10 thoughts for February 20, 2014

1. IKEA is calling it quits on the Expedit line.  Never to worry, a replacement line has been spotted: Kallax.  The outside dimensions have shrunk but the compartment sizes remain the same, so all is good...well sort of.
2. Google Fiber is in talks with 9 metro areas to expand to 34 cities.  Portland Metro is one of the areas under consideration, which includes Portland, Beaverton, Hillsboro, Gresham, Lake Oswego and Tigard.  The CoP already meets Google's required checklist, which is to say that the BDS already has a facilities management program that eases the permitting process (it just needs to be altered or replicated in other bureaus to accommodate utility permits), has digitized mapped lines of utilities, and they wouldn't be the first company to go through and lay down fiber.
3. Google has just served notice to the nation's cable carriers (and other ISPs) that competition's coming to towns across America and they're going to have to slash their prices or else face extinction.
4. Add up the current Winter Olympic medals from former USSR members and they would blow all others away.  But of course, USSR was never going to be able to hold itself together -- just look at how many former republics are pushing to align themselves to Western Europe -- so that's somewhat of a moot point.
5. If you are an Apple fanboy, you don't want to watch this video...you'll just end up foaming-at-the-mouth angry.  If you're anything but an Apple fanboy, the sarcasm dripping from the narrator's words is hilarious.
6. You should see the spread on Bitcoin valuations, just on the USD market.  Between the top four -- by volume -- markets, the spread is over 500 Bitcoins.  On the top market, the 24 hour window of transactions list a 800 Bitcoin spread between the lowest and highest transactions.  It seems that as a currency, it fails badly as it gains popularity.
7. By the way, in one day the current Bitcoin rate on Mt. Gox has been halved.  Yeah...currency it ain't.
8. The Roosevelt Institute points out that the CBO minimum wage study was far more nuanced than the headline number broadcast.  I might have written something about that the other day.
9. I swear, these people from North and South Dakota who are the "happiest" residents, have never visited Hawai'i.  No one stuck in 5' high snow drifts for the last month could possibly think that life is great.
10. Google's Project Tango will result in some really huge benefits for all of us.  Allow me to give you an example: I'll be able to scan in-process construction sites, and you'll be able to not just view it, but also interact with it -- how cool would that be?