October 22, 2005
Get us an editor--stat!

It's commonly known among journalists that Saturdays are the slow day in the newspaper business.

Sales are usually off quite a bit from the Sunday bulge and the normal weekday sales figures.

That fact may be the best explanation for an odd story/headline combination that ran in today's News-Journal--or at least, the kindest.

The story dealt with the latest employment figures from the Delaware Department of Labor, and the headline started things off with a bang:

State boasts 700 fewer jobs in September

Huh?

Why would anyone boast about having fewer jobs?

The story eventually explains that this number comes from an increase in formally unemployed Delawareans, from 17,400 to 18,100 during September 2005.

The story then causes a bit more confusion, with this additional competing factoid about the last twelve months of job data:

Although there was a net gain of 5,800 jobs, a rise of 1.4 percent from September 2004, the state is projecting slower job gains this year. Economists forecasted earlier this year job growth would slow by the end of the year.

[Emphasis supplied].

So what are we to make of this interesting combination?

It seems to me that if the News-Journal wanted to spin this story so it could use "Boasts" in the headline, it should have highlighted the net gain in jobs, instead of the net increase in unemployment.

Or, if the News-Journal wanted to highlight the slight increase in unemployment, it certainly should have avoided the cognitive dissonance it caused with this headline.

Maybe the editors were at one of the Friday night high school football games, instead of hanging around at work.

After all, it's just the Saturday paper.

October 20, 2005
Tomato/Apple Cider Chicken

My bride came home from a college function recently, bearing two gallons of leftover apple cider. 

I like the stuff as much as anyone, especially with a few Sweetzel’s spiced wafers.

When there are only two of us in the house, however, some of this stuff could turn into apple jack unless we found some way to use it up.

If you find yourself facing a similar risk, here’s a recipe that could help.

Tomato/Apple Cider Chicken

Ingredients

1 cup dry pasta (I used small shells)
1 chicken breast, boned and diced into 1-inch cubes
1 medium onion, chopped fine
2 stalks celery ribs, chopped fine
15 oz. can diced tomatoes
2 cups apple cider
flour for dredging
three tablespoons canola oil
salt
pepper

Instructions

Boil water and make the pasta while preparing the rest of the dish.

In a large sauté pan, heat 1 ½ tablespoons of canola oil, and sauté the onions until soft. Add the chopped celery to the onions, cover the pan, and cook over low heat for five minutes. Add the tomatoes and cider, and let it reduce for 20 minutes or so.

Meanwhile, dredge the chicken pieces in flour, and season the pieces with salt and pepper. In another pan, sauté the chicken in the rest of the oil until lightly browned.

When the pasta is cooked and drained, add it and the chicken to the vegetable mixture, and add salt and pepper to taste.

Serves two, with a bit left over.

October 19, 2005
Certainly made an impression, and not in a good way

Divorce and bankruptcy cases don’t often show people during their finest hours. When one reads the judicial opinions regarding these and other emotionally wrenching legal matters, it helps to keep that fact in mind.

On the other hand, sometimes some of these litigants seem to go out of their way to create an impression---and not in a good way.

A college professor and his wife were married in 1967, and divorced in 1993. During the divorce proceedings, the ex-wife was awarded $2,000 per month in alimony, along with a share of certain annuities. In addition, the court ordered the repayment of thousands of dollars of cash that had been taken from the ex-wife’s parents, along with interest.

From the quoted passages in yesterday's Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decision in a subsequent bankruptcy proceeding, it’s safe to say that the professor didn’t take his losses well: 

Over the past nine years, the Debtor has taken evasive action to avoid paying his ex-wife … amounts she was awarded under the parties’ divorce decree. . . .