Five at 8: May 6, 2009

Bob CollinsBob Collins May 6, 2009
  • There are times in our lives when we’re faced with making a deal with the devil. Vikings fans: This is one of those times. So, here. You’re going to need this. The official Brett Favre Web site. Sports Illustrated suggests the reports of Favre’s feud with the Pa…Pac….Packers…. is overblown. Around here we’re debating whether it’s possible to go from enemy to idol. In Milwaukee, can someone go from idol to enemy?

    (Psst to Vikings: You could’ve had Matt Cassel for next to nothing.)

  • Son of the bridge to nowhere? The New York Times tracks stimulus spending and stops at a bridge in Akron, on which officials are going to use stimulus money to build a fence. It’s partly to get home values to reverse a decline. People are jumping off the bridge and falling on the neighborhood below.

    It does raise the question of whether a fence is really the way to get to the actual problem.

  • Is it time for a gay Supreme Court justice? We may find out, Slate is reporting.
  • What’s in your office. How about a stranger that you think is a legit member of your I.T. workforce? The BBC has a fascinating story about how social engineering is being used to rip off your firm’s secrets. The weakest link in any company? People.
  • Let’s think about the ramifications for this before we do something stupid here. Scientists have unveiled a race car that can be powered by chocolate, or at least chocolate “waste.” One fairly envisions Hershey bars hitting $4 due to the high demand for chocolate energy in China and India. And what about the dogs?

    Speaking of chocolate and dogs, here’s a list of outdoor threats to your pooch.

  • Bonus. Video smackdown. Dr. John Hallberg demonstrates masks vs. cute goats with Mary Lucia.

    WHAT WE’RE DOING

    Midmorning (9-11 a.m.) – Kerri Miller is back. First hour: What good are economists? I’ve opined here before on the subject. If they’re so smart, why are they so often wrong?

    Another great topic in the second hour:the moral strain of flu. Do you keep your kids home when they’re sick? Or do you send them off to school because keeping them home is a pain in the neck? Do you go to work when you’re sick?

    Midday (11-1): Last night, Tom Crann hosted a session with broadcast news legend Roger Mudd. Tom promised me yesterday he’d ask about the day Mudd walked out on CBS when they gave Walter Cronkite’s gig to Dan Rather. The session will be broadcast in the second hour. In the first hour, Minnesota House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher and Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller talk about the waning legislative session. I may live blog it here.

    Talk of the Nation (1-3): Political editor Ken Rudin in the first hour. The job market for college grads and the difficulty of finding internships in the second hour. MPR’s Tim Post did that story last week.

    All Things Considered (3-6:30): More on the flu from MPR’s Tim Nelson. Also: Where are Pakistan’s nukes?

    WEDNESDAY! WEDNESDAY! WEDNESDAY!

    Join me here this evening at 7 for the News Cut live blogging of a session in the UBS Forum about severe weather. Cathy Wurzer talks to Paul Huttner, Craig Edwards, Mark Seeley and special guest meteorologist Paul Douglas about tornadoes, floods, straight line winds and other public safety threats that come with warm weather. We’ll discuss how accurately storms can be predicted, how storms are formed and how to protect yourself and your property.

    And, we’ll prove it’s possible to talk about the weather without needing to stand outside in the backyard garden.

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