An article in today's NYT...

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/ma...l?ref=magazine

....finally gives some concrete answers to the question of what manufacturing
workers should be retraining for, if they're expecting to work in a growing
sector of the economy:

"Why do presidential candidates touting their concern for the economy pose
with factory workers rather than with ballet troupes? After all, the U.S.
now has more choreographers (16,340) than metal-casters (14,880), according
to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. More people make their livings shuffling
and dealing cards in casinos (82,960) than running lathes (65,840), and
there are almost three times as many security guards (1,004,130) as
machinists (385,690). Whereas 30 percent of Americans worked in
manufacturing in 1950, fewer than 15 percent do now. The economy as
politicians present it is a folkloric thing."

So, the answer is clear: It's time to learn to dance or shuffle. Practice
those pirouettes, and always deal from the top of the deck, ya'll.

http://www.wikihow.com/Do-a-Pirouette

--
Ed Huntress