Brian Gongol
Google's quest to make big waves in robot manufacturing
Google's best move is to position itself for monopoly-like protection as a search engine and Internet backbone, and funnel profits into other business sectors where computing power creates a major competitive advantage.
Inflation remains exceptionally low
It's basically zero on a monthly basis, and only about 1% over the last year. Cheap energy is making a huge difference.
Deferred maintenance leading to a catastrophic failure of essential water and wastewater services
CNN is reporting that the Carnival Triumph, which had the infamous nightmare cruise back in February, was sent out to sea even though management knew fully that there was equipment that badly needed repair. Unfortunately, there are plenty of cities in the same condition. We like to defer maintenance as long as we can, because the consequences may not show up until they're someone else's problem.
ADM decides to move from Decatur (Illinois) to Chicago -- even though the state is providing no "economic incentives"
A move like this -- from one part to another within a single state -- is a pretty obvious zero-sum game for the state, so why should the government pay? The argument, of course, is that some other place may offer even better incentives and cause them to leave the state altogether.
Supervolcanoes in the western US
More serious a threat than we previously thought
