To be clear, I side with the republicans on this issue. These automakers simply failed to compete in a changing environment that favors smaller, more efficient vehicles. Foreign motor companies like Toyota and Honda overshadowed American automakers with their hybrids and small cars like the civic and accord. This competition is the core of the economic system we call capitalism; the strongest companies survive and make money while those that don’t fail and go out of business.

The argument is that their failure will cripple the economy even further due to job losses both directly and even moreso indirectly. Its scary to think about what would happen if the reported 2.4 million jobs that are tied to the auto industry were to simply disappear. Everyone from suppliers to dealers to advertisers are at risk. But what makes this industry different than any other? What makes these companies different? Retailers are hurting right now, what about them? I mean, CircuitCity filed for ch. 11 just like many other companies have and will continue to as the economic turmoil gets worse. When do the bailouts stop and America gets back to capitalism that allowed these companies to get this big in the first place?

Maybe that’s the problem though. These companies grow far too large and get interwoven into the survivability of the economy as a whole. AIG too big to fail? GM too big to fail? If unfettered capitalism allows companies to get too large to fail, then unfettered capitalism isn’t the right way to do business. I believe in capitalism as a foundation for small businesses and economic growth of a country, but there must be regulations to prevent the AIG’s and the GM’s from becoming so large that their failure leads to economic collapse.

During the hearing today the executive douche bags from the Big Three were given an opportunity to explain why they need my money and yours in order ot continue operations. I believe they have failed horribly to explain their plan to fix themselves and to become competitive with the stiff foreign competition who, by the way, is not asking for a bailout. How about that? The backbone of American manufacturing is being broken by foreign companies that outsmarted, out adapted, and outperformed us. If it were up to me I would go with the republicans on this issue and allow the Big Three to go into chapter 11, and allow the Next Four or five or six to spring up and start competing to put America back on track in the auto industry.

Take a look at this chart (thanks [M])

I’m a recent college grad making a decent wage. With Obama’s plan, I will save more than a thousand dollars. Wow. So much for worrying about taxes.

GameSpy is pleased to unveil a trio of environments from Lionhead Studios’ highly anticipated Fable II. When building a fantasy world, it’s important to provide memorable locales that offer tantalizing opportunities for adventure. We’ll begin this feature with an exclusive video, followed by descriptions from the design team and images of these previously unexplored regions. Join us as we explore the farthest reaches of Albion in this environment showcase.

Check out the sick ranger vid:

More Videos: http://aion.curse.com/videos/browse/?c=3&v=mr&t=a

Website: http://eu.aiononline.com/en/
Discussion:
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http://www.sweeting.org/mark/blog/2005/07/12/base64-encoded-images-embedded-in-html

Is this Microsoft’s attempt at becoming more “open”? Will we see student’s flocking to download Visual Studio or Expression Studio for development? I’ve used Visual Studio as the primary development tool through most of college and at work from time to time. I certainly see the value in having it, but is this enough to steal users away from Eclipse and other open/free IDE’s?

With the advent of simpler API’s and developer platforms, these tools factor heavily into the success of common Web 2.0 companies who would otherwise go unused. What good is Flikr if you can’t integrate it into our blog? How must more popular are digg stories that can be dugg directly after reading an article? Tools like these are crucial in fully embracing the social aspect of Web 2.0. Even Microsoft is starting to grasp the concept with Office Live attempting to find its mark on the internet. But even as Microsoft has the technologies down, they still don’t embrace the social.

As the web becomes more interactive, I predict we will continue to see easier to use API’s coming from both start-ups and big companies alike.

There is so much out there to do and I worry about what will become of me if my primary goal is [temporarily] unachievable. I’m could be good at graphics, publishing, environmental studies, coding, gaming (I wish), fixing computers, financial advising, and many other things. Everything would take additional work and learning — some more than others — but there are so many choices that its a bit overwhelming. I mean the guy who fixes cars FIXES cars… its what he does day in day out. I am sort of scared to focus on one thing because I don’t want to lose insight on everything else. That is my biggest problem.

But for my own organization, these are some interesting articles on Enterprise Architecture that may aid me in the future.

FEA

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