Most of the five dems standing on the stage tonight believe (or said they believe) that the Iraq war was the worst mistake the US has made in modern times.
Viet Nam cost 50,000 casualties, lasted 10 years, and the Communist enemy drove us out of the country and conquered South Viet Nam and placed it under a Communist dictatorship in Hanoi. That's about as bad as defeats get.
Iraq cost only 5000 casualties, a lot, but only a tenth of the Viet Nam casualties. It was successful, the enemy regime was deposed, and a new one installed. Things were well in hand until Obama withdrew all our troops. Without US support, the new regime collapsed, and ISIS took over most of the country.
I say Viet Nam was much much worse than Iraq.
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
Beer Monopoly
It's coming. Inbev (#1 brewer worldwide) wants to buy SABMiller ( #2 brewer worldwide) for $104 billion. Combine the #1 and #2 brewers and you have a world wide monopoly. They will be able to hike their prices without fear of competition, there is no competition.
The anti-trust division at Justice ought to fight this merger. If anti trust means anything, it means the two top firms in any one market cannot merge. The two top firms are supposed to compete, on price and on quality. The merger just eliminates competition, so they can hike the price and lower the quality and get away with it.
The anti-trust division at Justice ought to fight this merger. If anti trust means anything, it means the two top firms in any one market cannot merge. The two top firms are supposed to compete, on price and on quality. The merger just eliminates competition, so they can hike the price and lower the quality and get away with it.
Monday, October 12, 2015
I buy a car to drive it, not to compute in it
The new car ads on TV speak of Bluetooth connectivity, On-Site, satellite radio, GPS navigation, electronic gadget after electronic gadget.
I don't buy a car to get electronics. I want to drive it. The auto marketeers seem to have forgotten my segment of the market.
So what properties of car make it sell? First off is a good low price. There was a time when you could buy a brand new VW beetle for $1800. That year a Chevy baseline sedan cost $2800. The Beetle wasn't very big, had sort of weird styling, didn't have much power, lacked automatic transmission, but it was well built, reliable, good paint job, good gas mileage, and it sold. Even got to star in a Disney movie.
Then there is styling. Good styling doesn't make the car more expensive. The dies to press the sheet metal cost the same whether they press handsome fenders or ugly ones. Detroit used to do good styling, just look at the movies and TV, all the good guys drive classic Detroit cars. You never see a good guy driving a Chevy Avio. For 2015, the best cars rise to the level of merely plain, nothing looks as sharp as say a 1959 Buick, or a '60s Pontiac GTO. Lackluster styling is the fault of corporate suits. The stylist's conceptions are all vetted by top management before going into production. Top management is no longer real car people like Lee Iacocca, but miserable narrow gauge bean counters. Who select the bland styling now universal.
Then we have carrying capacity. The minivans and SUV's sell to people who have children to transport and stuff to bring home. If you don't have children, you get a pickup truck. The little econobox sedans cannot do either, and serve mostly to drive to work.
Over the years Detroit invented new body styles, the station wagon, the compact car, the pony car, the minivan, the SUV. Each one of these made a ton of money. Detroit needs to invent some more body styles. For example, a real small car that can bring plywood and sheetrock home from the lumber yard, or a bureau home from the yard sale. A clever roof rack, a removable top, something, to let you do some hauling without getting into an F150.
Right now Detroit is getting along by expanding into China. But that won't last, the Chinese will take over their own auto production. They need to work harder on the North American market.
I don't buy a car to get electronics. I want to drive it. The auto marketeers seem to have forgotten my segment of the market.
So what properties of car make it sell? First off is a good low price. There was a time when you could buy a brand new VW beetle for $1800. That year a Chevy baseline sedan cost $2800. The Beetle wasn't very big, had sort of weird styling, didn't have much power, lacked automatic transmission, but it was well built, reliable, good paint job, good gas mileage, and it sold. Even got to star in a Disney movie.
Then there is styling. Good styling doesn't make the car more expensive. The dies to press the sheet metal cost the same whether they press handsome fenders or ugly ones. Detroit used to do good styling, just look at the movies and TV, all the good guys drive classic Detroit cars. You never see a good guy driving a Chevy Avio. For 2015, the best cars rise to the level of merely plain, nothing looks as sharp as say a 1959 Buick, or a '60s Pontiac GTO. Lackluster styling is the fault of corporate suits. The stylist's conceptions are all vetted by top management before going into production. Top management is no longer real car people like Lee Iacocca, but miserable narrow gauge bean counters. Who select the bland styling now universal.
Then we have carrying capacity. The minivans and SUV's sell to people who have children to transport and stuff to bring home. If you don't have children, you get a pickup truck. The little econobox sedans cannot do either, and serve mostly to drive to work.
Over the years Detroit invented new body styles, the station wagon, the compact car, the pony car, the minivan, the SUV. Each one of these made a ton of money. Detroit needs to invent some more body styles. For example, a real small car that can bring plywood and sheetrock home from the lumber yard, or a bureau home from the yard sale. A clever roof rack, a removable top, something, to let you do some hauling without getting into an F150.
Right now Detroit is getting along by expanding into China. But that won't last, the Chinese will take over their own auto production. They need to work harder on the North American market.
Sunday, October 11, 2015
Car radios get better every year
Way back when, when the radios were vacuum tube, the Boston FM stations faded out to static about the time we crossed Rt 128. Then it was AM all the way to Cannon Mt, usually WBZ. So yesterday I drove back from Boston with the FM in my new-to-me car playing WCRB, the Boston classical music station. The radio pulled in good solid signal all the way to Concord NH. That didn't used to happen.
It was a lovely day, leaves at peak all the way, sunny, blue sky, hint of fall in the air but not really cold. My old North Shore model railroad club threw an open house and train show in Wakefield. I found some stuff at the show, and admired all the work that had gone into the layout since I retired to NH 6-7 years ago. Lot of old friends were still active, was glad to see them all.
It was a lovely day, leaves at peak all the way, sunny, blue sky, hint of fall in the air but not really cold. My old North Shore model railroad club threw an open house and train show in Wakefield. I found some stuff at the show, and admired all the work that had gone into the layout since I retired to NH 6-7 years ago. Lot of old friends were still active, was glad to see them all.
Who needs their own camera?
When you can Google images of nearly anything. I'm making HO models of hopper cars. So I Google "hoppers Baltimore and Ohio" , and presto, a hundred photos of B&O hopper cars pop up, old ones, new ones, builder's broadsides, end views side views, three quarters views. Then I can go for Hoppers, Chesapeake and Ohio, or hoppers Boston and Maine
One thing to watch out for, half the photos on Google are of model hoppers. Since I am modeling, I want photos of the real thing rather than some other modelers idea of what a hopper should look like.
One thing to watch out for, half the photos on Google are of model hoppers. Since I am modeling, I want photos of the real thing rather than some other modelers idea of what a hopper should look like.
Friday, October 9, 2015
So what ails the House Republicans, really?
The current Speaker of the House kerfuffle is fun to watch, but it means that House Republicans dislike each other too much to work together. That much is clear from watching the TV news. What is less clear is the why of the situation, and a description of the sides, (Two? Three? More?) and what the beefs are. Which side has which beef?
Is it some concrete issue or issues? if so what are they? Immigration? taxes? Planned Parenthood? abortion? Syria? Ukraine? TPP? Voter ID? Gun control? all of the above? Something else? And if its issues, who is one which side[s]? The TV newsies don't seem to know, which is not unusual, TV newsies know very little.
Is is personalities? Some reps just cannot stand other reps? If so, who cannot stand who? How many are involved?
Is it pecking order? Some reps want more influence, more juicy committee assignments, better office space? better parking spots? some other perk that we don't know about?
Is it strategy and tactics? Such as shutting down the government vs cooperate and graduate? Try to get some good legislation thru or just dig in your heels and oppose Obama at every turn on general principles? Compromise with the Democrats or hold out for ideological purity even if it means you don't pass anything.
Is it some concrete issue or issues? if so what are they? Immigration? taxes? Planned Parenthood? abortion? Syria? Ukraine? TPP? Voter ID? Gun control? all of the above? Something else? And if its issues, who is one which side[s]? The TV newsies don't seem to know, which is not unusual, TV newsies know very little.
Is is personalities? Some reps just cannot stand other reps? If so, who cannot stand who? How many are involved?
Is it pecking order? Some reps want more influence, more juicy committee assignments, better office space? better parking spots? some other perk that we don't know about?
Is it strategy and tactics? Such as shutting down the government vs cooperate and graduate? Try to get some good legislation thru or just dig in your heels and oppose Obama at every turn on general principles? Compromise with the Democrats or hold out for ideological purity even if it means you don't pass anything.
Steve Jobs, Product Champion
A lot of people, youngest son included, don't understand what Steve did that makes him important. Steve was not an inventor. His famous products, Apple II, Mac, Ipod-pad-phone used the standard technology of their times in straightforward ways. There are few to no patentable ideas in these products.
So what was Steve's role? Steve was the guy who could tell a salable product from an also ran. Long before prototypes were built, or market analysis done, Steve could look at the proposed product, when it was just a paper study, or a paper specification, and recognize the market beating products. As executive, Steve was the guy who pushed the products he saw as successful thru research and development, into production, and marketed them successfully. He didn't invent these products, he chose them , nurtured them and brought them to market. And made Apple the wealthiest corporation in the world.
I haven't seen the forthcoming movie about Steve, the reviews are unexciting, apparently the movie dwells on Steve's shortcomings and a father and family man. That's regrettable, but a lot of men suffer simular failings. Very few men have been as productive in business as Steve was.
He is missed.
So what was Steve's role? Steve was the guy who could tell a salable product from an also ran. Long before prototypes were built, or market analysis done, Steve could look at the proposed product, when it was just a paper study, or a paper specification, and recognize the market beating products. As executive, Steve was the guy who pushed the products he saw as successful thru research and development, into production, and marketed them successfully. He didn't invent these products, he chose them , nurtured them and brought them to market. And made Apple the wealthiest corporation in the world.
I haven't seen the forthcoming movie about Steve, the reviews are unexciting, apparently the movie dwells on Steve's shortcomings and a father and family man. That's regrettable, but a lot of men suffer simular failings. Very few men have been as productive in business as Steve was.
He is missed.
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