Good Eats and Angry Bleats

Good Eats

As some of you may know, I live in a neighborhood in Minneaplolis, MN known as Dinkytown. Dinkytown is an entertainment district where--generally--upperclassmen students live, work, and play. I love Dinkytown, and I enjoy unlocking new secrets it holds every day.

Yesterday, I decided to patronize a small (read: small) restaurant in the neighborhood called Al's Breakfast. I really hadn't given much thought to the restaurant because if you blink while you're walking by, you'll miss it. Case in point (taken with cameraphone):

When one walks into this restaurant--well, I suppose 'shack' would almost be a better term--not only is one greeted with the intoxicating smell of buttermilk pancakes and fried eggs, but also a line of people whose backs are pressed up against the wall as they wait for a seat. You see, there's only 14 stools lined against a long counterspace. I took the following picture without any zoom. You'll see how close I was to a sitting patron as I stood against the wall, waiting.

I wasn't quite hungry enough to try those delicious smelling pancakes, so I just ordered the Summer Special.

• Two eggs, over easy, topped with fresh tomatoes, fresh basil, and fresh mozzarella balls.
• Two slices of buttered toast.

I am not lying to you when I say that this was the best tasting eggs and toast I have ever had. The eggs were perfectly done, immensely flavorful, hearty, and filling. Their toast had some sort of unique quality that made it oh-so-delicious on its own. Furthermore, the coffee (a house blend) made my mouth water as I detected a hint of chocolate with my nostrils. Indeed, my opinion is not unique, as it's been voted the 'Best Breakfast in Minneapolis.'

As I ate, a fellow from Texas behind me quipped that he "has been waiting for this meal all year."

Why, even when I was sitting in a bathroom stall at work, surrounded by the din of a colon that would hastily reject such a divine meal, I shouted out to a merciful God that it was worth it.

It was worth it.

Wikipedia: Al's Breakfast

Angry Bleats

Blogger has added a new feature to it's navbar. It's a button with the text "Flag?" that allows anyone who finds a particular blog's content to be objectionable to report it to Blogger for examination. By Blogger's own admission, any blog that is found objectionable, yet not illegal, will be immediately set as "unlisted," which means Blogger.com stops promoting the site and leaves the blog to fend for its own on the big, bad Internet. You get to keep your account, but when it comes to items such as the navbar's "Next Blog >>", your blog might as well not exist.

"Who were you again? Oh yeah, we forgot. We HATES you, precious! You cannot haveit the Mango. *assslap*" (Pwease don't weport me fow the word assslap. I pwomise I'w never use it again. *puppy-dog eyes*)

I fear that "Flag?" is just the start of something. I hope my fears are unfounded.

If you're as offended as I am, send an e-mail to support@blogger.com to express your distaste.

Dear Blogger Team,

I find the very presence of a "Flag" feature on the navbar to be, in itself, vulgar and unacceptable. As a company that purports itself to be such a disseminator of information, how can you justify the addition of such a hideous blemish to the blogging community? In the most grave seriousness, whoever supports such a feature has no place at Google or its subsidiaries. If you support censorship, you have no business in the blogging business. Yes, even making "questionable" blogs more difficult to find is still censorship.

Furthermore, I see that you haven't put in a button that acts as the antithesis of "Flag," such as a "Thumbs Up." How short sighted can you be? One of your employees, Biz Stone, writes, "[Flagging] allows the blogging community as a whole to identify content they deem objectionable."

Excuse me? I don't see how you can get a valid verdict from the blogging community when there is only one decision to hand down! Here's a sample statistic I'd imagine you'd get from a maverick blog:

Blog: Tina Talks Frivolously About Sex
Users Offended: 100% (Out of 3 Flag Clicks)

Yeah, real nice, guys. I just hope that Google never opens a Google Federal Court service if this is any indication as to how things are judged in your realm.

In short, this is an infuriating feature that is a slap in the face to anyone that believes in the free and unfettered flow of information. Period. Where do you stand?

Sincerely,
Erik Axdahl

(note that you will only see this feature on blogs who have "republished" since the implementation of "Censor?" )