DIGITAL RULZZZZZZ..... !!!

A couple of days ago I was out on a walk and heard the sound of a small jet descending. Believe me, if you love airplanes as much as I do, you learn to distinguish the different noise prints. "That sounds like an old twin radial, probably a Beech 18," I will say. Often I am right.

The small jet circling to land in Bermuda Dunes two days ago was probably a CJ1 as judged by the sound, the shape and the T-tail. My heart leaped for joy. I have always wanted to own a Citation CJ1. It is a slow aircraft as jets go, but Cessna builds them to perfection. They are safe and easy to fly. I got to fly a CJ1 from Wichita to Grand Junction a few years ago and made a perfect feather-light landing.

Alas, my desire to own a CJ1 won't get it done, and it is highly improbable I will ever own a jet. My best shot was back in 2000 when a company I had co-founded, Garage Technology Ventures, had planned to go public. Darn, we were so very close to that magical liquidity event! In April we had filed the requisite S-1 papers with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Weeks later I would be worth eight figures.

Of course I didn't see that the IPO market was about to implode. Garage's blessed liquidity event never happened. We eventually sold the company for about $15 million. Because our final venture round had valued Garage at $55 million, we founders, as common shareholders, got nothing from the sale.

There went the jet.

According to the latest academic thinking, I am supposed to be wracked with jealousy every time I see a CJ1. Humans are wired to be jealous, reports the Economist in its year-end issue. We would rather settle for $100,000 if our neighbor also makes $100,000 than take $200,000 if our neighbor makes $300,000.

That's the current academic fad. Don't believe it.

Number one, such studies seem an obvious cloak for socialism. Most academics, and practically all of them who toil in the fields of psychology and evolutionary biology, lean to the political left. Thus to see studies that lay the ground for flatter incomes because of hardwired human jealousy are, well, dubious on the face of it.

Number two, and admittedly this is personal, such studies do not reflect the way this blogger reacts when he sees another person's outsized success. When I look up in the sky and see a Cessna CJ1, I feel absolute joy, not jealousy. I am thrilled for the person who owns one. If that person happens to be my neighbor, I am even happier because I might get to ride in it.

I have often wondered what drives some people to the political left and others to the political right. Birth order apparently plays some role. There are other factors, too.

But at bottom, I have always suspected that lefties are more prone to suffer jealousy more acutely. If most lefties were serious about social justice--always their claim--they would give more time and money to charities. They don't, as Nicholas Kristof recently pointed out in hisNew York Times column, "Bleeding Heart Tightwads." Lefties give lessto charities.

The jealous man looks up in the sky and is irritated to see a CJ1 that he can never afford. I look at the same CJ1 that I can't afford and say: Wow, what a joyous thing that some people can buy these beautiful machines. Else they would not exist, and the world would be poorer.

Post your thoughts. Are you suspicious of academic studies that make jealousy respectable? Is the political left more prone to jealousy? Fire away.

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SUYASH

Bob Iger rocks Disney

In revitalizing the Magic Kingdom, the CEO has built a compelling case that integrated, cross-platform media leviathans like Disney still make sense in the Digital Age.

Bob Iger is inside the Royal Festival Hall in London on a September afternoon, geeking out with some young guys about two of his favorite things: tunes and technology. The

 CEO of Walt Disney Co. pulls out his iPhone and thumbs through his playlists, looking for a particular live U2 track from an Italian concert. Briefly the conversation is drowned out by the squeals of teen girls standing behind a nearby barricade of security guards and velvet ropes. "They're screaming for me," Iger says, glancing up.

He's joking, well aware that they're really screaming for his companions: Kevin, Joe, and Nick Jonas, a.k.a. the Jonas Brothers. The collectible-lunchbox-cute trio, with a median age of 18, are pop heartthrobs who a few weeks earlier became the first musical act ever to occupy three spots in the Billboard top-ten album chart in a s

ingle week.

They're in London to promote their Disney Channel TV movie "Camp Rock." And Iger is there - along with requisite Mickey and Minnie mascots working the red carpet outside.

Not only do the Jonas Brothers sell bushels of CDs and downloads via Disney's Hollywood Records label; in the past year they have performed live before more than a million people, were fixtures on Radio Disney, rele

ased a book via Disney-owned Hyperion that has already sold 750,000 copies, and are preparing to star in a Disney feature film. On the Disney Channel, their own show is scheduled to debut in the spring. Action figures, T-shirts, throw pillows, and sheet sets are just the beginnings of the retail onslaught.

The Jonas Brothers neatly fit Disney's tween machine: They are polite, reputedly abstinent boys, whose father is a musician and former pastor and whose mother is a former singer-actress. On the other hand, as their father, Kevin, 43, points out, "they are not characters" - his boys were not "imagineered" in any Disney product lab; they've been playing and writing their own music for years. (Rolling Stone calle

d their latest release "as assured as any American rock album released in 2008.")

Just two years ago the boys were signed to Sony's (SNY) Columbia label and playing mostly to friends. The breakout stardom and screaming girls and the private jet across the pond would not have been possible, their father says, without Disney. "This is the natural place for them to be," he says.

The Jonases are emblematic of a creative and financial revival at the Magic Kingdom that has take

n place over the roughly three years since Iger became CEO. Against long odds, Disney (DIS, Fortune 500) is back at the head of a frazzled and uncertain bunch, the fraternity of media conglomerates. In revitalizing the company, Iger has built a compelling case that integrated, cross-platform leviathans like his still make sense in the Digital Age. Who knew?

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SUYASH

Does Your Company Help You Commute?

As gas prices creep closer to $4 a gallon, some employers are trying to ease the cost of commuting to work.

For years, many employers have offered to take pre-tax dollars out of their employees' paychecks to cover the cost of commuting via public transportation. And of course, telecommuting has been growing in popularity for years. Now employers are getting quite creative in helping offset the cost of the commute. In many cases, there's an environmental benefit, too.

Take Ft. Collins, Colo.-based New Belgium Brewing Co. When an employee reaches the one-year mark with the company, they're given a bike and encouraged to ride it to work. No need to worry about messy hair or sweaty clothes--the company provides showers. To date, New Belgium has given bikes to 200 employees, which has cost the company about $40,000.

In Pictures: More Mileage

Biking is an option for employees who live close to the office. But it might prove challenging for the average American. The average commute to work is 30 miles, according to Steve Reich, program director at the Center for Urban Transit Research at the University of South Florida. With gas at $3 per gallon, it costs the average employee more than $100 monthly to drive to work, he says. Now that gas is closer to $4, the average employee is more likely to shell out about $140 monthly just on commuting.

The career search Web site Jobing.com's program really helps employees' wallets. Those who meet certain requirements (such as length of time at the company, a good driving record and completion of a safe driving course) can get their car completely wrapped with the company's logo. The reward: 100% of the employee's gas is paid for along with a monthly $500 stipend. The company has an approved list of cars that employees can choose to either lease or buy.

Peter Difilippantonio was one of the first employees to get a wrapped car at Jobing.com. He purchased his Jeep Cherokee in October 2003 and paid it off last year using the $500 monthly stipend. Since the benefit doesn't end when the car is paid off, he uses that money on household expenses.

Driving around town with his employer's logo was a bit embarrassing at first but the benefits far outweigh that feeling, he says. Unless they're going to a formal event, his family always uses the wrapped Cherokee since the gas is paid for by the boss.

Difilippantonio, general manager of Jobing's Houston office, commutes about 60 miles daily roundtrip. Gas costs between $250 and $300 monthly. He pays for it upfront and then submits all of the receipts with his monthly expenses.

"It's an amazing program," he says."It's like getting a $20,000 raise before taxes."

There are other benefits, too. He feels an added sense of loyalty toward Jobing.com and he's heard the same from colleagues anecdotally. Having 167 employees driving around with a wrapped vehicle is great advertising. Also, the drivers tend to be more safe since people know where to find them. The benefit is taken away if an employee is caught driving recklessly or being rude on the road.

"There are times when I'd rather roll up in my wife's car," says Difilippantonio. "My wife initially got embarrassed. Then she realized the benefit to my career and also to our bottom line at home."

Cheers:

SUYASH