Bongo Man – Souleyman Yago
by admin on Dec.27, 2009, under Music
The Bongo Man himself happened to be in Chicago for Christmas and he came by to change the skin on my djembe drum. Here are some pictures of the master at work.
Confidence In US Economy Rising
by admin on Dec.26, 2009, under Miscellaneous
An increase in orders for durable goods and a decline in the number of Americans filing for jobless benefits, indicates companies are confident of the sustainability of USA’s economic expansion in 2010.
Commerce Department figures reveal, while the demand for transportation equipment remains volatile, demand for durable goods, such as, machinery, metals, computers and communications gear increased, rising much more than the 2% forecast in November. According to the Labour Department, applications for unemployment insurance fell to their lowest level in over a year, last week.
After the long recession hiatus, business spending is now staging a comeback and last year’s large number of lay-offs will ensure a need to rehire in the coming year.
Signs of a recovery in global economy has seen stocks gain worldwide, while economists at Morgan Stanley in New York are raising their fourth-quarter economic growth forecast to 5.1% on the basis of the report on durable goods.
A fitful economic recovery draws strength from a stabilizing job market, signalling manufacturing will continue to contribute to the rebound.
Manufacturing Grows…just slowly
by admin on Dec.25, 2009, under Manufacturing
U.S. manufacturing activity increased for the fourth consecutive month in November, although at a slower rate as the nation fumbles its way toward recovery.
Meanwhile, the housing market showed further signs of strength in October, but nonresidential construction spending declined 1.5%.
The Institute for Supply Management said Tuesday that its index of manufacturing activity fell to 53.6 in November from 55.7 the prior month, although it remained above the key 50 level that indicates expansion. Although the employment and production components within the index slipped, new orders rebounded from an October decline and rose nearly two points to a level of 60.3.
Obama Administration Announces U.S. Manufacturing Plan
by admin on Dec.25, 2009, under Manufacturing
The Obama administration will announce a push today for a $5-billion boost to a tax credit for green manufacturing, along with a seven-point plan to slow job losses at U.S. manufacturers.
The plans come as Vice President Joe Biden hosts business leaders this afternoon to talk over ways to boost jobs in a sector that employs fewer Americans now than it did in World War II.
The administration’s plans tout U.S. manufacturing as a source of strength for the economy in areas such as fuel-efficient vehicles and biotechnology. But the plan faces several tough hurdles to taking effect, including international trade, government spending and relations with China.
Hanging in Iowa
by admin on Dec.06, 2009, under Miscellaneous
Made the treck out to Iowa to see my friends at Elemental Designs. It was a great time and I hope that they can come out to Chicago sometime. Or, at least it was going very well untill Alex spilled beer all over me.
Mobile Phone Apps Changing the Way Business Gets Done
by admin on Oct.28, 2009, under Science & Technology, iPhone
Inside the App Economy—Beyond the goofy games is a world of useful programs that’s making fortunes and changing the rules of business
It’s easy to shrug off the kooky world of apps. The bite-size software programs people load onto their mobile phones or tap into on the Web seem mostly to be silly games and pointless novelties. But look past the beer-drinking apps and flatulence programs and you’ll see something significant taking shape: a bustling app economy that’s creating new fortunes for entrepreneurs and changing the way business gets done.
It’s happening with dizzying speed. Just two years ago, almost none of this existed. Apple’s (AAPL) App Store, the most popular destination for mobile-phone programs, was launched last summer. Now there are more than a dozen rival stores, and at least 100,000 apps have been created. Some startups that staked their claim in the app economy have become large, lucrative businesses in just a few months. Two-year-old Zynga, which makes popular game apps, is already profitable, with more than $100 million in revenues. By comparison, Google (GOOG) didn’t start making money until its third year—and still had less revenue.
There are serious business tools among the thousands of new apps. Salesforce.com’s (CRM) programs let executives manage customer relationships from an iPhone or BlackBerry. Oracle (ORCL) apps let managers check inventory or get a snapshot of a business unit’s performance. The computing that people used to do at their desks increasingly can be done on devices they can carry anywhere.
Carbon advantage of biofuels may be overstated
by admin on Oct.27, 2009, under Automotive, Science & Technology
The world’s policymakers and scientists have made a critical error in how they count biofuels’ contribution to human-generated greenhouse-gas emissions, according to a paper published Thursday in the journal Science.
Although the article addresses a wonkish subject — how to measure the environmental impact of energy sources such as ethanol and wood chips, which absorb carbon as they grow but release it back into the atmosphere when they’re burned — it has broad implications. The method undercounts the global-warming contribution of some bioenergy crops, the team of 13 researchers wrote, because it doesn’t factor in what sort of land-use changes might occur to produce them.
“We made an honest mistake within the scientific framing of the debate, and we’ve got to correct it to make it right,” said Steven P. Hamburg, chief scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund and one of the paper’s authors.
