Friday, March 18, 2011

Do Not

tempt the wrath of the whatever from high atop the thing.

Woulda, Shoulda, Coulda

Here's the list of things I knew I should buy. But what did I do? Oh, probably blew it on new clothes or something.
1. Netflix
2. Apple
3. Google
4. Amazon
5. Starbucks

February's Over, Time To Pull Up My Palin Pants

After the nationally recognized Palin-free month, the LA Times gives me reason to be grateful for good journalism again.
And one of Andrew Sullivan's readers comes through with some enriching info.
So also grateful for the internet.
All of which gets me to thinking about the NYT's new paywall, which goes into effect for people like me on March 28. Already there's a Twitter account to help us circumvent it.
I wouldn't have known about the LA Times piece without Sullivan who, among other things, is what is known as an aggregator. He and his staff find stuff, then pass it along.
Which means the LAT got a whole lot of new eyeballs on that one story at least.
So, how do they monetize it? I don't think the paywall is the answer. I think, just as advertisers pay for hits, so should readers.
It's an idea that's been kicked around, don't know the ins and outs of it, although the technology is probably there.
But I'll admit it, I'd pay a couple bucks a month for what I read now, which they would automatically deduct. But not $15 a month for the NYT.
Some will, though. But probably not enough. Felix Salmon, a much-quoted financial analyst was headlined somewhere recently claiming he's done the math, and it ain't gonna work.
Maybe he's wrong and the NYT is right. Or maybe, as I suspect, the "passive-aggressive white males" in charge got hold of an idea, liked it a lot, and couldn't let go of it even when they knew it was a loser. Or maybe, more likely, they have a power structure designed to help them suppress any information that runs counter to their egos. Egoes? Can't remember.
This is how I believe the world operates.
I don't like it, but I must accept it.
Or go crazy.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Just In Case You Were Wondering

Krugman isn't worried about the economic impact. I notice he didn't mention the nukes.
So, back to Japan: I’m terrified about the possible loss of life; nervous about the disruption of world production; not worried at all about the impact of Japanese borrowing on world bond markets.