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Fortune replies to the Harvard Business Review's argument that high-tech is becoming another factor of production. It covers most of the points that I raised previously. It's always to know you're not just a ranting lunatic (or at least, there are others ranting from the same perspective.)
I was up in Pennsylvania yesterday whitewater rafting (it was COLD) and on the way there got to sample McDonald's new breakfast offering, the McGriddle. It's part of McDonald's recent efort to improve earnings, following some bad quarters. The launch so far, however, has been very quiet -- I don't think I've seen a TV ad so far, and they're almost non-existent on the web according to Google.
The McGriddle is basically an Egg McMuffin with pancakes and maple syrup instead of muffins. I'm more inclined towards salty than sweet, but I have to admit it was pretty damn good -- the sandwich equivalent of a plate of pancakes with some breakfast links, eggs and maple syrup. (Even if I doubt it's the chemical equivalent of basic breakfast staples.)
Still, the breakfast menu is pretty much the only thing worth getting at McDonald's, since the lunch is generally disgusting and overpriced. Next time you're on the road at 7 AM, I'd say it's worth taking a flying on a McGriddle.
It's easy to find expensive, mediocre places to eat in NYC, but finding a reasonable place with good Italian is a real gem. Pisticci, a few blocks north of Columbia's campus at 125 La Salle St. (between 122nd and 123rd Streets), impressed me today with a great lunch menu, comfortable atmosphere and great dessert menu. If you're in that neighborhood, give it a try -- you can get a good lunch there for less than $10, easy, and I'm sure dinner is similarly reasonable. I had the orecchiette with broccoli raab and sausage, and it was some of the best Italian I've had in NYC. I recommend it wholeheartedly.
First off, a big congratulations to my sister Vanessa, who will be getting her undergraduate diploma from Barnard today (campus-wide graduation is tomorrow), as well as my buddies in the business school who are getting their degrees -- including my high school buddy Jeremy.
Jeremy's lucky enough to already have a job lined up (and a nice one at that) but the Times is reporting that despite many new graduates wanting to go on to grad school rather than try to find a job, "the market value of advanced degrees is unlikely to rise enough to make the investments worth it." They're particularly highlighting medical and law degrees, but I can tell you that the number of people applying to business school has been up for the last 2-3 years as well (although I don't know if the number of graduates will rise.)
I'm halfway through my second post-graduate degree (years ago I earned a masters from Columbia in journalism, an industry that always has an oversupply of labor.) If the value of advanced degrees is declining, does that mean I'm losing value twice as fast?
Yesterday's visit to Slate went well, although I once again proved that there's a negative correlation between my beer intake and my motor skills. (Surprise.) The food I sampled was fairly tasty too, and definitely above the standard pool-hall grub without being ludicrously expensive.
My only criticism: they might want to rethink their DVD movie choices for projecting on the translucent, 8-foot-wide screens... Clockwork Orange perhaps isn't the best movie to show. A great movie perhaps, but not exactly something you want as random background visuals. A little, um, freaky.
As I theorized previously, the no-smoking rule definitely improves the place, assuming you're not a smoker. Slate was a great place to shoot some pool, watch the Sixers-Pistons game, and have some beers, especially when you can breath freely. (I'm probably going to attrack the ire of some smokers on this one. If they can come in from outside long enough to post.)
The New York Times has an article covering recent discussions that perhaps technology as an industry (an amazingly broad generalization of a very homogenous group) has become just another commoditized factor of production. Apparently, the Harvard Business Review published an article arguing just that:
"That assumption about technology's special role is questioned in a provocative article this month in The Harvard Business Review, titled 'IT Doesn't Matter.' The article asserts that information technology, or I.T. for short, is inevitably headed in the same direction as the railroads, the telegraph, electricity and the internal combustion engine — becoming, in economic terms, just ordinary factors of production, or 'commodity inputs.'"
Putting aside the absurd extension from the bsiness tools of IT to the whole of the technology business, I think this assessment ignores the major difference between tech and those products -- with some exceptions, technology is based on leveraging and multiplying intellectual property, rather than changing the physical world or overcoming its limitations (geography, etc.) in the way that previous technologies did. Once software is written, it can scale and be reused infinitely, without cost (assuming it remains useful.) That's a fairly fundamental violation of the basic tenet of economics that resources are limited, and it's a major reason why technology will continue to have an outsized impact on the way we live, and do business.
The reality, post-bubble, is that the people who are serious are still in the field, still trying to build new companies. They were there before the bubble and they'll be there for the rest of their lives. Last night I had drinks with a bunch of guys I worked with at my last tech startup, iKena. They're all still in the industry, several of them at KubiSoft, which has recently released a great add-on groupware client for Outlook that is being tested by a good number of large companies.
Meanwhile, the free-riders and quick-buck artists have moved on to new hunting grounds, leaving the industry better able to concentrate on the business of developing new tech.
[Via Techdirt]
One under-sung benefit of the smoking ban is that you can now shoot pool (ehem, "billiards" for the sticklers) at many of the city's fine establishments without contracting black lung.
I'll be trying out Slate on Friday night with some of my buddies. It's a step up from the "dive" parlors many of us frequented in high school (LeQ anyone?) and college.
Hopefully, my Amtrak train from Boston will arrive on time, or at least within an hour of when it's supposed to. I'm not betting on it though; I've watched them try to get things right on the Acela Northeast line for years, yet they've still only reduced the travel time from four hours to three-and-a-half hours, and if anything goes wrong, you're going to be late arriving. (Caveat: I did arrive 10 minutes early today. A minor miracle.)
I'm on the road in Boston today, so I don't have much to post. Just visiting some old friends and checking out a friend's startup company.
After reading an article about the 600+ takes it took to film a new Honda ad, I've been looking for it on television for weeks. I don't know if they're showing it here in the US yet, but there's a web page where you can see Honda's amazing ad. Keep in mind as you watch this that it's mechanical, not computer-generated (except for one or two small details.) We've become inured to the amazing sequence by the increasing dominance of realistic computer animation, but this is still amazing to watch.
I don't usually write about viruses here, but I've gotten no less than 3 phone calls about the email going around telling people to delete the file JDBGMGR.exe with the teddy bear icon from their computer and pass the warning onto everyone in their email address book. The thing is causing a lot of people to waste each other's time, so here's my public service announcement for the year.
It's a hoax, folks. A social virus, so to speak, that is designed to get people to spread it rather than computers. The 21st-century version of good old chain mail.
If you don't believe me, go check the Symantec Security Response article on the email hoax. (It's over a year old, so I guess it's just random chance that everyone's seeing it now.) I recommend checking Symantec's library whenever you get an email telling you to do something because of a virus. Don't assume that the person who sent it to your researched it. All three of the people who talked to me are intelligent, and comfortable with computers, but the real problem was that for some reason when it came to this email, their fear of inaction outweighed their natural skepticism.
The Times today published an extensive article detailing how Jayson Blair, 27 fabricated multiple stories over a four year career at the paper. Not only did Blair concoct quotes and details, in many cases he wasn't even in the location his dateline said he was.
"The reporter, Jayson Blair, 27, misled readers and Times colleagues with dispatches that purported to be from Maryland, Texas and other states, when often he was far away, in New York. He fabricated comments. He concocted scenes. He lifted material from other newspapers and wire services. He selected details from photographs to create the impression he had been somewhere or seen someone, when he had not."
Provably fabricating a quote or story detail is enough to justify a reporter losing their job, even at a lesser page. It's stunning that Times editors tolerated multiple instances of such behavior from this reporter.
It's also stunning that the fact that a reporter was not submitting travel expenses didn't throw up immediate red flags. Did they think he was just paying for it out of his own pocket when his datelines were from all over the country?
Any good editor knows that the biggest product of a newspaper isn't the printed edition. It's the credibility of the organization. The Times' credibility has suffered a huge blow from this, and the editors are to fault as well as the individual. Certainly, there is no shortage of capable and willing reporters who would love to have filled that job if they had fired Blair earlier.
The story is all the more disturbing given how many of the stories they relate I can remember reading. Even though I worked as a reporter, and know errors happen, I still tend to regard what's reported in Times stories as the gospel truth, or at least a best-faith effort at it. Unfortunately, I guess the editors at the Times, like most of us, don't expect outright fabrication by the people we deal with. Especially given that even when you write a completely true story, people will often complain about misquotes and errors, making it harder for editors to detect inaccurate reporting. (I've had complaints about misquotes from interviews I taped recorded, where clearly they said exactly what I wrote.)
The Times article dances around the issue of race with regards to Blair's rapid rise at the paper, despite consistently erratic performance. There's no shortage of great reporters out there who have trouble finding work. Blair clearly what immensely charismatic, but it's apparent there was more going on than simple charm. I appreciate the concept of the diversity program, but it should be about finding more qualified minority employees (which is not so hard in the reporting business), rather than protecting unqualified ones.
Interestingly enough, the San Antonio Express-News reports that Blair had previously crossed paths with Macarena Hernandez. Blair's plagiarism of Hernandez's article eventually led to his downfall after the Express-News contacted the Times to demand she be credited properly.
More reporting from the Times: Accounting of the Deception.
Also:
Gothamist summarizes the Times article and links to other coverage.
Coverage in The Washington Post.
Yesterday, about 20 of my business school friends and I mounted an expedition up to the Split Rock golf course, which sits along with the Pelham public course at the top of the 6 subway line. It was a beautiful day to be out and playing, even if my game isn't so pretty.
Many New Yorkers are unaware that a wide range of public courses can be reached by subway, and they're in better condition than past years due to a takeover by publicly-traded company American Golf a few years ago. Every borough other than Manhattan has a couple of courses. The fees have gone up since the company took over, but they're still within the $35-$50 range. If you can prove New York residency, they will give you cheaper rates.
I've played Van Cortland, at the top of the 1/9 line, as well. It's a little easier to get to (you can walk there from the subway station, while Split Rock requires a short cab ride.)
Both courses are generally in great condition in terms of the actual links. Unfortunately, the clubhouses are terrible, but these are public courses, not country clubs. Rent a cart or walk, although you should have a decent carry bag if you want to walk.
If you're a beginner, borrow clubs from someone or buy a cheap used set off Craigslist or Ebay (think $50.) It'll be worlds better than the rental clubs they offer and cheaper after just a visit or two.
HP is finally going to update the 12C Financial Calculator, long the workhorse of business students... I just spent a whole year carrying one, and I remember my uncle using one when he went to business school a decade ago.
It's about damn time, frankly. Calculating a bond yield with the 12C can leave you waiting 15-20 seconds, even when it's so simple a calculation you could do it on paper in that time.
The Businessweek article is a bit, well, silly. "What accounts for such amazing longevity in an industry where product lifetimes are typically measured in months? ...The answer is that it does one job both inexpensively and exceptionally well."
Um, the thing costs about $70, ludicrous considering that you can buy a refurbished Palm Zire and HP12C simulator software for about $90. Yes, it's built like a tank - but it also has 1970's technology on the inside. If I had to guess, the internal electronics probably aren't more complex than a $15 scientific calculator.
The real reason it's lasted so long? I'd say because it's such an unbelievable pain in the ass to use. Once you've spent the time learning it, you have a vested interest in keeping in it around. Reverse Polish Notation, anyone? The owner's manual is a hefty 216 pages -- and you'd better carry it if you want to do more than algebra.
The reality is that the HP12C is like a secret society decoder badge. Bankers and other finance people carry it because it's such an effort to learn, that nobody else would use it. Much like audiophiles who still own a tuner, carrying the 12C shows you're a tough guy who doesn't need newfangled stuff.
Don't get me wrong: this is my second HP calculator and I love them both. They're built like tanks and they always work. But it's way, way overdue that HP updates this relic to catch up to the evolution of electronics.
Unfortunately, the update is little more than cosmetic. They're going to change the entry method (perhaps the end of RPN) and increase battery life. I think they're missing a major chance to improve a 20-year old design -- the simple addition of a multi-line display, or dot-matrix display (instead of fixed digits) would be a huge improvement in the device's utility.
[Via Gizmodo and Rodent Regatta]
The Times covers yesterday's decision to increase the cost of rent-stabilized apartments -- 8.5% for two year leases, and 5.5% for one-year leases.
What's not being said: many rent-controlled and rent-stabilized apartments probably are already going at about half the market value (especially in Manhattan.) I lived in Cambridge, MA when they ended rent control, and despite major protests, there was no mass rent hike, and no mass exodus.
New Yorkers want to simultaneously maintain low rents and see more apartment built. If you're not one of the 1 million already in rent-stabilized apartments, you're suffering from the result of this artificial depression of market rates. Putting limits on what some tenants can pay (rather than letting the market decide) makes the rent for everyone else higher, discourages new buildings and reduces the availability of apartments to those willing to pay market prices.
Yes, I realize the flip side of this -- that rising rents would force some people out of apartments if they can't pay. But I find it hard to listen to people claiming hardship for paying sub-market rents, while I have to pay some of the highest rents in the nation if I want to get a new place, simply because my needs in terms of apartment size change.
[Via Gothamist]
New Hampshire's state symbol, The Old Man of the Mountain, apparently collapsed this week. That's a tough break for the state, which has the symbol on their quarter and used it as a tourist attraction. I was able to see it a few times in college when we went hiking up in New Hampshire, and it was pretty neat. Franconia State Park is one of the most beautiful areas in New England, and even without the face it's still a great fall destination for hiking.
Apparently they're going to try to build a replacement, although the original "face" was a natural formation, not something carved into the mountain.
Update: CNN has a somewhat more well reported account.
[Via Megnut]