archive: bryce.weblogs.com

Identity Theft

This week, a co-worker discovered he has been the victim of identity theft. It's everyone's worst nightmare. Worse, it's the only situation in America where one is presume guilty until proven innocent. That has got to change.

The best way to avoid it: awareness. Experts now suggest checking your credit report every six months to nip anything wrong in the bud, before it causes your whole world to collapse.

"Running the World like the Mafia"

Jason Kottke has an interesting point in the aftermath of yesterdays' "freedom fries" spectacle.

"So what's the problem? It's the whole "you either wit us or agin us" mentality. If the US were a person, nobody would want to hang out with him (again, note the deliberate use of the masculine). You don't want to play on our team? Fine. We're gonna blacklist you, stonewall you, ridicule you, and basically make your life a living hell. Is this really how we want to represent ourselves as a country? We're running the world like the Mafia."

Coming Soon to PDX: Mexicana Nonstop to Mexico?

The Portland Business Journal is reporting this afternoon that "representatives of Mexicana Airlines and the Port of Portland have called a news conference for Thursday to discuss findings of the airline's study of establishing possible new nonstop air service connecting PDX with Mexico. Although the port's press release did not detail those findings, the long list of politicians scheduled to attend suggests that the new air service is a go."

Let's hope so.

This would mark the fourth Star Alliance member airline to serve Portland. United and Air Canada already do and Lufthansa will begin on March 31, 2003.

Addendum: On Thursday (3/13/03) Mexicana announced plans to begin nonstop service between PDX and Guadalajara, Mexico with direct service to Mexico City on May 1st. Read the press release.

Oregon: Slip Sliding Away

Yesterday, Moody’s Investors Servce’s downgraded Oregon's general obligation bonds to Aa3 from Aa2.

Raymond Murphy, a Moody's analyst in New York, on Oregon's financial troubles:  Lawmakers shouldn't hope for a rebounded economy to solve future budget problems. "Even with a greater than anticipated economic rebound, the state won't be able to improve its economic health in a timely fashion."

Meanwhile, the Grand Ronde proposal to finance a new MLB baseball stadium in Portland for the soon-to-be-relocated Montreal Expos is gaining support. The Oregonian is reporting today that the tribe is willing and able to pick up the entire $350 million tab -- if it gains the right to build a casino in the Portland metro area. Ah what a tangled web we weave....

Oregon's last governor, John Kitzhaber, was frequently quoted as saying he disliked the state-run Oregon Lottery, but loved the revenue it generated. It's hard to imagine a state with a financial infrastructure more held together by chewing gum and rubber bands than Oregon.

Bombs over Baghdad

The propaganda is getting into high gear. The US Air Force dropped a 21,000-pound bomb onto a test range in Florida yesterday, "hoping the test would rattle nerves in Iraq as well."

French Fry Diplomacy

Nothing seems to be making much sense today. First, McDonalds announced it is adding wireless internet access (Wi-Fi) to the menu in some of its restaurants (screenshot). Over at Slashdot, folks examined the logic of such a move, noting:

• "It seems like rolling out the technology is less of a "Let's do it for our customers" thing and more of a "Let's partner with the bigshots and put up a big advertisment" thing. All hype, no substance.
  
• "I understand McDonald's business is hurting, but getting the tech crowd in isn't going to solve their revenue shortfalls."
  
• "Oddly enough, McDonalds stores were designed to get people to leave as soon as they could -- Odd colour schemes, uncomfortable chairs, etc."

And then scanning Google News, I discovered this bit of news from the AP (reprinted in full for posterity): "A congressman is upset that France won't stand by the United States and endorse an invasion of Iraq so he's banishing all so-called "French" foods from House cafeterias.

Representative Bob Ney (R-18, New Philadelphia) is chairman of the House Administration Committee and has jurisdiction over what is printed on restaurant menus at the three U.S. House buildings.

He says any member of Congress who wants to eat fried potatoes and battered toast will have to order "Freedom Fries" or "Freedom Toast."

Ney and Congressman Walter Jones of North Carolina are personally changing the cafeteria menus Tuesday in protest of France's action at the United Nations.

The Republican congressmen say banishing the word "French" from congressional eateries is a small but symbolic effort."

Does he really think this charade is going to accomplish anything?

OSU: New Dean Named for College of Business

After a national search, OSU's College of Business has decided to hire its next Dean from within: Ilene Kleinsorge. I will be very curious to see what course she charts for the college. While I have been impressed with aspects of the college's offerings, it has suffered from an acute lack of vision in recent years. Here's to a bright and promising future!

Digital Democracy

I just received the most amazing email, passed on by a friend from an organization called MoveOn.org. Their slogan is "democracy in action." It began:

"The response to our emergency petition to the U.N. Security Council has been nothing short of extraordinary. Less than two days after the petition was launched, over 550,000 people have signed, from over 200 countries.  It's a strong message from the peoples of the world that the
Security Council should support tough inspections in Iraq, not war. It's also the fastest-growing online petition we've ever seen -- and already one of the largest in history...."

It remains to be seen just what impact something like this can have, but it is amazing how technology enables such rapid mobilization of opinion.

Even more amazing to me was this validation of grassroots marketing:

"Our "Inspections Work. War Won't." message is on a quarter of all the
busses in Washington D.C.  The financial support of MoveOn members for these initiatives has been overwhelming -- you funded over 100 local ads in less than a day!"

Governments, companies, churches, all organizations, causes and individuals: Stand guard. Your advesaries have never before in the history of mankind been so able to make a statement.

Osama, where art thou?

News reports this morning are suggesting that Osama bin Laden is still alive, living in the border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan according to a Pakistani intelligence official quoted in today's Guardian (UK). At this time, the White House has refused to confirm these reports.

Finally! An Easier Way to Book the Trip you Want for Cheap

Orbitz has just launched a new service that makes finding cheap airfare way easier: called "Flex Search", it is the first interface I've seen that allows you to search for flights without first specifying precise dates. The search results page is a brilliant design. Called a "Calendar Matrix" by Orbitz, it shows in an easy to understand the cost differences between trips of different lengths (5-6-7 days for example) leaving different days (Mon 3/24, Tue 3/25... etc.). For leisure travel when the goal is "about a week in someplace warm", this visual design will easily help travelers identify the cheapest time to visit. For example, perhaps you had been planning a Wed to Wed trip the third week of March but discover that a Tue to Tue trip the fourth week is $100 less. That's good to know. I'm traditionally been lukewarm at best about Orbitz, but this is one service I would highly encourage you to try out!