Not A Mystery

We always get a kick out of subliminal editorializing in news articles thru the use of photos.

And in this case Rupert Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal really has set a new (low) standard in their coverage of the recent Governors Conference.

It appears to me that the WSJ editorial staff selected this picture of California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and New York Gov. David Paterson to make them look like Political Caricatures that were drawn by Robert Crumb for an issue of Zap Comix.

This Picture Was Picked To Convey A Message

Of course the WSJ opposes Gov. Schwarzenegger because he’s a Republican that is willing to work constructively with Democrats. And Gov. Paterson is, well, a Democrat.

What surprised me is why the WSJ didn’t go ahead and just finish what they started.

But Why Not Stretch Things Just A Little More?

Last week it was reported that Google is now working on something called Store View.

…they took pictures of the inside of the store, every 6 feet, in all directions. They also took pictures of products. Google Store View will allow people to … click on the door to enter it, all on Google Maps. Then when you enter the store, you can walk through it.

This would be an obvious extension of Google’s Street View, but obvious only in the sense that things which were inconceivable several years we now take for granted.

You probably know about Street View which allows you to (virtually) walk down most streets in the USA and many overseas. Jaw-dropping.

Here’s an example.

A few weeks ago I was reading a news article that contained a picture of a house in New York City. The particular subject isn’t important, but because my interest was tweaked, I decided to see to see if I could find the same house in Google’s Street View.

Here’s the original picture, which I’m sure required a photographer at some point to suit up and drive to the actual location of the townhouse.

Original Newspaper Picture of Townhouse

After only about 10 minutes of fiddling around with Street View and virtually walking up and down streets in the neighborhood I found what I believe is the same house. Keep in mind that I do this while sitting in my study in California, sipping a cup of coffee.

The Same Townhouse Found In Street View

So, two points: [1] the technology is absolutely amazing, [2] if the article was written today no photographer would have to actually go out to the scene.

And then I have to ask myself, ‘What View is Google going to introduce next?’ Keep in mind that Google has not given a very high priority to privacy lately, as evidenced by their botched introduction of Google Buzz.

So with this much technology, and no particular concerns about privacy, is it too much of a stretch for us to imagine Google solving part of our Health Care crisis by doing some Free Health Care Screening?

And that service would be called … Google Colonoscopy View.

Much More Photogenic Than A Colonoscopy

One problem with our continuing health care debate is a lack of pretty graphs to explain complicated issues.

Where is Ross Perot when you need him?

Say what you want about the European model of heath care, but you have to concede that they are way ahead of us when it comes to pretty pictures.

Take this recent graph from The Economist for example. It purports to explain the role of private insurance within developed countries that also have government sponsored plans.

Are His Red Or Blue?

And what conclusions can we draw from this gorgeous graph?

A study by the Boston Consulting Group concludes that countries relying mainly on insurance—such as France, Germany and the Netherlands—provide better care than those, like Britain, Italy and Spain, that are chiefly funded by taxes and which spend less on health care as a proportion of GDP.

I don’t for a second take these results as a given, but with a graph like that who can argue?

We could easily one-up the Euro-Quants by creating a graph like this for our individual states. Then we could color some of the balls red and some of the balls blue.

And oh, what headlines we’d have then…

It’s now been a week since Valentine’s Day, which is a reasonable ‘cooling off’ period. So I shouldn’t get in trouble with the Valentine Police over this item.

This breaking news story from The Onion News Network is hysterical. Make sure to listen to the words, since the images are a tad distracting.

The subject is a Slut Spill on an Los Angeles Freeway.

Notice to family viewers, this video is rated R.

Remember, It's Very Green

We can’t embed this video, but that’s OK, we wouldn’t want it resident on the blog since we are G-Rated.

But you can click here to go to Onion’s site and watch.

I have to wonder when they will come up with a technique to Recycle Sluts.

Schadenfreude is a kind of personal term.

It’s what you feel when someone like Eliot Spitzer stumbles.

But how do I feel when an entire industry gets what it deserves?

Today the UK Guardian reported that,

Vodafone boss Vittorio Colao has warned mobile phone executives about Google’s growing power in the online advertising and search market, which he claims could damage consumer choice.

Right. The Telecom industry which has been a pioneer in upholding consumer choice is concerned.

These are the same Dickheads who lock you into multi-year contracts, cripple mobile phone operating systems, and charge outrageous rates for text messaging.

Couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch.

Go Google!

Of course Leslie is my Real Valentine.

But in the world of Runner-Ups, I have to nominate my favorites.

Even though it’s Don’t Ask and Don’t Tell, I can’t hold back, my Guys are Ben and Hank.

Pucker Up, These Guys Saved Our Bacon

After reading “On the Brink: Inside the Race to Stop the Collapse of the Global Financial System” by Hank Paulson and “In FED We Trust: Ben Bernanke’s War on the Great Panic” about Ben Bernake, I consider myself pretty well informed on our Financial Crisis.

And my conclusion is that without these guys we wouldn’t be having any love at all this Valentine’s Day.

So Let’s Kiss – Kiss while we can.

Valentine’s Day is Leslie’s favorite day of the year, so it’s also my favorite day of the year.

Absolutely. I heart Valentine’s Day.

Last night we watched “New York, I Love You”, which I can recommend for The Big Day.

The especially good news for you procrastinators is that the film can be streamed instantly from Netflix, and thereby save your sorry tush right up to the last minute.

You’re welcome.

More Surprises Than A Box Of Chocolates

The film is definitely not your typical RomCom (Romantic Comedy), consisting instead of

… a montage of segments that are really collages showcasing many different cinematic styles, with separate directors, writers, actors, and all flowing together seamlessly with overlap between segments.

Of the various segments my favorite was the very first, with Hayden Christensen and Andy Garcia in dueling magician/thief roles. (To actually appreciate all aspects of their scene you have to watch it twice because you won’t get the first 30 seconds until you’ve seen it thru.)

The funniest segment had to be with Ethan Hawke trying to pickup Maggie Q, which then sets you up for another scene much later in the film that builds upon theirs. By the way Ethan Hawke starred in Before Sunrise and its sequel After Sunset which are alternative 5 star real RomComs if you want something more conventional.

There are many other dishes in this meal, and while everyone won’t love them all, there are enough tasty treats to make this a keeper.

Leslie and I gave it 5 stars.

And by the way, if you want to really get into the Valentine’s Day Spirit now’s the time to jump over to Leslie’s blog where she is capturing Hearts and Minds.

Whenever I check into a hotel I play “Pretend”.

I imagine that the hotel’s owners and employees are all on my team, and we are working together to ensure that I experience a great room and a wonderful ‘stay’ experience.

Of course this fits the common definition of insanity, where you do the same thing over and over, expecting a different outcome each time.

We have developed a checklist for our ‘team’ that we follow religiously. To ignore any item leads to unhappiness.

• Never take bags to the room until it’s been thoroughly inspected; you bag it, you own it.
• Test the room basics: HVAC, toilet flushes, shower showers, hot water hots, lights work, bulbs installed, TV works.
• Room next to a ‘binging’ elevator, ice machine, laundry room, screaming neighbors?
• Room over the kitchen, work area, employee smoke area, or the exhaust fans?
• Room backs up to the express elevator, shaking and rumbling every 30 seconds?
• Window opens onto a roof where employees gather to do drugs and gossip all night?

If we pass these hurdles, and we have a nice view on an upper floor, we are good to go.

What could be simpler?

Here’s how it worked in Morro Bay, California last week.

Make sure you have your sound turned up while you watch the video, for the full experience.

Now we get to add a new item to our checklist…

Is there a dredger running all night outside the hotel?

The Chinese seem not inclined to clown around with the value of the renminbi.

Meanwhile the administration is trying to apply pressure on them to revalue their currency, “which President Obama says is kept at an artificially low level to give China an unfair advantage in selling its exports”.

From the NY Times,

A senior Chinese official said on Thursday that China would not bow to pressure from the United States to revalue its currency … Economists say that the Chinese currency, the renminbi, is undervalued by 25 to 40 percent compared to the dollar and other currencies.

And do you suppose it’s necessary to have a PhD in economics to figure out what the proper exchange rate should be?

Not if you’ve been  following our blog.

Here is the Rosetta Stone of currency parity, and it comes with fries and a Coke,

You've Got Your PhD, Just Add Ketchup

Maybe it’s not too late for a Happy Meal.

I know, or at least I’ve been told, that women’s clothing can have sizes that are fungible.

The more expensive the dress, the smaller the size printed on the label.

I was under the impression that when it came to men’s clothing, we played by the rules.

My bad.

A few days ago I was in Sam’s Club and came across a table piled high with jeans. Their private label jeans.

What caught my attention was that the jeans were in neat piles with the sizes showing. This is not the normal state of affairs. Usually the jeans are folded so you can’t see the sizes and they are arranged randomly so that finding a pair that might actually fit is impossible.

But today was my day. And as an extra added bonus i could see that they had jeans in 29″ length, which for me is perfect. Normally the shortest inseam available in jeans is 30″, which sort of works for me, but it’s not great.

So I waded in, looking for a pair of 32″ x 29″ jeans.

Nope, zero, nada.

You would think, I said to myself, that the shortest leg would go with the smallest waist. But no, all I could find was 38″ x 29″. Give me a break, are they only making jeans for short and wide guys? As opposed to big and tall.

But then it dawned on me. Given the (great) pricing, I could go with a bigger waist size than normal!

And sure enough, I finally found one pair sized 34″x29″ that fits me perfectly, just like my normal 32″x29″ standard issue Levis.

I feel fatter, and I’m slightly depressed, but in the end it works for me.

The advertising industry has come up with a good idea, at the right time.

The fact that it came about as a result of pressure from regulators takes away a few points, but it’s still a good idea.

Trying to ward off regulators, the advertising industry has agreed on a standard icon — a little “i” — that it will add to most online ads that use demographics and behavioral data to tell consumers what is happening.

When consumers click on the icon, a white “i” surrounded by a circle on a blue background, they will be taken to a page explaining how the advertiser uses their Web surfing history and demographic profile to send them certain ads.

And, here’s your “i” icon, personally I like it.

I also liked the heads-up research that went along with the graphic design,

[after testing] the icons and phrases with a panel of 2,604 Internet users to see if they remembered them and understood what they meant, two of the phrases — “Why did I get this ad?” and “Interest-based ads” — did the best.

If this is indeed adopted by the industry, users will have an intuitive way to get information they need. No instruction manuals or small print needed. Transparent. Great Design.

On the other hand, we have the design of Emergency Brakes in NY City subways. Since these things actually save (or don’t) human life you might think a few focus groups or research would help the design effort.

If you (take the time to) read the instructions, they actually say not to pull the emergency cord in case of fire, medical or security emergency. Hmmm.

Don't Pull, Instead Sit Down And Read This

In reality if you have lots of time to figure it out, the whole thing makes sense as described in the NY Times and the MTA website. But will you have time?

Besides, as we’ve previously pointed out, nobody but nobody reads instructions anymore.

Focus group anyone?