Bob Collins1) Happy birthday to the Internet, whose “original stirrings” were 40 years ago today. The Guardian has a terrific interactive “people’s history of the Internet” to celebrate its entry into middle age. What was your first foray onto the ‘net. Mine was sending an e-mail from CompuServe and listening to a colleague rave about the speed of his 1200 baud modem. What’s your earliest experience?
2) The New York Times’ continuing series “1 in 8 million” today profiles Richard Valvo, who’s spent his life putting other people’s words in his mouth. He’s a “spokesman.” Everybody’s life is interesting and is a story worth telling. Don’t believe me? Contact me.
3) Why? Because it’s Nikki Tundel, that’s why.
4) These two stories aren’t related in any way but I can’t help but put them together for some reason. In Massachusetts, brotherly love can’t compete with the love of money. It’s a cautionary tale about mixing family with business. It doesn’t work. “With family business, there is no opportunity for a clear exit. In a corporation, the sharp knives come out and you can literally end a relationship in a business like way. It’s hard to fire your brother or sever the relationship,” an expert says.
Meanwhile, out in Spring Hill, they don’t much care for fancy suits and the love of money. They only know that when someone needs help, you start running.
5) Neat images of Target field at night as crews test the lights. Ignore the fact that unless some serious money is spent over the winter, the lights will illuminate Nick Punto at the plate in a critical situation.
Follow-up: The La-Z-Boy chair that a Proctor man drove while apparently drunk is now for sale. (h/t: Nate Minor)
Bonus: A tale of two extremes. The Hudson River flight crew vs. the flight crew that couldn’t see fit to land in Minneapolis. Jeff Skiles, the co-pilot of the Hudson River, discusses the local incident on WNYC’s The Takeaway.
TODAY’S QUESTION
The Obama administration’s pay czar has ordered a 90 percent pay cut for executives at seven companies that took public bailouts. Should CEOs who accepted federal bailout money have to take deep pay cuts?
WHAT WE’RE DOING
Midmorning (9-11 a.m.) – First hour: Savvy Traveler Rudy Maxa and Frugal Traveler Matt Gross join forces to give listeners advice on travel destinations that offer great experiences for less money.
Second hour: Rudy Maxa.
Midday (11 a.m. – 1 p.m.) – Both hours: Award-winning children’s author Kate DeCamillo and MPR’s Cathy Wurzer, from an event at the Fitzgerald Theater.
Talk of the Nation (1 – 3 p.m.) – It’s Science Friday! First hour: Talk on hand-washing, from hospitals to highway rest stops.
Second hour: Empathy with primatologist Frans de Waal, natural selection at work in humans,and a possible new explanation for mass extinctions.
All Things Considered (3-6:30 p.m.) – MPR’s Tim Post reports on efforts by the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System and the University of Minnesota to keep students from leaving college.
Euan Kerr, the hardest working man in showbiz, profiles a man who runs a Web site where people send their secrets. He talks about his new collection on “Life Death and God.” Have you noticed? It’s been a big week for talk about God on MPR this week.
NPR’s Ted Robbins has a look at the economic woes in Phoenix, rapidly becoming the Detroit of the southwest.
