there is some debate whether that is his normal sate.

This whole thing has a strange deja vu quality about it:

o This victim vanished while jogging. Laci supposedly vanished while walking the dog.

o Both husbands were doing supposedly innocuous things during the disappearance - Scott fishing, this guy "buying a mattress" (in addition, it would appear this guy perhaps tried a suicide, although authorities aren't talking)

o Husband is a "person of interest" at this point, but "not a suspect" (yet)

o This victim's name was Lori, the first one was Laci. (Ed: You're getting into Kennedy/Lincoln comparison territory)

I am next waiting for the husband to be found near the border with a goatee and lots of cash. From what Fox is reporting, I think we'll end up seeing yet another husband on trial for killing his pregnant wife.

This Seems True to Me - Especially for Transactions Under $2

One of my pet peeves are people who make micro-transactions using plastic - like $2 at Starbucks or $4 for milk (in the cash-only line). These people always seem to do this when there is a long line behind them, and they pull out their credit card after they have been rung up - and they were already standing in line for 5 minutes. My main beef is that these people are totally oblivious of the time they are taking up of those around them - these small transactions take several minutes to swipe the plastic, get the receipt, sign, get their copy of the receipt, and put it in their wallet (these people rarely get out of the way while they stand there putting up their receipt). Forking over a $5 and getting $3 change takes a few seconds. As I sit there and wait, I always want to shout, "You don't have TWO DOLLARS on you?!?"

I understand everyone runs out of cash from time to time, so I would understand this happening every once in a while. But it seems to happen all the time: a whole line of people using plastic for $3 lattes. Turns out this hasn't been my imagination: Card Transactions Hold Majority in U.S.(no direct link to article)

For the first time, Americans used cards -- credit, debit and others -- to buy retail goods and services more often than they used cash or check in 2003.

The article does point out that some fast-food outlets, like McDonalds, have waived the signature requirement, speeding up the transaction, but it is still much slower than cash. The coming use of cellphones for an electronic purchase, however, does seem be the right model since in this case the transaction would be more immediate and take the same time as a cash purchase.

I'm one of those people who usually has a ready supply of cash on me for my day-to-day purchases, but I am definitely becoming a minority.

A Good Canadian Beer Plus a Watery American Beer Equals???

Sort of interesting for us beer drinkers: Coors and Molson to Merge in $6B Deal

It's no secret that I am not a fan of the "Big 3" American beers - Bud, Miller, Coors - but of the three, I do consider Coors the least watery. My regular beer is American - Sam Adams - but I do enjoy Molson when I want a pilsner. This deal is not likely to bring any new products to the market, so this is just an interesting move as the alcoholic beverage market continues consolidation.

The article notes that this is a "merger of equals", a phrase I always find interesting. If business history teaches us anything about mergers, it's that one company will always gain supremacy in a "merger of equals". Eventually one side's management team will gain all the top spots, putting their company's managers in the primo positions while forcing the other side's managers into crummy spots or out of the company.

But Ze Terrorists Wud Never Strike Zer Friends en France!

Eiffel Tower Evacuated After False Alarm

French police have evacuated crowds of tourists from the Eiffel Tower in central Paris after a telephone caller threatened to attack it, but police say the warning turned out to be a false alarm.

And Chirac was about to raise the country's terrorist threat level to "Collaborate".

Oh...Never Mind

In a continuation of the strategy that has worked against the Philippines

A militant group said it had taken two Kenyans, three Indians and an Egyptian hostage and would behead them if their countries did not announce their intention to withdraw their troops from Iraq immediately.

But wait

However, none of those countries were part of the 160,000 member coalition force in Iraq.

However, Egypt has volunteered to send troops into the country so that they can then pull them out again in order to meet their demands.

Geeks:1, Pencil Necks:0

Hey, congress actually gets something right: House Votes to Block Stock Option Mandate
 
Here's why:

1. The only result of this rule would be to stop stock options to rank-and-file workers.  Corporations have already demonstrated that they are willing to put up with expenses connected to pay at the upper ranks, so all this would do would be to take away a benefit that the lower ranks actually enjoy.
 
2. Options are the life-blood of small companies, especially in tech.  Having to expense options would make the statement of companies about to go public look horrendous (what do you think Google's books would look like if they had to expense their options?).
 
3. The data is already out there.  Anyone who is interested can calculate the result of options on the bottom line, assuming they knew how to do the expensing, which brings me to the next point. 
 
4. How are options valued and expensed against earnings?  The options I received when I started my present job are WAY under water, with the good chance they will remain worthless until the time they expire.  If my options expire worthless, what expense did my company incur and how did it effect its bottom line?

As the article states, this overturn actually has bipartisan support in Congress, most likely due to the left-wing techies in NoCal, who are liberal as long as they can keep stuffing their own pockets.

These Guys Ever Heard of Kamikazes?

And I don't mean the drink: Zarqawi Demands Japan Withdraw from Iraq

Looks like the Muslim extremists are underestimating yet another country (the first being the U.S. itself). Japan today might seem like a nice pacifist country, but this is the place that invented Bushido and introduced suicide attacks into modern warfare. Behind those bows, smiles, and business suits, you'll find a nation of Samurai. And as the U.S. found out 60 years ago, they are a very, very bitter enemy that doesn't run away from a fight.

Update: The Japanese are holding to form. Their response: “For the rebuilding of Iraq, we must continue our support and not give in to terrorism.”

It's a Phone...No, A Camera...Wait, I Mean a TV...And it Plays Music

A slew of 3 megapixel camera phones are being introduced overseas as camera phone image quality slowly but surely catches up to that of stand-alone digital still cameras. The latest one has everything but the kitchen sink. Check out the antenna:

Pantech & Curitel releases PH-S5000V and PH-K1000V, 3.1-megapixel camera phones equipped with an external TV receiver and a mechanical shutter. The two models adopt the company’s world first 3-mega CMOS camera module and receive TV and FM radio signals, the company added.

Users can also download up to 20 music files from their computers by using the built-in MP3 player. The camcorder allows up to 160 minute continuous recording of moving images.

This is in addition to two other 3 megapixel camera phones that were introduced this month: the Samsung SPH-S2300 and the Lucky Goldstar SD350/3500, both of which use CCD instead of CMOS imagers.

These will take time to reach stateside due to our older, slower wireless system, which takes a lot longer to transmit a 3 meg picture than the systems in Korea and Japan.

It Would be Nice if They Gave Reeve a Cameo

I see that Hollywood is planning a remake of the movie Superman. It seems like the Reeve version wasn't that long ago, but it's been over a quarter of a century since that release (I'm getting old) so a whole generation of people aren't familiar with the original.

It would be a classy thing to do to somehow give Reeve a tasteful cameo in the new version. It's the role he was really known for.

They Certainly Whine Like Girly Men

I got a good laugh after hearing Ahnold lambast the democratic controlled legislature by calling them girly men - a phrase taken directly out of the Saturday Night Live sketch of Hans and Franz from about a decade ago that made fun of Ahnold. 
 
Now, in typical democratic form, instead of laughing at it and dishing it back out in a clever repartee (I can think of several), they whine like the bunch of girly-men they are:

Democrats said Schwarzenegger's remarks were insulting to women and gays and distracted from budget negotiations. State Sen. Sheila Kuehl said the governor had resorted to "blatant homophobia".

Like you needed another reason to hate California dems - they have no sense of humor, aren't clever enough to come up with a clever response, and go crying to their usual constituents by trying to raise the flag of victim-hood.

The good news is that Ahnold definitely isn't is a girly man himself and won't back down from the statement.

Update: Thanks to a link from Just Procrastinating, I find that Blind Camel offers our governor an alternative phrase he should have used in these serious times.

If You're Looking for Gandalf...

Just follow the signs to Middle Earth.

Ronco's Gut-B-Gone Now Covered by Medicare

Great.  Like the program isn't insolvant enough: Medicare redefines obesity as medical condition:

In a major decision that turns obesity from a personal failure to a medical problem, Medicare announced Thursday that it would remove barriers to covering anti-obesity treatments after 40 years of saying fat was not an illness and not covered.

Now slobs who can't control their eating or won't get off the couch can now stick it to the taxpayers.  I'd be in favor of it if there would no longer be people next to me on airplanes with guts spilling over into my seat, but my bet is that this move will do absolutely nothing to stop obesity.

Update: On a somewhat related write-up, Jim Carson has a very good article on why it's so difficult to lose weight.  The bottom line: it takes time and dedication, something Americans accustomed to instant gratification simply won' t do.

And They Bravely Ran Away

First Spain.  Now the Philippines.  Looks like we need to check the other parts of the ex-Spanish Empire to see where else their culture of cowardice and appeasement infected.  I guess South America is next.
 
And this is the culture that once provided fear, surprise, ruthless efficiency, an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope, and nice red uniforms...

Whoopi Do

I doubt anyone but hard-core political followers on both sides really cares that Slim Fast fired one of their shills, and it isn't like Whoopi is going to be hurting for cash after being fired. I will say that the Marketing Manager in me sees this as a shrewd marketing move and not a political one.

Let's say that you are the Product Manager of Slim Fast and one of your spokeswomen says or does something stupid enough that you want to drop her. Do you make a big announcement and highlight the problem even more? No, you quietly drop the spokeswomen, air older commercials and move on until some new commercials finish production. The main goal is to contain the damage. This sort of thing happens more often than you might think and rarely makes the news outside the advertisement industry.

In this case, however, I think Slim Fast went forward with the "there's no such thing as bad publicity" maxim of advertising. The fact they fired her for political lampooning would be picked up in a big way in a charged election year, splashing SLIM FAST across the pages of every newspaper and TV news broadcast in the country. The left-wing firebrand women (an overwhelming percentage of their customers are women) who would be pissed off at Slim Fast for the firing aren't their customer base anyway - they're all vegetarians who don't shave their armpits - so this was really a smart move.

The result was millions of dollars of effective free advertising with little to no downside in alienating the current customer base.
 
Update: I am linking this article to Outside the Beltway's daily Traffic Jam, which is a roundup of everyone's favorite posts for the day.

Another Update: Well, my trackback isn't working, so I haven't been able to link to OTB.  My guess it's the artificial trackback I have to use since Blogger doesn't support it (I know, I know, I should move from Blogger...)

That'll Teach Those Hosers, Eh?

You do NOT want to get on the bad side of those Canadians:

Canada pulled its ambassador from Iran, which refuses to admit observers to the trial of a policeman over a Canadian journalist's fatal beating

If Iran doesn't relent, I understand Canada is going to disinvite them from the next keg party.

Cinematic Guilty Pleasures

While watching Independence Day this month (it now runs every year on, well, July 4), Mrs. Director referred to it as a guilty pleasure. Normally a guilty pleasure is something bad for you that you enjoy doing anyway, like eating lots of chocolate, maybe smoking. For a cinematic guilty pleasure, it means a movie that deep down inside you know is bad, but you enjoy watching anyway. I thought I would list a few movies that fall under that category (for me, anyway) and why:

Independence Day - Like the wife, I somehow like this stupid, sappy, hackneyed story of an alien invasion. I think it has to do with the strange combo of Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum, which works in this movie.

The Quick and The Dead - Gene Hackman is obviously relishing his over-the-top performance, which takes it from a bad western to an enjoyable experience.

Clueless - A teen movie? A chick flick? Normally this sort of movie would drive me into the next room, but I always end up enjoying the movie's humor and sweetness. Plus watching Alicia Silverstone in designer mini-skirts for 90 minutes is never a bad thing.

Blast from the Past - Yes, another Alicia Silverstone movie, so that's one plus. It has a stupid, unbelievable plot line, but somehow the movie manages to pull it off because of Brandon Fraser. I especially enjoy the dance scene. If you've never seen it, it's on TBS every other week or so.

Armageddon - Predictable plot line and lots of bad acting, but this one just makes the list. I think what does it is the ensemble team that is going on the drill - Rockhound, Dunkan and those guys - and the various things they go through before, during, and after the event.

Deep Blue Sea - Mutant sharks versus Samuel L. Jackson. What more do I need to say?

Star Trek: Nemesis - Maybe not so much a guilty pleasure as just going against the tide on this one. It got bad reviews, poor word of mouth, and it flopped at the box office. I rented it expecting not to like it, but finished it thinking "I sort of liked it". I thought of it more as a long episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation rather than a movie, so my standards might have been lower.

Those are just off the top of my head, and if I sat down and thought about it I could probably add half dozen more, but have other things to do. Does anyone have any they would like to add?

Does He Sound Like a Hick or What?

For him or against him, you just have to admit that Edwards sounds like a back-woods hick with that accent. And before anyone blames me of regional bias, remember that I am from the South (Texas, anyway).

Tech Sector Slowdown?

A couple of recent articles regarding the tech industry point towards a slowdown in a sector that has been red-hot since late last year:

Merrill, Goldman downgrade chip sector on oversupply risk

Analysts, Industry Executives Spar Over Outlook (link requires free subscription)

I'm with the analysts on this one.

From my perch in the tech market, I see it as a sector that is growing, but the level of growth has slowed. This lower growth has taken a lot of companies by surprise, who were planning for >10% growth when it's going to be more like 4-5%. This has created an over-inventory situation that is now working its way through the tech supply chain.

Now 4-5% growth isn't bad . It's when you have capital expenditures and inventory building assuming twice that amount that leads to all sorts of problems, so the downgrades in tech shares, in my opinion, are warranted for the time being.

Why, oh why, can't this industry do decent forecasts? In the 15 years I've worked it tech I have yet to see this industry do it right.

How The Johns Avoid Taxes

No, I'm not talking about solicitors of prostitution, I am talking about the democratic nominees (Ed: not much difference). Opinion Journal has some interesting tidbits on how John Edwards sheltered 90% of his income from Medicare taxes:

While making his fortune as a trial lawyer in 1995, he formed what is known as a "subchapter S" corporation, with himself as the sole shareholder.

Instead of taking his $26.9 million in earnings directly in the following four years, he paid himself a salary of $360,000 a year and took the rest as corporate dividends. Since salary is subject to 2.9% Medicare tax but dividends aren't, that meant he shielded more than 90% of his income.

So when he talks about the "Two Americas", he is talking about we who he wants to raise taxes on and people like him who can afford tax dodges?

A similar analysis hasn't been done on Kerry since he hasn't released his taxes - or at least his wife hasn't - and it's she who is footing the expenses for his $35 million private jet and five homes. We can only imagine the various schemes employed to avoid paying the "fair share" that they feel the rest of us aren't paying.

GOOG? GOGL? SRCH?

Why stay mum? What's the big deal?

Google said it plans to trade its shares on the Nasdaq Stock Market, the traditional home of tech and Internet start-ups, but stayed mum about its planned stock symbol.

We know that Nasdaq stocks use four characters instead of the NYSE three (five can be used on Nasdaq, but is rare) . We also know that companies typically use either an abbreviation of their name (INTL = Intel) or something clever about the company's business (SLOT used to be Anchor Gaming before it went bust). A quick look shows that GOGL (the most likely candidate) is open, as is GOOG (which is rather lame, actually). SRCH maybe?

As a side note on this topic, I should pass on a joke going around Wall Street when Rick's, a strip club, announced plans to go public (yes, there really is a publicly traded strip club). The word on the street was that it's symbol was going to be TITS. It ended up being RICK.

Low-Carb Diets: Trend or Fad?

There has been an ongoing dialog at Business Pundit in the comments sections of several postings about whether the low-carb diet craze is a new trend in the American diet or a short-term fad. This is more than just an academic argument since business ranging from food processors to franchises are going to invest one way or the other, and a wrong bet could mean a devastating loss for the business.

The WSJ today weighs in today on the side of fad. They make it hard to link to it on their paid site, but here are some of points from the article Some Food Makers Trim Low-Carb Plans as Trend Slows:

o Surveys state that the number of Americans who say they are on a low-cab diet peaked in February at 9% and is now down to 6-7%.

o Food makers are still cranking out low-carb foods and their sales are still climbing, but growth is slowing and they are starting to cut back on plans. Besides the drop-off of demand, the food industry's has been unable to charge a premium for low-cab fare, making new investments in the segment doubtful.

o Specialty products and stores like Castus Low-Carb Superstores and Accu-Carb, a low carb bread company, are seeing sales down by as much as 50% this year as the number of suppliers entering the market is swamping the overall demand.

Overall, I am on the "hype" side. I have no doubt that people lose weight on this diet, but I think the low-carb trend will be like other popular diets: a large portion of the population will try it at one point, but long term there will only be a small segment of the population that permanently changes their eating habits. The segment will probably be a large enough to support a few businesses and product lines, but there isn't going to be a mass change in the American diet. Companies should provide a product for this segment if it makes sense (by using the usual cost/risk analysis, ROI, and other tools we marketing managers have at our disposal), but companies shouldn't jump blindly into what is really a short-term fad.

The "Doom" Building

I had lunch today with a friend of mine at Oakley Sunglasses (yes, she gets me employee discounts and samples) and I am always amazed by their building. It's like the architect took something straight out of the game "Doom" (or similar game) and just threw it onto the blueprint.

They're hard to see, but in the second picture those are metal cones protruding out from the side of the building.

Electronic Voting for The Dead

It's a well known fact that Chicagoans and other citizens of the Midwest have gotten the unique privilege of being able to cast votes from the grave. Of course many of these dead voters end up voting democratic for the first time, but the dead-vote turn-out has proven pivotal in several races, including that of Kennedy, so there needs to be a way to make sure this important democratic group isn't disenfranchised.

It looks like there is a confluence of technologies that will give these newly dead democrats an easier way to vote:

Electronic tombstones - The technology now exists to have motion detectors sense if anyone is around and play a video recording from the deceased. This whole process means putting a screen and electronics into the tombstone and having it weather protected, which is not a big deal.

Electronic voting - Although there are problems with the process, these are sure to be ironed out over time.

Seems to me these two technological movements can be added together to give the deceased the option to electronically vote from their tombstones. Of course there will only be a democrat "lever" on the machine, but as long as it's going to be done, we might as well make it easier through technology.

This Didn't Take Long

Edwards Watch

Hat Tip: Presto Pundit (That's two for them today...)

Housing Bubble or Just New Price Point?

My neighbors are the original owners of their house. They bought it in 1964 and paid $28,000, less than I paid for my last car. At the time they didn't know how they were going to afford the mortgage on his policeman's salary, but they not only made it, but as the home value increased, they borrowed against it and bought a second house just a few blocks away as rental property.

The house they are in is worth around $900,000 today. Add the rental property a few blocks away, and this retired cop is sitting on close to $2 million in non-mortgaged real estate, never mind any other assets he may have.

This true story comes to mind whenever I read or hear someone talking about a housing bubble, like at Presto Pundit today. I have no doubt that housing is inflated due to lower interest rates, but the question is by how much. My guess for my area: it won't drop much.

Why? A "bubble burst" isn't going to bring my neighbor's home (and by extension mine) down from $900K down to its original cost of $28K. Real estate levels in the past 40 years in this area have steadily increased, independent of interest rates. These reasons include inflation (especially during the 70s), changes in property tax law (Prop 13), demographic changes (the biggest factor, I believe) and, of course, the overall economy (his property value did drop in the early 90s when the aerospace companies in SoCal were laying off like mad, but it quickly recovered a few years later). The housing market also isn't liquid like the stock market, and everyone has to live somewhere, so demand is never going to zero, like it did for, say, Enron stock.

His property value will probably dip somewhat as interest rates increase, but I don't see any sort of meltdown in value. I think maybe he'll see a single digit decrease, but like home values in NoCal, I think the new price levels in SoCal - especially along the coast - are simply the new price point for property. You can't wait for a bursting bubble and pick up oceanfront property for $250K. You'll never see that price point again. Ever.

I talk to lots of people buying homes in various parts of the country and keep hearing about increasing home values. In each of these cases I think the demographic and economic changes are more important factors than interest rates. While I have no doubt there is a lot speculation going on in the real estate market (one of the hallmarks of a bubble), I don't believe that people are ever going to be able to pick up homes at 25% discounts from where they are today. I think property values have simply reset at a new level.

Donate to My Alma Mater? Hah!

Jim Carson has a post on why he won't donate to his Alma Mater and relates some pretty heavy horror stories as to why. Jim and I are on the same page for this for our undergrad degree, but I found I sort of had to donate to my MBA school.

Like Jim I had a bad experience with the financial aid office during my undergrad education (but not as bad as his). I was going to school during the oil bust of the mid 80s (anyone remember that?) when Dad's small engineering services company went from over 50 people to two, bringing his income to essentially zero. My parents had me go apply for financial aid but I was denied since last year's income was just fine, we don't care what you will make this year. That was strike one. Strike two was that the school raised the tuition every single year I was there. I vowed at the time that I would take those tuition increases out of any money I decided to donate later on in life. Since I still haven't decided to donate, they still have thousands of dollars to work off. The third strike is that the president of this fine institution makes a hell of a lot more than I make today. In fact, he makes more than my wife and I put together. More than the President of the U.S. If they can afford to pay some schmuck nearly half a million dollars a year to run an institution with about 2,000 undergraduates, they obviously aren't in need of any funds. Strike three.

This doesn't count the fact that the last alumni magazine I received before I got my name removed from the mailing list not so subtlely endorsed various left-wing political causes. It's like this place tried to go out its way to piss off half their alumni. So no money for them. Ever.

My business school is a different story. My MBA was largely funded by my employer at the time, so I had no bad experiences with my parents mortgaging their house to make a tuition payment. The main reason I donated, however, is that I am still networked to a lot of my fellow alums, some who serve on the alumni board. So when my buddy whom I have drinks with when we are in the same city calls up and does a pitch for a small donation, I sort of feel compelled to send him some small amount, like what I spend in a week at Starbucks. At least it's tax deductible.

Taking My Cellphone for a Swim

My cellphone decided to take a dip in the pool on July 4th. I can't blame it. It was sunny . It was warm. Everyone had a drink or two. It was in the pool for 20 minutes before I realized it and got it out (Editor: Mitch is neglecting to tell you that he had put the phone into the pocket of his swim trunks and forgot it was there).

Here's the funny part: it's working just fine. This really surprises me, but I did a few things to get it working.

1. The first one was not to even try to turn it on while it was wet. It had gone swimming in a saltwater pool and those sodium ions carry electricity, which could short out the circuits. I immediately took the battery off, opened everything I could on the phone, and let it dry for 24 hours.

2. The second part was to draw out as much water from inside the phone as possible. To do this, I baked it. Yes, you're reading that right. I set my oven on its lowest setting - 170 - got it to temperature, turned the oven off, then put the phone on a cookie sheet and stuck it in there for 10 minutes (note: without the battery; never heat a battery)

In the semiconductor arena, this whole process would be called an HST, or Humidity Stress Test. I think the fact that it was a Samsung phone, and the quality and reliability they require of their vendors (trust me, I know), is the reason this phone is still working after being submerged in saltwater for nearly half an hour.

There is some condensation showing up around the edges of the LCD windows, but I expect those to eventually go away as more air circulates through the phone (or maybe another bake will be needed).

Astrologers Predict a Bush Win

Some blogs point to economic models to predict the presidential election. Others look at polling numbers. The Window Manager brings a totally different perspective: astrology predictions.

I don't believe them and never use them, but in this case I'll make an exception. And it's a good one. Astrology News notes

Transiting Saturn at 7° Cancer is approaching a conjunction with Bush's natal Sun at 13°Cancer

Sounds painful, but this is the point

Aspects going on the day of the Presidential Election favor a win for President George Bush

What, this isn't enough proof for you? Well, what about this?

The Moon is at 10°Cancer sitting on Bush's Sun at 13° and the last aspect it makes is a trine to the Sun (10°Scorpio) which trines his natal Sun too. Transiting Mars at 24°Libra will conjoin his natal Jupiter & Venus both at 25°Libra. Transiting Mercury at 26°Scorpio trines his natal Saturn at 27°Cancer.

A trine? Why didn't they say so in the first place? That convinces me. It's Bush all the way.

I Might Get LASIK, But Not at Saddleback

I've been getting annoyed with my contacts and glasses, and after years of watching improvements in laser eye surgery thought I would look seriously into LASIK. After hearing Saddleback Eye Center advertise on the radio and getting a recommendation from someone who went there, I thought I would give them a shot.

I got an "pre-screen" appointment easy enough and went there this morning. My first impulse when walking in was to walk right out since I thought I was at the DMV.

The place was packed. There were enough people milling around in the waiting room to fill a good-sized plane. "Of course", I thought, "this is a mass-market place that advertises on the radio." I had already made the appointment, however, and decided to wait it out to see if I was any more impressed with the staff. I never got the chance to find out.

I got called in 10 minutes - a good sign - for a quick eye screen, then was told to go back out into the waiting room. And there I waited. And waited. And waited.

They had a "Classic Johnny Carson" video running while I read the paper. It ran out after an hour. When it ended, the TV reverted to some cable channel where some evangelical preacher was screaming at the top of his lungs. I thought the staff would go put another video in. After 5 minutes of listening to his screaming - it was impossible to read the paper and ignore - I was going to say something to the staff, but decided to leave instead. I had enough. The rest of the cattle waiting for their appointments were still sitting there watching it when I left. Maybe they were enjoying it.

If I am going to spend $2,000+ on elective surgery, I want a personalized approach instead of an assembly line surgery-house for the masses. I still might get eye surgery, but it sure as hell won't be there.

This Reminds Me of the Voyager Mission

I remember as a kid watching the Voyager 2 pictures coming back to earth. Carl Sagan, made popular from his Cosmos series ("billions and billions"), got me interested in astronomy and I watched TV with keen interest as the pictures poured in back then.

My interest in astronomy didn't stick, but I think the pictures coming back from Cassini are still way cool. Click the pic for a link to the site.

Are July 4ths Are More Memorable Than Chrismases?

Don't get me wrong. Christmas is a more special holiday for me, bringing me close to family and loved ones, plus having an obvious religious significance. I look forward to each Christmas season while July 4th just sort of happens.

The thing is, looking back at Christmases - and Thanksgivings - they all sort of run together and get difficult to distinguish. Except for one here or there, my Christmases - and Thanksgivings - were largely spent with the same people, at the same locations, eating the same meals. Even when I started spending holidays with in-laws, after a few years they are hard to tell apart (which Christmas was it that I was snowed in at Chicago? Or was that a Thanksgiving?).

July 4ths, on the other hand, are easier to tell apart because they have been more unique, spent in different locations with different people. I spent one watching fireworks on the D.C. mall (the most spectacular fireworks I have ever seen), another from a rooftop in Austin, another at Disneyland. I spent one running from summer camp counselors who were trying to chase down the campers who snuck out of their cabin to shoot off illegal fireworks (they never caught us). And so on.

So looking back, July 4ths are more unique, making them more memorable. However, I think going forward that is changing due to having a daughter. I think the rolls may start getting reversed as I start experiencing Christmas through her eyes and I become more limited to where I can go party every July 4th.