Posts

I sure hope he’s wrong…

/0 Comments/in /by

A very disturbing piece from Michael S. Malone about the “hollowing out” of America’s innovation capital, Silicon Valley. It seems there are no new start-ups, due to lack of venture capital, onerous regulations from Washington (that make it damn near impossible to do an IPO), etc. If America loses the mantle of world’s innovation engine, what will we have left?

One of our salesmen, David Denny and I were discussing the similar problem (on a much smaller scale) in southwestern Virginia. Whether you care for the current crowd in Washington or not, the level of uncertainty they’ve created continues to suppress investment. That cannot be denied.

Where are these investors going to go? My bet is that in the future they will find a fertile garden in China and India. Chinese and Indian students are the academic core of many American universities these days, and why not go home where the government will pay you to market the next great idea?

Talk about shooting yourself in the foot…

1500 new cars a day in Beijing

/0 Comments/in /by

1109 brief a x600

Continuing the pollution in China thread, here’s a short opinion piece by Stephen Cass in Technology Review which claims that 1500 new cars are added to the streets of Beijing each day (the excellent photo from that article is below). I don’t know where he got that number, but I’m going to assume that he’s right. A few of thoughts before I call it a night:

  1. Heck yeah! Buicks are popular in China and since I am now an unwilling shareholder in the second-worst run American car company, we need to sell some Lacrosses ASAP!
  2. Thank God I (a) telecommute and (b) don’t live in Beijing. I can’t stand the traffic in Roanoke, VA.
  3. Yes, there will need to be a alternative to the dominance of petrol, and the Chinese have as much of a vested interest as anyone in finding it. Their motivation will be more economic and national security than pollution, though they will certainly pay lip service.

1109 brief a x600

I look forward to reading Turning Oil Into Salt. When I read Salt some years ago, I was amazed at the currency value of that now basic commodity in ancient times. The book’s thesis is that we can break the back of the oil cartel by just introducing engines that run on a variety of combustible fuels. Let’s hope they are right.

Transport costs are one of those variables that PassageMaker will not quote. Our Logistics Department can give estimates, or we can help you get a quote from the shipper of your choice, but even with freight near all-time lows, it fluctuates daily.

A world in which transport energy is like salt is a world that will deliver prosperity to the masses of desperately poor people around the world who are trying to improve their lives. I hope I live to see it, and I have a feeling I will. Human ingenuity is a powerful thing.