Another Article on On-Shoring

Made in USA Gives Small Businesses a Edge, by Nick Leiber

Hm... this is the second article I've read in a month extolling the virtues of buying American made goods.  Maybe the tide has turned.  There's an excellent book called "Poorly Made in China" by Paul Midler that provides details on joys of working with Chinese manufacturers.  Check it out, it's a good read.

The Killer Inside Me

I originally read the crime novel about a year ago and was surprised how good it was, especially considering it was written in the early fifties. Unfortunately this film isn’t that good. It’s one of those films that shouldn’t have tried to stay true to the novel. The pace is just too slow for a modern film and the character isn’t explained enough so that you stay interested for 2 hours. Frankly I think the director realized this because a third of the way through the movie, Casey Affleck’s starts narrating what the main character is thinking, and by then, you’ve already lost interest.

This is the second film I’ve seen with Casey Affleck as the main character and I just don’t think he’s lead actor material. Affleck tries to be an Everyman, ala Henry Fonda, but just can’t pull it off. Like his brother Ben, he just doesn’t have enough charisma and acting ability.

Unfortunately, I have to say skip this and just read the book. The book is worth your time. I’m not saying that it’s an awful film; it’s just that it isn’t very good. If you want to watch something along this line that is good, then go rent American Psycho with Christian Bale.

Favorite Line: It’s always lightest just before the dark.
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30 Degrees of Separation

I was looking at the weather for Albuquerqe and wondered how the temperature can drop from 60 to 30 degrees in a single day... for the whole week.   I have to re-evaluate whether I want to retire in a place where the weather is so schizophrenic. But then again, it might be amusing to wake up in fall and finish the day in winter.

Groupon

Read an article in the Globe and Mail arguing against purchasing Groupon stocks when it goes IPO.  The article made valid points but I particularly like this one:

Groupon has “first-mover advantage,” which is said to be exceptionally important in the tech space. I was going to use my Netscape browser to access the Excite search engine to research this concept more, then share what I found on Friendster, but decided to move on to the next point instead. 

-David Millstad

Christianity Wins One in Europe

European court says crucifixes can remain in Italian schools

Hm... maybe there's hope for Europe after all.

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No More Times

Topic: Newsite

I just found out today that the New York Times is going to start charging for viewing it website.  I understand why they're doing it but it also means I won't be able to read the best newsite anymore.  I hate to be selfish but I hope the other newsites don't follow.  One of my main pleasures of the web is that I can read the news.

Drag Me to Hell

What's the best thing you can say about a horror flick- man was that scary!  I have to admit that it's been awhile since I've seen anything that made me want to turn on the lights but "Drag Me to Hell" was it.  Please remember that I generally don't like this genre since actual suspence has been replaced by CGI and gore for the last 3 decades, but Sam Raimi has come close as anyone. That's not to say the film doesn't have problems: pace of the story, acting, no chemistry betwen the main characters, ear splitting volume , and a ridiculous ending.  But if the goal is to scare the viewer, then mission accomplished.

What became lost in the movie is that it deals with 2 major moral dilemas: what what you do for money and what would you do to save yourself.  A lot of us have faced the former and we can't sympathize with the heroine of the flick (played by Allison Lohman), especially since most would compromise and just do what the boss wanted.  That's the saddest aspect of the movie, with a little bit of effort, Raimi could've made something the equal of "The Exorcist" or "The Shining."

For all it's fault, it's a film worth renting.
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3 Days without Facebook

Update

Well it's been 3 days and I'm not having a difficult time without Facebook as last year.  The no sweets deprivation is beginning to bother me now, especially since I can't eat meat today.  But it's good for my soul and my waistline so I can't complain much.  Only 37 days to go...
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Conventional Gas-Powered Cars

Topic: Cars

Good article in the Washington Post about the great mileage that newer subcompacts are making now.  I have to admit that I was seduced by electronic cars, especially the Chevy Volt.  This is particularly humorous since I think that almost all of them are pretty bland-to-just plain ugly.  The article mentions the Cruze, Focus (I think they meant the Fiesta) and the Elantra since they're very near the 50 mpg range.  I like these cars but since none are coupes, I wouldn't really consider purchasing any of them.  I actually just noticed today that outside of the Civic and the Focus, there are no more coupe compacts under $20 grand.  Are their no more men in America?

I also agree that the auto manufacturers need to improve the mileage for the autombiles Americans really prefer driving-- trucks and SUV/Crossovers.  The Ranger and Colorado only get at most 4 mpg better than full size trucks.  Why would anyone buy the small trucks when the full size ones almost get the same mileage and only cost $2-3 grand more?  Come on Detroit- use chromoly steel, direct injected engines, and strip the excess weight already.      

Lent and Facebook

Topic: Faith

Well it's Ash Wednesday and it's time for me to give up Facebook and sweets until Easter.  I've given up Facebook for the past 3 years and the first couple of weeks are the hardest because of the withdrawal pains.  It really is difficult since that's my daily entertainment.  FYI: In case your not familiar with Lent, Catholics are required to give up something they enjoy and not eat meat on Fridays until Easter Sunday.

This year was a little different in that instead of changing my profile picture in Facebook, I just wrote, "Giving up Facebook for Lent.  I'll catch up with you on Easter" and result was that I received 3 "Like" comments.  It's nice to know that people appreciate that I'm doing that, especially when 2 of them aren't even Christians.

Of course this provides me with more time to devote to blogging, so expect more updates.

Chevy Volt and Consumer Reports

Topic: Technology

In a new article written by Consumer Reports about the Chevy Volt, the Volt wasn't given a favorable rating mainly because of the cost (which I agree) and the less than 40mpg GM kept advertising.  I don't think anyone can argue the cost of the Volt ($41,000 MSRP), isn't high, especially compared to hybrid or pure electric cars.  To be fair, all new electronic technology is costly at first, remember the first digital watch or camcorder or computer?  And until recently, the cost of converting a hybrid (i.e. Prius and Escape Hybrid) into a plug-in with lithium ion batteries would be about $40K.  I expect that GM will soon offer different models of the Volt with different set-ups (gas/electric, pure electric, hybrid gas/electric) that will be more price competitive to other car companies. The other option they could offer is a model that get's only 10 miles on electric, because it has less batteries, but will cost no more than a regular Prius.  But please keep in mine: I'm not a engineer, I'm only guessing, and I probably don't know what I'm talking about. 

The interesting thing about the cost of the Volt that isn't mentioned in this or any other article I've read is that no one has yet pointed out that the $7,500 tax rebate isn't given by the dealership, but is written off on your IRS form.  In other words, your monthly payments are based on $41K and not  $33,500 ($41K minus $7.5K) and is the same for any tax rebate your state offers.  I'm surprised no writers have pointed this out yet.

The second reason Consumer Reports couldn't give the car a favorable rating was because of the 40 mpg that is being advertised.  As I mentioned in my previous blog about the Volt, 40 mpg was the maximum you could get in perfect conditions and not what the average owner would be getting. Once again to be fair, since 80% of Americans drive 20 miles or less a day,  the 25-27 miles between charges is sufficent so that owners won't use the gas engine very often.   I can only blame GM for the tax rebate and mpg misunderstanding.  They really should of explained it better instead of having everyone disappointed when they find this out.

 

Time to Try Something New

I received a email tonight telling me that I didn't get the job.  I'm trying to be optimistic but I'm really dejected.  I think I'm going to give up now...