Flu shot shortage shows system flaws. For two decades, America's system for discovering, developing, and producing vaccines has been careering toward crisis, and today it can be crippled by a single mistake at a single factory, putting lives at risk from preventable diseases. [Boston Globe — Front Page]
Month: October 2004
A Red Sox sweep for the ages
A Red Sox sweep for the ages. In one of the most electrifying moments in the history of a ballpark that's almost older than household electricity, slugger David Ortiz last night propelled the wild-and-crazy Red Sox into the American League Championship Series with a 10th-inning, first-pitch, two-out, two-run, walkoff homer into the seats above Fenway… Continue reading A Red Sox sweep for the ages
Baby Steps to Space
Baby Steps to Space. The difference between Rutan's (or should I say the XPrize) approach and NASA's is that it will build a commercial business around every step of development. Here are the steps (and my best case timeline estimate): Edge of Space (now — the next 2 years). The simple space plane (that won… Continue reading Baby Steps to Space
Jamestown
Jamestown (a great collection of regional specialists, but it lacks any expertise in the theory of guerrilla/terrorist warfare): The ouster of the Taliban and al-Qaeda from Afghanistan gave a new lease on life to various criminal, sectarian and religious groups in Pakistan that were finding it increasingly difficult to survive due to international pressure. The… Continue reading Jamestown
CSM
CSM. In addition to the record budget deficits, here's some more financial fall-out from the war in Iraq. Basically, the loss of 2m barrels of Iraqi production (including illicit shipments) transforms every disruption into a major pricing event. A major disruption (Saudi Arabia in late November) would put the price into orbit. Home heating this… Continue reading CSM
AT
AT. The main theme of this (Afghan) election won't be reported: it's called voter intimidation. Both the European Union and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe even said they could not monitor the election for fear they would be constrained to denounce it as not being free and fair. In the end, they… Continue reading AT
Boston Marathon man Johnny Kelley dies at 97
Boston Marathon man Johnny Kelley dies at 97. Johnny Kelley, a bow-legged marathoner with more endurance than the Energizer Bunny, competed in the Boston Marathon a record 61 times and won the grueling race twice. He finished second a record seven times and in 18 races he placed in the top 10. [Boston Globe —… Continue reading Boston Marathon man Johnny Kelley dies at 97
Still Exploring After Martian Winter, Rovers Send Back More Signs of Water
Still Exploring After Martian Winter, Rovers Send Back More Signs of Water. The two roving vehicles Spirit and Opportunity have explored Mars about three times as long as originally scheduled and keep finding evidence of past liquid water. By JOHN NOBLE WILFORD. [The New York Times > Technology]
T-Mobile Offers GPRS/Wi-Fi Card
T-Mobile Offers GPRS/Wi-Fi Card. T-Mobile said that it started selling today a combined Wi-Fi/GPRS PC card: The cards, which run for $199, will allow users to get online over T-Mobile's wide area GPRS network as well as T-Mobile hotspots. The Wi-Fi component supports 802.11b. This appears to be the first combined PC card from T-Mobile….… Continue reading T-Mobile Offers GPRS/Wi-Fi Card
Innovate and Die?
Innovate and Die?. Gary Feldman at Cheskin shares some insights into why innovation can lead to dead ends. This quote sums up the problem – becoming a “betamax first mover loser“. His examples are Tivo (a great innovation) and satellite radio (a paid version of something you already have). The main difference between the two… Continue reading Innovate and Die?