Nine Shift

Fox News

The average Fox News viewer is over 65 years old, according to a story in The New York Times.

Even worse (or better) Fox News is losing more younger viewers every year.  Here's the deal: old people are clinging to the last century, and Fox News serves their viewpoint.  Young people of course need a different lifestyle, set of beliefs, and different government services in this century. 

Long term: another sign Gen Y is winning in the 21st century. 

My favorite part of the article was when Craig Moffett of Fox News said Fox News would reinvent itself for the next generation, just like Cadillac.  Dear Mr. Moffett: the kids are not driving nor buying cars either.  

The Solution to the Food Animal Vet Shortage

ABE News says there's "alarm" over the food animal vet shortage. USA Today says it threatens our food supply.

Basically, we have a big shortage of food animal veterinarians.  And 70% of all human disease is caused by animals. It's scarey.

Did a big NineShift keynote for the Iowa Association of Community College Trustees last week, with people from all 15 of Iowa's community college leadership there.

In one Iowa county, there is only one (yes 1) food animal vet for over 500,000 head of livestock.  In human terms, that would be like having only 6 doctors for all the people in Iowa. 

Only 4% of female vet grads become a food animal vet, while 13% of male vet grads become food animal vets.  The problem?  Some 79% of all vet students are female. 

And we can't have more males go into vet medicine, because they cannot enter or graduate college in the first place.  The solution is simple and no cost:  allow the 2 million smart males who are missing from college every year into college, and then graduate them.

Photo: Wild blueberries are bountiful this summer, great for cereal and ice cream toppings. 

Snowden and Freedom in the 21st Century

The case of Edward Snowden has engendered a much needed debate on freedom in the 21st Century.

The kids - - led by 30 year old Snowden,  24 ish Private Manning, 22 year old Aaron Schwartz - - (this year) need more transparency, more collaboration, more sharing, less monopoly.  

The kids are opposed by government, a majority of media, and pretty much anyone over age 50, in the United States.  If you Google "world supports Snowden" you get a differnet viewpoint.

Am reading Jack London's book The Valley of the Moon, about the strikes 100 years ago - - same dynamic.  Everyone opposed the strikers, who wanted (and got) the 8 hour day, 40 hour week and other benefits we all now take for granted.  We have a new fight in this century.

Why Wendy's Dave Thomas Got His GED

The kids on Reddit were talking about education again.

They were admiring Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy's, and how he got his GED high school diploma late in life.  Thomas did not want anyone to think they should not get a high school degree.  Thomas, and the kids on Reddit, believed that Thomas was successful despite his lack of a high school degree, definitely not because of it.

One Reddit poster suggested that no one (I can't think of anyone) attributed his or her success to a lack of education.  As we debate the value of a four year college degree - - I cannot believe this is actually being debated - - it's hard to find anyone who seriously believes his or her success was due to being a college drop out. 

Related articles

The Founder Of Wendy's Got His GED Because He Didn't Want To Be A Dropout Success Story

Everyone Needs a Four Year College Degree

By the end of this century, every young person will need a four year college degree.

We can make this assertion easily because we know that 100 years ago only 10% of people had a high school degree, and it became the standard education credential for the last century.

From 1992 to 2012 President Clinton and then Obama promoted the two year college degree. It's been quiet for two years now, and by 2016 the four year college degree will be acclaimed by business and society as necessary for half - - 50% - - of our youth.    But by 2092 the percentage of people with a four year degree will be at the level of a high school degree is today.

We don't just read about 100 years ago, we actually live it. Julie at the opening of the Ironwood, MI, theater on June 28, 1928, with the program the same as it was on that date.

New Bike Path Construction Good Thing

Here's road construction we can all support: new bike paths.

Bike commuters was up 70% in 55 major cities from 2000-2009. And in vacation-land, where this photo is taken, more people are bike riding.  Bike riding is healthy, safe, inexpensive, and does not destroy the environment. 

A new bike path being built in northern Wisconsin. Recently the Lt. Gov of Michigan announced a non-stop bike route for 500 miles, from the western most city in Michigan to the Ohio border.

 

First Day of Blueberries

They are really good this year.

Wild, wash, freeze, eat 6-? a day for good health.  Also just enjoy being in the woods picking them.

Will Train Window Audio Ads Become Reality?

Will audio ads embedded in train windows become reality? Watch this 1 minute video and then tell us what you think.

 

More Proof Trains Have Won

Gen Y has decided: trains, not cars. The latest news is zany, fun, controversial. Bottom line: it's more evidence that trains have won.

The BBC has a story reporting that a company wants to put audio ads embedded in train windows. Only someone putting her or his head against the train window could hear the ad.

The technology is not being met with universal approval, of course.  But whether train window ads will become reality is not the point. The point is that business, from McDonald's to Siemens, is putting its resources and future with trains, not cars. 

To underscore the point, there's a futile desperate ad above the BBC train story for a car, pleading with Gen Y to turn back to cars.  Turn back they will not. 

Wrong Gender Message

Even the White House gets the message wrong in trying to get women into STEM, says LERN’s lead researcher Julie Coates and one of the nation's top education researchers.

Saying women in engineering make 33% more money than women in other careers is absolutely true, Coates asserts, but that statistic does not motivate women.  Women are not motivated by money, they are motivated by mission, serving society and making a difference in people’s lives.

While trying to push women into traditional male occupations is futile, promoting the wrong gender message to young women is also counterproductive, she notes.