this & that

• Ridiculous.
• The saddest part of this article is that it makes no mention of what TERRIBLE PARENTING it is to dedicate your entire life to getting your child into an elite university. This guy QUIT HIS JOB to shuttle his teenage son to extracurricular activities. I maintain my belief that the smartest students at most universities are competitive with the smartest students at the elites. And that the lifestyle required to get into the elites is very, very unhealthy for high school students.
• The other day in my presentation, someone asked why I couldn't just count the number of federal employees on the Congolese payroll. I had to explain that there isn't a payroll. Via Mr. Florida, here's an article that explains the situation well.
• Last night my sister and I ate at Luigi's, an excellent, newish Italian restaurant in McGregor. It's owned by Kosovars. When I told them I'd recently visited, and my sister showed them her keychain souvenir, they asked why I hadn't brought them a flag. Steve the Lawyer is working on it. I love life.