links for 2009-08-07

  • "For the most part, our industry as a whole is still reactionary, non-participatory, and generally unengaged. Who is reaching out to renters across social media sites? What apartment homepages foster community or have ratings and reviews? What Internet listings sites host apartment ratings? Who is openly communicating or allowing open communication with residents on the web? Aside from a select few, there seems to be very little movement."
  • Very cool interactive graphic that shows how we all spend our days. Sub-categories by age, education, race, children/no children, employed/unemployed. You'll notice that in all groups "socializing" is done by a surprising minority of people, and invariably it's less than watching TV/movies.
  • "Most of us are afraid of strategy, because we don't feel confident outlining one unless we're sure it's going to work. And the 'work' part is all tactical, so we focus on that."
    (tags: strategy)
  • "This illustration-rich book provides a peek under the hood of the mechanized world we inhabit. David Macaulay, with tech writer Neil Ardley, has that rare gift of technical understanding paired with an ability to convey complex concepts through visual imagery. Kids, parents, Lit. majors, curious people – all can learn, and laugh, from the interpretive drawings that fill this wonderful tome, granting insight into the workings of everything from twin-rotor helicopters to printing presses to self-winding watches and even modems."
    (tags: books diy science)
  • "A better indicator of the strength of the labor market is the proportion of the adult population that is employed. As shown in the graph below, this number dipped to 59.4 percent, the lowest percentage in 25 years."
  • "when I think about the book as digital format from a larger perspective, I see a much bigger picture unfolding. Not only is knowledge no longer bound to its physical format, it’s no longer bound as medium designed primarily for consumption. With digital formats offering the ability to connect with other readers (consumers you might even say) over networked platforms, the consumption of knowledge can actually become a participatory activity resulting in the creation and sharing of new knowledge."
    (tags: books)
  • Matt Taibbi wrote a monster piece on Goldman Sachs for Rolling Stone and has been taken to task by the traditional biz press for it. This CJR piece explores why the mainstream press might be making a mistake. (h/t to Ed for link)
  • From the story: "The number of commercial and multifamily mortgage loans taken out during the second quarter was 50 percent higher than the first quarter, but 54 percent lower than the same period last year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association."
  • Good piece in the Observer that provides a nice overview of the story in Lincoln County that Fec's been tracking for months. I'm glad he linked to it because I was getting lost. Anyway, it shows how social media has changed the landscape for the powers that be.

links for 2009-08-06

Logical Vacuum

North Carolina's "Tax Holiday" is this weekend and you can rest assured that lots of stores will be busy with back-to-school shoppers.  That's all fine and good, but when you juxtapose this event with the other tax news coming out of Raleigh as the legislature tries to balance the state's budget, you begin to wonder what kind of weird logic is being used over there.  To wit, here's the first paragraph from a story at WXII about the weekend:

State leaders said this weekend's sales tax holiday is a needed boost to help North Carolina families shop for back to school during a difficult economic time.

Now here's a paragraph from a Winston-Salem Journal article about the 2009-2010 NC budget that the legislature sent to the governor for approval:

By far the largest part of the tax package is a one-penny increase on the sales tax, bringing the sales tax rate in most counties to 7.75 percent from the current rate of 6.75 percent. That represents a 15 percent jump in what consumers will pay in sales tax.

I'm not going to go on a tax rant here, but I would like to know how giving me a two day holiday on a limited number of items and then raising my year-round tax rate by 15% is helping me?  Believe me, I'd gladly give up my holiday in exchange for a 5% increase or no increase at all.  Sheesh.

Another Reason to Boo the Heels and the Pack

In this article in the Raleigh News & Observer (h/t to Ed Cone for the link) it's revealed that even in this dire economy, one in which the state budget is being slashed virtually across the board, the state universities' athletic booster clubs are continuing to be subsidized by we taxpayers.  It's all due to a four year old law that allows schools to pay in-state tuition rates for out-of-state scholarship athletes.  From the article:

The difference is substantial, according to the legislative fiscal staff.

UNC-Chapel Hill tuition for the coming academic year is expected to be $3,865 for in-state students and $21,753 for out-of-state students. That means a savings of $17,888 for each of the 139 out-of-state athletes at Chapel Hill, or $2.5 million in total.

As a Wake fan I'll be honest and tell you I don't need any more reason to boo the Heels or the Pack, but the fact that as a taxpayer I'm subsidizing the ringers they bring in from hither and yon is giving me ample cause to really boo them. 

links for 2009-08-05

links for 2009-07-31

Yesterday Was a Fun Work Day

I have to say that yesterday was one of the best work days I've ever had.  Why?  Well, because Dale Holder, the chair of TAA's food drive, and I got to drop off about $14,100 dollars at Second Harvest and then we got a tour of their operation (The money that we raised through the food drive was helped greatly by an anonymous $10,000 donation). And here's the reason I was so excited to drop off the donation: given Second Harvest's buying power every $1 donated equals about 12 cans of food, so the money we dropped off will buy about 170,000 cans of food. If you include the food and financial donations that were sent directly to Second Harvest before our grand finale on Tuesday then we were able to get them about 207,000 cans of food.   

SecondHarvestEmptyRoomOur tour was given courtesy of Marcia Cole, Second Harvest's Director of Development and Community Relations, and it drove home the fact that Second Harvest is still in serious need of assistance.  Take a look at the picture I took with my phone and you'll see a rather large room that is still way too empty.

The problem for Second Harvest is that even though donations are up this year, the need for help is up even more.  Add to that the fact that North Carolina's budget problems have delayed the normal state contributions and you have what Clyde Fitzgerald, Second Harvest's Executive Director, calls "a perfect storm."  Want to help?  Here's a couple of ways:

links for 2009-07-30

New One on Twitter

Here's a first for me on Twitter: just found out my cousin is pregnant via one of her Tweets.  Let me clarify: I found out about her pregnancy via Twitter, she didn't get pregnant via Twitter which, as far as I know, is physically impossible.