Church Ushers Association

I've just taken the photo of this sign few minutes ago. The sign first caught our attention a year ago right after we moved into the neighborhood. Julia and I have been wondering what this association is about. By looking at the sign, it is obviously an association for church ushers. But which church still uses ushers nowadays? Is there a job called church usher at all? We always think church goers volunteer to be ushers.

We wonder what the size of their membership is.

Bye Bye Rabbit Ears

Analog TV is now history. FCC switched off analog broadcast after midnight on June 13th. The dipole antenna sits on top of my TV has been rendered useless.

Yes,you're right. I don't have cable subscription. Ever since I started my MBA program, I barely have had time to watch TV. Once in a while, I watch an episode of CSI Miami or The Mentalist. When it is close to midterms or finals, I stay up studying until 3 or 4am in the morning.

The Fed postponed the switch in February, extending analog broadcast for 4 months. I recieved one of those $40 vouchers to purchase a digital box, but I let it expire. I requested a replacement voucher, but so far the Fed hasn't send me one yet. I don't think they ever will because the money is better used for rescuing GM.

We will have cable subscription in our new home in Florida. It comes with the lease. I don't think I will watch much TV though. The time is better spent strolling down Ocean Drive and laying out on South Beach.

Netanyahu supports Palestinian independence

Wow, what a surprising news. For the first time an Israeli official openly endorses an independent Palestinian state. However, the Palestinians quickly reject the proposal because Israel demands that the proposed state must not have an army. Also, there is no proposal on how much territory will be ceded to the new state.

Would the conflicts in the Middle East cease if the Palestinians re-establish their country? Not likely. The region has lots of anti-Jewish elements that want the Jews to be eradicated from the region permanently. I have no idea why there is no much hatred between the Jews and the Arabs and I have no intention to understand the complicated history behind it. All I want to tell these people is that they must stop the vicious cycle by any means. How much longer do they want to live in the fear of being blasted into pieces by suicide bombers? I am sure worrying about random killing acts stress the hell out of the Jews and the Arabs. I would go berserk if I need to check under the seat for a bomb every time I ride a bus or the subway.

Some Random Thoughts

I am lagging behind in posting. Julia and I have been busy arranging our move. Fortunately, the moving expense is covered and we have found our dream place. The remaining task is to find my new apartment for August through Decemeber.

I have recieved a syllabus of a comprehensive course on Argentine society study from University of Palermo. The course covers topics on business, socioeconomics, cultures and politics. I will not be able to take it in Fall since I need to take MGMT 498, but I hope I can take it in Spring 2010.

Recently, I have found a few social media sites on foreign language practice. I have yet to sign up on any of those, but the idea is cool. You log in and then practise the langauge with native speakers. It will be helpful in improving my oral Spanish. Here is one of the sites Happy Planet. http://www.myhappyplanet.com/ .

Fiat is now the new boss of Chrysler. Everyone wants to know what Fiat has in store for saving Chrysler. Would the Italian company take a more assertive stance in the US operations, compared to the hands-off approach by the previous German owner, Daimler-Mercedes? Perhaps we'll see those cute small Italian cars on the road in the near future. We'll see.

Managing By Design

Weatherhead will launch a new curriculum in its MBA program in the next academic year. All the concentrations will be eliminated and integrated into the core curriculum. Replacing them will be a series of courses on managing by design. The focus will be on leadership and sustainability. It seems that sustainability has been increasingly recieving attention in MBA schools across the US, especially after the finanical tsunami. Companies and corporations have finally realized that social responsibility has now become the central theme in the business world. Executives need to deal with the repercussions of their actions, even though it means forgoing attractive short term profits.

Hummer has a Chinese owner

This is so unexpected. GM is selling its military-rooted Hummer brand to China's Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co. Who would think that Hummer will have a Chinese owner or that a Chinese company is interested in Hummer. The vehicle is a symbol of American pride, representing excess and brawn. Come to think of it. Only a few countries of enormous sizes will be interested in such a colossus. Russia, China, India, Brazil, Canada, and Australia have the space to accomodate Hummer's wide body on their streets. India is happy with its Nano. Brazilians are fond of their compact motors. Canada and Australia don't have the populations to support the sales. Russia would rather invest her capital in her natural resources. China is the only candidate left with the ambition and financial resources, especially after the financial tsunami. The new owner vows to re-desgin Hummer to make it more fuel efficient in order to pass the new federal requirement. I am not sure why we need such a colossal vehicle on our streets. To be honest, Hummer was born out of desperation. It was GM's last ditch to snatch a piece of pie in the automobile market. Hummer didn't disappoint GM's executives. The mammoth was well-recieved by American consumers, who wanted an All-American vehicle. However, it has a huge carbon footprint, burning too much fuel per mile. I hope the new owner will make a hybrid version or even an electric one.

BAWB Global Forum

I am going to volunteer at the BAWB global forum this evening. In case you don't know BAWB stands for Business as an Agent of World Benefit. It is an organization at Case to create sustainable values in businesses. It looks at how businesses can benefit the society as a whole in areas like environment and social responsibility. The forum started yesterday and lasts until Friday. Case is really huge on sustainability. Starting next year, there will be more MBA courses on this topic. Unfortunately, I won't be able to take any of them cos they are all year long courses.

Stop by the forum and listen to some of their talks.