Some good news: "The number of foreclosures in North Carolina fell nearly 6 percent in the third quarter from the same period last year, according to data from RealtyTrac Inc."

Tempered by not-so-good news:
"Foreclosure filings, however, rose nearly 29 percent in the third quarter from the second quarter.

Foreclosure filings in North Carolina rose 51 percent in September from the same period last year.

Filings were down 13.5 percent last month from August."

Uh oh.

In some circles this is called holding your nose: "On Capitol Hill, Ms. Bachmann is viewed with disdain by Democrats who see her as a wacky purveyor of outrageous claims and criticisms. Leading Republicans wince occasionally at her appearances on the floor and on television, but they also see her as someone with telegenic appeal who can energize conservatives and aggravate Democrats and they are not likely to rein her in."

"UNC-Greensboro's Serve Center has won a $4 million contract with the U.S. Department of Education for its National Center for Homeless Education, according to an announcement.

The contract will fund operations of the center for five years. The NCHE was founded in 1998 and helps school districts, families and children meet the educational challenges of homelessness."

Godin writes the following:
"Cable news thinking has nothing to do with fires or with politics. Instead, it amplifies the worst elements of emotional reaction:"
Here he provides 12 traits of cable news (one is "Confusing opinion with the truth") and then writes "If I wanted to hobble an organization or even a country, I'd wish these twelve traits on them."

Man do I agree with the basic premise here which I would boil down to "I'd rather have 10% of $100 than 40% of $20."

I still don't understand why people are so fanatical about Apple. Dan points out why Apple is evil, although not "Darth Vader" evil.

When I first heard about this article I thought that maybe Gladwell had gone too far by comparing football and dogfighting. After reading it I found it to be interesting and thoughtful and definitely worth the read.