Western Australia

In the vein of cool places we'd like to go, I think there's something really appealing about Western Australia. Not just Perth, but the whole scope of the undeveloped natural land there. Something about it reminds me of the American West when it was still developing - a kind of frontier land. It seems like a place where you could have adventures like this LA Times travel writer and get lost from the world. Plus there is a city there called Monkey Mia, which tickles me. Does the allure of unspoiled nature entice you?

Is Google Still the Best?

I really enjoyed today's Business Week article titled Can Google Stay on Top of the Web? It raised a lot of interesting points and talked about the current strengths and strategies of its main competitors in the sphere of dominating the way people interact with internet content. It is a six-page read and it focuses primarily on Google working to improve its search functions.

NFL Week 4 Picks

Another week in the NFL means another week of Bill Simmons NFL picks and us getting to analyze the good games. He also includes his power rankings this week - I disagree that New Orleans is a contender already, they've hardly played anyone. Anyway, after our success last week we are on a roll with the lines. What games stand out to you this week? Mine are:

Redskins (-7.5) over Bucs
Giants (-9.0) over Chiefs
Saints (-7.0) over Jets

Who you got?

Would you want the Olympics in your home town?

The location for the 2016 Olympics will be decided tomorrow. A number of Chicagoans are openly against Chicago winning the bid:

1) The Chicago Tribune had a poll in August that showed only 47% support Chicago's bid

2) Gene Wojciechowski openly argued against in an ESPN.com article today

3) Some are even actively promoting Rio's bid which is something I am full agreement with.

My question to you is this: would you want your home town to win an Olympic bid?

North Dakota: Very Small

About a month ago Business Week posted an article titled What's North Dakota Doing Right? After reading and considering the article, I have suggested an alternative headline in this blog title.

Turns out Bismarck only has 60,000 people and homes cost an average of $160,000. It's freaking freezing there and it's got 90% farmland, "making it the most rural state in the nation" according to BW. Well, then. May I suggest that if your entire state has fewer people than Fresno (650k) it is not so tough to manage your budget. The recession never affected ND and its 3.6% unemployment because the economy's boom hardly affected the state beforehand - its GDP of $29.4 billion is roughly equivalent to Turkmenistan.

And now to close with a scene from the West Wing:

Donna: Eliminating the term north from North Dakota is an important state issue and the President feels it should be resolved on a state level. While the President is sympathetic towards the cause and understands the large economics ramifications of this name change, he feels the issue is not yet ripe for national attention. The President wishes you well on your endeavors and thanks you for your support.

Man:Uh, Miss Moss? Are you aware that studies clearly show the word 'north' leaves the impression that this state is cold, snowy and flat, significantly depressing tourism and business startup.

Donna: With due respect, sir, your average temperature is 7 degrees. Your average snowfall: 42 inches, and a name change isn't going to take care of that.

Woman: We enjoy roughly the same climate as South Dakota. We took in 73.7 million in tourism revenue last year. They took in 1.2 billion. They have the word south.

Donna: Also Mount Rushmore.