Brian Gongol Show on WHO Radio - April 17, 2016
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.
This week
Nebraska will keep its split Electoral College votes
It's a practice that shouldn't have been threatened in the first place -- more states should follow Nebraska's lead on this and divide their Electoral College votes by Congressional district, with the statewide winner getting the two remaining votes
The National Weather Service will kindly stop shouting now
They are at long last changing the format of most of their reports to conventional sentence case, rather than the ALL CAPS format that had been in place since the teletype days. The practice was a technological artifact -- it was necessary when there wasn't sufficient means to send mixed-case messages. But now there is, and since sentence-case messages are easier to read and comprehend, this is a good change.
But first...
Expert tracks versus management tracks
Very clear progressions:
- College professors
- Military officers and enlisted
But who knows what an "assistant vice president" really is? Or a "utility associate III"?
Tin Foil Hat Award
Schumer plan to legislate bigger airline seats fails
Not that today's seats aren't absurdly small and uncomfortable, but legislation isn't the way to fix it -- especially not if people are given the option to pay for bigger seats (and don't)
Yay Capitalism Prize
The over-the-road freight trucks of the future won't always have individual drivers. Testing is taking place right now in the EU, where trucks use automation to communicate with one another to drive in closely-packed series that move more efficiently and use less road space than individual trucks. It's also supposed to save fuel. Pilot testing is underway in Europe.
Also worth considering this week
Unprecedented antisocial behavior in politics
The presence of a candidate who has treated the entire Presidential race like a game of Mario Kart has brought out the worst in a lot of people
Public debt is now at nearly unsustainable levels -- and when that triggers a reaction, things could get ugly in a hurry
EMV credit cards are still slowing down checkout lanes
In the long run, a chip-and-PIN system ought to be highly secure for in-person transactions. But in the short run, the inconsistencies in their rollout and use are driving people crazy at the cash register.
"Returnships" for those returning from job gaps
It's a sign that an economy is healthy if people who leave the workforce need to catch up a bit when they return. That means things are changing and improving. Thus it's smart to have ways to help people rejoin the workforce quickly, and "returnships" may be part of the answer.
Listen on-demand
- Podcast of this episode - segment 1 (Self-employment tax makes you feel the real sting of payroll taxes)
- Podcast of this episode - segment 2 (We need a better way to label our experts without making them managers)
- Podcast of this episode - segment 3 (Airline seats are too small, but they don't need to be regulated)
- Podcast of this episode - segment 4 (No more shouting from the National Weather Service)
- Official station page for this episode (forthcoming)