Making Money Your

and willowy blondes only take you so far, it turns out. Malefactors are punished. The universe is restored to balance.

This time, Gekko is a repentant father longing to make amends to win his daughter’s approval who also essentially steals a fortune from her to get back in the game.

Gekko is a humble reformed crook who has paid his debt to society and also a sleek alpha male puffing on a phallic cigar who can’t wait to gloat about his prowess at making money.

Gekko is a teacher who shares his knowledge. At times, one could swear that one had wandered into a parallel universe version of An Inconvenient Truth, as Gekko lectures us on the hazards of leverage and financial meltdown. Particularly priceless is when he calls a group of young students “ninjas”—no income, no job, no assets—adding, “You have a lot to look forward to.” But the same guy who observes that the mother of all evil is speculation turns up later in the film dressed in a power suit and giddy over his ability to turn $100 million into $1 billion. I don’t think he earned it at $25 an hour; leverage must have figured in there somewhere.

If we fast-forward 23 years to Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, we are treated to a curiously different kind of moral equation, the morality of “and also” rather than “either or.”

In the new film, Gordon Gekko is a humble reformed crook who has paid his debt to society and also a sleek alpha male who can’t wait to gloat about his prowess at making money. (20th Century Fox)

This “and also” value system also comes across in Gekko’s attitude to innovation. He is clearly cynical about clean tech and derides the “fusion delusion” as the next bubble. In his words, “the only green is money.” Yet at the end of the film, he gives $100 million away to support alternative energy and do something “good” with his money.

• Randall Lane: Wall Street on Wall Street

• Randall Lane: Gordon Gekko’s Secret Revealed
The film’s title may hold its final moral clue. If money never sleeps, then can greed not be far behind, even in these pinched times? No one in the film seems to be hurting for nice apartments and clothes, for example, even with a financial meltdown that has come from “the mother of all bubbles.” As Gekko himself puts it, “Greed got greedier with a little envy thrown in.”

So we’d all like to find a little absolution in these troubled times, and in fact in the end Gekko’s daughter does melt and forgive him, while we on the other hand—adding up all the “and alsos”—don’t know whether to follow suit.

This “and also” value system comes across in Gekko’s attitude to innovation. He is cynical about clean tech, yet in the end, he gives $100 million to support alternative energy.

Gordon, make up your mind. Maybe a little therapy would help.

Dubbed "Mr. Creativity" by The Economist, John Kao is a contributing editor at The Daily Beast and an adviser to both public and private sector leaders. He is chairman of the Institute for Large Scale Innovation, whose i20 group is an association of national innovation "czars." He wrote Jamming: The Art and Discipline of Business Creativity, a BusinessWeek bestseller, and Innovation Nation. He is also a Tony-nominated producer of film and stage.

Get a head start with the Morning Scoop email. It's your Cheat Sheet with must reads from across the Web. Get it.

For inquiries, please contact The Daily Beast at editorial@thedailybeast.com.

One of the big problems during the financial crisis was a bank run in the shadow banking system when doubts emerged about the safety of deposits.

In my last column at the Fiscal Times, I talked about an approach to solving the problem that involves having deposits in the shadow system backed (insured) by high quality collateral.

But high quality collateral is not the only option. Another way to do this is through a type of insurance along the lines of what the FDIC does for the traditional banking system, along with restrictions on eligibility for the insurance. In reaction to my column, and in support of the insurance approach, Morgan Ricks of Harvard Law School emails:

I enjoyed your Fiscal Times piece and am glad you're focused on this issue.

I'm a big admirer of Gary and Andrew's work, but I would encourage you to give some more thought to whether collateral requirements for repo are likely to do the trick. Here are a few things to consider:

• Many of the short-term liabilities of the shadow banking system were and are uncollateralized (think about Lehman's reliance on unsecured commercial paper -- the default of which caused the Reserve Fund to "break the buck," igniting the run on money market funds; and Citigroup's SIVs, which financed themselves in the unsecured markets).


• Money market investors do not want to take possession of collateral and dispose of it. Even if the collateral is high quality, they don't want the interest rate risk. That's not their business. They don't want to deal with the consequences of a counterparty default. This is why, in the crisis, many money market investors stopped rolling even those repos that were fully secured by Treasuries and agencies:
  
  
  
  • See Chris Cox's testimony on Bear Stearns (here http://www.sec.gov/news/testimony/2008/ts040308cc.htm): "For the first time, a major investment bank that was well-capitalized and apparently fully liquid experienced a crisis of confidence that denied it not only unsecured financing, but short-term secured financing, even when the collateral consisted of agency securities with a market value in excess of the funds to be borrowed"
  
  
  • See also FRBNY's repo task force report (here http://www.newyorkfed.org/prc/report_100517.pdf): “Discussions in the Task Force emphasized repeatedly that many Cash Investors focus primarily if not almost exclusively on counterparty concerns and that they will withdraw secured funding on the same or very similar timeframes as they would withdraw unsecured funding.”
  
  
  
  


• Even if collateral requirements reduce the likelihood of runs, how do we calibrate them -- what is the objective function? Presumably we think maturity transformation (fractional reserve banking) is a good thing -- it increases the supply of loanable funds by pooling otherwise idle cash reserves and deploying them toward productive investments. Risk constraints (such as collateral requirements) necessarily reduce this surplus -- there is a real social cost. How do we appraise the corresponding benefit? That is, how do we estimate the systemic instability associated with any given level of collateral requirements? My argument is that we can't. And by "we" I mean not just the government, but anybody.

My paper argues that we avoid these problems with an insurance regime; that financial firms outside the insurance regime should be disallowed from conducting maturity transformation (i.e., they would have to rely on term funding, not money market funding); and that we should develop functional criteria of eligibility for the insurance regime. (By the way, this is not the same thing as "extending" insurance to shadow banks.)

Anyway, these are things worth thinking about. I think the insurance approach needs more serious consideration than it has received -- it's a little lonely over here ...

Best,

Morgan Ricks

See here for nice summary of this approach and link to the underlying academic paper.

robert shumake

Mosley and McMullan &#39;star&#39; in <b>News</b> of the World phone-hacking <b>...</b>

City University panel discuss just how far reporters should go in pursuit of a story.

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 10/6 - Arrowhead Pride

Good morning, AP! Welcome to another day full of Kansas City Chiefs news. Read and enjoy.

Small Business <b>News</b>: Marketing Marathon

If your business plan is to be successful, marketing must play a part. Sure your product must be good and, of course, your product service should be excellent,

robert shumake

Mosley and McMullan &#39;star&#39; in <b>News</b> of the World phone-hacking <b>...</b>

City University panel discuss just how far reporters should go in pursuit of a story.

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 10/6 - Arrowhead Pride

Good morning, AP! Welcome to another day full of Kansas City Chiefs news. Read and enjoy.

Small Business <b>News</b>: Marketing Marathon

If your business plan is to be successful, marketing must play a part. Sure your product must be good and, of course, your product service should be excellent,

robert shumake
and willowy blondes only take you so far, it turns out. Malefactors are punished. The universe is restored to balance.

This time, Gekko is a repentant father longing to make amends to win his daughter’s approval who also essentially steals a fortune from her to get back in the game.

Gekko is a humble reformed crook who has paid his debt to society and also a sleek alpha male puffing on a phallic cigar who can’t wait to gloat about his prowess at making money.

Gekko is a teacher who shares his knowledge. At times, one could swear that one had wandered into a parallel universe version of An Inconvenient Truth, as Gekko lectures us on the hazards of leverage and financial meltdown. Particularly priceless is when he calls a group of young students “ninjas”—no income, no job, no assets—adding, “You have a lot to look forward to.” But the same guy who observes that the mother of all evil is speculation turns up later in the film dressed in a power suit and giddy over his ability to turn $100 million into $1 billion. I don’t think he earned it at $25 an hour; leverage must have figured in there somewhere.

If we fast-forward 23 years to Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, we are treated to a curiously different kind of moral equation, the morality of “and also” rather than “either or.”

In the new film, Gordon Gekko is a humble reformed crook who has paid his debt to society and also a sleek alpha male who can’t wait to gloat about his prowess at making money. (20th Century Fox)

This “and also” value system also comes across in Gekko’s attitude to innovation. He is clearly cynical about clean tech and derides the “fusion delusion” as the next bubble. In his words, “the only green is money.” Yet at the end of the film, he gives $100 million away to support alternative energy and do something “good” with his money.

• Randall Lane: Wall Street on Wall Street

• Randall Lane: Gordon Gekko’s Secret Revealed
The film’s title may hold its final moral clue. If money never sleeps, then can greed not be far behind, even in these pinched times? No one in the film seems to be hurting for nice apartments and clothes, for example, even with a financial meltdown that has come from “the mother of all bubbles.” As Gekko himself puts it, “Greed got greedier with a little envy thrown in.”

So we’d all like to find a little absolution in these troubled times, and in fact in the end Gekko’s daughter does melt and forgive him, while we on the other hand—adding up all the “and alsos”—don’t know whether to follow suit.

This “and also” value system comes across in Gekko’s attitude to innovation. He is cynical about clean tech, yet in the end, he gives $100 million to support alternative energy.

Gordon, make up your mind. Maybe a little therapy would help.

Dubbed "Mr. Creativity" by The Economist, John Kao is a contributing editor at The Daily Beast and an adviser to both public and private sector leaders. He is chairman of the Institute for Large Scale Innovation, whose i20 group is an association of national innovation "czars." He wrote Jamming: The Art and Discipline of Business Creativity, a BusinessWeek bestseller, and Innovation Nation. He is also a Tony-nominated producer of film and stage.

Get a head start with the Morning Scoop email. It's your Cheat Sheet with must reads from across the Web. Get it.

For inquiries, please contact The Daily Beast at editorial@thedailybeast.com.

One of the big problems during the financial crisis was a bank run in the shadow banking system when doubts emerged about the safety of deposits.

In my last column at the Fiscal Times, I talked about an approach to solving the problem that involves having deposits in the shadow system backed (insured) by high quality collateral.

But high quality collateral is not the only option. Another way to do this is through a type of insurance along the lines of what the FDIC does for the traditional banking system, along with restrictions on eligibility for the insurance. In reaction to my column, and in support of the insurance approach, Morgan Ricks of Harvard Law School emails:

I enjoyed your Fiscal Times piece and am glad you're focused on this issue.

I'm a big admirer of Gary and Andrew's work, but I would encourage you to give some more thought to whether collateral requirements for repo are likely to do the trick. Here are a few things to consider:

• Many of the short-term liabilities of the shadow banking system were and are uncollateralized (think about Lehman's reliance on unsecured commercial paper -- the default of which caused the Reserve Fund to "break the buck," igniting the run on money market funds; and Citigroup's SIVs, which financed themselves in the unsecured markets).


• Money market investors do not want to take possession of collateral and dispose of it. Even if the collateral is high quality, they don't want the interest rate risk. That's not their business. They don't want to deal with the consequences of a counterparty default. This is why, in the crisis, many money market investors stopped rolling even those repos that were fully secured by Treasuries and agencies:
  
  
  
  • See Chris Cox's testimony on Bear Stearns (here http://www.sec.gov/news/testimony/2008/ts040308cc.htm): "For the first time, a major investment bank that was well-capitalized and apparently fully liquid experienced a crisis of confidence that denied it not only unsecured financing, but short-term secured financing, even when the collateral consisted of agency securities with a market value in excess of the funds to be borrowed"
  
  
  • See also FRBNY's repo task force report (here http://www.newyorkfed.org/prc/report_100517.pdf): “Discussions in the Task Force emphasized repeatedly that many Cash Investors focus primarily if not almost exclusively on counterparty concerns and that they will withdraw secured funding on the same or very similar timeframes as they would withdraw unsecured funding.”
  
  
  
  


• Even if collateral requirements reduce the likelihood of runs, how do we calibrate them -- what is the objective function? Presumably we think maturity transformation (fractional reserve banking) is a good thing -- it increases the supply of loanable funds by pooling otherwise idle cash reserves and deploying them toward productive investments. Risk constraints (such as collateral requirements) necessarily reduce this surplus -- there is a real social cost. How do we appraise the corresponding benefit? That is, how do we estimate the systemic instability associated with any given level of collateral requirements? My argument is that we can't. And by "we" I mean not just the government, but anybody.

My paper argues that we avoid these problems with an insurance regime; that financial firms outside the insurance regime should be disallowed from conducting maturity transformation (i.e., they would have to rely on term funding, not money market funding); and that we should develop functional criteria of eligibility for the insurance regime. (By the way, this is not the same thing as "extending" insurance to shadow banks.)

Anyway, these are things worth thinking about. I think the insurance approach needs more serious consideration than it has received -- it's a little lonely over here ...

Best,

Morgan Ricks

See here for nice summary of this approach and link to the underlying academic paper.

robert shumake

Mosley and McMullan &#39;star&#39; in <b>News</b> of the World phone-hacking <b>...</b>

City University panel discuss just how far reporters should go in pursuit of a story.

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 10/6 - Arrowhead Pride

Good morning, AP! Welcome to another day full of Kansas City Chiefs news. Read and enjoy.

Small Business <b>News</b>: Marketing Marathon

If your business plan is to be successful, marketing must play a part. Sure your product must be good and, of course, your product service should be excellent,

managing your personal finance

A lot of people are unemployed in this country, 14.9 million as of the latest BLS release a couple of days ago, and for some of those people, this has become what is coyly referred to as ‘the entrepreneurial moment’, the ‘ah-ha’ light-bulb realization that if they don’t create a job for themselves, there will be no job, no income, no mortgage payment, no groceries, no light, no heat, no gas for the car, nuthin’. Since 2008, over 5 million jobs have been lost, many of which will never, ever come back.

Welcome to Labor Day, 2010.

Some of these ‘lost’ jobs have been outsourced overseas. Some have just been cut. Some companies are using their cash to invest in technologies which will insure that they will never have to hire these folks back, at least not with the skills that they had when they were given a cardboard box and five minutes to empty their desks and get out the front door.

If there are people out there who have or are considering building their own ‘life raft’ it would surprise absolutely no one; though for some folks, entrepreneurship is so scary, they can’t imagine anything other than hiring on to someone else’s deal, no matter how horrible it is.

Sometimes, though, you don’t have any choice. One thing to remember, is that many of the most successful entrepreneurs in this country have not invented fuel cells, high tech photovoltaic films, high speed transit, a cure for cancer (or the common cold), or the answer for peace in our time. They are cleaning houses, making pizza, fixing computers/ipods/iphones/cars/furnaces/plumbing/household electric, managing other people’s systems, giving advice, making clothing for people who are outside the common size ranges in the stores.

Not exactly operating a basement boiler room financial situation, doing crazy financial stuff, or stirring up the pot on international finance.

At its most basic, it’s local; at its most interesting, it might even be regional. But it is still person to person; it’s still me doing business with you. Face to face. My hands and brain doing stuff to help you. Some of this is amazingly low tech – some of it is almost medieval.

This week’s fascinating story comes from the New York Times about a family of knife sharpeners who have thrown a new curve on this ancient of trades by providing two sets of knives to butchers, restaurants, food services (in Yankee Stadium, for heaven’s sake), and calling on a weekly basis to pick up the used set and providing the newly sharpened set.

Anyone who does any real work in a kitchen at all knows that your most important tools are a good set of knives and a good frying and sauce pan. With those three things, you can do almost anything (and yes, I have made cookies in the bottom of a frying pan; thank you for asking), but if your knives are dull, cutting anything becomes horrible work and you can injure yourself badly. “Every week, the company visits more than 800 clients and collects more than 8,000 knives to be replaced with freshly sharpened blades. The service costs $2.50 to $3.50 per knife.

The business started servicing mainly butchers and meatpackers, in territories handed down from father to son. To preserve the business for his children, Mr. Ambrosi expanded it to restaurants and even Yankee Stadium, in some cases deviating from long-held tradition. Many cooks and chefs take personal pride in their knives and their ability to maintain them, and would hesitate to release them to anyone else’s care. But sharpening a knife takes time and skill — and not every chef has both.”

Having a skill and honing (sorry) that so that you can provide something that someone else can not (or will not) do, whether it is being an electrician, a plumber, a welder, a knife sharpener, a shoe repair shop, a hair dresser, whatever it is – can make the difference in today’s international economy between being able to make a living for your family and holding your head in your hands. One of America’s biggest mistakes as far as education is concerned (and others might just argue with me) is that we “jumped the shark” in terms of absorbing people coming out of colleges.

Since the 1980s, kids coming out of college have had fewer and lower level opportunities. Jobs which absorbed high schoolers, now require a 2 or 4 year degree; job that required a college degree started to require a masters degree; some jobs which required a college degree and some internal training, now require advanced degrees – I even know of jobs that now require a legal degree to be hired which 30 years ago required a college degree and passing a test. So much emphasis was placed on going to college – and vocational training and the trades were so downgraded and derided that any family with a kid with two brain cells to rub together would not even THINK of encouraging that kid to go into the trades, unless the family was already in the business.

We’re now at a situation where companies, which shot themselves in the foot by sending skilled jobs overseas and now want to bring them back because costs overseas have risen and/or they are tired of their intellectual property being stolen and sold to others, can’t find the skills they want. Not to put too fine a point on this – those same companies have not done any training themselves; nor are they willing to do so. They got into the habit a long time ago of pushing the investment in training off on others. The government for one.

The other, which has willingly and consistently provided training in the trades for years are the unions. Organized labor. The Great Satan of the industrial world. The guys everyone loves to hate. The organizations which, according to many employers, stand in their way of succeeding in business.

But still, the organization which has kept skills alive in this country despite outsourcing, overseas sourcing, attacks from business and government, and general antipathy from great swaths of the American population in certain parts of the country.

So. On this frankly very sad Labor Day, 2010, I’d like to thank the American Labor Movement for remembering what America and Americans do best and what we need to do on an increasing basis if we are to put people back to work – or if we are to have businesses to call our own: Do stuff with our hands.

Thanks folks. You’re not perfection, but you’re willing to invest in Americans.

Happy Labor Day

Having a hard time managing credit card debt problems? Try using Creditable, a web app that can help you tackle your debt head-on by tracking your progress, generating suggested achievable goals based on your situation, and by allowing you to interact with other people that can help you.

The best part about Creditable is that it is free and anonymous, thus it can still generate your personalized goals even without submitting a credit report.

Creditable requires users to sign up before being able to use it, but the registration only requires an email address so you don’t have to divulge your identity. You do not have to be worried about security issues when using the site since you won’t have to reveal any personal information.

Creditable will also produce goals that are particular for your situation which can serve as your guide that can help you out of your current credit issues.

Creditable also fosters an online community where people can ask about credit related issues and receive advice from other people, who may have gone through your current situation. In addition, you can easily find other users that have the same goals as yours, for more social support.

Features:

• Manage your credits without revealing your identity.
• Track the progress of your credit, works with multiple accounts.
• Suggests achievable goals based on your particular situation.
• Connects you with other people that have similar credit issues.
• Provides personalized credit card suggestions when re-establishing credit.
• Similar Tools: Mint, Paystr, Accpal, TripLittle.

Check out Creditable @ http://getcreditable.com

robert shumake

Why diversity turns into conformity in online <b>news</b>: An interview <b>...</b>

If you talk to any of the number of young academics who occasionally contribute to the Lab, it's likely the name Pablo Boczkowski will come up sooner rather.

Great <b>news</b>: Donald Trump hinting at presidential run « Hot Air

Great news: Donald Trump hinting at presidential run.

UT <b>News</b> » Internet Marketing Conference set for Oct. 12

UT News » Internet Marketing Conference set for Oct. 12 Is Paying For Directory Listings a No-No? – Find friends or hook-up tonight | Find Friends or Hook Up Tonight! Says: October 5th, 2010at 10:41 am. UT News » Internet ...

robert shumake

Why diversity turns into conformity in online <b>news</b>: An interview <b>...</b>

If you talk to any of the number of young academics who occasionally contribute to the Lab, it's likely the name Pablo Boczkowski will come up sooner rather.

Great <b>news</b>: Donald Trump hinting at presidential run « Hot Air

Great news: Donald Trump hinting at presidential run.

UT <b>News</b> » Internet Marketing Conference set for Oct. 12

UT News » Internet Marketing Conference set for Oct. 12 Is Paying For Directory Listings a No-No? – Find friends or hook-up tonight | Find Friends or Hook Up Tonight! Says: October 5th, 2010at 10:41 am. UT News » Internet ...

robert shumake

A lot of people are unemployed in this country, 14.9 million as of the latest BLS release a couple of days ago, and for some of those people, this has become what is coyly referred to as ‘the entrepreneurial moment’, the ‘ah-ha’ light-bulb realization that if they don’t create a job for themselves, there will be no job, no income, no mortgage payment, no groceries, no light, no heat, no gas for the car, nuthin’. Since 2008, over 5 million jobs have been lost, many of which will never, ever come back.

Welcome to Labor Day, 2010.

Some of these ‘lost’ jobs have been outsourced overseas. Some have just been cut. Some companies are using their cash to invest in technologies which will insure that they will never have to hire these folks back, at least not with the skills that they had when they were given a cardboard box and five minutes to empty their desks and get out the front door.

If there are people out there who have or are considering building their own ‘life raft’ it would surprise absolutely no one; though for some folks, entrepreneurship is so scary, they can’t imagine anything other than hiring on to someone else’s deal, no matter how horrible it is.

Sometimes, though, you don’t have any choice. One thing to remember, is that many of the most successful entrepreneurs in this country have not invented fuel cells, high tech photovoltaic films, high speed transit, a cure for cancer (or the common cold), or the answer for peace in our time. They are cleaning houses, making pizza, fixing computers/ipods/iphones/cars/furnaces/plumbing/household electric, managing other people’s systems, giving advice, making clothing for people who are outside the common size ranges in the stores.

Not exactly operating a basement boiler room financial situation, doing crazy financial stuff, or stirring up the pot on international finance.

At its most basic, it’s local; at its most interesting, it might even be regional. But it is still person to person; it’s still me doing business with you. Face to face. My hands and brain doing stuff to help you. Some of this is amazingly low tech – some of it is almost medieval.

This week’s fascinating story comes from the New York Times about a family of knife sharpeners who have thrown a new curve on this ancient of trades by providing two sets of knives to butchers, restaurants, food services (in Yankee Stadium, for heaven’s sake), and calling on a weekly basis to pick up the used set and providing the newly sharpened set.

Anyone who does any real work in a kitchen at all knows that your most important tools are a good set of knives and a good frying and sauce pan. With those three things, you can do almost anything (and yes, I have made cookies in the bottom of a frying pan; thank you for asking), but if your knives are dull, cutting anything becomes horrible work and you can injure yourself badly. “Every week, the company visits more than 800 clients and collects more than 8,000 knives to be replaced with freshly sharpened blades. The service costs $2.50 to $3.50 per knife.

The business started servicing mainly butchers and meatpackers, in territories handed down from father to son. To preserve the business for his children, Mr. Ambrosi expanded it to restaurants and even Yankee Stadium, in some cases deviating from long-held tradition. Many cooks and chefs take personal pride in their knives and their ability to maintain them, and would hesitate to release them to anyone else’s care. But sharpening a knife takes time and skill — and not every chef has both.”

Having a skill and honing (sorry) that so that you can provide something that someone else can not (or will not) do, whether it is being an electrician, a plumber, a welder, a knife sharpener, a shoe repair shop, a hair dresser, whatever it is – can make the difference in today’s international economy between being able to make a living for your family and holding your head in your hands. One of America’s biggest mistakes as far as education is concerned (and others might just argue with me) is that we “jumped the shark” in terms of absorbing people coming out of colleges.

Since the 1980s, kids coming out of college have had fewer and lower level opportunities. Jobs which absorbed high schoolers, now require a 2 or 4 year degree; job that required a college degree started to require a masters degree; some jobs which required a college degree and some internal training, now require advanced degrees – I even know of jobs that now require a legal degree to be hired which 30 years ago required a college degree and passing a test. So much emphasis was placed on going to college – and vocational training and the trades were so downgraded and derided that any family with a kid with two brain cells to rub together would not even THINK of encouraging that kid to go into the trades, unless the family was already in the business.

We’re now at a situation where companies, which shot themselves in the foot by sending skilled jobs overseas and now want to bring them back because costs overseas have risen and/or they are tired of their intellectual property being stolen and sold to others, can’t find the skills they want. Not to put too fine a point on this – those same companies have not done any training themselves; nor are they willing to do so. They got into the habit a long time ago of pushing the investment in training off on others. The government for one.

The other, which has willingly and consistently provided training in the trades for years are the unions. Organized labor. The Great Satan of the industrial world. The guys everyone loves to hate. The organizations which, according to many employers, stand in their way of succeeding in business.

But still, the organization which has kept skills alive in this country despite outsourcing, overseas sourcing, attacks from business and government, and general antipathy from great swaths of the American population in certain parts of the country.

So. On this frankly very sad Labor Day, 2010, I’d like to thank the American Labor Movement for remembering what America and Americans do best and what we need to do on an increasing basis if we are to put people back to work – or if we are to have businesses to call our own: Do stuff with our hands.

Thanks folks. You’re not perfection, but you’re willing to invest in Americans.

Happy Labor Day

Having a hard time managing credit card debt problems? Try using Creditable, a web app that can help you tackle your debt head-on by tracking your progress, generating suggested achievable goals based on your situation, and by allowing you to interact with other people that can help you.

The best part about Creditable is that it is free and anonymous, thus it can still generate your personalized goals even without submitting a credit report.

Creditable requires users to sign up before being able to use it, but the registration only requires an email address so you don’t have to divulge your identity. You do not have to be worried about security issues when using the site since you won’t have to reveal any personal information.

Creditable will also produce goals that are particular for your situation which can serve as your guide that can help you out of your current credit issues.

Creditable also fosters an online community where people can ask about credit related issues and receive advice from other people, who may have gone through your current situation. In addition, you can easily find other users that have the same goals as yours, for more social support.

Features:

• Manage your credits without revealing your identity.
• Track the progress of your credit, works with multiple accounts.
• Suggests achievable goals based on your particular situation.
• Connects you with other people that have similar credit issues.
• Provides personalized credit card suggestions when re-establishing credit.
• Similar Tools: Mint, Paystr, Accpal, TripLittle.

Check out Creditable @ http://getcreditable.com

Making Money on Line

About a week ago, we noted that Verizon was gearing up to launch its own app store for Android phones. This app store, called V CAST Apps, would be completely separate from Android’s existing Market for apps. In other words, it’s Verizon kicking their partner Google in the man region.

Of course, we all knew neither side would spin it that way. And sure enough, today we have Verizon’s take. During their Verizon Developer Community Conference earlier this afternoon, the company took the time to respond to the charges that they were taking over control of Android devices with maneuvers such as this. Jkontherun has a good overview of what was said, but Verizon itself was tweeting key parts. Here’s my favorite:

V CAST Apps is NOT out to take over the phone. It’s about choice, and about simplicy – carrier-billing — and quality — great apps.

Oh Jesus. Here we go again. It’s not about control or money — no, of course not. It’s about “choice”. Excuse me while I vomit in my mouth.

Does anyone really believe that Verizon really cares about choice here? What they care about is not  ”becoming a commodity connectivity provider,” as James Kendrick puts it. And that’s fair enough, there’s nothing wrong with a company wanting to be successful and maintain their success. But I’m sick of this spin that all of this is for the betterment of all. Verizon cares about making money just like every other company and that’s why they’re doing this.

But there are two main reasons I have a problem with all of this. First, Verizon has proven itself to be incapable of making a decent consumer experience. I’ll refer back to my experience with the Motorola RAZR which was delayed for many months so Verizon could load it up with their crap UI and V CAST junk. And now we’re seeing it with the Droid Verizon phones. They’re packed to the gills with garbage compliments of Verizon. There is no question that Google needs to improve the Android Market experience, but as the creators of Android, I have much more faith in them doing that than with Verizon circumventing it.

Second, here’s what really annoys me: believe it or not, I really like the idea of Android. I love the idea of an OS ecosystem that works across a range of carriers. In the U.S., Apple isn’t doing this, Android is. I like anything that gives the carriers less power. The problem is that Verizon is now using Android’s openness to ruin that approach.

Verizon is essentially making Verizon Android phones different from all other Android phones.  Say I buy an app through the V CAST app store then a year down the line I buy another Android device on Sprint. Guess what? It won’t work on the new device. This was supposed to be an open ecosystem — instead, it’s turning out to be very, very fragmented. We’re seeing now that a Verizon Android phone and a Sprint Android phone will soon only share a bit of branding in common. The harmonious ecosystem is being razed.

And all of this doesn’t seem to bode well for the prospects of a Verizon iPhone. Does anyone believe for a second that Apple is going to let Verizon open their own app store on the iPhone? Not a chance. They’ll be lucky if they get a V Cast content app pre-loaded on there — you can bet Apple doesn’t even want that. So why would Verizon want to have anything to do with a device that will turn them into the “commodity connectivity provider” when Google is giving them the keys to the castle?

And so, despite the best efforts of Apple and Google over the past few years, the carriers are now striking back. And it’s us, the consumers, who will lose as a result. How’s that for “choice”?

[image: Warner Bros.]

A commenter to the previous post referred me to a September 2, 2010 interview that Christine O’Donnell did on the Dan Gaffney radio show.  The whole thing is worth a listen, but I was especially intrigued by the discussion of her education.  The audio link is here:  Dan Gaffney Audio: Christine O’Donnell for Senate Interview.

In regards to O’Donnell’s bachelor’s degree Gaffney asks, around the 14 minute mark, as to whether she received her bachelor’s degree from Farleigh Dickinson University or not.  Gaffney asked:  “Have you actually been given that degree?” She said “Yeah” and then there was some cross-talk about Mike Castle.  Then there was the following interchange:

O’Donnell:  It took me over twelve years to pay off my student loans.  From there I went on and I got a constitutional fellowship…a graduate fellowship in constitutional government.  Many people…

Gaffney:  From where?

O’Donnell:  From the Claremont Institute.

(Transcription mine.)

She went on to recount how she did the cap and gown ceremony (presumably in 1993) and was handed a bursar’s bill instead of diploma.  She then stated that she was “awarded my diploma once I paid off my bills.”  She went on to say how, unlike Mike Castle, she wasn’t a millionaire so paying for her education was difficult and so forth.

First, lots of people have student loans and take years to pay them off, and yet are awarded their degrees.  Indeed, that’s what the student loans are for.   In her answer she is conflating money owed to her university with money owed on her student loans.  However, let’s stop and think:  money from student loans go to pay the school and the money owed on loans are owed to a lending institution.  Farleigh Dickinson would not have given her a bill for her student loans on commencement day.

Second, she makes it sound in the interview as if she actually earned her degree back in 1993 but wasn’t allowed to get a diploma because of her student loans.  She lies by omission by not owning up to the fact that she had just recently finished her degree requirement this summer.  To quote from the Politico piece I linked in my earlier post:

Scott Giglio, assistant director of public relations at the Madison, N.J., university, told POLITICO the Tea Party Express-backed Senate hopeful was officially awarded her bachelor of arts degree in English literature on Wednesday.

“She’s gone through the process to receive her degree, that’s not the story. She fulfilled the last course requirement this summer. It was just a general elective course,” said O’Donnell campaign manager Matt Moran.

That would have been Wednesday September 1, 2010—the day before her interview with Gaffney.  I can’t for a minute believe that she was unaware of this fact when asked the question.

Along those lines, she is claiming it took her twelve years to pay off her loans, but ignores the fact that she was awarded the degree 17 years after the alleged cap and gown/bursars bill event.  As such, the focus on student loans and the twelve year timeframe related to them utterly avoid the real issue of when and how she received her degree.

Third, the reference to “a graduate fellowship in constitutional government” is highly misleading at best.  Why?  Because the Claremont Institute is not an institution of higher learning, it is a think tank.  The term “graduate fellowship” is generally associated with actual graduate study, not being a fellow at a think tank.  Now, being a think tank fellow would be a decent resume line, one would think, but making it sound like graduate study is dishonest and actually add fuel to the fire about the LinkedIn profile allegations I noted earlier today.

This Week&#39;s Health Industry <b>News</b> - NYTimes.com

Decisions on several major drug treatments are expected.

CBS <b>News</b> Reporter Arrested for Growing Pot | PopEater.com

Police arrested CBS News correspondent Howard Arenstein and his wife, along with reporter Orly Azoulay, Saturday for drug possession with intent to di.

<b>News</b> the Old Media Won&#39;t Tell You: More Trash at One Sparsely <b>...</b>

12774581 Commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fbigjournalism.com%2Fmpleahy%2F2010%2F10%2F03%2Fnews-the-old-media-wont-tell-you-more-trash-at-one-sparsely-attended-left-wing-rally-than-at-all-the-tea-parties-around-the-country-in-a-year-and-a-half%2FNews ...

eric seiger eric seiger

About a week ago, we noted that Verizon was gearing up to launch its own app store for Android phones. This app store, called V CAST Apps, would be completely separate from Android’s existing Market for apps. In other words, it’s Verizon kicking their partner Google in the man region.

Of course, we all knew neither side would spin it that way. And sure enough, today we have Verizon’s take. During their Verizon Developer Community Conference earlier this afternoon, the company took the time to respond to the charges that they were taking over control of Android devices with maneuvers such as this. Jkontherun has a good overview of what was said, but Verizon itself was tweeting key parts. Here’s my favorite:

V CAST Apps is NOT out to take over the phone. It’s about choice, and about simplicy – carrier-billing — and quality — great apps.

Oh Jesus. Here we go again. It’s not about control or money — no, of course not. It’s about “choice”. Excuse me while I vomit in my mouth.

Does anyone really believe that Verizon really cares about choice here? What they care about is not  ”becoming a commodity connectivity provider,” as James Kendrick puts it. And that’s fair enough, there’s nothing wrong with a company wanting to be successful and maintain their success. But I’m sick of this spin that all of this is for the betterment of all. Verizon cares about making money just like every other company and that’s why they’re doing this.

But there are two main reasons I have a problem with all of this. First, Verizon has proven itself to be incapable of making a decent consumer experience. I’ll refer back to my experience with the Motorola RAZR which was delayed for many months so Verizon could load it up with their crap UI and V CAST junk. And now we’re seeing it with the Droid Verizon phones. They’re packed to the gills with garbage compliments of Verizon. There is no question that Google needs to improve the Android Market experience, but as the creators of Android, I have much more faith in them doing that than with Verizon circumventing it.

Second, here’s what really annoys me: believe it or not, I really like the idea of Android. I love the idea of an OS ecosystem that works across a range of carriers. In the U.S., Apple isn’t doing this, Android is. I like anything that gives the carriers less power. The problem is that Verizon is now using Android’s openness to ruin that approach.

Verizon is essentially making Verizon Android phones different from all other Android phones.  Say I buy an app through the V CAST app store then a year down the line I buy another Android device on Sprint. Guess what? It won’t work on the new device. This was supposed to be an open ecosystem — instead, it’s turning out to be very, very fragmented. We’re seeing now that a Verizon Android phone and a Sprint Android phone will soon only share a bit of branding in common. The harmonious ecosystem is being razed.

And all of this doesn’t seem to bode well for the prospects of a Verizon iPhone. Does anyone believe for a second that Apple is going to let Verizon open their own app store on the iPhone? Not a chance. They’ll be lucky if they get a V Cast content app pre-loaded on there — you can bet Apple doesn’t even want that. So why would Verizon want to have anything to do with a device that will turn them into the “commodity connectivity provider” when Google is giving them the keys to the castle?

And so, despite the best efforts of Apple and Google over the past few years, the carriers are now striking back. And it’s us, the consumers, who will lose as a result. How’s that for “choice”?

[image: Warner Bros.]

A commenter to the previous post referred me to a September 2, 2010 interview that Christine O’Donnell did on the Dan Gaffney radio show.  The whole thing is worth a listen, but I was especially intrigued by the discussion of her education.  The audio link is here:  Dan Gaffney Audio: Christine O’Donnell for Senate Interview.

In regards to O’Donnell’s bachelor’s degree Gaffney asks, around the 14 minute mark, as to whether she received her bachelor’s degree from Farleigh Dickinson University or not.  Gaffney asked:  “Have you actually been given that degree?” She said “Yeah” and then there was some cross-talk about Mike Castle.  Then there was the following interchange:

O’Donnell:  It took me over twelve years to pay off my student loans.  From there I went on and I got a constitutional fellowship…a graduate fellowship in constitutional government.  Many people…

Gaffney:  From where?

O’Donnell:  From the Claremont Institute.

(Transcription mine.)

She went on to recount how she did the cap and gown ceremony (presumably in 1993) and was handed a bursar’s bill instead of diploma.  She then stated that she was “awarded my diploma once I paid off my bills.”  She went on to say how, unlike Mike Castle, she wasn’t a millionaire so paying for her education was difficult and so forth.

First, lots of people have student loans and take years to pay them off, and yet are awarded their degrees.  Indeed, that’s what the student loans are for.   In her answer she is conflating money owed to her university with money owed on her student loans.  However, let’s stop and think:  money from student loans go to pay the school and the money owed on loans are owed to a lending institution.  Farleigh Dickinson would not have given her a bill for her student loans on commencement day.

Second, she makes it sound in the interview as if she actually earned her degree back in 1993 but wasn’t allowed to get a diploma because of her student loans.  She lies by omission by not owning up to the fact that she had just recently finished her degree requirement this summer.  To quote from the Politico piece I linked in my earlier post:

Scott Giglio, assistant director of public relations at the Madison, N.J., university, told POLITICO the Tea Party Express-backed Senate hopeful was officially awarded her bachelor of arts degree in English literature on Wednesday.

“She’s gone through the process to receive her degree, that’s not the story. She fulfilled the last course requirement this summer. It was just a general elective course,” said O’Donnell campaign manager Matt Moran.

That would have been Wednesday September 1, 2010—the day before her interview with Gaffney.  I can’t for a minute believe that she was unaware of this fact when asked the question.

Along those lines, she is claiming it took her twelve years to pay off her loans, but ignores the fact that she was awarded the degree 17 years after the alleged cap and gown/bursars bill event.  As such, the focus on student loans and the twelve year timeframe related to them utterly avoid the real issue of when and how she received her degree.

Third, the reference to “a graduate fellowship in constitutional government” is highly misleading at best.  Why?  Because the Claremont Institute is not an institution of higher learning, it is a think tank.  The term “graduate fellowship” is generally associated with actual graduate study, not being a fellow at a think tank.  Now, being a think tank fellow would be a decent resume line, one would think, but making it sound like graduate study is dishonest and actually add fuel to the fire about the LinkedIn profile allegations I noted earlier today.

This Week&#39;s Health Industry <b>News</b> - NYTimes.com

Decisions on several major drug treatments are expected.

CBS <b>News</b> Reporter Arrested for Growing Pot | PopEater.com

Police arrested CBS News correspondent Howard Arenstein and his wife, along with reporter Orly Azoulay, Saturday for drug possession with intent to di.

<b>News</b> the Old Media Won&#39;t Tell You: More Trash at One Sparsely <b>...</b>

12774581 Commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fbigjournalism.com%2Fmpleahy%2F2010%2F10%2F03%2Fnews-the-old-media-wont-tell-you-more-trash-at-one-sparsely-attended-left-wing-rally-than-at-all-the-tea-parties-around-the-country-in-a-year-and-a-half%2FNews ...

eric seiger eric seiger

about internet marketing

It's no surprise that we've come to this: there's a family for sale on the Internet.

No, these aren't hostages held by Somali pirates or advertised on a Craigslist adult S&M posting. I'm talking about a middle American family that may have willingly, enthusiastically crossed the line between personal brand management and indentured servitude.

Anyone with a digital footprint is selling themselves these days. But in the spooky wasteland where product placement meets slavery, you will find the Martins.

Not to diss entrepreneurial spirit in a down economy. Patriarch Carl Martin told me today that "overall, this has been the best decision we have ever made."

The Martins call themselves "The Billboard Family," with what ad industry site Adrants says is "an offering that allows advertisers to own the Martin's lives." Yikes. Dad Carl, mom Amy and kids Layne and Kaitlyn have turned themselves into human signage. With a social media upsell.

I know they're serious but it's a pretty funny pitch on their website. "We are a REAL family of 4 (with one on the way) who wears YOUR COMPANY SHIRTS all day long, taking loads of photos and videos. We then promote your company online on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, and our Website, as well as to all of the many people who ask us why we are all wearing the same shirts."

Uh, because you're from St. Louis?

Carl says "most of the companies we have already reached out to are ones whose products we use." Their "main demographic is family oriented companies, being that we are a real family." Still, "we are happy to advertise for any companies that do not violate our terms and conditions."

They may be an actual family, but potential sponsors usually like organic reality, as in real doctors who prescribe Nexium in their practice, not people just selling their endorsement. But on their video, the likable Martins even show a sonogram snap of their unborn child.

Getting a t-shirt on a fetus might be tough.

I was just about to ask the marketing department here about inking a deal for the Martins to wear Chronicle t-shirts -- you have to send them the shirts; like Google, they don't make products. Then I wondered just how many people might actually notice what the family is wearing.

No worries there. The Martins "travel and take vacations frequently" from their Missouri home to places like Chicago, Seattle, and Walt Disney World (where at might be hard to stand out among people wearing black socks and bermudas). "We have plans to travel much more in the near future."

Don't we all?

They also have 2,700 followers on Twitter and 200 Facebook fans. (Over 2,500," Carl says, if you include friends on personal pages.) Not exactly the makings of a viral stampede. "Many of our followers help spread the word," according to Carl. "The potential to reach a large audience is there."

The "Billboard Family" also has two competitors: I Wear Your Shirt (Carl: "They are not family-centric") and Girl In Your Shirt (doesn't sound very family-centric).

In their "About Us" section they have more personal stats for each of them than the average big league ball player: eye color, favorite color, height, weight and shoe size.

How else would you ever know that four-year-old Layne wants a Power Wheels Cadillac Escalade? Carl's dream job is to be a "professional t-shirt wearer", which makes sense given this particular value-added business proposition.

Carl, who has a computer sciences degree, was "inspired" in this new enterprise "by his desire to make a respectable living." Well, who these days can really afford to make fun of that?

Also, he said to me he "really wanted to teach our kids about self-reliance and business..They're very young but they have been very involved..They also love the attention."

The Martin site is thick with optimism, including nifty separate sections for them to publish all their "National Press, "Local Press", and "Other Media Outlets." They're all empty. I wonder where my blog post will go.

They also have Yelp-like social media page for clients who write "a review of our services." Empty. Also a place for Flickr photos and YouTube videos. Zip. Except a short about the Martins. To be fair, they only launched a few days ago.

But in the "Only 84 Days left for sale!" calendar, 30 of them are filled with "SOLD" signs, all for around $550 per, calculated by their graduated pricing formula throughout the year (Would you rather have four people wearing your brand on their tees or buy an iPad?).

So far one advertiser -- "Studio-R" -- has bought the Martins for a day, according to the calendar. And they boast that their October through November "Non-Profit slots filled" by a children's literacy program, "Everybody WINS!"

Maybe they do. Here I am writing about them. Besides, it's a buyer's market out there and who's to say the Martins aren't the next big thing in digital marketing services?

Today, Gateway announced an update to its NV series of notebooks, the NV59C66u. As the press release explains, “Customers can pair the Gateway NV59C66u with integrated WiMAX hardware, and then choose a WiMAX service provider to connect to networks in a growing number of cities and metropolitan areas around the United States for a fast and reliable connection to the Internet.” The NV series of laptops are configurable with Intel Core i3, Intel Core i5, AMD Athlon, or AMD Turion processors. The 4G integrated NV59C66u starts at $699 and is available immediately.

[Via SlashGear]

GATEWAY LAUNCHES NV59C66U NOTEBOOK WITH INTEGRATED WIMAX, NEW PREMIUM DESIGN

New model available now with WiMAX wireless connectivity and a deluxe look and feel; Entire line updated with latest performance technology at affordable prices

IRVINE, Calif., Sept. 29, 2010 – Gateway today unveils the Gateway NV59C66u notebook, the newest model in its Gateway NV Series line of notebooks, which features integrated WiMAX capabilities, a premium chassis design and a robust configuration.

Customers can pair the Gateway NV59C66u with integrated WiMAX hardware, and then choose a WiMAX service provider to connect to networks in a growing number of cities and metropolitan areas around the United States for a fast and reliable connection to the Internet. WiMAX is the next-generation of wireless technology designed to enable pervasive, high-speed mobile Internet access at an affordabe cost, and is the first all-IP mobile Internet solution enabling efficient and scalable networks for data, video, and voice.. The WiMAX card in the Gateway NV59C66u is the Intel® 6250 wireless card, which provides a reliable connection to both WiMAX and Wi–Fi networks. As a result, customers using WiMAX on the Gateway NV59C66u will be able to connect while moving around their coverage area, making the notebook ideal for small business owners that move about a specific urban area, such as realtors and salespeople, as well as students and other tech-savvy individuals that want to remain connected.

“The availability of the Gateway NV59C66u comes at an opportune time for customers who want a consistently reliable and fast connection to the Internet through either WiMAX service, which is rolling out this year in more metropolitan areas or 802.11 b/g/n WiFi connections to hot spots and WiFi networks,” said Ray Sawall, senior product marketing manager for Gateway notebooks. “In addition, the performance, feature-set and affordability of notebooks have increased dramatically to make them an even more appealing option to customers who want an all-purpose PC – and that’s incredibly evident here in the entire Gateway NV Series and with the new Gateway NV59C66u with integrated WiMAX.”

Complementing the new WiMAX capabilities, the Gateway NV59C66u features a new design with an attractive tone-on tone patterned espresso chassis that is visually interesting and stylish. The metal chassis and palm rest both appear to be dramatically textured, but feel subtle and comfortable to the touch.

The Gateway NV59C66u will soon be followed by additional new models in the Gateway NV Series line that come in a range of configurations and prices to meet the needs of a different types of PC customers such as small businesses, families and students.

Latest Technology for Staying Productive and In Touch

With reliable and fast processing technology, the Gateway NV Series notebooks deliver tangible benefits to customers, including the ability to handle multiple applications at once. The Gateway NV Series feature Intel Core i3 and Core i5 as well as AMD Athlon and AMD Turion, processors, supported by up to 4GB of DDR3 memory that is upgradeable to 8GB. Ample storage space is available for with high-capacity hard drives ranging from 320GB to 500GB(1).

In addition to featuring an Intel Centrino Advanced-N+WiMAX 6250 WiMAX Wireless Card for a connection to WiMAX networks, the Gateway NV59C66u also has integrated 802.11b/g/n WiFi Certified connectivity for a convenient connection to hot spots and wireless networks, as do other models in the Gateway NV Series line. The integrated High Definition webcam allows web chats and video emails in incredible clarity thanks to its 1280×1024 resolution. Also, Gigabit Ethernet LAN connectivity ensures a fast wired online connection.

Visually complementing the performance technology in the Gateway NV Series’ is the High Definition LED-backlit TFT Widescreen display. Delivering crisp and clear video with vibrant color and detailed images, the Gateway NV Series have models in two sizes: The Gateway NV Series with a 15.6-inch display deliver 1366×768 resolution, while the Gateway NV Series with a large 17.1-inch display provide even more clarity with 1600×900 resolution. Customers who want to share video on the go can use the HDMI port to connect the Gateway NV Series to a home theater or external LCD to deliver crisp high-quality visuals and high-fidelity audio with a single cable.

Extra Features Make Life Easier

The Gateway NV59C66u and Gateway NV Series are complemented by extra features in the line that make it incredibly enjoyable and useful. Navigating websites, moving between documents and even inputting characters is incredibly enjoyable thanks to the notebooks’ multi-gesture touchpad, touchpad lock, and dedicated numeric keypad.

The Gateway NV Series comes with either DVD or Blu-Ray drives, giving customers a way to view the latest movies. Also, digital media can be downloaded to the notebooks through the media card reader and USB ports. Protecting media and other files on the PC is easy, since the Gateway NV Series includes MyBackup functionality that gives customers a way to quickly and easily back-up all important files to another location such as a USB drive or another hard drive.

Gateway’s popular “social networking” button is integrated into the NV Series, so customers can access their social networks, including Facebook, YouTube and Flickr, with a single touch of a button.

Gateway NV Series Availability, Price and Configuration

The Gateway NV Series will be available at retailers nationwide over the coming weeks at prices starting at $479.99. The Gateway NV59C66u with integrated WiMAX is priced at $699.99 and is available now.

Tags: 4G, Card, Gateway, Integrated, WiMAX

Eco-fascism jumps the shark: massive, epic fail! – Telegraph Blogs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDXQsnkuBCM I predicted this morning that No Pressure - Richard Curtis's spectacularly ill-judged eco-propaganda movie for the 10:10 campaign - would prove a disastrous own goal for the ...

The WORCESTER PARK Blog, Surrey ¦: Sky <b>News</b>

"I came out of my front door this morning to see a VERY low flying BA jet passing over Trent Way - just seen on the news that it had to make an emergency landing after just 10 minutes. Never seen one that low even though we're used to ...

Various <b>News</b> Tidbits - Lookout Landing

Various News Tidbits. ... Various News Tidbits. Tiny by Matthew on Oct 1, 2010 4:25 PM PDT in Miscellaneous � Tweet. 3 comments; Story-email Email; Printer Print. Even Felix's hugs are powerful � More photos » Elaine Thompson - AP ...

bench craft company rip off
bench craft company rip off

Eco-fascism jumps the shark: massive, epic fail! – Telegraph Blogs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDXQsnkuBCM I predicted this morning that No Pressure - Richard Curtis's spectacularly ill-judged eco-propaganda movie for the 10:10 campaign - would prove a disastrous own goal for the ...

The WORCESTER PARK Blog, Surrey ¦: Sky <b>News</b>

"I came out of my front door this morning to see a VERY low flying BA jet passing over Trent Way - just seen on the news that it had to make an emergency landing after just 10 minutes. Never seen one that low even though we're used to ...

Various <b>News</b> Tidbits - Lookout Landing

Various News Tidbits. ... Various News Tidbits. Tiny by Matthew on Oct 1, 2010 4:25 PM PDT in Miscellaneous � Tweet. 3 comments; Story-email Email; Printer Print. Even Felix's hugs are powerful � More photos » Elaine Thompson - AP ...

bench craft company rip off bench craft company rip off

It's no surprise that we've come to this: there's a family for sale on the Internet.

No, these aren't hostages held by Somali pirates or advertised on a Craigslist adult S&M posting. I'm talking about a middle American family that may have willingly, enthusiastically crossed the line between personal brand management and indentured servitude.

Anyone with a digital footprint is selling themselves these days. But in the spooky wasteland where product placement meets slavery, you will find the Martins.

Not to diss entrepreneurial spirit in a down economy. Patriarch Carl Martin told me today that "overall, this has been the best decision we have ever made."

The Martins call themselves "The Billboard Family," with what ad industry site Adrants says is "an offering that allows advertisers to own the Martin's lives." Yikes. Dad Carl, mom Amy and kids Layne and Kaitlyn have turned themselves into human signage. With a social media upsell.

I know they're serious but it's a pretty funny pitch on their website. "We are a REAL family of 4 (with one on the way) who wears YOUR COMPANY SHIRTS all day long, taking loads of photos and videos. We then promote your company online on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, and our Website, as well as to all of the many people who ask us why we are all wearing the same shirts."

Uh, because you're from St. Louis?

Carl says "most of the companies we have already reached out to are ones whose products we use." Their "main demographic is family oriented companies, being that we are a real family." Still, "we are happy to advertise for any companies that do not violate our terms and conditions."

They may be an actual family, but potential sponsors usually like organic reality, as in real doctors who prescribe Nexium in their practice, not people just selling their endorsement. But on their video, the likable Martins even show a sonogram snap of their unborn child.

Getting a t-shirt on a fetus might be tough.

I was just about to ask the marketing department here about inking a deal for the Martins to wear Chronicle t-shirts -- you have to send them the shirts; like Google, they don't make products. Then I wondered just how many people might actually notice what the family is wearing.

No worries there. The Martins "travel and take vacations frequently" from their Missouri home to places like Chicago, Seattle, and Walt Disney World (where at might be hard to stand out among people wearing black socks and bermudas). "We have plans to travel much more in the near future."

Don't we all?

They also have 2,700 followers on Twitter and 200 Facebook fans. (Over 2,500," Carl says, if you include friends on personal pages.) Not exactly the makings of a viral stampede. "Many of our followers help spread the word," according to Carl. "The potential to reach a large audience is there."

The "Billboard Family" also has two competitors: I Wear Your Shirt (Carl: "They are not family-centric") and Girl In Your Shirt (doesn't sound very family-centric).

In their "About Us" section they have more personal stats for each of them than the average big league ball player: eye color, favorite color, height, weight and shoe size.

How else would you ever know that four-year-old Layne wants a Power Wheels Cadillac Escalade? Carl's dream job is to be a "professional t-shirt wearer", which makes sense given this particular value-added business proposition.

Carl, who has a computer sciences degree, was "inspired" in this new enterprise "by his desire to make a respectable living." Well, who these days can really afford to make fun of that?

Also, he said to me he "really wanted to teach our kids about self-reliance and business..They're very young but they have been very involved..They also love the attention."

The Martin site is thick with optimism, including nifty separate sections for them to publish all their "National Press, "Local Press", and "Other Media Outlets." They're all empty. I wonder where my blog post will go.

They also have Yelp-like social media page for clients who write "a review of our services." Empty. Also a place for Flickr photos and YouTube videos. Zip. Except a short about the Martins. To be fair, they only launched a few days ago.

But in the "Only 84 Days left for sale!" calendar, 30 of them are filled with "SOLD" signs, all for around $550 per, calculated by their graduated pricing formula throughout the year (Would you rather have four people wearing your brand on their tees or buy an iPad?).

So far one advertiser -- "Studio-R" -- has bought the Martins for a day, according to the calendar. And they boast that their October through November "Non-Profit slots filled" by a children's literacy program, "Everybody WINS!"

Maybe they do. Here I am writing about them. Besides, it's a buyer's market out there and who's to say the Martins aren't the next big thing in digital marketing services?

Today, Gateway announced an update to its NV series of notebooks, the NV59C66u. As the press release explains, “Customers can pair the Gateway NV59C66u with integrated WiMAX hardware, and then choose a WiMAX service provider to connect to networks in a growing number of cities and metropolitan areas around the United States for a fast and reliable connection to the Internet.” The NV series of laptops are configurable with Intel Core i3, Intel Core i5, AMD Athlon, or AMD Turion processors. The 4G integrated NV59C66u starts at $699 and is available immediately.

[Via SlashGear]

GATEWAY LAUNCHES NV59C66U NOTEBOOK WITH INTEGRATED WIMAX, NEW PREMIUM DESIGN

New model available now with WiMAX wireless connectivity and a deluxe look and feel; Entire line updated with latest performance technology at affordable prices

IRVINE, Calif., Sept. 29, 2010 – Gateway today unveils the Gateway NV59C66u notebook, the newest model in its Gateway NV Series line of notebooks, which features integrated WiMAX capabilities, a premium chassis design and a robust configuration.

Customers can pair the Gateway NV59C66u with integrated WiMAX hardware, and then choose a WiMAX service provider to connect to networks in a growing number of cities and metropolitan areas around the United States for a fast and reliable connection to the Internet. WiMAX is the next-generation of wireless technology designed to enable pervasive, high-speed mobile Internet access at an affordabe cost, and is the first all-IP mobile Internet solution enabling efficient and scalable networks for data, video, and voice.. The WiMAX card in the Gateway NV59C66u is the Intel® 6250 wireless card, which provides a reliable connection to both WiMAX and Wi–Fi networks. As a result, customers using WiMAX on the Gateway NV59C66u will be able to connect while moving around their coverage area, making the notebook ideal for small business owners that move about a specific urban area, such as realtors and salespeople, as well as students and other tech-savvy individuals that want to remain connected.

“The availability of the Gateway NV59C66u comes at an opportune time for customers who want a consistently reliable and fast connection to the Internet through either WiMAX service, which is rolling out this year in more metropolitan areas or 802.11 b/g/n WiFi connections to hot spots and WiFi networks,” said Ray Sawall, senior product marketing manager for Gateway notebooks. “In addition, the performance, feature-set and affordability of notebooks have increased dramatically to make them an even more appealing option to customers who want an all-purpose PC – and that’s incredibly evident here in the entire Gateway NV Series and with the new Gateway NV59C66u with integrated WiMAX.”

Complementing the new WiMAX capabilities, the Gateway NV59C66u features a new design with an attractive tone-on tone patterned espresso chassis that is visually interesting and stylish. The metal chassis and palm rest both appear to be dramatically textured, but feel subtle and comfortable to the touch.

The Gateway NV59C66u will soon be followed by additional new models in the Gateway NV Series line that come in a range of configurations and prices to meet the needs of a different types of PC customers such as small businesses, families and students.

Latest Technology for Staying Productive and In Touch

With reliable and fast processing technology, the Gateway NV Series notebooks deliver tangible benefits to customers, including the ability to handle multiple applications at once. The Gateway NV Series feature Intel Core i3 and Core i5 as well as AMD Athlon and AMD Turion, processors, supported by up to 4GB of DDR3 memory that is upgradeable to 8GB. Ample storage space is available for with high-capacity hard drives ranging from 320GB to 500GB(1).

In addition to featuring an Intel Centrino Advanced-N+WiMAX 6250 WiMAX Wireless Card for a connection to WiMAX networks, the Gateway NV59C66u also has integrated 802.11b/g/n WiFi Certified connectivity for a convenient connection to hot spots and wireless networks, as do other models in the Gateway NV Series line. The integrated High Definition webcam allows web chats and video emails in incredible clarity thanks to its 1280×1024 resolution. Also, Gigabit Ethernet LAN connectivity ensures a fast wired online connection.

Visually complementing the performance technology in the Gateway NV Series’ is the High Definition LED-backlit TFT Widescreen display. Delivering crisp and clear video with vibrant color and detailed images, the Gateway NV Series have models in two sizes: The Gateway NV Series with a 15.6-inch display deliver 1366×768 resolution, while the Gateway NV Series with a large 17.1-inch display provide even more clarity with 1600×900 resolution. Customers who want to share video on the go can use the HDMI port to connect the Gateway NV Series to a home theater or external LCD to deliver crisp high-quality visuals and high-fidelity audio with a single cable.

Extra Features Make Life Easier

The Gateway NV59C66u and Gateway NV Series are complemented by extra features in the line that make it incredibly enjoyable and useful. Navigating websites, moving between documents and even inputting characters is incredibly enjoyable thanks to the notebooks’ multi-gesture touchpad, touchpad lock, and dedicated numeric keypad.

The Gateway NV Series comes with either DVD or Blu-Ray drives, giving customers a way to view the latest movies. Also, digital media can be downloaded to the notebooks through the media card reader and USB ports. Protecting media and other files on the PC is easy, since the Gateway NV Series includes MyBackup functionality that gives customers a way to quickly and easily back-up all important files to another location such as a USB drive or another hard drive.

Gateway’s popular “social networking” button is integrated into the NV Series, so customers can access their social networks, including Facebook, YouTube and Flickr, with a single touch of a button.

Gateway NV Series Availability, Price and Configuration

The Gateway NV Series will be available at retailers nationwide over the coming weeks at prices starting at $479.99. The Gateway NV59C66u with integrated WiMAX is priced at $699.99 and is available now.

Tags: 4G, Card, Gateway, Integrated, WiMAX

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