Gongol.com Archives: March 2014
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![Business and Finance](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/biz.png)
If we want the economy to grow, we have to see faster gains than that
![Broadcasting](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/broadcast.png)
In the times of YouTube, Netflix, and Hulu, why not? Purists will be upset, but lots of viewing is already time-shifted.
![Business and Finance](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/biz.png)
![Computers and the Internet](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/comp.png)
![Science and Technology](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/sci.png)
(Video)
![Computers and the Internet](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/comp.png)
Instead of magnetic strips, they want your cards to use the EMV chip
![Business and Finance](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/biz.png)
And they're trying to make a splash by claiming to have discovered the creator of Bitcoin. In the long run, does Bitcoin really matter? No.
![Health](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/health.png)
And the ones in carbon-monoxide monitors, too
![News](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/news.png)
They might have the equivalent of 15 years of overcapacity to fill, if all the talked-about projects come to fruition
![Computers and the Internet](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/comp.png)
![Broadcasting](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/broadcast.png)
Listen live at 9:00 pm Central
![The United States of America](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/usa.png)
In many other representative democracies -- especially those with proportional-vote systems and weak executives -- they wait to form governing coalitions until after the general election, in which it's every party for itself. Our first-past-the-post approach and strong executive branch naturally wedge us into a two-party system -- so we get factions within two mainstream parties, rather than lots of highly-differentiated parties that form temporary governing coalitions. Is it better for America's Republican Party to have primary fights between "Tea Party" types and "Main Street" types than to face a chaotic German-style vote in which direct votes and proportional votes are mixed, with 34 individual parties in the chase? We just form our coalitions earlier than our more parliamentary counterparts.
![Computers and the Internet](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/comp.png)
In general, Google will have to make an incredible number of right decisions over the next ten to fifteen years if it wants to match any of the success of its first decade and a half. That's going to be a really, really tall order...and the chances of them making it without major pain aren't great.
![Computers and the Internet](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/comp.png)
![Humor and Good News](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/haha.png)
(Video) Kevin Bacon shows up with an important public-service announcement
![Humor and Good News](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/haha.png)
(Video)
![Business and Finance](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/biz.png)
The city financed the hotel to help spur convention business...but now it's in danger of losing money
![Business and Finance](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/biz.png)
Analyst commenting on how Lexus may have stolen some of Acura's thunder
![Health](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/health.png)
A woman is looking for the mother who left her as a newborn in the bathroom of a Pennsylvania Burger King. It is absolutely essential that people know that every state has a safe-haven law allowing mothers to relinquish their infants unharmed, no questions asked. The window of time available and the acceptable locations vary by state, but the fact that protection is universal should be known...universally.
![Science and Technology](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/sci.png)
Plus some amusing commentary in the spaces between the planets
![Health](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/health.png)
All the more reason to treasure the HPV vaccine as a real advance
![Computers and the Internet](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/comp.png)
Some technology developers think they've cracked the code to speed-reading for everyone, without training, using a method of identifying the place where the eye should land on a word for maximum comprehension. Quite interesting. Possibly promising. The name ("Spritz") may leave a bit to be desired.
![News](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/news.png)
![Computers and the Internet](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/comp.png)
Too many people using games and apps and not browsing the Internet (and using Google to search it)
![Broadcasting](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/broadcast.png)
"Cash operating return on assets"
![The United States of America](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/usa.png)
![Health](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/health.png)
It's happening in Manhattan and the Bronx, and some people have been hopitalized as a result. Two of the cases were in people whose parents chose not to vaccinate them. Contagious diseases like this can be transmitted most easily to the vulnerable -- like people who are already sick and in the doctor's office for other reasons. There is really no legitimate dispute about the costs versus the benefits of vaccination. It is unconscionable that people use excuses based upon completely rejected claims of side effects to justify the decision to put their own children and others at high risk of harm. People who don't understand the importance of herd immunity do not have the right to put others at risk based upon their ignorance.
![Iowa](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/iowa.png)
Coralville gave a big tax break to Von Maur to get the retailer to build a store there. This year, the store is getting more than 50% off its tax bill.
![Business and Finance](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/biz.png)
![Business and Finance](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/biz.png)
We still have a strong strain of proprietor-capitalism in America, and that means a lot of people devote countless hours to their small businesses -- hours that never really get counted or noticed by others.
![Science and Technology](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/sci.png)
Their ability to live on very little oxygen may signal the bridge
![Broadcasting](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/broadcast.png)
Without question, one of the best voices of all time
![Computers and the Internet](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/comp.png)
By hiking the price of Amazon Prime from $79 a year to $99 a year -- and doing it with a week's notice -- they're really going to test whether consumers care a lot about that $20. Bold move. But Amazon isn't a very profitable company -- they lost money in 2012, and shares currently sell for more than 600 times last year's profits per share. Remember: A sky-high stock price can be totally disconnected from profits. Perhaps this is an effort to jolt some profit-making into the bottom line.
![Weather and Disasters](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/wx.png)
![Business and Finance](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/biz.png)
A BBC report observes that the lack of quarterly reporting by Chinese companies may free their managers to concentrate on the long term. But the decision whether to build ultra-long-term business plans isn't really shackled by whether the SEC requires the filing of paperwork on a regular basis.
![News](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/news.png)
![News](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/news.png)
In part for a lakefront football practice facility "likely to exceed $220 million"
![Computers and the Internet](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/comp.png)
If so, then we're idiots. Obsessing over how an education is physically delivered is like caring whether your milk comes in a carton or a jug. It simply doesn't matter.
![Science and Technology](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/sci.png)
![Threats and Hazards](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/threats.png)
A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take away everything you have
![Science and Technology](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/sci.png)
Smart move; they're coming soon, and governments rarely act quickly
![Business and Finance](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/biz.png)
It's one of many nations that could find itself hurt when the Federal Reserve backs off on an easy-money policy. The important thing for all of these vulnerable nation is to get good at things other than pure extraction economies (like diamonds, oil, gold, or other things that come out of the ground). Skilled work forces producing goods and services -- and getting better at doing those things all the time -- mark the path to durable economic growth.
![Health](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/health.png)
![Computers and the Internet](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/comp.png)
![Business and Finance](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/biz.png)
![Broadcasting](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/broadcast.png)
![Broadcasting](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/broadcast.png)
![Computers and the Internet](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/comp.png)
Interestingly, so does China's Google
![News](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/news.png)
Rather than Putin-as-barely-contained-madman, which is a more convenient way to paint him, but probably not as accurate
![Computers and the Internet](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/comp.png)
It's probably assumed that the value of the visual cue no longer exceeds the cost of the visual clutter
![News](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/news.png)
The political party that wants Quebec to separate from the rest of the country is in very healthy shape right now. Americans should not ignore the prospect.
![Aviation News](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/fly.png)
![Broadcasting](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/broadcast.png)
![Health](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/health.png)
Take a minute or two and conduct some basic self-screenings for cancer. Early detection saves lives. There's lots of misinformation about cancer that finds its way around the Internet, largely because we've been trained to wait expectantly for some sort of magic-bullet solution to cancer. But cancer risks can be significantly reduced through a balanced diet, exercise, and early detection and treatment. Meanwhile, science is making great progress towards improving genetic detection, which holds great promise for some types of cancer. Instead of forwarding hoax-ridden e-mails about "cancer cures" and false threats, people should instead remind their friends and family to assess their health once a month.
![Business and Finance](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/biz.png)
There is some needless over-alarmism in Michael Moritz's commentary on the subject, but the truth is that people lived through the 1980s and 1990s gaining the impression that investment rates of return could always be assumed at 8% to 10%, and that's just not reality. Unfortunately, the longer we ignore that fact, the harsher the consequences.
![News](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/news.png)
What we've done so far seems not to be doing much good
![Computers and the Internet](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/comp.png)
Had the plaintiffs been able to aggregate their cases, they probably would have stood a better shot in court. Of course, if you don't want to run the risk of Google scanning your e-mail to help target their advertising, you can always use another service or build your own e-mail system.
![Computers and the Internet](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/comp.png)
An upgrade to Windows 7 is probably the path of least resistance for most users. Of course, there's also the huge number of hidden XP computers, like 95% of the world's ATMs. That could be a bigger problem.
![Business and Finance](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/biz.png)
A hedge-fund manager wants to know who wrote things on Seeking Alpha that may have hurt his business. Trade secrets or legitimate reporting?
![Computers and the Internet](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/comp.png)
To be discussed on WHO Radio at 5:00 CT. Also available as a slideshow for those who don't like reading.
![Aviation News](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/fly.png)
There's still a mystery to be examined and resolved, but this explanation passes some of the initial tests for making some intuitive sense
![Computers and the Internet](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/comp.png)
By getting users to create the long-form content (via the "Influencers" section) that gets people to stick around, LinkedIn aligns its interests as a business with the interests of users who want to be discovered for their talents. It's a more durable model for profit than many others on the Internet -- like the kind of incentive that alumni have to keep up the good name of their alma mater, long after graduation.
![Computers and the Internet](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/comp.png)
Because why not continue to change things on users?
![Broadcasting](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/broadcast.png)
![Science and Technology](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/sci.png)
Maybe the problem isn't so much that people are being attracted to ridiculous projects, like pointless smartphone apps, but that there isn't adequate incentive to put useful brainpower to use solving really important problems. Innovation prizes might be a way to help with that. There also could be a case made for improving the social status of real scientific and technical problems (as opposed to the sex appeal of working for something vaguely related to "Silicon Valley").
![Computers and the Internet](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/comp.png)
If you don't want to fall victim to the whims of an outside vendor, you have to figure out how to do things for yourself...especially on the Internet.
![Humor and Good News](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/haha.png)
(Video) Still one of the best SNL sketches of all time
![Business and Finance](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/biz.png)
Very thoughtful people have made strong arguments in favor of expanding the EITC and other means of helping the poor without distorting entry into the labor market -- which is a very serious consequence for young people. If there isn't a path upward to economic mobility, then we all suffer.
![Agriculture](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/ag.png)
It's not even close
![Computers and the Internet](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/comp.png)
Turkish users can still use the SMS-to-Twitter approach, and the rest of the world is amplifying the outrage
![Business and Finance](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/biz.png)
March Madness: The one month a year when Americans try to understand statistics
![Computers and the Internet](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/comp.png)
One of the problems with Android phones is that they need cache dumps on occasion for both the apps and the browsers
![Computers and the Internet](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/comp.png)
There's certainly a lot to learn, but there's no reason to get ripped off by "social media experts" and their ilk
![Humor and Good News](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/haha.png)
![Computers and the Internet](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/comp.png)
After spending more than the company's net worth on WhatsApp, another $2 billion now for a virtual-reality product maker. If it's just a ploy to get some news headlines, it's an incredibly expensive vanity move. Buzzfeed calls it a "moonshot".
![Weather and Disasters](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/wx.png)
Warnings of the instability reportedly go back years
![Health](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/health.png)
The more we see imports from China on American grocery shelves, the more we should want to see this kind of private-sector supervision take over where government supervision clearly has not
![Science and Technology](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/sci.png)
![Humor and Good News](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/haha.png)
Nobody needs that much detail about a novelty song
![Computers and the Internet](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/comp.png)
The service's ecosystem of hashtags and insider jargon are unquestionably off-putting to new users and non-users
![Broadcasting](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/broadcast.png)
BBC3 went on the air in 2003 and will go off the air (in the conventional sense) once the plan works its way through the bureaucracy. How much will the over-the-air signal actually be missed?
![Computers and the Internet](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/comp.png)
They're letting users put as many as four photos in each update
![News](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/news.png)
Pretty major news for college football
![Science and Technology](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/sci.png)
Why do we not have more faith in automated control of things like cars and subways? Sure, put people in place as a backup set of eyes and ears, but let's trust the computes and machinery that are clearly good enough to do the job.
![Business and Finance](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/biz.png)
![Computers and the Internet](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/comp.png)
![Computers and the Internet](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/comp.png)
![The United States of America](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/usa.png)
![Business and Finance](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/biz.png)
Most people probably don't realize it, but the huge bonanza in natural gas -- which has sent prices into the tank -- has been a major competitive advantage for the United States, and if it continues to offer cheap feedstock to the chemicals and plastics industries and subsidizes cheap electricity, it's going to be a major contributor to the US economy for some time to come. But prices are so low that producers are trying to export the gas overseas. Chemical companies like Dow aren't quite so enthused.
![Broadcasting](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/broadcast.png)
The Wall Street Journal says that Amazon is about to launch a service like Hulu, with free streaming supported by advertising. Amazon tells CNet that's not true. Regardless, online is undoubtedly where to find more and more users all the time, so we're surely going to see others get into the game.
![Business and Finance](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/biz.png)
The personal savings rate was in the 5% neighborhood in mid-2013; it's down to the low 4% range now
![Business and Finance](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/biz.png)
That's one way to create a surge in sales
![Aviation News](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/fly.png)
In-flight "mentoring programs" are here
![Science and Technology](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/sci.png)
![Iowa](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/iowa.png)
A school that serves mostly in-state students isn't going to have the same funding needs as the ones bringing in more out-of-state money
![News](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/news.png)
![Socialism Doesn't Work](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/commies.png)
Oh, to live in a world where states stopped giving in to demands for tax breaks -- especially for the "sexy" industries, like high tech and filmmaking. Everyone else ends up footing the bill anyway. Though one might note that an eminent-domain claim against the property of the film company is a violation of ex post facto: You made the deal with "House of Cards", Maryland, and just because they might choose not to continue it gives you no right to go back on the terms of the original agreement.
![Broadcasting](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/broadcast.png)
![Weather and Disasters](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/wx.png)
Peak gust: 57 mph in Stanhope. Des Moines had 49 miles an hour.
![Computers and the Internet](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/comp.png)
![Broadcasting](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/broadcast.png)
Ford's out with an ad that spoofs a Cadillac ad. A good rivalry can bevery good for sharpening businesses.
![Computers and the Internet](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/comp.png)
The people who should really be upset are the ones who were suckered into crowdfunding Oculus in the first place. The tech-company acquisition spree shows no sign of petering out. Facebook may just be trying to diversify in anticipation of troubles ahead monetizing their classic marketing options.
![Computers and the Internet](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/comp.png)
![News](http://gongol.com/assets/icons/2005icons/news.png)