Confessions of an Errant Mind

On the news last night, I was surprised to see the face of one of the regulars at my local hardware stores, North End Hardware. As best as I can tell, the workers there are a tight group. There's less than 6-7 guys, and they seem to be always there. It's been a helpful resource for me as an alternative to the faceless, figure-it-out-on-your-own vibe of the local Home Depot. I need a light bulb, the Depot's the place. Need to rewire the light bulb, ask at North End.

In any case, North End was in the news yesterday due to a shooting incident a few blocks away. A DHL driver got caught in some crossfire while in his van. He was able to pull over and walk into the store, which he knew from his delivery route. They were able to call for an ambulance to get him some medical help. This is unfortunate and scary--I was probably driving the same stretch of road with my son, dad, and step-mother just a few hours earlier. But it's nice to know the guys at North End will be there when I need them!

Here's a video report...

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The home neighborhoods been in the news as of late. First, in a story straight out of my current HBO fav The Wire, the owners of Harold's Chicken Shack on West Broadway are on trial for using it to launder cocaine money. When we lived on W. Broadway, a few years back, the drug trade was obvious and frustrating, but mostly run by 17 year olds. It's interesting to get a deeper glimpse into the action. There's already been accusations against some of the prosecution witnesses saying they've also sold crack. In any case, it's not often that I (as a suburban, white, educated man) get this kind of real glimpse into the economic infrastructure of the drug trade, even though it used to happen in my front yard!

Second, the Minnesota Daily had a short piece today detailing progress in the U's Northside Partnership. They're buying Penn Crossings, once home to a kick ass soul food place and more recently a home for drug dealing (ironic, since they're feet away from the precinct police station). This has been 2-3 years coming, and not without controversy. Some in the community are suspicious (rightfully so) of the university's goals--people don't like just being guinea pigs. But hopefully the university has done its groundwork right and this can be an asset.

Finally, I just came across this map of a few key northside statistics. The post hs education rates for African American men are astounding--most neighborhoods are below 1%. Wow. Can't say much else than that.

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News yesterday about problems in the microwave popcorn. Apparently, the butter additive in the most popular brands is now confirmed to cause lung damage with heavy use. I'd heard of a problem with the coating of popcorn bags, but hearing about the butter flavor blowup was news to me.

Thankfully, for the last couple of years, the fam and I have been enjoying popcorn the old fashioned way. We inherited a popcorn maker from my sister-in-law, and while it's a pain to clean compared to the nuked stuff, the taste was much, much better (see the soon to be released Tasting Room podcast on this subject). Plus, it's a fraction of the cost.

The food blog Chow gives more information...

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