Saturday, February 7, 2015

Early February Weekend Links

Some stories for your weekend enjoyment:

The General Who Never Was - SBNation.  Back in my conservative days, I was a huge Bobby Knight fan.  I thought those kids who couldn't play under him showed the weakness of modern America.  It's amazing how things change.

In Pond Hockey, No Reason to Have One Big Fish - New York Times

Pinball Wizards - Cincinnati Magazine.  "Ride the ferris wheel."

In Northern Minnesota 176,000 Acres Have Been Deforested for Cropland Since 2006 - Big Picture Agriculture.  That sounds like a really bad idea.  Then again, maybe this is just good preparation for global warming.

Feds Seize $2 Million Worth of Illegal Chinese Honey - Modern Farmer (It's still churning along).  More on Chinese honey imports here.

Report urges grass buffer requirements between crops and streams - Cedar Rapids Gazette.  Hat tip HillBilly.  Also, Advocacy group touts buffer zones to reduce pollution - Des Moines Register.  A little different wording in that headline.  Finally, Here's How To End Iowa's Great Nitrate Fight - The Salt

The Birth of the Philly Cheesesteak - Priceonomics

Canadian Whisky Is Way Better Than You Think - Bloomberg.  I'll stick to beer.

Growers Are Making Bank on This Green, Fragrant Bud.  No, Not That One - Mother Jones.  On hops.

Alcohol Prohibition in America Is Not Over Yet - Pacific Standard
 
You Have No Idea What Happened - The New Yorker.  Timely, what with Brian Williams in the news.  Eyewitness testimony is given way too much credibility.

Plush Life: Why did people lose their minds over Beanie Babies - Slate.  I mocked that bubble way before it popped.  It still pisses me off that the guy who came up with those is a fucking billionaire.

Walker proposes changing Wisconsin Idea - then backs away - Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.  Drafting error, my ass (Meet the state's workforce needs?  Seriously? That's it?).  The fucker just got caught trying to sneak through a massive change to a major part of the state of Wisconsin's DNA (just like how cancer works).  I just don't understand how he convinced a majority of Wisconsinites to elect him three times.  It is terrifying thinking of him as President working with a wing-nut Republican Congress.  I want to see him politically curb-stomped. 

How Nebraska Took Its Energy Out of Corporate Hands And Made It Affordable For Everyone: Publicly owned utilities provide electricity to all 1.8 million residents in this red state - Alternet.  Didn't know that.  What the hell happened to the plains states between the Great Depression and today?

Risky Pension-Bond Strategy Considered in Kansas - Wall Street Journal.  This is what happens when your state is run by idiots who put cult beliefs ahead of basic arithmetic.  What the hell happened to the plains states between the Great Depression and today?

The Foolish, Historically Illiterate, Incredible Response to Obama's Prayer Breakfast Speech - Ta-Nehisi Coates.  I'm pretty sure the terrorists who blew up the 16th Street Baptist Church thought they were doing God's work.  William Baxley disagreed.

Texas Swagger Fades as Oil Town Finds Itself in OPEC Squeeze - Bloomberg.  Also, U.S. Supply Growth To Halt This Summer - OilPrice.com

This Map Shows Why The Midwest Is Screwed - Mother Jones.  This reflects my biggest concern about the potential impacts of global warming on agriculture.  Hopefully, we will be able to adapt, but it isn't the kind of risk I like taking.




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