Brian Gongol
FDA warns alcoholic caffeinated beverage manufacturers it's taking a closer look at them
But they're still not going to be able to stop anyone from making a vodka Red Bull at home or ordering a Jack and Coke at the bar. So what's to be gained by new government action? Problem drinking is problem drinking -- that people mix their stimulants and their depressants dangerously still doesn't really alter the situation. Let's have the FDA get to work on the backlog of drugs looking for approval instead of looking for new things to regulate.
Jack Welch quits column-writing for Business Week
Effectively says four years of weekly columns were too much work. But here's the thing: It's not too much work. People write all the time, and in greater volumes than a once-weekly column. The reverence paid to Welch as a "great manager" has always seemed a bit too lapdog-ish anyway.
Virginia power outage hits water supplies
The root of all economic problems in the United States
The personal savings rate is paltry and has been that way for decades. The Federal debt is almost equal to our annual entire economic output (that's GDP). And, unlike the kind of debt a reasonable household might undertake (like mortgage debt, which finances a long-term capital outlay), the Federal government is going broke spending money on operating expenses like Medicare. The Federal government is borrowing with no regard for the future, and households are putting away next to nothing. This means we're going to have to worry about selling off our assets soon, unless we can find some way to become profoundly more productive. The situation only gets worse as the Federal budget deficit (the cumulative totals of which create the debt) reaches a record high of $176 billion in a single month. Over the course of a year, that would build a deficit of more than $2.1 trillion -- all of which adds to the total debt.
Abusive behavior by Chicago unions chases conventions out of town
Bing takes a step towards its "decision engine" promise
Microsoft's search engine is contracting with Wolfram Alpha to deliver search-engine results that answer questions directly -- rather than directing people to a list of potential sources. When a user asks Wolfram "Where was Ronald Reagan born?, the site delivers a specific answer. Google is starting to deliver answer-based results to questions, but that's not its stock in trade.
The Interstate highway system map -- London Underground-style
Clever enough to merit a look
Sometimes people don't see the big picture
It took almost 40 years after its invention for the microwave to reach widespread adoption. It's one of many scary thoughts.
Fasting before a cholesterol test may not be necessary
Podcast: What happens if H1N1 sends lots of people home to over-use Hulu?
Podcast: Using WiFi from an administrative account
The smallest threats to water
Finding the complaints button
Businesses have to make it painfully easy for customers to communicate with them
Proof positive that hip-hop is completely mainstream
LL Cool J is a TV cop. Flavor Flav does ads for Sprint. Snoop Dogg guest-stars on soap operas.
A new recreational lake for central Nebraska could be forthcoming
When planning for the long term really pays off
Some very far-sighted broadcasters thought to do a lot of smart things when putting KSL-TV's transmission tower at the top of a Utah mountain in 1952. They considered everything from coverage of the state to roadway access. And more than a half-century later, it's still operational. Decisions often last longer than we expect; those who make business decisions with a 50- or 100-year time horizon in mind ought to be applauded and encouraged. There's a lot of interest boiling right now over the economic problems facing the United States right now. But if all we do is concern ourselves with the short-term troubles and ignore or overlook the long-term decisions we're obligated to make, then we're only going to cause greater pain. Big problems, like inflation, under-investment in infrastructure, and an absymally low personal savings rate can only be managed if we think deliberately about what will happen in 10, 25, or 50 years -- or even a century.
What the center of the galaxy looks like
Spider silk becomes a huge textile
As autism becomes higher-profile, does that excuse it becoming a pejorative phrase?
What Roger Ebert originally had to say about "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"
Podcast: Part 2 of our look into the future
Podcast: On running antivirus software
Finding solutions for power outages
20 years ago today, the Berlin Wall came tumbling down
One of the greatest days of the 20th Century. News coverage from the day offers a strange flashback. Today, Eastern Europe is mostly working under free markets and the rule of law. It's worth watching a retrospective video of the event to help realize just how far the world has progressed since then.
Radiation saves the life of the kid who tried to escape cancer treatment
The kid who, with his mother, tried to flee the country to avoid a court order for his medical treatment is now cancer-free. Medical treatment saved his life; their erroneous religious delusions did not.
Rupert Murdoch thinks his news websites can survive without search traffic
That assumes a whole lot of brand value and brand magnetism that simply doesn't exist, except perhaps for the Wall Street Journal
Is the free market the only remaining attractor to the GOP?
For the young, quite possibly. Hangups on social issues, popular with some members of the Republican Party, look cranky and anachronistic to young voters now. And they'll look even worse in a few years when the rest of society moves along.
Poorly-designed condo tips over
All 12 stories of it. Related: Dozens of very tall buildings are frozen in mid-construction.
See inside the mind of Warren Buffett
Podcast: Another check of the Future Scale
Podcast: When strange noises emit from a computer
How long can America operate with a weak dollar?
Not forever, to be sure. There are those, like the analysts at Charles Schwab, who think that inflation and a weak US dollar are only long-term problems. But Allan Meltzer thinks the dominoes are being lined up for a colossal problem in the not-so-long term. Meltzer is no idiot -- he's the author of "A History of the Federal Reserve" and an economist who's been speaking up about the potential inflation catastrophe ahead for some time. And here's just a single metric that ought to make the problem a little more clear: The US government has built up a Federal debt of $12 trillion. The World Bank estimates that the entire world economy is worth about $57 trillion a year. So, somehow, the US needs to figure out how to get control of a debt burden that's not only just shy of its own annual income, but also one that's presently more than 20% of the entire global economy -- and growing by more than a trillion dollars a year. There is, in short, only so much money in the world to begin with, and if we're siphoning off an annual deficit that's bigger than all but the top ten world economies, who's going to be available to do the lending? The borrowing has to stop before expensive assets have to be put up as collateral -- as is starting to happen in Britain, where a bankrupt automotive firm has been sold to a Chinese group. But America may be too busy making celebrities out of reality-television actors to notice.
How a "public option" for property insurance has put Florida's entire government at risk
By introducing a "public option" for property insurance in a state where massive property damage is a regular occurrence (thanks to hurricanes), the state of Florida is sitting on a financial time bomb that could absolutely destroy the state's economy and render its government bankrupt overnight. Food for thought in a country whose lower house of the legislature has just passed a huge "public option" for health insurance. In related news, the government of Venezuela, which has promised much and paid for little, is in the midst of taking hotels and other property on a whim.
Microsoft Windows through the years
A very carefully-controlled skyscraper demolition
Instead of blowing up an old building, how about demolishing it from the bottom up, one floor at a time?
Hurricane Ida aims for New Orleans
And we had been doing so well this year with such a quiet Atlantic hurricane season...
Science fights back against the conspiracy nuts
Can you tell one font from another?
Specifically, what differences would arise if the highly-regarded Helvetica were replaced with the less-beloved Arial?
Should Berkshire Hathaway shareholders vote for a stock split?
Podcast: What should journalists be free to say when they're off the clock?
Podcast: Why we need more inducement prizes