I don’t think the Food Network is in any real danger from this competition

 

but Giada De Laurentiis may have to step up her "show the cleavage" game.

Doubling of CO₂ would cause much less warming than previously thought

Let's assume for a minute that Algore and his goretactular minions are actually right and the main driver of climate change is man - A new study finds that even if that were true a doubling of atmospheric CO₂ levels would have much less effect than has been previously predicted:

Led by Oregon climate scientist Andreas Schmittner the paper suggests the rate of warming from a doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide may be less than the most dire estimates. Specifically, if atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are to double from pre-industrial levels of 280 ppm to 560 ppm, the researchers say Earth’s average temperature is likely to rise from 1.7 to 2.6 Celsius degrees, a decrease from the previous, accepted range of 2 to 4.5 degrees.

“If these paleoclimatic constraints apply to the future, as predicted by our model, the results imply less probability of extreme climatic change than previously thought,” Schmittner said.

This may not seem like a huge deal but I agree with the author of the original Chronicle article, if these results hold up this deals a substantial blow to apocalyptic climate change movement. I'm very certain that the earth, and human kind, could withstand such mild climate shifts if they did occur.

source

Steve Jobs on why companies die

Seen today on linked-in

“The company does a great job, innovates and becomes a monopoly or close to it in some field, and then the quality of the product becomes less important. The company starts valuing the great salesman, because they’re the ones who can move the needle on revenues.” So salesmen are put in charge, and product engineers and designers feel demoted: Their efforts are no longer at the white-hot center of the company’s daily life. They “turn off.” IBM [IBM] and Xerox [XRX], Jobs said, faltered in precisely this way. The salesmen who led the companies were smart and eloquent, but “they didn’t know anything about the product.” In the end this can doom a great company, because what consumers want is good products.

This isn’t quite the whole story. It’s not just the salesmen. It’s also the accountants and the money men who search the firm high and low to find new and ingenious ways to cut costs or even eliminate paying taxes. The activities of these people further dispirit the creators, the product engineers and designers, and also crimp the firm’s ability to add value to its customers. But because the accountants appear to be adding to the firm’s short-term profitability, as a class they are also celebrated and well-rewarded, even as their activities systematically kill the firm’s future.

Personally I though the canonization of Steve Jobs was overdone. From everything I know he was a bit of a jerk and he built his company and reputation off stolen ideas (Xerox PARC and the windowing system and mouse he "borrowed" for one), but he did understand consumers and had a passion for design and delivery. In my mind that gives his words some greater weight.

And another class done

ORC1 – Organizational Behavior and Leadership.

Aiming to finish off Principles of Management (MGC1) and Leadership Concepts and Applications (LET1) within the next two weeks.

OK, the bacon meme may be played out

The bacon man cometh, to South Lake Union and Fremont.

Seriously, he's giving out free bacon to anyone who asks, courtesy of Microsoft.

To grease the skids for Kinect recruiting, Microsoft's operating a quirky bacon cart -- complete with a riddling bacon hawker -- in Seattle tech hubs.

Now I like the salty, greasy, fried porky goodness that is bacon as much as anyone, but seriously once Microsoft is using it to try and recruit engineers it is time to move on.  (or maybe I am completely wrong and it is time to swear new allegiance to or Windows overlords).

Interesting little tidbit

Washington state now has the capability of tracking a kids educational progress from Pre-K to College.  One of the statistics that came out:

The report also shows that about 22 percent of the Seattle graduates who went to college had to take remedial math classes — pre-college math — when they got there. About half that many had to take pre-college courses in English.

Statewide, about 63 percent of all 2009 high-school graduates enrolled in college. About a quarter of those 39,537 young people needed to take remedial courses in math, and 13 percent weren't ready for college English.

This is considerably better than you would be led to believe if you follow the education blogs.  Now of course the Seattle School District has a vested interest in making it appear that they are doing a good job educating kids but these numbers would appear to be of the type that are easily verifiable so unless they are just counting on everyone being to lazy to double check I don’t see a plus to any deception.  My point here is that although 22% needing remedial math is still too high it is better than I had been led to believe and gives me some hope that maybe our kids won’t all be growing up to be illiterate dumbasses.

Sometimes Seattle Is Worthwhile

Finally, 2008 Explained!

Sometimes I really wonder about people…

A friend of mine went to the Austin Comic-Con last week.   Among the guests were Charisma Carpenter and Adam Baldwin.  So my friend who was playing shutterbug could have been taking pictures of her:

Instead he wastes his time and pixels on this:

He did get one picture of Adam Baldwin, who looks quite bored, and a bunch of Comic-Con girls, but that is no replacement.

Let me note that people cos-playing at comic con are a lot like women wearing stretchpants at Wal-Mart.  99% of those who do really shouldn’t.

Maybe I should give yoga a second look

Seems to work for her

Friday Morning Palate Cleanser

Heath Brandon – Billie Jean

This woman cracks me up

I don’t know why.  I do know that we need to get her and Sheldon Cooper in the same room

Just saying…

Just a quick observation

Recently I read Too Big Too Fail about the start of the current financial crisis, and I just finished The Big Short and have started Liar’s Poker.  I have also read a ton of articles in various magazines on this subject.  One thing jumps out repeatedly.  How egotistic and childish most of the characters involved are.  It is just stunning.  What is even more stunning is how many people just want to return to the status quo ante.

Here is the way I look at it.  I believe in the free market and “the invisible hand”, but I understand the absolutely free market only works when there is an absolutely level playing field.  Total transparency.  So, like Hayek I accept that there will always be some regulation.  The trick is to get the balance right.  That is what we need to be working on.

Who says you can’t improve on a classic?

Probably the same losers who didn't like New Coke

Free Econ Classes (or for potential #OWS types free Art History classes)

They are from the Saylor Foundation so they are unaccredited and are probably chock full of Marxist goodness ( I don’t know that I’m just being cynical) but they’re FREE!!! 

And, even better, if you want to be an Occupy Wall Streeter but don’t have the $140,000 they have free Art History classes too.

By Popular Demand

Enter Sandman

Cocaine

Another class down

Project Management (TPV1) bites the dust.  Going to Try and knock out Organizational Behavior, Management and Leadership and Leadership Applications over the next couple weeks.