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25 May 2009 18:42

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Biz, Offbeat: We appreciate this entrepreneur’s sentiment if not his product

  • I don’t think people realize how much you have to go through. They think, ‘I have a great idea and I’m going to make a lot of money off it.’ If you have a great idea, that’s only 5 percent of it.
  • Entrepreneur Robert Stribling • Who’s talking about a new style of juice straws that doesn’t leak all over you if you put it in too fast. He’s spent millions of dollars in research and development but has no takers for his snake oil. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 May 2009 10:25

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Biz, Politics: A quickie defense of credit card companies facing regulation

  • After everything is taken into account, a rigorous, highly tested credit recommendation pops out of their risk management engine. They literally have math and statistics PhDs who are in charge of this stuff. Congress seeks to prevent such complex analysis.
  • The Atlantic columnist Daniel Indiviglio • On the reasons credit card companies policies often lean towards predatory practices, and why Congress’ plan to kill those practices is no good. Indiviglio says that the unintended consequence of the the legislation currently going through Congress is that it will leave fewer people with credit. May we make the argument that this might actually be a good thing? • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 May 2009 13:00

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Tech: What tech journalists think of this Wolfram|Alpha thang

  • TechCrunch is much harder on the product: “Even when Wolfram does have an answer, it is not always the best one.”
  • So is ComputerWorld: “I tested Wolfram|Alpha about five days before it was set to launch, and it didn’t take much to find its limits.”
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 May 2009 09:03

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Biz, Politics, U.S.: Timothy Geithner sounds like a smart guy in this NYT op-ed

  • The effect of this capital assessment will be to help replace uncertainty with transparency. It will provide greater clarity about the resources major banks have to absorb future losses.
  • Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner • Making an argument in the New York Times as to why the banking industry stress tests were necessary, even though they made Bank of America look like the worst company on the planet to hold your money. Jeez, if only he did this a few months ago when everyone hated him for sucking at his job. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 May 2009 18:47

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Politics, U.S.: Timothy Geithner celebrates HIS 100th day. How’s he doin’?

  • He is faced with so many challenges, so many financial stalls to muck out, that it may be a long time before we can measure his results beyond his growing skill at projecting confidence.
  • Daily Beast blogger Allan Dodds Frank • In an analysis piece on Geithner so far. He says the treasury secretary has had so much on his plate compared to his predecessors that we have to focus on him in the long-term rather than by short-term results, which thus far have alternated between nightmarish and redemptive. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 May 2009 12:00

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Politics: Opinion: How do you become a genius? Work really, really hard.

  • The key factor separating geniuses from the merely accomplished is not a divine spark. It’s not I.Q., a generally bad predictor of success, even in realms like chess. Instead, it’s deliberate practice.
  • New York Times columnist David Brooks • On the spark that leads to genius – great amounts of work. He points, specifically, to Mozart and Tiger Woods, two who became leaders in their field because they put the work in to become leaders. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 May 2009 11:52

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Culture: Wolverine is not feeling the love from the critics

  • 38% critics’ opinion of “Wolverine” on RottenTomatoes source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

28 Apr 2009 10:43

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Politics, U.S.: The media’s love affair with Michelle Obama continues

  • This is someone who appeals across the usual divides. She is a celebrity you can imagine being, not a celebrity you have to watch from afar.
  • Susan M. Reverby • Professor of women’s studies at Wellesley College in Mass., discussing exactly why Michelle Obama is so great. Perhaps it’s over the top, but, well, at least she isn’t talking about how amazing her arms are. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Apr 2009 01:51

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Politics, Tech: Swine flu + panic + Twitter = PANIC!!!!!! (And why this is bad)

  • … having millions of people wrap up all their fears into 140 characters and blurt them out in the public might have some dangerous consequences, networked panic being one of them.
  • Foreign Policy columnist Evgeny Morozov • Discussing the danger of Twitter apparent in many posts about the swine flu scare – that being the effect of a bunch of people writing on mere emotion, because that’s all they have space for, and they’re all unnecessarily freaking out. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

26 Apr 2009 09:54

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Politics, U.S.: How does Obama compare to all those other presidents?

With nearly 100 days of experience behind him, comparisons start to stick. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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