• EdCone.com: Diners, Drive-ins and Dives
  I got an email from a researcher for the teevee program Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, asking for recommendations in the Triad. "We are looking for restaurants that serve fresh, made from scratch, homemade interesting food. It is always helpful if…
  (tags: ping.fm)

Yesterday I got an email from a researcher for a Food Network show called Diners, Dives and Drive Thrus (or something like that) asking for suggestions for local joints to feature on their show. I offered up one or two and suggested she contact Esbee and Ed Cone since they know way more than I do about local eateries. I also figured that they would post the question on their blogs and get a ton of suggestions since they have lots of readers who are, uh, enthusiastic in their commenting. (I don’t know if she contacted Ed or Esbee before or after I suggested it, but it doesn’t really matter). Sure enough Ed posted it and the last time I looked he had over 24 comments. http://bit.ly/QouK2

Through this process we learned that the researcher had reached out to lots of local bloggers and, most importantly, to Smitty who HAS to know more about local eats than anyone. How did she find them? I know she found me via my blog and I’ll bet she found Smitty’s Notes simply by doing any kind of search on Winston-Salem. And really, what better way to do local research than to “crowd source” it to a bunch of people who love nothing more than writing about local happenings.

BTW, if you have a local joint you’d recommend for the show feel free to leave it in the comments and I’ll email it to the researcher. Locally, family owned and unique are the basic criteria. Also, I’d say anything froo-froo is out. Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

• Pet Python Slithers Into Man's Apartment – Winston-Salem News Story …
  Man finds a python in the bathroom of his apartment in Winston-Salem. I hate snakes.
  (tags: apartment)
• Some data on health care and health care reform in North Carolina …
  As Ed wrote, the BCBSNC numbers in this piece are eye opening.
  (tags: healthcare insurance healthinsurance)

• Esbee Points to a Great Obit
  "Charlie always had a knack with animals and children and ladies." Obviously the third is the most important knack.
  (tags: funny)
• Yes! Weekly Piece on How Compromise Came About for Jordan Lake Rules
  Jordan Green's article on the negotiating process that Greensboro was involved with over the proposed Jordan Lake Rules.
  (tags: greensboro environment northcarolina)

• No Helmets for More Organs – Freakonomics Blog – NYTimes.com
  An increase in organ donations as a reason to repeal helmet laws?
  (tags: economics healthcare)
• Winston-Salem Scam by TXT
  My wife and I both got the text messages referenced in this story about a scam that uses a local credit union as a cover.
  (tags: scam winston-salem)
• Comparative Research for Drug (and other Health Care) Companies? Uh, probably not
  Lex points to an article about a bill sponsored by some Republicans that would ban Medicare and Medicaid from using comparative research on the efficacy of medical devices and drugs to deny coverage. Think they're looking out for patients? Right….
  (tags: health healthcare pharma)
• Ed Cone's Fathers Day Column
  I like Ed's FD column, and have to say that he's right to point out that even though we've discovered that it's okay for men to show emotion, it's also okay to be stoic.
  (tags: family)

• Local Froomkin Connection
  The to-do du jour of blogging this week was the cancellation of political blogger Dan Froomkin's contract by the Washington Post. It was vaguely interesting to me at first, but became more interesting when I read Winston-Salem Journal editor Ken Otterbourg's blog post about having dinner with a young reporter named Dan Froomkin at Mr. BBQ in W-S. I wonder how many reporters who have gone on to (relative) journalistic stardom have gotten their start at the Camel City rag?
  (tags: winston-salem newspapers)

• The housing and finance sectors caused the economic mess. Here's why …
  Why we shouldn't depend on housing and finance sectors to get us out of the economic mess.
  (tags: economics)
• Converting Condos to Apartments
  Not a shock that at least one condo project in GSO might be converted to apartments since the units aren't selling. Tough times in real estate to say the least.
  (tags: realestate greensboro taa apartment)

• Seth's Blog: Textbook rant
  Seth Godin makes some points about textbooks that I've tried, and failed, to make in the past.
  (tags: education technology)

• Jarvis on Innovation in the 00s
  Interesting take on innovation in the 00s. Maybe they didn't lead to economic growth, but they did lead to efficiencies.
  (tags: economics innovation web2.0)
• Cash for Clunkers Bill Not Such a Good Idea
  Freakonomics' Levitt doesn't think Congress' "Cash for Clunkers" bill is such a good idea and points out some probable unintended consequences.
  (tags: government economics)

• Aged News or All the News That's Fit to Print
  The Daily Show does the NY Times and challenges editor to find one thing in that day's paper that happened that day. Calls it "aged news."
  (tags: media funny newspapers humor satire)