Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Seriously, a Female President?

Rachel wanted her colleagues to know that, indeed, the "world" is ready for a female president. However, whether or not "America" - the most enlightened corner of the free and democratic world - is ready for a female president, remains to be seen. Though we don't have the time to exhaustively research the many female presidents and prime ministers of the world, I (Rob) do know that since 1960, the following countries have had female presidents or prime ministers: Sri Lanka, India, Israel, Argentina, Central African Republic, Great Britain, Portugal, Bolivia, Dominica, Iceland, Norway, Yugoslavia, Malta, Netherlands Antilles, Philippines, Pakistan, Lithuania, Nicaragua, Ireland, Ecuador, Haiti, East Germany, Burma, Bangladesh, France, Poland, Canada, Burundi, Rwanda, Turkey, Bulgaria, Bermuda, Guyana, New Zealand, Switzerland, Mongolia, Panama, Latvia, San Marino, Indonesia, Serbia, Georgia, Austria, Liberia, Chile, Germany.

Several countries have had more than 1 or 2 female heads of state. Yes, that list includes such bastions of female empowerment including Pakistan, Indonesia, and Bangladesh. This list also does not include queens or heads of state prior to 1960. I can name another couple biblical heads of state (or "kingdom"), as well as a couple leaders of ancient China and medieval Europe. Probably the history books of most other countries list other female heads of state.

Is the world ready for a female president? Yes. Is Good Ole' America? I don't know, what do you think?

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Sharin' the Love

We have a new addition to the family! Li'l Jackson! A little 2 lb bundle of spitfire and nervous joy. We're not sure of his full name yet, but we're leaning towards Jackson Cannery Mardock. We will have more to update soon. Maybe tomorrow after our first funny story.































Update: Night two was very bad. Who is the poorer of the two: poor Jackson, missing his mom, dad, and brother ... whining, whimpering, and barking all night long? Or poor Rob and Rachel, who missed out on a good 3 - 4 hours of sleep? This will be great practice for children!

Update # 2 : Li'l J-Dawg and his parents are doing much better now. Here are some photos: 1, 2, 3.

Saturday, January 13, 2007

Delta to Merge with Northwest

Prediction for today (Jan 13): Delta will announce a merger with Northwest Airlines within the next 10 business days. Why?
  • To thwart a hostile bid by scrappy US Airways
  • Because airline mergers are inevitable in the very short term (this year)
  • Because James Whitehurst, Delta COO, canceled a Deans Lecture Series speech at Rice MBA that was suppose to occur next week
Another prediction: Albus Dumbledore was not killed by Professor Snape. He will "pull a Gandalf" and help Harry take on Voldemort! In the process, Professor Snape will be killed while saving Harry's life: he was a good guy after all.

Update: Okay, I took a chance. Delta will still probably merge with NWA, but it may take a month or two...

Thursday, January 04, 2007

Goode Co. Brand Audit

Example of what a brand manager thinks about when analyzing his or her brand. I can do these for a living. Page 1, 2, 3, 4 (hopefully in the future Blogger updates its picture / document uploading capabilities).