Brian Gongol
Graphic of the day: Marooned
Yet another reason Katrina Cottages would've been better than FEMA trailers
Washington Post story highlights the 12,000 families still living in FEMA trailers a year and a half after Hurricane Katrina. The trailers are starting to take on certain characteristics of a classic ghetto: No one moves in, but hardly anyone can move out; neighboring communities try to distance themselves; crime and social isolation are becoming defining community characteristics. Katrina Cottages, a form of quick-to-construct permanent housing, probably would have led to better outcomes for all.
Stupid scavenger hunt leads to charges of organized crime
High school seniors need to realize that they're stupid to do anything prankish after age 18
Ice storm power outages left at least one town without safe water
More lines of computer code in today's tractors than in the Space Shuttle
Sen. Hagel won't decide yet whether to run for President
Says he needs more time to decide if it's the right thing to do for his family. Says there's a "new political center of gravity", and he's going to raise PAC money and reelection money in case he decides to run. It might not be a crazy idea after all: If he waits three more months, other campaigns may have folded or lost traction. If there's no front-runner by mid-summer, he may be able to convert some of the 79% of voters who don't have an opinion about him yet into supporters. Compared to the large crowds that are already lining up against many of the front-runners, that could play to Hagel's advantage. Or he might just be giving up his chance to raise money in time. Related: Economic platforms of the 2008 Presidential candidates.
DC residents can have guns in their homes again
In a classic case of "when guns are criminalized, only criminals will have guns," DC has long banned handguns. Yet the city is full of guns and murders. Many sane, rational people would probably want to have a weapon in the home if they lived in DC.
Firefox patches a patch
Firefox users should be up to version 1.5.0.10 or 2.0.0.2 now. Internet Explorer users should become Firefox users.
"Equal pay" rule ends up in big salary cuts
Hundreds of thousands of British men could end up getting pay cuts because of "equal pay" rules. When people propose superficial laws like "equal pay" clauses (like one under consideration in Iowa this year -- HF 324 and SSB 1120), they often forget that "equality" doesn't always mean raising pay for those on the low side. As in the British case, it can also mean taking away from those on the high side. It's like the line about Communism: It's great if everyone wants to be poor and miserable together.
Bill Gates is right on immigration
Microsoft chairman tells Congress he thinks it's silly that the US restricts the number of skilled workers who can enter the country on H-1B visas. He's right. Among the jobs many Americans seem unwilling to do are included complex technical opportunities in fields like engineering and science. It doesn't really matter where the person doing that work was born if they're on-board with American values, does it? Of course, the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions to which Gates was testifying is headed by Senator Ted Kennedy, whose capacity for stupid policy-making is boundless. His statement preceding Gates's testimony was a laundry list of "government-must-do's", which is almost always a recipe for trouble.
NASA oceanography head says global warming is changing sea levels
Calls human influence "the major force" behind climate change. So let's put some brains to work finding some answers instead of adding new regulations and taxes to the mix.
His body is rejecting the organ
New comic called "The Argyle Sweater" is an excellent complement to other laughers like "Pearls Before Swine". To wit: "Did you at any time yell, 'Hey Kool-Aid Man!'?"
"Las Vegas" producer explains his ridiculous season finale
Says he tried to construct a season finale with so many cliffhangers that NBC couldn't possibly cancel the show without aggravating a bunch of viewers
Boeing's trying to use simulators to speed up pilot training
Press release: "The world's airlines will need more than 17,000 pilots each year for the next twenty years to fill the seats of the airplanes on order"
