In this particular case I can't blame the folks in Charlotte for not wanting to be like us here in Camel City. Looks like they're getting ready to build a new stadium for the AAA team and the goings-on with Winston-Salem's downtown stadium has some people in Charlotte asking questions about their projected stadium costs.

I used to play in a regular basement poker tourney in VA that usually had about 35 guys at $100 each. I always figured it would be bad news if some kids heard about it and decided robbing us would be a good way to get some easy cash. Never happened, but this story reminded me of those thoughts.

"The News & Observer reported that Cooper's BBQ was about to close Saturday when the band's private jet services coordinator called, asking for enough food for 25 people: barbecue, pork rinds, five fried chickens, pig skins, ribs, cole slaw, hush puppies…

The Holts prepared the food for the 10:50 p.m. delivery. Debbie Holt and her 14-year-old daughter, Ashley, delivered the food to U2's private jet at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, receiving $300 cash."

"Mr. Eitel, former colleagues said, really wanted to bring some sizzle to the ho-hum mattress business. He was paid millions of dollars to run Simmons for several private equity investment companies, first Fenway, then Thomas H. Lee Partners. Like those firms, he fared well, even though Simmons plans to file for bankruptcy…

But while Simmons now faces an uncertain future, Mr. Eitel was a winner in The Great Game of Life. As chief executive, he enjoyed country club memberships, personal use of the corporate jet and thousands of dollars a year in free mattresses. Before stepping down last fall, he earned more than $40 million in compensation, bonuses and perks, according to an analysis by Brian Foley, an independent compensation consultant in White Plains. He earned the bulk of his money when Simmons was sold to Thomas H. Lee Partners."

h/t to Cone for the link.

h/t to Lex for this find. I think half of these pics were taken at my house.

"It's a bit tricky to estimate how much money the Sweet Seeds For Haiti has raised to date because you can earn FV cash and you can buy FV cash. When purchased, 25 FV cash costs $5. So if everyone bought the FV cash that has been used to buy the roughly 100k of sweet seeds to date, then $500k will have been raised, $250k of it going to charitable organizations in Haiti."

"The long tail is real, but sometimes the longest parts reach underwater. When there's enough choices, it means that some things will never get picked."

After reading this I don't think I'll be eating a burger any time soon. Found the link via Cone who had a pic of the cover of Upton Sinclair's book "The Jungle" on the page and I recall feeling much the same way when I read "The Jungle." Ugh.