GFC Mark 2 effects

Last year I completed a survey on the effect of the GFC on myself and my family. At that time there had been little immediate effect. I was still working, my partner's business still operated and the rest of the family and friends seemed also relatively unaffected.
Lately, however, this is starting to change. While I am still employed and the partner still successfully running his business, others in the wider group are starting to suffer. Several workmates are now the sole providers of their households, with retrenchment of partners occurring suddenly.
Members of the wider family unit in England are also suffering from businesses going under and job loss. The imminent belt tightening in the English public sector will also have a flow on effect on companies who have used Government contracts to buffer the GFC effects up until now.
Closer to home, the more highly leveraged friends and family are feeling the pinch with several forced house sales occurring as banks call in out-of-control loans. Many of these are mature aged people who have lived well under the growth as usual scenario. It will be sobering to see how they cope with reduced circumstances particularly as Melbourne's housing bubble shows no sign of bursting.
However, I have also been amazed at how long our society continues to dance with debt. When will we have to pay these billions back and to whom? I run my household with a surplus, sometimes very small, sometimes a little larger.
Seeing the debt burden shift from private companies to the government means that we all will be paying for the profligacy of the few.

eBook Readers

I just received my Choice Computer magazine in the mail today so immediately opened it to page 16 for the eBook Reader test titled "Virtual Bookshelves". The article tested 6 eBook readers from Eco Reader, BeBook Mini, Sony Reader to Amazon Kindle. While I found the Computer Choice article informative it was lacking some in-depth discussion on Digital Rights Management issues as well as the likelihood of Australian content appearing in ePUB (or other) formats.

Unfortunately, only a mention was made of the Apple iPad as it has not been released as yet in Australia. 28th May is the release date according to this Computerworld article

I have heard rumours that the new Apple iBookstore app will be selling books at an inflated price in comparison to the US store. Certainly the local pricing of the device itself is higher than the direct international price conversion so it will be interesting to see how fast the device will sell-out and how many new Australian books it will have available.

Choice mentioned "its a good idea to get some hands-on time with each model on your wish list so you can get a feel for it ". It would be nice to see whether this can happen - for example who sells Kindle readers here in Melbourne?? Let me know please!

But I am looking forward to seeing my readers start to purchase these devices. With WiFi connectivity I'm sure I will be asked to assist in setting up the device to use with the Library WiFi service and then asked to show users how to download the iBooks. So thanks Choice for an informative beginners article!!

BP Litigation and Gulf Oil Spill

A few months ago I watched an interesting documentary on the aftermath of the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound,  Alaska. The documentary exposed the tactics used by Exxon to reduce the damages inflicted by the American Court system, down to what was a ridiculously low level considering the damages inflicted to the livelihoods of the people.
It also showed the environmental effects of the oil still lingering 25 years after the spill.
Now with the current disaster afflicting BP and the Louisiana coast, it will be salutary if similar issues arise. This linked article argues that with 200,000 litres of oil a day spilling from the well head, this current spill may be larger than the Exxon spill. I hope not after watching the 3 month delay is capping the recent West Australian spill.
Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico is a less pristine, more populated and probably economically more important to the US and other countries than Prince William Sound. So for their sakes I hope the clean up and capturing oil technology is not only better, more efficiently employed and the toxic effects less long-lived in a tropical system.
Lets also hope BP (Beyond Petroleum) is a better corporate citizen than Exxon. I doubt it, as the legal system goes into full swing once the spill is under control, though there are suggestions the legal system may up the damages amounts
A Youtube Video show some of what has been happening in Alaska