Brian Gongol
Show notes from the WHO Radio Wise Guys - June 28, 2008
The iPhone turns one...alternatives to Microsoft Excel (free!)...and how to burn a home video from VHS to DVD. And more.
Charting the rains that caused the floods
IRS boosts rate for mileage deductions
It's a 16% increase, intended to cover the rising cost of gasoline
Supreme Court gets it right on the Second Amendment
From the decision in District of Columbia v. Heller: "The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home." That's a pretty clear statement. As much as it may frighten people -- particularly from outside the country -- who think that guns make America a dangerous place to live, the bottom line is that if one lives in a place where danger exists, and the government tries to obstruct one's right to self-defense against that danger, then the government itself is dangerous. It doesn't matter whether the danger is in the form of free-range polar bears or drug-dealing gang members.
Cedar Rapids uses flood-cleanup contracting permits to pick up crooks
That's called making some good out of a bad situation. Eastern Iowa deserves some credit for getting right to work at cleaning up after the floods. There's already a website devoted to coordinating flood-cleanup efforts among everyone from the City of Cedar Rapids to the United Way to the Red Cross. Even the Iowans living in the DC area are helping with the recovery effort. Some astonishing aerial views of the flooding (taken on June 10th) really show how bad it got.
Standby for severe weather
Flood emergency relief website
We got your Ted Nugent, right heeere
How to perform CPR
A good tool for those who haven't gone through formal training. At the very least, you can teach yourself.
Cubescape
The isometric pixel-picture tool that's good, clean fun for everybody...except recovering Tetris addicts who should stay far, far away
DNR applauds use of chlorination monitoring
Why Sioux City and Sioux Falls have turned out so differently
The two towns, about an hour apart, started off in roughly the same condition in the 1960s. But Sioux Falls has grown well while Sioux City has had a much rougher time, economically. The biggest difference is that Sioux City depends heavily upon manufacturing, while Sioux Falls has moved away from heavy industry. That should be a lesson for those who obsess over manufacturing jobs as a political issue. Manufacturing still matters, but it can't be the only thing happening in a city's economy.
Tracking radio listeners in real-time
The Internet makes it possible to follow listeners' reactions to a station in real time.
No more federation for American necktie makers
Despite what the current trend appears to be, the necktie will endure. It may just be taking a brief vacation in some offices. Thanks to the Internet, you can even buy custom hand-made neckties or even have one custom-made. Related: The world's best knot for a necktie is the Pratt-Shelby knot. Rarely tried, but easy to master and beautifully balanced.
House approves expanded funding for FEMA loans to water and wastewater plants
More than half of the US had storms yesterday
Internet replaces Mom as the first place to turn for child-care advice
American religious (and non-religious) beliefs are more diverse than most people probably think
A Pew Forum study on religion in America suggests that most people are anti-dogmatic; that is, they take a healthy live-and-let-live view on faith. That seems to run contrary to some of the headline news out there, like South Carolina's new Christian vanity plates. Possibly one of the most thoughtful observations out there on the matter of faith comes from an atheist who thinks that the biggest problem is when anybody of any stripe -- including his fellow atheists -- takes it all too seriously.
Life keeps getting better, and robots deserve some of the credit
The relative cost of using a robot to do tasks humans previously did has fallen dramatically over the last 20 years -- in fact, it now costs about a quarter of what it did in 1990. That's outstanding news, because it means we can devote human effort to much more useful tasks. That's the beauty of tools like automated self-checkout lanes at the grocery store: By letting machines do the work of scanning your groceries with minimal human supervision, businesses get lower labor costs (which result in a combination of higher profits for them and lower costs for customers), consumers get faster service (four self-checkout lanes can fit in the same space usually required for two regular lines), and the workers displaced are encouraged to move up the economic food chain, just like the gas-lamp lighters of 100 years ago needed to find something else to do when electric streetlights came along.
Farm bill includes $10 million for agriculture programs at the University of the District of Columbia
DC, of course, is not exactly a hotbed for farming. The argument is that urban farming -- greenhouses, gardens, and terrariums -- can help supply food to people in the city without creating a lot of energy waste in the course of transportation. That, for instance, is the dream of those behind the vertical farm project, which supposedly could act as a skyscraper for agriculture in the middle of a city. But for as worthy as urban agriculture may be, it's probably not the kind of thing that demands Federal funding. After all, there are already websites devoted to the notion because, if it makes sense, it's going to be profitable anyway to figure out how to do it. We don't subsidize the Burpee seed company, do we?
Shipwrecked Englishman decides to try his own Free State Project
Declares independence for a 2.5-acre island in the North Sea, and says it's open to anyone who's tired of government interference. Sounds a lot like the Free State Project to take over New Hampshire with a bunch of libertarians.
Why wasn't the Japanese earthquake last week a bigger news story?
A magnitude 7.2 quake hits Japan, which is one of the most densely-populated countries in the world, and the death toll amounts to less than a dozen. China, which is less than half as densely populated, experiences a magnitude 8.0 quake, and 80,000 people die. The difference? Japan is a wealthy country, and China is still relatively poor. Economic growth saves lives.
Grand Island resumes normal water service
How much ought voters to trust Senator Obama?
Note to Joan Rivers: Sometimes, they don't have you on 7-second delay
Busch family splits on whether to sell out
InBev has made a $46.3 billion unsolicited offer for the company, and different factions within the family disagree on whether they should take it. Of course, the family only owns 4.5% of the company anyway, so the real decision is probably out of their hands anyway. A family business is a funny thing; the Johnson family has made a fortune off their wax business for over 120 years. But the Ford clan hasn't done that well at keeping their car company at the top of its game. Some family businesses can stay intact for centuries, far longer than most public companies, but that longevity is far from guaranteed -- especially if the family gets lazy and uses nepotism rather than skill to keep themselves rich. Families like the Rockefellers chose to sell out of their original family business and now they have a family investment company that holds a huge portfolio of stocks in trust for the family and ships them the profits.
Show notes from the Brian Gongol Show on WHO Radio - June 22, 2008
Including conversation about how landfills are like banks, why people are stealing kitchen grease in San Francisco, and how to help flooding victims in Iowa. A podcast of a 10-minute show highlight is also online.
Filipino ferry sinks, probably killing 800 people
The ship was caught in a typhoon and capsized. Further evidence that when disasters occur, they hit poor places hardest. The Philippines have a per-capita income of $3,400. Greater national wealth means more money available to spend on things like better weather radar, more thorough inspections, and better safety equipment.
The newest thing to steal: Leftover restaurant cooking grease
San Francisco has a half-year-old program that collects leftover kitchen grease for conversion to biodiesel. It has two benefits: First, it creates cheap fuel; second, it cleans up the wastewater stream. But with petroleum prices going up swiftly, people are stealing the grease for their own use...which may just go to confirm the notion that today's landfills may someday become valuable resource reserves.