The shop is not dooing poorly at all - if anything, new technology has made the quality of product go up and revenue with it. The customer base and competition has changed.
Arguably, the 70s is probably when the US decline started. It's just a slow decline, so you're going to keep hearing it. What is interesting to me is despite the obvious loss of US influence and relevance in industry / education / R&D, technology has enabled an (arguably) higher quality of life for most in the US. Of course it is doing the same for other countries as well.
A large portion of my family is machinists. We own a machine shop that makes special order components that require a lot of precision. Parts made from the shop have ended up in all manner of plants and ships, including the recent USS Reagan.
The general sentiment of my relatives that own the shop is that the US doesn't actually make much anymore - we have become more of a consumer and middleman than a producer. A lot of their competition used to be in the US, and a lot of their customers as well. Now their competition is outside the US, and their customers are more often just a middleman for overseas customers, countries that are going through their own technological / industrial renaissances. Their only real big US customers are GE and the government. They, at least, are convinced this is at least part of the reason for our recent declining relevance in industry.
Meanwhile, at another news agency reporting on the exact same story...
"This just in on [Any Other News Network] - Huge budget cuts on the Census Bureau, workers being replaced by iPhones. 'Will Republicans ever stop waging their war on the middle class?' says [Nameless Democrat shill]".
Seriously, we can do this all day. It's the American political process in action.
There was no mention of an oil spill in the linked WSJ article. The birds decided to land on (and in) uncovered treatment tanks on private property. The article pointed out that other companies, such as utility companies, have been sued for millions because their power lines killed ~ 200 eagles. About 80 per year die due to wind turbines, yet no lawsuit is in order.
Not here to say that the birds can all go die in a fire, just saying I see the favoritism at work.
MS (or M$ if you must) plays for the long term. Their rep is better than Sony in the current console market, partially because they handled the RROD situation pretty well, even if they did take a loss. I get the feeling the next set of consoles will pay them back in spades. Just speculation though.
That whole WSJ article is based on a big lie -- that only wind power gets an exemption from bird kills. In the US, cars kill 60-80m birds per year, with more from planes and trains. 100m to 1b birds in the US per year die from window strikes. The number for US high tension lines is roughly 130m. For communication towers, the estimate is 4-5m (and rapidly growing). 67m are estimated to die from pesticides. And on and on. How many of these death sources do you think are getting sued?
I think that was the point they were making - that oil companies were being unfairly singled out because, well, they're oil companies and people hate them. It's fairly likely that other companies are responsible for more deaths for birds protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act than they were and were not targeted by lawsuits.
... and you're happy to be blissfully aware as long as they keep putting out American Idol and Facebook stays online.
I'm reminded of a comment on the fake twitter account for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad when that asshat in Florida was going on about burning the Qur'an a few months ago. "I like to retaliate by burning a book that you Americans hold dear, but the only book you care about is Facebook."
I think Zuckerberg has created a monster. It seems to be capable of helping people organize great changes in their nation, but is equally capable of helping them continue to ignore what they should be paying attention to.
Ah, to argue with the AC or not to argue with the AC...
Here, just read my other comment (http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2080778&cid=35798092). I don't feel like restating it to people who can't be bothered to do even a minimum amount of research before trolling as AC.
Huh? Yes it was a troll post, and Challenger did blow up over the Atlantic after takeoff, but Columbia disintegrated on reentry and threw debris over a lot of the central US, including Texas.
Poor taste yes, but his info wasn't really "wrong".
Yes, but you are once again falling into the trap of labeling all Texans the same because of vocal (idiot) politicians, most of which are from rural areas where a few thousand people decide state representatives. It obviously matters to some people, but obviously didn't matter enough in the biggest city in Texas - Anise Parker won by a significant margin. Don't mix all the same flavors of GOP voters (one time or repeated) in the same bag - a lot of them are as neoconservative as it gets, but most I know are just pragmatic and could care less about 'the gays' or a lot of other neocon social issues. I know quote a few who voted for Anise because she was the more fiscally conservative of the two democrat choices.
Yes, it is unfortunate that the rest of the country is so cheap as to not be able to shell out for better textbooks when some moral conservatives screw up ours. If other states were truly that concerned about the modifications to their textbooks, they would appeal to the voters of their states to shell out more money for better ones, but when there is a lot of sympathizers in said states who would rather not, they can just point to economic hardships and hang up Texas as an effigy. This then creates situations where some idiot calling an entire state with notable contributions to science and engineering 'anti-science' gets modded up on a blog for supposedly intelligent people.
Right, because electing a homosexual == culture. Sigh.
Despite the fact that it seems like half of us are completely enamored with the idea of living ideologically backwards, the other half of us are so awesome as to take that as our starting point and forge the 15th largest economy in the world. The same kind of pragmatic people who will elect a homosexual mayor because she is the best choice among the candidates, not because she is or is not homosexual, as that doesn't actually matter.
Here, I'll reinforce my argument that you are an ignorant twit with another reply (as we still don't have a damned edit option): http://science.slashdot.org/story/11/03/20/1648254/Citation-Map-Shows-Top-Science-Cities. Notice the large volume of contributions out of Texas. Then sit there and look stupid. It is exactly your kind of idiotic mentality that leads me to believe there was political maneuvering in this decision.
You're such an idiot I would love to just ignore you, but I cant. We have more than our share of 'anti-science' folks, but to label the entire state as anti-science, especially considering our numerous contributions to science and engineering in this country, is to show just how fucking ignorant you are.
I'll just quote an article I found from a local news station.
Richard Allen, the president and chief executive officer of Space Center Houston, wanted to bring a shuttle home.
"The orbiter itself is a national treasure," Allen said. "To be able to house a national treasure anywhere would certainly be a great thing for any organization. It has particular meaning for Houston because of our relationship with the space program."
U.S. Rep. John Culberson (R) said the decision for a shuttle to not be granted to Houston was politically motivated.
"It is sad and unfortunate that politics played such an obvious role in the placement of theses retiring orbiters," Culberson said. "The thought of an orbiter not coming home to rest at Space Center Houston is truly tragic. It is analogous to Detroit without a Model-T, or Florence without a da Vinci."
Houston Mayor Annise Parker (D) also believes the decision to not give Houston a shuttle was all about politics.
"This is certainly disappointing, but not entirely unexpected as the administration has been hinting that Houston would not be a winner in this political competition," Parker said. "I am disappointed for Houston, the Johnson Space Center family and the survivors of the Columbia and Challenger missions who paid the ultimate price for the advancement of space exploration. There was no other city with our history of human space flight or more deserving of a retiring orbiter. It is unfortunate that political calculations have prevailed in the final decision."
Slashdot Mirror
Aaaaand... the second result from a google search. By far? Look at more than the first google result and try again.
Heh, wars on multiple continents and a deflated currency... that also sounds familiar.
The shop is not dooing poorly at all - if anything, new technology has made the quality of product go up and revenue with it. The customer base and competition has changed.
Arguably, the 70s is probably when the US decline started. It's just a slow decline, so you're going to keep hearing it. What is interesting to me is despite the obvious loss of US influence and relevance in industry / education / R&D, technology has enabled an (arguably) higher quality of life for most in the US. Of course it is doing the same for other countries as well.
A large portion of my family is machinists. We own a machine shop that makes special order components that require a lot of precision. Parts made from the shop have ended up in all manner of plants and ships, including the recent USS Reagan.
The general sentiment of my relatives that own the shop is that the US doesn't actually make much anymore - we have become more of a consumer and middleman than a producer. A lot of their competition used to be in the US, and a lot of their customers as well. Now their competition is outside the US, and their customers are more often just a middleman for overseas customers, countries that are going through their own technological / industrial renaissances. Their only real big US customers are GE and the government. They, at least, are convinced this is at least part of the reason for our recent declining relevance in industry.
Meanwhile, at another news agency reporting on the exact same story...
"This just in on [Any Other News Network] - Huge budget cuts on the Census Bureau, workers being replaced by iPhones. 'Will Republicans ever stop waging their war on the middle class?' says [Nameless Democrat shill]".
Seriously, we can do this all day. It's the American political process in action.
There was no mention of an oil spill in the linked WSJ article. The birds decided to land on (and in) uncovered treatment tanks on private property. The article pointed out that other companies, such as utility companies, have been sued for millions because their power lines killed ~ 200 eagles. About 80 per year die due to wind turbines, yet no lawsuit is in order.
Not here to say that the birds can all go die in a fire, just saying I see the favoritism at work.
MS (or M$ if you must) plays for the long term. Their rep is better than Sony in the current console market, partially because they handled the RROD situation pretty well, even if they did take a loss. I get the feeling the next set of consoles will pay them back in spades. Just speculation though.
That whole WSJ article is based on a big lie -- that only wind power gets an exemption from bird kills. In the US, cars kill 60-80m birds per year, with more from planes and trains. 100m to 1b birds in the US per year die from window strikes. The number for US high tension lines is roughly 130m. For communication towers, the estimate is 4-5m (and rapidly growing). 67m are estimated to die from pesticides. And on and on. How many of these death sources do you think are getting sued?
I think that was the point they were making - that oil companies were being unfairly singled out because, well, they're oil companies and people hate them. It's fairly likely that other companies are responsible for more deaths for birds protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act than they were and were not targeted by lawsuits.
Probably would not harm them as much as wind power does, depending upon who you ask.
... and you're happy to be blissfully aware as long as they keep putting out American Idol and Facebook stays online.
I'm reminded of a comment on the fake twitter account for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad when that asshat in Florida was going on about burning the Qur'an a few months ago. "I like to retaliate by burning a book that you Americans hold dear, but the only book you care about is Facebook."
I think Zuckerberg has created a monster. It seems to be capable of helping people organize great changes in their nation, but is equally capable of helping them continue to ignore what they should be paying attention to.
66% of all statistics are made up on the spot.
Wrong, it's more like 90%. Duh.
With arm, Microsoft has to start from zero and compete on a level playing field. Something it has never been good at.
Yeah, like with the console market. They really flubbed that one. [/sarcasm]
Ah, to argue with the AC or not to argue with the AC...
Here, just read my other comment (http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2080778&cid=35798092). I don't feel like restating it to people who can't be bothered to do even a minimum amount of research before trolling as AC.
Huh? Yes it was a troll post, and Challenger did blow up over the Atlantic after takeoff, but Columbia disintegrated on reentry and threw debris over a lot of the central US, including Texas.
Poor taste yes, but his info wasn't really "wrong".
My mistake. Troll on then, AC, Troll on.
Yes, but you are once again falling into the trap of labeling all Texans the same because of vocal (idiot) politicians, most of which are from rural areas where a few thousand people decide state representatives. It obviously matters to some people, but obviously didn't matter enough in the biggest city in Texas - Anise Parker won by a significant margin. Don't mix all the same flavors of GOP voters (one time or repeated) in the same bag - a lot of them are as neoconservative as it gets, but most I know are just pragmatic and could care less about 'the gays' or a lot of other neocon social issues. I know quote a few who voted for Anise because she was the more fiscally conservative of the two democrat choices.
Yes, it is unfortunate that the rest of the country is so cheap as to not be able to shell out for better textbooks when some moral conservatives screw up ours. If other states were truly that concerned about the modifications to their textbooks, they would appeal to the voters of their states to shell out more money for better ones, but when there is a lot of sympathizers in said states who would rather not, they can just point to economic hardships and hang up Texas as an effigy. This then creates situations where some idiot calling an entire state with notable contributions to science and engineering 'anti-science' gets modded up on a blog for supposedly intelligent people.
Right, because electing a homosexual == culture. Sigh.
Despite the fact that it seems like half of us are completely enamored with the idea of living ideologically backwards, the other half of us are so awesome as to take that as our starting point and forge the 15th largest economy in the world. The same kind of pragmatic people who will elect a homosexual mayor because she is the best choice among the candidates, not because she is or is not homosexual, as that doesn't actually matter.
Keep trolling though, I hear it's cathartic.
Actually, it was the Challenger, and it blew up over the Atlantic near its launch pad in Florida. Back to troll school for you.
Here, I'll reinforce my argument that you are an ignorant twit with another reply (as we still don't have a damned edit option): http://science.slashdot.org/story/11/03/20/1648254/Citation-Map-Shows-Top-Science-Cities. Notice the large volume of contributions out of Texas. Then sit there and look stupid. It is exactly your kind of idiotic mentality that leads me to believe there was political maneuvering in this decision.
The New York choice is precisely the one that made me suspicous of political maneuvering.
You're such an idiot I would love to just ignore you, but I cant. We have more than our share of 'anti-science' folks, but to label the entire state as anti-science, especially considering our numerous contributions to science and engineering in this country, is to show just how fucking ignorant you are.
Richard Allen, the president and chief executive officer of Space Center Houston, wanted to bring a shuttle home.
"The orbiter itself is a national treasure," Allen said. "To be able to house a national treasure anywhere would certainly be a great thing for any organization. It has particular meaning for Houston because of our relationship with the space program."
U.S. Rep. John Culberson (R) said the decision for a shuttle to not be granted to Houston was politically motivated.
"It is sad and unfortunate that politics played such an obvious role in the placement of theses retiring orbiters," Culberson said. "The thought of an orbiter not coming home to rest at Space Center Houston is truly tragic. It is analogous to Detroit without a Model-T, or Florence without a da Vinci."
Houston Mayor Annise Parker (D) also believes the decision to not give Houston a shuttle was all about politics.
"This is certainly disappointing, but not entirely unexpected as the administration has been hinting that Houston would not be a winner in this political competition," Parker said. "I am disappointed for Houston, the Johnson Space Center family and the survivors of the Columbia and Challenger missions who paid the ultimate price for the advancement of space exploration. There was no other city with our history of human space flight or more deserving of a retiring orbiter. It is unfortunate that political calculations have prevailed in the final decision."
Take a look: http://www.npr.org/news/specials/election2008/2008-election-map.html#/president?view=race08 Then look again at the list of cities getting a shuttle. Still surprised Houston wasn't chosen?
I'm not normally one to read politics into everything, but this...
I'm more surprised that he clicked on any link in the comments, especially a shortened URL.