Brian Gongol
Socialized medicine means doctors' hours become a matter of politics
Aging population and few kids mean Tokyo Disneyland now targets senior citizens
How technology has completely revolutionized Presidential campaigning
Remember those snowstorms in China last month?
The government there is insisting that power companies restore electricity to the hardest-hit regions...by the end of March.
Surveillance creep becomes creepy surveillance
Florida law prohibits the use of surveillance cameras (like red-light cameras) for the issuance of traffic tickets. That's a good policy. But at least two towns are so interested in bringing in money via traffic fines (one has brought in $300,000 so far) that they're using traffic cameras to issue "civil infractions" instead of traffic tickets. Not only is it an example of Orwellian double-speak, it's also a spooky reminder of just how cheap our privacy really is to some public officials. There are much better ways to improve traffic safety than by installing cameras everywhere -- at red lights, for instance, all it takes to reduce T-bone crashes is to make a slight adjustment to the timing cycle of the lights. And let's not forget that adding red-light cameras, for instance, actually increases the number of rear-end crashes in some places. But instead of using common sense and some simple engineering to make life safer, public officials in a lot of places seem intent on sleepwalking straight into a surveillance society, in which everything you do is monitored by some "authority." Benjamin Franklin would be apoplectic.
China wants to go drilling for oil in the Philippines
Given China's explosive growth in energy consumption (and India's, too), we should probably be thinking right now about what we'll do when oil reaches $200 a barrel
The political climate may be foreboding for technology
The likely political climate in Washington following this next election will probably include a lot of enthusiasts for more government regulation and intervention in business. The Internet, meanwhile, has been free to develop over the last few years mostly outside the scope of regulation -- which has in turn meant lots of good things for consumers. But if the regulatory juggernaut comes to play, the whole universe of technological progress could find itself moving a lot slower.
State in eastern India has had a dozen lynch mobs in the last six months
The state, Bihar, has almost 83 million residents -- which makes it larger than Germany and all but 14 other countries in the entire world. But once people start to lose their faith in a reasonable system of justice and begin to handle matters extralegally through violence, a dozen events can easily cascade into many more.
Des Moines sewer rates to start rising by 6% annually
Welcome to the house of the future...of the past
Where's my personal helicopter?
China is now broadcasting TV to Cuba
And Cuba is reciprocating the "favor." Anyone who doesn't believe in the power of international broadcasting -- and the urgent need for the US to do more of it -- is missing the big picture.
If government's going to pay for health care, will people still be allowed to pay for better care?
That's not just a rhetorical question: Under some schemes, private-sector care is basically prohibited. Greg Mankiw compares this to education: If a parent wants to pay for after-school tutoring, should the kid be kicked out of public school?
Back to the 80's: Phil Collins does "Easy Lover"
(Video) A great song, but unless you can find a friend with a really high-pitched voice, not much good for karaoke. What the world seems to be missing is a good, comprehensive list of karaoke recommendations for guys with bass and baritone voices. That would certainly be a worthwhile contribution to humanity, wouldn't it?
Drought continues in the Missouri River basin
Navy says it's pretty sure it hit the wayward satellite's fuel tanks
They hit the satellite with a missile, as promised, and they say "We also have a high degree of confidence that we got the tank."
Huge about-face at Microsoft
They're suddenly revealing a mountain of information that had previously been guarded by levels of secrecy that the KGB would've admired. And they're hinting that they'll cooperate with open-source software makers and open up lots of their software to open-source interoperability. But amid all the feel-good joy coming out of Redmond, they're also saying that if you plan to make any money off of their work, then Microsoft had better get a cut.
Hurricanes haven't gotten worse -- we just have too many people living on the coasts
Study says that if we were to place old hurricane tracks over what's built in those places today, those old hurricanes would be just as expensive as the ones we're getting today. Their conclusion: "Potential damage from storms is growing at a rate that may place severe burdens on society. Avoiding huge losses will require either a change in the rate of population growth in coastal areas, major improvements in construction standards, or other mitigation actions."
Southern Iowans worry about spring flooding
Graphic of the day: Subway Ad
Google shows interest in wireless Internet via hydrogen-filled balloons
Salt Lake City airport offers multiple experience levels for TSA screening
Know before you go: Anything you put online will probably stay there
Russia's probable next president says he's against corruption -- but is he really?
Dmitry Medvedev is almost certain to become the next president of Russia, because he's Vladimir Putin's hand-picked successor. So when he promises to pursue greater freedom -- "I mean freedom in all its manifestations -- personal freedom, economic freedom and, finally, freedom of expression" -- can he be believed? Especially given Putin's worsening record of the last eight years?
How to fight spam weblogs
Governor says Nebraska has enormous water problems
Under-investment in infrastructure strikes again: This time in the air
The US Air Force says the Federal budget is under-shooting the needed amount of money for replacement warplanes by $100 billion over the next five years.
"Patriots Super Bowl Champions" t-shirts now flood Central America
Mozilla plans big upgrade to Thunderbird e-mail system
US Navy plans to shoot down errant spy satellite tomorrow evening
The satellite went bad shortly after launch in 2006, so it's full of hazardous propellant that could kill a bunch of people if it landed on Earth. Blowing it to smithereens is probably the smart thing to do.
Man puts world's largest record collection up for sale on eBay
Claims it includes 3,000,000 LP records and 300,000 CDs. Reserve price: $3,000,000.
Platte River recovery will cost at least $187 million
Today is self-examination day
A monthly reminder for men to conduct a testicular self-exam and for women to conduct a breast exam
Chinese subway ad encourages people to quit public transit and buy cars
Climate change caused by global warming may or may not be the fault of human activity. But one thing is quite certain: Once Americans realize en masse that they're no longer the world's biggest producers of greenhouse gases and air pollution, and that they have been out-polluted by both India and China, there will be a lot more public support for international measures to change how we manage those pollutants.
Cheap memory and competition may drive down iPhone prices by a big margin soon
Make St. Patrick's Day a national holiday in the US
Forecasting the quality of a cell-phone signal
There are websites dedicated to reviews of cell-phone towers. Imagine: That kind of consumer information not only helps individuals plan for what they might need, but also applies pressure to the phone companies, forcing them to respond to poor performance. Free markets get that done.
Monsanto pledges $5 million to turn old Des Moines library into World Food Prize headquarters
US formally recognizes Kosovo
It's the birth of a nation, though the State Department says what happened in Kosovo was unique and shouldn't be expected elsewhere
Sewer rates to rise in Oskaloosa
Notes from the "Brian Gongol Show" - February 17, 2008
Yahoo shuts down design office
When a company starts dicing its research and development, that's a really bad sign for its future
Saudi government: Not exactly a reliable partner
Is world security at risk due to short supplies of food?
Bloomberg: Rebate checks are like "giving a drink to an alcoholic"
Spokesperson says he means it as criticism of government spending...and he's right
Is MySpace good for society?
On one hand, we ought to consider the implications of how we use any technology -- but it's really hard for technology itself to be "good" or "bad" for society. The ethical value is entirely dependent upon how it's used by people.