Category: Current Events

This Week’s Links | April 3, 2009

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I dropped the ball last week and did not post any links, mostly because I had been out of town and did not bookmark anything. This week’s links will try to make up for it.

  • Four Fannie Mae Execs to Get Big Bonuses – There seems to be some disconnect between the media and this story. AIG execs get bonuses and they are essentially burned at the stake, but a government backed agency gives out bonuses and the story is a blurb. People should be more up in arms about this than the AIG debacle.
  • Colleges Duck Tough Cuts, Keep Hiking Pay and Tuition – An interesting and, in my opinion, necessary opinion piece in USA Today about the cost of college tuition continuing to rise all while schools give out raises. We’re taking something that we claim should be the “right of everyone” and turning it into a corporation. There is little reason to cut spending when the money flows in, except for the fact that federal money is dwindling.
  • The Pioneer Woman Cooks! – I was browsing some food blogs during lunch (the best time to do it, to avoid the hunger it causes) and came across The Pioneer Woman. Her writing is interesting and she makes Texas favorites look easy.
  • Why to Startup in a Bad Economy – This was posted in the latter half of last year but I think it is just as relevant today as it was then.
  • Facebook Fallout: Is it time for Zuckerberg to go? – I’ll admit that I am not as big of a user of Facebook as I was in college. My interest peaked and now I only occasionally look up old friends and see what they are doing. After multiple redesigns and the usability taking a nosedive, I just lost the desire to visit the site. Maybe it is time for Mark Zuckerberg to go.

Leave a comment with your thoughts!

What Happens if We Save Them and Fail

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With all of the talk about bailing out the auto-industry I started wondering what would happen if we bailed out the Big 3 automakers and still they failed. It is a very real possibility. Pushing money to a problem and committing government “oversight” to something does not ensure an entity’s ability to thrive, just look at Fannie and Freddie.

If Washington rescues Detroit and the auto companies fail anyway, then we have essentially shot ourselves in the foot. Sure, Washington can continue to print money, devalue the currency and attempt to pay off debt with more debt but in the long run it just will not work.

I understand that a lot of people would lose their jobs if we do not do something about the automakers, but I also understand that we can do something and still have a lot of people lose their jobs. This fact is little talked about and seems that it is one of those things that “we can worry about later”. Yep, let the later generations pick up the pieces…

Continental Jet Runs Off Runway in Denver

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Continental Airlines flight 1404 has reportedly run-off the runway at Denver International Airport. Smoke was reported to be coming from the wrecked plane. I hope everyone made it off the flight safely.

[EDIT] More information about the crash posted below

There is a lot of information coming out of Denver as to what caused the flight to exit the runway and catch fire. Some reports state that the wing broke-away from the plane and others that weather was a factor. This is all speculation and until the NTSB has had time to explore the crash site we will not know exactly what happened.

The good news is that all passengers and crew made it off of the flight safely and were taken to area hospitals. A few had severe injuries but were listed in stable condition.

Some information on the airplane itself:

  • Boeing 737-500
  • N-Registration #: N18611
  • Delivered in 1994

I found a few pictures of the 737-500 involved in the crash (here and here)

There is also a Twitter user who was a passenger on the aircraft when it ran off of the runway, 2drinksbehind

It appears that Continental ferried a 737-800 to Denver to pick up the passengers who are stuck in Denver due to the crash.

The unmistakable cone of ignorance

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Every year the Gulf Coast prepares itself for hurricanes, the people here having weathered them for centuries. But every year the forecasters and news teams seem to become even more over the top than the the year before. This year is not any different.

Hurricane Ike has created havoc in Haiti and Cuba and has set its sights on Texas. The newscasters could not be more thrilled. The city news has not actually shown happenings in the area in the last week, instead opting to show nothing but forecasts of Ike. Maps like the one below have flooded (no pun intended) our television screens.

Hurricane Ike Forecast

Even before that image was taken, the forecast “cone”, or “cone of ignorance” as I like to call it, was massive, stretching from Florida to northern Mexico. The meteorologists on T.V. call it the “cone of uncertainty” which I think is their way of conceding that they I have no idea where the hurricane is going.

So, Houstonians will do what they have always done, purchase some canned goods and hunker down for a wet weekend.

Can CNN Get Anything Straight?

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CNN Headline News is a good source for up to the minute news but CNN the network is an awful web reporting group.

Yesterday an article was posted on CNN Money titled, Why gas in the U.S. is so cheap, that outlines why gas prices here in the states are cheap and how people overseas are paying so much more. Next to the article is a chart showing countries and each country’s respective price per a gallon of gasoline:

bad-CNN-reporting

Notice the price of a gallon of gasoline in Aruba, $12.03, this number is not even close to the current price being paid there. $4.92. Yep, CNN was a whole $7.11 off.

How hard is it to do a little research. In fifteen minutes I found numerous places that post up-to-date prices. The most obvious of which was ArubaLife. The site goes into detail about how prices in Aruba are set and the fact that there is a Valero refinery on the island. They also have a notice at the top letting people know that the CNN article is false.

Come on CNN, just a little reporter research would be nice.

When Spending Should Get You Fired

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If you are a company that uses third party software for functionality, please, do not ever hire an outside “training” firm to come in and teach people who have no obvious use for the third party tool, especially if the price tag is $2,000 per person. This is even more true if you are a software company that employs people who know the third party tool and are willing to teach it to the other employees.

When the time comes for the training to take place, do not schedule meetings that will interrupt the training and to do one better than that, do not hold the training in the same building as the regular office. All that happens with these two things above are people get distracted and the trainer gets frustrated. It causes a waste of time and money.

Running a successful firm requires that management understand managing, not just moving lips and expecting things to happen.

More Airline Industry Consolidation News

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In a twist of events, Continental Airlines has chosen not to merge. According to their press release they feel that they are better off as their own entity, though they want to forge ahead with making partners.

This is a blow to the head of United Airlines, which is struggling to drag itself out of the muck that is the current airline industry bankruptcy festival. Without Continental Airlines around to help United in its struggle, United faces a possible merger with US Airways or declaring bankruptcy. My guess would be that they will do whatever possible not to file for Chapter 11 even though a merger with US Airways would mean even worse service than they already provide.

Is the loss of a merger for Continental passengers a bad thing? No, for a few reasons, the biggest of which is that Continental can create stronger ties to different airlines to help offset some of the costs of fuel rather than merging and trying to get the different airline fleets to be consistent.

For passengers it means that there will still be a competitor out there helping to reduce costs and that competitor will be working to further reduce travel costs by partnering with different airlines around the globe.

Great move Continental!

Frontier Airlines files Chapter 11, will continue flying

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As reported by the Associated Press, Frontier Airlines filed for Chapter 11 but will continue to fly while it reorganizes.

Even though they will continue to operate, there is still speculation that F9 will not be able to hold-on without significant changes. Selling of deep-discount tickets to Denver in off-peak months just does not generate the revenue an airline needs to stay profitable and in business.

What I found interesting in the USA Today article was the mention of Frontier’s credit card processor starting to withhold “significant” funds from ticket sales on April 11. I hope that more information comes out regarding this as it may show the lack of internal management on Frontier’s part.

For those who are Frontier frequent fliers, I would be cautious when buying Frontier tickets for dates too far in the future.

You watched the Super Bowl, I stuck with the Puppy Bowl

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Yep, you heard right, the Puppy Bowl was Jess and I’s way of passing the time on Super Bowl Sunday.

Neither she nor I really had any interest in the Super Bowl outside of the advertisements and though we sort of started watching it, the game quickly took a turn to just defense and I could not take anymore. We flipped through the channels not really finding anything that peaked our interest… Then, Animal Planet popped-up on screen and the words “Puppy Bowl” flew at us, we couldn’t resist.

Though most people will say that this sounds like a terrible way to spend an afternoon, Jess and I found it entertaining and even formulated some puppy ideas.

Continental announces WiFi and LiveTV on domestic flights

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Continental Airlines has announced that they will be rolling out LiveTV and a WiFi capability to their 737-700s, 737-800s, 737-900s, 737-900ERs, and 757-300s.

LiveTV will feature 36 channels supplied by DirecTV on every seatback monitor. The access will be free for all first class passengers while the coach charge will be $6. In addition, there will be free WiFi throughout the aircraft, available free of charge that allows smartphones, laptops, and Blackberries to instant message, check e-mail, and browse.

The announcement comes as little surprise as there have been hints of such a move for a while. LiveTV does not interest me that much as I usually read or work while in the air, but for those who need to know what CNN is doing at all hours, this is perfect. I’m sure the television will be a big hit with the infrequent traveler but may strike a nerve with those are on the road a lot and see the airplane as somewhat of a relaxation area between clients.

The WiFi is more of a mixed bag. I love the idea of being able to send and receive e-mail while flying but at the same time, it comes back to being separated from the hustle and bustle for a while. After being in meetings all week with clients, business travelers just want to get home, not e-mailing back and forth with the just visited client.

This will be something to keep watching as Continental is not the only airline to offer WiFi, Southwest and American Airlines have announced their testing of the technology as well.