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Also, there's Julia (http://julialang.org/), and I recently came across at least one IDE for it (although I haven't tried it yet): Julia Studio.

Never hand to a contractor anything you would not be willing to hand to your competitor. Granted I have heard managers talk about how iron clad the contracts are but the reality is that after the contract is over they can go anywhere (competitor) and they know your code, its strengths, weaknesses and how to make it better and regardless of how honest they are they cannot forget this information and will tap into it whenever a problem arises. So basically you could be doing your competitor a favor by training their next employee. The best article I have read about this is http://forio.com/resources/article/the-pitfalls-of-outsourcing-programmers/ The chocolate box example is priceless! As a chocolate maker you don't outsource your chocolate making (handing out the recipe and possibly endangering your reputation if a batch of bad chocolates go out) you outsource the making of the chocolate boxes.

This US Oil Imports Game where you play the President starting in 2005 is kind of neat.

It's along the lines of the Muzzy Lane History Games, except that you play into the future for the next 20 years, not history.

Recently, I bought some chocolates as a gift for some friends from a specialty shop. These chocolates are remarkable. Owner Jean-Marc Gorce makes them by-hand and his small shop has been rated as one of the top ten in the United States. In addition to being a chef, Jean-Marc is also an entrepreneur and an innovator.

Jean-Marc recently started selling his chocolates in gold and blue boxes. I told him I liked the new boxes. He explained that his wife designed the boxes and he found a company in the Philippines that could produce the boxes in the small volume they needed for a good price.

Jean-Marc's gold and blue boxes are an example of successful outsourcing. Jean-Marc sells chocolates, not boxes. The design and production of chocolates is his core competency. Jean-Marc can outsource box production to improve his operational efficiency without sacrificing his reputation as a maker of superlative chocolates.

While outsourcing boxes improves chocolatier Jean-Marc's operational effectiveness, he would never consider outsourcing chocolate production because he would lose his core differentiation advantage. Yet, in their enthusiasm for cost savings, several US technology companies have done precisely that-- outsourcing their core technology and key strategic differentiator.

Most of U.S. oil is used for gasoline for cars. So the fastest way to reduce demand is by either driving less. Using some fuel other than gasoline can take a decade or more to have a major effect.

Interesting quote from the simulation: "After Saudi Arabia, the U.S. is the second largest oil producer in the world. But the United States also happens to be the largest consumer of oil. Oil consumption in the United States and Canada is almost three gallons per person per day, twice as high as in Europe."

There's a simulation game that demonstrates Schwartz's ideas where you play the President and make decisions about U.S. oil policy called The US Oil Import Policy Simulation.

The simulation shows that the high leverage points for reducing US oil imports is conservation and alternative fuels, followed by improved MPG.