Good Bye NUMMI.

Tomorrow is April 1. Unfortunately it won't be a joke when the last Toyota Corolla will come off the production line at NUMMI. New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. (NUMMI) is an automobile manufacturing facility in Fremont, California. NUMMI is perhaps most famous for being Toyota's first North American production facility, but it was originally a General Motors production plant. GM had to shut the plant down in the 1980s due to a variety of factors, including low productivity, poor quality, and generally FUBAR relations between GM and the UAW.

This American Life made a podcast on this, and it is fairly good.

In the mid-1980s, Toyota was looking to setup shop in the United States. The Japanese car manufacturer had realized that GM, with its heavy political base, was capable of influencing protectionist policies in the US Congress. However, Toyota had never dealt with American laborers, and had no experience with setting up shop in North America, so they entered into a joint venture with GM, reopening the factory and implementing Toyota's lean manufacturing.

The joint venture was an instant success. For nearly two decades, NUMMI built the the most reliable vehicles sold under a GM badge, such as the Geo/Chevrolet Prizm or Pontiac Vibe.

NUMMI was proof that there was nothing fundamentally wrong or uncompetitive about the American worker - it demonstrated that poor productivity and consistency was the result of a bad structure and lousy labor relations.

Unfortunately, with the demise and bankruptcy of GM, the joint venture ended. Toyota, which has excess production capacity in North America, decided to close the plant. Good Bye NUMMI.

Bed Bath & Bey... wahhhhh?

I spent sometime browsing Bed Bath & Beyond today, looking at the usual things I admire like pots and pans, interesting kitchen gadgets, when suddenly...

What is this?!

OMG!! Training wheels for chopsticks?!
I wish I had a pair of these when I turned four and my parents took away my spoon as part of my Spartan upbringing. Master Pai Mei from Kill Bill Vol. 2 was modeled after my parents, and it was either learn how to eat with chopsticks or not eat at all. 

Editor Note: Fotos made possible by the iPhone 3GS.

A Health Care Proposal for "Freedom Fighters" and die hard fiscal conservatives.

If you're physically in the United States, I'm sure you've heard all this ballyhoo about "Obamacare" aka Health Care Reform.

Listening to people threatening to physically assault members of Congress for having the audacity to increase competition amongst insurance companies, and make insurance more affordable for the uninsured/under-insured doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

I prefer constructive criticism - so here's a legislative idea for Republicans to "fix" the Health Care Reform bill.

1. Adults that are of sound mind, may voluntarily opt out and enroll on a list called "Don't Care List," under which they will not receive any health care unless they're able to pay up front. Should the individual become incapacitated and unable to make payment upfront, an immediate family member, or a court appointed trustee may decide on their behalf (although payment will still be required upon admission).

2. The aforementioned individual will be able to opt out of all associated taxes and fees that fund the health care system

3. Non-profit hospitals and public hospitals are barred providing free care to such persons (after all, charity is honorable, but not if it sinks the entire health care system).

4. If the individual is diagnosed with a medical condition, and seeks coverage, they can be denied for having a pre-existing condition (since they basically cheat the concept of insurance by "opting in" when it benefits them).

5. The individual, if unable or unwilling to pay upfront for care, may try to secure health financing, or alternatively, get back into the system by paying the premiums they would otherwise had paid into the insurance pool from the date the individual opted to be on the "Don't Care List."

I don't see why die hard fiscal conservatives would be opposed to this proposal, and "freedom fighters" should also appreciate the freedom and responsibility/consequences that follow.

Meanwhile, I'll get into the business of financing lifesaving procedures for people who decide to enroll on this "Don't Care List."

Of course, the financing will be dictated by the market. If a person on the "Don't Care List" is 25 years away from retirement, has minimal savings and no source of retirement income beyond monthly checks for sustenance, economically speaking, the inherent risks of investing in their life is too great for the expected gains expected in the long-term.

I guess they'll just have to die then, but then again, it is merely adults expressing their political preferences and exercising their freedoms? right?

"Freedom Fighters" and die hard fiscal conservatives for the win.

Why do we bother with Daylight Saving Time?

1,000,000 brownie points to the person who knows the answer.

Happy Valentine's Day from the Dear Leader!

A friend in art conservation found this approximately two years ago:



The Dear Leader Kim Jong-il wishes everybody a Happy Valentine's Day!

Snow + 6 days.

There is this neighborhood across the street that is situated on a hill. This neighborhood can only be really accessed by five streets, and many residents have been trapped in this neighborhood.

Unfortunately, the City didn't appear to have the foresight to um... get the neighborhood plowed until today, six days after the first night of great snow fall.

I happened to witness the first plow vehicle trying to make the first switchback road today. If you look closely, you'll notice that the vehicle's reverse lights were on... because it was stuck and couldn't get up the hill.



I feel sorry for the snow plow operators. Poor contingency planning = a harder job, longer hours, and more dissatisfied residents to deal with.

I visit the Mayor's Office's website, and found the Press Releases section.

In 2008, Ravenstahl said the following in a press release:

"The 2008-2009 winter season will begin a new era in the City of Pittsburgh's Snow and Ice Control program. We've designed a plan to enable us to deliver services better to make our streets safer. We have more and improved equipment, as well as a smarter approach to implementation. We are ready for the snow."

What did the Mayor and his appointee Rob Kaczorowski do to improve things?

Apparently he expanded the small-pieces fleet to 42 one-ton trucks and pickups, mounted with snow plows. These vehicles will be operated by crews with no commercial driver's license, and will be dedicated to cleaning secondary roads. This small fleet will then free up the existing 48 LARGE trucks will be dedicated to cleaning primary roads.

Mayor's Office:

"The previous plan called for first responders to concentrate entirely on clearing primary roads. Once the primary roads were cleared, only then was equipment sent to secondary routes."

The previous plan sure sounds vaguely familiar to something I heard earlier this week... what happened to the new plan?

Or is there some "new" unannounced plan? Maybe Ravenstahl's new plan was something like this (commentary in italics):

1. On the night of first snow fall, head to Seven Springs Ski Resort to have a birthday bash.

2. Say "No one could have anticipated this."

Ummm... the National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning Friday. Most people on the East Coast were anticipating this.

3. When pressed about not being around to govern, say "I had access to a computer and phone. That's the same as what I have today at the [Emergency Operations Center]."

OK! That's an acceptable answer?

4. Get your own street and your brother's street cleared.

5. When pressed about that... say "I need to be out and about. For that reason my street has been cleared."

But I thought you had a computer and phone? What else do you need? I guess no one else needs to get to work, class, hospital, or buy groceries and get their prescription filled? Oh wait... unlike anybody else, your job actually depends on showing up and pretending to be at work doesn't it? Oh shucks, too bad about Friday night and Saturday, I'm sure the Seven Springs Ski Resort was a bad place to be snowed in.

Snow + 4 days.

I live on a relatively busy street that gets filled with cars during rush hour. This particular street also serves as one of the junctions that connects ambulances to the main UPMC hospital from Downtown and Bloomfield. Our dear boy mayor, Luke Ravenstahl claimed on Tuesday (4 days after the snow fell) that the city work crews have cleared most primary and worked on secondary roads - I guess most of Pittsburgh's streets must be tertiary.