Gongol.com Archives: 2015 Weekly Archives
November 22, 2015

November 21, 2015

On one hand, engineers of the civil/structural/environmental variety shouldn't let other people cheapen the title since certain types of engineering are (literally) a profession. On the other hand, engineering has long been much broader than what is defined strictly by those professions -- and we could use a lot more engineering-think from people outside the engineering professions (as strictly defined).


They both belong in the discussion, but our understanding of the situation must go deeper

China says it's going to continue expanding its man-made island chain (in a transparent attempt to create maritime claims where none ought to exist). Now the question is whether anyone else can counterclaim or present a rejection of the claims that will stand up. China clearly doesn't want to lose face after putting in this investment.

It happened in a residential part of the building
November 20, 2015

"Job creation" is a popular theme for politicians, but jobs alone aren't the only thing that matters. The national unemployment rate is estimated around 5.0%, which is generally thought to be in the neighborhood of the natural rate of unemployment. Yet lots of reasonable people would say the economy is substantially underperforming its potential. Jobs matter, but they're not the only thing that matters. And politicians need to show some humility about what they're capable of doing.

It's now in its third generation of unimaginable absurdity, but it's no less murderous


It's no surprise that people inside China are looking for ways to get their money outside the country, for reasons of both returns and security

Companies like Marriott are spending money on original content (like 15-minute YouTube movies) that are intended to promote their brands. It's actually quite a back-to-the-future thing, considering that many commercial radio stations started as in-house "branded content" vehicles: WLS stood for "World's Largest Store" (Sears). WHO started out as a tool for Bankers Life (now Principal Financial). KMA was a department of the Earl May seed company.
November 19, 2015

A powerful documentation of the refugee condition

It does not do us any good to caricature them as some kind of medieval enemy. They are very much a product of the modern world and are not afraid to exploit modern tools. It is a modern machine of monstrosity.

Seven of the top ten are among the world's most advanced economies. Two (Sri Lanka and Myanmar/Burma) are very much developing. One (Malaysia) is middle-class. It's certainly an endorsement for promoting prosperity.

It's a large update -- perhaps on a scale near that of the big service packs that came with Windows XP.

CP thinks it can cut operating costs at Norfolk Southern by 10 percentage points
November 18, 2015

President Xi Jinping: "China's economy is still coping with the complicated internal and external environment, considerable downward pressure, and the temporary pain of deep reforms". Don't imagine them to be quite so temporary. The political environment is going to put a permanent damper on the economic environment. It's too bad we ceased to call it "political economy" as a branch of study a long time ago -- the two are intertwined.

China's government is arresting and prosecuting people inside financial firms. It's a very modern form of purge.

North America could soon be short by almost a million skilled industrial workers

It's hard to resist the lure to share too much personal information and leave behind a big digital footprint. These are uncharted waters.

The Art Deco-inspired but 1989-built NBC Tower is really quite gorgeous
November 17, 2015

The most dangerous thing in the world may very well be lots of young people (especially young men) with lots of free time and nothing to do. It can be especially dangerous when they don't think they have any prospects for improvement to their own material well-being. Always beware the well-intended steps that are supposed to make things better for the poor but that present new barriers to entry into the workforce for those with no experience and no skills.

An $85 computer running the Google Chrome operating system. Attach to a monitor, add a keyboard, and you have computer functionality.

Consolidation in the broadcasting industry continues, even when there's no actual broadcasting taking place.

Really bad news for extraction economies. This needs to be on the radar of the people who look after foreign affairs and geopolitics: The extractive economies are generally the lesser-developed ones. If they suddenly have less income, they're going to become less stable.

We can't just look at the millions of displaced people as simple "collateral damage". There needs to be a vision for what is to be done for and about them. The air war may very well be necessary -- but it cannot be conducted as though in isolation from any other circumstances or consequences.
November 16, 2015

That should not make us treat the refugees badly. They are victims, too.

Fox News Channel host editorializes against the knee-jerk reaction against refugees

A lot can change in the course of a few decades. It matters whether our civic and political leaders have a vision for the future.

If you don't want to lose control, don't give up ownership

Instead? A flat 20% service charge added to every bill.