Thursday, October 25, 2012
World Longest Flight Will Be Canceled.
(10/25/2012) Want to have a non-stop flight from Singapore to New York? This flight won't last much longer. This world longest non-stop flight is currently offered by Singapore Airlines, and the distance is 9500 miles with 18 hours of flight time. Interestingly, another long flight from Singapore to Los Angeles will also be canceled. The flight between Singapore and Los Angeles is only around 8000 miles, but the flight time is 18.5 hours. How come? It is because the great circle distance between New York to Singapore is shorter than the great circle distance between Singapore and Los Angeles.
Southwest Airlines Shutdown Auto Check-in Website
(10/25/2012) If you fly Southwest, then you want to get your boarding pass in A group. Southwest Airlines' passengers now can pay $10 early-check-in to get an earlier boarding number. If you are Southwest.com, you won't be happy that your revenue is encroached by this backdoor. However, I have to say this student is very brilliant, his talent won't be ignored too long.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Supply Chain of McDonald French Fries.
This is an interesting video showing the supply chain process of McDonald French Fries from the potata harvest to the final frying. The second video is how McDonald makes their Big Mac burger (home version).
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Walmart's Warehouse Working Conditions
(10/20/2012) A news about the terrible living conditions of Walmart warehouse workers in Illinois. I don't think this news is less troubling than the bad working condition of Foxconn (Apple's iPhone & iPad manufacturer) in China. It happens right in the heartland of US. However, it gets very little attention here. These warehouse workers don't work directly for Walmart, they are hired by Roadlink Workforce Solutions, a 3PL logistics company used by Walmart. Does it mean that Warmart don't have any social responsibility for them?
Here is the report (from Salon.com) about the earlier worker strike to fight against the bad working condition and management retaliation.
(5/14/2014) Finally, the contractor of Walmart agreed, Schneider Logistics, the settlement ($21 millions) for the "backpay to warehouse workers in California who claim they were systematically shorted on pay for years.".
Here is the report (from Salon.com) about the earlier worker strike to fight against the bad working condition and management retaliation.
(5/14/2014) Finally, the contractor of Walmart agreed, Schneider Logistics, the settlement ($21 millions) for the "backpay to warehouse workers in California who claim they were systematically shorted on pay for years.".
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Virus for Medical Devices
(10/17/2012) Before this news report, I have never thought of this potential problem - Computer viruses invade into medical devices. Imagine that someone's life support now is on a medical device that is not updated for a long time. If it gets a virus, will a computer virus in this case really kill a patient? Or if I know someone is wearing a WiFi connected device, is it possible that I may use a Trojan virus to attack that device and kill that patient? It is more like a SiFi.
(10/21/2012) It looks like killing someone from a distance is not a SiFi, it can be a reality. From a heart defibrillator to a insulin pump, any medical device that can be remotely controlled is subject to hacking. Remember the Matrix? Cypher in the Matrix kills Neo and Trinity's teammates by just pulling the plugs...
(10/21/2012) It looks like killing someone from a distance is not a SiFi, it can be a reality. From a heart defibrillator to a insulin pump, any medical device that can be remotely controlled is subject to hacking. Remember the Matrix? Cypher in the Matrix kills Neo and Trinity's teammates by just pulling the plugs...
Money, Money, Money
(10/17/2012) Money is always a game changer in business. To be more exact, what I mean is that the currency exchange is a game change in international business. Is Chinese RMB (Renminbi) still manipulated at a very low level? That is one of crossfire topic last night in the presidential debate between Romney and Obama. This article provides you some evidence that RMB has been relatively appreciate its value in the last several year.
I often hear that American accuses Chinese government currency manipulation that causes their trade imbalance and job loss issue in the U.S. Then the Chinese accuses American (people and government) spending too much money and own a lot of debt to foreigners. In Chinese, it says "一個銅板不會響", which means that you cannot make noise with just one quarter and both sides should be blamed. I agree with that. However, who will eventually win? Well, I think American, RELATIVELY.
I often hear that American accuses Chinese government currency manipulation that causes their trade imbalance and job loss issue in the U.S. Then the Chinese accuses American (people and government) spending too much money and own a lot of debt to foreigners. In Chinese, it says "一個銅板不會響", which means that you cannot make noise with just one quarter and both sides should be blamed. I agree with that. However, who will eventually win? Well, I think American, RELATIVELY.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Watching President Debate in A Huge Virtual Living Room
(10/16/2012) If you are watching on the TV and follow some internet media for people's reaction, you will find that you are in a huge virtual living room with everybody. Your most politically active friends on facebook and twitters, news hosts, talking heads, comedians..., all of them are sharing their reaction in the same time?
Hey, buddy! Are you sure that you didn't hear my cursing when Romney lied? "Buxxxxxt!..." My friend's cursing is echoing in my huge virtual living (if I really retweet then, you probably get some echos over there too). I have been to the U.S. for three presidential elections (this is the fourth one). This is really the first time that I see the people's emotions and reactions from the debate become so contagious. Thanks to Twitters and Facebook, they are the winners.
Hey, buddy! Are you sure that you didn't hear my cursing when Romney lied? "Buxxxxxt!..." My friend's cursing is echoing in my huge virtual living (if I really retweet then, you probably get some echos over there too). I have been to the U.S. for three presidential elections (this is the fourth one). This is really the first time that I see the people's emotions and reactions from the debate become so contagious. Thanks to Twitters and Facebook, they are the winners.
This is another interesting platform, anybody can join this big virtual living room: HuffPost Live.
DCMA Notice vs. 1.45 Million Educational Blogs? DCMA wins.
(10/16/2012) This new might have very little ripple effects on the news media. A DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) from a book publisher (Pearson) cause a total shot-down of 1.45 millions of educational blogs? However, it has a horrible chilling effect about how DMCA might be used and misused. I hope my blog won't be off-lined.
Microsoft Surface Tablet
(10/16/2012) Can Microsoft make a successful Surface Tablet launch? Can $499 for 32GB table attractive enough for consumers? Can Microsoft make an application network prosperous enough to attract enough app developers and users to stay in this new platform? I wishfully hope so. Don't make the same stupid mistake as in the mobile platform again.
Boxee? Is it a good innovation?
(10/16/2012) From HuffingtonPost.com:
"Boxee, the streaming media company with the funnest name this side of Roku, has unveiled its latest Internet-connected player: It's called the Boxee TV, and it's a $99 box that contains an antenna to watch broadcast high-definition television and a DVR system that gives you unlimited online storage of your recordings. It is, according to Boxee CEO Avner Ronen, the first DVR system that has no storage limits whatsoever."
Do you think it is a good innovation? Will it really kill the Cable? My first wonder is how much bandwidth will be used sending contents up to server and back to the local user sites? Hmm.... Someone needs to do some calculation here. The Internet Service Provider won't be happy then.
"Boxee, the streaming media company with the funnest name this side of Roku, has unveiled its latest Internet-connected player: It's called the Boxee TV, and it's a $99 box that contains an antenna to watch broadcast high-definition television and a DVR system that gives you unlimited online storage of your recordings. It is, according to Boxee CEO Avner Ronen, the first DVR system that has no storage limits whatsoever."
Do you think it is a good innovation? Will it really kill the Cable? My first wonder is how much bandwidth will be used sending contents up to server and back to the local user sites? Hmm.... Someone needs to do some calculation here. The Internet Service Provider won't be happy then.
New RO-RO ship
A new RO-RO ship which has a larger capacity, more energy efficiency provided by WWL (Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics, HQ in Norway).
Monday, October 15, 2012
Data Visualization
This is a very good data visualization showing the political shifts in the last 60 years.
Two reference book I would recommend (by Edward R. Tufte):
The Visual Display of Quantitative Information
Beautiful Evidence
(2/7/2013) I found this figure in an educational research. It is a little bit fancy, but it looks beautiful.
(2/12/2013) This is another good presentation of science and religion.
(3/26/2013) No matter which side you feel from this following figure about the casualty from US Drone strike in Pakistan, I think the group that make this figure gets what they want "shock people." I have to say, the modern HTML coding (look like java scripts, but I am not sure) makes data visualization like magics (click the news page).
Two reference book I would recommend (by Edward R. Tufte):
The Visual Display of Quantitative Information
Beautiful Evidence
(2/7/2013) I found this figure in an educational research. It is a little bit fancy, but it looks beautiful.
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| Source: http://www.educause.edu/ecar/about-ecar/ecar-annual-study-students-and-it |
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| Graphic by: Chris Spurlock Source: The MIT Survey on Science, Religion and Origins |
(3/26/2013) No matter which side you feel from this following figure about the casualty from US Drone strike in Pakistan, I think the group that make this figure gets what they want "shock people." I have to say, the modern HTML coding (look like java scripts, but I am not sure) makes data visualization like magics (click the news page).
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| This picture is not dynamic. You have to click the linked on the news page above to see how it works. |
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Let's Talk About Corn
Food supply is one of the hottest issues in recent years. The demand growth from new economies (China, India, Brazil...) triggered the food and commodity speculation in 2008. After the 2008 recession and global economy started to recover, the supply side is hammered by ruthless climate. In Chinese, we say “穀貴傷民 穀賤傷農.” It means that high food prices hurt people and low food prices hurt the farmers.
Last year, the corn production in the US (as the world largest corn producer) was hit by the hot summer since 1955. This year, the heat continues to cover the US continent and causes the most severe drought in nearly a half-century. USDA has issued warnings since this spring and updated several forecasts about corn and soy beans crop yields.
One thing I use this examples in my Transportation classes is to let students understand its ripple effects. What is the impact of shortage in corn supply? First intuitive answer, the corn price will go up. Here the basic economics theory -- price elasticity & availability of substitutes-- comes to play. Corn's price going up will bring the prices of other grains (soy beans, rice, wheat...) to go up too. Not only that, corn is used in many processed food that we buy in the supermarket (Read the ingredient, you will see corn syrup on many food boxes). Corn is also a major animal feed for the cattle and chickens. Cattle farmers will have to absorb more expensive animal feeds and eventually the consumers will have to pay for that. Overall, the price of the food category will go up since we cannot easily find substitutes for food (eating incests in the future?).
Return to the transportation, the corn yield drops shift the landscape of the demand and supply in a short term and the demand for transportations will be changed too. USDA issues weekly Grain Transportation Report highlight its impacts along with other economic factors (fuel prices, shipping rates...).
One thing I use this examples in my Transportation classes is to let students understand its ripple effects. What is the impact of shortage in corn supply? First intuitive answer, the corn price will go up. Here the basic economics theory -- price elasticity & availability of substitutes-- comes to play. Corn's price going up will bring the prices of other grains (soy beans, rice, wheat...) to go up too. Not only that, corn is used in many processed food that we buy in the supermarket (Read the ingredient, you will see corn syrup on many food boxes). Corn is also a major animal feed for the cattle and chickens. Cattle farmers will have to absorb more expensive animal feeds and eventually the consumers will have to pay for that. Overall, the price of the food category will go up since we cannot easily find substitutes for food (eating incests in the future?).
Return to the transportation, the corn yield drops shift the landscape of the demand and supply in a short term and the demand for transportations will be changed too. USDA issues weekly Grain Transportation Report highlight its impacts along with other economic factors (fuel prices, shipping rates...).
Monday, October 8, 2012
GM Will Hire 10000 Computer Professionals?
(10/8/2010) This can be an alarming news to some people. Why will GM need 10,000 computer, IT workers in the future? It is a sign that the future job market will be very different from our current imagination. Sometimes, I hear students talking about their career future and I am a little bit worried for some of them. These students often have a career vision like their parents, become a salesman, an accountant, or own their business one day in a Pleasantville type of town. They think they should be able to find a well-paid job with a college degree and deserve that. But they don't see that this job market is changing too fast even to their parents who are not much older than my age. Not many jobs can really enjoy a long-term job security and the job loss to another cheaper region is not limited to manufacturing jobs. White-collar jobs or those service jobs can also be replaced. If young-generation students are not capable to adapt to the changes, how can other groups in the society to take the responsibility of our future?
The followings are two pictures that I capture from GM's job webpage today (10/8/2012), what will you position your career future?
Friday, October 5, 2012
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Black Market Twitter Accounts Up For Sale
(10/4/2012)
This news "Twitter Hacking Victims Find Stolen Accounts Sold On BlackMarket" is just way too weird in the first sight. Can you imagine that the virtual avatar can be kidnapped and sold on the Internet?
This news "Twitter Hacking Victims Find Stolen Accounts Sold On BlackMarket" is just way too weird in the first sight. Can you imagine that the virtual avatar can be kidnapped and sold on the Internet?
Environmental issue of Pipeline
To be continued.
(10/4/2012) The following news is about the oil pipeline leaking in Michigan in 2010. The spill from Enbridge pipeline leaking turns out to be worst than we thought. Do you still support Keystone XL pipeline?
(10/4/2012) The following news is about the oil pipeline leaking in Michigan in 2010. The spill from Enbridge pipeline leaking turns out to be worst than we thought. Do you still support Keystone XL pipeline?
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