david-s.net - David Schlosnagle's Words, Photos, and Links

I guess it’s about time I post again. Life has been keeping me busy. Today was the first day of work in over a month that I didn’t have to spend in front of a computer monitor for eight hours, so I decided now was a good time to update.

Instead, I had the first day of a three day training seminar for the project I am working on. It was a whirlwind of accrual and cash based accounting, appropriations and apportionments, credits and debits, internal and external offsets, JFMIP certification (we’re one of only six out there), and many other fun federal financial topics. I learned a lot about how the various government departments and agencies allocate their funds, and the ways our software makes their lives easier.

This past weekend was Artsfest at Penn State, and I already miss the place. It felt really weird driving back into town being an alumni now, but at the same time it felt just like home. I had a great time seeing most of my old friends, going out, walking around the town to see all the booths. As my old roommate Dave said while we were all walking around artsfest:

“I’m an artist, I just haven’t found my medium yet.”

Aren’t we all?

I had seen this before, but it bears repeating. Honda’s amazing advertisement for the Euro Accord , which just happens to be part for part almost identical to the U.S. Acura TSX shows the attention to detail that goes into every car and obviously their advertising as well. (The Euro Accord comes with a standard body kit, clear corner headlights, right hand drive for the Brits, availability of a wagon, and a few other small details.) Also, check out a little explanation about the ad , and the making of…

This ad shows the ingenuity that I believe American automakers have lost. Every American car is usually the same old, same old, gas guzzling SUV. When in doubt, jack it up a few inches and you can escape the smog laws and fuel efficiency standards. Although it’s not just the American’s, Subaru is now classifying the Outback as a light truck for these same reasons. Chrysler makes some decent looking vehicles; however, they almost have a built-in obsolescence. This ensures the dealerships a high volume of repair revenue, shorter vehicle lifespan, and many upset customers. The Chrysler virus has already started to bring down Mercedes’ quality with their recent merger.

Smartmoney and Consumer Reports ask Would you buy that car again? This is something I touched on earlier, and I think this article backs up my argument that American car companies are losing the battle in engineering, quality, and loyalty. If you look at the lists, only 9% of the “Most Satisfying” list is from American companies (Chevy, and their brother Hummer). On the other hand, a whopping 55% of the “Least Satisfying” is from American companies.

I’m not saying Americans can’t build a quality automobile, especially if you consider that many of the Acuras, Hondas, and Toyotas are built here in the U.S and Canada. However, fewer and fewer of the American designed cars are as reliable and well engineered as their foreign counterparts are. Its time for America to stop regurgitating the same product over and over, and instead start to innovate in areas like fuel economy, hybrids, reliability, and safety.

Forbes magazine released their Best Cities For Singles 2004, and for the third year running, Pittsburgh ends up in last place. Luckily, I made my escape to the number two city, and one of the fastest growing counties in the country.

I feel bad for Pittsburgh, but the city is going bankrupt, jobs are fleeing the area, and tech companies refuse to move in. For now, D.C. will be the Silicon Valley of the East. If only the days of the tech boom would came back, I could go back to playing with Legos.

Via Boing Boing… comes the drumline version of Paranoid Android. If you’re into Radiohead, and of course you know I am, you just have to download this percussion version from the UMass drumline.