An unlikely source for premier spirits

Check out this Washington Post article on Benson, Minnesota's hippest product. "The name is Shakers, and it comes from Minnesota wheat and rye, grown nearby. Packaged in an art deco bottle and marketed as an American original, the brand routinely collects accolades from aficionados. A company executive reports sales in the past 12 months of 15,000 cases at $33 a bottle." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/26/AR2006122600752.html

And now, a word from our orthopedist

Everything you ever wanted to know about repetitive strain injuries: http://julstro.com/what_happens_exactly.html

Not Quite Terry Fox, But Still Cool

This summer and fall, Paul Staso, an ultramarathon runner from Missoula, ran solo (and unsupported) across the U.S. to encourage kids to be active, averaging 30 miles a day. His trip took him from Cannon Beach, Oregon to Cape Henlopen, Delaware. The first part of the route retraced much of a great roadtrip a friend and I took in 1994. The question is, how many pairs of running shoes did it take, and did he carry extra shoes with him or buy them along the way? Read all about it: http://www.pacerun.com/

Bubble Trouble?

Congratulations to Avista Capital Partners, the proud new owner of my local newspaper, the Minneapolis Star Tribune. For a mere $530 million, the private equity firm gets a third-rate paper in a second-tier market in a dying industry with no growth prospects. What a deal! (Pun intended.) Need more proof that there’s an LBO - er, excuse me, private equity - bubble? According to Dealogic, private equity deals have accounted for 28 percent of the dollar value of takeovers announced in the U.S. this year, up from just 3 percent five years ago. And the pundits are predicting even more activity in 2007: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=atlm6vMQ_nd8&refer=home

Don't drink the water, or eat the food

2008 Olympians, beware! The former head of China's Olympic Doping Center warns that athletes in the 2008 Beijing Olympics who decide to sample the local cuisine run the risk of testing positive for anabolic steroids and other banned substances. The issue was underscored when 336 people fell sick in Shanghai in September after eating pork contaminated with anabolic steroids. http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/28112006/3/doped-chinese-food-sets-2008-olympic-alarm-bells-ringing.html

Mess for Success

This is the best news Gopher Girl has had in ages! The New York Times reports, “An anti-anticlutter movement is afoot, one that says yes to mess and urges you to embrace your disorder. Studies are piling up that show that messy desks are the vivid signatures of people with creative, limber minds (who reap higher salaries than those with neat “office landscapes”) and that messy closet owners are probably better parents and nicer and cooler than their tidier counterparts. It’s a movement that confirms what you have known, deep down, all along: really neat people are not avatars of the good life; they are humorless and inflexible prigs, and have way too much time on their hands.” http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/21/garden/21mess.html

So Long, Brad Radke, and Thanks for the Innings

Yesterday was a sad day for Twins fans, as Brad Radke officially announced his retirement. Radke made his major league debut as a reliever in April 1995. His next 377 appearances were as a starter -- all for the Twins. 2,391 innings pitched and1,467 strikeouts later, he said farewell to the only major league team he’d ever known. We'll miss that change-up!

The First Sign of Spring?

Registration for the 30th Annual Get in Gear Races is now open! http://www.getingear10k.com/registration.html

The More We Spend on Christmas, the More We Waste

This New Yorker article looks at the wastefulness of holiday gift giving from an economist’s point of view: http://www.newyorker.com/talk/content/articles/061225ta_talk_surowiecki

Norway's Arctic Ice is Melting

Another unseasonably warm week here in the City of Lakes. The December rains are greening my lawn. Meanwhile, Northern Europe is also experiencing a heat wave, with the Scandinavian capitals reporting temperatures in the 50s today. Oslo’s Aftenposten reports that the snowless December has Norwegians talking, and worrying. “The Arctic ice is melting faster than even the most pessimistic forecasts of just a few years ago. Norwegian climate experts have worried about the Arctic for years, while also noting how glaciers on the Norwegian mainland are shrinking by the year.” http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article1567233.ece

The Dangers of Bike Helmets

An article in today’s Sunday New York Times magazine reveals the punch-line of an upcoming article in the journal Accident Analysis & Prevention. (Who even knew there was such a publication? Of course, as a subscriber to that other page-turner, Pensions & Investments, who am I to judge another profession’s publications.) According to the Times, a University of Bath psychologist used an ultransonic sensor to measure how much room passing motorists gave him while riding his bicycle, with or without a helmet. He found that when he wore his helmet, motorists passed, on average, over 3 inches closer. The author of the upcoming article theorizes that helmets change the behavior of drivers. Motorists regard a helmet as a signal that the cyclist is experienced and thus can be approached with less caution. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/10/magazine/10bike.html

Heat Wave in the Alps

"We are currently experiencing the warmest period in the Alpine region in 1,300 years," Reinhard Boehm, a climatologist at Austria's Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics said. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16052360/

Why do crooks rob banks?

Because that's where the money is, of course. In case anyone needed more evidence that the securities industry is a dirty, dirty business, The Boston Globe reports that one brokerage firm, Jeffries & Co., spent over $2 million to lavish gifts and entertainment on Fidelity employees, including Fidelity traders. The gifts (aka bribes) included private vacations and golf outings, tickets to a Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera concert (what??), parties at the 2004 Super Bowl in Houston sponsored by Playboy and Maxim magazines, and bottles of expensive wine. Hmm...I would expect more from a fiduciary. According to the Globe, the SEC said in the court filing that Fidelity "may have, directly or indirectly" defrauded some clients or prospective clients during a two-year period starting in 2002. The SEC said actions by Fidelity may have prevented customers from getting the best deals on stock trades. Among other activities, the court filing revealed the SEC is investigating whether former Fidelity trader David Donovan Jr. or members of his family used inside information to profit from stock trades. It has previously been reported that the SEC was investigating whether Donovan steered business to his brother, Peter Donovan, who handled Fidelity business at Banc of America Securities. http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2006/12/05/ny_firm_courted_fidelity_traders_with_2m_in_gifts/

We're All on Thin Ice

We finally watched An Inconvenient Truth last night. Wow. Everyone must see this movie! For more information, including simple steps you can take to reduce greenhouse emissions, go to: http://www.climatecrisis.net/

Barry Bonds a Twin?

Today's New York Times ran an article on why the Twins would benefit the most of any major league team by signing free agent Barry Bonds: "They [The Twins] had the worst-performing left fielders in the majors last year. They play in a tightly contested division, vying against the 2006 pennant-winning Detroit Tigers and the 2005 world champion White Sox, as well as the up-and-coming Cleveland Indians. And, crucially, they averaged 24,000 empty seats a game in August and September, meaning they could benefit more from an increase in attendance for Bonds’s record chase than any other serious contender." http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/03/sports/baseball/03score.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1165327208-+vd9TRgN3k6IqtRn85t21Q