Gongol.com Archives: 2014 Weekly Archives
Brian Gongol



Iowa Americans know when to blow up the old and replace with the new
The Des Moines Register says city staff is going to deny historic-preservation status for the old YMCA downtown. Get nostalgic about it if you want, but not with other people's money.

Threats and Hazards Russia's fight with Chechnya is fueling our fight in Syria and Iraq now
Some Chechens got a lot of practice fighting a sophisticated army when they rebelled against Russia. Now those skills have moved (with the fighters) to the Middle East.

Computers and the Internet Metafilter and the one-platform problem
Owned-and-operated websites will always be the best tool for getting information out online...but whatever site you're running, you need to be able to adapt to where consumers are. Right now, that's Facebook and (to a lesser extent) Twitter and other sites. In the past, it was MySpace. For some people, it's LinkedIn or Instagram. It'll be something else in the future. The secondary platforms are too transient to be relied-upon forever, but you can't ignore them, either.

Aviation News One person should not have been able to do that much damage to Chicago's air-traffic control
The system just can't be that fragile -- they're saying that October 13th is the target date to get everything back up to full speed

Threats and Hazards Intruder got pretty deep into the White House
Contradicts previous reports and should send a shiver down the spine. Isn't that exactly what the Secret Service is supposed to prevent?



Business and Finance Bill Clinton sees that it's time to reform corporate taxes
Clinton came from a business-friendly wing of the Democratic party that the current administration has aggressively sent into exile, so we're wasting time blathering about "inversions" instead of fixing the real problem. That's not the way they would fix a faulty car design at a place like Honda, and it's not the way we should fix a faulty economic system. Ask why things you don't like are happening, and keep asking "Why?" until you get to an ultimate cause...then fix it.

Business and Finance August's personal-savings rate: 5.4%
Could have been higher, but at least it's above zero. Bodes well for the future if we can be consistent about it.

Humor and Good News 49ers wide receiver drafts a "Fantasy You" team via Twitter
A hilarious gag, really

Computers and the Internet Steve Ballmer doesn't want the LA Clippers using Apple products
Can you blame him? He's the largest individual shareholder in Microsoft.

Computers and the Internet Google's watching you from above
Or at least, they're floating balloons to provide broadband Internet serve

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Computers and the Internet Forgotten archive of speeches re-discovered
There is so much material that hasn't been digitized (and may never be), and it is at enormous risk of being lost to history if we don't catalog and digitize it

Computers and the Internet Parenting as a member of Generation X

Agriculture Iowa's corn and soybeans are behind schedule

News Why everyone should know self-defense: Case study #12
Two kids got into a fight at a Council Bluffs high school. The aggressor ended up dead after a single blow from the other student. It's tragic, and it never should have happened. But everyone really must know how to defend themselves against punches, kicks, and weapons -- especially if learned within a context that increases the odds that you will de-escalate any confrontation you enter.

News Pre-revolutionary Russia in color photographs



News Keep a close eye on Hong Kong
The tensions boiling to the surface there are most likely not that far removed from the tensions we'll see in other parts of China someday if the Communist Party doesn't ease up on personal liberties

Computers and the Internet Nashville Marriott busted for jamming personal WiFi hotspots
Internet access may not be a fundamental human right, but it's also nobody's arbitrary right to block your access to it

Iowa Homeowners in the Quad Cities want guns for protection from coyotes
There are places where other protection isn't readily available and where a gun is the only reasonable tool of defense. Circumstances vary, but that's why universal gun bans don't make sense in America.

Iowa Spoof video brings attention to pull-over/slow-down rules
Police officers face too many hazards already; bad drivers shouldn't add to the risk. West Des Moines police officers deserve credit for having some fun bringing light to the issue.

Humor and Good News Parenting in the advertising parallel universe



News One-paragraph book review: "Honda: An American Success Story"
Toss out the hideously outdated dustjacket, and you have one of the very best books on management to be found anywhere.

News One-paragraph book review: "The Outsiders"
An appealing take on rationality in capital allocation, or "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love My Investors Instead".