SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 10:35 P.M.ET:

AN ERA ENDS – Steve Jobs has resigned as CEO of Apple Computer.  Although he did not say so specifically in his letter of resignation, it was apparent from the tone that deteriorating health is the reason.  Jobs was diagnosed with cancer in 2004.  His resignation brings to a close one of the most remarkable comeback stories in American corporate history.  Ousted from Apple, the company he co-founded, by a group of, you know, "hard-headed businessmen," he was brought back when Apple was dying, and the butt of jokes.  He and the remarkable team he hired transformed Apple into the most valuable company in the world, giving us the iPod, the iPhone, the iPad and the sleek, much wanted Mac computers.  Oh, and also the Apple Store, now a cultural phenomenon.  Jobs understood what many corporate leaders don't – that great companies begin with great products.  This resignation is an American loss.

PERRY ROMPS – Rick Perry now has an impressive lead in popular polling for the GOP presidential nomination, according to Gallup.  Perry leads with 29%, Romney trails badly with 17%, and then there are the others.  If anything, the result shows Romney's weakness.  He just doesn't catch on with the base.  However, Perry's 29% is tentative, and getting to a majority may not be that easy.  He has many enemies within the party, and many who feel that his uncompromising Texas conservatism will play poorly among independents, who hold the balance of political power.  In addition, the national press loathes him.  He's outside their frame of reference.  This race has just begun.

STILL NOT READY FOR PRIME TIME – Our cell phone industry, that is.  It was quickly noticed during yesterday's earthquake, which barely did any damage, that many cell phone circuits were overwhelmed and largely useless.  In any disaster, whether it be natural or an act of terror, cell phones will provide a critical means of communication.  And yet, we seem to have not corrected the flaws in the system discovered ten years ago, on September 11, 2001.  The wireless companies are of course shrugging off yesterday's failures, but their failure to deliver will cost lives in a real disaster.  There are serious suggestions to develop a separate network for public safety personnel, but the idea has never been acted upon.  Maybe now.

JUST A SECOND – A Columbia University study has concluded that changes in climate can exacerbate civil conflict in many parts of the world.  In other words, weather is a factor in war.  Well, there's a headline for you.  I never would have known, and I wonder how many federal dollars went into this revolutionary finding.  It reminds me of a team of antropologists, some decades ago who, after a year of study, concluded that children were interested in parents and parents were interested in children.  I will search for the exciting paper.

August 24, 2011