Gongol.com Archives: 2011 Weekly Archives
Brian Gongol



Threats and Hazards NSA boss on cyberwarfare: "We can't just defend"
And a retired general says, "When nations steal terabytes of information, our nation suffers for 20, 30, 40 years." On a related note, one of the easiest routes into organizational computer networks today is the lawless Wild West of security that is the smartphone. They're everywhere, and nobody has a serious handle on how to keep them secure.

The United States of America Budget "supercommittee" is near collapse


Weather and Disasters Why it was appropriate to change the Omaha baseball team name to the "Storm Chasers"
It probably escapes the attention or understanding of people who live away from the Midwest, but the weather here is categorically extreme: Temperatures up to almost 120°F and down below -30°F; winds over 110 miles per hour, even without a tornado (which can happen throughout most of the year); and hailstones measured in multiple inches.

Broadcasting Radio show notes from the "Brian Gongol Show" on November 20, 2011

Weather and Disasters Live seismic data from around the world




Agriculture There are a million people going hungry in one country right now
A million people is more than half of the state of Nebraska -- or the entire state of Montana. It should not matter to us one bit that the people live in a country called Zimbabwe, but it certainly feels like our instinct (in the US) is to discount the importance of tragedies happening to people who live far away.

Aviation News Architect proposes $80 billion plan to replace Heathrow
The huge new airport would be in the middle of the Thames River, could take 20 years to build, and supposedly might even be self-financing. We'll see about all of those.

Science and Technology Time-lapse videos of Earth from space


Business and Finance Microlending is on the rise in the US


Business and Finance Iowans have better-than-average financial literacy


Computers and the Internet How to create Google Maps showing a radius of distance from a central point


News Co-creator of "Dangermouse" has died


News Putin gets booed off the stage


Water News Nobody knows the route of the new Keystone XL pipeline



Business and Finance Young people are falling for the gold-as-investment myth
Egads.

Business and Finance There are jobs out there for people willing to learn technical skills
Blue-collar jobs aren't for dummies.

Iowa Midwesterners have the best credit scores


Science and Technology Prices for household wind-energy prices are declining
They still seem pretty unaffordable for most households, but just like computers, they ought to be affected by declining prices with technological improvements

Agriculture Beef prices are rising to new records
...but ranchers are getting squeezed because cattle feed is costing more than ever, too

News Deep-voiced politicians have better electoral success
A Canadian study concludes that deeper-voiced politicians are considered more authoritative, with or without cause

Computers and the Internet How technology makes it easier for bands to get off the ground