Its been a while since we fired up the Tank, with stories or ideas that didn’t quite make it into Matrix for one reason or another over the past month (ok, mainly because I was frozen with anticipation over the impending iPhone release).

* New Yorker Conference, 2012: Stories From the Near Future
Malcom Gladwell makes a good argument in his Genius speech for Web 2.0. However, all the videocasts are worth a listen, and you can grab them on iTunes for free.
* The iPhone Challenge: Keep It Quiet [NY Times – David Pogue Video]
* The State of the Nation’s Housing 2007 [JCHS-Harvard] I have been pondering whether to write about this report or not. Its chock full of neat data but I worry about their independence. I’ll mull this point over.

* Bill Gross: Looking for Contagion in All the Wrong Places [PIMCO] I like to listen to his podcast of the text in this monthly column. He’s very indirect in his commentary style but he’s just about the smartest person on the planet and his insight is the gold standard to bond investors. Perhaps I am one of the few who needs to listen or read his columns 2-3 times before I fully understand them.
* ATM anniversary. (hat tip:The Stalwart) No, we aren’t talking about home equity loans.
* FICO Algorithm says “Don’t Consolidate!” [RCG]
* Only One Word for Subprime Mess [NY Times]Hint: Its ‘Contained.’
* Garbage In, Carnage Out (LOW INTEREST RATES AND LAX LENDING STANDARDS)[Barrons]