Obama & the Status Quo
Barack Obama's inauguration represents "change" in several important ways. However, it is equally important to recognize several key ways in which his election victory also represents the status...
View ArticleBest & Worst of Obama's Inauguration Speech
Barack Obama is unquestionably a fabulous speaker and while his election night speech was much better, his inauguration speech didn't disappoint. The best line from his speech was:"Our economy is badly...
View ArticleAn Auspicious Start
Barack Obama starting his first day in office by increasing government transparency and erecting barriers to lobbyists was a great move. The more secrecy and the more lobbyists the more distorted the...
View ArticleHourly Wage @ Walmart
According to an NY Times article, Walmart's average hourly rate for full-time employees is $10.83. Most people seem to believe that Walmart pays only minimum wage but apparently thats not true.
View ArticleBuy American Clause
The inclusion of the "Buy American" clause demonstrates just how broken our political process is. Its amazing that congress leaned so little from the Great Depression. Protectionism doesn't work.Watch...
View ArticleiPhone is my bookshop killer
I really do love having local bookshops. Keplers in Menlo Park is definitely a favorite. But I really don't like paying full price when Amazon seems to sell most books at 40% off. I have an Amazon...
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Obama Speaks but will Bill Maher Listen?
Earlier this evening on 60 Minutes Barack Obama said:"In the era of 24 hour cable news cycles that the loudest shrillest voices get the most attention... And so one of the things that I'm trying to...
View ArticleAn Idea for Bank Pay Reform
In general government regulation hurts economic growth. However, there are circumstances where minimal controls may be necessary. Wage controls and banking/trading are particularly tricky because...
View ArticleObama's Tire Tariff Smacks of Special Interest
Barack Obama won the election on a platform of change with particular reference toward minimizing the role of special interests in politics and he did some great work early in his term to reduce the...
View ArticleWhy is Boise State ahead of USC in the Polls?
Boise State is #8 in the current AP poll. They could easily go undefeated with only 1 quality win (Oregon) on their schedule. The problem with the BCS is not its process, but rather the voter mentality...
View ArticleBeat the Eagles and 49ers Make the Playoffs
The 49ers victory over the Arizona Cardinals was huge this evening. Combined with the Giants loss to the Eagles last night, the 49ers hopes of making the playoffs are much brighter than they appear at...
View ArticleDoes Wall Street Really Need More Regulation?
Obama recently said on 60 minutes that Wall Street's irresponsibility caused the financial meltdown and therefore financial regulation is necessary to prevent additional crises. This might be true, but...
View ArticleSabean's Wasted $52M
Its very frustrating that Brian Sabean got a new 2 year contract at the end of the season. As the sum of many years of terrible signings, Sabean spent 59% of the Giants 2009 payroll ($88M) on the...
View ArticleDan Uggla is Pedro Feliz
Dan Uggla won't help the Giants. Although the Gigantes clearly need to improve their offense, they would generate more wins from consistent hitters rather than a power bat. The Giants pitching is so...
View ArticleFree MiniDV Conversion From KinKast
A couple friends of mine, Raul and Tom, recently started KinKast, a family video-sharing website. KinKast was designed for parents to make privately sharing video memories as-easy-as-123 with some neat...
View ArticleBrian Sabean: Please don't Bring in Uggla, LaRoche, Beltre or DeRosa
Brian Sabean just doesn't understand the concept of replacement value. Blowing through the Giants salary budget on mediocre veterans is the hallmark of his tenure as GM in San Francisco. Mid-level...
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Are You Our Sea Otter Winner?
A few weeks ago I attended the Sea Otter Classic biking festival. As a marketing guy, I'm always keeping my eye out for creative ways to get folks attention so I was pleased to get an email yesterday...
View ArticleInteresting Baseball Question
Why does batting average go down by number of outs in an inning? In 2009, MLB batting average by out was:.271 - No Outs.267 - 1 Out.248 - 2 OutsI thought maybe it was a fluke, but in 2008 the splits...
View ArticleHome Microcell Towers... No Thanks
Over the past several months I've gotten a number of promotions from AT&T touting their microcell devices, which are designed to improve cell phone reception in a small areas such as a home or...
View ArticleMaybe its Pitching from the Stretch?
In a post earlier this month, I wondered Why does batting average go down by number of outs in an inning? Since the average plate appearances must go up with each out, the likelihood of having runners...
View ArticleDouble Your Money w/Google? ...I doubt it
Google recently claimed to have generated $54B in economic activity last year in the United States. In coming up with this figure, one of their assumptions was that for every $1 spent on AdWords...
View ArticleLessons About Not Getting Acquired
Wow, very interesting post by Gleb over at Backblaze about the ups and downs of almost getting acquired. If you work at or are interested in startups, it really is a must read.
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