Transparency Right Where You Don’t Want It

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Phil

Nick  Bilton tells the story in The Wall Street Journal: As I approached the line to the restroom, I took a deep sigh, thinking that I might find some respite from the hundreds of cameras strapped to people’s heads at … Continue reading →

Posted in Transparency 1 Comment
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Great Moments in Stupid Advertising

Posted on May 19, 2013 by Phil

UPDATE: I thought  Ellis Jakubowski’s comment (below) warranted a response. This post wasn’t really about whether hydrogen powered cars are a good idea; however, Mr.  Jakubowski writes: Because pure hydrogen does not occur naturally, it takes energy to manufacture it. … Continue reading →

Posted in communication, Society 23 Comments
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And Now for Something Completely Different

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Phil

Giant inflatable floating duck brings joy to Hong Kong. I like the duck — he’s cute and all. And it’s pretty cool that he’s so big. Still, I can’t imagine making up a weirder story than this. People talking about … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, Society Leave a comment
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The Trouble with Talking Points

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Phil

…is that they are talking points. The recent revelations about Benghazi have drawn attention to how the official talking points about the tragedy were altered. There is a lot of focus on why and by whom. This is all well … Continue reading →

Posted in Society, Transparency 3 Comments
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Three Words

Posted on May 9, 2013 by Phil

Kirk MacDonald, president of PubMatic, has some words of advice for fresh college graduates with a none-too-encouraging title: Sorry, College Grads, I Probably Won’t Hire You His advice to young people looking to land their first job in “media, technology, … Continue reading →

Posted in Education 32 Comments
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Catastrophic Success

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Phil

I’m reading K. Eric Drexler’s new book Radical Abundance, which explores the impact of atomically precise manufacturing (APM). Drexler predicts that APM will be with us soon and that it will transform the global economy in ways that can be … Continue reading →

Posted in Future, Job Market, Technology 21 Comments
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Dollar Jobs: A Thought Experiment

Posted on May 4, 2013 by Phil

[UPDATE: due to the recent interest (thanks, Glenn!) I have bumped this piece back to the top.] More bad news about jobs. With the unemployment rate at 7.6%, the recent euphoria about it dropping to 7.2% a while back is … Continue reading →

Posted in Future, Job Market 25 Comments
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Certainty and Uncertainty

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Phil

Bill McNabb, chairman and CEO of the Vanguard Group, writes in the Wall Street Journal that uncertainty is holding back economic growth — in particular the introduction of new jobs: Quite simply, if firms can’t see a clear road to … Continue reading →

Posted in Job Market 5 Comments
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Breakthrough Research

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Phil

It’s a shocker: Sex and alcohol make you happier than kids and religion, study finds Normally I would provide a blurb from the linked story, but the headline pretty much gets you there this time. The “story” itself is as … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor Leave a comment
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Zero Intelligence

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Phil

Sadly, this is not a headline from The Onion: Teacher Sues School over Suspension for ‘Weapons’ Charge: Showing Students Garden Tools Okay, so it’s not a joke. But it must be a mistake. That headline can’t be right. And in … Continue reading →

Posted in communication, Education, Society Leave a comment
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