Monday evening roundup

The Economist's readership, apparently made up of a bunch of communists, thinks Obama has helped business.

I've always wondered whether a computer could learn the nuances of language.

I'd always believed that cabbage could thrive under any conditions, but apparently a cabbage shortage is turning into a kimchi crisis.

Normally, I'd read another article about helicopter parenting and such with a sense of smugness toward the parents--and that was still the case with this one, but there was a mitigating factor. It occurred to me, having had to follow-up, a lot, with a number of less than responsive people at work recently, that it's a two-way street. I consciously stopped myself from apologizing for contacting them again, because here's how it works: I don't want to have to keep calling you; you do what you're supposed to do, and I won't call you. If there's a snag, let me know that you're on it. Otherwise, I'm going to have to keep calling you, because if I don't, I'll regret it.