What Planet?

If women are Venus and men are from Mars, I must be from Uranus.

My formative impression of gender was instilled before 10 years of age. Up until that time females are as physically as capable as their male counterparts. In fact is the earlier years they are often more physically capable. The females I grew up were as competitive as the males and played the same games. You were as likely to get beaten up by a female as a male. Therefore, my image of females was of just another person.

However, my formative years are before a time that sex is marketed even in terms of babies as today. The image of females today is instilled in both western and traditionalist society practically from the time you can speak. In both societies women are marginalized in the range of things they can do and relegated to the position of chattel. In the West it is done through religion (both Christianity and Catholism), business mores and legal regulations. In sacred societies it is through tradition.

I did not clearly notice the effects of this “pigeon holding” until graduate school. The young women there seemed to have succumbed to the realities of second class citizenship and did not compete unabashingly. They were bright enough and capable, but lacked that killer instinct to be number one. There were exceptions. There were some women I came across in business and school that were like a starving dog after a piece of meat. I could understand these women in the dog-eat-dog environment. I just made certain I kept my body parts out of snapping range.

I can also remember my personal impact. My daughter was about 7 years old in a “Christian” school. She used to be interested in my wood working and the tools I used. She even helped. One day she came home from school and said she could not do that any more. The teacher had said it was inappropriate for girls. You can guess what I did.

Therefore when I see in the media the kidnappings, murder, rape, mutilation and stifled potential of women here and around the world, it somehow lacks reality for me. I wonder what planet am I on that women allow this to be done? What planet am I on that men and society are so obtuse?

I do not think I will ever get over seeing a female as just another competitor and just as capable.

My Choice

I watched the Charlie Rose show yesterday. Hank Greenberg, the former Chairman of AIG (until 1995), was on the show. He must be pushing eighty. Greenberg came across as sharp and critical of AIG actions. I image he might. He probably is a billion dollars poorer due to the company. I know from his past he is intelligent and ruthless. Greenberg stated things from his perspective that had gone wrong and what should have been done. He also suggested what needs to be done now. At that point he was undoubtedly my pick to be put in charge of AIG now.

But as the show progressed, he drew a larger picture and stated concrete things to be done about the financial crisis. He also said a part of the problem is that the economic system fundamentals are perhaps permanently changed. We need to stop trying to get the failed system going again and recognize the change. We should go back to the traditional banking system that lines up better with things as they are now. He was referring to before deregulation and banks being as involved in the financial services industry as today. He further suggested we need an international solution.

I decided right on the spot Greenberg would be wasted being put back in charge of AIG. He gets my vote to replace Timothy Geithner at Treasury. Greenberg knows the system, where the bodies might be, and he will take no prisoners.

Think Like Rove

You are Karl Rove. Your charge is to secure the White House for the GOP in the coming 2008 election.

The first thing you do is use the tried and true strategy of helping the less likely to be elected opposition candidate to get their Party’s nomination. The most likely to be elected candidate was Hilary Clinton. Therefore you assist in her primary short falls. Having a Black candidate get the Party nomination would be a certain victory. America is not ready for a Black President.

Suddenly the opposition candidate is amassing a tremendous campaign financial chest and dramatically out spends your party candidate. He has also assumed celebrity status. Attempts to turn both against him are failing. You fall back on the tried and true of negative political advertisements.

It is the closing weeks of the campaign. You need to pull your candidate closer in the polls so that you can do a “slight of hand” with the votes. Your candidate needs a boost. Republicans are always viewed as the best in times of strife. Cindy Maclean gets on her private jet and heads to Georgia. Her strip was published, but there were no details on why she was suddenly leaving her husband on the campaign trial to go to this nation. A week after her visit in Georgia shooting starts between Georgia and Russia. However, the expected poll bounce for your client does not materialized, despite his war record. In fact Georgia internationally is branded a precipitator of the incident.

Just in case, you decide on a little financial strife that can fanned to stifle any social agenda just in case the worst should happen and the opposition candidate is elected. You create financial strife by picking the smallest of the investment banks and suggesting its financial uncertainty. The financial situation is under control. But short comings of Lehman Brothers soon appear. You decide to let it fail. You can not be seen as a party intervening in the free market.

The whole thing backfires and becomes a general panic. The panic spreads to the banking industry. Capital stops flowing. The Administration is in its own panic. It realizes the whole financial system house of cards might collapse. The SEC puts forth a financial rescue. Congress must approve the money.

Now ideology kicks in. Conservatives are say let there be failure. It is the free market way. The Administration briefs key members of its party on the real situation. A small group of the politicians cross the ideology divide to agree to vote for funds for the rescue. Trying to seize the national spotlight some party politicians use the situation as a platform to denounce government intervention. In comes their presidential candidate and derails the voting for funds. A true media event timed to get him a boast in the polls. It should have played well with the voters. The plan was for the Party to later participate in approving bailout funds. But it did not play well with the voters and the ideology posturing caused Wall Street to cut its political strings with the party.

The current President now finds himself in the fight of his life trying to execute a social agenda while a financial crisis rages.

Rove can point to the success of his worst case fallback strategy working.

Form Factor

I call customer service when the newspaper fails to arrive. In the case of the Financial Times, which is the most widely read English language newspaper in the world, customer service offers to give me free access for the day to the “online” version. I usually refuse.

The wall Street Journal sends me email and mail advertisements to purchase the companion “online” version to my “print” subscription. Again I refuse.

The “form factor” (technical structure) for “online” information cannot rival a printed page of a newspaper. Human visual perception is based on object and form recognition. I can take in at a glance the entire page of a newspaper and target in on specific headers, paragraphs, or even words. In fact I can go through a whole newspaper in less than 15 minutes.

The “form factor” for “online” information is constrained by computer screen real estate. That real estate is also taken up in the margins by other things. The “online” version of a newspaper is likely to only display part of an article at a time. It restricts much of the overall quick glancing of the article or taking in several articles at a time. Reviewing the “online” version requires four times the effort. What ultimately happens is people get in the habit of checking the index of articles and going to basically the same several articles all the time.

The advantages of “online” for the customer is expanded “content” and in some cases inter-activeness. The advantages for the business is lower costs, control over customer attention focus and better substantiated advertisement marketing revenue.

I hope “print” lives on.

Science Magazines

In one of my nostalgia forays a couple of years ago I picked up a subscription to Popular Science Magazine on ebay for the unbelievable price of $5.00 dollars. When I was a lad I was trilled speculating on the scientific vistas in the magazine.

But the was yester-year. Popular Science Magazine today represents popularized “science’. While “Discover” magazine represents exploring science and nature. Popular Science Magazine is the equivalent today of fast food high in calories and cholesterol. It is a quick fix display of mostly fantasy wrapped in a deluge of advertisements. You have to look sharply at the pages to pick out the articles. Discover Magazine on the other hand, is a literate exploration of vanguard science and nature themes. It presents things you are not very likely to come across in other venues or in authoritative detail, yet extremely weighty, in science and social terms.

The newsstand price for Popular Science Magazine is $4.99 an issue. The annual on sale subscription price from the publisher is $36.00 dollars. Guess what? I will not buy it again at even $5.00 dollars. I see absolutely no reason to pay to be advertised and gorge in a state of nescience.