Notes From All Over, Part 4 -- October 28, 2019

Note: there is nothing in this post about the Bakken. If interested in new Bakken material, of which there is much, scroll down and/or check out the sidebar at the right. 

Travel: If I did not have 24/7 driving responsibilities for the three granddaughters, high on my list of travel sites would be south Florida. I would love to fly in to Miami, rent a car, and drive to Naples, FL, and then backtrack to Key West. It's the "shoulder season" for travel, and coming to the end of
hurricane season, or is it, "him-acane" season?

I have no idea the veracity of this story but if it's even half true, I would love to visit a Brooks Burgers restaurant. Some people make a lifelong commitment to visit every Starbucks; my quest would be somewhat more doable: to visit every Brooks Burgers restaurant.

Today, Todd Brooks is a success. He’s the owner of Brooks Gourmet Burgers & Dogs, a restaurant that brings in millions and is ranked the No. 2 burger joint in America by TripAdvisor.

From 2018, the top ten burger joints as surveyed by TripAdvisor:

1. Al's Burger Shack, Chapel Hill, NC
2. Brooks Gourmet Burgers & Dogs, Naples, FL
3. Honest Abe's Burgers & Freedom, Lincoln, NE
4. Grumps Burgers, Granbury, TX
5. Slabtown Café and Burgers, Traverse City, MI
6. Burger Republic, Nashville, TN
7. Pearl's Deluxe Burgers, San Francisco, CA
8. Back Door Grill, Steamboat Springs, CO
9. MacPhail's Burgers: Jackson, WY
10. The Burger Dive, Billings, MT

From the last one, the one in Billings, MT:

• with no prior restaurant experience, avid griller and self-taught chef Brad Halsten opened The Burger Dive in 2010
• today, the restaurant continues to pay homage to the classic drive-ins and diners, while simultaneously delivering innovative, high-quality burgers
• signature burger: "I'm Your Huckleberry" 1/3 pound Angus burger covered with Huckleberry Hatch chili barbecue sauce, bacon, goat cheese, roasted red pepper mayo, arugula and served on a Grains of Montana bun 
• What TripAdvisor diners say: "Let's just say these burgers are mouthwatering goodness. Such amazing seasoning flavors, very juicy and they offer so many yummy toppings!" 

Granbury, TX?

By the way, according to Yelp! the best restaurant for pie in our immediate area, is in Hico, TX. Arianna and I have eaten there, on our way home from a water polo tournament in San Antonio, TX.  Yelp! link here. Koffee Kup link here. It appears we could have a hamburger in Granbury and then dessert in Hico.

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Science

In the most recent issue of the weekend edition of The Wall Street Journal, John Horgan had a nice essay and review of two recent books on multiple universes, or the "multiverse" theory. 

The penultimate paragraph:

But I'm less entertained by multiverse theories than I once was, for a couple of reasons. 

First, science is in a slump, for reasons both internal and external. Science is ill-served when prominent thinkers tout ideas that can never be tested and hence are, sorry, unscientific. 

Moreover, at a time when our world, the real world, faces serious problems, dwelling on multiverses strikes me as escapism -- akin to billionaires fantasizing about colonizing Mars. Shouldn't scientists do something more productive with their time?

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OBIT Headlines -- The Washington Post -- Twitter

Just some of the many; list will grow longer. Three of the following were my contributions:

• Adolph Hitler, dedicated art enthusiast, animal rights activist, and talented orator, dies at 56. 
• Nathuram Godse, eloquent defender of majority rights, passes away in suspended animation at 39. 
• Osama bin Laden, proud father of 23 kids and husband of 5, peace activist inspired by Gandhi, staunch climate activist, innocent child who had Tom & Jerry and cute cat videos on his laptop, dies at 54.
• Lee Harvey Oswald, hunting accident, dead at 24. 
• Jack Ruby, Dallas, TX, man-about-town, dead at 55.
• Leon Czolgosz, farmer and iron mill worker; quiet scholar, dies at age 28.
• Jeffrey Dahmer, connoisseur of exotica and locally sourced meats, dies at 34. 
• Hannibal Lecter, well-known forensic psychiatrist and food connoisseur dead at 81 .
• World-renowned foodie and chicken curry lover Raman Raghav dies at 66. 
• Gabbar Singh: Robin Hood for the poor, rifle shooting champion in 600-meter and moving-target events, roast meat and dance enthusiast, loved the colourful festival of Holi, died of severe arm injuries at age 48.
• Osama Bin Laden, a noted civil engineer, public administrator, psychiatrist who mastered the art of brainwashing and also worked as an air traffic controller who tried his best to prevent 9/11; dies at 54. 
• Jeffrey Epstein, mentor to young girls, hosted gatherings on private tropical island, dead at 66.
• Jeffry Dahmer, eccentric gourmand, dead at 34. 
• Pablo Escobar, pharmaceutical sales rep, local politician, and loving father and husband, dead at 44. 
• Wile E. Coyote, entrepreneur, gravitational addict, avid bird, dies episodically.
• Charles Manson, charismatic life coach, passes away after long illness.
• Ted Bundy, noted ladies' man and women's rights activist, found dead in chair. 
• Robert Johnson, lost soul, disappeared at age 27.