Photo | The Year in Pictures | Boston.com

Great images, be sure to visit all three of the sites accessible from this link.

Business | Domestic US Auto Industry | Kedrosky

Quote du (Almost) Jour: Auto Industry Stresses

Over the past year, the domestic auto industry has experienced sharply reduced sales and profitability, large indefinite layoffs, and increased market penetration by imports … The shift in consumer preferences towards smaller, more fuel-efficient passenger cars and light trucks … appears to be permanent, and the industry will spend massive amounts of money to retool to produce the motor vehicles that the public now wants.

To improve the overall future prospects for the domestic motor vehicle manufacturers, a quality and price competitive motor vehicle must be produced … If this is not accomplished, the long term outlook for the industry is bleak.

-- Source: THE U.S. AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY, 1980. REPORT TO THE PRESIDENT FROM THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION

It's probably necessary to prevent the domestic US auto industry from careening over the cliff and dragging parts suppliers, dealers, and associated business partners with it. However, how we're going to get this dinosaur of manufacturing to change its ways is beyond me. I'm thinking that Chrysler sells-off Jeep and kills-off the rest. GM sells Buick to the Chinese, Saab to the Swedes, Hummer to the Russians, and then just struggles along until the rest crashes and burns. Who needs a $40K Volt? If Ford can restructure fast enough then they may have a chance to survive. Meanwhile the other US auto industry is hurting but capable and makes quality, efficient cars and trucks that Americans want to buy.

Money | Bailout Big Three? Pro vs Con | Kedrosky

The biggest question of the moment ... maybe of the decade. Here's a quick pro vs con blog with a Big Three promo video and lots of feedback. See also the recent articles in the WSJ.

Education | Most College Grads in 25-34 | Biz Week

Well, another sobering statistic. Check out this stat on college grads in the 25-34 demographic:

Money | Real vs Financial Engineering | GE

Immelt of GE announced on Friday the 24th that General Electric Co. is cutting costs, preparing for a new wave of regulation from Washington and embracing manufacturing over financial services as ways out of the economic crisis. I think we've had enough of financial engineering. Time to return to product and system engineering.

Humor | My Sentiments Exactly | Real Life Adventures

Money | Finance Crisis | Schwarzman

Stephen Schwarzman, chairman of Blackstone Group, was part of an impromptu roundtable of roughly 30 finance luminaries hosted by the Yale School of Management and co-sponsored by The Wall Street Journal. Schwarzman kicked off the audience-participation segment with a nearly all-in-one-breath summary of the causes and effects of the credit crisis:

"It's a perfect storm. It started with Congress encouraging lending to lower-income people. You went from subprime loans being 2% of total loans in 2002 to 30% of total loans in 2006. That kind of enormous increase swept into the net people who shouldn't have been borrowing. Those loans were packaged into CDOs rated AAA, which led the investment-banking firms [buying them] to do little to no due diligence, and the securities were distributed throughout the world, where they started defaulting. When they started defaulting, out of bad luck or bad judgment, we implemented fair value accounting….You had wildly different marks for this kind of security, which led to massive write-offs by the commercial banking and investment-banking system. In the face of those losses…you needed to raise new equity…which came from sovereign-wealth funds in part, which then caused political resistance to sovereign-wealth funds, who predictably have withdrawn from putting money into the system….It seemed pretty obvious that would happen. We now find ourselves with a liquidity crisis where fundamentally the cost of money for financial intermediaries [such as investment banks] is significantly in excess of their cost of lending it. So several institutions found themselves in a structurally impossible position. We had a series of bankruptcies, whether Bear Stearns or Lehman, or forced sales like Merrill. Goldman reverted to a banking charter for a lower cost of funds, which today is still not low enough for the business."

Money | Buffett Interview | CNBC

Worthwhile tidbits here from Warren Buffett. If this very sharp and common sense investor says that the government needs to intervene in the credit crisis then I'm sold. Hopefully, Congress will wrap-up venting their collective spleen in the next day and get on with business. They can talk all they want about caps on executive compensation - for this credit crisis, the bad boys and girls who have driven us to the brink have largely already collected their big $$$. Nonetheless, IMHO the train-wreck-causing easy-credit/credit-securitization situation needs to be reined-in hard.

Politics | Bush-Cheney | Oliphant

Money | $0.7T Bailout | US Treasury

Here's a one-page summary of how $0.7T of new US debt will be used. Paulson was asked what if it doesn't work? He responded it must work. More than a little unsettling. I'm thinking that we're looking at a whole new economy down the road. Prudent spending by individuals, businesses and government - if that's where we land - will resonate through the global economy like an 8.0. Cheers!

Money | Bailout or Crisis Avoidance? | Kedrosky

I'll have a longer post soon about my views on the current financial crisis and the $0.7T fund to buy poison mortgages. Meanwhile and for your amusement here's one person's perspective:

Disasters | Hurricane Ike | Boston.com

Some incredible pictures of the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. My wife was in Houston during and after the storm ... we'll be beefing-up our emergency supplies after experiencing that situation.

Education | Mideast Geography |

Think you know the geography of the Mideast? Try this game and see for yourself.

Sports | Beijing 2008 | Boston

Some spectacular high-res photos from the Olympics. Enjoy!

Money | Retirement Planning Case Studies | ESPlanner

There is useful reading in these case studies on retirement financial planning. Retirement living standards, IRA/401k account withdrawals, Social Security, annuitization of assets. This site is from the ESPlanner retirement planning model which is powerful, but a bit pricey for individuals.

Money | Consignment Shopping | SacBee

Here's a great idea, especially for young families. Takes the yard sale & 2nd hand shop concepts to a new level. If they opened one of these for electronics, they'd have to fight the engineers off with slip sticks. Sort of like the MIT and TRW monthly electronics swap meets for amateur radio and computer stuff.

Facts | Pop v Soda | ECU

Big question of the day. Do you call it pop or soda? Or maybe Coke? Something else? Here's the skinny,.

Real Estate | Amish Home Builders | WSJ

These folks are NOT your garden-variety home builder. These Amish contractors have extended their barn-raising skills to custom home building and offer new opportunities (and some unusual challenges) to those looking for a quality home built by a trustworthy firm. Higher quality, lower cost, faster delivery schedule are all hallmarks of their work.

Tech | Favorite How-To Site | Lifehacker

I've found lots of great, time- and frustration-saving tech tips at Lifehacker. Good, free software like SyncBack for backing-up PCs. Excellent tools like Knoppix - a bootable CD with Linux for resurrecting a Windows PC with fatal Blue-Screen-Of-Death. And tech tips on everything from do-it-yourself laptop bags to tips from GTD's David Allen. A great resource.

Biz | Telepresence v Travel | NYTimes

The promise of video teleconferencing has until recently not met the needs for most business meetings. That's changing fast with telepresence systems. Real opportunity here for cost reduction. What with plumetting service levels at airports and airlines, lots of business travelers will welcome some travel relief. Article.

$ | home prices | kedrosky

here's another take on where home prices may be headed. in a nutshell, home prices were very close to a constant multiple of median family income (trending around 2.8 times median family income) during 1977 to about 2001. then prices took off, heading to nearly 4 times. prices still have a ways to drop to get back to a 2.8 factor. and, of course, they may drop through that factor before they bounce back. bottom line is another 17% or more drop in prices before they stabilize. or four years of no price increases while income catches-up.

but, and this is big, national median house prices are interesting but residential real estate is hyper-local.

interesting read, here's the link:

Housing | Regional Price Change |

Amid the media hyperbole about declining housing prices, a bit of granularity in looking at the data is useful. State-by-state gives a somewhat different picture than the headlines.

Work | Monitoring Telecommuters | WSJ

Many new tools are available for employers to monitor folks who work at home. From webcams to keystroke loggers to periodic screen shots. It does seem intrusive. However, if it facilitates more opportunities for telecommuting then that's a plus from the standpoint of improved work flexibility and reduced oil consumption. Here's the article.

Life | Final Farewell |WSJ

Randy Pausch, a 47-year-old college professor, said goodbye to his students and colleagues in a final lecture. This lecture has been seen by millions on the internet. Here is a follow-up article that appeared in the WSJ back in May. Mr. Pausch died on July 25th.

Humor | Quote of the Day | Brilliant

I love this Quotation of the Day: "Try to relax and enjoy the crisis." ...Ashleigh Brilliant

Personal $ | When You Must Sell a House | WSJ

Good advice in this article about selling a home in today's very tricky market. Clean, uncluttered, fresh paint. Set the initial price below asking for comparables in your area (whew!!). Get an aggressive agent. They're not lining-up for condos in Encino anymore, folks.

Read It and Weep

Work | Value of College Degree | WSJ

College degree - necessary but not sufficient these days. Additional and often specialized skills are required. See the article and check out the embedded video for some fields where a college degree is still a hot ticket.

Personal $ | New Social Security Calc | WSJ

I've used the old Social Security calculators that required manual input of your entire earnings history ... and then produce a somewhat complicated output with lots of agency jargon. This new calculator, along with improvements later, should speed the process. Don't rely on the hardcopy report you get, run your own analysis. Article from WSJ.

Personal $ | Medicare Part D | WSJ

Medicare is trying to stop an industry practice that tends to push up costs for folks in Medicare Part D prescription drug plan. Without going into details, insurers often pay pharmacy benefit managers a locked-in price even if that price is much higher than what the drugs really cost at the pharmacy. Guess who is lobbying to keep this practice in place.

This gets really nasty when the person on Part D hits the infamous "donut hole". Part D insured patients pay the first 100% of the first tier of Rx costs to $275, then 25% of the next tier of costs to $2,510 total cost, then 100% of the next tier up to $5,726 total costs, then 5% of everything beyond that tier. The tier between $2,510 and $5,726 is the donut hole. More like a black hole, but whatever.

Best strategy? Shop around. Costco or Wal*Mart may sell Rx drugs for less than the patient's share under Part D. Especially consider paying cash at those places for your lowest cost generics to keep the Part D coverage for more expensive branded meds.

The WSJ article is locked for subscribers only ... let me know if you want a copy.

Energy | Oil Shale | WSJ

Those of us who were living in Colorado back in the late '70s and early '80s remember the oil shale boom in the northwestern part of the state and the crash of Black Sunday (May 2, 1982) that brought it all down. The oil shale didn't go anywhere, of course. However, the price of oil has made it a heckuva lot more interesting (just like Canada's tar sands). Here's a brief article on where things stand today. How much oil is in the US oil shale? How about 800B barrels - or about triple the current proven reserves of Saudi Arabia.

Homes, Energy | The Newest Cottage Industry | WSJ

Folks are not only downsizing their vehicles, they are (finally!) downsizing their homes. These newly built cottages are typically under 1,000 square feet and have lots of creative ways to get the most out of a smaller space: large porches, lots of built-in storage, and clustering the homes around a landscaped common area vs all facing a residential street. A very different approach than the typical car-centric tract home suburban development with its focus on bigger is better. Here's the article.

Energy | The Way Forward | Kedrosky

A practical, middle-ground approach to the energy crisis with a focus on reducing dependency on foreign oil and on oil in general. I like the concept of a tax on foreign oil with proceeds funding wind, solar, natural gas, etc. The 55 mph speed limit is troublesome, personally ... does this guy live in the Northeast? Bottom line (and a scary thought) is that it's up to Congress to take action. We're clearly going to have to kick butt and take names for that to happen.

Life | Uplifting Video | Matt Harding

We can all use a boost in these tough days. Check-out the short videos on this site - they ought to put a smile on your face.

Customer Service | Getting Live Help | Web

These days if I don't get the information or help I need off a company's website then I have a more complex problem that requires a company representative. Most telephonic customer support systems make you jump a LOT of hoops to finally get a person on the line. The shortcuts on this website could be a real time and frustration saver. Thanks, John, for the tip!

Energy | Grove on Electricity | The American

Andy Grove is a fascinating guy. If you like biographies, be sure to read his. He's published his thinking on the current energy crisis in The American. Well reasoned views and a good long-term perspective. I especially like his goal of "energy resilience". Unanswered question: what will get us going down this path?

Planning | Resources & City Growth | Trulia/WSJ

Interesting read in the WSJ today about development density and the cost of gas - featuring a planning approach in Sacramento. For a look at the area you live in and its development history, check-out this tool at Trulia Hindsight.

Finance | Managed Payouts | WSJ.com

Looking for a way to convert your savings into a stream of checks? Not happy with the expense, complexity & hype with conventional annuities? Take a look at this article on "managed payout" mutual funds. Could be a useful alternative.

PM | New PM Software | WSJ.com

Using MS Project can feel like wielding a sledge hammer to drive a carpet tack. Lots more options out there now for managing projects. Here is a recent article on some of the latest.

Oil | Price History | Forbes

A nice graphic on historical price of oil. Check the prices in the '70s. Missed opportunity for the USA. Will we learn this time? I think so.

Money | Social Security Restart | NPR

Here's another article about the Social Security Restart. Concept: take Social Security early and, if your health and assets are still going strong at age 70 (or earlier), pay back what you've drawn and apply for the significantly higher pay-out available at 70. Site includes links to other references plus calculators to evaluate your scanarios.

Culture | US

It sometime seems that the US is like a household run by the children.

Nature | Fear This! | YahooPhoto

I grew up in Kansas City and have seen all the tornadoes that I need to see in a lifetime. This photo is sobering.

Energy | High Oil Prices | BP

Here's BP's perspective on high oil prices. Strikes me as a fairly balanced view of the situation ... see also the link at the end to BP's Statistical Review of World Energy.

No big surprise here. Lower income rural areas are hit hardest. If you live in a relatively prosperous urban area, be thankful.

Pity we didn't learn our lesson from the late 70's and early 80's. I have a hunch the learning is going to be a bit more painful now.

Green | Greenhouse Gas Heresies | Wired

Check-out green heresies from an article in Wired magazine. My top 4:

• Live in Cities - better than suburbs
• A/C Is OK - Less CO2 Than Heating
• Embrace Nuclear Power - climate-friendly large-scale power supply
• Used Cars - huge energy/CO2 cost to make new cars
  

Tech | Google on Your Mobile | AllThingsD

No web-enabled cell phone? Here are ways to get directions, nearby businesses, short web searches via text messages. I've used the service w/ Google and it's slick.

Personal $ | Saving on Gas | AP

Time to revisit all the steps we learned back in 1973-1974 to save gas (if you don't remember, think OPEC oil embargo). Like checking tire inflation, driving more smoothly, removing junk from the trunk, etc. Here's the whole article - time to save gas and money.

Personal $ | Avoid ID Theft Cons | WSJ/Mossberg

Security software is necessary but not sufficient to protect against on-line identity theft. Those of you who've had security clearances will remember the old social engineering game. It's being effectively used to steal identities on-line. Here are some practical suggestions for staying secure and keeping the bad guys at bay.

Personal $ | Tracking Your Money | Mossberg

Here is what may be Version 2.0 software for tracking your expenditures. It's on-line and links with your banking, credit, investing accounts. Security seems to be well thought-out. If you're using Quicken, you probably won't change. But if you're looking for a less time-intensive tracking approach, this looks worth a try.

Personal $ | Identity Theft Bites LifeLock Chief | Yahoo

Remember the guy who pitches LifeLock and publishes his own SSN? Guess what ... multiple ID theft attempts and one success to-date. Bottom line, guard your info. Monitor your credit reports. You can do it for free.

Humor | Engineer's Guide to Cats | YouTube

This video is too true! I was LOL the whole time. If you know about ... or want to know about ... cats and engineers you will definitely enjoy this video.

Personal $ | Find Cheapest Gas | WSJ/Yahoo

From websites to cell phone widgets ... here's some tech tools to find the cheapest gas near you.

Travel | Perils of Flying | WSJ

You may never use the seat back pocket again after reading this article. At least not without checking first. And, if you do, be prepared for what you may find.

PC Security | Avoiding ID Theft Cons | Mossberg

Good advice column from Walt Mossberg. Social engineering is the most sophisticated of the approaches - and the toughest to intercept.

Computers | Backup via Cloud Computing | LA Daily News

I'm going to give this a try soon. Cloud computing is a new wave and seems like a promising approach for backing-up one's PC. Check-out this summary article.

Memory | How to Remember Everything | Wired

A rock-solid way to remember everything you'll ever learn. One hitch, though. You must live your life by this algorithm. See the article.

This says it all ...

Personal $ | Do-It-Yourself Tax Cut | WSJ/MarketWatch

When you get your economic stimulus check, save it. And then check-out this article for more ideas about how to get your personal finances into better shape.

This nation and its citizens can't borrow, consume and spend itself silly forever, now can it? FY2007 Interest on the national debt was $430B or about $3800 per household per year. That's just the interest on money the feds spent that they didn't have. Just for scale, the national debt is $9.3Trillion. The TOTAL subprime mortgage debt in the nation is about $1Trillion. So, subprime mortgage debt is a piker compared to our national debt.

To see how the national debt has changed over time, check-out this graphic (from this website). Unsettling. Who was watching the shop when those administrations racked-up all that debt? Have you told your kids/grandkids how lucky they are to have to pay-off our debts? They may not be thrilled.

Largest Exporters | Economist

I was surprised by these rankings. Amazing that we don't manage to export more than Germany. Not surprised in US being largest importer @ $2Trn of merchandise per yr.

Generic Drugs | The Same? Yes & No | WSJ.com

I always figured generic prescription drugs were close enough to the brand name ones. Apparently, that applies to the active ingredients. Inactive ingredients, which can affect absorption rate, do vary. This can cause significant differences in effectivity. An important article on your prescription meds.

FICO Credit Score | How To Fix | WSJ/Yahoo! Finance

Be sure to check-out the end of this article for tips on how to improve your credit score (and what things you should not do). An especially helpful article if you're about to shop for credit - see the section about moving fast to secure a loan once you start shopping around for rates.

Green Acres II | Lawn to Farm | WSJ.com

From bluegrass to butterbeans. Is this the transformation of the American lawn? With high food prices and looming peak water, this may make sense. Beware of the HOA enforcers, though. They may insist on the bluegrass. See the article.

Money for Nothing | Search Benefits Charities | WSJ

The article itself isn't available on public search but this site has posted it verbatim. Another opportunity to benefit charities @ no cost.

Jonathan Clements | Personal Finance - After 1,008 Columns | WSJ.com

I've enjoyed this WSJ writer for many years ... here is his last article.

Pew Social & Demographic Trends | Inside the Middle Class | Bad Times Hit the Good Life

An insightful if not uplifting report from the Pew Research Center. The American Middle Class has been on the ropes for awhile and this poll highlights many of the issues.

Trip to Oregon

Enjoyed a great road trip to Oregon with stops in Eugene and Portland. Here's Mt. Shasta from I-5 northbound north of Redding CA
Area around Eugene is truly the Emerald Valley - spectacular. Below is a covered bridge along the McKenzie River east of Eugene.
Check-out the moss on the trees along US 20 east of Sweet HomeThe Willamette Valley is lush ... we were a bit early for the tulip festival.
More than one way to get around in Portland - the tram to OHSU.
Nearly the only sunbreak we had in Portland ...
From Old Town towards the Steel Bridge ...
A great trip ... enjoyed Portland and Eugene both ...

Financials | $$ Hard to Sell in Amsterdam | Reuters

I'm glad we're vacationing in Oregon this year and not in Europe. Not a fun time to be traveling abroad with dollars. Article.

Investing | The Cost of Active Investing | Dartmouth

Active or passive investing? Check this research study on the costs of being an active investor.

Hungry? | Sandwiches & Stands in LA | Eye Spy

I'm hungry just reading about these places ... enjoy the blog

Economics | Mortgage Market Meltdown | Brandeis

Detailed research paper on the current mortgage market meltdown. Must reading for full understanding. Research paper.

Education | In L.A., his own wall of China | LA Times

Counterpoint to the below posting on education in Finland. The challenges to education in LA are sobering. Article

Education | What Makes Finnish Kids So Smart? | WSJ.com

Finland's teenagers score among the highest in the world. Guess what - they have iPods and pink hair and watch TV; there's neither school uniforms nor standardized testing. Finland spends less per student than the US (on average). Why do they do so well? The answers are both simple to state and complicated to implement. Article

Obama | The Power of Words | WSJ.com

A compelling discussion of the power of words in leadership - and a, to me, startling comparison. Article.

Kedrosky Recommends | Frontline: secret history of the credit card | PBS

A Visa IPO could be the biggest in US history. For more about the credit card industry, check-out this show.

Need Higher Social Security? | Reapply! | Burns/AssetBuilder

Many folks applied for early Social Security and regret taking the much-reduced benefit. There's a way out - with a catch. See the article.

Two Interesting Articles | Wired

Anti-terrorist Mom. Record-breaking cross-country drive.

Telecommuters | Unintended Consequences | WSJ

interesting and somewhat different take on unintended consequences from high % telecommuters in an org ... a quick read ...

Face value | The accidental innovator | Economist.com

a fascinating read about a different way of thinking by this silicon valley entrepreneur

Suburbs | The Next Slum? | Atlantic

A compelling discussion of a sea change that may be approaching in American residential real estate. Rejecting the isolated suburban neighborhood cul-de-sac model. Embracing the walkable neighborhood where homes are diffused into a mix of retail and business. That gallon of milk purchase would no longer need a drive to the store. Article

How to tell if your boat is too small

Commerce vs Individual | Big Retail Chains | WSJ.com

Legislators may have gone overboard giving rights to retailers to recover losses from alleged shoplifting. Note the word alleged. The retailers are using threats of lawsuits to extract damages from individuals who have or MAY have taken merchandise. Seems like a subversion of the legal system to me. Article

Gen M | Suburban Jobs - Subpar? | MarketWatch/WSJ

Jobs in the City vs the Suburb - how Gen M weighs the trade-offs. Article

Graphic | Market's 50 years | FORTUNE Mag

Good integration of multiple information streams in one graphic.

12 People Changing Retirement | WSJ.com

I find a lot of encouraging and forward-thinking ideas in this article - there's much to be done ... and great talent to work it. What will you tackle?

Alt- View | College - Waste of Time/Money | FT

Here's a counter view to sending the kids to college (at least starting at age 18). Draw your own conclusions ... there are some interesting points made.

Something to Read | Best of 2007 | The Economist

Lots of choice here. Beatrix Potter to Gertrude Stein. 1967 Israel to Byzantium. Harry Potter and Nuclear Arms. I'm sure you'll find something interesting.

Prime the Pump! | Tax Rebate Explained! | LA Times

Don't spend it all in one place. Ummm ... or maybe you should? Here's the skinny on your tax rebate, courtesy of Uncle Sam's Economic Stimulation Package & Digestive Aid.

Housing Bubble | More to Come? | LATimes

Beyond the current sub-prime mess ... and, by the way, lots more sub-prime and low-documentation mortgages reset in 2008, so that debacle isn't over by far ... is the next potential hit.

The Boomers' impact on US economics/politics/society to-date is well-known. Take a look at this article about the potential next hit on housing prices by Boomers cashing-out or trading-down. All real estate economics is local ... how will your house fare?

Retiring Abroad | May Not Be Paradise | WSJ

Thinking of that inexpensive beach hacienda in Central America? There are some unique challenges to retiring abroad. See the WSJ article

Two Smart, Driven Women | Two Paths | WSJ

One woman went from model citizen to model prisoner. A fascinating story about finding one's connection in the wrong person, the wrong place. Read it here. The other story is more inspiring and more tragic at the same time. Here's Jeanette's obit and here.

50 Ways to Improve your Life in 2008 | US News

Already forgotten those new year's resolutions? Time to revisit here.

Candidate Blind Taste Test | Who Do You Choose? | Weekend America:

Here's an interesting approach. The GOP and Dem candidates' issue positions are summarized and then assigned to fictitious names (including both men and women). Take a look at this article and see which candidate YOU align with based on the issues (and without the baggage). You may be surprised.

Biofuels | Green or Not? | WSJ.com

Not as simple as biofuels = green. Unintended consequences are a significant factor. Read ...

Banned in Beijing | Chinese See Green Over Chopsticks | WSJ.com

A small start but a hopeful step ... perhaps Chinese youth can lead the PRC to more environmental consciousness ... see

Renting Out Your 2nd Home | Tips | WSJ

If you're thinking about a 2nd home and need rental income, you've got homework to do. See the article

Entrance Exam, 1869-70 | How Did You Do? | MIT

It you want a glimpse into preparatory education in the late 19th century, check out the questions in this exam ...

Dollar Cost Averaging | Does it work? | Academic Research Paper

Did you ever wonder if dollar cost averaging was just stock broker marketing or a validated approach? Read all about it here.

How They Do It Better | USN&WR

With all we have we should really be #1 in lots of ways ... sadly, we're not. It would seem that it's really about focus and where we decide to direct our energies. There are some good approaches in this article ... as well as some that would just not work in our culture. But, it's time to learn and change. Read the US news article here.

Lost | Not Found? | Wikipedia

In 1958, a hydrogen bomb known as the Tybee Bomb was lost by the US Air Force off the coast of Savannah, Georgia, never to be recovered. That's a sobering little incident, eh?

The internet in China | Alternative reality | Economist.com

Internet does not equal internet. One tool, incredibly many uses. That's sort of why the pc was revolutionary.

Unclaimed Assets | State Bounty or Your Property? | WSJ.com

Out HOA found $200 owed us by a former trash hauler. It's worth checking-out the unclaimed property sites to see if there might be some of YOUR $$ being held. Somehow, California couldn't find Angelina Jolie, Willie Mays or Google. Could you? See ...

Education | The race is not always to the richest | Economist.com

The standing of the US and Britain in education results is not very rosy. The quality of teachers and the independence of school administrations are big factors in strong student results. Is our present system working? Judge for yourself - read the article

Wi-Fi Hot Spots - User Beware | WSJ.com

Good advice on connectivity away from home/office

Eleventh-Hour Upgrade | Last Minute Seller Redos | WSJ.com

What to do and not to do when remodeling to sell your house ... see

No Time for Love | Students Eschew Campus Romance | WSJ.com

Classes. Homework. Volunteer activities. Sports. Who has time for love?

New Hires Flout Tradition | Ugg Boots at the Office? | WSJ.com

It's not your father's office. Heck, it's not YOUR office. It's becoming the Gen-Y/Gen-M office. Check it out

Phoning Home | Without a Phone | Mossberg - WSJ

Simple Device Alerts Emergency Contacts From Remote Areas

Have you seen this LA?

From one of our recent post-storm days

Social Security Numbers | Sacbee.com

Hadn't seen this one coming ... you try to keep your SS number private but it's right on the face of the Medicare card. How long would it take for the feds to change their system and 40M id numbers? Any bets on what century?

Too-Nice Boss | Makes Matters Worse | WSJ

Constructive criticism - giving and receiving - should be mandatory training for managers and employees. Here's the downside when it isn't. Article