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so Andrew – what do you make of all that?

he clearly doesn’t deserve it for things-accomplished, but he took it in the right way – it’s a call to action that adds momentum to what he’s trying to do, rather than a pat on the back.  Given the importance of his success on a multitude of fronts, I can understand why they gave it to him.  If he fails to abruptly change course, we’re all in a lot of trouble.

Chrysler/ Jeeps’ answer to fuel efficiency is to reskin Noddy’s car? (maybe that’s only a reference for english people, sorry)

here’s an interesting article … Dan Brown’s new book is selling better on the Kindle than in hardback http://paidcontent.org/article/419-dan-browns-new-book-selling-better-on-kindle-than-in-hardcover-via-amaz/  How reliant on Doubleday was he for those sales?

Ilove – thanks for your comment;  as Casey said, I’m not down on print per se, I’m down on the structure of the industry.  Time and again, the internet has effectively removed middlemen (’disintermediation’ in dotcom-era language), and that’s no bad thing when middlemen have acted as oligopolistic gatekeepers.   About the utility of our site;  we’re working hard to make it more useful.  But one point that’s relevant here – we can reach millions more people online than we ever could via the magazine.  It’s tough to argue that we, or the print industry can afford to ignore that.

I’m interested in whether there is value, long-term, in publishing houses.  Their role in life seems very akin to the record labels (ie, sourcing new talent, supporting production and then promotion).  As a variety of forces have rendered the labels obsolete (cheaper production, grass-roots online promotion etc.), so different forces are leaving publishing houses obsolete.  Why doesn’t the next Dan Brown publish his book through Amazon (delivered via print on demand, or directly to a Kindle), and promote it via myspace/ facebook/ twitter/ PR?  The next Dan Brown would be left with a much bigger slice of the pie than she/he would get in the traditional model.  This post suggests the publishers find a new role in life, as a recommendation service… that’s all well and good, but up against Oprah, facebook groups, services like iLike etc., I don’t like their chances.

love it!  Maybe simple enough for dining room tables to get it?  

such a great idea

Wow – I’m with jrdxl – the fact that ~40% of cars bought with these subsidies are SUVs & trucks is astonishing.  @cmunns – sure, some people might need SUVs, but this program was dressed up as a stimulus initiative that would help the environment, not just a stimulus initiative.  So to be subsidizing SUVs is amazing.  Should people hate on SUVs?  Not if they serve a purpose, but in most cases they are needless vanities … it’s time people felt some personal responsibility for our use of natural resources.