2 nov 2007

Safe Smart Cars, The Service Economy & More

Hello!

Thanks for checking back in.

Recently on Highways and Byways we’ve discussed…

From News:

One headline that caught my eye recently was: Jimmy Page Has Broken His Finger. I guess that’s no big deal, unless you’re one of the lucky fans who’ll be going to see Led Zeppelin in London (I’m not going…boo hoo). The news item made me laugh because when Led Zep was in its heyday, touring around the world, they were always canceling shows due to illnesses, deaths and broken body parts. Jimmy Page told the press that the concert was postponed and not to worry, the show will go on. It’s been rescheduled for December 10. Which finger did he break? Well, how do say “meñique” in English? Pinky! And the other four? Pulgar: thumb; índice: index finger; corazón: middle finger and anular: ring finger.

*Heyday. Apogeo

As you may already know, I’m from Chicago, the Windy City. I also absolutely love coffee – lot’s of it. It must be a Chicago thing. A study recently discovered that Chicago is the most wired city in the USA. Chicagoans (ie. people from Chicago) are among the top consumers of coffee. The study also concluded that U.S. cities with a lot of hustle and bustle, like New York and San Francisco, were surprisingly the least “caffeinated” cities.

Wired. (Slang). Very stimulated or excited, as from a stimulant or a rush of adrenaline
Hustle and bustle. Ajetreo

Being from the US, I’m used to seeing gas guzzlers on the streets. What you don’t often see are small, well-designed fuel efficient cars. Until now. Last week I talked about the arrival of the Smart car into the United States, and the response is tremendous. More than 30,000 people have put down a deposit on a new Smart car. And interest in the U.S. for small cars isn’t only fueled by (pardon the pun) great gas mileage, but also design and size. You can park these little buggers anywhere! But what about safety? I raised this concern on the program and received an email from a listener who, sure enough, was driving her Smart car as she was listening in. She forwarded the following clip, proving that the Smart car can withstand strong impacts:



Gas guzzler. (Slang). An automotive vehicle that has low fuel mileage.
To guzzle. Engullir
Deposit. Señal
Fueled by. Impulsado por

From Slang Selection:

I recently discussed the expression “A can of worms”. Do you fish? What type of bait do you use? If you’ve ever used worms, you’ll have no problem understanding the expression “can of worms”. My father took me fishing when I was a little boy and I used to bait the hook using worms. The process is, in theory, simple: open the can of worms (or carton or worms, as was usually the case), take out a worm and put it on the hook. But by the time you’ve baited the hook, the rest of worms in the can are crawling out of the can and you struggle to put them back in. It’s easy to see how novice fishermen (and many anglers) prefer to keep the lid on, and not open that can of worms. Figuratively, this expression is used when examining a delicate issue or investigating an affair that can only lead to more problems, more headaches. In this case, you’d say: “Let’s not open that can of worms!”

Worm. Lombriz, gusano
Bait. Cebo
Angler. Pescador de caña

From Music:

We continue to look at songs that reached the Number 1 position on the pop charts in the USA. Last week’s selection included the tune “We’re an American Band” by Grand Funk…or was it Grand Funk Railroad? There’s some confusion here, since their manager, Terry Knight, was always changing their name. He finally stuck with Grand Funk Railroad, named after Michigan’s Grand Trunk Railroad. In any event, the song peaked at number one during the week of September 29, 1973. Interestingly, all the original members of the group are from the city of Flint, Michigan. The name of this song does justice to their sound. They truly had an all-American sound and people loved them, despite never receiving a lot airplay or critical praise by the music press. In the words of Terry Knight: “This group has got something its competitors don’t have. You have to go to people like Presley, the Beatles, the Stones and Sinatra to find it.”

To peak. Llegar al punto más alto
Airplay. The playing of a musical recording on the air by a radio station

“The Night Chicago Died” was another Number 1 song we checked out. The song was written by Mitch Murray and performed by Paper Lace, a band from Nottingham, England. It reached the top of the charts in the USA during the week of August 17, 1974. It’s about Al Capone and his attempt to “make the town his own.” Just what Chicago needed, another glorified mafia story to tarnish its image. As the members of the group admit, the song was written for the UK market. And you can tell. Nobody even remotely familiar with Chicago geography would have written the lyric: “And the sound of the battle rang through the streets of the old east side…” East side? The only thing on the east side of Chicago is Lake Michigan! When touring the USA, Paper Lace wrote a letter to the mayor of Chicago, Richard J. Daley, hoping to get congratulated. What they received, however, was far from congratulatory: a rather rude letter from the mayor, which he finishes: “and one more question…are you nuts?”

To tarnish. Delustrar, ensuciar
To be nuts. Estar chiflado

From Business:

We looked at the topic of the new service economy from the viewpoint of Paul Saffo, a business adviser and technology forecaster.

Paul Saffo believes that the next big change in the service economy will be the nature of communications: machines talking to machines, instead of humans talking to machines. This includes things like our cars and washing machines “talking” to the manufacturer in order to inform us of oil changes and breakdowns – all through wireless technology.

And why does he call it the “new” service economy? Because today’s service economy isn’t what we expected it to be. As far back as the 1970’s we were talking about the leisure society, where robots and computers were going to take over our jobs. And in the 1980’s the upcoming service economy was predicted as “everybody flipping hamburgers at McDonald’s or becoming consultants.”

So today’s new economy has more to do with wireless devices and autonomous communication methods that are used -even hidden- in physical products we use everyday. These physical products, in essence, really only serve as vehicles for service, and that’s how today’s service economy has arrived.

Leisure. Ocio
Device. Aparato, mecanismo

Thanks for listening!

Published by: Drew Crosby

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