I can see my oldest son doing something like this:
One Man Holy Grail Reenactment
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Relevant Advertising
I'm a long time reader of Fred Wilson's blog AVC. Usually he writes about topics relevant to his venture capital business, but he doesn't hesitate to mix in posts about his personal life as well. Today he wrote that it's his 49th birthday and how he's beginning to see himself not so much as the 20-something with a chip on his shoulder any more. I read his piece in my Google Reader and it cracked me up when I saw the ad that Google served up with it:
I don't think Fred's feeling quite that mature.
Revival of the Tobacco Auction
Over at Bo Gray’s blog Doug Grimes, aka Yarddawg, writes about an effort to bring back tobacco auctions in Forsyth County. It’s fascinating, as is the video that Doug shares as well:
Just Call Us the Murphys
A couple of weeks ago we had to replace our washer and dryer, and they were installed improperly. Then we spent eight days without AC before finally getting the whole system replaced last Friday and spending a small fortune in the process. This week we find ourselves dealing with a car with transmission problems.
I sure hope the old saying that things happen in threes is true.
Red Velvet Cake? Good! Fried Chicken? Good!
One of my kids' favorite Friends episodes is the one where Rachel makes half of an English Trifle and half of a Shepherds Pie. Whenever we have something interesting to eat at least one of them will say "What's not to love? Custard? Goood! Jam? Goood! Meat? Goooooooood!"
That's what this fried chicken with red velvet cake batter reminds me of:
To make the dish, the brined chicken is first dunked in the red velvet batter before receiving a second coating of toasted red velvet crumbs. Once it's been caked-up properly, it's into the fryer and onto your plate.
And because red velvet cake is incomplete without cream cheese frosting, the chicken is served with a side of cream cheese infused garlic mashed potatoes.
Pressman’s Hat
This piece about newspaper pressmen during the glory days of the newspaper business includes an illustrated guide to making a pressman's hat. Way cool.
I also like the quotes about newspapers:
"Editor: a person employed by a newspaper, whose business it is to separate the wheat from the chaff, and to see that the chaff is printed." – E. Hubbard.
"I am unable to understand how a man of honor could take a newspaper in his hands without a shudder of disgust."- Charles Baudelaire.
"Advertisements contain the only truths to be relied on in a newspaper." - Thomas Jefferson.
Is It Too Soon?
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Mosque-Erade | ||||
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It’s the Teachers Stupid
According to a study by the L.A. Times and the Rand corporation, teacher effectiveness has a much greater impact on students' success than the school they attend. Here are two bullet points I found particularly interesting:
- Highly effective teachers routinely propel students from below grade level to advanced in a single year. There is a substantial gap at year's end between students whose teachers were in the top 10% in effectiveness and the bottom 10%. The fortunate students ranked 17 percentile points higher in English and 25 points higher in math.
- Contrary to popular belief, the best teachers were not concentrated in schools in the most affluent neighborhoods, nor were the weakest instructors bunched in poor areas. Rather, these teachers were scattered throughout the district. The quality of instruction typically varied far more within a school than between schools.
And I really found these two paragraphs interesting:
On visits to the classrooms of more than 50 elementary school teachers in Los Angeles, Times reporters found that the most effective instructors differed widely in style and personality. Perhaps not surprisingly, they shared a tendency to be strict, maintain high standards and encourage critical thinking.
But the surest sign of a teacher's effectiveness was the engagement of his or her students — something that often was obvious from the expressions on their faces.
Realtor Rolls While She’s Rolling
Found via Twitter is this realtor in Wilmington, NC who redefines multitasking by shooting informational videos while she's driving. It's an impressive skill, but how can this be legal? Or is it? BTW, it's pretty good info but if you're like me you'll spend the video waiting to see if she takes out a bike rider.
Where Others Might See Art I See Nastiness
The "Gum Wall" in Seattle has to be one of the grossest things I've heard of, on a par with haggis. From the website:
Located in Post Alley, under Park Place Market, the Gum Wall has its beginning in the early 1990s, when people, irritated that they had to wait in line to get tickets to the theater, stuck chewing gum on the wall. At first, they would use the gum to stick small coins to the wall, but in time, the tradition of the coins disappeared, and the gum remained.
Theater attendants scraped the Gum Wall twice, but gave up in 1999, when it became a certified tourist attractionof Seattle. Now it is filled with thousands of pieces of chewing gum, of any color imaginable. And, as the wall grows, the chewing gum art becomes more sophisticated. You’ll find names written with pieces of gum, and symbols like hearts or the peace sign.
This pic says it all.
Befuddled 
