Chef’s love it when customers are willing to pay to eat their garbage.

Bad behavior can be necessary for politicians

The Dictator’s Handbook by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith sheds light on how politicians get and keep power. In a nutshell, the most important thing to a politician is not the welfare of the citizenry, but the welfare of the politician’s winning coalition. Keep the coalition happy by lavishing rewards on them and the politician will stay...

It's easy to make homemade yogurt

It’s relatively easy to make yogurt at home without any special tools. After getting a brief demonstration from my uncle, I decided to give it a shot. Although my uncle uses an Instant Pot to incubate the yogurt, I had success with a 1 gallon insulated Coleman jug. The insulated jug is definitely the cheapest way to proceed and for...

The new January 2017 cover image

The new header image was shot at the Belle Chevre Cheese Shop and Tasting Room in Elkmont, Alabama. The shop was dog friendly and offered sandwiches, goat cheese and hand made fig ice cream.

Some quotes on the 2017 Bonnaroo lineup

… this year’s lineup resembles that of pop-and-rock-oriented competitors such as Lollapalooza and Coachella. But Bonnaroo’s organizers say they don’t view the festival as tethered to Jerry Garcia guitar solos, and haven’t for many years. ‘We certainly have jam-band roots from the first year, but our goal wasn’t to create a jam-band festival. The goal was always to create...

Think again before faking your own drowning

In Playing Dead: A Journey Through the World of Death Fraud author Elizabeth Greenwood recounts several stories of individuals attempting, with varying results, to fake their own deaths. As it turns out, it’s a hard thing to do successfully and there are many ways in which such attempts frequently fail.

Books I read in 2016

This is a complete list of the book I finished in 2016 and my Goodreads rating. I read exactly 100 books this year, which was my goal. All of the 4 and 5 star books are highly recommended.

Best books of October 2016

These are the three best books I read in October. They are all recommended.

William Eggleston is a genius, he agrees

There’s a wonderful interview in The New York Times with pioneering photographer William Eggleston. He is refreshingly blunt and unendingly confident.

Norwegian Cruise Line bans Galaxy Note 7 from its ships

Norwegian Cruise Line has sent out an announcement to booked passengers on it ships telling them to leave fire-prone Galaxy Note 7 cellphones behind.