Furst Draft

Cruel joke

...but nice to think about...here's a call at one of our news assistants just took:

A passerby said the bank-like lightboard at Family Service Rochester (corner of 11th Ave. and Civic Center Dr. NW) is flashing 100 degrees. Then it says "Merry Christmas."

'Not impressed' with car care story

An appropriate note from a reader:

Jay,

I was not impressed with last night's front page article titled "Cold has
cars on ice".    One of the points emphasized in the article was:

   "“People used to put products like Heet in their gas tanks, but nowadays
   that really isn’t needed,” Griebenow said.
   “All fuel has ethanol in it and it works just like Heet. Gas lines
   normally don’t freeze up anymore.”"

As I read further, there was a statement by someone named 'Turner' who
apparantly didn't agree that Heet was unnecessary.   Unfortunately, the
article failed to explain who 'Turner' was.

So basically, the article supported the assertion that Heet is unnecessary
(and furthermore, restated that assertion in bold print underneath the
article), yet acknowledged that there is some debate as to whether it is an
absolute fact.

Jim Bennett
Rochester

Jim's right, we dropped the first reference to Bruce Turner's name...regarding Heet, I'm quite sure there are different opinions on fuel additives, but we probably didn't need to even get into that for the purposes of this story.

Don't run from a bear

I got a macabre kick out of this news release:

Hello,

Many investors are reeling from the past year and wondering what to do in this recessionary environment. In a new report, Dean Junkans, chief investment officer at Wells Fargo Private Bank, offers seven specific “to-dos” for investors buffeted by 2008:

1. Don’t run from a bear: if you run now, it will be harder to recover. Stand your ground.
2. Harvest losses to provide for future flexibility: take tax losses now, to offset gains this year or in future years.
3. Revisit your financial plan, including spending, return assumptions, sensitivity to “average” expectations, goals, leverage, education, and opportunities.

4. Question everything, but don’t act on everything: investment “truths” like the value of diversification still hold.
5. Rebalance the portfolio, if necessary: take a look at new and old opportunities across asset types.
6. Revisit risk, but don’t completely abandon it: low risk also means low return.
7. Review your decision-making process: how you construct your portfolio, how you evaluate investments and how each piece fits into your portfolio.

Buddha beehive goes global

You may have seen this story in the P-B last month:

Group plans celebration for Buddha-shaped wasp nest

11/21/2008

By Matt Russell

mrussell@postbulletin.com

The Cambodian Buddhist community in Rochester has scheduled a two-day celebration to commemorate what members believe is an apparition of the Buddha on temple grounds.

The Dec. 6 and 7 events will celebrate a wasp nest shaped like a seated Buddha that is tucked into the eaves over the entrance to a temple building. Monks and others in the Cambodian Buddhist community have called the nest a miracle, leading to national media attention.

The Dec. 6 event will begin at 6 p.m.; festivities start at 8 a.m. Dec. 7 and continue into the afternoon.

"It's just a celebration for the Buddha," said community member Tracy Sam. "We want everybody to know they are invited to the temple to help us celebrate."

The wasp nest, which members of the community have been calling a beehive, was noticed early this month. Beehives appear to have a special significance in Cambodian Buddhism: Honey collecting is a common activity in Cambodia, where Buddhist temples feature honeycomb-shaped towers.

Monk Moeun Ngop, 76, pointed to a colorful painting on the temple grounds of a monkey giving a honeycomb. He says the painting is a sign that the Buddha-shaped nest isn't a coincidence.

Experts who have examined photos of the nest say that the temple's eaves are an ideal place for a wasp nest to be located. There is nothing extraordinary about the nest's shape, they said.

The story has been picked up internationally, and yesterday I had a call from a magazine in the U.K., asking to buy reprint rights to the pic. Expect to see it in Fortean Times magazine shortly. Fortean is a journal of "strange phenomena."

Friday hotdish

A potpourri of stuff I've been meaning to blog:

You'll soon see our weather page co-branded with KTTC, with nuggets of weather wisdom from Randy Brock...

We're going to re-start a reader feedback team in '09 -- with readers giving us consistent feedback through the year, meeting every quarter to talk about specific issues -- if you're interested in being part of this, let me know.

I reviewed the Chicago Lyric Opera's productions of "Lulu" and "Porgy and Bess" a few weeks ago...praised the former, panned the latter. I rarely hear from directors, actors, whoever after a review, but the director of "Porgy," Francesca Zambello, sent this note, with a quote from the review in which I said, "My wife would have you know that a lot of people abandoned ship at the second intermission. Too bad; they missed the boat."
    So Francesca wrote, "Too bad she did not suggest you report on the audience response for 'Porgy' who do not share your thoughts. I have noticed a rather vociferous response at every show and standing ovations. Rare for any opera."

I'll write a column next week on some changes in our staffing and beats, but I'll note here that Heather Carlson now covers state government for us, and Matt Stolle is our Weekend edition reporter.

Call it schadenfreude, but I always enjoy reading the corrections -- in newspapers other than ours. The Wall Street Journal has a couple of doozies today:
        The courtesy title for Canada's Governor General Michaelle Jean was incorrectly given as Mr. instead of the proper Ms. in a World Watch article in some editions Thursday.
        A photograph of the Sony Reader was incorrectly identified as an Amazon Kindle in some editions of Thursday's Personal Journal section.
        America's Best Cleaners certifies dry cleaners for quality standards. A Personal Journal article Thursday incorrectly gave the name as America's Best Cleaning.

No Gibbs in Wikipedia

A Rochester reader e-mailed this week to ask for permission to use some information on George W. Gibbs Jr. -- the Gibbs for whom the Rochester school district's new elementary school is named -- for an entry on Wikipedia. There wasn't a listing for Gibbs in that reader-contributed encyclopedia; a rudimentary page is under construction and more will be added.

As the e-mailer says, "Even our honorable mayor has a wiki entry. I figured that with a school soon to open bearing his name, he ought to have a 'hit' on Google, the first page. Right now it takes 2-3 pages to find any info on Mr. Gibbs."

'The Post is one of the last good newspapers...'

Another transcription of a handwritten note from a happy reader -- I'll pass along some brickbats after this...

Post-Bulletin

Thank you for the great coverage of Houston's football team!

The Post is one of the last good newspapers on a line drawn from Milwaukee, Chicago to Kansas City and back to the Twin Cities --

Once again -- great sports coverage!

Ronald Burfield

P.S.  Your TV guide is getting more accurate! I shouldn't complain because it's the last, good, full-week schedule in all area newspapers!

'I look forward every day to the arrival of my paper'

Here's a letter I received in meticulous handwriting from a Rochester reader:

Post-Bulletin,

I have been an avid reader of the Post-Bulletin all my life, since I could read and I'm now 77 years old.

Midweek has my favorite articles and I eagerly look forward to them:
   
    Jen's World, which always gives me a chuckle and I carry it with me until the next Wednesday!

    Amish Cook, which I would dislike seeing ever discontinued. I enjoy reading of a slower pace, of life, family, and oh those wonderful recipes that most people can get the ingredients for from their own kitchen shelves. A lot of your recipes, in the newspaper, one can't afford the ingredients.

I look forward every day to the arrival of my paper!

Louise Hopkins

I especially like that she refers to the P-B as "my paper." It is, in fact, the reader's paper -- we only exist to provide what people who buy us are interested in knowing and reading.