Brian Gongol Show on WHO Radio - December 28, 2014
Podcast: Updated weekly in the wee hours of Sunday night/Monday morning. Subscribe on Stitcher, Spreaker, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or iHeartRadio
Please note: These show notes may be in various stages of completion -- ranging from brainstormed notes through to well-polished monologues. Please excuse anything that may seem rough around the edges, as it may only be a first draft of a thought and not be fully representative of what was said on the air.
Disposable culture
- A British engineering professor has argued that young people don't know what to do when things break, because they're used to gadgets that get replaced quickly
- Things are built with a much shorter intended lifespan in mind than in the past. Toasters don't last 50 years anymore. While it makes it feel like we're all using cheap junk, it's actually probably a sensible reflection of matching costs to use.
- There's something to be said for hacker culture -- making things work through ingenuity and creativity
- There's also something to be said for frequent upgrades and improvements
- I used to want to try to repurpose old computers to do things like serve as MP3 servers. But why, when I could buy an MP3 player for peanuts and devote my time to more productive activities?
Yay Capitalism Prize
One way to move away from poverty: Get people better cooking stoves(Video) Some of the things that are so easily taken for granted in rich countries make us less capable of recognizing simple steps that can be taken to improve the dignity and quality of life for people living in poor countries -- like providing access to better ways of cooking food. It's a much more powerful idea than one might think.
Tin Foil Hat Award
Surprise! Red-light cameras tied to too-short yellow-light cycles in ChicagoThe result? More rear-end crashes. Still no evidence to be shown that red-light cameras are really about safety; they're all about the ticket revenues.
This week
Iowa officials may try for a hands-free mandate for phone use while drivingIn case you missed it
- Podcast of this episode
- Link to the official station page for this episode