Mitch Wagner

Operation BBQ Relief: Competitive barbecuers flock to disaster scenes to serve up delicious hot food to victims and rescuers. “I thought, who better than some guys who set up in parking lots every weekend to bring a comfort meal?” … “Barbecue is comfort food … It reminds people of good times with friends and family, and gives them hope for those good times again.” Plus, barbecue meals tend to be hearty and high in protein — good for periods of scarcity…. [many disaster survivors] haven’t had a warm meal in days.

Vox journalist Matt Yglesias talks with Jenny Scheutz, housing economist and fellow at the Brookings Institution to untangle the US housing crisis.

Some threads: Exclusionary zoning is a big part of the problem; people in affluent neighborhoods don’t want to see more housing built. Rent control tends to exacerbate problems by discouraging rental property. Tying up so much American middle-class wealth in housing makes it hard to drive down prices; if your entire retirement is tied up in your house, as it is for many Americans, you’re going to fight to keep prices as high as possible, which hurts the poor, lower-middle-class and young adults.

“Two US lawmakers are pushing a bipartisan bill that would force the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to alert the public of hacking attempts on election computer systems.” The Republican Party opposes election reform because it knows it can only win crooked elections. On The Register.

But the plan draws criticism. Mike Dano reports on Light Reading:

“Today’s vote doubles down on the same auction-driven spectrum policies that have left rural America unserved and low-income students forced to do their homework on WiFi in McDonald’s parking lots,” added John Schwartz, president and founder of Voqal, a company that acts as a middleman between schools that want to lease EBS spectrum and companies like Sprint that want access to that spectrum. “Instead of updating EBS and expanding on the strong track record of licensees such as Voqal – which is proud of our record of serving schools and low-income communities – the Commission has voted to commercialize a vital public asset.”

Sarah Perez on TechCrunch

A new project from Google’s in-house incubator, Area 120, aims to help people find things to do and others who share your same interests. Through a new app called Shoelace — a name designed to make you think of tying things together — users can browse through a set of hand-picked activities, or add their own to a map. For example, someone who wanted to connect with fellow dog owners could start an activity for a doggie playdate at the park, then start a group chat to coordinate the details and make new friends.

The end result feels a bit like a mashup of Facebook Events with a WhatsApp group chat, perhaps. But it’s wrapped in a clean, modern design that appeals more to the millennial or Gen Z user.

I’d rather use Facebook, WhatsApp, Meetup or some other service that’s likely to still be here in a year.

Google+, Google Reader, Google Buzz, Google Wave, Orkut, and Dodgeball weren’t enough for them.

If this new one seems interesting to you, enjoy it, but don’t expect it to be around in three years.

Weirdly, Google is actually one of the two most successful social media companies in the world. But nobody thinks of them that way. And other than that one spectacular hit, Google has been an utter disaster at social media.

You’re just embarrassing yourself, Google – stay home.