There's several great articles here about this upcoming phenomenon which will surely change society and products in a radical way. Speaking as one who has several relatives who should probably not be driving (and as a person who utilizes the roadways in a disproportionate fashion as an avid driver and motorcycle rider), I can tell you that we're heading in the wrong direction. Seniors are ill equiped and pose a tremendous hazard without adequate testing and management. I'm pretty sure that I've paid more into the insurance risk pool as a habitual speeder than ANY senior driver has despite the fact that the risk is probably greater for any given senior. But because of tremendous lobby effort and the pending "ME generation" entering into seniority, we'll likely never see the proper laws and management put into place until it's way too late.

Aging America: Danger on the highway

] the domestic auto industry, the engine of the state's
] economy in the 20th century, is sputtering in the 21st.
] With 7 of Michigan's 10 largest employers either domestic
] automakers or parts suppliers, Michigan's unemployment
] hit 7.3 percent in December. That tied with Alaska's as
] worst in the nation, according to the most recent report
] from the Labor Department; numbers released by Michigan
] on Wednesday adjusted December's unemployment down to 7.5
] percent, but showed some improvement in January.

When I was a kid, I remember being at an UAW function where the men took turns beating a Honda with sledge hammers and finally lighting it on fire (a Detroit passtime if there ever was one). Even as an 8 year old, I could tell that this was a futile attempt to liberate the fear and frustration on the part of the workers. What will they do now?

The city of Detroit has spent BILLIONS of dollars to try and reinvigorate itself, but failed to actually change its economic structure and diversify its economy. Look at the second chart that ranks states jobless rates. Throughout the boom boom 90s, the state made headway, but with the recession in 2000, it plummeted like a rock and shows literally no sign of recovery whatsoever.

Having just been there back in January for the NAIAS, I can tell you that the city of Detroit looked worse than I remember it for a long long time. Probably as bad as it was when I was in high school. I fear the worst is coming and that no amount of federal aid or support will reverse the course. The state will slip into economic irrelevance once again and most of my friends and loved ones will suffer. Except unlike the 90s, there won't be a post manufacturing boom and retooling to save the state's economy. Those days are long gone.

Taking Down the 'No Foreign Cars' Signs in Michigan

] "My story is based on fiction," said Poole, who faces a
] second-degree felony terrorist threatening charge. "It's
] a fake story. I made it up. I've been working on one of
] my short stories, (and) the short story they found was
] about zombies. Yes, it did say a high school. It was
] about a high school over ran by zombies."
]
] Even so, police say the nature of the story makes it a
] felony. "Anytime you make any threat or possess matter
] involving a school or function it's a felony in the state
] of Kentucky," said Winchester Police detective Steven
] Caudill.

nice.

Student Arrested For Terroristic Threatening Says Incident A Misunderstanding

] Studies show that individuals perceive risks and
] opportunities differently and often react irrationally
] when it comes to money.
]
] And people attach emotions to money, including feelings
] of insecurity, guilt and love.

Trouble managing money? It's really all in your head

] One woman, curvy and statuesque in her nude shot, looks
] dumpy in an oversized T-shirt tucked into baggy cargo
] pants. Naked, she's as feminine and sexy as a woman can
] be. Clothed, she downplays breasts and hips and hides her
] waist. Eric muses that she deliberately uses clothing to
] neutralize her gender; I think she just thinks she's fat
] and hasn't watched What Not to Wear.

Celebrating the Body Beautiful

] "Under Rutan's approach, space missions will
] become justifiable just for the fun of it," says
] Tolkowsky. "If the early history of atmospheric
] aviation is any indication, then the fun of flying is a
] much more effective accelerator of public interest than
] the prospect of scientific knowledge. Like the Wright
] brothers versus the Europeans, this is a very clear
] example of different belief systems that lead to
] different choices of technologies and missions."

This one comment reminded me that most of the things that have advanced quickly and with great efficiency over the last 200 hundred years have some component of fun associated with them, despite being highly dangerous. A few personal examples are skydiving, white water rafting, motorcycle racing, and model rocketry.

But the real reason why I blogged this is the overall discussion of the value of 'belief'. It ties into the article I posted earlier today that spoke to the rise of the Conceptual Age. I think these two things are highly intertwined.

Recently I gave a presentation urging decision makers on investing in Remote Patient Monitoring devices and services. My first slide was a quote from Alan Kay, who said "The best way to predict the future is to invent it." There's very little in the way of truly innovating ideas floating around these days. What counts is execution, but that springs forth from the belief that doing anything will result in success.

I think this philosophical difference is what separates the winners from the also-rans. As an organization, if it believes in what it's doing, it will systematically make the adaptations and choices necessary to survive. This will make a product that logically might not be a match for the current market needs ultimately successful.

You can take this one step further as the belief of the market can be altered too. In the example of whether a human looking robot will meet more resistance than a non-human looking robot, I think that the point is moot. If the developers of robots BELIEVE that their robots will be successful, then that same infectious vibe can spread to the marketplace and cause it to happen. Sure, there will be natural tension between what the market wants today, and what the market wants tomorrow over time, which will impact the product itself. But success is not that the designers chose whether to make the robot look human or not. Success is the designer's ability to adapt upon learning what the market understands, and tuning accordingly to that. That requires BELIEF that what you're doing is right, but is not above reproach.

Should Your Next CEO Be a Philosopher?

] Beneath the nervous clatter of our half-completed decade
] stirs a slow but seismic shift. The Information Age we
] all prepared for is ending. Rising in its place is what I
] call the Conceptual Age, an era in which mastery of
] abilities that we've often overlooked and undervalued
] marks the fault line between who gets ahead and who falls
] behind.

I'm gonna have to stew on this for a bit before I think I can truly understand the shift. But I would on first blush disagree to some extent. I feel like the blah of the current decade is more atributable to the fact that few organizations truly maximize their potential for managing information effectively, and executing based upon that management. Most companies are still run very very poorly, and most knowledge workers are ill equipped, either by skill or environment, to truly do their best work.

But the fact that I started that thought with "I feel" means that I'm probably more in agreement with the author than not.

Revenge of the Right Brain

] A default can also be a sort of endorsement. Employees
] see the forms that are presented to them by authority
] figures and then infer that someone with more expertise
] has concluded that the default - whether to save, or not
] to save - is a good idea.
]
] Beyond simple inertia and deference, opting in to a
] 401(k) also sets off a series of complicated decisions -
] about investment allocation and long-term planning.
] Complexity turns people off.

disease management for financial technique?

Economic View: Building a Nation of Savers

] To lead in the global economy, the United States must
] create a highly skilled and flexible work force and spur
] more innovation, or else risk being outpaced by such
] creative "hot spots" as Israel, Taiwan and South Korea.

Well well well. The US is finally getting some competition in the world and we're starting to wake up to the reality that nukes and SUVs in every driveway aren't enough to lead the global workforce anymore. Maybe this will start crystalizing our policy makers and force them to stop wasting time on pet projects and irrelevant pursuits. Looming debt? Jeopardized healthcare? Swelling elderly demographics? Eroding job base? Better get crankin!

U.S. needs skilled work force

] This is an excellent time, then, for "The First Amendment
] Project," four short films that, seizing various entry
] points, examine with flair what "freedom of expression"
] really means -- and the threats it's facing.

set your PVRs

The First Amendment examined