Brian Gongol
KCCI-TV is shutting down the Weather Beacon
Just like many other weather beacons around the world, it changes colors to indicate the forecast. It's an anachronism from the days before people could just look up the forecast at any time on a smartphone. But it's charming and adds a bit of character to a skyline. KCCI is removing the lights from its downtown tower that made up the weather beacon out of necessity -- the bulbs aren't made anymore, and they weigh too much for the structure. But it's surprising they haven't chosen to put up some sort of array using LED bulbs instead. Give it a few months and someone downtown will take up the idea. Sioux City has a glowing sphere -- it doesn't have to take up an entire tower.
See the future unfold right before your eyes
Who wants to subsidize their neighbors?
Charlie Brooker says an idea floated in the UK to use a subsidy from broadband Internet service providers to support printed newspapers is "Like when papers charged extra to subsidise the town crier industry." Which didn't happen, of course.
"[S]ome conflicts cannot be wished away. One is between young and old."
Stop the abuse of job titles. Oh, please, please stop it.
Someone's actually calling himself an "Alpha dog" as his job title on LinkedIn. It's ridiculous. Inflated and confounding job titles are a scourge.
Here come the autonomous cars
Great on so many levels: They should be safer than cars driven by people. They should allow us to spend our time doing useful (or fun) things instead of mindlessly conducting our cars down the road. They should allow the sick, the elderly, the disabled, and even the inebriated to get places safely. They should even allow cars to travel closer together on the same roadway, meaning less dreaded urban sprawl.
