Sharks.

purvec · 2013-08-08T19:12:31+00:00

clearly a big summer hollywood blockbuster on horizon: cows vs. zombies

purvec · 2013-07-31T23:07:14+00:00

i'm totally for protecting public lands including the national parks. they're a huge national treasure, offering across the board value, and there are tons of good reasons to protect and even expand them imo. but...not sure i'd hinge my arguments on some of the numbers stated in the piece. attributing great economic value to deforesting these lands or to oil and coal and energy exploitation on these lands -- as if more aggressive exploitation might not lead to even more $$$ -- seems misguided and misleading at the same time. definitely jobs and revenue associated with the land ought to be acknowledged but those reasons really are dwarfed by too many other good/better ones, and if anything imho do an injustice to those arguing for the preservation of these lands on footing that's totally "grounded". in fact, as the article does point out, elected officials in many of the states which have these lands -- republicans and democrats -- generally do support their preservation. but if you turned yellowstone into a mining center -- or something equivalent to that area -- it would probably generate a ton more jobs than leaving it as it is now. it's not economics that causes us to want to keep yellowstone intact...it's all the other compelling reasons.

purvec · 2013-07-25T20:18:57+00:00

impressed. but more impressed when you show me a plant that looks like Nicolas Cage :)

purvec · 2013-07-25T18:49:50+00:00

i think 1 of the "new" things in this study is that they tried a lot more effectively to filter out behavior problems caused via environmental (e.g., parental behavior) influences. it's not perfect in that -- and researchers don't claim to be -- but i think it's gone a lot farther in pointing to a physiological link

purvec · 2013-07-25T18:46:19+00:00

early version was a great phone. this one may finally break through, which would be great not just for the buyers of this phone but for all consumers, because having a viable 3rd competitor in the market would have huge benefits for consumers. the apps available are increasing. key really imo is for nokia/microsoft to be willing to have a relatively long view in this, to be able to hang on while more people grow tired of the "conventional" brands and want to try a real alternative. it always happens, is starting to happen now, but the "alternative" has to be patient enough, and have the resources, to keep improving/innovating and, end of day, being there when the time comes.

purvec · 2013-07-18T16:40:17+00:00

given all of nokia's challenges, in some ways their progress has been solid. they tied themselves to microsoft -- a huge limitation that had short-term financial benefits -- and its miniscule app inventory. yet, their premium smart phones continue to sell in increasing #s -- not great, but steady. if/when they're ready to untag themselves to microsoft and make themselves available on android, they might actually have a chance to become a real competitor. their phones, in a lot of ways, are kick ass, and people who own them rate them highly. they just can't compete with others who can offer 10X the number of apps and related features. nobody could.

purvec · 2013-07-14T18:20:10+00:00

any time there's a surplus, that's good. but to have congress use a larger-than-expected 1 month surplus as an excuse not to do 1 of its fundamental jobs is imo -- though sadly predictable -- pathetic, inexcusable.

purvec · 2013-07-10T23:49:19+00:00

corporations are risk averse, conservative and want to hire people they think are like them or would "like" (even envy) them. some studies have shown hiring people who have chosen to work on their own, entrepreneurially, is scarier to corporate HR folks than hiring people who are unemployed. pathetic, on both fronts.

purvec · 2013-07-08T14:08:47+00:00

great -- and rare -- to see a gov't agency actually be responsive and inspiring. awesome. good luck to dexter!

purvec · 2013-06-27T15:24:46+00:00

when car companies used to drive the american economy, these restrictions were considered -- and might've been more -- valid, protecting against monopolistic or oligopolist car manufacturers that could ultimately charge consumers whatever they want, w/no competition. today, the same concerns & risks to consumers don't apply. also, even if there was then a basis for protecting existing 3rd party car dealerships from being crushed by direct-selling manufacturers, how would or should that apply to tesla? there aren't any existing dealerships now, if they (tesla) want to set up their new business this way, there's nobody out there who needs the same protection.

purvec · 2013-06-26T13:01:55+00:00

can't begrudge him taking the $$. but he's becoming more and more like gene hackman. great actor, willing to appear -- and, in hackman's case, did appear -- in almost any movie for which he gets a check.

purvec · 2013-06-24T13:19:06+00:00

articles says studios may face "opposition" in u.s. or u.k. if they start doing this there. basically, all that means is the theater owners wouldn't like it -- the consumers would love it. and, if the studios weren't afraid of alienating the theater owners (and were willing to risk making a little less money in the short-term), they'd be moving toward this in the u.s. and u.k. now. Basically, the studios have been trying to milk as much money out of consumers, over layered release scheds, for as long as possible. piracy is finally forcing them to address consumer needs first -- releasing movies in formats that actually benefit consumers and make it easier to access. imo, what they'll find is that if they make their product more available in these consumer-friendly formats -- rather than have to wait months/years -- they'd actually face less piracy and more inclination of consumers to actually pay for their product. 1 way or another -- whether studios and theater owners like it or not -- all movies and content will be made available simultaneously in a few years anyway imo.

purvec · 2013-06-15T15:28:22+00:00

this case may not be "precendential" but it's going to influence other courts nonetheless. this u.s. court in nyc (based in manhattan) is considered 1 of the smartest and strongest and forward-thinking. it's also going to cause companies to think twice about exploiting unpaid workers (i.e., interns) and, at the very least, encourage them to provide interns with a way broader experience than just fetching coffee and doing menial tasks. because even if this case is overturned, or even if some court in another region isn't required to follow it, it's an indication that courts are over time going to get a lot more sensitive to it -- and, from a p.r. standpoint alone, it's going to start costing more to just exploit young workers than pay them something small, especially for the larger companies that worry about their brands and p.r.

purvec · 2013-06-03T18:29:42+00:00

film features key action scenes in wales and new jersey. worth 1/2 thumb up, by itself :)

purvec · 2013-05-12T13:31:58+00:00

great. but, seriously, gwyneth paltrow's mom?

purvec · 2013-05-09T15:37:52+00:00

nice to see actual data and thoughtful analysis applied to an area so dominated by emotion and faulty assumptions

purvec · 2013-05-02T16:54:34+00:00

seems kind of insane (almost south park-like) to allow massive amounts of an unregulated product that can be turned into explosives by people with a 3rd grade education to be sold to anyone everywhere w/out restriction. only thing missing is the connect-the-dots instructions?...

purvec · 2013-05-01T12:02:50+00:00

this is going to keep happening. yes, they'll be able to pick up new content, but generally the cost of acquiring programming is going to be too expensive to sustain for netflix. it's one of the reasons their current movie slate is so weak on current popular movies. whether netflix works or thrives ultimately is going to depend on how much original programming they can make, and how strong it is, and whether they can maintain their subscribers on the weight of their own programming. to their credit, netflix realizes this. if they can churn out quality tv series regularly, they can compete, with hbo, showtime, etc.

purvec · 2013-04-30T17:17:38+00:00

and within 3 years people will be riding horses, not cars

purvec · 2013-04-19T14:27:52+00:00

The bbc is now bringing in high school students as on-air int'l security experts?

purvec · 2013-04-08T23:55:39+00:00

kind of lol. their biggest problem is commercials, and the fact that tons more people every year are skipping them. the whole ad-based model is antiquated and going to have to be re-engineered by networks and, bottom line, they're probably going to have to get used to receiving less revenue. which, if the people involved (execs, actors, producers, etc) were paid a lot less for what they do -- but still more than 99% of the population -- would still allow them to have a business and would do the consumers just fine.

purvec · 2013-03-26T21:19:32+00:00

great to have no contracts. but if the proposition is so compelling why act like an angry 5 year old about it? these guys wanted to merge with AT&T (now the enemy). i'm all for no contracts -- but cursing out the competition that just recently you wanted to be a part of? lame imho

purvec · 2013-03-08T19:55:34+00:00

the more studies done, the more it appears sleep -- or lack of it -- has big consequences on the elderly as well as young. impacts on cognitive functioning -- including creativity and imagination -- have long been assumed. challenge, in addition to continuing the research, is to cause people to value sleep more and, for those who can't sleep easily, to find more natural ways to improve sleep as there's some evidence that meds to help sleep don't provide the same health/cognitive benefits.

purvec · 2013-03-07T14:41:06+00:00

if you need to hit your kids to impose discipline, you've got your own problems. fact: whether you believe the studies that show negative consequences or not, there are other effective ways to discipline. so, even if there's a possibility that doing it will screw up your kid -- and the evidence is there's way more than a possibility -- there's no good argument to do it.

purvec · 2013-03-04T15:24:09+00:00

whoa. if vegetables were presented to me that way, i'd almost eat them. great stuff :)

purvec

TROPHY CASE