From Google to Gamecocks to Globalization (and a few things in between...)

+ Good news and bad news: The good news is, Google has a new Finance product . The bad news is, I don't have much use for it ;-)

+ Sherman, set the Wayback Machine.

+ The Incredibles creator Brad Bird is taking on a restaurant-dwelling rat for his next project. He will once again be working for Pixar on the animated film Ratatouille, about a mouse who lives in Paris (via colaspot).

+ The Gamecocks won again last night as they attempt to defend their NIT title. Hey, at least they're still in the hunt for something! (Although, Big Ten Tournament Champions is nothing to sneeze at.)

+ Alford says he's staying at Iowa. (Good, especially since the UNI coach got away...) Still, they're going to really have to reload next year, losing a lot of senior talent. Wonder if any of these guys have pro-type game. Do you know, Jas?

+ The answer to globalization job loss:

So the WSJ story details the rather ambitious and comprehensive way that the Danish government guarantees job retraining for workers who suffer the dislocation of globalization. That allows Denmark to allow "liberal hiring and firing as in the U.S.," even as it imposes firm limits on the duration of jobless benefits. It calls this aggressive approach "flexicurity": you're expected to seek out government help to get retrained and then get your ass back to work. During your downtime, the government will pay upwards to 90 percent of your former salary.  

The result? "Even though Danes are among the most easily laid-off workers in Europe, polls show the country's workers are the most secure about their future. The European Commission now holds up Denmark as a model for other countries to try to follow."