By the way, as a conservative, I am in no way disillusioned into thinking Mitt would have been a miracle worker. We are well underway into a total debasing of the American dollar and depraving austerity if not permanent depression in the future. All due to the ballooning deficit. I just do not think Americans fully grasp how serious the National deficit situation really is for the future of our kids. Its just that the Republicans are the lesser of two evils; do we really have any other viable choice in directing government policies other than the two big parties? The Democrats are just off the scale with irresponsibility on this issue and the Republicans maybe 75% as bad but surely terrible also. I didn't like Bush or Palin especially, but the other side was even more depressing. I really worry about what the future holds for the kids.

"Take heart Republicans .... it's been almost 12 hours since your guy lost and the world hasn't come to an end. Maybe you were wrong !!!"

Ahhh, yes, I love the smell of napalm in the morning....

First of all, the end of the future generations "American Dream"is a very slow moving boat to be measured in decades rather than hrs. But I understand because your mentality is very shortsighted, and that is one of the biggest problems between the left and the right.

Well, young man, you and all your like have sealed your fate by re-electing the guy who will continue to print and borrow so that the current and future generations can pick up the tab. Us older guy's will pay it for a few more years untill we retire, but you guys? If you have just graduated from college (overwhelmingly pro Obama; go figue) and are just entering the job market (good luck by the way) you will be footing the bill for ths president (and yes, for Bush also, but to a far lesser degree) for the rest of your lives. And you know what? You and my grandaughters may not even get a single payout from SS after paying into it for decades if the timing is perfectly wrong for you and it goes belly up right before you retire. And government perks will have to be limited severely by the cost of interest payments during this entire time, meaning the young will get far less support from everything funded by the fed. government. The economy will also have a permanent anchor ball around its leg on top of every other hurdle coming its way. Yes, I hoped for better, but I'll just fade into the sunset now, knowing that we on the right have tried but young folks will sometimes just flock to Koolaid and Jonestown. Heaven help you.

Be nice now. There is still a role for Republicans in America. Obama should create two new Cabinet positions: Secretary of Explaining Stuff (Bill Clinton) and Secretary of Fantasy and Political Lies (just about any Republican will do here since they all tend to be lock-step clones).

Since we left wing Commies will be running things for the next few years, in the spirit of comraderie, I offer these words of condolensce to our American Comrades on the Right: Toughski S**tski ... deal with reality for a change.

Will be interesting to see how the Republicans re-group. They have plenty of possible candidates now for 2016 and will probably be inclined to run a 'true' right wing Tea Party type. Potential candidates include:

Todd Akin from Missouri (womens reproduction expert)
Richard Mourdock from Indiana (expert on God and rape)
Christine O'Donnell (the Delaware witch)

They also have the option bringing back Sarah Palin or Michelle Bachmann or two newly unemployed ex-Congressmen, Alan West (FL) or Joe Walsh (IL).

The real problem facing the Republicans is that they have no prominent moderates to run next time that would appeal to the center of the electorate. And every time that they run one of the right wing nut jobs, they lose.

The good news is that Mitch McConnell has now stated that the number one objective of Senate (and House) Republicans is to make sure that Obama is limited to being a two term President. My, my, how these people have their heads stuck in the sands of time past (and, that's putting it politely).

Take heart Republicans .... it's been almost 12 hours since your guy lost and the world hasn't come to an end. Maybe you were wrong !!!

"Don't laugh, I remember when Bush won his first term. The Clinton White House staff took all the W's from all the computer keyboards and loaded up porn on them. Not exactly rioting, but isn't this damaging public property?....."

All NOT true. More republican propaganda.

Governor Christie was the best man on Obama's team. "Sandy" was the best woman.

Obama won - and handily so. Above all, thank GOD the election is over and we can get on with our lives!

Hours away from ending the political discussion, unless it's so close that we must do a recount. TWO DAYS away to hear the tactics of Siemens new strategy - and what and who gets cut where...

Don't laugh, I remember when Bush won his first term. The Clinton White House staff took all the W's from all the computer keyboards and loaded up porn on them. Not exactly rioting, but isn't this damaging public property? And how much class did they show the American people? Yet Bush simply said let's forget this juvenile stuff and move on. Did we hear any complaints from the Bush administration? No, they were adults and conducted themselves accordingly. Says a lot about the difference in attitudes. It's always the same with liberals whenever things do not go their way; riots, mischief, insinuations of cheating, lawsuits, etc. Ever see conservative's rioting in the streets? No, that is uncivilized behavior, not conducive towards a better society where order is the assumed norm. Not that conservatives aren't obstinate when unhappy, but order is usually the pattern. We can expect all sorts of crazy if Mitt wins; and if Obama wins? Dejection, incredulous disbelief, but certainly no rioting or crying foul. At least not at the same level of stupidity that would typify the left. I wonder; if a poll was taken from those now looting on the Jersey Shore, do we doubt that the majority would be Obama supporters?......just saying.

"I bet if Romney wins, there will be riots in NY, Philly, Chicago & L.A."

Don't forget the White House.

I bet if Romney wins, there will be riots in NY, Philly, Chicago & L.A.

I keep hearing a theory about how Siemens will start to sell of parts of DX. I have yet to hear a credible thought as to who would by any part of DX, or even the whole thing. The only way for Siemens to sell off DX would be to have a new system close to release. That's what Bayer (Advia IMS) and Dade (Vista) did. Siemens poor job at due diligence failed to find out that IMS was DOA, and Vista was not quite ready for prime time. Without a new system that is ready to launch and can be proven to any potential buyer that it will actually be successful, Siemens can only sell DX off at a big loss.

So as much as DX are squirming and waiting for Nov. 8, if you put on your Siemens leadership hat, you should find some comfort that they will be squirming long after Nov. 8.

Happy halloween to all.

Well, one can only hope Siemens will finally do what needs to be done with DX. People are now just waiting for Nov.8 and what plans will be in place for reduction of redundant staff and sites.
Until they finally stop dragging their feet I fully believe DX will continue to spiral down to the point they'll start selling portions of it off just as with other divisions.

Oooh my God, you are so witty and clever it makes my nipples hard!

Only some cowboys wear high heeled boots. As you know, there are two kinds of men in Texas and the ones who wear high heeled boots are not the steers.

It's also better to wear brown boots; the stains don't show up as much.

Any truth to the rumour that Siemens will now enter the boot business. They certain have had practice after giving so many of their employees the boot.

Are we having fun here yet?

I need to pull on my boots.

Do you know why cowboys used to wear high heeled boots all the time?

It helped get through walking around with the sheet several inches thick everywhere.

Very deep stuff.

"However, macro sacale magnetic quantum locking is similar to how atoms act and as such can be used to further human understanding of the world around us..."

Like I said, a cast of very weird characters.

Ok, so tell us "all the possibilities" because as far as I'm aware none of this means anything without a massive volume liquid nitrogen, and a limitless number of large, hugely expensive magnets. Try to harness this power for anything practical and I think you'll find <99.9% fail rate. And obviously the hadron collider is an exception - it's not an every day or affordable practical application of this technology. the practical applications are limited because of the bulky equipment needed to sustain a low temperature environment for the super conductor. However, macro sacale magnetic quantum locking is similar to how atoms act and as such can be used to further human understanding of the world around us. thinking "this can't possibly be useful" means we would never advance. We'd still live in caves.

The collection of 'odd' people probably accounts for the success of DPC through the mid-90s. By then, most immunoassay was becoming automated, so the instrument had a major role in decision making for customers. The quality of each specific assay had to take a back seat to the overal quality, versatility, and reliability of the system as an whole became less important, much to the disadvantage of companies like DPC. Furthermore, the ability of a company to provide a wide variety of services such as clinical chemistry, hematology, etc. became additional factors in the buying decision, which again, hurt smaller companies like DPC. Fianlly, the fact that fewer and fewer new methods were being developed also hurt creative companies like DPC.

Interestingly, a similar thing happened in Tarrytown. At one point, a long, long time ago, Technicon (Tarrytown) was a collection of odd-balls too. Creative scientists and management who were free thinkers, developed some great products, starting with the AutoAnalyzer (one of which now has been enshrined in the Smithsonian Institution), through SMA, SMAC, and RA-1000. All of this began to fall apart once the Whiteheads sold Technicon to Revlon, the first in a long line of 'owners' that Tarrytown had in the 80s. By the time Bayer came along, Tarrytown was already in a bit of a 'death spiral': a major investment in Chem 1, which never really succeeded in the field, huge cost overruns in the development of Immuno 1 (which was a crazy joing venture with Shell, I think), and a few 'new' OEM products that were not quite ready for prime time. Bayer came in and pretty much did to Tarrytown what Siemens is now doing to the old DPC and Dupont/Dade as well. The free thinkers, the creative people, the odd-balls are now all gone through either retirement or resignation or being laid off. What remains is a core of sycophants, wind-up dolls, and yes-men. Siemens has been reduced to trying to keep their heads above water and there is little chance that they will ever becoming the innovative leader that the three companies they bought once were.

What a pity, but that's what happens when industries mature. Just look at companies like Microsoft. Once giants in innovation, now relying on the latest upgrades of their products, most of which their customers would rather not have to buy and adjust to.

For chemists looking to be in an innovative environment, I would suggest that they look outside of the diagnostics industery.

I don't know about Siemens in general, but the old DPC company had a boatload of strange and odd people working there. If you weren't a little bit odd you didn't feel comfortable there. If you liked odd, eccentric people, you would have loved it there. Admittedly they sure did work hard there, and they had a lot of really good and smart people there. They were just a bunch of odd characters, from management down to the beginning techs.

actually I started to like this thread. This is so American, free speech and free press. From DX layoff, election, macro economics, American history, racism, woman's productive rights, Atlanta traffic, dog breed, to DX of Nikon. It's just weird entertaining. I hope working at Siemens is like that.

This thread really has gone to the DOGS! See ya or should I say "woof woof".

Dogs and people are exactly alike; some breeds have violent temperments and some do not. The trouble is, if you couple the violent genetics in synergy with a violent upbringing you have a time bomb just needing a fuse to get over the threshold into real violence. Couple good genetics with a bad upbringing, and you will most likely get an introspective young man, who will vow never to repeat what was visited upon him in his youth, and would try with everything he has to not continue the violence. Nothing is ever 100%, but you can bet the farm that the %-tages will heavily favor these two scenarios whether they be dogs or humans.

Dee, dee, dee, deeeh......dee, dee, dee, deeeh.......(from the Twilight Zone theme)

Police use German shepherds because they are smart dogs you fool, not because they are vicious. What good is a dog with a poor temperament when it needs to be in a professional law abiding environment?

As for pit bulls, unfortunately they are statistically the worst because its usually only aggressive uneducated idiots that get them and raise them, that's exactly how the dog ends up. They are powerful dogs so when they do attack its a problem they do a lot of damage. Plenty of people get pit bulls and raise them properly and that is reflected in their behaviour. Unfortunately you cannot stop scum buying dogs and raising them, if you did then there would be next to no vicious dogs in the world. The problem is always the human, never the dog, trust me.

"No; the housing bubble which was caused in main part by banks being FORCED to make loans which were questionable at best."

You are one of the few who actually have this correct. Even politicians and some dumb economists have it wrong too. This does not come from me but from smart economists who are able too see the big picture. By initiating the CRA (Carter), and Clinton who passed a bill (can't recall name) that threw out the policies of Glass/Steagal (kept depository and investment banking separate), the Dems started a trend that created an environment where banks and wall street worked around these new dictums. Thus mortgage backed securities were developed, so lending institutions could sell their bad loans an not hold them for the risky liability. Then lenders were encouraged to process as many loans as possible for the fee structure and dump them as securities to get them off their books to avoid liability. The tech bust and 911 caused a recession which forced the feds to lower interest rates which had the effect of boosting housing prices, boomed refinancing and housing purchases. None of these bad situations would have bubbled had the Dems not forced sub prime loans onto lenders, which subsequently got a boost by the low interest rates. Bush actually had little responsibility for it all except for encouraging the population to buy RE. Did you expect him to pass hugely unpopular lending restrictions to get things back in line? Even if he were successful it would have been too late, the bubble was building since the 1980's. Carter , Dodd, Frank, Clinton, etc., etc. have the most responsibility collectively for the mess. They set up the board so the game could be played for profit by Wall Street. Yes they were at fault for their greedy actions, but who set up the rules, conditions, and opportunity for the greediness? It sure wasn't Bush.

It is now time to leave all of you crazy right wing people to yourselves. This thread is now yours to wallow in. You are a bunch of pathetic people who only have anger and hatred and bigotry in your minds and hearts. Yopu deserve isolation at best; I will leave it to your imaginations to figure out the worst you deserve. You have no regard, respect, or sensitivity to anyone who is different from you or hold different views. You fail to accept differences among human beings. You are the antithesis of everything for which America stands.

So go wallow in your own mental excrement. You are that in which you should wallow yourselves.

"It is the single biggest reason for the economic troubles we are in."

No; the housing bubble which was caused in main part by banks being FORCED to make loans which were questionable at best.
Chris Dodd, our illustrious governor when he was in charge of HUD; Cuomo, and Barney Fag. They are responsible for the mess we are in.

All good intentioned liberal ideas, with no real thought to the repercussions.

As they say -- liberalism is good, until you run out of other peoples money.

"I am tired of people complaining about the unfunded war."

Then get your big bucks republican friends to pay for it.
I don't want to yet I have to.
It is the single biggest reason for the economic troubles we are in.
I don't usually resort to name calling.
But you are a moron.

Obama signs on to more same sex marriages.

There he and the Democratic party go again ... caving in to the special interest groups.

I am tired of people complaining about the unfunded war. After all it was LBJ who raided the Social Security "lockbox" to fund the Viet Nam war. Plus costing 50,000 American lives.

Talk about American lives, Obama and his administration have 4 lives their incompetence caused to be terminated. Their turn the other cheek policy is not working. Obama -- let me give you a tip. There are people in this world who hate Americans and no matter what we do, they will always hate us and are hell bend on destroying us.

To the last poster, I would suggest contacting your EAP rep at your company as you obviously need help. I AM a woman who just read your post and yes, I am a tea party person who is not as you have so called described. I feel sorry for you as you are not living in the real world. Talk about judging and labeling people. You are doing a good job of that yourself. Good luck and get some help!

You reactionary Tea People are sickos. Anti-black, anti-woman, etc., and a bunch of outright liars as well. How much of the so-called Obama deficit comes from the Bush tax cuts, the Bush unfunded wars, and Bush's donut hole? These are ongoing budget busters that Obama was saddled with by your boy. And Romney only wants to make it worse.

Whooo whooo, LOL!

"AS a white woman...."

Yeah, right, try a black dude posing as a WM to try to make a point.

Jive ass BS.

As a white woman, I am sick and tired of some old white guy trying to redefine rape! Women from all types of backgrounds and economic levels are outraged because we want to make our own health care decisions! We don't want others pushing their own agenda onto us when it comes to our reproductive rights! Stop trying to control women and stop trying to tell us how we should live our lives! What gives Congress the right to push their agenda whether it is religious or personal on women?

I am voting for President Obama and straight Democratic ticket for they support women's rights!

"....we definitely do not want anything more to do w/ the wonderboy's "magic box"

LOL! That's 100% correct, we certainly do not want anymore from that box. Four long disastrious years of this craziness, that is far worse than the Bush years, is all we can take. The proof is in the 4 straight years of ONE $TRILLION+ of deficit spending. Even Bush had a hard time doing that much damage in his last year.

"Only a fool would spend good money oa plain box with unknown contents"

Exactly right! The thing is I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT IS IN OBAMA'S BOX and that is why Romney is leading in the polls, we definitely do not want anything more to do w/ the wonderboy's "magic box".

And Romney is offering ????

EVERYTHING. On every issue he is just what Ted Kennedy called him: Mr. Multiple Choice. He has no obvious principles that he sticks to; he is simply an opportunist who belongs at a company like Bain, but not running our country.

Only a fool would spend good money oa plain box with unknown contents. Only a fool would vote for a man that stands for nothing ... and everything, at the same time.

Just remember where the template for Obamacare came from. It's the best thing Romney ever did for America.

Right now Romney is up to 7 TRILLION dollars worth of tax cuts and defense department spending and he can't specify a single thing to offset his proposed budget deficits. Vague on cutting programs (other than PBS and Planned Parenthood) and vague on how to change the tax code to offset his proposed tax bracket cuts. And, now, in the past two days, he's even backing off his 20% cut for all.

You must be the data-hata. Sorry, but most Americans will vote with their brains. Some, like you, will either vote with their hormones or their racist bigotry. Either way, you will never become the poster-boy for what is good about America.

"Obama to win re-election are going back to the old ingrained biases and habits, keep the Black man down."

Sameold play, the race card bull$^*&.

Look the man is not competent. Just like Jimmy Carter.

Obama had his chance and has proved he is not up to the task. Just blindly trying to push his ( or Pelosi-Reid's ) agenda* through -- full speed ahead, damn the torpedoes.

* even though the majority of the public did not want his agenda --- they knew better ....

I agree with you conceptually, but I wouldn't get too excited by a single poll. Gallup polls have been favoring Romney recently, but they are out of step with the rest of the polls. Also, the national polls of voters are fairly meaningless as long as the Electoral College System is in place. The Founding Fathers had to compromise in order to gain support from the smaller states (population-wise) and, thus, created a potentially undemocratic process. I wonder if they ever considered the possibility that only 5-8 out of 50 states would matter in a Presidential election. All the attention to states like Ohio, Florida, Colorado, etc., and probably not a single ad for either candidate in states like Texas, New York, or California.

Left, right or center: There is something very wrong with our system when it comes to picking our leader.

And why worry about this election at all? As long as there is a filibuster rule in the Senate, nothing much is going to change no matter who wins.

Folks, we're just stuck now. Screwed by our own rules of government and by a bunch of politicians that we, ourselves, have elected and, who have more dedication to their abstract and obtuse principles than they have to solving our problems why whatever means it takes.

The guy in Atlanta who complained about traffic and gridlock is a relative amateur compared to those who live and work near Capitol Hill. Even molasses flow faster on a winters day.

Reuter's most recent polling in election deciding states, gives Romney the edge. Random sampling of likely voters overall also gave the slight edge to Romney. Obama has led decisively up till the second debate and virtually everyone accepts that he clearly won the third debate, yet he is still losing his lead to Romney?!
After all the gaff's that Romney and Republicans continue to make like a bunch of dummies, they still have the lead? Only one thing could make sense of this, once again, racism. White people who voted for him the first time around and who are necessary for Obama to win re-election are going back to the old ingrained biases and habits, keep the Black man down.

There is also a Robins (one 'b') AFB south of Macon, apparently. Landing there and going to Atlanta would be the same as landing at Hartfield since, in both cases, the motorcade would be coming into Atlanta from the south.

Next time, try walking. It's much better for your health.

We should have a vote here. Which is more important to discuss? The politics of an election or traffic issues of an election ... or neither?

I stand corrected, there is a Dobbins AFB near Atlanta.

1. It's Dobbins AFB
2. It's not in Atlanta, it's in Fair Oaks, GA (near Marietta - 20 miles NW of Atlantan
3. Driving from Dobbins AFB into Atlanta would probably cause just as many traffic problems as driving from Hartsfield Airport.

This tangent is much ado about nothing. How about talking about Coke, New Coke, Coke II, and Classic Coke; the brilliant marketing strategy that Coke took when they wanted to replace cane sugar with corn syrup. Now that was what good companies do to manage change.

Isn't it Robbins Air Force Base, not Dobbins ?

Never underestimate the idiocy of the Americn voter. Remember, as you go through life, that half the people in the world are below average.

whine, whine, whine, If you live in the Atlanta area and commute everyday, you should be used to traffic! Geez. What about when they shut down lanes of traffic on the weekend?! Or when they have conventions and baseball games the same day and week! I hate to state the obvious but life is an inconvenience, so dry your tears and stop whining.

What idiot would not vote for a candidate or president just because he comes to town and you have to be inconvenienced in traffic?

Blame the Secret Service. Blame the campaign managers who schedule their candidates' time. Also consider it to be a small sacrifice you have to make for liberty. Someone has to be inconvenienced once in a while if candidates are to campaign in public. Happens a few time every four years or so. If it's really that bad for you, I sugges relocating to a less urban area.

This was an embarrassment to our city. Shutting down 75 in ATL during RUSH HOUR? Dobbins AFB is practically next to Cobb Energy. Using it could have saved me and many others a lot of wasted time coming home from work today. What were the DOT / Highway Patrol / Romney / Ryan groups thinking? I hope they raised a lot of money because I bet that lost an awful lot of votes!!

Exact same thing happened when Obama came to Atlanta in March and decided to land at ATL at 5:30 pm. I mean, really? The world's busiest airport at that time of day? Of course the whole airport shuts down. And then in the middle of rush-hour traffic, they shut down exits all along the interstate so that POTUS can get to Tyler Perry's house for a fundraiser. That was a super fun night for me because 1) I work at the Coca Cola and 2) I had to drive home in that hideous traffic. Why couldn't he just fly into Dobbins ARB?????

Don't worry. Chicken and pork chops are on sale this week. Too bad you can't afford the gas to get to the supermarket.

Does any of this relate to Siemens?