Gongol.com Archives: October 2011
Brian Gongol


October 3, 2011

Threats and Hazards Des Moines Police bust burlesque show
Thank goodness they've installed automatic traffic-enforcement cameras on I-235 so they now have time to go around looking for toplessness. Because there are certainly no real crimes taking place in this fair city, are there? It's well past time for the Big Brother nonsense to end.

Computers and the Internet Argument in favor of Facebook building its own Internet browser
They certainly might do it -- but the security-minded had better think twice before adopting it. Facebook is intrusive enough as it is, so letting it become the portal through which all one's Internet use is conducted would be a frightening prospect.

Computers and the Internet IT departments are learning to give up -- people will use the technology they want
...no matter what company policy might say.

Science and Technology Technological advance means more choices
That doesn't mean we have to use all of the new technologies that come our way, but it's fascinating to see the options that open up. For instance, the video of a 29-year-old hearing herself for the first time upon the startup of her cochlear implant. Those tools aren't for everyone with hearing impairments -- but having them available makes the world much better.

Business and Finance Is currency really all that sacred?
A guy from Omaha suggests that we auction off spaces on our currency to help pay the national debt. On the surface, it's kind of silly. But he's right that novel approaches must be considered if the United States is to get its fiscal affairs in order. And the question here is, how sacred do we really think the currency ought to be? After all, the Federal Reserve notes we all know and recognize (or maybe not, depending on how much they alter new bills) are younger than the Federal Reserve system itself -- about a hundred years. Are they really that sacrosanct?

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