Morning Advantage: Hold the Anchovies!
HBR.org 2012-08-28
Like anchovies on your pizza? You’re going to have to fork over a little more dough for them now. As reported by Rupert Neate over at The Guardian, storms off the coast of Peru have led to a shortage of the little buggers, which in turn has led to an increase in the cost of Scottish farmed fish, Chinese pigs (yes, pigs) and Omega 3 tablets. It's a veritable food chain reaction. Neate quotes Mark Livingston of Fidelity Worldwide Investment, as saying “That’s the nature of today’s food business — everything’s connected. If you can catch some anchovies you'll make some serious money.” While those of you in the food industry may have bigger fish to fry, Neate’s article offers an interesting look at the trickle-down effect of fluctuations in global markets.
Fed Up With Congress? See If You Can Do Better. (The Washington Post)
Like fantasy football? How about a little fantasy politics? A new video game promises to make you the newest member of Congress. “For the People, Fantasy Politics” was designed to replicate what actually gets done (or, doesn’t get done, as it were) on Capitol Hill. Players meet with lobbyists, craft legislation, debate rivals, and run reelection campaigns. The goal? To gain clout – and funds – along the way. The virtual reality game is based on data and input from real members of Congress. (So that’s what they’ve been doing!) And, as Suzy Khimm at Wonkblog points out, the game, which is in a beta test phase on Facebook, tends to reward and encourage the same behaviors that have made Congress so dysfunctional and unpopular. Think you can do a better job than current members of Congress? It can’t hurt to try.
Everest Watch is the Peak of Bling (Wired)
It’s the height of the luxury market: Kobold Watch Company started a division in Nepal that creates the Himalaya watch (Everest Edition), which has a sliver of rock from Mount Everest embedded in its face. All the cool kids have one. And for the low, low price of $16,500 — you can, too.
Look Into the Future
We May Soon Watch 3-D Movies Without The Glasses (BBC News) Two Moves That Reveal Twitter's Future (Business Week) Scientists Investigate Using Artificial Intelligence for Next-Generation Traffic Control (Science Daily)