Any Port in a Storm

Bullets and Butterflies

jportage — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 17:46:09 +0000

A must read.

‘The boiling point of water is straightforward, but the boiling point of societies is mysterious.’ – Rebecca Solnit

Lies

jportage — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 16:14:39 +0000

I just can’t read about the financial world anymore. Not only does it sicken me (the greed, the selfishness) but it is all lies. I mean, when did Wall St. become the fucking Politburo? Really? They hide behind their shields of fabricated complexity hoping no one will get it. And knowing that if some do, they can bully stack them into oblivion. Ugh. Just ugh.

Taking all that into account, it was funny that I went to read Bruce Krasting today for the first time in a long time.

Spinning.

Prague Clock / Video Mapping

jportage — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 17:31:26 +0000

Um, super cool. (SLYT) (h/t Metafilter)

Pursuit of Happiness

jportage — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 05:28:13 +0000

I have just fallen in love with this song, specifically the Lissie cover of it. First came across it on FredWilson.fm. Another great find.

Are We Alone.

jportage — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 15:15:10 +0000

An old Greg Easterbrook Atlantic article about SETI and the possibility of alien life. He does an excellent job of outlining the list of possibilities and the implications of each. I especially like the comment about the two numbers, 3.8 Billion and 57. So much so I put them into the book yesterday. No idea if they will stay, but they are there right now.

The Latest Meme

jportage — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 14:50:58 +0000

Every now and then, something happens in the swirling cacophony of data that is the internet that just makes me laugh out loud. What more could one ask for?

To See the Farm is to Leave the Farm

jportage — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 16:21:44 +0000

Like I’ve said before, I’m just a poor mirror for MetaFilter. But it’s been awhile since I posted and this hit home, so… what the heck. And yes, I love the end line.

DP Lee

jportage — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 03:06:39 +0000

So, DP Lee is moving on to greener pastures. I feel a little rude calling him ‘DP’ (for double play). He was a quality guy, a very good player, maybe the best free agent pickup (well, technically we traded for him – for Hee-Seop Choi of all people) the Chubs have ever had. He had some great years with the team, especially 2005. He was an absolute monster with the glove too – easily making Aramis five times better of a fielder. Or so it felt like. I’m sure Bill James would disagree.

That being said, he did not live up to his contract the last few years and is one of the reasons this year has been so poor. I will miss him as a person, one of the finest people the Chubs have ever employed, but he was over the hill for sure. Here is hoping he goes on one of his patented hot streaks for the Braves. Would love to see them win it all in Cox’s last year.

The Service Industry

jportage — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 15:40:14 +0000

Since leaving the corporate world, I have not flown nearly as much as I did in the past. I wasn’t a road warrior, but I traveled often enough. A few weeks ago, when I flew to LA, I was shocked at the awful attitude of every single person I encountered that worked for the airlines. Everyone has a bad day, I get it. In the past, some of those airline people have had the misfortune of encountering my bad day, so, in a karmic way, I am ok with their bad day every now and then. But the best thing I can say for any of the people that ‘dealt’ with me (I felt like nuclear waste – no lies) was that they might not have been dismissive of me. All the rest were openly unhappy with me, the freakin’ customer. Now, when one or two or even a few employees do it, ok, but ALL of them? That’s called an epidemic.

The cause of the epidemic are the usual I am sure: poor pay, poor feedback, poorly run organizations, low self-esteem, a system that requires the employee to always play the bad guy, low opportunity for upward mobility, possibility of losing their job at any point, etcetera etcetera.

All of that sucks, no doubt. But tell me, is the airline industry just and outlier or is it the canary in the coal mine? Which of those items listed above can’t be applied to most any industry/job that is out there and available now? Isn’t America turning into a service economy? What can be more of a service than the airlines.

Hat tips to MetaFilter and Paul Kedrosky in order.

Big Trucks

jportage — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 14:32:42 +0000

So…. I’m driving along yesterday and I see this thing.

What is it? Apparently a Ford 350 cut in half and then put back together with a semi sleeper bay in the middle. Why? I’m sure it was the life long dream of someone (probably the guys driving the thing). Well, bully for them.

When I first saw the truck, from behind, I thought it was one of those Navistar SUVs. I had only seen them in pictures, which is how I was able to misdiagnose the situation.

Nothing against the guy in the F350 Super Truck, but looking at the Navistar SUV, do we have any question as to why and how we got in the pickle we are in? That pickle can either be the financial crisis (a people that were willing/able/happy to buy these things must have been in the throws of excess) or the resource crisis. However you look at it, we are incredibly short-sighted.