Brian Gongol
Google sells Motorola Mobility to Lenovo
Not a great investment on Google's part, it turns out. And the company needs to avoid big mistakes in order to survive into the future.
US personal income rose 2.8% in 2013
But we saved a lot less (in total) in 2013 than in 2012. By $126 billion.
CNN to automatically mine Twitter for news tips
Cedar Rapids bounces back from disastrous flood, largely by its own bootstraps
What not to buy at "dollar" stores
(Other than anything you would put in or on your body)
It's time for the next generation in credit cards
The huge Target security breach hammers home that point
NHTSA wants cars to transmit location data to one another
If we can effectively enable inter-vehicle communication in a way that mimics the swarming behavior of ants (for instance), we could all end up much safer on the roads
Microsoft names its next CEO
Interesting: They're putting their cloud-services chief in charge of the whole company and (supposedly) increasing Bill Gates's role once again
NOAA's looking for better ways to issue weather warnings to the public
Why Maria Bartiromo quit CNBC
Ambitious people who don't see anyone seeking to help them advance can't be blamed for looking around for other options
Inventor James Dyson says there's a shortage of engineering skill in the West
Emergency update to Adobe Flash
Delta takes its in-flight safety video back to the 80s
(Video) Some of the gags are superficial...but others are sublime
A world-class fair in Omaha in 1898
It's deeply revealing to take an occasional look back at the things we considered the state of the art in the past
Could the British royal family get any more ridiculous?
The queen is sending her "personal dresser" to help put Duchess Kate in longer skirts. Really?
BLS claims a 3.2% annualized increase in US labor productivity
If true and accurate, it's great news. Economic growth (per capita) is necessarily the result of increased productivity. More productivity means faster growth.
Now the computer crooks have turned to fake funeral announcements
They'll clearly do anything to get you to let down your guard and click on a malicious link
The attempt to legalize targeted killings of American citizens in the "War on Terror"
Do we demand security at any cost?
The hacking threat to Sochi Olympics visitors and participants
Impressive visualizations of science
A response to Russia's "gay propaganda" ban
Video
Drink Leninade!
Envy isn't an economic policy
Richard Doak used to edit the opinion pages of the Des Moines Register. Now he's just opining on his own, saying that Iowa needs a Minnesota-style economic policy (which he characterizes as being part of their "more progressive politics"). Not everything he suggests is wrong -- we'd be better off finding an escape route from the free-for-all of economic-development incentives. But suggesting that we need a "more progressive state income tax" is boneheaded. The state's tax system is already too complex and riddled with special deductions. Flatten the rate and simplify the system. And don't think Iowa needs to become more "progressive" (code language for "more inclined to spend") in order to succeed.
Putting knowledge of user experience to work alongside weather forecasting
The science of weather forecasting has improved a lot over recent decades. Now it's time to improve the communication of that science to a public that doesn't seem especially interested in specialized information.
What would it really take to unionize college football players?
They're trying to do it at Northwestern
How much snow has to fall before school gets cancelled?
There's a perfect way to hold your hamburger
But you'll look pretty silly doing it
Upworthy is winning the "curiosity gap" for now
But the site's formula for successful leverage on Facebook won't last forever
So...Porsche owns half of Volkswagen
...but Volkswagen owns the Porsche brand name. Interesting corporate structure.
Recent temperatures established a new record for frost depth in Iowa
29" down from the ground level. The measurements are still relatively new, but that's pretty deep.
Iowa's Civil War monument at the State Capitol
Movie prequels we'd like to see