Would you like to supersize your bypass?

Never let it be said that Burger King is not shrewd. The fast food restaurant, which has been lost in the wilderness recently has been generating some publicity. First, for its new Tendercrisp Bacon Chedder Ranch Chocolate Creme Brule (or whatever the hell it is) commercials, which feature Hootie, Hooters, and a guy in a creepy king costume. And most recently, for its Enormous Omelet Sandwich, a cardiologist's nightmare at 730 calories, 47 grams fat, and 415 milligrams cholesterol. Yeah, everyone and their brother has been criticizing BK for unleashing such an irresponsible dietary choice on the public. But what a PR windfall, hours of airtime devoted to a new sandwich, much of which is certainly heard by people who now are rushing there to try it. With people on the downward side of the latest diet cycle (let's face it, low carb is on its way out), people are eating again, and what better way to thumb your nose at society than by eating enough fat to keep Crisco in business for a year.

Jaguar to Discontinue Cheaper Line of Jags....

Jaguar is discontinuing its cheaper X line of cars, according to the USA Today to "regain an image of exclusivity and the profit it hopes that brings".

I'd like to make a suggestion to Jaguar and its parent company, Ford. Perhaps the key to reviving Jaguar is to make a car that doesn't look like a rebadged Taurus with lots of chrome. I realized they'd lost their distinctive look when I saw a nice looking new Jag from a distance and pulled up to realize that I was admiring a new Hyundai Sonata.

Identity Theft -- Time for the industry to act

In the past few months, data has been compromised at numerous companies and universities, causing potential identity theft for thousands and possibly millions of individuals.

Unfortunately, these companies and organizations, as well as our Government seem not to really care about protecting this data or doing much about those who steal it. It's estimated that individuals who have their identity stolen face hundreds of hours trying to put things in order, including a back and forth game with law enforcement, credit card companies, and credit bureaus.

Here's what I think could be done to stem this tide.

1) Impose heavy penalties on identity theft. Prison time plus manditory restitution and penalties equal to or greater than the restitution.

2) Place restrictions on how companies can collect and share personal data. If they can do this for pharmacies, doctors, and hospitals, they can do this for agencies that handle data. Impose fines for those that fail to properly safeguard this information.

3) Devise software to spot telltale signs of potential identity theft on credit applications. Surely things like a name being spelled incorrectly, incomplete or inaccurate information on applications, or an address that is different than one that is currently on your file is a good way to spot this. If the software spots something potentially wrong, the credit should be flagged and an attempt to contact the individual should be made immediately at the existing address/phone number.

4) Require manditory reporting to government agencies ANY time the same social security number is given for two different names. I once had access to a database to investigate fraud where you would often find the same Social Security number tied to seven or eight people.

5) Credit companies should provide a free notification service for any changes to your credit report via e-mail.

I'm sure there are other ideas, but something must happen soon. Credit Bureaus, Banks, Colleges and other people who hold personal data must start holding themselves accountable before the government and/or lawsuits do.

General Motors -- Time to Downsize

I'm not one for encouraging anything that might cause people to lose their jobs, but it's time for GM to go on a diet.

They're predicting a negative cashflow of about 2 billion dollars, per the USA Today, which also reports that $2000 of EVERY VEHICLE goes toward healthcare expenses.

The problem with GM is that for years they've been producing numerous model lines with little to distinguish them except questionable reliability and cheap looks and feel. The one brand that they managed to make some headway with, Saturn, was undone by its seeming unwillingness to update the style of its vehicles. Its reliability slipped, as did GM's apparent desire to maintain it, and now it's just another nameplate for the company.

It's time for GM to consolidate its model lines and its models from the reported 80 to a much lower (and more manageable) number. They should take a lesson from their Japanese competitors and reduce the lines down a few nameplates with distinguishing traits (entry level, middle of the road, luxury for example), and concentrate on making cars that people want to buy because they're good cars, not because they have hefty discounts or favorable financing. A greater focus on quality (which is all over the map, per Consumer Reports) wouldn't hurt, as would some nice looking entry level models that rope in young buyers and keep them buying GMs as they get older.

Hate your job? So does India!

Couldn't stop laughing at NPR's Marketplace report that the people working the call centers in India hate their jobs, are getting burned out, and turnover rates are huge. It's getting so bad that they're having to go to less qualified people who have trouble speaking English.

To listen to it here.