Brian Gongol
90-year-old construction firm closes in Waterloo
This reinforces the argument that every firm needs to have a 100-year business plan, not because the plan will ever be even close to remotely correct at that horizon, but because the pace of change accelerates and the things that we think today are 100 years off may only be 50.
Out of sight, out of mind
The Great Ape Trust on the southeast side of Des Moines is having trouble raising enough money to pay the bills, but one could argue that part of the problem is that there's really no public component of the facility. Lacking that, nobody visits, which means people don't often think about it -- even though the organization seems to have been doing very interesting and worthwhile scientific research. As the characters in the movie "The Right Stuff" joked: No Buck Rogers, no bucks. Science needs to be seen as interesting and engaging for people to feel like throwing money after it. But most of all, it has to be seen.
If Hurricane Irene really does hit New York City, how bad could it be?
Really, really bad. The city just isn't built to accommodate a big storm, which could flood the subways, shatter glass from skyscrapers, and turn every Manhattan street into a wind tunnel. This could be really, really bad, and it's not as though we didn't know it might happen someday. The latest forecasts show the hurricane grazing Washington and landing squarely on New York City.
Very few people in the DC area thought to get earthquake insurance
Just because something is a low-probability event doesn't mean it shuoldn't be insured against, especially if it could be high-impact. It should come as no surprise that the earthquake disrupted mobile-phone service and caused so many people to try to check in that the system fell apart. Everyone needs a "push" and a "pull" method for telling other people that they're OK in case of an emergency.
Gaddafi has a crush on Condoleezza Rice
Someone found a photo album dedicated to the former US Secretary of State in his palace -- which, to be fair, is no longer his
China caught Red-handed conducting cyber-warfare
We have to be prepared for a -- rival? opponenent? competitor? -- who wants to use these tools to our detriment
Slashdot site founder resigns
The site is a juggernaut in technology news and commentary
Three big new developments about the iPhone
A cheaper iPhone 4 may be coming, the iPhone 5 should be released soon, and Sprint may become the third carrier to offer the phone
