“Here is the biggest shocker of all: the average American’s CO2 emissions are down to levels not seen since 1964 — over half a century ago.” – Barry Saxifrage
Category Archives: America
Lifeline
Scott Grannis’ Calafia Beach Pundit has become daily reading for me [1] – primarily because I’m a sucker for the charts he shares. Take a minute to look at this one. (no worries, I’ll still be here when you get back). Good stuff. It’s rare to see a single chart summarize our own confidence over …
Unanimous Support for Unlicensed White Spaces
“The Federal Communications Commission voted 5-0 today to adopt rules for using the airwaves, known as white spaces.” Some ridiculous NPR story yesterday complained that the crowded nature of metropolitan airwaves prevent this from being useful to the vast majority of Americans. The point isn’t urban America – the benefit is to rural America. My …
Continue reading “Unanimous Support for Unlicensed White Spaces”
How do I make a contribution to the U.S. government?
“Citizens who wish to make a general donation to the U.S. government may send contributions to a specific account called ‘Gifts to the United States.’ This account was established in 1843 to accept gifts, such as bequests, from individuals wishing to express their patriotism to the United States. Money deposited into this account is for …
Continue reading “How do I make a contribution to the U.S. government?”
My Proposal for Wal-Mart to Replace the US Postal Service
“With this program, we’re able to provide consumers in every rural town or big city across America with … a convenient, free mail delivery system.” – John Agwunobi, Wal-Mart division president In continuing my mental exercise on replacing the USPS I was stuck with solving the problem of delivery and drop-off for rural America. Especially …
Continue reading “My Proposal for Wal-Mart to Replace the US Postal Service”
Mental Excercise: Replace the US Postal Service
Yesterday, NPR discussed the challenges of the US Postal Service after reporting a $3.8 billion revenue loss for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2009. The revenue loss corresponded to a reported 13% decline in mail volume. I’ve noticed a significant decrease on my end since Dec 2007 as well. For the 2008 and 2009 …
Continue reading “Mental Excercise: Replace the US Postal Service”
2010: The Great Restart
I could stare at this image all day. Continually riding its roller coaster in my head – watching geo-political events, holidays, elections, and family gatherings, all unfold. Whether we call it the Great Recession or the Great Nominal Spending Crash1 – I don’t think we’ve seen the interesting part yet. I predict a dramatic recovery …
Labor Day: Celebrating Opportunity
“Isn’t it sad that we have a job where we spend two 2 weeks avoiding the stuff we have to do fifty week a year?” – Seth Godin, Tribes Almost 15 years ago now, a fellow student at the German design school I was attending, purchased a run-down flat. When he wasn’t focused his design …
March Forth
I’m proposing today as new American holiday. A day of deliberate action. A day of buckled-down confidence. A day of bootstrap-up-pulling. A day of To-Done-ed-ness. A day of recovery. The opposite of Labor Day – more along the lines of Independence Day. Let’s go, there’s work to do. March Forth. “This country will be rescued …
“My Baby’s Only Known Recession”
Mark Zandi, author of the Financial Shock, the best book on how we got into this economic mess is now covering the proposals to get us out. Quick context setting: “Every dollar decline in household net worth reduces consumer spending by 5 cents over the next two years. If sustained, the wealth lost over the …