Don't get me started....

New to the blogospere, I don't see any reason to elaborate on the presidential race or the financial crisis. No doubt countless gazzillabytes of data in cyberspace are already occupied with those topics. It could be their only useful purpose is to crowd out the data once occupied by discussions about Brittany Spears or various American Idol contestants.

I also read recently, in the course of my studies, that the most popular topic for bloggers is themselves. I am certain this is a natural phenomena, but if I am going to be boring anyway, I'd rather not bore people with myself. In fact, I think I'll try to avoid boring you, unfortunate reader, with my opinions.

Boredom through a few observations:
General Motors - who's stock closed today at $9.45 has managed to perform worse than the market - while we're all fretting the implosion of mortgage banks, GM had a stock price of around $30 just one year ago. The recent market "collapse" is around 7%... GM's had a real collapse of about 66%

Just an observation... but they seem to do a lot of ads that feature cars they don't make and sell cars to people who can't buy them. The Volt is supposed to come out in 2010... I suppose if you're convinced by the idea of a plug and drive car built in America (though it remains to be seen how much of it is really made here) you've decided to put off your next car purchase until you can get one. So, in effect, the advertising for the Volt works against sales in the short term. I wonder how dealers feel about that right now?
The other GM ad I was referring to has a very nice gentlemen talking to a bunch of kids about hydrogen cars. "see kids, the exhaust is water!" — Once again, I am sure it's very gratifying to the shareholders of GM that marketing dollars are being spent selling cars that don't exist to people not old enough to drive.

If GM is still in business by the time those kids get their licenses and if the hydrogen infrastructure and propulsion technology becomes practical, I am sure GM will be in great shape. Isn't the word "if" the starting point for every financial crisis we face right now?

THEN & THAN — I am seeing this a lot, which is odd because I am (as evidenced by my own writing) no scholar of the English language. People every where have either fallen into this typographical error or have simply lost track of the difference between those two words.
What I see most is the use of THEN where THAN seems to be intended. Than as a conjunction or preposition - "Better this THAN that." expressing a preference for the former over the latter. Whereas if we say "Better this THEN that." then is the next in order of time. Than is a comparative.
Hey, I don't make up the rules, I probably don't follow them all that well, but this one seems to have been laid waste in writing for the web and e-mail.

Cast his lot. Last thing... promise. I was listening to Fox or MSNBC this afternoon and a reporter or anchor (some sort of talking head) mangled a statement about a US Senator "Casting his lot" with the most recent mortgage bailout bill.
It seems obvious that what was meant is the Senator was casting his ballot in favor of the bill, or that the Senator has put at risk something of his reputation or political capital to help it pass. But the idea of casting lots has nothing to do with either of them. The expression is ancient, it even appears in the bible (remember, the Roman guards cast lots for Jesus' clothes) but it has nothing to do with legislative process or the actions of a representative.

Perhaps we should not listen so closely. But to the extent that we're hearing, some precision and fidelity to one's intent and meaning is not too much to ask.

Cheers,
Seventex