Brian Gongol
May 29, 2016
Book review: "Big Deal" by Bruce Wasserstein
If you find the subject of mergers and acquisitions interesting, this book won't dull your feelings -- but prepare for a long slog.
Book review: "Me of Little Faith", by Lewis Black
Interesting enough company to keep for listening in the car, provided you aren't offended easily by someone dismissing faith and don't hav any children in the vehicle with you.
Show notes - Brian Gongol Show on WHO Radio - May 29, 2016
Live on WHO Radio at 9:00 pm Central Time
May 27, 2016
Microsoft and Facebook are teaming up to build an undersea cable between Virginia and Spain to transmit Internet content at 160 terabits per second -- a pretty wide thoroughfare for data. Microsoft is investing because it's investing full-tilt in the cloud computing market. Construction is to begin this August with completion by October 2017.
Dr. Heimlich gets to use his eponymous maneuver for the first time
At age 96, he uses his technique to directly save a life for the first time
Just don't accept Facebook friend requests unless you're sure
Scam after scam after scam keeps popping up, and it's all because people are too loose with their "friend" requests
Turnarounds must be a lot of fun (for the right manager)
Nissan took a controlling stake in Mitsubishi Motors after Mitsubishi's market price plunged because of a massive misstatement of fuel economy ratings for its vehicles. Nissan is run by Carlos Ghosn, who seems to be very, very good at turnaround situations.
Canada geese: From near-extinction to annoying overpopulation
They're pretty obnoxious birds
What should really alarm us about the nuclear threat
As the President visits Hiroshima, nuclear weapons return to the front pages (at least for a little while). A few worries: The nuclear arsenals of the world (and the command-and-control structures surrounding them) are old and may not have been adequately maintained. There are plenty of weapons in places where political leaders (and military ones) may not be adequately grounded in reality. Imprecise tracking of fissionable material may make it too easy for non-state actors to make weapons of their own. And even if the prospect of all-out nuclear attack seems altogether improbable, nobody can really certify that an "oops" engagement is an impossibility (that is, given the right resources and the right set of conditions, we can't be sure that a weapon might not be engaged in a way that could be made to look accidental). These are real worries.
May 26, 2016
As robots do more, who's responsible when they do something wrong?
In the long run, it's important to do a couple of things. First, government can do well simply to draw a line somewhere -- a clear line -- so that the market can respond by allocating the costs of the damage done by wayward robots. Cutting the check isn't the same as paying the price, so it doesn't matter quite so much whom the law saddles with liability. What matters is establishing the rule itself so that the costs can be allocated efficiently by the marketplace. (Think of real-estate agent fees: The seller "pays" the agent, but the cost comes from the sale price, which is ultimately paid by the buyer. The agent's commission comes partially out of both the seller's and buyer's pockets, even if only one of them technically cuts the check.) What's also important is that the benefits of automation (which tend to be diffuse, or spread out across lots of people who each benefit a little bit) don't get overwhelmed by the concentrated costs (like those of the people who might be injured by faulty robotic systems). In other words, we have to be careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater, even if there end up being terrible, high-profile stories of people injured or killed by malfunctions. The aggregate gain to society will still be enormous, even if some people pay a very high price. That may very well indicate that a case ought to be made for a national insurance pool for such errors -- otherwise, the cost of private insurance may be prohibitive if the potential costs of liability appear to be unlimited.
Gov. Susana Martinez -- a Republican -- fires back at Donald Trump
And good for her. Trump's behavior is erratic, nonsensical, and wildly unbecoming a candidate for President of the United States. His continued attacks on members of the Republican Party are petty and unprincipled and only further serve to reveal him not as an authentic Republican, but as a virus that has infected the party.
It's practically everyone's favorite tech rumor, and Morgan Stanley now boards the train, arguing that Apple's recent investment in a ride-sharing company in China is indicative of a serious focus on transportation.
Pebble returns to Kickstarter roots
Launching three products at once: Pebble Core (a cellular-enabled super-compact computer aimed at runners who don't want to carry their phones and at developers who want something tiny to hack), Pebble 2 (a $99 next-generation black-and-white smartwatch), and Pebble Time 2 (with a big color display for $169).
Lenovo has trouble integrating Motorola
Lenovo bought the phone-maker from Google in 2014 and that was after it collapsed in value by about 75% under Google's control.
May 25, 2016
Syrian refugees are human beings first
It's disappointing to see them discussed like some abstract concept (especially when it's by people who only want to say awful things about them). They are real human beings living real human lives under terrible circumstances, and like people all over the world, the vast majority -- probably 99% -- are good and decent.
Meth cookers burn down home, then set fire to their hotel room
A story that might almost be funny if it didn't mean other people's lives were at risk -- including other guests at the same hotel and the couple's children. Behavior like this is wonton negligence and cries out for a very firm intervention by law enforcement.
What it really means when couples over-share on Facebook
They may very well be enjoying one another's company, but they also may be trying too hard to obtain their self-esteem from the approval of people outside the relationship looking in
A former member of Iowa's Board of Regents opines on the departure of UNI's president
UNI is a great university, but the system surrounding it is creating artificial problems
West Des Moines Police to target distracted driving
They plan an all-summer effort to crack down on "speeding, failure to obey traffic control devices, improper use of lanes, texting while driving and failure to utilize seat belts"
May 24, 2016
Much of America is in recession
The county-by-county data isn't as rosy as it could be
Mobile data consumption is skyrocketing
It's inevitable that data usage will increase -- unless some very significant changes are made to the way that content is delivered, and there's little chance of that happening anytime soon, at least not at the same pace as new usage escalates.
Microsoft is getting really aggressive about pushing Windows 10 upgrades
Better to make the upgrade when you've set aside a couple of hours to manage it than to wait for it to be thrust upon you
Touching story of some girls at Boys Town
Five girls are graduating together from high school, much better off than when they arrived
French authorities raid Google offices over taxes
The perils of international business
May 23, 2016
The imperial Presidency is a pox on American civilization, and it needs to be stopped before the next President. Our options aren't looking good, and whomever is inaugurated in January 2017 needs to be restrained by the law much better than recent Presidents have been. Never take powers while in office that you wouldn't want your opponents to have when they're in charge.
The Swiss are voting on a national minimum income
Not the worst idea that could happen. If there's going to be an extensive welfare state, perhaps it makes sense to apply it with the maximum degree of individual autonomy and self-control possible -- and a guaranteed income may be the way to do it. Or perhaps not. Much depends on whether there would be an adequate support structure in place to ensure that people knew what to do with their guaranteed incomes.
Tribune Publishing may counterpunch at Gannett
Both companies have recent experience with disastrous amounts of debt...and this new arms race is only going to end in a debt disaster, too.
MidAmerican Energy tests a new ultra-tall wind turbine
Taller turbines may give them a better chance to capture stronger, more sustained winds at higher altitudes
Internet trolls on the Chinese government payroll
It's a real thing. A real and awful thing.