Airlines Auto industry - trade unions and of moles/warts and cancers

labor unions are so socialist...its like a mole on the face of capitalism...regardless of who runs or what policies are introduced...its a wart not going away easily...it will take the ship down.

lobbyists for the rich and trade/labor unions for the poor, we are stuck between.
WE is the significant tax-paying, law abiding citizenry...

On a show couple of days ago, there was this talk abt compartmentalizing the fares...checkin luggage/snacks/pillow/blankets...this is all bandaid...

Recent history has shown any public corporation bending to labor union whims has never been successful..

as in the case of airline or the auto industry, this has been the same case. End result, higher costs are being pushed to the end consumers like US. WHY WHY WHY?

Where is capitalism? Where is competition? Why dont I have better bidders for my hard earned $?

On a ligher note: Mr Housing Bubble

This article appeard on Barrons which begins with the following paragraph,

A FEW YEARS AGO, AN ACQUAINTANCE SENT Wellesley College economist Karl "Chip" Case a T-shirt depicting a cartoon of a smiley-face house surrounded by soap bubbles, called "Mr. Housing Bubble." But it was the words captured in a comic-book cloud on the shirt that gave this otherwise goofy image its bite: "If I pop, you're screwed!"

The T-shirt looked like this perhaps :

Click to follow to the actual article: If I pop, you are screwed

Wake Up America - Real Estate is SHELTER!

Tim Iacono@SeekingAlpha makes a good point

The real value in real estate is in its function as shelter - a place to live, a place to raise a family - a point nicely made by Steve Kersch in this column at MarketWatch today.

Click to follow link:  Real Estate is SHELTER, stop believing it is an ASSET!!!

He quotes Steve Kerch from MarketWatch, who writes

But let's forget about prices, for the moment (and doesn't that feel good!) and concentrate on fundamental value. Because that is something that no home-price statistic captures.

At its core, a house is a shelter. Unless the roof caves in, there is always some economic value in that.

But most people when they dream about a house or start looking for a house or actually buy one think about value in a whole different way: they think about the fireplace they can gather around with their families, the kitchen where they can show off their culinary skills, the bathroom that they won't have to share, the schools they will be able to send their kids to, the neighbors they will be able to entertain in the backyard, the parks they can bike and hike and the community events they will be able to attend.

Yes, you have to make a price decision. And that can come back to haunt you if you're forced to sell in a market like this. But that doesn't mean you value any of those other things any less.

Click to follow Steve Kerch@marketwatch, "At its core, a house is a shelter...

Once again, the subprime wolves are on the prowl

Scary, I am sure this will continue to happen unabated while the taxpayers are taken for a ride. Read more at this link below.

http://www.kxxv.com/Global/Story.asp?S=9392488

Other stuff I’ve been reading lately:

Wholesale Rates and the Evolution of a Crisis by Jack M. Guttentag

http://finance.yahoo.com/expert/article/mortgage/123342?count=30&start=6#dtk-cmtscnt

What's Wrong With Berkshire Hathaway?

http://www.fool.co.uk/news/investing/company-comment/2008/11/21/whats-wrong-with-berkshire-hathaway.aspx

Moody's says alt-A mortgage delinquencies rise

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/11/18/ap5707587.html

New Year U.S. Housing Market Forecast: No Gain, More Pain

http://www.moneymorning.com/2008/11/20/housing-outlook-2009/

Barack Obama's acceptance speech

Amen!

Courtesy:
Full text of the victory speech delivered by Barack Obama in Chicago>

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.

It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled - Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.

It's the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.

I just received a very gracious call from Senator McCain. He fought long and hard in this campaign, and he's fought even longer and harder for the country he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine, and we are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader. I congratulate him and Governor Palin for all they have achieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead.

I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on that train home to Delaware, the Vice President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.

I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last sixteen years, the rock of our family and the love of my life, our nation's next First Lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House. And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure.

To my campaign manager David Plouffe, my chief strategist David Axelrod, and the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics - you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done.

But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to - it belongs to you.

I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington - it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.

It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars to this cause. It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy; who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep; from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the millions of Americans who volunteered, and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this Earth. This is your victory.

I know you didn't do this just to win an election and I know you didn't do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime - two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century. Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us. There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage, or pay their doctor's bills, or save enough for college. There is new energy to harness and new jobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America - I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you - we as a people will get there.

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it's been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years - block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

What began twenty-one months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek - it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers - in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.

Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House - a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, "We are not enemies, but friends...though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection." And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn - I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too.

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world - our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this world down - we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security - we support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright - tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.

For that is the true genius of America - that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing - Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons - because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America - the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that "We Shall Overcome." Yes we can.

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves - if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time - to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth - that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:

Yes We Can. Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.

 

I salute John McCain

Sir, John McCain IS truly a great son of America – I salute!

 

This truly is a water-shed moment in American politics (quoting Gloria Borger on CNN) regardless of whether one is Democrat or Republican.

 

McCain was tough during the campaign…I couldn’t help but swallow hard to hear his humbling words, “the failure is mine but not yours”. Maybe, he will take consolation that he was one of the lead actors in the creation of a new chapter in American history and he went down fighting Obama who we will see a lot in the years to come.

 

This is a full text of the speech – I was moved by the tone and the call for every American to join and help the next President.

 

The pain and disappointment was evident, hopefully, this will be a better John compared to the post-2000. We wish to see you around John to continue to be the maverick you have been all through your career.

 

Full text of McCain’s speech(courtesy: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/uselection2008/johnmccain/3383618/John-McCain-concedes-Full-text-of-speech.html)

John McCain concedes: Full text of speech

Full text of John McCain's speech conceding defeat in Arizona:

 Last Updated: 7:13AM GMT 05 Nov 2008

; http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1488655367/bctid1900364930 http://www.brightcove.com/channel.jsp?channel=1139053637

Thank you. Thank you, my friends. Thank you for coming here on this beautiful Arizona evening.

My friends, we have -- we have come to the end of a long journey. The American people have spoken, and they have spoken clearly.

A little while ago, I had the honor of calling Senator Barack Obama to congratulate him.

To congratulate him on being elected the next president of the country that we both love.

In a contest as long and difficult as this campaign has been, his success alone commands my respect for his ability and perseverance. But that he managed to do so by inspiring the hopes of so many millions of Americans who had once wrongly believed that they had little at stake or little influence in the election of an American president is something I deeply admire and commend him for achieving.

This is an historic election, and I recognize the special significance it has for African-Americans and for the special pride that must be theirs tonight.

I've always believed that America offers opportunities to all who have the industry and will to seize it. Senator Obama believes that, too.

But we both recognize that, though we have come a long way from the old injustices that once stained our nation's reputation and denied some Americans the full blessings of American citizenship, the memory of them still had the power to wound.

A century ago, President Theodore Roosevelt's invitation of Booker T. Washington to dine at the White House was taken as an outrage in many quarters.

America today is a world away from the cruel and frightful bigotry of that time. There is no better evidence of this than the election of an African-American to the presidency of the United States.

Let there be no reason now...

Let there be no reason now for any American to fail to cherish their citizenship in this, the greatest nation on Earth.

Senator Obama has achieved a great thing for himself and for his country. I applaud him for it, and offer him my sincere sympathy that his beloved grandmother did not live to see this day. Though our faith assures us she is at rest in the presence of her creator and so very proud of the good man she helped raise.

Senator Obama and I have had and argued our differences, and he has prevailed. No doubt many of those differences remain.

These are difficult times for our country. And I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face.

I urge all Americans...

I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited.

Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans. And please believe me when I say no association has ever meant more to me than that.

It is natural. It's natural, tonight, to feel some disappointment. But tomorrow, we must move beyond it and work together to get our country moving again.

We fought -- we fought as hard as we could. And though we feel short, the failure is mine, not yours.

I am so deeply grateful to all of you for the great honor of your support and for all you have done for me. I wish the outcome had been different, my friends.

The road was a difficult one from the outset, but your support and friendship never wavered. I cannot adequately express how deeply indebted I am to you.

I'm especially grateful to my wife, Cindy, my children, my dear mother...

... my dear mother and all my family, and to the many old and dear friends who have stood by my side through the many ups and downs of this long campaign.

I have always been a fortunate man, and never more so for the love and encouragement you have given me.

You know, campaigns are often harder on a candidate's family than on the candidate, and that's been true in this campaign.

All I can offer in compensation is my love and gratitude and the promise of more peaceful years ahead.

I am also -- I am also, of course, very thankful to Governor Sarah Palin, one of the best campaigners I've ever seen...

... one of the best campaigners I have ever seen, and an impressive new voice in our party for reform and the principles that have always been our greatest strength...

... her husband Todd and their five beautiful children...

... for their tireless dedication to our cause, and the courage and grace they showed in the rough and tumble of a presidential campaign.

We can all look forward with great interest to her future service to Alaska, the Republican Party and our country.

To all my campaign comrades, from Rick Davis and Steve Schmidt and Mark Salter, to every last volunteer who fought so hard and valiantly, month after month, in what at times seemed to be the most challenged campaign in modern times, thank you so much. A lost election will never mean more to me than the privilege of your faith and friendship.

I don't know -- I don't know what more we could have done to try to win this election. I'll leave that to others to determine. Every candidate makes mistakes, and I'm sure I made my share of them. But I won't spend a moment of the future regretting what might have been.

This campaign was and will remain the great honor of my life, and my heart is filled with nothing but gratitude for the experience and to the American people for giving me a fair hearing before deciding that Senator Obama and my old friend Senator Joe Biden should have the honor of leading us for the next four years.

Please. Please.

I would not -- I would not be an American worthy of the name should I regret a fate that has allowed me the extraordinary privilege of serving this country for a half a century.

half a century.

Today, I was a candidate for the highest office in the country I love so much. And tonight, I remain her servant. That is blessing enough for anyone, and I thank the people of Arizona for it.

Tonight -- tonight, more than any night, I hold in my heart nothing but love for this country and for all its citizens, whether they supported me or Senator Obama -- whether they supported me or Senator Obama.

I wish Godspeed to the man who was my former opponent and will be my president. And I call on all Americans, as I have often in this campaign, to not despair of our present difficulties, but to believe, always, in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here.

Americans never quit. We never surrender.

We never hide from history. We make history.

Thank you, and God bless you, and God bless America. Thank you all very much.

 

Paul Krugman : The Real Plumbers of Ohio

Obama Vs McCain

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/20/opinion/20krugman.html?_r=1&em&oref=slogin

 

 

How to excel in your new job(VP's and above ONLY)

 

Management Bull shit:

 

This makes for good reading and especially effective if you are laid-off after 6-7years of back-breaking work in a high-tech company and you are escorted to the door on an odd day of the week(Tuesday) with 0 severance. Guess, you can call m disgruntled!

 

Credit: John Brandt was the author of this article –

 

This is very effective in this ultra-competitive dog eat cat world…What should a new manager hired for a top spot do in the company where everything is alien to him…some life saving tips, this!

 

“Dump everything on a sub-ordinate(Smith) who actually knows what he/she is doing.”

 

Another old fashioned option now available ONLY at the VP level or above. Breathe a sigh of relief as that pile of unsanswered memos and half baked proposals that’s on Smith’s desk leaving yours clean and shiny as the hood of the new Benz(Porsche or Cadillac) you will be driving this afternoon while Smith digs out.

 

Pros: If Smith is any good, you’ll look like a genius. If not, fire him. Why should you be blamed for all the incompetents your predecessors hired.

 

Cons: If Smith is as good as you hope, a rival may hire him away or worse yet, unmask you for the empty suit you really are

 

Upshot: It sure beats doing it yourself. Mitigate risk by giving Smith a bad review(he or she can now be painted as disgruntled) and making sure that his cubicle can always be found with a trail of bread-crumbs. Atta boy!

 

Snippets from "When Markets Collide by Mohammed El Eriyan, CEO of PIMCO"

Parting thoughts to the individual investor:

 

1.  Investors are advised to keep following topics front and center on their radar screens…they speak directly to the abilitiy of the markets to minimize very wide technical fluctuation occasioned by the current asymmetry between

a.  The role of endogenous liquidity(refer book to what does endogenous liquidity according to the author means…or even better google it)

b.  Official monetary actions

c.  As well as the reliable openness of economies to developments elsewhere in the world.

2.  Do not forget initial conditions – like Harvard Management companies first entry into TIMBER as early as the 1980s(1988-89???), Apparently, HMC made a killing back then and soon, like bees, everyone followed into timber…returns for first movers are the most(investing or forseeing opportunities where nobody is looking).

3.  Major contributor to inequalities around the world has been technological progress which increases the premium on skills and antiquates relatively low skill inputs(need to update here?) thereby benefiting those who are already better off and displacing those that are already worse off.

4.  Prisoner Dilemma – (need to update this)

5.  3 Circuit Breakers

a.  Government or FED jumping in(making access to easy cash)

b.  SWF with money entering the markets

c.  Emerging Economies economic growth.

6.  PASCALS WAGER: If people believed that the probabilitiy of an earthquake in California was hight, they would NOT live in California. Yet, because the probability is non-zero and the consequences are severe, it makes sense to consider earthquake insurance, especially, if the market is providing it cheaply.

7.  Peter Dolan(from HMC?) 4 pronged principle in the life of a money manager

a.  Strive for excellence(arete)

b.  Hubris

c.  Recklesness(ate)

d.  Nemesis(retributive justice)

8.  The urgent/importance matrix – any ceo must need to pay attention to these(more in the book)

a.  1^st Quadrant: IMPORTANT AND URGENT

b.  2^nd Quadrant: Important NOT Urgent

c.  3^rd Quadrant: NOT Important NOT Urgent

d.  4^th Quadrant: Urgent NOT Important

 

 

 

 

 

Broker turned Monk speaks

"We always search for happiness in the outside world, in material things, which makes us constantly unsatisfied, angry with ourselves and the world," said Mishkov, who exudes a sense of tranquility, intelligence, and humor.

Greed and the marketization of our lives have reached the point where people have been turned into a commodity -- even their health can be traded like a stock, he said.

"We have so quickly lost our human appearance, we have become beasts ... There's no-one to count on and say 'hey neighbor come help me.' He will come but demand a payment."

Read the entire article here: http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE49004C20081001?sp=true

 

Subscribers (Millions) BSNL vs Bharti Vs Reliance Vs Vodafone - Jul 2008

And the first place goes to...Bharti.

By end-July 2008,

BSNL : 42.5 million mobile subscribers
Bharti's 72.1 million,
Reliance's
52.5 million
Vodafone Essar's 51 million.

http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSDEL34932920080910?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=10003&sp=true

Oil, future and where the hell are we going?

Anything wrt to oil interests me and I was trolling the fool boards and landed on this discussion, http://boards.fool.com/Message.asp?mid=26634077&sort=whole

Interesting points are made by the OP(original poster) bozob - Oil is being used as a hedge for $ depreciation(so is gold) and it is long due for a correction soon...Supply/Demand forecasts the high oil prices are here to stay and continue their march upward, however, post 16 offers respite and hope otherwise. As one poster wrote, Exxon(XOM) will comtinue to make and post record profits...but 100% susceptible to what rises falls owing to the rise of Prius revolution.

Also, the whole "PRIUS revolution" has begun slowly - it will take a few years, maybe 5-10 assuming that this roughly the timespan the average Joe and Jane buy their next car(it cd also be sooner due to high inflation, depressed wages).


Sources:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121010625118671575.html?mod=...
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121015830066573617.html?mod=...
http://instapundit.com/archives2/018985.php
http://informationdissemination.blogspot.com/2008/05/fleet-positions-itself-for-war.html

This link derives a special mention and place in this post :

http://www.superfactory.com/articles/meyer_what_in_the_world.htm By Herbert Meyer

Herbert Meyer served during the Reagan administration as special assistant to the Director of Central Intelligence and Vice Chairman of the CIA’s National Intelligence Council. In these positions, he managed production of the U.S. National Intelligence Estimates and other top-secret projections for the President and his national security advisers. Meyer is widely credited with being the first senior U.S. Government official to forecast the Soviet Unions collapse, for which he later was awarded the U.S. National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal, the intelligence community's highest honor. Formerly an associate editor of FORTUNE, he is alsothe author of several books.





Consumption of Oil by Nations
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/ene_oil_con-energy-oil-consumption

Showing latest available data.
Rank Countries Amount (top to bottom)

#1 United States: 20,730,000 bbl/day
#2 China: 6,534,000 bbl/day
#3 Japan: 5,578,000 bbl/day
#4 Germany: 2,650,000 bbl/day
#5 Russia: 2,500,000 bbl/day
#6 India: 2,450,000 bbl/day
#7 Canada: 2,294,000 bbl/day
#8 Korea, South: 2,149,000 bbl/day
#9 Brazil: 2,100,000 bbl/day
#10 France: 1,970,000 bbl/day

Finally, this thread, kind of ends(atleast for now) with comments from "bozob" which the author of this blog seems to agree...history has shown this is true and history needs to be respected and revisited too(Santayana's warning to the masses must be remembered here!).

At least for me, I'm certainly not saying anything is different. Higher demand and lower supply... those have been going on forever. Prices will rise; I am 100% certain of that.

I'm not so certain of that.

Oil cost far more than many other forms of energy with its primary advantage being its portability. There are currently a number of research efforts to find ways of storing enouhg of other forms of energy to make them portable. Once this happens then the other forms of energy become a replacement for oil.

What happens when you can charge up your car in short periods of time for long trips the equivalent of about a $1/gallon? That is the estimate of the cost of equivalent power and there seem to be a number of potential candidates to achieve this.

Lithium-ion batteries that have a nanowire component could last much longer and store up to ten times more charge than conventional batteries. A paper online this week in Nature Nanotechnology reports that these batteries, with anodes made from silicon nanowires, are meeting high expectations.

Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries are found in numerous portable electronics — from iPods to laptops. Typically, carbon is used as the anode electrode in these batteries, but silicon anodes should be able to store up to ten times more charge. The problem with silicon is that the repeated insertion and extraction of lithium ions causes it to degrade and fall apart, leading to poor battery performance over time.

The anodes designed by Yi Cui and co-workers are made from silicon nanowires that are grown directly on a stainless steel substrate, which serves as the current collector. These anodes reach the maximum theoretical charge capacity for silicon on the first charge cycle and stay close to 75% of this maximum over many charge and discharge cycles. The study attributes the success of the silicon nanowire anodes to a combination of excellent electrical contact with the substrate, improved strain relief and the one-dimensional electrical properties of silicon nanowires.
http://www.nature.com/nnano/press_releases/nnano1207.html

A traditional Li-Ion battery configured for a Prius would give it a range of about 7 miles. Toyota is supposedly planning a plug-in that will hold two batteries for a range of up to 14 miles. With this technology you could get 140 miles and improve charge times.

Another area being explored are micro-turbines as highly efficient electrical generators.

I think we are on the verge of another cusp in automobile efficiencies. The last one improved fuel efficiencies as much as two to threefold using aerodynamics, newer and lighter materials, and computer controlled engine controls like fuel injection and valve timing. The new technologies could likely see another doubling or tripling of fuel efficiencies.

Remove that much demand from world oil demand and you'll see prices drop again.

StockGumShoe

I keep getting teaser emails about the next ten-bagger, 20-bagger stock and an opportunity of a life-time from people/institutions all the time. They are dime a dozen and make you feel bad and wince for many reasons, be it you dont have money, or a trading account or the fact that you will not get rich because you passed on this offer which could be availed at only $100, or $200 or $800 per year...

UNTIL, I found out about "stockgumshoe" - this is authored by what I consider an extremely intelligent and mature individual. As a result, he has been promoted to the links section...you can find a link to stockgumshoe's website on the left.

StockGumshoe, reveals each one of the teaser stocks in the universe of all stock-newsletters, totally FREE OF COST! Check what the fuss is all about here, http://www.stockgumshoe.com/about

Happy n-baggers!

How to spot a bubble(thank Rishi)

You can follow the link to the article by Rishi.

What goes up comes down.
What goes way way way up comes way way way down over way way way too much time(an exaggeration, but you get the point!)

Bye Bye American Dream!

What is capitalism when its constituents are the same, 40 years before, 40 years hence! What is scary is the system was manipulated in such a way that “cheap gas prices” were there to stay, forever!

 

Gas guzzlers, like the SUV’s are a recent phenomenon, of the 90’s. Suburbia – was possible because of this, long commutes dithered none. Freeways were put to the best use…now, with gas prices rising continuously much to our chagrin and shock and showing no sign of abating, the near future is not rosy at all. The distant one does not look good either, with wage stagnation and housing deflation, there is no alternative for people to borrow, against what? Also, I am curious to see just how insane it will get…I remember those days where a popular TV bran “AIWA” was being introduced – “Bring your old television, trade it in for a new”. Now, it is highly unlikely you are going to see the big three in the USA (GM, Ford, Chrysler) do something on these lines…I will be happy to trade in my Honda for an electric car…but, not, wait, they want us to suck dry. First, I will be forced to buy a fuel cell/battery hybrid and enslaved in debt for god knows how many years and when the rest of the world has overtaken us, I will be sold the next solution. There seems to be no impetus to nip the problem in the bud…Just when will the American consumer will say “enough is enough” – maybe, not.

 

The cost of gasoline in Europe/Asia is upwards of $5 a gallon…there are dis-incentives to not use your car in Europe, it’s the opposite here. In India, inspite of the high gas prices, the maximum distance a motorist will clock is no more than 10-15miles(30miles roundtrip). Compare that to the United States, the example in the article below, the gentleman drives 100miles. At the place where I work, there are people who drive 50-75miles one way…

 

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/homepage/20080409_Long_commutes__gas_prices_crimping_American_Dream.html

 

McMansion Saga Pro Vs Cons continues

Very illuminating post, the kind of stuff, I personally rue and muse over…if you are not an expert, atleast have one or be under the tutelage of one J. Read “Buyer Beware” below.

~~~

BUYER BEWARE

Many of these McMansions, (and many new homes of all sizes), are very poorly constructed. Under the granite and marble is often a slew of defects and code violations. Even a cheap starter house is supposed to meet code but houses of all prices often don’t!

I bought a modest ranch house in 2000, of about 1800 squ. ft. That was big to me. I didn’t have any fancies, just stated again and again to the real estate agent, “I want quality construction, not frills” I didn’t know what quality construction really was, and learned the hard way that neither did the industry. Don’t know what it is or don’t care.

I got a highly defective house and spent five years embroiled in a construction defect dispute. My lawyer committed took my retainer fee, did no work, and committed forgery, so I was on my own, unwilling to trust a new lawyer just yet. It’s not that easy to find a good lawyer because they know builders fold their company and don’t pay court judgments and debts.

Fortunately for me I did manage to settle, but I learned something that every buyer of a new home ought to be concerned about. Many builders these days take extraordinary shortcuts to plump up their bottom line, and these shortcuts can make your new house essentially “disposable.” The so-called 10 yr warranty policies on some new homes are a joke. The policy comes after closing since the builder buys it, and they exclude almost everything. If you want to dispute a claim you have to arbitrate wtih their kangaroo court. I escaped that problem due to a federal law concerning govt backed (VA and FHA) loans that says the warranty co can’t force you to arbitrate: 24 CFR 203.204(g). If you need that regulation it’s on the Cornell Law site under Code of Federal Regulations, title 24, section 203.204(g).
No thanks to any lawyers I paid, I found this regulation thru free consumer info and was able to use it successfully.

As I go past new developments now I see horrendous examples of shortcuts on house after house. People think that with what I know now I should feel assured that I could buy/build again with confidence but I don’t feel assured at all. It’s obvious that a person has to either be, or know, an expert in construction and law before they have any hope of assuring their new house will be well built, and the contract fair and enforceable. I was supposedly a pretty educated and cautious consumer before but I still got taken. I’m even more cautious now, but the more I learn, the more I realize the scams evolve faster than the consumer protection info. It is truly Buyer Beware. Owners of these McMansions may or may not have construction problems but if they do they’re in for a world of hurt because a junky big expensive house is a bigger financial burden than a small junky house.

Another one from the “Pro-McMansionites”

I just “stole” a 5,000+ sq. ft. very well built mansion on 5+ acres. It’s friggin’ wonderful to have room to hang all the beautiful art I’ve collected in my consulting travels. Also we have a gorgeous pool and the gourmet kitchen that my wife has always wanted.

I plan to finish the 4,000+ sq. foot full sunlight basement that opens onto the pool and jacuzzi, so my elderly Mom can move in with us in 2 or 3 years. The basement is already wired and plumbed for 2 large bedrooms with walk-in closets and full baths, a kitchen, media room, full woodworking workship, see-through fireplace, etc. I figure it’ll cost about $120K to add another 4,000 sq. ft. to the house. The extra heating is really not that bad, since we do take care.

Oh, and mansions certainly are all they’re cracked up to be. I especially love the instant-on and unlimited hot water that comes from our very full water well.

My wife and I currently have our daughter and elderly WWII Marine father-in-law living with us. He loves it.

Yeah, I was going to downsize from my paid-off 3,200 sq ft. house on a creek, but then this fantastic deal came along. Let me tell you…if you have a chance to get a mansion for what a tract home in California or New York costs, take it. I’m diggin’ it to the max.

And some smart not-everyday-everyplace, uncommonly common sense

AISGREEN,

Good for you. Most people will read your post as a description of all this excess, but, in fairness, you have one elderly parent living with you, and are planning on another coming soon. So, four adults, plus your daughter living there is not even all that inefficient. So good luck with the renovations, and enjoy that pool!

To everyone, if you can afford it, I mean REALLY afford it, then live it up, and God Bless! If not, less is fine too.

 

 

 

Ichneumon Wasp - I Bow to thee!

 

The story of ichneumon wasp

 

Read this about wasps - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ichneumon_wasp

 

Last night, we saw a DVD(Life in the Undergrowth, produced by BBC, David Attenborough) about insects and were shocked to learn the story of this wasp. So check this out...

 

It all begins with the blue butterfly in Europe. In Spring, the blue butterflies mate and their eggs are laid on leaves of plants which hatch into caterpillars and drop off to the ground. The funny thing about caterpillars are they emit a chemical called pheromones whose smell makes a very strange thing happen – the pheromones are intentionally meant to confuse the ants - which think that it is one of their own and take it back to their nests and clean it and take good care of them. These caterpillars are so smart they even make the same noises as ant larvae so they can be fed by the ants...the oblivious ants feed them for as long as it takes.

 

In a typical meadow, there are upto 100 ant hills and guess what...The story of ichneumon wasp starts here. Ichneumon pronounced as ick-new-mon, knows the exact ant-nest where the caterpillars are being taken care off - they enter the ant-nest and as you can imagine, the ants realize the wasp has arrived and start attacking it wildly. The wasp produces a pheromone which causes a bizarre thing to happen - the equivalent of "maya" or magic - the ants start attacking each other instead of the intruder. The wasp proceeds to the rooms where the eggs are being protected and finds the caterpillar and injects an egg into each one of them and having achieved its objective, it takes off.

The ants regain their composure and go back to tending to their own and the caterpillars. In due course of time, the caterpillars form the Chrysalis and enter the last stage of metamorphosis…all along being taken care of by the ants. The blue butterfly eventually comes out and heads out into the open to begin its adult life. Soon after, the ichneumon wasp too comes out of the chrysalis having gotten a safe ride through the seasons and food from the host which was the host of the poor ants J.

 

Last night, we were totally shocked to see this exploitation and deception and double deception to see among insects

and we tend to beat our fellow humans for showing lack of morality and character. The wonders of creation, lust for life and the complex intricacies – all showed in this fine example from 3 different species…so much to learn!

 

Another note about the DVD, “the silk spinners” from DVD-1 is mind blowing. Especially the piece about the Gladiator spiders and Bolas spiders…chilling to say it in 1 word. In DVD-2, “intimate relations”, yet another spider + wasp story…where the spider is aware of and does nothing to get rid of its guest…which returns the favour by injecting the spider with a hormone which makes it go loopy and loose its core-competencies, web making and spinning silk. Bizarre, huh? There is also the piece about ants and trees co-operating…a must-see!

McMansions - to make my previous post complete

Otherwise, it wd be incomplete, right.

 

Live in a 4000 sq ft house with wife and 5 kids just outside the city on 5 acres with trees, stream, etc. Perfect size for us, could even be bigger. Only regret is that I did not move here sooner so that my older kids could have enjoyed building tree houses, etc. the way my younger kids have. House is designed to entertain with a large great room and less than 1 mile from the high school, so my older kids bring over a bunch of their friends everyday for lunch… and after school… and on the weekends. It is great to be the ‘hang-out place’ for high schooler as opposed to the mall or whatever. As for the extra work/chores, sure it comes with the turf, but the kids are all expected to help out, so it becomes (mostly) a positive family experience. After kids are grown and out of the house, this will hopefully be a place grandkids will love to visit (and there will be enough space to house them), so don’t see myself downsizing. So I agree with RJS- all a matter of perspective and someone’s lifestyle choices.

Comment by Bigger is better - April 7, 2008 at 2:47 pm

The concept that the Suburbs are dying and no one wants McMansions anymore is pure fluff and folly.

While it IS true that the average square foot of new construction is leveling off, that has as much to do with construction costs as it does with any large trends towards smaller housing.

The one thing that is true is that because of the commutes, more and more people will look to move closer “in”. This trend has been taking place for 10 yrs+ nationwide. It doesnt mean no one is going to buy new houses out in the Suburbs or Ex-burbs. It just means demand will change with that. But it certainly wont collapse. Thats where the least expensive housing will tend to be.

Every decade or so, we get a market correction not unlike were having now. Once the prices get “corrected”, demand will go back to where it was before.

Whoever commented that farmers were going to buy back (which they sold to builders in the first place) land to farm again is clueless. They couldnt afford it, even with the raising of Corn prices.

It’s just part of the cycle we go through.

 

Are you a POOP?

Now, don’t get me wrong, POOP is “Prisoner Of Our Property” as Dan writes in the comments.

 

http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2008/04/07/are-mcmansions-making-some-americans-unhappy/?mod=MostPopular?mod=fpa_blogs

 

Some interesting comments,

1.       The suburbs will be abandoned in favor of cities and farmers will buy back the land and plow down developments. http://www.endofsuburbia.com/

2.       George comments “McMansions will go the way of previous excessive residences and turn into bed and breakfasts, businesses, nursing homes, multiplexes and communes.”

3.       Loving Atlanta write, “With my most recent home purchase, we bypassed the suburbs and went into the city which meant a MUCH smaller yard and somewhat smaller house. The time savings from lawn care alone is tremendous. We also save with more convenient shops, public transit cut auto costs, and easier time getting together with neighbors. None of this was possible in our former golf course community.”

4.       Matt in Plano, “Also, just because you can “afford it” doesn’t mean you “have to have it”. Living “richly” is not an entitlement, and certainly not all it is cracked up to be, but we cannot seem to learn this lesson well enough to pass it along to our children, who then set out on the same misguided journey. “Less is more” - and our focus should be on each other”

 

Read more in the comments section

 

 

Alan Greenspan defending his position in the WSJ

Greenspan reminds me of my grand-mother, old withery and full of kindness in those eyes and in speech…his oratory and picking the right words for the right moment is unmatched. Here is one gem of a quote,

 

“I am reasonably certain that I am right here. If I am proved wrong, I will change. I do not have a vested interest in holding wrong ideas”

 

Read the full article for free on the WSJ online:

http://online.wsj.com/public/article_print/SB120760341392296107.html

 

The Wire finale on TV(had written this long ago, never posted)

The Wire(TV Series on HBO)

 

What interested me was the lines in bold below, which happens to be my own observation(not conclusion), echoed in the press and in print too. The press seems to have indicted themselves too by printing this.

 

I have never watched “The Wire”, cause I don’t have HBO J…never heard of it until now. Never watched the Sopranos either and the dramatic cut to black when the season ended raised uproar and disappointment among the fans. My taste for the non-mainstream, unsung underdogs perked up after reading this article and maybe, I will request season one from the local library and pack a weekend of “The Wire”

 

Read the entire article here - http://www.newsweek.com/id/84555/output/print

Excerpts”

 

1. Serial killers, mostly. In one of the show's most grandiose storylines yet, a homicidal maniac with a thirst for homeless men is loose in Baltimore during season five—only not really, because the killer is actually a fiction created by McNulty and fed-up fellow Det. Lester Freamon (Clarke Peters). It's all a brazen publicity stunt designed to shame the mayor into funneling a few more pennies into a police force so strapped for cash that it had to shutter its wiretap investigation into a soft-spoken but brutal drug kingpin named Marlo Stanfield (Jamie Hector). As fanciful as the phony-killer plotline may sound, it is executed with "The Wire's" customary verisimilitude, and Simon's point is never far from the surface. The story is "very much a critique [of] the fixation that Americans have with the pornography of violence, as opposed to the root causes of violence," Simon wrote in a December e-mail

 

AND

2. "Let me indict Hollywood as much as I can on this one," says Simon. "We have more working black actors in key roles than pretty much all the other shows on the air. And yet you still hear people claim they can't find good African-American actors. That's why race-neutral shows and movies turn out lily-white."

None of the actors on "The Wire" has ever been nominated for an Emmy. Overall, the show has earned just one nomination in four seasons. (Pelecanos and Simon, for writing. They lost.) What really steamed Simon, though, was a story two years ago in Emmy Magazine, the Academy's trade publication, about diversity in television. The story made no mention of "The Wire." "Nothing," says Simon. "Not in the whole issue." The silent treatment from Hollywood, though, has cultivated a theater-company camaraderie around the show, a nervy pride in what can be accomplished by unheralded artists in a supposed backwater like Baltimore. "You get a lot of cachet from being the underdog," says West. "And I rather enjoy that feeling—that you're a cult thing, a secret delight. That means a lot more than an Emmy." Simon is less diplomatic. "I don't give a f––– if we ever win one of their little trinkets. I don't care if they ever figure out we're here in Baltimore," he says. "Secretly, we all know we get more ink for being shut out. So at this point, we wanna be shut out. We wanna go down in flames together, holding hands all the way. It's fun. And it's a good way to go out—throwing them the finger from 3,000 miles away

 

 

Slow Down a Little, Save a Lot of Gas

Driving 10 miles per hour faster, assuming you don't lose time getting pulled over for a speeding ticket, does have the advantage of getting you to your destination 50 minutes sooner on that 400 mile trip. Whether that time difference is worth the added cost and risk is, ultimately, up to you.

 

http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/104752/Slow-Down-a-Lttle-Save-a-Lot-of-Gas

 

Once again, to summarise, remember this - Driving 10 miles per hour faster gets you to your destination 50 minutes sooner on a 400 mile trip.

sigh, of research and experts!

Well, this is the nation that gave the world aeroplanes, rockets, nuclear technology, internet and a long list. Maybe, I should stop here and you should as well.

 

If you have decided to continue, I will begin with my rant. This is also a police state and a robot nation. What would I do without the movie “The Matrix-1”, just like the movie, the people of this great nation are incubated to be “parts(note inanimity) moving on the assembly line of capitalism, since birth!”.

 

They are told to follow rules and follow rules they will(here is a glowing tribute to what this nation has done to its people, http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=7e9bb859-631f-4291-b14a-19b248b235f9), subject of another discussion.

 

When research of any kind is connected, there are so many factors to take into consideration. If a person participating as a research “guinea pig” is considered – then Age, race, diet, hereditary characteristics, acquired and inherited diseases (mutations), geography and so on becomes important. Entity conducting the research, funding it received from vested/non-vested interests is worth consideration. Person(s) conducting the research, their motives, prejudices and leanings to a particular theory and subsequent recourse to do the research is to be thoroughly questioned.

 

Yes, I understand, hope and faith is what we have ultimately. Yes, I pop acetaminophen and ibuprofen on a regular basis too.

 

To make asinine research projects without putting common sense to test, I find, is appalling. What makes us above animals in the wild, I am pretty sure, researchers havent thought about in the first place. This arrogance, is primarily what leads to such shoddy reporting,

Research debunks health value of guzzling water http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN0236679720080402?sp=true

 

Hillary Clinton and TearGate!

 

“In a weirdly narcissistic way, she was crying for us. But it was grimly typical of her that what finally made her break down was the prospect of losing.”

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/09/opinion/08dowd.html?ei=5087&em=&en=22018da0e65725e0&ex=1200200400&pagewanted=print

 

Anil Kumble and Indian Politics and Swabhiman

Swapan DasGupta writes in his article “India has arrived”

 

“There is squeamishness and a pronounced inferiority complex that mark the dealings of older Indians with foreigners. They still carry the burden of servitude and deprivation. Most politicians, including those professing Hindu nationalism, suffer from this disability — witness their awkward body language during overseas visits. Can you imagine Manmohan Singh telling Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in a Kumble-like manner to stop needling India in Arunachal Pradesh?

Political India lives in mental captivity; emerging India believes the strong shall inherit the earth. The merger of politics and swabhiman is overdue.”

 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-2695654,prtpage-1.cms

 

Robert Cialdini - Influence and Charlie Munger's talk on behavioral economics, patterned irrationality and such

This is an eye opener, I read until the 6^th bias and decided this entire article was worthy of mention. I claim to somethings about Charlie Munger but never knew he spent his life identifying, reading and making it his life’s work. We all do this every now and then - sincerely but not persevering(cause we are not acadmeicians) and are inconsistent without placing too much emphasis…more so like, arm-chair philosophers. Anyways, read the article at leisure, it will blow your mind J

 

Ofcourse, bias-1 was what we talked about last week. My favorite from the article, bias 5,

“If you carry bushel baskets full of money through the ghetto, and made it easy to steal, that would be a considerable human sin, because you'd be causing a lot of bad behavior, and the bad behavior would spread.”

 

http://www.loschmanagement.com/Berkshire%20Hathaway/Charlie%20munger/The%20Psychology%20of%20Human%20Misjudgement.htm

 

Jim Rogers, Bull in China

An interesting answer to a question posed to this formed partner in George Soros investment firm. See what happens to all extra money(liquidity) in the market. Pretty similar things are happening in India as well. Stock market UP!, real-estate UP and finally commodities UP!

Why has the Chinese stock market taken off?

The Chinese have done a very good job [with the economy] over the past 20 years. But the one mistake they've made is they have continued to block the currency and made it nonconvertible. That's causing huge liquidity to develop in the country, and that's causing trouble. It has really intensified in the past two or three years. They've got all this money sloshing around that's been flowing into China and can't get out. It's going into the mainland stock market and driving up prices. It's going into commodities. And it's going into real estate.

 

Read the full article here - http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2007/12/24/101935724/index.htm?postversion=2008010309