NPR has run a couple interesting stories on the current woes of the auto industry and what dealers are doing to cope. A story this morning described how a dealership did better margins on used cars than on new cars. One GM dealer was even offering cash off a new car... if your trade-in was not a GM. But it was last Friday's story that got me, as the general manager of a dealership described how he was selling new vehicles at cost or below cost, with the expectation (and hope) that he'd be able to make back that margin through the service department. In fact, this gentleman described that about 70% of his dealership's profits came from the service department, not new car sales.
It's a page out of the Gillette playbook - we'll give you the razor for free and you'll buy the blades for life - but applied to a totally different category. Of course, when Gillette sends you the razor, the only blades that work in it are Gillette blades. But with a car, you've got options: the dealer, the franchised fix-it shops, the independent neighborhood mechanic. In "Straight from the Gut" I remember reading how Jack Welch challenged the managers of his Nuclear Reactor businesses, who were suffering from years of negative growth, to rewrite their business plans based on zero sales. They were able to find success by creating a business based on the service and maintenance of existing reactors.
All this to say, software isn't the only thing becoming a service. Stuff is a service. Your TV. Your phone. Your car. Your house. Your razor. Your radio. Your water. Your music. I think we're subscribing to more things, in more ways, and transacting less, than we ever were before.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Death of the Transaction?
You can’t go far now without reading about the demise of the newspaper industry, brought about by a variety of factors but with digitization, and the reduced advertising and subscription revenues that go along with it, clearly a driving force – others can debate the rest.
Within this discussion, some have also remarked on how digitization represents a decoupling of content and container – where information becomes separated from its physical distribution device – and finds new digital modes for delivery - news no longer needs to be printed on paper and walked to my door, music no longer is encoded onto CDs, etc. And as content shirks its thingliness, it also seems to trend toward free.
Why? Well, the exchange of one physical thing for another, either in a barter or pay scenario, has always been part of the custom of the transaction. The physical referent for what’s essentially intellectual property – the paper, the CD, etc – is an integral part of both of how we conceive “property”, and thus how we conceive the laws surrounding that property, and the value that’s created through the custom of the transaction – exchanging one thing for another.
When our conception of the idea of property is called into question, value is naturally pulled along with it. One of the reasons I think people are unwilling to pay for online content, or think nothing of burning thousands of songs online (but would never take a CD from a store) is because of the absence of that physical referent – the thing - that for so long has equaled property. Until we are able to re-conceive ideas about property without referent, this instinct, which has held true for so long, could be very tough to break.
And things, and transactions along with them, may be headed out of favor.
Within this discussion, some have also remarked on how digitization represents a decoupling of content and container – where information becomes separated from its physical distribution device – and finds new digital modes for delivery - news no longer needs to be printed on paper and walked to my door, music no longer is encoded onto CDs, etc. And as content shirks its thingliness, it also seems to trend toward free.
Why? Well, the exchange of one physical thing for another, either in a barter or pay scenario, has always been part of the custom of the transaction. The physical referent for what’s essentially intellectual property – the paper, the CD, etc – is an integral part of both of how we conceive “property”, and thus how we conceive the laws surrounding that property, and the value that’s created through the custom of the transaction – exchanging one thing for another.
When our conception of the idea of property is called into question, value is naturally pulled along with it. One of the reasons I think people are unwilling to pay for online content, or think nothing of burning thousands of songs online (but would never take a CD from a store) is because of the absence of that physical referent – the thing - that for so long has equaled property. Until we are able to re-conceive ideas about property without referent, this instinct, which has held true for so long, could be very tough to break.
And things, and transactions along with them, may be headed out of favor.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
First Taste: Organic Grass Fed Beef
I love steak. Hanger steak and Tri-Tip are probably my two favorite cuts; I love their slightly gamey flavor and their versatility: marinade or cook straight up, outside on the grill, in the broiler, or with hanger steak, fried in a cast iron skillet. I'm a fan of the skirt steak too (especially in soft tacos), and the bone-in Ribeye, and at times the NY strip. Filet though, I can do without - it just ain't got character.
I've been seeing a lot in magazines about grass-fed beef recently and my favorite local grocery - Your Dekalb Farmer's Market - has an extensive case of organic grass-fed beef now, in many cuts, right alongside the buffalo and ostrich meat. Raw, the grass-fed steaks are a darker, deeper red than their pinky grain-fed counterparts at the other end of the display case. And they seem somehow more finely grained, with tight, thread-like rows of sinew, and with less marbling. They look healthier, and more meat-like.
We took home a regular sirloin, about an inch and a quarter thick, seasoned it with salt and pepper, and grilled it on the top rack of our broiler at 550 degrees; 6 minutes on the first side and 4 mins on the other, going for a true medium rare finish. I've read that grass-fed beef cooks faster than regular beef due to its lower fat and moisture content, and this turned out to be true. I resisted the urge to go another 2 minutes on the flip side (this is what it usually takes in my oven) and pulled the steak out, and let it rest while I whisked together a simple vinaigrette for the salad.
I'm glad I pulled the steak when I did - the first cut revealed a perfect medium rare finish, slightly charred on the outside, pink a quarter inch in, with a warm, but not hot, red center. Beautiful. This grass-fed steak was plenty juicy, with a hint of the gamey, beefy flavor that reminded me of the hanger steak. Really delicious, and a great texture. Too bad I just got one. Don't know why I waited so long to go grass-fed; I'm definitely exploring these steaks more.
I've been seeing a lot in magazines about grass-fed beef recently and my favorite local grocery - Your Dekalb Farmer's Market - has an extensive case of organic grass-fed beef now, in many cuts, right alongside the buffalo and ostrich meat. Raw, the grass-fed steaks are a darker, deeper red than their pinky grain-fed counterparts at the other end of the display case. And they seem somehow more finely grained, with tight, thread-like rows of sinew, and with less marbling. They look healthier, and more meat-like.
We took home a regular sirloin, about an inch and a quarter thick, seasoned it with salt and pepper, and grilled it on the top rack of our broiler at 550 degrees; 6 minutes on the first side and 4 mins on the other, going for a true medium rare finish. I've read that grass-fed beef cooks faster than regular beef due to its lower fat and moisture content, and this turned out to be true. I resisted the urge to go another 2 minutes on the flip side (this is what it usually takes in my oven) and pulled the steak out, and let it rest while I whisked together a simple vinaigrette for the salad.
I'm glad I pulled the steak when I did - the first cut revealed a perfect medium rare finish, slightly charred on the outside, pink a quarter inch in, with a warm, but not hot, red center. Beautiful. This grass-fed steak was plenty juicy, with a hint of the gamey, beefy flavor that reminded me of the hanger steak. Really delicious, and a great texture. Too bad I just got one. Don't know why I waited so long to go grass-fed; I'm definitely exploring these steaks more.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Heard on NPR: Networked Implantable Medical Devices
Driving home the other evening listening to a wide-ranging NPR “Fresh Air” interview about healthcare, I caught mention of the phrase “networked implantable medical devices”, which the interviewee described as implantable medical sensors that can monitor and wirelessly upload patient data to a remote and secure website for real-time review by a doctor. I think that this was the interview (http://tinyurl.com/colun4); unfortunately there’s no transcript.
Apparently implantable medical devices, or IMDs, can be used for everything from monitoring one’s heart (and defibrillating it when one’s heartbeat gets out of wack) to monitoring glucose levels for diabetics.
Remote sensor technology is pretty amazing. About a year ago I saw this company Sensorlogic present at an internal technology strategy meeting and was really impressed with their examples of how remote sensor technology could enable trackability and reduce cost-to-serve in industries from hog-farming to retail gas stations. And apparently now they can help you to “track Grandma” too. (http://tinyurl.com/dmekv6).
But back to those networked IMDs. Thinking about it a few steps out, the possibilities and implications could really be fantastic for managing one’s own health. What if you were diabetic, and a networked IMD communicated with your PDA to alert you when your blood-sugar level got too low, in addition to uploading your information on a regular basis to a website that could be accessed by you and your doctor. Apparently MicroChips, Inc. has something like this in the works: http://tinyurl.com/dkl6sq.
But should such devices really take off, the implications for personal privacy, security, and even things such as competition in professional sports could be quite staggering. According to some Googling I did, researchers at Medical Device Security Center (funded in part by Harvard) have already figured out a way to hack some of these things (http://www.secure-medicine.org/) and are publishing papers on the subject.
Of course, people have been wearing externalized networked devices of the fitness and entertainment variety for some time: heart rate monitors, Nike+, cell phones, and PDAs. But the idea and versatility of implantable devices that work with wider-ranger networks and are able to write personal health data in near real time for viewing via the secure web (and any device, mobile or fixed, that can access the web) really changes things.
What if networked IMDs become more specialized, and can be used to monitor heart rate, blood oxygen level, or other indicators of athletic performance? Might professional sports coaches use this technology – via web or PDA interface – real-time to more effectively manage the performance of individual athletes – so they’d know when a player is fatigued, or operating at peak performance, or needs to recharge, and how.
Definitely a space to keep checking in on.
Apparently implantable medical devices, or IMDs, can be used for everything from monitoring one’s heart (and defibrillating it when one’s heartbeat gets out of wack) to monitoring glucose levels for diabetics.
Remote sensor technology is pretty amazing. About a year ago I saw this company Sensorlogic present at an internal technology strategy meeting and was really impressed with their examples of how remote sensor technology could enable trackability and reduce cost-to-serve in industries from hog-farming to retail gas stations. And apparently now they can help you to “track Grandma” too. (http://tinyurl.com/dmekv6).
But back to those networked IMDs. Thinking about it a few steps out, the possibilities and implications could really be fantastic for managing one’s own health. What if you were diabetic, and a networked IMD communicated with your PDA to alert you when your blood-sugar level got too low, in addition to uploading your information on a regular basis to a website that could be accessed by you and your doctor. Apparently MicroChips, Inc. has something like this in the works: http://tinyurl.com/dkl6sq.
But should such devices really take off, the implications for personal privacy, security, and even things such as competition in professional sports could be quite staggering. According to some Googling I did, researchers at Medical Device Security Center (funded in part by Harvard) have already figured out a way to hack some of these things (http://www.secure-medicine.org/) and are publishing papers on the subject.
Of course, people have been wearing externalized networked devices of the fitness and entertainment variety for some time: heart rate monitors, Nike+, cell phones, and PDAs. But the idea and versatility of implantable devices that work with wider-ranger networks and are able to write personal health data in near real time for viewing via the secure web (and any device, mobile or fixed, that can access the web) really changes things.
What if networked IMDs become more specialized, and can be used to monitor heart rate, blood oxygen level, or other indicators of athletic performance? Might professional sports coaches use this technology – via web or PDA interface – real-time to more effectively manage the performance of individual athletes – so they’d know when a player is fatigued, or operating at peak performance, or needs to recharge, and how.
Definitely a space to keep checking in on.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Restaurant: Calavino's Oakhurst
Calavino's occupies the "spot of death" in Oakhurst formerly occupied by the Oakhurst Grill, Melton's App & Tap, and a few other places I forget. However, Oakhurst/Decatur is short on a decent Italian place (Figo Pasta does not qualify) so I hope it will enjoy a longer tenure than some of the previous tenants.
We (2 of us) walked into this place on a Friday evening at about 8:30p without a reservation (which, considering they dont list a phone number on their website, could be hard to make). We waited about 20 minutes for a table, but they have a little 'lounge" area next to the bar and the hostess stopped by to get us drinks, so it wasn't bad. The bar was pretty lively, they were playing that Feist cd, and the lighting in the restaurant was right, meaning somewhat dim. I'm touchy on lighting and ATL restaurants tend to overlight.
We were seated in a nice booth by the window and our server came over promptly. The staff of this place is a trip - they are outrageous, funny, and welcoming. They clearly love operating their place, which is great to see, and the manager and the chef are out on the floor interacting with the patrons. It's a great vibe.
To start, we had a poached pear salad with endive and gorgonzola and an artichoke scampi in a white wine and caper sauce. We're a sucker for ordering things with capers. Though the pear was one of the smaller specimens we've seen, the salad was great.
For the main courses, we had lamb loin over risotto and green beans, and the lasagna bolognese. We were big fans of the lamb loin, and even bigger fans of the risotto it was served on - it was unbelievably creamy and delicious, so much so that we speculated a non-parm-reg cheese may have been used to augment it. When we suggested this to the chef, he feigned indignation, and let us know this was not the case (though there was an extra ingredient added we will soon try in our home risotto repetoire).
For dessert we had a great raspberry chocolate mousse.
In all: if you're in the Decatur/Oakhurst area and looking for Italian, give this place a try - good food, good wine and beer list, and a really fun staff give it a great personality, and hopefully, a shot at longevity in this location. We're going back.
Read on Yelp!
We (2 of us) walked into this place on a Friday evening at about 8:30p without a reservation (which, considering they dont list a phone number on their website, could be hard to make). We waited about 20 minutes for a table, but they have a little 'lounge" area next to the bar and the hostess stopped by to get us drinks, so it wasn't bad. The bar was pretty lively, they were playing that Feist cd, and the lighting in the restaurant was right, meaning somewhat dim. I'm touchy on lighting and ATL restaurants tend to overlight.
We were seated in a nice booth by the window and our server came over promptly. The staff of this place is a trip - they are outrageous, funny, and welcoming. They clearly love operating their place, which is great to see, and the manager and the chef are out on the floor interacting with the patrons. It's a great vibe.
To start, we had a poached pear salad with endive and gorgonzola and an artichoke scampi in a white wine and caper sauce. We're a sucker for ordering things with capers. Though the pear was one of the smaller specimens we've seen, the salad was great.
For the main courses, we had lamb loin over risotto and green beans, and the lasagna bolognese. We were big fans of the lamb loin, and even bigger fans of the risotto it was served on - it was unbelievably creamy and delicious, so much so that we speculated a non-parm-reg cheese may have been used to augment it. When we suggested this to the chef, he feigned indignation, and let us know this was not the case (though there was an extra ingredient added we will soon try in our home risotto repetoire).
For dessert we had a great raspberry chocolate mousse.
In all: if you're in the Decatur/Oakhurst area and looking for Italian, give this place a try - good food, good wine and beer list, and a really fun staff give it a great personality, and hopefully, a shot at longevity in this location. We're going back.
Read on Yelp!
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