Bailout, Shmailout!

Ok, so now President Bush is offering GM and Chrysler emergency loans with very few strings attached. He's given them until March to come up with a plan for long-term profitability. For heaven's sake, they've had 30 years to come up with a plan for that and look where they are now! I don't care how much money you send Detroit it will do no good until you get an entirely new and forward looking management team in place to save these dinosaurs from the ice age.

As soon as the first Toyota or Honda came off the assembly lines Detroit should have gotten the message. Better built cars at lower prices were the signals they all missed. As many writers are pointing out the problem with Detroit is that they build cars no one wants to buy.

Hell-o...!

This mess is going to take a long time to resolve but it has to start with housecleaning at the top.

Giving these guys more money to use in the same old way is paving the highway to hell.

I Am Not Evolving!

I've been reading a lot lately about how the news media is evolving. Newspapers are cutting staffs and bureaus, if they have any. Network TV is losing audience. Even local TV ratings are down (they never should have been up in the first place).

I like to read a newspaper. I like to hold it. I like to turn pages. I complain about the newsprint coming off on my hands but that's a small price to pay for the pleasure of savoring a well-turned phrase or diving into a well thought-out analysis of a complex subject.

I do not enjoy sitting in front of a screen for any length of time. My eyes get tired and my fingers seem to find the wrong key when I have to scroll up, down or sideways to follow a story.

Yes, I am fighting a losing battle against economic realities. And I will dabble --as I am now-- in new media (as I believe it's called) but I still open my door each morning with fresh anticipation when I reach for the newspaper on the front step.

Hey, the delivery guy needs to eat, too.

Hello, Again

Been off the blogosphere for a while, not that I still haven't had problems with my Frequently Infuriating Operating System (This is BIG?). Managed to trueswitch my address book from previous ISP but not all email addresses came through and those that did came through in helter-skelter order. Not alphabetized in any recognizable form and hard to find. Outlook's address book is far superior. Organized my groups but, I don't know, why did I switch in the first place? I know, because Comcast gave me the cold shoulder when I asked for the same incentives they gave new customers. Am I happy about the switch to BIG? Stay tuned.