Around the Web

Norwegians in Minnesota are fighting the potential loss of a Norweigan consulate in Minneapolis, says the New York Times. Two interesting notes: even Norweigans in Norway are snowbirds, and there's a Norweigan consulate in Houston.

Chow.com's The Grinder pointed out a profile about innovative food service at a Alzheimer's facility that reminds me of the special efforts my sister makes with my dad.

"I take a roast in the morning and rub it with garlic and olive oil and fresh basil and thyme,” he explains. “Then I go down to the assisted living area at 2 p.m. and stick the roast in the oven so the residents can smell the roast cooking. Then we carve it in front of them and serve it. We have found that atmosphere and surroundings have a lot to do with residents’ appetites. They eat better when they see that people pay attention to them.”

Hunting Season in the Media

It's hunting season in Minnesota: opportunity to explore one of the great divides in America. Garrison Keillor, on last weekend's fall sampler show, described hunting this way: you either do it or you don't, and you do it if your father or your friends did. Certainly, hunting's a bigger topic in southeastern Minnesota than in southeastern Pennsylvania.

The New York Times travel section has a story about deer-hunting in Maine (free registration required) that in many respects could have been written about Minnesota. Of note:

• a comment describing alliances between hunters and environmentalists (wildlife plates are popular with both Prius drivers and hunters)
• a concern that younger generations aren't taking up hunting because they're trapped behind the TV. (See information about Minnesota's recruitment program.)

As Deer Think of Wooing, Maine Thinks of Deer.

Travel: A Recap

From September 1 to October 31, in numbers:

• 25 days in Philadelphia/Princeton
• 20 days in Rochester
• 8 days in Indiana
• 6 days of misc. travel (San Francisco; Washington, DC; Chicago)
• 15 flight segments flown
• 1 missed flight and 1 canceled flight (luckily from Minneapolis to Rochester so Hal picked me up)

The time segments feel all crazy, and then I realize it's the travel. After November 15, the average breakdown of a two month period will probably look like:

• 16 days in Philadelphia/Princeton
• 44 days in Rochester

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