Shameful, I’m falling into that blogging trap where I’m really active but only in bursts. I’ve been so busy lately between school, wife and work that I’ve had no time to write. So, some huge updates:
1. My first Zillow blog post!
2. Positive attention at work is growing, hoping this is a career-builder.
3. My wife is home (at last!) and we’ve been making up for lost time.
4. My baby cousin is getting married.
5. School is hugely stressful.
@5: I really don’t like the cohort system. I’ve seen the same people, heard from the same people, got the same kind of input from the same kind of people, for months — and have a year and half more to go. Profs only have to see us for a month. I see these people 3x a week and will continue to do so for awhile
Another great NYTimes article today (alot of them!) about Google’s possible exit from China:
Foreign Companies Resent China’s Rules
Western companies say they face a list of obstacles to doing business in China, from “buy Chinese” policies to counterfeiting.
Honestly, all I see is a nation that protects its domestic economy and jobs by forcing outside companies to return part of that profit. The Chinese gov’t does have some nefarious political ends, but on the whole, if you do business in China, you’re returning some of those resources back to the country. And say what you like about it driving Amazon or Google out — domestic producers picked up the slack. It’s not like the Chinese can’t get any product Americans can get. Hell, it’s all made in China anyway.
It’d be nice if our legislators took a page from the Chinese. Not the whole book, but a page or five.
Reprinted with permission:
Thanks for writing. I definitely didn’t mean it to be a tongue in cheek drubbing; obviously it’s a good result for the people in this town. Then you pan back and look at the vastness of the problem, on a national scale, and the conclusion is different. Russian authorities have acknowledged as much — the humane choice and the economically sound long-term choice may not be the same. I don’t think it’s an easy one at all.
Anyhow, I’m glad to know someone is reading so closely.
Yours,
Ellen
Here’s to hoping for a brighter American future.
