Am I the only one on the planet that remembers the daily show before it got all politicized and contentious? I yearn for the good old days when fart jokes, weirdos, and plants in people's faces ruled the day. Today's daily show is like watching CNN with some jokes thrown in. It's just not light and fun like it used to be. I don't watch it too often anymore.
the greatest enemy of small struggling businesses in this country are not government taxes or socialist healthcare: it is large entrenched businesses who don't want the competition and rig the market to work for them.
In California, the amount of regulations and legalities involved in running a small business can make it very difficult. I'm not talking about taxes or universal health care (which should actually help the little guys). Instead, things like hazardous waste disposal (think batteries and flourescent lights), workers comp insurance, draconian IP laws, and simply being able to lease a hospitable space do not scale well at the smaller levels. We have essentially "rigged the market" with regulations that force small businesses to either operate outside the law or perish. The very regulations that are designed to keep big corporations from being evil often come to bite small businesses in the rear, stifling innovation and competition.
Big companies can afford legal teams to defend themselves, and even go after the small guys with the complex set of laws we have voted in. When the little guys can't afford the legal team to deal with it or the fines that get inflicted, they simply close up shop. I have seen it happen to a small (~100 employees) company I worked for and to even smaller shops that I have been a customer of in San Diego.
Don't fool yourself. The system is broken at many levels. I voted for BO, mostly for the healthcare reform, but I know that government regulation is not necessarily the answer to our problems. In many ways it is the root cause.
I just stopped working for a web analytics company a month ago, I supported their in house analytics software product for the people running the ad campaigns. Not my bag.
Anyway, from what I saw the parent is dead on. Google is going to funnel more users into the higher CPC (cost per click) ads, and away from the relatively cheap long tail search terms. I've seen campaigns for large cell carriers run bidding into the $10 per click territory for terms like "blackberry" or "smartphone" and that is exactly what google is going to try place in front of as many search users as possible.
Its the Apple IIe all over again. The company got cocky, started abusing their market domination with laziness, and now they are in deep sh*t.
After wrestling with itunes and the restrictive nature of the iOS, users are getting more advanced and realizing that the iPhone isn't the only answer out there. Because Apple alienated the dev community, the nerds are telling everyone to go Android. If I had Apple stock, I would sell and do it quickly.
Better yet, I liked another posters earlier suggestion that if the police can do it, without being granted special powers, then surely any American can put a GPS tracker on any vehicle. So lets start putting trackers on government vehicles, and the private vehicles of public servants like judges, police, politicians, etc...
In my experience, topes are used by poor people to stop vehicles and beg for money. They normally string a rope with a sign in the middle that says "alto" and women and children run up to the window begging for money. When we were there, we drove through the ropes. IMO a couple of white boys stopping in a $10k vehicle in the middle of nowhere Mexico is not the best idea.
We measured 41MPG on a road trip once, and 34MPG around town when using a light foot. The cars MSRP was around $13k.
To contrast, another friend bought a '08 prius hybrid a couple years ago for a little over $34,000. The car gets around the same gas milage, maybe a littel worse the the '92 tercel got. Go figure.
My "water based fishing center" will use a complex system of nets, cranes, and a crew to fill these ingenious live wells with the bounty of the sea. Anyone who uses my technology will have to pay me a LOT of money to license it.
I have no idea how their bots/algorythm work. I just know that Baidu data is always delivered manually and it shows up at varying times depending on when Chinese workers get around to it. The other engines are much more reliable since they are automated, with data normally becoming available shortly after midnight each day. Occasionally, we see problems from Yahoo in other countries (mostly South East Asia) but Baidu is less reliable.
I actually work with Baidu to collect marketing metrics. Google, Yahoo, and Bing all have API access setup so clients can access reports anytime via a SOAP request. Baidu? You have to actually talk to a person in China on the phone and ask for a report which they then send you manually every day. God knows if the data is legit, and there is no availability on weekends or holidays (which it turns out, China has a LOT of).
I don't really see how they are going to develop their own mobile OS unless its a direct copy of Android.
For God sakes man! If you are planning one growing your company at all you need and IT department. To start, get two good people. A tier 1, help desk, 50k/yr, kinda dude. And a Sys Admin, 70k/yr, kinda dude. Cut your support contracts and give them a budget. If things get shittier replace them.
For me to NOT watch soccer. Besides the fact that it is arguably the most boring spectator sport (baseball and cricket are right in there). It's also VERY ANNOYING the way the players whine and bitch. They are worse than the euro-floppers in the NBA (btw, NBA is my second least favorite sport before soccer). On Saturday I attempted to watch a little world cup but after about 30 minutes I thought to myself "Wow, South Africans/English people are annoying as shit with those horns." and I turned off the game.
Fuck you for saying fuck a state in a country that you are trying to become a citizen of.
Maybe it's because so many people are trying to become citizens and the limited government agency resources cannot handle the load. Perhaps you should just give up and let the next person in line get in. Obviously you are frustrated with the situation...
My Dad lies in Phoenix. They have MAJOR problems with illegal immigrants there. Want proof, go to any local news station's website and look at the headlines. Or check out the murder rate in Phoenix, it almost 2 1/2 times the national average. They have homicides on the daily and the VAST majority involve either illegal immigrants or people who are first generation Americans (i.e. their parents moved here (mostly illegally) and had kids and then everyone got citizenship).
The cops are not going to be picking on a nerd named Robert who is waiting for his papers from USCIS. They are looking for criminals and this will give them the power they need to really crack down. By and large, the people that have been legal citizens in AZ for more than one generation support this move VERY STRONGLY. Of course I'm sure there will be a couple of incidents where somebody is in the situation you are talking about and that totally sucks for you. I'm also sure that some profiling will go on that will anger brown people living in the state legally and this move will hurt race relations overall. But it is more than worth it for me to know my Dad will be safer living by himself over there knowing the police have more power to help stop people from being slaughtered in there own homes.
I live on the border as well, but in California and our problems pale in comparison. Why? We have very strict limitations on our freedoms that Arizona does not have. Some people might think "hey, AZ should just get all liberal like California and pass anti gun laws etc..." Fact of the matter is that California's model is NOT SUSTAINABLE. Even though the average Californian makes way more money and pays way more taxes than someone in AZ, our state governemnt is essentially bankrupt. Our schools are terrible, our roads are falling apart, and our police/fire departments are massively under staffed. These are hard facts dude, and I applaud AZ for making a very tough decision that I'm sure a boatload people in teh blue states will condemn them for.
A few more improved versions of Android based phones and I'm out. I got my 3G when they came out almost 2 years ago, and it was a game changer for sure. That said, I've been waiting to get off the Apple train since I first had to install itunes almost two years ago.
Apple's products are well done, but the company sucks. They are not at all interested in changing the digital IP landscape. Their only objective is massive profits (as it should be since they are a public company). Luckily, shifting the IP model is in some companies best interests right now (like google) and it makes sense from a usability standpoint for the consumers so I think Apple's locked down mobile strategy will falter eventually. It will jsut take time for the Android stack to mature and for people to figure out that the nerds can do way cooler stuff on their Android based phones that the Apple equivalent and they cost less. For reference, just look at the Apple PC downfall in the late 90's... Has there been a resurgence in Apple PC gear since? Yes, for a variety of reasons. Is Apple ever going to come close to co-dominance they shared with IBM clones in the home PC market of the early 1990s again? I'd say no.
I think apple will fizzle out in the mobile arena as well.
The companies making the tobacco-less cigarettes are not huge conglomerates like the tobacco companies right? This whole thing makes me think the ALA might be in RJ Reynold's back pocket...
Yeah but what if the gardener is spending the other 20 hours cleaning your pool, rain gutters, and working on a garden on the side of the house. If you tried to pay him for 20 hours of work when he was physically doing something on your property for 40, I don't think he'd be too happy.
Fyi, up until 40 years ago economics was a part of Sociology at most universities due to it's inherently irrational nature. I think the shift in understanding of it as more of a math/science field is largely related to the academic re-categorization.
That said, any econ 201 student should know the short history of their field and be aware of this fundamental issue. It is easy to brush aside all the free market pundits, but it is also pretty presumptive (i.e. big brother should be allowed to intervene any time they want to in markets, regardless of said brother's track record).
Rand's thoughts regarding free markets and capitalism are remarkably idealistic and unpractical. But so is communism. Finding the right balance is the real trick, and I pity the many people out there who can't recognize the common goal: Improving living standards for all without losing incentives for those that excel.
Slashdot Mirror
Am I the only one on the planet that remembers the daily show before it got all politicized and contentious? I yearn for the good old days when fart jokes, weirdos, and plants in people's faces ruled the day. Today's daily show is like watching CNN with some jokes thrown in. It's just not light and fun like it used to be. I don't watch it too often anymore.
the greatest enemy of small struggling businesses in this country are not government taxes or socialist healthcare: it is large entrenched businesses who don't want the competition and rig the market to work for them.
In California, the amount of regulations and legalities involved in running a small business can make it very difficult. I'm not talking about taxes or universal health care (which should actually help the little guys). Instead, things like hazardous waste disposal (think batteries and flourescent lights), workers comp insurance, draconian IP laws, and simply being able to lease a hospitable space do not scale well at the smaller levels. We have essentially "rigged the market" with regulations that force small businesses to either operate outside the law or perish. The very regulations that are designed to keep big corporations from being evil often come to bite small businesses in the rear, stifling innovation and competition.
Big companies can afford legal teams to defend themselves, and even go after the small guys with the complex set of laws we have voted in. When the little guys can't afford the legal team to deal with it or the fines that get inflicted, they simply close up shop. I have seen it happen to a small (~100 employees) company I worked for and to even smaller shops that I have been a customer of in San Diego.
Don't fool yourself. The system is broken at many levels. I voted for BO, mostly for the healthcare reform, but I know that government regulation is not necessarily the answer to our problems. In many ways it is the root cause.
I just stopped working for a web analytics company a month ago, I supported their in house analytics software product for the people running the ad campaigns. Not my bag.
Anyway, from what I saw the parent is dead on. Google is going to funnel more users into the higher CPC (cost per click) ads, and away from the relatively cheap long tail search terms. I've seen campaigns for large cell carriers run bidding into the $10 per click territory for terms like "blackberry" or "smartphone" and that is exactly what google is going to try place in front of as many search users as possible.
+1 for smugness
Its the Apple IIe all over again. The company got cocky, started abusing their market domination with laziness, and now they are in deep sh*t.
After wrestling with itunes and the restrictive nature of the iOS, users are getting more advanced and realizing that the iPhone isn't the only answer out there. Because Apple alienated the dev community, the nerds are telling everyone to go Android. If I had Apple stock, I would sell and do it quickly.
Better yet, I liked another posters earlier suggestion that if the police can do it, without being granted special powers, then surely any American can put a GPS tracker on any vehicle. So lets start putting trackers on government vehicles, and the private vehicles of public servants like judges, police, politicians, etc...
In my experience, topes are used by poor people to stop vehicles and beg for money. They normally string a rope with a sign in the middle that says "alto" and women and children run up to the window begging for money. When we were there, we drove through the ropes. IMO a couple of white boys stopping in a $10k vehicle in the middle of nowhere Mexico is not the best idea.
A college roommate of mine had a '92 tercel, not unlike this one:
http://sandiego.craigslist.org/ssd/cto/1887281413.html
We measured 41MPG on a road trip once, and 34MPG around town when using a light foot. The cars MSRP was around $13k.
To contrast, another friend bought a '08 prius hybrid a couple years ago for a little over $34,000. The car gets around the same gas milage, maybe a littel worse the the '92 tercel got. Go figure.
My "water based fishing center" will use a complex system of nets, cranes, and a crew to fill these ingenious live wells with the bounty of the sea. Anyone who uses my technology will have to pay me a LOT of money to license it.
I have no idea how their bots/algorythm work. I just know that Baidu data is always delivered manually and it shows up at varying times depending on when Chinese workers get around to it. The other engines are much more reliable since they are automated, with data normally becoming available shortly after midnight each day. Occasionally, we see problems from Yahoo in other countries (mostly South East Asia) but Baidu is less reliable.
Seriously.
I actually work with Baidu to collect marketing metrics. Google, Yahoo, and Bing all have API access setup so clients can access reports anytime via a SOAP request. Baidu? You have to actually talk to a person in China on the phone and ask for a report which they then send you manually every day. God knows if the data is legit, and there is no availability on weekends or holidays (which it turns out, China has a LOT of).
I don't really see how they are going to develop their own mobile OS unless its a direct copy of Android.
For God sakes man! If you are planning one growing your company at all you need and IT department. To start, get two good people. A tier 1, help desk, 50k/yr, kinda dude. And a Sys Admin, 70k/yr, kinda dude. Cut your support contracts and give them a budget. If things get shittier replace them.
For me to NOT watch soccer. Besides the fact that it is arguably the most boring spectator sport (baseball and cricket are right in there). It's also VERY ANNOYING the way the players whine and bitch. They are worse than the euro-floppers in the NBA (btw, NBA is my second least favorite sport before soccer). On Saturday I attempted to watch a little world cup but after about 30 minutes I thought to myself "Wow, South Africans/English people are annoying as shit with those horns." and I turned off the game.
but I have a facebook group to go join. neener neener neener.
Feels like 1998 all over again eh....
Don't tread on me. Period.
Fuck you for saying fuck a state in a country that you are trying to become a citizen of.
Maybe it's because so many people are trying to become citizens and the limited government agency resources cannot handle the load. Perhaps you should just give up and let the next person in line get in. Obviously you are frustrated with the situation...
My Dad lies in Phoenix. They have MAJOR problems with illegal immigrants there. Want proof, go to any local news station's website and look at the headlines. Or check out the murder rate in Phoenix, it almost 2 1/2 times the national average. They have homicides on the daily and the VAST majority involve either illegal immigrants or people who are first generation Americans (i.e. their parents moved here (mostly illegally) and had kids and then everyone got citizenship).
The cops are not going to be picking on a nerd named Robert who is waiting for his papers from USCIS. They are looking for criminals and this will give them the power they need to really crack down. By and large, the people that have been legal citizens in AZ for more than one generation support this move VERY STRONGLY. Of course I'm sure there will be a couple of incidents where somebody is in the situation you are talking about and that totally sucks for you. I'm also sure that some profiling will go on that will anger brown people living in the state legally and this move will hurt race relations overall. But it is more than worth it for me to know my Dad will be safer living by himself over there knowing the police have more power to help stop people from being slaughtered in there own homes.
I live on the border as well, but in California and our problems pale in comparison. Why? We have very strict limitations on our freedoms that Arizona does not have. Some people might think "hey, AZ should just get all liberal like California and pass anti gun laws etc..." Fact of the matter is that California's model is NOT SUSTAINABLE. Even though the average Californian makes way more money and pays way more taxes than someone in AZ, our state governemnt is essentially bankrupt. Our schools are terrible, our roads are falling apart, and our police/fire departments are massively under staffed. These are hard facts dude, and I applaud AZ for making a very tough decision that I'm sure a boatload people in teh blue states will condemn them for.
A few more improved versions of Android based phones and I'm out. I got my 3G when they came out almost 2 years ago, and it was a game changer for sure. That said, I've been waiting to get off the Apple train since I first had to install itunes almost two years ago.
Apple's products are well done, but the company sucks. They are not at all interested in changing the digital IP landscape. Their only objective is massive profits (as it should be since they are a public company). Luckily, shifting the IP model is in some companies best interests right now (like google) and it makes sense from a usability standpoint for the consumers so I think Apple's locked down mobile strategy will falter eventually. It will jsut take time for the Android stack to mature and for people to figure out that the nerds can do way cooler stuff on their Android based phones that the Apple equivalent and they cost less. For reference, just look at the Apple PC downfall in the late 90's... Has there been a resurgence in Apple PC gear since? Yes, for a variety of reasons. Is Apple ever going to come close to co-dominance they shared with IBM clones in the home PC market of the early 1990s again? I'd say no.
I think apple will fizzle out in the mobile arena as well.
The companies making the tobacco-less cigarettes are not huge conglomerates like the tobacco companies right? This whole thing makes me think the ALA might be in RJ Reynold's back pocket...
Yeah but what if the gardener is spending the other 20 hours cleaning your pool, rain gutters, and working on a garden on the side of the house. If you tried to pay him for 20 hours of work when he was physically doing something on your property for 40, I don't think he'd be too happy.
I don't wear headsets for the same reason. Screw voice chat if I have to look like a fool.
Mod parent up.
Hippy.
Fyi, up until 40 years ago economics was a part of Sociology at most universities due to it's inherently irrational nature. I think the shift in understanding of it as more of a math/science field is largely related to the academic re-categorization.
That said, any econ 201 student should know the short history of their field and be aware of this fundamental issue. It is easy to brush aside all the free market pundits, but it is also pretty presumptive (i.e. big brother should be allowed to intervene any time they want to in markets, regardless of said brother's track record).
Rand's thoughts regarding free markets and capitalism are remarkably idealistic and unpractical. But so is communism. Finding the right balance is the real trick, and I pity the many people out there who can't recognize the common goal:
Improving living standards for all without losing incentives for those that excel.
You lose your trademark if you don't try to protect it.