Thain Pain: Why Some CEOs SHOULD Get Bonuses

What do you think?

All of America now can rest easy: Merrill Lynch chief John Thain won’t get his $10 million bonus after all, having succumbed to browbeating calls for fiscal restraint.

Upside: Maybe we can avoid another round of outrage from Congressmen and other whiners who are shocked—shocked!—that anyone on Wall Street could get paid so handsomely, much less actually deserve it.

Downside: Thain gets screwed out of what rightfully was his, for he did deserve a bonus, for myriad reasons. Same goes, arguably, for Morgan Stanley chief John Mack and the seven senior execs at Goldman Sachs, all of whom will forgo any year-end payout. Worse, this whole kerfuffle may embolden the self-righteous, sanctimonious mob that now decries wealth creation and the profit motive. Where were all these populist prudes when the stock market was rising 63% from 2003 through October 2007? Answer: They were fat and happy and counting their money.

If you have an Idea (CHECK THIS OUT)

GOOGLE SWAMPED WITH ‘GREAT IDEA’ SUBMISSIONS

A $10 million call by Google Inc. for beneficial, world-changing ideas has generated more than 150,000 online submissions.

More than 150,000 people have submitted ideas they hope will benefit the world — and be funded by Google.

The deadline for people to submit ideas for the initiative, called Project 10^100, was Monday. Google employees will now sift through the ideas, submitted in 25 languages, and choose 100 semifinalists by January 27. Funding for up to five winning ideas will be awarded in May.

Whats Going on over in Europe?( They doing okay)

LITTLE CRISIS FOR EUROPEAN BANKS (I wonder why? note sarcasm)

While U.S. banks took on lucrative risks, European banks have played it safe. Now Old World institutions are more likely to be buying

Suddenly, stodgy banks are looking smart. And with former Wall Street giants toppling almost daily, some European banks are starting to look especially wise.

European banks are holding up pretty well amid the turmoil sweeping the industry. None of the Old World’s biggest banks appears likely to fail or put itself on the block, analysts say. Indeed, the Europeans are more likely to be buying: London-based Barclays (BCS) on Sept. 17 inked a $1.75 billion cash deal to buy the investment banking and trading businesses of bankrupt Lehman Brothers.

Wow Now you can Read the Journal and enjoy a glass of Wine from the same Company

Hmmm….. What do I think about this, it is a weird and funny combination but I guess it might work. I mean we know the economy is bad, so I see a lot of companies looking for alternate ways to make revenue. I think we are going to see a lot of traditional institutions change and alter their foundation as they try to survive in this new and unfamiliar economy. I mean why not the logic speaks for itself, Lets Sell a Product that will Always sell: ALCOHOL

AMAZON, WSJ TRY NEW ALCOHOLIC REVENUE STREAMS: Selling WINE

The Wall Street Journal has a wine franchise in columnists Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher that’s hard to match on the content side. Now Dow Jones (NYSE: NWS) hopes to capitalize on the combination of that reputation and its affluent audience by offering WSJwine, a direct-to-home wine service. Pairing with Direct Wines, WSJwine launched today promising a wide range of choices but without any actual connection to WSJ’s wine journalism.

Virtual Reality Cocoon

Designers Developing a Virtual-Reality ‘Cocoon’

WHY THIS IS AWESOME

1. The Immersive Cocoon will let you step inside interactive 3D virtual worlds
2. Motion-tracking cameras will provide a “Minority Report”-style interface
3. It could be used to explore virtual museums, like the “Virtual Guggenheim”
4. Augmented reality superimposes virtual information onto the real world

1 of things that I have been looking forward too ever since I saw Minority Report(and again in Iron Man) the virtual interactive computer interface.( I don’t know if it will ever reach my level of use or affordability).

If i had Money/Time/Passion/Knowledge; I would try and develop this for video games because THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS

The Immersive Cocoon could revolutionize the way we interact with computers.

You’re walking along a street in Roman Pompeii at the start of the first millennium when you notice a spectacular stone building. You reach out towards it and your guide informs you it’s a temple to the god Jupiter, built in 200 BC. With a flick of your wrist you save the data and, school assignment complete, you step out of your Cocoon and back into your living room.

R.I.P to those who died in 9/11 and violence everwhere(that they had nothing to do with it)

A Craigslist Ad( But sounds Kind of True)

What am I doing wrong?

Okay, I’m tired of beating around the bush. I’m a beautiful (spectacularly beautiful) 25 year old girl. I’m articulate and classy.
I’m not from New York . I’m looking to get married to a guy who makes at least half a million a year. I know how that sounds, but keep in mind that a million a year is middle class in New York City, so I don’t think I’m overreaching at all.

Are there any guys who make 500K or more on this board? Any wives? Could you send me some tips? I dated a business man who makes average around 200 – 250. But that’s where I seem to hit a roadblock. 250,000 won’t get me to central park west. I know a woman in my yoga class who was married to an investment banker and lives in Tribeca, and she’s not as pretty as I am, nor is she a great genius. So what is she doing right? How do I get to her level?

THIS IS WHAT I NEED(In living color – and three dimensions!)

(Fortune Magazine) — No doubt you’ve heard that 3-D has become the thing at the multiplex, and that Hollywood bigs like Jeffrey Katzenberg, Robert Zemeckis, and James Cameron are making movies that capitalize on new digital-projection technologies.

What has received far less notice is that 3-D could well turn out to be an even bigger revolution for live broadcast TV. That’s right: Journey to the Center of Your Living Room in 3-D.

An extreme form of diversity in Models( or just plain Weird/Wrong?)

NEW DELHI — An old woman missing her upper front teeth holds a child in rumpled clothes — who is wearing a Fendi bib (retail price, about $100).

Google Helps Location-Enable Apps For The Phone And PC

411 meets Internet local attractions

“Google announced that it is providing a service to help developers add location to mobile applications and Web sites. Called Gears GeolocationA PL it allows users to pull up more relevant information based on their location. As part of the launch, two sites in Europe tested it out. One is lastminute.com, which is a site for travelers looking to find a nearby restaurant from their phone (which can be handy if you don’t know where you are). The other is Rummble, a social discovery site which recommends places to visit (that are near you). ”