Having a pre-party bourbon to calm my nerves before the guests show up.
I'd be toast if anyone ever went looking for my inappropriate posts - I mean we all know Brad Pitt runs the universe and YOU GUYS all know how often I've addressed him as nothing more than a candy-coated piece of meat here on the 'nect.
Atechno - you should have said seomthing earlier. I would have cleared my cealndar ;o) As is I'm sitting here eating some tortilla chips and guacamole that pale in comparison to the ones we had at Nada :o/ Oh well.
i am sick like nam, but went to party last night anyway (opening party for photographer friend's show, and dinner afterward at really good Japanese restaurant). last train home at 12.30 in the AM, and straight to bed. cold was not killed by alcohol. which seems to me wrong somehow.
puddles maybe should apply to write for stephen colbert. but i hear the vetting process is harder than obama's.
sarah, nationalised medicine does not require lack of quality, nor lack of competition. those are not even inherent to the issue. for instance. doctors in UK practice who prevent heart attack get paid bonus. i have no idea how that works but apparently keeping patients healthier longer pays better (i only know this from the documentary SICKO, so do take with large grain of salt).
not that any socialised system is perfect. por ejemplo, my da ran 23 hospitals up in canada as govt healthcare administrator before he died, and we talked about the things doctors do in canada to increase their income fairly often (i used to design hospitals a lot so we swapped stories). anyway much of it was moral grey zone stuff, though not as bad as USA by any means. in the end people will game whatever system is in place. currently the USA one has been gamed to the brink of collapse by the HMO'S and pharmaceutical companies. which is a pity, maybe even evil.
Bonuses sound like a good incentive for competition and quality; I never considered that. Thanks, Jump.
So what happens if we switch to a national coverage. Would it go like this...
National Coverage (NC) is started, all companies instantly drop HMOs, as people are enrolled in NC. The HMOs implode.
Do they then go asking for a bail-out? They are pretty big companies, so what are the reprocussions of them going under? Are they publicly traded, ect?
i bet a lot of people would like to see hmo's asking for help... hahahahaha. especially those that have been denied care for preexisting conditions, insufficient coverage, hmo questioning of drs' recommendations, etc.
but i guess it would be wrong to wish that on them, probably. maybe.
see, here's the reason why they won't implode, like normal fiends, and rogues - read: Telemarketing Companies - they adjust to laws that regulate their sorry asses. HMO's will quickly recover, where there's money to be made, you can bet they'll dig it out of our fat asses.
Per jump: in the end people will game whatever system is in place.
See, this is where I've messed up in my life. I've never "gamed" anything, ever. I don't know how, I'm not smart enough and have too much fear that I'd get caught. It bums me out to think that the dishonest people are always going to achieve more than me.
Oh well. party was a big success and by all accounts the food was delicious. We had way more food than needed, while I was worried four hours ago that we would run out and everyone would leave hungry and thinking I'm a lousy hostess!
Liberty leftovers is always fun at least once, then there is always the homeless shelter. And don't you worry about the game, just enjoy the fact that you can sleep well at night without watching your back
life tends to be competitive & corrupt...don't make the mistake of assuming that you're on a level playing field...feel free to "game" away
that also alludes to the real problem with obama's questionnaire: it's prone to attracting either the naive or the corrupt. the naive being the clueless who actually have avoided anything embarrassing and the corrupt being those who will happily lie about any involvement in such activities. this sounds like a recipe for disaster (& scandal) to me.
yeah, i know LB, it totally sucks. best recent example is the deal with porsche buying up VW shares. apparently there was more money moved round over the deal in the history of money, costing hedge funds billions and sending value of VW through roof. all just people playing games. insane.
Hi all,
I broke down and boutgh some benadryl last night.
I slept straight through (take that Jet lag) and now feel 100 % better.
Jump, it does seem almost criminal that the alcohol didn't kill the germs. Isn't that the whole point of drinking gin/whiseky etc when sick? Or is that just me....
LB, you are the hostess with the mostest!!
Regarding healthcare i think the current mainstream thinking (as reflected in Democratic Finance Committee Chairman Baucus's recently released policy outline) is that the national plan would be an additionally available plan. Therefore the HMOs and other private plans would still be able to exist (if they were as cheap and afford cost effective customer prefered options). The national plan would simply be there for anyone who either cant currently afford, get or qualify for healthcare..
Well, I am happy to report that I officially put my 2009 plan b into place today. I have ensured myself a small amount of side income in the new year just in case layoffs hit, or something like that.
Sarah, your question reminded me of something I've been thinking about a lot lately, what with the general shifting global economy...
When large businesses close due to market changes, our first thought is always of thousands of workers who will suddenly have no job. And while it is true that many of them will have some difficulty readjusting, in the end it often seems like if we zoom out to a larger picture of the economy, jobs might have been lost there but they are created elsewhere. So it's not as much like a segment of the market has been wiped off the face of the earth, it's more like the nature of that market has undergone a paradigm shift.
Hmm, this is hard to explain.
Think of this analogy: when Henry Ford started making cars, and in a period of just a few years tons of carriage-makers, wheel-wrights, horsebreeders, and stable-masters found themselves out of a job, what if those people had got together and struck, and petitioned the government, and the government had put rules in place prop up carriage sales, so the carriage-makers and wheel-wrights and horsebreeders could continue to do what they always did? Sounds silly, right? Right, because in actual fact, these people will adapt--the wheel-wrights and carriage-makers have skills that translate more or less to jobs making or working on automobile bodies, the horsebreeders will turn their grazing lands over to the cows, the stable-masters will become taxi-drivers. The nature of peoples' jobs may change, but they still have skills that are translatable pretty easily to other, new jobs.
So then think of your HMO question. Yes, lots of HMO and insurance people will be out of a job. But the new government health service will require a lot of employees skilled in basically the same skills, right? So some of them would get absorbed into that. Hopefully the govt will need fewer people than the competitive marketplace has so far produced to service all their vast amounts of paperwork, and yes, we will be left with some people left over who have to transfer their skills and experience to another type of job. But as long as we focus on keeping the economy as a whole growing, so there are always plenty of jobs, these people will adapt.
(This, by the way, is also why I'm not so keen on a bailout for the automakers. I understand the worry over the jobs but I also believe strongly in the creation of a new segment of energy-sector jobs, some of which are already being established in the same regions the auto-makers are located. Plus, the automakers have spent years turning out every SUV they possibly could, and petitioned for laws that allowed them to keep making SUVs under tight emissions standards (via allowing SUVs to be classified as "trucks" and therefore exempt from the emissions standards of their fleet of cars) and now that SUV sales have tanked, suddenly they want help to compensate for their poor long-range planning? Everyone else could see the writing on the wall with the energy crisis which they contributed to with their SUVs, why should we have to pay for their short-sightedness? It's aggravating.) But that's another issue...
I dont know that I was worried about people losing jobs, maybe I was more worried about market meltdown. Not sure. Your analogy is perfectly clear, though.
I was agaisnt the bail-out of the financial sector, but am for the bail-out of automakers. My reasoning is this...
The automakers make more than just the cars you may buy, they also contribute to our military and government fleets. Do you really want your military vehicles made by toyota?
SH,
My understanding isn't that the National Health Care would be free.
If i am correct even in Canada one has to pay into the National insurance policy... (Jump?)
And regardless as it is being dicussed in America it would be like any other insurance policy currently out there. Meaning one (or one's employer) would have to buy into it just like any other policy. It would however, in theory have two benefits (when compared to current private polciies) it would be available to anyone (regardles sof precondition etc) and would be in theory cheaper because of issues of scale...
Many Toyota cars are built here in the US by American workers, so I wouldn't be opposed to seeing the government use Toyota vehicles for fleet purposes. Plus, Toyotas are reliable as hell and far more efficient than the gas-guzzling dinosaurs that Detroit keeps building, so the taxpayers would save on fuel and maintenance costs.
It probably wouldn't be good from a PR point of view, but maybe it would serve as a swift kick in the ass that Detroit desperately needs.
Also, keep in mind that General Motors almost single-handedly destroyed rail-based public transit here in the US, and now it's going to cost us billions to rebuild our transit infrastructure. If for nothing else, GM in its present form deserves to die.
watching GM and ford disappear into thin air over the next 18 months will be truly breathtaking. my dream of an sovereign michiganistan continues to inch closer.
Since i am debating going back to school myself I may have to take the GRE again soon as well.
I took it over five years ago when i first went to grad school for my history MA and the score is only valid for 5 years.
Now i am looking at various urban design etc programs.
One doesn't require a GRE score for application so i am definetely going to apply to that program for next year.
However all the other programs i am looking at do, so i may wait and apply to them next year as i feel like i need to study quite well for the GRe this time (as i haven't done any college level math in well over 8 years).
yes we pay health insurance/taxes in canada. the difference is that if you are unemployed or don't earn enough to afford health care you won't be refused service, etc. no one is left without healthcare access.
i think if i had family in iraq or afghanistan i would want the machines and equipment to be the best and fcuk whether it came from canada, from USA or China. this is not theory to me. my brother-in-law just got back from 1 year tour in afghanistan - he was/is in artillery and saw enough death (strangers and mates) to know he ain't going back. he was also a peace-keeper in kosovo, though that was not as life-threatening.
anyway, for the sake of my sister i think sense of pride is not worth the death of her husband. so if toyota works, then lets use that. if detroit can't deal with that reality then fcuk them. seriously. all they care about is money and they are only manipulating us all with talk of patriotism. the big three gambled on low fuel costs and worked like hell to ensure that they would not have to deal with the reality that is here today. i am not sure that the workers will get better or different jobs in related fields, but the talking heads are saying why not put bailout money towards re-training the workers who lose jobs after chapter 11 and let the companies focus on restructuring. that makes sense.
the dude on daily show yesterday seemed to have some good ideas abut this, suggesting USA spend next little while getting off of the oil dependence kick by investing in alternative energy. iguess that would mean less money for canada, but it is maybe worth it for the world...
The sun is doing something really crazy in my apartment this morning. It's now low enough in the sky that it catches the edge of the apartment building across the street, casting shadow on my roommate's room, then the kitchen, then the living room, then.....oh snap! It arced up and over the top of the building so I didn't get the shadow and now the rest of the apartment is sunny again.
Oh the joys of facing Southeast. Also I'm having serious deja vu right now. Also I had a dream about eating Subway with LL Cool J and then we were in a car and fell off the edge of a stadium. It's been a strange morning for me.
an interior shot of the auburn cord deusenberg museum in auburn indiana. these were beautiful cars and they all went outta business. along with packard, studebaker, american motors, de soto, tucker etc.etc.etc.
Its not a pride issue for me. Its about this scenario.
We get our tanks and such from toyota (and Im only using them cause its easy). We get into a huge war, and our supply gets cut off, or worse, Japan is at war with us, and cuts off our equipment supply. Or, they play the feild, and give us crappy equipment, insuring our defeat, and Japan takes over the world.
Extreme, yeah, but you get my point. I feel Military equipment should be made by the country that is using it. Its about quality assurance, not pride.
Sarah, wow. Toyota making your military vehicles may be a blessing. Aside from them having an excellent reputation with 4x4s has dominated the Dakar Rally perhaps the most enduring and lengthy of off road courses; added their standards for safety in both luxury and economical vehicles. The biggest plus would be that the US govt would probably save a shit load of fuel as well since they are now tied as the most fuel efficient car manufacturer.
Wonder K, funky dream. What did you eat before bed? At the moment the sun should be going towards its most northern position so it should be doing some funky things. Also look out for the moon as well
Mantary your first post this morning was filled with so much optimism, it was beautiful.
is my us automaker of choice...gotta love a man who will smuggle cocaine to save his company and the american economy (without resorting to socialism, i might add).
Oh man, there is an auburn cord deusenberg museum?!?!?! I am SOOOO there. I LOVE deusies, AND auborns, AND cords!!! Thanks for the tip, vado!
As for health insurance... yeah, no one's actually proposing a single-payer system anyway, unfortunately. should be interesting to see how the hybrid system works.
Sarah, I get what you mean about having our war instruments manufactured by our own country. I do agree with that in principle. Unfortunately however by this point the economy is already global enough that even the big 3 US automakers get tons of parts and raw materials and outsourced IT support and things like that from all over the world. We are already inextricably linked with foreign entities, some of whom, yes, may decide to try to create havoc with our auto manufacturing chain if we were at war. So basically, the system is already completely vulnerable if you look at it that way. So I guess at this point I'd rather see competition in the marketplace to create the best products for our soldiers rather than trying to stick with all US-made, which doesn't really exist.
I think most of the time, business interests trump national feeling, anyway. History seems to bear this out for the most part...
On the auto question... Also I'm still sad about all the inadequate Hummers we sent our soldiers out in. I'm not sure US-based countries always have the best record of serving our soldiers. I mean I think there's going to be bad apples in EVERY bunch -- including US-based companies. Halliburton for example is doing no one any favors.
detroit's problems may be closer to this board than many imagine. as talent leaves the midwest for the coasts, the big three are left with fewer and fewer capable people to design cars and manage the business in detroit. i strongly believe that the big three's problems go back to a lack of talent and imagination within the companies. i'm not sure a bailout can fix this, but at the same time, i'm not sure letting the big three die is a good idea either. perhaps, gm needs to open a technical center in nyc, but it would be such a shame to lose this gem.
i don't know if any of you read the link i made here recently to dmitry orlov's comparison of the collapse of the soviet empire & the american empire...but here's a more recent follow-up taking into account events of the past couple years...including the now obvious financial collapse.
Puddles,
John Robb of Global Guerillas (someone i imagine you read/are aware of) has been all over Orlov's book and thesis for at least 2 or 3 years...
perhaps i'm wrong...but i thought that gm already did much of their "design" work in california (not warren, mi) already? i thought i read about their pontiac solstice design and could have sworn it was all somewhere in orange county...but i might be mistaken.
puddles I thought the same thing about Automobile design....I think they might design the door panels and dashboards in Michigan, but someone is looking over their shoulder in California. It might be a good time to break up the big Automobile Industry and see if it will bring new forward people to the table. It is like the some of the yesteryear design firms of Boston. The Architectural Collabrative, top of their game and then they were gone and well where did all their talent go....same thing with Ben Thompsons Office....they are among us....doing better things I would suspect.
as far as i know it is still gm's primary technical and design center. according to its wikipedia entry, it employees 16,000 engineers and designers and is by far and away the largest employer in warren.
toyota has an american tech center in ann arbor, mi. i have a friend who works there. he primarily designs seating. he has told me that conceptual design and overall styling still happen in japan.
the automobile industry has most certainly globalized, but the various company's headquarters represent the real concentration of the individual company's wealth. if any of the big three go down, i really fear for the local detroit arts and non-profit communities. say what you will about the quality of their product, they are major philanthropic donors both locally and nationally.
i get you sarah. opec did that to usa/canada in 70's. messed with our dependence on imported oil, that is. i agree with post above, the economies of this world are particularly interconnected, so if you really want something american made 100% you might be stuck with, well, AMERICANS. most of THEM are american made. hmmm. that doesn't work either does it? damn those immigrants!
it is easy to wish the world were black and white, but it isn't. which is why we need people in power who can see in shades of grey and color. bush was not so good at that. maye obama will be different. politics will affect things, but hopefully not to stupid levels they have been lately ...
just spent eight hours with liberty bell!!!! drove up to ball state in my british made honda! listened to a great lecture from greg pasquarelli!!! went out for drinks with greg and several ball state folks and drove back in a driving rain in my british made honda!!! dropped off one of my best friend forever!!!!liberty bell and grabbed some dinner and another drink and then came on home in my british made honda.
manta just hop on the toll road and drive east to auburn and you're at the museum. check out their website! they're havin a bridal show there on january 25th!!!
Vado, a british made Honda you driving an accord or a CRV? Either way good car. One never knows where those cars are made, and who cars about war when its really all about the money saved or made. Forgive anything I may say right now, I'm under 3 mojitos made with no Barcardi but with overproof rum and well, I'm happy damnit. A little celebrating as I was verbally offered an additional post at the school of architecture. More on that later
well none of you people seem to be up, so i just back-read the last week or so of david byrne's blog. i love the way he casually drifts from a rundown of his day to fairly involved art criticism and then right back. the most recent piece (philly) on quilts and castle is a great one.
Thread Central
Having a pre-party bourbon to calm my nerves before the guests show up.
I'd be toast if anyone ever went looking for my inappropriate posts - I mean we all know Brad Pitt runs the universe and YOU GUYS all know how often I've addressed him as nothing more than a candy-coated piece of meat here on the 'nect.
i have been hired by the obama campaign to vet archinect applicants.
LB - but oggling brad pit won't embarrass the prez-elect. now if you were an 'obama girl' then you'd be in trouble.
Atechno - you should have said seomthing earlier. I would have cleared my cealndar ;o) As is I'm sitting here eating some tortilla chips and guacamole that pale in comparison to the ones we had at Nada :o/ Oh well.
i am sick like nam, but went to party last night anyway (opening party for photographer friend's show, and dinner afterward at really good Japanese restaurant). last train home at 12.30 in the AM, and straight to bed. cold was not killed by alcohol. which seems to me wrong somehow.
puddles maybe should apply to write for stephen colbert. but i hear the vetting process is harder than obama's.
sarah, nationalised medicine does not require lack of quality, nor lack of competition. those are not even inherent to the issue. for instance. doctors in UK practice who prevent heart attack get paid bonus. i have no idea how that works but apparently keeping patients healthier longer pays better (i only know this from the documentary SICKO, so do take with large grain of salt).
not that any socialised system is perfect. por ejemplo, my da ran 23 hospitals up in canada as govt healthcare administrator before he died, and we talked about the things doctors do in canada to increase their income fairly often (i used to design hospitals a lot so we swapped stories). anyway much of it was moral grey zone stuff, though not as bad as USA by any means. in the end people will game whatever system is in place. currently the USA one has been gamed to the brink of collapse by the HMO'S and pharmaceutical companies. which is a pity, maybe even evil.
Bonuses sound like a good incentive for competition and quality; I never considered that. Thanks, Jump.
National Coverage (NC) is started, all companies instantly drop HMOs, as people are enrolled in NC. The HMOs implode.So what happens if we switch to a national coverage. Would it go like this...
Do they then go asking for a bail-out? They are pretty big companies, so what are the reprocussions of them going under? Are they publicly traded, ect?
good questions, sarah.
i bet a lot of people would like to see hmo's asking for help... hahahahaha. especially those that have been denied care for preexisting conditions, insufficient coverage, hmo questioning of drs' recommendations, etc.
but i guess it would be wrong to wish that on them, probably. maybe.
see, here's the reason why they won't implode, like normal fiends, and rogues - read: Telemarketing Companies - they adjust to laws that regulate their sorry asses. HMO's will quickly recover, where there's money to be made, you can bet they'll dig it out of our fat asses.
look out Norm Coleman, i am coming to challenge your ballots. Yes I Can, and Yes I Will.
Per jump: in the end people will game whatever system is in place.
See, this is where I've messed up in my life. I've never "gamed" anything, ever. I don't know how, I'm not smart enough and have too much fear that I'd get caught. It bums me out to think that the dishonest people are always going to achieve more than me.
Oh well. party was a big success and by all accounts the food was delicious. We had way more food than needed, while I was worried four hours ago that we would run out and everyone would leave hungry and thinking I'm a lousy hostess!
Liberty leftovers is always fun at least once, then there is always the homeless shelter. And don't you worry about the game, just enjoy the fact that you can sleep well at night without watching your back
i'm still alive
life tends to be competitive & corrupt...don't make the mistake of assuming that you're on a level playing field...feel free to "game" away
that also alludes to the real problem with obama's questionnaire: it's prone to attracting either the naive or the corrupt. the naive being the clueless who actually have avoided anything embarrassing and the corrupt being those who will happily lie about any involvement in such activities. this sounds like a recipe for disaster (& scandal) to me.
yeah, i know LB, it totally sucks. best recent example is the deal with porsche buying up VW shares. apparently there was more money moved round over the deal in the history of money, costing hedge funds billions and sending value of VW through roof. all just people playing games. insane.
Hi all,
I broke down and boutgh some benadryl last night.
I slept straight through (take that Jet lag) and now feel 100 % better.
Jump, it does seem almost criminal that the alcohol didn't kill the germs. Isn't that the whole point of drinking gin/whiseky etc when sick? Or is that just me....
LB, you are the hostess with the mostest!!
Regarding healthcare i think the current mainstream thinking (as reflected in Democratic Finance Committee Chairman Baucus's recently released policy outline) is that the national plan would be an additionally available plan. Therefore the HMOs and other private plans would still be able to exist (if they were as cheap and afford cost effective customer prefered options). The national plan would simply be there for anyone who either cant currently afford, get or qualify for healthcare..
Yeah, but why would you continue to pay for healthcare, if you could get it for free?
Lb, glad your party went so swell.
Good morning all!
Well, I am happy to report that I officially put my 2009 plan b into place today. I have ensured myself a small amount of side income in the new year just in case layoffs hit, or something like that.
Sarah, your question reminded me of something I've been thinking about a lot lately, what with the general shifting global economy...
When large businesses close due to market changes, our first thought is always of thousands of workers who will suddenly have no job. And while it is true that many of them will have some difficulty readjusting, in the end it often seems like if we zoom out to a larger picture of the economy, jobs might have been lost there but they are created elsewhere. So it's not as much like a segment of the market has been wiped off the face of the earth, it's more like the nature of that market has undergone a paradigm shift.
Hmm, this is hard to explain.
Think of this analogy: when Henry Ford started making cars, and in a period of just a few years tons of carriage-makers, wheel-wrights, horsebreeders, and stable-masters found themselves out of a job, what if those people had got together and struck, and petitioned the government, and the government had put rules in place prop up carriage sales, so the carriage-makers and wheel-wrights and horsebreeders could continue to do what they always did? Sounds silly, right? Right, because in actual fact, these people will adapt--the wheel-wrights and carriage-makers have skills that translate more or less to jobs making or working on automobile bodies, the horsebreeders will turn their grazing lands over to the cows, the stable-masters will become taxi-drivers. The nature of peoples' jobs may change, but they still have skills that are translatable pretty easily to other, new jobs.
So then think of your HMO question. Yes, lots of HMO and insurance people will be out of a job. But the new government health service will require a lot of employees skilled in basically the same skills, right? So some of them would get absorbed into that. Hopefully the govt will need fewer people than the competitive marketplace has so far produced to service all their vast amounts of paperwork, and yes, we will be left with some people left over who have to transfer their skills and experience to another type of job. But as long as we focus on keeping the economy as a whole growing, so there are always plenty of jobs, these people will adapt.
(This, by the way, is also why I'm not so keen on a bailout for the automakers. I understand the worry over the jobs but I also believe strongly in the creation of a new segment of energy-sector jobs, some of which are already being established in the same regions the auto-makers are located. Plus, the automakers have spent years turning out every SUV they possibly could, and petitioned for laws that allowed them to keep making SUVs under tight emissions standards (via allowing SUVs to be classified as "trucks" and therefore exempt from the emissions standards of their fleet of cars) and now that SUV sales have tanked, suddenly they want help to compensate for their poor long-range planning? Everyone else could see the writing on the wall with the energy crisis which they contributed to with their SUVs, why should we have to pay for their short-sightedness? It's aggravating.) But that's another issue...
whoa that was WAY too long. sorry guys.
happy morning! obviously i'm a morning person.
I dont know that I was worried about people losing jobs, maybe I was more worried about market meltdown. Not sure. Your analogy is perfectly clear, though.
I was agaisnt the bail-out of the financial sector, but am for the bail-out of automakers. My reasoning is this...
The automakers make more than just the cars you may buy, they also contribute to our military and government fleets. Do you really want your military vehicles made by toyota?
Oh, and they gave chrystler a loan years ago, and it was paid back sooner than expected. So there is precedent in place.
SH,
My understanding isn't that the National Health Care would be free.
If i am correct even in Canada one has to pay into the National insurance policy... (Jump?)
And regardless as it is being dicussed in America it would be like any other insurance policy currently out there. Meaning one (or one's employer) would have to buy into it just like any other policy. It would however, in theory have two benefits (when compared to current private polciies) it would be available to anyone (regardles sof precondition etc) and would be in theory cheaper because of issues of scale...
hey guys,
a friend of mine showed me this image this morning... its really interesting...
the alphabet shaped by buildings blocking out the sky.
BuildingAlphabet
Many Toyota cars are built here in the US by American workers, so I wouldn't be opposed to seeing the government use Toyota vehicles for fleet purposes. Plus, Toyotas are reliable as hell and far more efficient than the gas-guzzling dinosaurs that Detroit keeps building, so the taxpayers would save on fuel and maintenance costs.
It probably wouldn't be good from a PR point of view, but maybe it would serve as a swift kick in the ass that Detroit desperately needs.
Also, keep in mind that General Motors almost single-handedly destroyed rail-based public transit here in the US, and now it's going to cost us billions to rebuild our transit infrastructure. If for nothing else, GM in its present form deserves to die.
I have to take the GRE in two hours.
And I was up all night helping my sick significant other.
Note to self: dont' have a 8 roll sushi date before taking the GRE if you know your significant other has a weak stomach.
watching GM and ford disappear into thin air over the next 18 months will be truly breathtaking. my dream of an sovereign michiganistan continues to inch closer.
Since i am debating going back to school myself I may have to take the GRE again soon as well.
I took it over five years ago when i first went to grad school for my history MA and the score is only valid for 5 years.
Now i am looking at various urban design etc programs.
One doesn't require a GRE score for application so i am definetely going to apply to that program for next year.
However all the other programs i am looking at do, so i may wait and apply to them next year as i feel like i need to study quite well for the GRe this time (as i haven't done any college level math in well over 8 years).
Oh i meant to write thoughts???
Woops
yes we pay health insurance/taxes in canada. the difference is that if you are unemployed or don't earn enough to afford health care you won't be refused service, etc. no one is left without healthcare access.
i think if i had family in iraq or afghanistan i would want the machines and equipment to be the best and fcuk whether it came from canada, from USA or China. this is not theory to me. my brother-in-law just got back from 1 year tour in afghanistan - he was/is in artillery and saw enough death (strangers and mates) to know he ain't going back. he was also a peace-keeper in kosovo, though that was not as life-threatening.
anyway, for the sake of my sister i think sense of pride is not worth the death of her husband. so if toyota works, then lets use that. if detroit can't deal with that reality then fcuk them. seriously. all they care about is money and they are only manipulating us all with talk of patriotism. the big three gambled on low fuel costs and worked like hell to ensure that they would not have to deal with the reality that is here today. i am not sure that the workers will get better or different jobs in related fields, but the talking heads are saying why not put bailout money towards re-training the workers who lose jobs after chapter 11 and let the companies focus on restructuring. that makes sense.
the dude on daily show yesterday seemed to have some good ideas abut this, suggesting USA spend next little while getting off of the oil dependence kick by investing in alternative energy. iguess that would mean less money for canada, but it is maybe worth it for the world...
The sun is doing something really crazy in my apartment this morning. It's now low enough in the sky that it catches the edge of the apartment building across the street, casting shadow on my roommate's room, then the kitchen, then the living room, then.....oh snap! It arced up and over the top of the building so I didn't get the shadow and now the rest of the apartment is sunny again.
Oh the joys of facing Southeast. Also I'm having serious deja vu right now. Also I had a dream about eating Subway with LL Cool J and then we were in a car and fell off the edge of a stadium. It's been a strange morning for me.
an interior shot of the auburn cord deusenberg museum in auburn indiana. these were beautiful cars and they all went outta business. along with packard, studebaker, american motors, de soto, tucker etc.etc.etc.
Its not a pride issue for me. Its about this scenario.
We get our tanks and such from toyota (and Im only using them cause its easy). We get into a huge war, and our supply gets cut off, or worse, Japan is at war with us, and cuts off our equipment supply. Or, they play the feild, and give us crappy equipment, insuring our defeat, and Japan takes over the world.
Extreme, yeah, but you get my point. I feel Military equipment should be made by the country that is using it. Its about quality assurance, not pride.
Sarah, wow. Toyota making your military vehicles may be a blessing. Aside from them having an excellent reputation with 4x4s has dominated the Dakar Rally perhaps the most enduring and lengthy of off road courses; added their standards for safety in both luxury and economical vehicles. The biggest plus would be that the US govt would probably save a shit load of fuel as well since they are now tied as the most fuel efficient car manufacturer.
Wonder K, funky dream. What did you eat before bed? At the moment the sun should be going towards its most northern position so it should be doing some funky things. Also look out for the moon as well
Mantary your first post this morning was filled with so much optimism, it was beautiful.
is my us automaker of choice...gotta love a man who will smuggle cocaine to save his company and the american economy (without resorting to socialism, i might add).
Oh man, there is an auburn cord deusenberg museum?!?!?! I am SOOOO there. I LOVE deusies, AND auborns, AND cords!!! Thanks for the tip, vado!
As for health insurance... yeah, no one's actually proposing a single-payer system anyway, unfortunately. should be interesting to see how the hybrid system works.
Sarah, I get what you mean about having our war instruments manufactured by our own country. I do agree with that in principle. Unfortunately however by this point the economy is already global enough that even the big 3 US automakers get tons of parts and raw materials and outsourced IT support and things like that from all over the world. We are already inextricably linked with foreign entities, some of whom, yes, may decide to try to create havoc with our auto manufacturing chain if we were at war. So basically, the system is already completely vulnerable if you look at it that way. So I guess at this point I'd rather see competition in the marketplace to create the best products for our soldiers rather than trying to stick with all US-made, which doesn't really exist.
I think most of the time, business interests trump national feeling, anyway. History seems to bear this out for the most part...
puddles i have always loved the true US story of the delorean.
On the auto question... Also I'm still sad about all the inadequate Hummers we sent our soldiers out in. I'm not sure US-based countries always have the best record of serving our soldiers. I mean I think there's going to be bad apples in EVERY bunch -- including US-based companies. Halliburton for example is doing no one any favors.
then again rj reynolds didn't seem to get in much trouble for smuggling cocaine. does anybody know the results of that suit?
detroit's problems may be closer to this board than many imagine. as talent leaves the midwest for the coasts, the big three are left with fewer and fewer capable people to design cars and manage the business in detroit. i strongly believe that the big three's problems go back to a lack of talent and imagination within the companies. i'm not sure a bailout can fix this, but at the same time, i'm not sure letting the big three die is a good idea either. perhaps, gm needs to open a technical center in nyc, but it would be such a shame to lose this gem.
i don't know if any of you read the link i made here recently to dmitry orlov's comparison of the collapse of the soviet empire & the american empire...but here's a more recent follow-up taking into account events of the past couple years...including the now obvious financial collapse.
Puddles,
John Robb of Global Guerillas (someone i imagine you read/are aware of) has been all over Orlov's book and thesis for at least 2 or 3 years...
yes, of course, i love the robb report...especially their vacation homes magazine
perhaps i'm wrong...but i thought that gm already did much of their "design" work in california (not warren, mi) already? i thought i read about their pontiac solstice design and could have sworn it was all somewhere in orange county...but i might be mistaken.
puddles I thought the same thing about Automobile design....I think they might design the door panels and dashboards in Michigan, but someone is looking over their shoulder in California. It might be a good time to break up the big Automobile Industry and see if it will bring new forward people to the table. It is like the some of the yesteryear design firms of Boston. The Architectural Collabrative, top of their game and then they were gone and well where did all their talent go....same thing with Ben Thompsons Office....they are among us....doing better things I would suspect.
The Mazda rx7 is an American Design I believe....and a Japanese production. I think that is the way alot of Japanese Cars are developed.
The Mazda rx7 is an American Design I believe....and a Japanese production. I think that is the way alot of Japanese Cars are developed.
as far as i know it is still gm's primary technical and design center. according to its wikipedia entry, it employees 16,000 engineers and designers and is by far and away the largest employer in warren.
toyota has an american tech center in ann arbor, mi. i have a friend who works there. he primarily designs seating. he has told me that conceptual design and overall styling still happen in japan.
the automobile industry has most certainly globalized, but the various company's headquarters represent the real concentration of the individual company's wealth. if any of the big three go down, i really fear for the local detroit arts and non-profit communities. say what you will about the quality of their product, they are major philanthropic donors both locally and nationally.
i get you sarah. opec did that to usa/canada in 70's. messed with our dependence on imported oil, that is. i agree with post above, the economies of this world are particularly interconnected, so if you really want something american made 100% you might be stuck with, well, AMERICANS. most of THEM are american made. hmmm. that doesn't work either does it? damn those immigrants!
it is easy to wish the world were black and white, but it isn't. which is why we need people in power who can see in shades of grey and color. bush was not so good at that. maye obama will be different. politics will affect things, but hopefully not to stupid levels they have been lately ...
just spent eight hours with liberty bell!!!! drove up to ball state in my british made honda! listened to a great lecture from greg pasquarelli!!! went out for drinks with greg and several ball state folks and drove back in a driving rain in my british made honda!!! dropped off one of my best friend forever!!!!liberty bell and grabbed some dinner and another drink and then came on home in my british made honda.
manta just hop on the toll road and drive east to auburn and you're at the museum. check out their website! they're havin a bridal show there on january 25th!!!
Vado, a british made Honda you driving an accord or a CRV? Either way good car. One never knows where those cars are made, and who cars about war when its really all about the money saved or made. Forgive anything I may say right now, I'm under 3 mojitos made with no Barcardi but with overproof rum and well, I'm happy damnit. A little celebrating as I was verbally offered an additional post at the school of architecture. More on that later
archi, dude you on a roll!
my grandfather was british made.
well none of you people seem to be up, so i just back-read the last week or so of david byrne's blog. i love the way he casually drifts from a rundown of his day to fairly involved art criticism and then right back. the most recent piece (philly) on quilts and castle is a great one.
http://journal.davidbyrne.com/
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