Bruce Momjian

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Thoughts How Green Is Green?

Sunday, May 13, 2012

This article about Walmart's ecological push in China asks a question few pro-environmental people want to ask:

As I roamed through Walmart stores, visited factories, traipsed around co-op farms, and listened to corporate executives in China, I found myself pondering a question that I couldn't get out of my mind, but that had little to do with Walmart's immediate success in China or the world: However smart, prescient, and successful Walmart's sustainability efforts actually turn out to be, just how "sustainable" is the whole bloody global-retail proposition that lies at the heart of the company's amazing progress? Maybe Walmart's new initiatives will pencil out in a business sense for the company and, within the terms of the current retail game, even serve as a model of good environmental stewardship. But will the hyperactive retail-consumption model that it has pioneered for global consumers pencil out for the world?

"Yeah, I worry that people will read my book and think that I have drunk the Kool-Aid," says Edward Humes, reflecting on his admiring study of Walmart's green progress. "When I started, I didn't imagine I would be convinced that Walmart was green. And actually, they are not green, but they are a lot better than they were. And the efforts they are making are influencing not only their suppliers, but other businesses as well. Now Walmart is acting something like a private regulator. Nonetheless, the nature of their outsourced business model is not, ultimately, sustainable. But," he says, laughing at the irony of what he is about to say, "we have created a situation where crazy-sounding things make sense."

Being more efficient is fine, but improving efficiency by 20% really doesn't address the huge environmental impact of almost everything we do. Improving efficiency might feel good, but does it have any significant impact? "Ever little bit helps", I am sure some say, but when huge amounts of energy are intertwined with almost everything we do and buy, "a little bit" really is little, and we are fooling ourselves to think otherwise.

Thoughts Al Qaeda Is in Tatters

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

This article persuasively argues that Al Qaeda is in profound decline.

FlightAirline Merger Could Adversely Affect Philadelphia International Airport

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Philadelphia International Airport currently enjoys a great number of non-stop flights to many destinations, but that might change. Last week's announcement of a possible hostile takeover bid of American Airlines by US Airways could adversely affect flight volume at Philadelphia International Airport.

Right now, US Airways carries 70% of airport passengers at Philadelphia International Airport. However, American Airlines already has a hub at JFK International Airport, and a merged carrier would likely consolidate northeast traffic at a single airport, probably JFK. Can't happen? Consider how US Airways drastically reduced flights at Pittsburgh's airport in the mid-2000's, moving flights to other hubs. The same could happen to Philadelphia. If it does happen, the only hope would be that another large airline would designate Philadelphia as one of its hubs. This article suggests that the merger might increase international flights at Philadelphia, though I fail to see how.

Transportation New Briefcase

Thursday, April 12, 2012

After using the same Coach brown leather briefcase for over fifteen years, I have purchases a new Coach black, slightly-thinner briefcase. Thin briefcases are hard to find and even my old one, at three inches, was too thick. I had it monogramed at a store where I bought some luggage and even the salespeople admired it, so it was probably a good choice.

Community Santorum Suspends Presidential Campaign

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

I always liked Rick Santorum's campaign and values, but this video of him announcing his campaign suspension was remarkable — nice touch announcing it in the historic town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Community Four Days of Church

Monday, April 9, 2012

I went to church for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Vigil (Saturday), and Easter. I think this was the first time I attended church all four days during Holy Week. The Easter Vigil was rough, meaning I would not have done well praying with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Community Can the Middle Class Be Saved?

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Related to my previous blog entry about the super-rich, this article talks about the challenges faced by middle-class workers in a new global marketplace.

Community How Christian is Christmas?

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

It might seem to be an odd question to ask if Christmas is Christian. Certainly the name has "Christ" in it, but there are many aspects of Christmas that are not related to Christianity (video):

So, what's left? Well, the star on the Christmas tree represents the Star of Bethlehem, and the nativity obviously represents Jesus's birth. Christianity certainly gives the holiday a special meaning that it would not have as a simple pagan holiday. Some Christians complain that commercialism take the Christ out of Christmas, but you could argue that Christ was never really part of it. In fact, some Christians considered Christmas a pagan holiday and didn't celebrate it.

Let's not even talk about Easter and the Easter Bunny.

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Technology Replacement Therapy

Saturday, March 10, 2012

This article explains that, sometimes, electronics can't wear out fast enough.

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Thoughts How to Land Your Kid in Therapy

Saturday, March 10, 2012

This article explains that giving children too many choices and insulating them from failure can cause long-term problems.

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Community Leave Those Kids Alone

Saturday, March 10, 2012

This article covers the changing experince of childhood over the years.

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Community The Tyranny of Defense Inc.

Saturday, March 10, 2012

This article explains why defense spending is insatiable.

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Community The Rise of the New Global Elite

Saturday, March 10, 2012

This sobering article explains that the gap between ordinary citizens and the super-rich is growing, and that the super-rich have more in common with the super-rich in other countries than they do with people in their own country.

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Community The End of Men

Saturday, March 10, 2012

This article from 2010 convincingly argues that the economic downturn, which has heavily diminished employment in traditionally male-dominated industries, will significantly impact traditional marriage roles. It also suggests that this is not a short-term shift but a larger employment change that will have lasting impact on traditional gender roles.

One thing not covered in the article is that we have been here before — during World War II, women held a high percentage of jobs, but once the war ended, there was strong societal pressure for them to relinquish their jobs to the returning soldiers, and it ushered in a very pro-wife-in-the-home culture, i.e. the 1950's.

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Technology Digital Sabbath?

Saturday, March 10, 2012

This article suggests the value of taking a regular break from technology use.

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Technology Internet Parental Controls

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

I am sometimes asked how to block inappropriate content from home and business networks. There is complex software that can be installed on every computer, but the simplest, most flexible, and complete solution is to block inappropriate web sites at the time their internal addresses are retrieved, a process called DNS lookup. This method filters all Internet devices on the network, and cannot be easily disabled.

OpenDNS has a service that blocks inappropriate content by making its own DNS service be used for all network lookups. It is enabled by logging into the network router and changing the DNS settings to point to their IP addresses. Once you do that, you have the ability to block access based on 56 criteria.

The service is free, but there is also a premium service for USD $20/year. Because most homes and small businesses are assigned dynamic IP address that change occasionally, it is suggested that you install a program on one of your computers so that when your IP address changes, OpenDNS will be informed so you can always access your administrative console.

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Arts Periodic Table of Typefaces

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

I blogged previously about my interest in typesetting. I found this creative font sample poster (large format) made to look like the chemical periodic table. The poster has been produced in various formats.

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Arts Coal

Sunday, February 12, 2012

I just finished watching the television series Coal (trailer, review) on Netflix. The series gives an accurate feeling for the hard life of coal mining, including the claustrophobia.

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ThoughtsCosta Concordia captain: symbol of the era?

Monday, January 23, 2012

This article suggests that the problems with the Italian cruise ship symbolizes a larger problem of the lack of moral leadership (four deceptions).

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