# the guy who sits by the scribe #

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On November 20, 2016, # the guy who sits by the scribe # commented on Motivate: Spinning Today for a Better Tomorrow :

Great post Joanna, thanks for sharing!

I love bicycling, and I’m all in favor of people riding more to commute. I partially agree with Bernadita’s point that the bicycles in ride sharing programs are pretty clunky, but this is partially mitigated by Peter’s response. Having the perfect bicycle for everyone and all conditions would be impossible without having more variation in what’s available–and such solution would introduce all sorts of problems as well.

One question I had is how the economics of these projects works. Is Motivate a for profit entity? Are governments just subsidizing the initial construction of the ride-sharing programs, or are they subsidizing the operation of them as well? What do the steady-state economics of the programs look like, and who captures that value (i.e. Motivate or the city)?

Overall, great post, and thanks for sharing!

On November 20, 2016, # the guy who sits by the scribe # commented on Real (estate) disruption: how technology may change the housing market :

Great post Mr. NMS, thanks for sharing! I agree that the 6% commission rate has been pretty stubborn over time, despite much less value creation from brokers as technology has increasingly served the information and communication functions that brokers used to provide. You cite some interesting examples of how certain companies are dis-intermediating brokers in certain niches of the real estate market… what do you think it will take (from technology innovation, or otherwise) before there begins to be compression in broker commissions en masse? Are they simply impervious to such compression, or is it just that technology has not improved far enough in this area yet? Curious to get your thoughts. Overall, great post and thanks for sharing!

On November 20, 2016, # the guy who sits by the scribe # commented on Is the Pen So Mighty After All? :

JP

Thanks for this interesting post. You make a great point about the new wave of innovation that will put further pressure on pen and paper. I wonder however whether one might have made a similar argument in previous years at major innovation points, such as the introduction of the personal computer, the PDA, etc. Pen and paper have of course come under pressure during this time, but yet they have managed to remain relevant. Do you think that this set of innovations is somehow different in that it will more speedily sound the death knell for pen and paper? Or is this more likely to be another step on the long march towards irrelevance?

Thanks for sharing this interesting point—nicely done!

On November 20, 2016, # the guy who sits by the scribe # commented on Junk You Don’t Want Anymore…… Now Online! :

KFH,

Thanks for this entertaining and interesting post. Agree with your assessment that the Classfied’s model was a broken one, and a model like Craiglist does create value for society on balance (to the point raised above by Bernadita, although it would certainly be interesting to quantify that). I’d also argue that the main competitive advantage here is having a two-sided network of users who alternate acting as buyers and sellers.

My real question is around the business model for Craigslist. It seem the operating model is superior, but were they able to disrupt the traditional Classifieds model for that reason—or just because they were willing to accept worse economics than newspapers? I’m not sure I fully understand how (if?) they make money, and how their economics compare to the players they disrupted.

Overall, great post, and thanks for sharing!

On November 20, 2016, # the guy who sits by the scribe # commented on iPod to iRobot: How Our Loyal Devices Are Turning Against Us :

Great post Will, thanks for sharing! Like some of the posts above, I too am concerned about the potential for these kinds of attacks in the future. It’s great that Google has taken a leadership position in providing a free solution to certain groups, but what about related problems where Google is not strategically motivated to solve them? Are there any other organizations tackling those challenges? Do you think it’s something that can be solved in a free market economy, or is there a role for government action here? Overall, great post, thanks for highlighting this important issue!

On November 7, 2016, # the guy who sits by the scribe # commented on Winter isn’t coming: How ski resorts are responding to climate change :

Noah,

Great post, thanks for bringing attention to this issue. As an avid but mediocre skier, this post hits close to him.

One question that this article left me wondering is whether you think Vail’s strategy is a sustainable for maintaining their current base of earnings, or if you think it’s a short-term strategy to get as much of the economics of the resort as possible? A lot of the initiatives you mention seem like they may not work in the long run.

A second question is whether you think Vail is well-positioned to gain market share if other resorts are forced out of business… is it possible that large resorts like Vail might actually see a benefit to their business if industry capacity is reduced? How do you think this might impact their incentives to fight climate change?

Overall, nice post and great work!

On November 6, 2016, # the guy who sits by the scribe # commented on Powering the World, One Tofu Block at a Time :

Joanna,

Really interesting post. Who would have known that tofu waste-water could be used an alternative source of energy? Thanks for writing about something which most of us probably weren’t aware of!

A couple questions the post left me contemplating:

1) How much energy can this waste-water provide relative to the actual energy demand in Indonesia. In other words, how does the possible reduction of 56K tons of fossil fuel consumption compare to the demand in Indonesia? Is this more likely to be a niche solution or a mass-market alternative energy source?

2) Your standardization suggestions make a lot of sense. Just curious what the current process is now for implementation? Is it entirely haphazard, or is there some process already in place?

3) Are there other parts of the world where this could be a viable solution, beyond just Indonesia? What are some other countries that are large tofu producers and that might also benefit from this alternative source of energy?

Overall, nicely done, and thanks for bringing this issue to everyone’s attention!

On November 6, 2016, # the guy who sits by the scribe # commented on Water Water Everywhere, Not a Drop to Drink :

Alison,

Great post. You did a great job identifying a less-commonly-discussed issue that is extremely important nevertheless.

A couple questions the post left me contemplating:

1) What are the key steps Air Products has taken to reduce their water consumption? Was it largely the water usage in cooling water systems that you mention? Or were there additional steps they took to meet these goals?

2) Do you think other companies are also working towards reducing their water consumption? If not, do you think it’s an awareness issue or a willingness issue? In either case, what role do you think consumers, corporations like Air Products, regulators and governments have in prodding more companies to action?

3) Do you think the goals Air Products has set for itself (and their results against those goals) are enough? Or do you think more needs to be done in order to avoid the negative consequences of water shortage which you describe?

Overall, nicely done, and thanks for bringing this issue to everyone’s attention!

On November 6, 2016, # the guy who sits by the scribe # commented on Learning from Disaster: NYC After Hurricane Sandy :

Peter,

Great post. You did a great job identifying the climate change issues affecting NYC. As a native New Yorker, this issue strikes close to home. Thanks for highlighting it.

A couple questions the post left me contemplating:

1) Do you think NYC will reach its stated goal by 2050? How has progress been over the last few years?

2) You mention that large businesses also have a role to play—curious what if anything consumers can do in NYC? Certainly a disperse set of constituents to influence, which could be challenging, but I imagine there’s something ordinary New Yorkers can do to help as well?

3) What are the main components of retrofitting a building that make it more energy efficient? Are the improvements entirely from installing renewable power? Or are they also from actions such as installing better heating and cooling systems?

Overall, nicely done, and thanks for bringing this issue to everyone’s attention!

On November 6, 2016, # the guy who sits by the scribe # commented on Caffeine Headache: Starbucks Responds to a Growing Threat :

Zach,

Great post. You did a great job identifying the climate-change-related issues brewing for Starbucks and other coffee companies. As an avid coffee consumer, this issue strikes close to home. Thanks for highlighting it.

A couple questions the post left me contemplating:

1) Do you think Starbucks should not have introduced hot food at all, for the reasons above? Or do you think they should have just done it more thoughtfully? If the latter, do you think management failed to recognize how the introduction of hot food would impede their progress on energy consumption reduction? Or do you think they made a decision to postpone some of the goals in this area in order to introduce hot food into stores? The reason I ask is that it seems many things Starbucks does increase their energy consumption, and yet the do them anyway. For an extreme example, the most energy-reducing action they could take would be to close their entire operation, yet they continue to stay open. So at what point should a business decision that increases energy consumption be permitted for the sake of a better product or service, and at what point should companies prioritize the environmental impact?

2) Are there examples of other crop-related industries where you think Starbucks could help industry participants manage their agricultural supply chains? Do you think that Starbucks’ ability in this area is due to special know-how at Starbucks, or just a willingness to prioritize this part of their business (often) at the expense of short-term profitability?

Overall, nicely done, and thanks for bringing this issue to everyone’s attention!

On November 5, 2016, # the guy who sits by the scribe # commented on American Electric Power — The Coal Problem :

Flint,

Great post. You did a great job identifying the climate-change-related issues with AEP’s operational model, as well as identifying a sensible series of steps AEP can take to address those issues.

A couple questions the post left me contemplating:
1) Has AEP identified these issues as well? Has management spoken about them publicly?
2) If YES, what steps are they taking to address these issues? All of the suggestions you outline, or just some? What’s the timeline for implementation? Do you think they are doing enough, or should they be doing more to address climate change?
3) If NO, why do you think they have failed to recognize and/or address these issues? What role do other market participants (e.g. consumers, regulators, government) play in pushing them towards addressing these issues?

Overall, nicely done, and thanks for bringing this issue to everyone’s attention!