God knows what they'd do with the quiche

In November the Food and Drug Administration told Smiling Hill Farm of Westbrook, Maine, that it would have to recall all of its egg nog because it did not list "egg" as an ingredient on the label. Federal law requires the listing to protect people with egg allergies from inadvertently consuming foods that they might not have realized contain egg (even products called "egg nog"). [Portland Press Herald, 11-18-07]

Hat tip, NOTW.

Holiday tips

Been a month with nothing, so a few pieces of holiday weirdness.

First, I see Steve putting these on the tree at the office.

Second, we should see if Mark can use this sound with Allison when she buys him a bad tie for Christmas.

Should we send these to Eric and Beth? Will they catch on? Do they ever read here? (BTW, the shorter post thing doesn't work, as you see here. But shorter paragraphs help.)

I guess I should have gone to his open house; now Ron wants me to help around the garage.

And remember, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Even that new spouse.

(Most stories courtesy of Fark.)

"Ho Ho Ho" Is now an offensive Xmas Greeting...

Someone has to check with Eric about what's happening in his adopted home...
SYDNEY (AFP) - Santas in Australia's largest city have been told not to use Father Christmas's traditional "ho ho ho" greeting because it may be offensive to women, it was reported Thursday.

If we ever decide to leave Panera...

...I'm rather fond of the Corner Bean. Closer to my office than anyplace else. I'm sitting here right now, coffee is good (but not much for breakfast.)

Our northern neighbors: Killjoys

The CBC is issuing ten things you should know for Halloween safety. No masks, jack-o'-lanterns, or darkness (hard to do that in Canada, unless you start at 3 in the afternoon.) This is my favorite, though:

6. Build a spooky but safe and well-wired haunted house
With spooky smoke machines, lights and screeching soundtracks, Halloween enthusiasts can put on a haunting good show. Secure extension cords so trick-or-treaters can easily pass by without stumbling. When buying lights, check for certification from the Canadian Standards Association or the Underwriters' Laboratory of Canada. Also, check for frayed wires and be sure not to overload outlets.

I'm pretty sure they made a Red Green episode out of this, eh?

(story via Fark.)

We should check what they're putting in our cream cheese

Junior New York City hedge fund trader Andrew Tong charged in October that his boss forced him to take female hormones to dampen his aggressiveness, which the supervisor said was leading him to make bad trades, according to a CNBC report. In his lawsuit against Mr. Ping Jiang (a big-time trader who reportedly earns $100 million a year) and employer SAC Capital (one of the biggest hedge fund names on Wall Street), Tong claimed further that he was harassed and even sexually attacked, and had started wearing dresses.

From News of the Weird. Stick to your peanut butter, boys.

Tough sledding for the dough

Another push week, as my 11-2 week could only tie our distaff genius (she'd've won if only she would stop rooting for the Vikings.) Two weeks roll over to next.

Panera blogging back down

I mean, if you were ever to blog about the peanut butter, it would be a catastrophe.

Today's movie quote

At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.

-- Billy Madison

This may have applied to Eric's football picks. Two?

OK, guess the realtor

The following is an email I received this afternoon. Since I am instructed to reach my circle of contacts, it belongs here. We can discuss this at breakfast.

Dear Dr. Banaian, As the past president of the St. Cloud Area Association of Realtors and a person that has been selling real estate for almost 30 years I feel that the area leaders in our community such as yourself should have the best information about our market.

The media has said such disturbing misinformation lately I strongly feel we all must do something to educate the public in our area with the truth.

I will be emailing you next a summary from our MLS on our market published today.

1. Interest rates still are hovering around the 6% mark for thirty year loans.

2. There is plenty of money for loans for buyers with good credit..just ask Wells Fargo, Bremer, or Liberty Bank.

3. Yes, there are a lot of foreclosures. However, most of them are from bad decisions. When 30 year fixed rate loans were available in the 5 ½% range, why would anyone consider an adjustable rate mortgage? I have been a strong advocate of buyers not touching the equity in their homes unless they are in a financial position to cover both loans in the event the market changes. That is what has happened. Many of the foreclosures in the newspapers are on seconds.

4. The soft market creates a wonderful market for buyers. There are many many choices in all price ranges and 95% of the sellers have adjusted their prices. In the Midwest we still have the best built and best quality homes for the price. Compare new construction in California with ours!

5. With so much negativity in the press, can you think of anyway we can stimulate the potential buyers? We know many many young buyers are scared because of what they have read in the newspaper. It is not only good for the buyers and sellers but for the entire St. Cloud area economy.

I do hope you appreciate this letter and the statistics that will follow. After working the Tour of Homes a few weeks ago, I was stunned with the comments that I heard from people walking through.

Please do your best in your circle of contacts to clear some of the mistaken ideas up.

Oh. The power of cheese

I will have to say, being in Wisconsin as much as I am is interesting. There are very few people who do not follow the Badgers and Packers here. Game time leaves the state almost open for looting there are so few people on the street. Fans are loyal and passionate. Very different from what I'm used to in Minnesota where fans ignore non-fans. In Wisconsin, fans try to get you to join in the fun. The head coach at UW asked fans to wear only red in support of the team. I'd say he got 19 out of 20 people stadium wide to comply as seen from the blimp overhead.

On that note, I have to rub it into Vikings fans, with Favre up for a record breaking passing title, the Norsemen didn't stand a chance. So, OOOOOOOoooooooo, the power of Wisconsin Cheese.

That doesn't mean the Vikings won't win in Green Bay. What goes around comes around with these two teams.

Todd

Panera blogging is back

Everybody thank Scott.

Do you give a 900-pound man a pizza?

From The Dilbert Blog.

The man’s brother believes the 900-pound man used his credit card to have food delivered. I wonder how the delivery guy felt. I don’t mean to be cruel, but in that situation, is there any way to NOT feel like Han Solo visiting Jabba the Hut? And how do you hand a pizza to a 900-pound guy? I’m no hero; I think I’d toss the food in his general direction, scream like a little girl, and jump out the second-story window. That’s how I roll.

Read the whole thing.

Equal Oppertunity

To think some don't see us as an equal oppertunity breakfast group. Having a female win the seasons first football pool should kill that perception forever.

Our first winner!

We are going to have a winner this week! Allison has 11 wins, and may pick up her earnings.

Sitting in the airport in MSP, dead tired, and one win short.

Is Panera coffee better than Milan

So far, I think so. They steam the milk nicely, but the coffee tastes more like Nescafe than espresso. Just the hotel experience so far. The coffee I just had at this conference was better.

Buon' giorno di Milano!

I was trying to find the WIG blog and did a google search on genius. WOW, check out this site and tell me if it fits the WIG Round Table? I especially liked this quote, "When one acquires Intuition, the world will laugh at him and call him crazy. " Doesn't the world already laugh at us and call us crazy?

Genius Epistemology

Epistemology is the investigation into the grounds and nature of knowledge itself. The study of epistemology focuses on our means for acquiring knowledge and how we can differentiate between truth and falsehood. http://atheism.about.com/od/philosophybranches/p/Epistemology.htm

Does the We Is Genius (WIG) Week Day Round Table (well, actually multiple small square tables -but Round Table sounded better!) have a unique Epistomological approach?

I've got another question. Say I have a friend named, Pee Vee, and I want to invite him re-join the WIG Round Table. What are the incentives to attend? Is there extrinsic and intrinsic value to participation in WIG? In honor of our very own Von Mises disciple, I would suggest that we would benefit from a discussion of the value of the WIG Round Table? Von Mises suggests:

Economics is not about things and tangible material objects; it is about men, their meanings and actions . http://www.turtletrader.com/ludwig_von_mises.html)

I await your replies.

Three move on

The pickem pool had Len, Burt and Steve tied with twelve. Wagers carry over.

Eric's up and running

You should find in your email box an invitation to Eric's new blog (protected so only the invited can read it.) Let him know if you can't. I'll tell you how to reach him at breakfast.

Solar power

As many of you know we have been living off the grid on electric power for several years. Yesterday I made the jump to adding solar heating as well. This system became available used because the house it was on is now for sale. Potential buyers were confused and unwilling to buy a house with the solar collectors on top. Even testimony buy the owner that it keeps heating bills low and there is virtually no maintenance could not convince buyers to want the solar power. Claiming "that's kind of unconventional" I encourage everyone to learn about and invest in solar power. It can save you money and make the whole world better.

ESPN pick'em pool is ready to rock

The Geniuses prepare to do battle on the gridiron as the Panera Pickem league is open for business. It's 10-10 at the half between Colts and Saints in the first game of the season. How will they do?

Author offers out; please edit look as you like

When you get a chance, go ahead and fiddle with the template, add links, your biz site, etc. This is supposed to be true open source, an experiment, as well as entertaining Eric. btw, here's your Australian slang dictionary so you can keep up with these new terms he's learning.

Is he Putin us on?

I promise not to do much politics here, but given the number of Genius outdoorsmen, I cannot let this from the Times of London pass unnoticed. Look at the picture first before you click the link. What's wrong with the picture?

We really need Dick for this. Can we get him to blog?

Our logo

Going forward without Eric

We must slog on through our veil of tears despite the absence of one of our own. As difficult as it may be, life happens. Though Eric may be in our thoughts, he's far, far away now...somewhere in the land of roos and barbies. Take heart, brave WeGe's! Peanut butter awaits us.

So Eric is gone, now what?

It is time for Geniuses to post on this blog. If you are a Genius reading this, send me an email and get added to the author list.

Test post

Just occupying some space until we get this going...