Saturday, May 10, 2008

things i'm thinking about

according to research done by citibank, over the past 7 years russia accounted for 80% of the growth in oil production outside opec. the increase in its output in the early part of the decade matched the growth in demand from china and india almost barrel for barrel. yet in april of this year, production fell for the fourth month in a row. it is now over 2% below the peak of 9.9 million b/d reached in 10/07. before that, the growth in russia's output had been slowing steadily, suggesting that the drop is not a blip. could the discovery that russia can no longer be relied upon to cater to the world's ever-increasing appetite for oil be causing record-high prices?

the media's obsession with msft continues; yet another business publication cover for a smiling steve ballmer. and yet more interviews with msft executives and accompanying stories vowing that msft "will win." do msft executives really believe that fear of msft still works? uh, i don't think it does....i think goog and aapl employees laugh when they see that stuff nowadays....why is it that every time i see a msft executive with the included quote "we will win," i don't believe him or her?

sorry to anger some of you, but here goes. don't try to impress me with your boasting about driving a prius: impress me by stating that you're driving LESS (and that can be accomplished many ways = combining trips, delaying trips, smarter routes, simple conservation, etc., etc.) hey, it's great you've got a prius; now don't go out and drive 30% more just to make yourself feel good about how wonderful you are for the environment....

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