markallerton.com

Inner-views: " MARCUS MILLER "

Link: Inner-views:   " MARCUS MILLER ".

A terrific Marcus Miller interview by fellow bassist Foley. Prompted by listening to Bernard Wright's "'Nard" album - via the 4 Brothers Blog. Haboglabotribin' - wooooo!

A Way Out of Our Oil Addiction?

Link: Zakaria: A Way Out of Our Oil Addiction

Fareed Zakaria interviews Amory Lovins, an efficiency genius whose message is beginning to be heard, only 30 years late. His proposal for "feebates" is interesting - I've previously been known to advocate fuel (or carbon) taxes as a mechanism for reducing CO2 emissions, but Lovins does a good job of demolishing this...

Fuel taxes are a much weaker way to affect how efficient a car you buy because they are diluted, roughly seven to one, by the other costs of owning and running the car, and then they are heavily discounted. So, for a typical buyer, looking at a year or two of fuel savings is about as unimportant as whether to buy floor mats.

Ouch...

At 3M, A Struggle Between Efficiency And Creativity

Link: At 3M, A Struggle Between Efficiency And Creativity.

Efficiency programs such as Six Sigma are designed to identify problems in work processes—and then use rigorous measurement to reduce variation and eliminate defects. When these types of initiatives become ingrained in a company's culture, as they did at 3M, creativity can easily get squelched.

(Via Will Price)

Would you like fries... umm... service with that?

Link: Apple iPhone review roundup - Engadget.

I would normally refrain from posting about something that is already on every single site on the internet - but of the new stuff we found out about the iPhone today, the thing that most blows my mind is that they managed to get AT&T (Cingular as then was) to agree to let Apple sell the freaking service exclusively through iTunes. Apple is developing a habit of reducing existing retail channels to a state of complete irrelevance...

The Record Industry's Decline | MetaFilter

Link: The Record Industry's Decline | MetaFilter.

This is a pirated MP3 of the smallest violin in the world playing for the record industry.

I'm really only posting this because this comment made me laugh so much.

The Interpreter

Link: A Reporter at Large: The Interpreter: Reporting & Essays: The New Yorker. Pride, politics, the Piraha and the Universal Grammar (or not.)

Made in Stevenage | The Guardian | Guardian Unlimited

Link: Made in Stevenage | The Guardian | Guardian Unlimited. Gary Younge on Formula 1 sensation Lewis Hamilton.

'Sopranos' creator's last word: End speaks for itself- NJ.com

Link: 'Sopranos' creator's last word: End speaks for itself- NJ.com.

Put me in the "love it" category, though I did practically scream at my TV. Let's face it, a more traditional denouement would have been an anticlimax. The final scene was anything but. And people, isn't the journey the reward?

Ready or not | Sport | The Observer

Link: Ready or not | Sport | The Observer. A fascinating look at the trials of South Africa's preparations for the 2010 World Cup.

13 Months in the Year of the Dog

Link: 13 Months of Dog Year.

Re-enactments of a years worth of stories from Chinese newspapers (via MeFi.) Not safe for work.