Fixed-Income Minnesota

Wanna see something scary? The Atlantic created an interactive map that displays how median income has changed during the past 30 years, by county.

This is what Minnesota looks like with regard to Empty Nesters, an older and less diverse population than average, with plenty of retirees on fixed incomes. That means they don’t spend a whole lot and they account for a huge percentage of health care costs. Demographics is destiny:

Fixed Income Minnesota Map
Fixed Income Minnesota Map

Joe Mauer Mocks Troy Polamalu

Joe Mauer Mocks Troy Polamalu

Love it! Twins catcher Joe Mauer makes fun of Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu over his high voice and his Head & Shoulders commercials…in this Head & Shoulders commercial. Mauer ought not quit his day job; he’s a far better hitter than he is an actor. Found at YouTube from headandshoulders.

Surfing In Duluth

Surfing In Duluth

This may surprise you, but people actually do surf in Duluth. Perfect Duluth Day posted this video of people doing just that. It would’ve been a surprise to me, too, if I didn’t known Graeme Thickens, who, in addition to being the guy who knows everything you’d ever want to know about Minnesota start-up businesses, he’s also the go-to guy about surfing in Minnesota.

I know: who knew?

Check out Graeme’s Tech Surf Blog and you can find him on Twitter here: @GraemeThickins. Found at YouTube From CBS News.

Lingerie Football League Comes To Minnesota

Lingerie Football League Comes To Minnesota

Did Vince McMahon start a football league? Cause the Lingerie Football League would seem to be right in his wheelhouse. Regardless, Minnesota will soon get a taste of what nightwear on the gridiron is all about. And from the looks of it, it could be awfully entertaining.

These girls can play them some football!

They’ll play at the Target Center. They haven’t got a name yet but you can submit your suggestion to LFLinMinnesota@LFLUS.com and if it’s picked, you’ll win season tickets for life. Open tryouts will be announced shortly. (If you want to get some practice in before the tryout, we play every Saturday afternoon at the Northeast Minneapolis Athletic Fields. Just saying.) The season home opener is scheduled for October 1, 2011. Found at YouTube from LingerieFootball.

Minneapolis 9th Vainest City

Minneapolis Is 9th Vainest City
Minneapolis Is 9th Vainest City

According to Total Beauty, Minneapolis, Minnesota is the 9th vainest city in the United States. Here’s why:

When it’s frostbite weather outside just about 85 percent of the year, it’s no wonder these Minnesotans spend a lot of time and dough their looks. That kind of cold wreaks havoc on hair, skin and nails. At last count (in 2002, the latest Census data available), there were 1343 “personal care” businesses in the City of Lakes, more than a thousand of which were hair salons. See what cities are vainer than Minneapolis.

An Ode To Bacon

Wake N Bacon Alarm Clock
Wake N Bacon Alarm Clock
I just came across the Wake n’ Bacon, an alarm clock that wakes you not with sound but to the smell of bacon cooking. It’s a pretty ingenious invention but it also reminded me of one of my earliest memories.

Form me, the smell of bacon cooking will always be associated with comfort.

As a child, my family lived in Southeast Minneapolis. I remember a neighbor’s house burned down and shortly thereafter I had a nightmare about the place.

I dreamed that a friend of mine and his family were trapped within the burning house but they weren’t exactly my friend and his family. They were some monster-version of them, with big heads and oblong bodies. They were swinging on swings inside of the house as it burned.

And I could not save them.

I have absolutely no idea what, if anything, the imagery means but it was my first nightmare.

While it seems silly and ridiculous now, it was scary as hell then. But I awoke from it to the smell of bacon cooking from my mother making breakfast downstairs, and thus the smell of bacon reassured me that I was only dreaming.