Google Maps Screw Up

Google Maps has a major screw up. I noticed this when I was looking at Interstate 79 where it crosses from Pennsylvania to West Virginia near Morgantown. Look at this screenshot...it labels Pennsylvania as Tennessee. Tennessee & West Virginia do not even share a border at all. The mighty Google is not infallible after all!

Poor Little Laika

Fifty-two years ago today, November 3, 1957, the evil commies launched poor little Laika to her death by putting her in space with no plan to get her back. She succumbed to heat and stress hours into her space flight. She was the first living thing to be sent into space.



Lyrics:
The cage is very small
A tiny silver ball
That makes you a hero
The moment you step inside
The world is watching you
What youre about to do
Will live on forever
Even though youll be dead
And gone
Buckle up
Were about to turn the engines on.

Boyoyoing

Hello from Sputnik 2
I am receiving you
Thanks for the dog food
Im somewhere above you now
Guess what Malashenkov?
I took the collar off
Im holding my own leash
And walking myself outside
This door
I dont think
I want to be a good dog anymore.

Now Im floating free
And the moons with me
And its bright enough
To light the dark

And its so high up here
And the stars so clear -
Are they close enough?
Will they hear me bark from here?

Moscow to Sputnik 2
I think were losing you
Your life signs are fading
We cant really say that were
Surprised
Its a shame
There is always something that gets compromised

Now Im floating free
And the moons with me
And its bright enough
To light the dark

And its so high up here
And the stars so clear -
Are they close enough?
Will they hear me bark from here?

Charlotte's Rough Economic Ride May Not Be Over

It has been a year since the implosion of Charlotte-based Wachovia ended up with that banking giant being absorbed into Wells Fargo. Now two more blows may be in the offing. Bank of America, whose name is on everything from their Uptown Charlotte headquarters building to the Carolina Panthers' stadium, is seeking a new CEO. News Talk 1110 WBT is reporting that 98 percent of BoA's business comes from divisions headquartered elsewhere. What's more, the heads of those divisions have no ties to The Queen City. Add to that, the fact that CEO Ken Lewis is stepping down, and it is feared that a new CEO will move the corporate nerve center out of town.

Then today, US Airways CEO, Doug Parker, was in town just a few days after announcing a major downsizing of both routes and personnel. Service is being scaled back, and some cities like Colorado Springs and Wichita, will be eliminated from the airlines flights altogether. There will also be 1000 jobs around the country vaporized by the restructuring. As I have mentioned in the past, US Airways holds a near monopoly on air travel into and out of Charlotte, with other carriers holding a small share of the traffic.

Mecklenburg County has a current official unemployment rate of over 11%. If worst case scenarios become reality for these two major employers, Charlotte and the entire Metrolina region may have an even deeper hole to dig out of. This is a very nice city. It would be a shame to see this occur. As other cities without a great amount of economic diversity, Charlotte's crown as a major banking center may end up being its undoing.