Brief thought exercise: In higher education, research is hard. It takes time (presumably). So is there truly any incentive to actually focus on teaching?

Two quick anecdotes to jump this off: 1. Last night, I was going to a graduate school class. I ran into my friend on the steps and we stood there talking for 10-15 minutes — in the process annoying the crap… Continue Reading

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Did Mad Men use the same foreshadowing clue as How I Met Your Mother once did?

You won’t see Mad Men and How I Met Your Mother compared that often — although Neil Patrick Harris could probably fit seamlessly on both — but they may have dropped a similar foreshadowing technique in their final couple of seasons. Above, you see… Continue Reading

Is Jeff Teague going to become a star as the Hawks beat the Pacers in Round 1?

Pretty much all the signs are there, even if you don’t want to admit them/see them: 1. The Hawks won Game 1 of their series vs. the Pacers (the top overall seed in the Eastern Conference), and it wasn’t like it… Continue Reading

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Dakotah Quail-Dyer, Jessica Heeringa’s fiancee, seems to be cleared in her disappearance. But could it be a former boyfriend?

Jessica Heeringa disappeared a year ago Saturday from her job at an Exxon in Norton Shores, Michigan. This case has gotten a good share of national attention — and with it, a lot of different theories — but the basic… Continue Reading

The first Earth Day was the result of Gaylord Nelson, Pete McCloskey, and Denis Hayes

“This planet is threatened with destruction — and, we who live in it, with death.” This were some of the first words associated with Earth Day when it started — way back in 1970 — and despite being depressing, the… Continue Reading

Did Lagunitas beer really grow 85 percent from 2012 to 2013?

There was a recent article in The Atlantic about “the state of American beer,” ultimately using data from Beverage Industry Magazine to see where the different beer brands (the American ones) stand as of the end of 2013. Most of the article is pretty basic… Continue Reading

Laszlo Bock and Google’s resume advice is good, but it isn’t the be-all and the end-all

This article from Thomas Friedman that ran in Sunday’s New York Times — “How To Get A Job At Google, Part 2” — has drawn a bunch of attention (if you’re curious, Part 1 of the same article is here). Part 2… Continue Reading

The term “ratchet,” from the Selfie Song and Beyonce’s Instagram? The guy who invented it is serving a life prison sentence.

Ratchet is a big thing on the pop culture scene these days. LL Cool J had a single of that name, it’s been on Beyonce’s earrings via Instagram, and it comes up in the Selfie Song, embedded above. I was riding in… Continue Reading