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Friday, June 14, 2002 |
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News: Astronomers find star system that may have planets like ours: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45506-2002Jun13.html Comment: Exciting news! It is further evidence that our solar system may not be a once-in-the-lifetime-of-the-universe accident. Maybe there are many other Earth-like planets in the neighborhood? And other intelligent life? But, as I've said before, our best course of action may be to lay low and not draw attention to ourselves. There would be a lot to gain from contact with another civilization -- but also a catastrophic amount to lose. We won't get a second chance if some ornery aliens decide to toss our planet into the Sun. News -- San Francisco small business person takes digital photos of sailboats in San Francisco Bay, sells them to the sailors: Comment -- This is really a great example of how someone took a new technology (digital cameras) and developed a unique product/service. He saw a market need (boat owners craved photos of their boats sailing in the Bay) and figured out a way to meet that need. What I think is the coolest part of the business is how he notifies sailboat owners that he has pictures available of their boat. He and his crew maneuver their motorboat alongside and then throw a small yellow ball aboard that reads: "We got your picture - to see how great you look go to When we were in downtown San Francisco last month, we saw hundreds of sailboats in the Bay. I think this guy must be getting lots of business, although I wonder how much repeat business there is. Once you have one photo of your boat, how many more do you need? I wonder if this concept is applicable to other things, like sports photography? For example: I shoot a digital photo of Charles Rogers catching the winning touchdown at Spartan Stadium to (once again) beat U of M. Then, I go to my car in the parking lot outside the stadium, run off a bunch of color prints on the color laser printer I have running off a generator, slap them onto T-shirts and then sell the shirts to happy Spartan fans as they leave. Hmmm... Click here to see current comments and add your own. 10:21:49 AM 
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