Get your gas now…

September 17, 2008
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Panic causes price rises. Period.

The basics of supply and demand dictate that when there is a shortage or percieved shortage of supply then demand rises. Likewise, when demand rises so does price. If a hurricane, in this case Ike, causes damage to oil refineries we will likely see a rise in prices. This is natural and expected as it creates scarcity.

Unfortunately, what is also natural and expected is that people will speculate as to the effects of events, lending a pesemistic weight to the equation. This negative slant causes people to try to “beat the rush”, causing a spike in demand. This spike in demand causes a shortage in supply, thus hiking up prices.

STOP SPECULATING THAT HURRICANES WILL CAUSE SHORTAGES! You are causing the price to rise for everyone. If you are really worried about such things stock up over time and/or well in advance.

This is my rant for the month.

Useless Meetings

September 16, 2008
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Every meeting should end with everyone involved having at least one of four things happen:

1. They leave with an action item (something they have to do).

2. They leave with information they did not have before.

3. They provide information that others in the meeting previously did not possess.

4. They collectively move forward towards making a decision.

If any attendee does not find themselves achieving one of these items then it is a useless meeting for them.

Google Maps

September 15, 2008
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I came across this new feature of Google maps the other day that I thought was rather cool. Some places have had photos taken at street level that will then let you “walk” along a street route. Here is St. George Street in St. Augustine, FL. The images were taken using an 11 lens camera mounted to vans so you won’t get to see anything but the ends of St. George Street, since it is pedestrian traffic only.

Pretty cool, Google.