February 2008
30 posts
“The best car-related innovation we have is not to improve the car but to...”
– Cities: A Smart Alternative to Cars
Looks a Lot Like Stagflation… →
The PPI's Inflation Surprise - Forbes.com →
“Producer prices have now risen an unadjusted 7.4% over the past year, the largest 12-month gain since 1981. Core prices have risen 2.3% in the past twelve months, the fastest annual gain since October.”
“A structural change is under way in the housing market—a major shift in the way...”
– The Next Slum?
Poverty Is Poison - New York Times →
FT.com / Technology / Science & environment -... →
“Poverty in early childhood poisons the brain, the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Boston heard on Friday.
Neuroscientists said many children growing up in very poor families with low social status experience unhealthy levels of stress hormones, which impair their neural development. That effect is on top of any damage caused by inadequate nutrition and...
Crude Oil Prices Close Above $100 - New York Times →
“Oil futures shot higher Tuesday, closing above $100 for the first time as investors bet that crude prices will keep climbing despite evidence of plentiful supplies and falling demand. At the pump, gas prices rose further above $3 a gallon.”
Stagflation? Guess we’ll have to check the unemployment numbers.
Bleak New Batch of Data on Economy - New York... →
The Columbus Dispatch : City seeks more ideas to... →
Setting priorities
The city’s 2012 Bicentennial Commission is holding five neighborhood meetings next week to hear what the public considers the priorities the commission should address. All the meetings are from 6 to 8 p.m.
Tuesday
• Northwest Side, Centennial High School, 1441 Bethel Rd.
• East Side, Eastmoor Academy, 417 Weyant Ave.
Thursday
• Northeast Side, Mifflin High School,...
Data vs. Lore →
I respect the gas company’s need for data. The gas meter in my house is inside; when the meter reader comes, I rarely am. I’m at work. Household size: 1.
I don’t know how many times I’ve been looking at a problem, aching for just a little bit of missing data. Or maybe just data compiled a little differently. I want to be able to tell the right story with the right information. I want to make sure...
Retail Sales Report Lifts Stocks - New York Times →
“Sales of food and retail items rose 0.3 percent last month after falling 0.4 percent in December, according to a survey by the Commerce Department.
…
Still, the report was far from glowing. Department store sales fell by 1.1 percent and building materials dropped 1.7 percent, a likely symptom of slowing demand for new homes.”
“While hugging a vacant strip mall or explaining the environmental benefits of...”
– Lisa Ninenson, “Regulating Stormwater,” Urban Land, January 2008.
A Deal We Can Live With - New York Times →
“UNTIL December, Kenya was the most stable nation in East Africa. It has long been a willing partner in the Bush administration’s war on terrorism. Yet the United States has mostly stood by as our country has descended into chaos.
More than 800 people have been killed and at least 250,000 driven from their homes since rigged presidential elections on Dec. 27. Two opposition members of...
“To approach a city, or even a city neighborhood, as if it were a larger...”
– Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities
Wal-Mart prepares small U.S. stores to fend off... →
DispatchPolitics : Full text: Gov. Ted... →
“My friends, the state of the state is resolute. We are challenged, but we will not back down. The people of our state expect a future that lifts us all. That is our calling, and we shall answer that call.
The scripture says: “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.”
And so we must cast aside fear, cast aside indifference, and summon...
Super Stories →
While Super Tuesday rolls on to make itself a story in line with its name, consider
Rebellion in Chad,
Election aftermath in Kenya, and
Snow in China.
Imagine the drama–the lives affected. Just imagine the “small” cities you’ve never heard of in China that house millions of people without power–and the lasting effect will be on food prices and shortages in the coming (lunar) new year.
...
“If nothing else, the meltdown forces us to consider how much uncertainty may...”
– There Goes the Neighborhood
