Brian Gongol
January 24, 2016
New algorithm proves 85% effective at detecting sarcasm
That might actually beat the recognition rates of a lot of credulous human beings
Google paid Apple $1 billion to get access to the iPhone
That's how badly Google wants to make sure its products stay in front of consumers
Streaming audio still has trouble going up against terrestrial or hybrid terrestrial/streaming competitors
Michael Bloomberg sees an opening in the Presidential race
If the two parties put forth crazy people, there may be a third lane available to an independent
More people forgot ("forgot"?) they were still armed at TSA checkpoints in 2015
It does seem like the kind of thing that should be acutely at the top of a person's mind before going through security, doesn't it? Isn't it pretty easy to run through a mental checklist (wallet, keys, phone, gun)?
Why (and how to) read more actual books in 2016
It's not really that hard to increase the volume of one's reading; over the course of a year, even minor incremental increases stack up
Show notes - Brian Gongol Show on WHO Radio - January 24, 2016
Why governors should get the edge in a Presidential race, all else being equal
January 23, 2016
Volvo wants to make its cars "death-proof" by 2020
Now that's an aggressive vision
A little more on the Biden cancer "moon shot"
Roundtable sessions are happening. The big question is whether having the Vice President chase a subject is enough to catalyze real progress that wasn't happening already.
What if extraterrestrial life existed, then went extinct?
It's almost surely happened somewhere -- if such a thing is possible. After it emerged on Earth, life began showing a truly stupendous degree of robustness -- it always finds a way to fight its way into even the most inhospitable environments. Is the notion itself of wiping out all life on any planet even plausible, or will evolution always find a way?
Pope Francis says text messaging can be a "gift of God"
In a not-altogether-unfamiliar way, he points out that the medium isn't as important as the people using it
Maybe Apple is developing a new iPhone. Maybe.
As usual, everything is rumor when it comes to Apple
Show notes - WHO Radio Wise Guys - January 23, 2016
January 22, 2016
Police officer unwisely rants against protesters on Facebook
Everyone is of course welcome to have an opinion (preferably one that is well-informed and reasonable), but sharing it publicly makes the situation different. The exercise of free speech is guaranteed, but that's not a guarantee of freedom from consequences. And a police officer in a place with high tensions between the police and members of the local community (due to a police-involved shooting) ought to have the sense to avoid incendiary public speech -- like suggesting that people run down protesters.
USA Today: FBI took over and ran child-porn site to catch users
Nobody should have sympathy for the people who were caught -- but was the process right?
US customs official questions whether people should have anonymity online
His words: "[S]hould not every individual be required to display a 'license plate' on the digital super-highway?" While it probably wasn't intended as much more than a throwaway thought exercise, it does hint at a lack of understanding of how privacy and technology coexist.
"Twin Strangers" offers to help you find your doppelganger
For a small fee, of course
Are the big five of technology inevitable winners?
That is to ask: Is there any reason to believe that we won't still be talking about Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Apple, and Amazon ten or twenty years from now as the still-dominant players in consumer technology and the Internet? The honest answer is that they all have big war chests and strong market positions, but they also have to make a lot of right decisions to stay on top -- and long streaks of right decisions in technology aren't often made.
Print subscriptions to newspapers are evaporating
If the figures dredged up by one observer are correct, dead-tree editions of major metro newspapers are becoming a rare find
January 21, 2016
Caltech claims to have found another planet
And it's a big one
China continues cyberwar on the United States
There's zero reason to expect the assaults to end
Solving problems of energy moves a lot of people away from poverty
Cheap, storable, clean energy is pretty much the best thing the world could work on right now
China's central bank keeps pouring money into the financial system there
They have huge reserves, but these are huge moves, too.
FCC wants FM chips activated in cell phones
Didn't know they were there? Almost everyone has them -- they're just not activated.
Things not looking smooth for Charter/Time Warner merger
The round-and-round nature of communications industry consolidation looks more like a whole lot of horse-trading than real business-building
January 20, 2016
California's natural-gas pipeline leak is symptomatic of a broader infrastructure problem
Whether we're talking about natural-gas pipelines, airports, levees, dams, water mains, or any other type of infrastruture, there's lots of evidence that we've been underinvesting for too long in maintenance, upkeep, and replacement. We are tremendously fortunate that many of these things were built long ago by people who spent the money and effort to make them last for more than a generation. But we've been on cruise control for a long time -- behaving as though these things represent a free endowment and that no further investment is required. That's a colossal mistake. When we build infrastructure, it typically requires a big up-front cost, followed by a long period of relatively low maintenance cost, followed by a period of rising maintenance/replacement cost until the infrastructure itself reaches a point of failure. We are morally obligated to treat at least the maintenance and upkeep as a pay-as-you-go expense. Just because something was incredibly well-built and then handed to us essentially for free does not give us license to treat it irresponsibly. That's a big cultural problem we need to face -- and it's not just our physical infrastructure that's been on the receiving end of under-investment; the same applies to our public and private retirement investment "infrastructure" as well as much of our educational "infrastructure". Keeping up means paying as you go. It's lazy and freeloading to skimp on upkeep. This is a crucial lesson in our time for both the left (who are too often inclined to think we can just "soak the rich" to pay for things) and the right (who too often resist paying for anything if it means higher taxes). Adults clean up after themselves. We need to behave like adults.
Saudi Arabia won't cut back its oil production
And if they don't, then the supply of oil produced by OPEC will continue to push downward on oil prices. That seems like a lot of fun in the short term (yay, $1.60/gallon gas!), but...people are underestimating the enormous geopolitical implications of an oil-price crash: Saudi Arabia can keep going long after everyone else drops like houseflies. That means they can use oil prices as a weapon against Iran, which can't compete with Saudi Arabia's minimal production costs. Destabilizing Iran is already a dangerous game, but you add in a volatile Russia (which also depends on oil money and also has higher production costs than Saudi Arabia), a Nigeria that could of course fall at any moment to pieces, and other already-failed states like Libya and Syria, and this is a brewing catastrophe of epic proportions.
Bob Dole says Sen. Ted Cruz would be a catastrophe as a Presidential nominee
Cruz is playing up simplistic representations of the world -- particularly one that says there's no room for compromise. And that's -- well, simply -- wrong. Nobody agrees with their own spouse or their own mother 100% of the time, so it's preposterous to think that we can only play brinksmanship games with politics: Compromise is, frankly, a non-negotiable requirement of the job of governing in a democratic society. Cruz seems to actively reject that idea, despite being clearly smart enough to know better. That makes him repellant.
He was working for an NGO, promoting "public-interest litigation" in the Communist state
Des Moines, Omaha, Kansas City, and St. Louis to cooperate on economic development
Some of the most stable micro-economies in the country -- joining forces is probably a good idea
January 19, 2016
Exactly nobody believes that China's economy can keep going like it has been
Fun while it lasted, the economic boom in China simply hasn't been designed to remain durable. The government still interferes far too much -- and the costs of failing to provide political freedom alongside (limited) economic freedom have been building. China hasn't been centrally planning its economy in a conventional sense, but with state ownership of enormous shares of the nation's total enterprises, it's a distinction without much of a difference. And when the real costs of holding back on political reform come due (and they will), things are going to get interesting in a hurry. Keep a close eye on developments like the political climate in Taiwan, where economic disappointment seems to have been translated into support for the pro-independence party. The mainland/Taiwanese rift has been a source of friction for a long time, but if the good times are no longer rolling, then that friction may turn into a spark. And Taiwan isn't the only place that it may become politically and economically costly for Beijing.
Federal spending is growing faster than revenues
It's fine to run a deficit if it's smaller than the rate of growth in the economy. That's not the case here and now.
Terrorism that happens in Africa is still terrorism
Too little has been said about the attack by Al Qaeda on a hotel in Burkina Faso, relative to what would have been said had the same attack taken place in Tokyo or Berlin or Cleveland.
Norway looks to a post-oil economy
Blessed with a resource bonanza, Norway was fortunate not to become entirely dependent upon it...which is a good thing, because current oil prices mean there isn't much kick left in the chili.
Technology doesn't always make things better for developing countries
If the have/have-not gap is expanded by uneven access to communications technology, then the Internet might inadvertently make things tougher for people in some places
Yahoo Mail fixes cross-site scripting bug
An example of a security risk that consumers can't do anything about
January 18, 2016
YouTube "celebrity" questions didn't really add to the Democratic Presidential debate
Debates undoubtedly play a storied role in our political tradition, and we don't have to do away with them. But they are assuredly not an effective means of really teasing out the information that voters really need in order to make an informed decision about any candidate, particularly not for something as complex as a Presidential race. And the obsession with trying to make use of the "new" in these debates -- via questions from Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube -- has to be done in an effort to ask better, broader questions in the debates. Unfortunately, the YouTube "stars" clunkily inserted into the last debate didn't really edify anything. In a far better universe, we would have interesting and thoughtful interviews with the candidates conducted by intelligent interviewers with a solid grasp of the facts and a sense of fearlessness about pursuing lines of inquiry -- not the pandering lap-dog behavior we see all too often today. And in a truly ideal universe, we could put candidates through something like an Oval Office simulator -- though that would probably be impossible to conduct squarely. The next-best thing is probably to give preference to candidates who have served as state governors, which is likely the closest thing.
Turkey has an estimated 2,000,000 refugees
An astonishing number -- greater than the entire population of Nebraska
Why pay $200,000 to hear a canned speech?
Tools that shine more sunlight are valuable things
SpaceX didn't stick the sea landing
Better luck next time. But a really pyrotechnic video survives the latest attempt.