Dialectical Egoism

I've been waiting for articles like The Rise of American Incompetence to start arriving. But Daniel Gross infers that international contempt towards American management is a recent phenomenon. Nonsense. The level of respect from both inside and outside the U.S. was much lower in the 80s and early 90s. American business climbed out of that morass thanks to Harvard professors who mapped new lexicons on top of Japanese management practices then peddled the ideas as their own.

Our economy is in for some pretty tough times but it is not a collapse of the tech bubble, stock market bubble, housing, subprime, or asset bubbles from which we need to recover. It is a bubble of hubris of which Daniel Gross's Slate article is just an early indicator of an impending and long overdue implosion.

IT Interview

I've heard this story many times, the dispirited American tech trainer tries in vain to engage a roomful of stoic Japanese engineers then watches in bewilderment when, as soon as class disengages, those same engineers become animated with the kind of bluster you find in any IT room in the world. An important purpose of this banter is to signal and scrutinize each other's level of expertise like dial-up modems attempting to arrive at a mutually compatible speed with which to communicate. A component of discovery, i.e. evaluating each other's expertise level, exists to some extent within the communication of every domain, but it comprises a larger share and thus is more overt in the information technology field. Unfortunately, there seems to be no universal protocol recognized worldwide for this important component of technical conversations, no IEEE standard for geek BS. Japanese engineers use a synchronous discourse comprised of carefully crafted questions designed to trap the poser in a corner. Americans, on the other hand, converse asynchronously, unremittingly broadcasting their bravado. Stereotypes such as the belligerent arrogance of the French, the servile arrogance of Indians, the incessant banalities of Americans, are all manifestations of our incompatible local protocols, and the primary reason for mutual incredulity between engineers from disparate cultures.

Ramiele, Where Art Thou?

Check it out dawg. When Ryan announced Ramiele Malubay would be singing "In My Life" my heart skipped a beat. This is one of my favorite Beatles' songs, one whose lyrics and simple melody is so beautiful that Simon singing it could move me. As soon as Ramiele opened her mouth my imagination speed ahead in anticipation of how she was going to approach the rest of the tune: straightforward skating to get the audience grooving to their memories before wowing the crowd with a series of spectacular triple and quad jumps. But it sounded as though she chickened out at the last minute and finished with a few single salchows. The judges berated her for "playing it safe", which I don't think was disappointment with the performance but with delivering below her potential. Surely Brooke White's rendition of "Let It Be" (upon which the judges heaped excessive praise) was not much better or original, it's just that no one can imagine Brooke doing better. Fortunately, Ramiele made it through to the next round (thank you Manila and Dick's Cabaret) and has the chance to redeem herself next week.

3 a.m. Response

Larry David has a suggestion for the Obama campaign on how to respond to what seems to be becoming the defining ad of this Presidential race - Hillary's 3 a.m. call. Though Clinton's commercial may have been effective in last week's primaries, given the large number of spoofs I doubt if it will be a positive in the long run. And as Larry David's column suggests, it could come back to bite her if she makes it to the general election.

Mice In Me Car

I started noticing a pizza like odor car inside my Honda Civic. As the smell got stronger and less pleasing, I blamed the kids for leaving garbage somewhere in the back. Then the odor turned to something reminiscent of vomit and diarrhea. The next day the heater/air conditioner stopped working. When I took the car to the dealer, the mechanic said there were signs of mice who seemed to have been gnawing on a heater/air conditioner related capacitor. Obviously it was high school mice who thought they had found a place to hide out and have wild pizza parties. The whole thing cost me $289, which if I find the mice responsible, I will be making their parents pay.

Patawad Po Talaga

Brooke White is your next American Idol. Of course she's gorgeous, but until the last two weeks she seemed like just another fluffy pop singer. If she is really involved with the selection and arrangements of her songs then she deserves to win. But could it all be a manufactured conspiracy crafting the anointed one's image, making the ordinary sound original to stand out from the rest of the field? Ramiele was certainly not up to snuff last week, it jerked her out of the sure thing cafe like Obama losing Texas and Ohio. This week was so much better, yet she keeps appearing in less than flattering outfits. The AI wardrobe department must be in on the conspiracy.

Trading Fairly Inefficiently

I certainly recognize the tremendous good that has been delivered by the FairTrade brand. Thousands of small scale farmers would not be growing coffee or tea today if not for the price support they received through the FairTrade system. Moreover, cooperatives established under the FairTrade banner have provided security for small farmers who otherwise would be left at the mercy of local exporters. Nevertheless, a dire need exists to improve efficiency of the certification process, decrease administrative costs, and increase transparency. Unfortunately, the tendency for ideology to trump practical strategy has inhibited the FairTrade movement from attaining more of its objectives.