Ann Arbor's 22nd Nerd Nite is tomorrow at Live. There will be presentations on (not) curing cancer, and games as a form of storytelling. I'm most excited about the presentation on the geography of students in Ann Arbor as it pertains to local elections. Should be fascinating. Door's are at 6:30 and the AADL is covering the admission fee.
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| Our friends at Sister Pie in Detroit are working at the cutting edge of paczki technology. |
Here are my thoughts on where to get paczki today. If you want to go that authentic route, you could go to Hamtramck. EJ has a fondness for the New Martha Washington Bakery. That said, if you are reading this, it may already be too late. If you are looking for something wonderful and exciting and are in Detroit (or willing to drive) you will not want to miss Sister Pie's 2015 model year paczki. The "pieraczki" a pierogi-paczki hybrid looks especially exciting. It's a potato flour pączek stuffed with a potato cheddar cheese filling.
If you are planning on staying in Washtenaw County, Dom Bakeries in on Wasntenaw in Ypsilanti has a very good reputation. If you're on the west side, Dimo's Deli and Donuts, is also reputed to have excellent paczki.
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| Google Streetview from 4181 Lohr Rd. The proposed solar field would be located behind the row of trees in the background, approximately 800 ft. away from where the picture was taken. |
Last night, Pittsfield Township's Board of Trustees voted to oppose Ann Arbor's plan to build an array of solar panels on an agricultural field within the boundaries of the city's airport. By way of background, Ann Arbor's municipal airport is on land owned by the City of Ann Arbor but within the boundaries of Pittsfield Charter Township. The Ann Arbor News reports Township Treasurer Patricia Scrtbner objecting to Ann Arbor's plans because the Ann Arbor City Council has not reached out to the Township's Board of Trustees. In a counterpoint posted on Mary Morgan's Facebook post about the row, CM Kunselman indicated that the appropriate city staff had been in contact with the appropriate township staff.
In cries that echo the Plymouth Road Solar Array Kerfuffle of January 2013, some commentors on the .News are complaining that they feel like residents of the subdivisions adjacent to the Airport on Lohr Road should not be subjected to unsightly solar panels dotting the horizon and interrupting their formerly bucolic vista. I understand that people get attached to their physical environment and that change is stressful. Nevertheless, I'm surprised to hear such vehement opposition to the location of the proposed solar array. Using Washtenaw County's awesome web-based MappingWashtenw program I measured the proposed location of the array (as indicated in the .news) to be over 760 feet from the edge of the Lohr Road right of way and over 900 feet from the nearest residence. Beyond the understandable desire of the Pittsfield Township Board of Trustees to be better looped into the conversation, I find it hard to understand the opposition to this proposed project.
Hot off the youtube comes a video parodying this winter's trendiest jacket. I really like the idea, but the jokes could be just a bit pithier.
h/t: Evamcs on /r/uofm
I know we still have weeks of winter remaining, but I doubt any snowman will match this one in someones yard on Miller, just west of Maple. It is huge, well over 2 meters tall, and glows eerily.
Ypsilanti's hottest community radio show, The Saturday Six Pack with Mark Maynard, will be live on AM1700 tonight at 6. It will include, possibly for the first time ever on the radio, a puppet show on. Are you as excited as I am?
Frank Fejeran has been at The Ravens Club for less than two years, but in that time, he has really upped their food game. Last November, at a food blogger dinner, he talked about how he had worked to build an ambitious menu that was anchored by stalwart favorites. Thus, at Ravens Club you can find grilled bone marrow but also fried chicken and an outstanding hamburger.
Over on Life and Thyme, Chef Frank Fejeran has written a moving essay about fatherhood and his life in and out of the restaurant industry and ultimately his decision to leave the Ravens Club:
...The passion of being a chef has now shifted to passion for being a father. I don’t want to be good at both… I want to be fucking great at one.Reading the essay, you get a wonderful sense of the intensity and dedication of the restaurant industry. For my part, I am sad to see Chef Frank Fejeran go, but am happy that it sounds like he is making the right decision for himself and his family. I will miss your grilled bone marrow, sir.I love this industry with everything I have. It has given me and my family all I could ever ask for. It has made me everything I am today. I am thankful for that, but I owe it nothing. I have given this industry more than enough. This is the end of my restaurant career and I will miss it every day.
After I email this essay out, I am talking with the owner of the restaurant to discuss my exit. I’ve had one crazy fucking ride through this industry and I have enough memories to last a lifetime. It is time to make peace with myself, accept my faults, and give those who love me my time.
Have a good service, everybody.
h/t: Rich Retyi
Do Ann Arbor's charter mandated pieshapped wards intentionally dilute the student vote? The Michigan Daily's Austen Hufford and Pat Sier, explore this question in an interesting article this week. They look at the proportion of registered voters who are students in each ward and discuss the possibility of a more student centric ward design. It's worth a read.
I love watching Ann Arbor City Council meetings live, over the internet, from the comfort of my home or from the comfort of my favorite local watering hole. I'm not afraid to admit it. Because the City Council meetings are broadcast live over the internet there is a nice community of folks who follow along and chat about the meetings on twitter. There are literally dozens of us. It's a great way to engage with local government.
As EJ is fond of reminding me, we no longer live in Ann Arbor. I know my new home, Ypsilanti, doesn't the same public access television infrastructure as Ann Arbor. Still I think it would be great to be able to watch and discuss Ypsilanti City Council meetings in real time, over the internet. Does anybody know what it would take to reliably set up a live stream of these meetings?
