Gongol.com Archives: 2015 Weekly Archives

Brian Gongol


October 18, 2015

Broadcasting Show notes: Brian Gongol Show on WHO Radio - October 18, 2015

News One-paragraph book review: "Moneyball" by Michael Lewis

Humor and Good News Larry David is brilliant as Bernie Sanders
But Kate McKinnon is positively inspired as Hillary Clinton in the latest "Saturday Night Live" cold open



October 17, 2015

News Meet Chinese democracy

Business and Finance The impossible position of a big metropolitan daily newspaper
Too long protected by monopoly powers, they haven't had a really good time making the transition to a much more competitive market

Broadcasting NBC is going to launch an all-comedy online programming service
If only it could bring back Phil Hartman and put him back with Dana Carvey, the world would be a better place

Agriculture What in the world do inmates have against bacon?

Computers and the Internet Disney wants a counter-cyberwarfare intern



October 16, 2015

News Shame on Mike Huckabee
A Presidential candidate who wears his Christianity on his sleeve should be positively ashamed of himself for saying of Syrian refugees, "It matters if they’re really refugees escaping terror, escaping potential death, or are they just looking at this as an opportunity to get out of their country and go find the benefits America will provide." First, it's preposterous to suggest that the overwhelming majority of people trying to escape Syria are anything but refugees trying to escape the twin threats of Assad's brutal and soulless dictatorship and ISIS/ISIL/QSIL/Daesh's awful incarnation of a totalitarian regime. Anyone who doesn't know better than that shouldn't be running for so much as dog catcher, much less President. But let's examine the second half of Huckabee's statement: Since when has any voluntary group of immigrants to the United States ever looked for anything other than "an opportunity to get out of their country and go find the benefits America will provide". That's exactly why immigrants have always come here! Huckabee's attitude is toxic and reflects the attitude of a man unfit to be President.

Science and Technology It's not quite full autopilot, but...
Tesla says the Model S can just about drive itself, and will be fully capable of so doing in three years

Computers and the Internet With the consumer computer business in turmoil, how long can AMD hold out?

Business and Finance Warning signs: Factories are slowing production
It's not a huge contraction...yet. But two months in a row of decreased output from American factories is a bad sign.

Broadcasting "Key and Peele" end the run of one of the smartest shows on television
It's good to know that they're going to continue working together -- but the show was just so perfectly executed and so brilliantly written that its departure will leave a void



October 15, 2015

Business and Finance The Midwest had accelerated deflation in September
There was slight deflation nationwide, but marked deflation in the Midwest

Threats and Hazards Russia plays cyberwarfare offense against NATO

News Federal government starts fighting back against non-payers on student debt
All the more interesting, considering the tone that has been set from the top of the Obama Administration for quite some time -- one that has suggested that college is a right and that other people should pick up the tab

Business and Finance Low interest rates have set large companies on a debt binge
This should surprise nobody. What is surprising, though, is that we're not seeing the money being spent on capital equipment -- durable goods orders are down and in some sectors, significantly so. That's a bad signal for the economy at large -- if you're not seeing spending on stuff that will produce future profits, then you're not seeing a priming of the pump for future growth.

News Taking the wrong messages from research literature
A pop-culture analysis in The Atlantic says that determination is a bad thing. Embedded in the story, though, is this clarifying quotation: "[I]t's important to know when to quit and reevaluate rather than blindly push through". That is quite the opposite of saying perseverance is perverse -- it says that we ought to look for the optimal outcome.

News One-paragraph book review: "Accidental Empires"

Humor and Good News An honest job interview
"I'm dumb as rocks"



October 14, 2015

News An identity crisis for today's libraries
Openness to all could mean an unsettling environment for some

Business and Finance Alibaba founder wants China's economy to slow down

Computers and the Internet FBI takes out a botnet

Humor and Good News Cubs to preserve home run ball that landed atop video board

News Australia will resettle 12,000 refugees from Syria
To those who fear the influx of refugees from Syria into Western countries, the question really is this: Wouldn't you rather show mercy and compassion in a time of need and give thousands of people the chance to absorb your sense of freedom and individual liberty, rather than condemn them to fear, violence, and potential radicalization in a hostile place?

Aviation News No doubt remains: Malaysian airliner was shot down by a Russian missile



October 13, 2015

Business and Finance Deflation in the UK
Falling prices only sound like a good idea if you don't know what happens in the long run